Kodak cuts 425 jobs as film revival treads water

Kodak has lost $46 million this quarter and will lay off 425 employees, indicating that its film resurgence is still a work in progress. The company chalked up $46 million in losses (compared to a $12 million profit in the same quarter last year), to a slowdown in the printer market and rising cost of aluminum used in its products. The company’s Consumer and Film division, which manufactures movie film for its upcoming Super 8 camera and the motion picture industry, also lost money.

Kodak will cut 100 jobs from its Rochester, NY location and about 325 elsewhere. It’s also reducing costs and investments elsewhere in an effort to turn a profit by next quarter. Kodak, based in Rochester, NY is a separate company from Kodak/Alaris in the UK. The latter company makes all of Kodak’s consumer 35mm, instant and other films, while Kodak in the US handles commercial printing, photo printers and motion picture film.

Despite the cost advantages of digital cinema cameras compared to old-school film, a growing list of directors still prefer to shoot on 16mm, 35mm and 70mm film supplied by Kodak. In 2016, 29 films were shot on 35mm film, according to Filmmaker, down from around 64 the year before. However, 15 films at the 2017 Cannes film festival alone were shot on Kodak film stock, so that bodes well for the overall slate of Kodak movies this year. (One of those, The Florida Project, was shot on both 35mm and an iPhone, showing there’s a place for digital and film, even in the same movie.)

Kodak has yet to release its Super 8 camera first announced at CES nearly two years ago, as it decided to add more features after doing market research. However, the camera is still in the works and Kodak still plans to produce Ektachrome Super 8 film for it. (Kodak Alaris is producing Ektachrome slide film.) Hopefully we’ll learn more about its Super 8 plans early next year at CES 2018.

Via: DP Review

Source: Kodak

Firefox Quantum is ready to speed up your web browsing

Did you ditch Firefox a while ago after feeling that it was slowing down compared to rival browsers like Chrome? Mozilla is determined to win you back. As promised, it just released Firefox Quantum (aka Firefox 57) — and it promises to be much faster than you’re used to. The company claims its newest browser is over twice as fast as the version from 6 months ago thanks to both a new, multi-core CSS engine, tab prioritization and the elimination of bugs that were weighing the software down. Whether or not it’s actually faster depends on the sites you’re visiting, but it does appear snappy in some quick testing.

Thankfully, Quantum doesn’t lean exclusively on speed to draw you in. There’s a new interface that’s both more streamlined (a lot of the visual fluff has been stripped away) and should look sharp on very high-resolution displays. It should be better at scaling in the future, to boot. And if it wasn’t already clear that Mozilla owns Pocket, it is now. When you open a new tab, you’ll see Pocket’s story recommendations alongside shortcuts to your most visited sites.

The new version is available now for Linux, Mac and Windows users. Whether or not it moves the needle is another matter. Web browser usage share has remained relatively stable for a while, particularly for Firefox (about 13.1 percent as of October, according to NetMarketshare) and for Chrome (59.8 percent). In other words, browser habits are relatively entrenched — it might take a fundamental change in user perception for those numbers to shift in a significant way. Quantum is one of the biggest improvements to Firefox in recent times, though. And if nothing else, the speed boost and UI tweaks could help Mozilla keep users that would otherwise have jumped ship.

Source: Mozilla (1), (2)

Uber now locks in the fare for your scheduled ride

You’ve long had the option of scheduling Uber rides, but that didn’t necessarily guarantee your fare. It could cost you a pretty penny if there was a surprise surge at the time you hopped in the car. That won’t be an issue going forward — Uber is now locking in fares when you book a ride at least an hour in advance. The price you see is what you’ll pay at the end, even if traffic snarls would have resulted in paying more. This could be more than a little helpful if you’re booking a ride to the airport, or expect to travel downtown during rush hour and would rather not pay extra for the privilege.

The feature is currently available across the US, and kicks in automatically depending on your scheduling.

This comes over a year after Uber started offering guaranteed fares at the time a ride starts. In both cases, there’s a clear goal: Uber wants to eliminate the uncertainty that might lead you to take a rival ride hailing service or (gasp) a taxi. If you know exactly what you’ll pay, you may be more likely to take Uber again knowing that your costs will be predictable.

Source: Mashable

Samsung factory worker awarded state compensation for brain tumor

Samsung doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes to worker safety. From accusations of using child labor to multiple accidents at its factories that resulted in death (one of which was the asphyxiation of one of its workers due to a gas leak), its worker safety history is decidedly grim. This week, South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that a Samsung factory worker’s brain tumor and death were the result of an occupational disease, and that her family should be awarded state compensation as a result.

Lee Yoon-jung worked in one of Samsung’s South Korean factories from 1997 to 2003 and was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 30. She died two years later. A South Korean appeals court denied the claim for workers compensation because a government investigation into the factory found that workers were exposed to certain toxic chemicals below the maximum recommended levels. However, they didn’t measure a broad spectrum of chemicals, nor did these investigators evaluate the health risks of exposure.

In the past, the onus has been on the claimant to prove that a disease — in this case, Lee’s brain tumor — was a result of the work they did. But these workers find it incredibly difficult to obtain data on exactly what chemicals they are exposed to in factories. Thanks to labor activists, courts have begun ruling in favor of workers in cases like this.

It’s likely that the statistics helped sway the Supreme Court in Lee’s family’s favor. According to their lawyer, 27 Samsung factory workers have been diagnosed with brain tumors, eight of them from the same factory as Lee. It’s the second most common condition that affects those who work at Samsung’s factory. The most common is leukemia. Hopefully this verdict will help others suffering from these terrible conditions seek state compensation, and also pressure Samsung to further protect its workers.

Source: Phys.org

Engadget giveaway: Win a V-Moda Remix speaker or Crossfade II wireless headphones!

V-Moda has long been known to provide great sound quality along with a unique and customizable designs. This year the company launched its updated Crossfade II wireless headphones, letting you roam free for up to 14 hours of listening (or unlimited when tethered). These also include the company’s VAMP tech (a combo amplifier and DAC) for high-quality sound. If you like to personalize your gear, you can order 3D printable or laser engraveable Shield Kits to emblazon each ear piece, too.

For the company’s REMIX Bluetooth speaker, V-Moda includes the same VAMP technology along with a highly customizable exterior. It includes REMIXrings for a bit of flare, but also allows you to create 3D-printed panels to deck out the exterior. The REMIX can also be used as an amplifier for any quality headphones you plug in to it. This week, the company has provided one of each of these items as prizes for two lucky winners. Just head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning a pair of V-Moda Crossfade II wireless headphones or its customizable REMIX hi-fi Bluetooth speaker!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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• Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) first-prize winner will receive one (1) pair of V-Moda Crossfade II wireless headphones ($330 value) and one (1) second-prize winner will receive one (1) Remix wireless hi-fi / 3D customizable speaker ($300 value).
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Disney Streaming Service Will Be Priced ‘Substantially Below’ Netflix at Launch

During Disney’s latest quarterly earnings call, company chairman and CEO Bob Iger mentioned that its upcoming, exclusive streaming service will have a monthly subscription cost at an amount that’s “substantially below” the price of rival Netflix (via Seeking Alpha). Disney has been dropping tidbits about its upcoming 2019 streaming service over the past few weeks, but had not yet hinted at how much the service will cost subscribers.

Iger still hasn’t provided the specific price point viewers can expect to pay to watch Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars films and TV shows on the unnamed service, but we now at least know Disney intends to undercut Netflix on pricing. Currently, Netflix’s $9.99/month standard tier (with streaming on two screens at once) is set to begin increasing to $10.99/month for subscribers this fall and winter.

A few Disney films currently on Netflix
Of course, Netflix also has the basic $7.99/month plan (SD and only streaming on one screen at a time), so it’s unclear which price point Iger may have been referring to. Iger did mention, however, that the Disney streaming service price will be reflective of the “fact that it will have substantially less volume” than Netflix when it launches. Disney sees this low price as a starting off point that will grow to “reflect the added volume” of content that is launched on the service in the future, similar to what Netflix is doing with its new $10.99/month price hike.

I can say that our plan on the Disney side is to price this substantially below where Netflix is. That is in part reflective of the fact that it will have substantially less volume. It’ll have a lot of high quality because of the brands and the franchises that will be on it that we’ve talked about. But it’ll simply launch with less volume, and the price will reflect that.

There’s a gigantic potential Disney customer base out there that we’re going to seek to attract with pricing that is commensurate with or that balances the quality of the brands and franchises that are in there, but also takes into account the volume. And that will give us an opportunity to grow in volume and to have the pricing over time reflect the added volume as this product ages.

After announcing the direct-to-consumer streaming service in August, speculation spread concerning whether or not Marvel and Star Wars would be getting their own unique streaming platforms. Disney eventually confirmed those two franchises would be integrated into the main service. In the new earnings call, the company mentioned some of the content will include four to five exclusive feature films each year and multiple original TV shows. The first set of shows will be a live action series based in the Star Wars universe, a High School Musical series, and a Monsters, Inc. series.

A report last week also mentioned Disney’s interest in purchasing cable and movie assets owned by 21st Century Fox, which would include Fox’s 30 percent stake in Hulu. With Disney’s current 30 percent stake, the company would become a majority shareholder and gain another area to expand it streaming capabilities to consumers. While the two companies are said to not currently be talking, neither has given up on the idea of making a deal and “pencils aren’t down.”

With the launch of the Disney service, the company will be removing all of its films and most of its TV shows from Netflix. It’s still unclear when that will begin happening, but it might begin sometime in 2018, ahead of the new service’s launch in 2019. Currently, subscribers to Netflix can watch Disney movies including Moana, Finding Dory, Doctor Strange, and much more, which will all disappear by 2019.

Tag: Disney
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Apple’s Head of Chip Design Talks About Face ID Security and More in Israeli Interview

Johny Srouji, Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies at Apple, recently talked about Israel’s contributions to Apple products, Face ID security, augmented reality, and more in a wide-ranging interview with Calcalist.

For context, Srouji leads the team responsible for custom silicon and hardware technologies like batteries, storage controllers, and application processors, including the new A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.

The interview was published in Hebrew, so the quotes herein are loosely translated to English and may not be perfectly word for word.

Srouji started by complimenting Israel, where he was born and raised, for its significant contributions to Apple products. He said Apple now employs over 900 engineers in Israel, up from a reported 700 or so in 2015.

A few years ago, Apple opened research and development offices in Haifa, north of Tel Aviv, with the facilities serving as the iPhone maker’s second-largest R&D operations outside of the United States at the time.

There, a team of engineers are focused on chip design, testing, and engineering, according to Apple’s job listings over the years.

“The things we do in Israel are a significant part of every Apple device in the world,” said Srouji. He went on to say “the team in Israel is part of this long-term vision of excellence and perfection, so we’re here for the long term.”

Apple has also acquired several Israeli companies over the years, including PrimeSense, which developed the original Kinect sensor for Xbox. PrimeSense’s 3D sensing tech is believed to be at the core of Face ID on the iPhone X.

Apple later scooped up Israeli startup LinX, whose dual-lens camera technologies are likely used in the latest iPhone models. It also bought Israeli flash memory firm Anobit Technologies and facial recognition startup RealFace.

The interview later shifted to Face ID, which Srouji said is “the fastest and most secure” facial recognition system in the industry.

“Take the subject of user attention for identification,” said Srouji. “If I am not fully aware of the device—i.e. looking at it with my face directly—there is no detection.” He told the interviewer “you have to be happy about it because imagine you have the phone and I go aside and I can create a fake of it.”

Srouji also reflected on Apple’s new augmented reality platform ARKit. He said Apple is always looking far ahead with its chip designs, with a three-year roadmap leading into 2020. Read the full interview for his complete vision.

Tags: Israel, Johny Srouji, Face ID
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Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ prequel will need to forge its own identity

When rumors broke that Amazon was hoping to turn J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings into a TV series, many felt that CEO Jeff Bezos had found his own Game of Thrones. We’re still many years out from seeing a final product, but the first steps were taken today: Amazon just announced that it is producing a multi-season series based in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. But if Bezos really wants to emulate HBO’s wildly popular adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Amazon’s series will likely end up feeling rather foreign to Tolkien devotees.

We’re many years out from the project actually hitting our screens, but Amazon offered a few clues as to what we might see in its press release: “Set in Middle-earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.” So, Amazon isn’t just remaking the story that hit the big screen in the early 2000s. But what isn’t clear is whether Amazon will be adapting other Middle-earth storylines from Tolkien’s many other writings — or if Middle-earth will just be a blank canvas for Amazon to write entirely new stories on.

For now, both scenarios appear to be in play. “Sharon [Tal Yguado, Head of Scripted Series at Amazon] and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings,” said Matt Galsor in Amazon’s press release. He’s listed as a representative for the HarperCollins (the publisher of Tolkien’s written works) and Tolkien Estate and Trust.

It’s interesting that the Tolkien estate is involved, because it indicates that Amazon may have access to more of the author’s works than Peter Jackson did when he made The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. Because of the way the movie rights were sold, Jackson could only pull from the three Lord of the Rings novels (including the hundred-ish pages of appendices) and The Hobbit itself. Everything else Tolkien wrote was off-limits.

Some optimistic Tolkien fans may hope to see their favorite stories from The Silmarillion, the vast, almost Biblical book that recounts Middle-earth’s creation and a number of stories in the thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings. Between that and other compilations of various “lost tales,” Amazon has plenty of material to work with. Much of it would need significant revision and adaptation to work as a proper series, but the bones of many good stories are there.

However, if you accept the notion that Bezos is looking for his own Game of Thrones, it’s far more likely that Middle-earth as we currently know it will be more of a blank canvas for Amazon’s team to draw their own, more modern stories on. For all their surface similarities, The Lord of the Rings and George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire tell wildly different stories, and if Amazon wants to draw on the traits that made the Game of Thrones series such a hit, we’re probably going to end up with a lot of stories that Tolkien himself never conceived.

Of course, Amazon new series won’t be the first new narrative set in Middle-earth. The most recent example is the 2014 video game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (and its newly-released sequel). The game drew players in by using the familiar setting of Mordor, a familiar timeframe (between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings), iconic characters like Gollum and crucial elements like the Rings of Power. But it also starred entirely new characters, expanded Tolkien’s mythology and told an entirely new story.

It wasn’t perfect (that ending!), but Shadow of Mordor overall did an admirable job at taking a familiar setting and writing a new story around it. It’s the kind of product that could serve as a blueprint for how Amazon can create a new property that will hook loads of viewers while still paying service to longtime fans. Simply being able to reference The Lord of the Rings will be enough to bring in many viewers — millions have seen Jackson’s films and won’t care if the series is telling stories Tolkien himself didn’t dream up. Add in the fact that Game of Thrones will wrap up in 2018 or 2019 and it’s easy to imagine those viewers getting their fantasy methadone from Amazon’s new series.

Ultimately, the enduring popularity of Tolkien’s work is what Amazon is banking on here. Yes, there will absolutely be a cadre of fans who hate what Amazon produces, but that group will almost certainly be outnumbered by people enjoyed The Lord of the Rings at some point in their life and decide to give Amazon’s series a shot — if the show is good.

For that to happen, the series needs someone at the helm who lives and breathes Tolkien, someone who recognizes the themes that permeate his work. They need to recognize what makes Tolkien unique, and what makes Middle-earth a different place than Westeros. It’s a necessity for adaptations to take liberties with source material, and it seems Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series will take many. But if it can keep the spirit of Middle-earth intact, it has a chance to be remembered as more than Amazon’s attempt to cash in on the Game of Thrones craze.

Comcast’s Xfinity app will be available on Sony smart TVs in 2018

It’s a strange time in the world of cable television, with more people cutting the cord these days and an ever-increasing amount of internet-enabled devices (like Apple TV and Roku) and smart TVs. Venerable cable companies like Viacom have to to find ways to get their content out to where the viewers actually are. Comcast is in the same boat, which is why it makes sense that the cable business is partnering with Sony to get its XFinity app on the television-maker’s Android-based sets.

Starting in 2018, if you’re an Xfinity TV customer and you own an Android TV from Sony, you’ll get to watch live and on-demand programming from Comcast, including local, public and government-sponsored channels. You’ll also be able to access your Xfinity cloud DVR recordings along with the Emmy Award-winning X1 channel guide. This isn’t Comcast’s first deal in the streaming arena, of course. It’s been working with Samsung and Roku for a while now, and has been quietly working on a nationwide streaming service that went into beta a couple of months ago.

Source: Comcast

Mytaxi offers London cabbies free medical training

A taxi-hailing app is offering London cabbies free training to deal with health-related emergencies, including acid attacks and terrorist incidents. Mytaxi’s “Knowledge+” course covers first-aid techniques including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and how to use a defibrillator. Drivers are also given advice for handling crisis situations and basic psychology, such as reading body language and de-escalating aggressive behaviour. It’s being marketed as a progression of “The Knowledge,” with backing from St John Ambulance, a first aid charity, and Chris Phillips, the former head of the UK’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office.

It’s hoped the new training will give drivers the knowledge and confidence to act as first responders. Devastating acid attacks are on the rise in London, and the threat of a serious terrorist incident is ever present. The medical know-how should also help with sudden, unexpected health issues, such as heart attacks and cardiac arrests. These could occur in passengers or nearby pedestrians. Michelle Kerrigan, partnerships manager for St John Ambulance said: “Taxi drivers are increasingly first on the scene in an emergency, and we know that administering first aid in those crucial first few minutes can be the difference between life and death.”

In addition, Mytaxi will equip 50 black cabs with first aid kits in the coming months. Taxi drivers will, of course, never replace fully qualified medics, but free and industry-backed training can only be seen as a positive for the city. “You can pretty much guarantee that whatever incident happens in London, a black cab will be at the scene or nearby,” Phillips said. “Professionalising their response is a brilliant way to keep Londoners safe.”