Apple orders drama series from director of ‘La La Land’

Apple’s pattern of ordering shows with top-flight talent continues. Variety has discovered that Apple has secured a drama series from Damien Chazelle, the director of the Oscar-winning La La Land. The production is so mysterious at this point that even the basic premise isn’t available, but Chazelle would both write and direct every episode. Unlike his work on the upcoming Netflix show The Eddy, he’ll always be heavily involved.

There’s still no mention of when Apple will release this or any of its other original shows. It’s also unclear just how Apple will offer these productions, although a dedicated subscription video service would make the most sense.

No matter what, it won’t be surprising if you hear about more coups like this. Apple is believed to have $1 billion to spend on its initial roster of original shows, and that gives it a lot of headroom even when shows from the likes of Steven Spielberg are on the cards. The question is just when Apple will have its first slate ready to go, and whether or not it expects to increase that budget over time. Netflix believes it could shell out $8 billion for content in 2018 — it could be a long while before Apple can compete on sheer variety.

Via: The Verge

Source: Variety

Atari wants your help to make ‘RollerCoaster Tycoon’ for Switch

How badly do you want a version of RollerCoaster Tycoon for the Nintendo Switch? Bad enough that you’d be willing to claim a direct stake in the game’s success? If so, Atari has a sales pitch for you. The company’s Game Partners division (tasked with making money from classic franchises) has launched a crowd investment campaign to raise money for a Switch port of the theme park construction title. Pour at least $250 into the project and you get a pro rata (proportionate) share of 50 percent of profits until you recoup 120 percent of your investment, and then a pro rata 25 percent share of profits for the 18 months following the game’s worldwide launch. Ideally, you’d actually make money from backing the game’s release.

If all goes according to plan, the game would ship sometime in 2018. Atari is shooting for $2 million in overall funding.

The question is whether or not the game will fare well enough. Kotaku points out that the Switch port would come from Nvizzio Creations, the company that developed the mediocre RollerCoaster Tycoon World. The title may be based on the more successful RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch for smartphones and would likely preserve the core gameplay as a result (hopefully minus micro-transactions), but this isn’t a guaranteed hit based on its pedigree.

However well it fares, the crowd-based investing continues a series of unusual money-making strategies under the Atari brand, including a retro gaming system and a speaker hat. Why not opt for conventional crowdfunding, which would rake in less per person but would be much more affordable for fans and wouldn’t require sharing profits? It implies less-than-strong confidence in the success of the title, and that the company wants to be absolutely sure it won’t lose money even if sales are modest. This may well be a quality port — it’s just a tough sell when it’s not clear that there’s a large audience.

Via: Kotaku

Source: StartEngine

Robinhood will let users trade cryptocurrencies for free

Robinhood, the app that lets you make zero-fee stock trading and tracking, is moving into a new market: Cryptocurrencies. Next month, users in select US states will be able to buy and sell bitcoin and ethereum without having to pay transaction fees, with support for more currencies coming later.

Obviously, no-fee trading is a valuable advantage Robinhood trading holds over other exchange sites; Coinbase, for example, charges 1.5 percent to 4 percent. This isn’t a ploy for more revenue: The app-based service hopes this will lure more users to its platform.

“We’re planning to operate this business on a break-even basis and we don’t plan to profit from it for the foreseeable future” Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev told TechCrunch. “The value of Robinhood Crypto is in growing our customer base and better serving our existing customers.”

Cryptocurrency prices are notoriously volatile. To counter that, Robinhood Crypto gives users an estimated price, and once users confirm a buy or sell order, they scan a gamut of trading venues, exchanges and market centers to find the lowest offer, TechCrunch explained. To account for wild price fluctuations, the service puts a ‘collar’ around your order; If it can’t find a price within this margin, it will wait until one surfaces to execute your order or inform you.

Once February rolls around, users will be able to trade bitcoin and ethereum in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Hampshire, though Robinhood Crypto will expand to more states ‘soon’ according to a press release. After launching with bitcoin and ethereum, Robinhood Crypto will eventually support over a dozen other currencies. These include: Bitcoin Cash. Litecoin, Ripple, Ethereum Classic, Zcash, Monero, Dash, Stellar, Qtum, Bitcoin Gold, OmiseGo, NEO, Lisk and Dogecoin.

Users will be able to trade cryptocurrencies around the clock on Robinhood, and the platform will allow you to instantly transfer up to $1,000 from your bank to your account expressly to buy cryptocurrency. (Any funds over that amount will follow the slower ACH transfer process.) User will also be able to monitor and track currencies, as well as set up limit commands to automatically buy or sell if one hits a certain number.

Source: Robinhood

Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $50 on an Ecobee4 smart thermostat

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

Aukey Mohawk Drone

Street Price: $65; Deal Price: $38 w/ code 5H86P2FT

Use code 5H86P2FT to knock over $25 off the price of the Aukey Mohawk, our sub-$100 drone pick for more experienced pilots. We’ve seen this drone hit $50, then $40, both with similar promo codes, but this is a new low at $38 after the code is applied in cart. This deal is slated to last until 1/31, but there’s no telling if stock will last that long.

The Aukey Mohawk is our experienced pilots pick in our guide to the best sub-$100 drone. Signe Brewster wrote, “If you’ll accept a more difficult learning curve in exchange for faster flying, or if you’re already a capable drone pilot, the Aukey Mohawk might be the right drone for you. In our tests, it responded nimbly to flight controls, performing the best of the larger drones we flew through our obstacle course. It also has a few autonomous features, such as returning to home and flipping.”

Anker PowerDrive 4

Street Price: $16; Deal Price: $12 w/ code ANKER312

Use code ANKER312 to drop the price of this 4-port USB car charger to $12, the lowest price we’ve seen for it in a few years. As this car charger typically goes for $16, this is a nice savings. If you’re tired of running out of USB ports for charging, the PowerDrive 4 may be a nice option for you, especially at this price.

The Anker PowerDrive 4 is our more ports for more gadgets pick in our guide to the best USB car charger. Nick Guy wrote, “It might seem crazy to some people, but if you really need to charge more than two devices at once in the car, the Anker 4-Port USB Car Charger is a great pick. It puts four USB-charging ports that can handle a total of 9.6 amps in a package that’s of course much larger than the PowerDrive 2 and ReVolt, but still impressively compact.”

Ecobee4 Smart Thermostat

Street Price: $250; Deal Price: $200

At $200 (price reflects in cart), this matches the pricing we saw during the holidays and again in early January for our upgrade smart thermostat, the Ecobee4. While we anticipate the price falling further eventually, right now this is as low as we’ve seen this new generation’s pricing go. This deal is slated to end 1/27.

The Ecobee4 is our upgrade pick in our guide to the best smart thermostat. Grant Clauser wrote, “Thanks to a built-in Alexa, the Ecobee4 can play music, relay the news, and control your home’s smart lights as well as adjusting the heat and air conditioning. Like other Ecobee thermostats, the 4 also works with remote sensors, which is useful if your thermostat isn’t in the best part of your house to measure the temperature: Ecobee4 uses the remote sensors’ readings, along with occupancy detectors, to achieve the target temperature in multiple occupied rooms, rather than just wherever the thermostat is installed. (One sensor comes with the unit, and you can add up to 32 more.) Because it has Alexa built in, you don’t need a separate Echo to control it by voice, and if Alexa isn’t your smart-assistant choice, Ecobee4 also works with Google Assistant and (via Apple’s HomeKit) Siri. However, it doesn’t have the level of intelligence of the Nest Thermostat E for automatically figuring out your schedule, and it’s worth spending the extra money on only if you have real issues with cold spots in your home, or really want an Alexa in your thermostat.”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to thewirecutter.com.

SEC is ‘looking closely’ at companies that dabble in blockchain

The Securities and Exchange Commission has had it with companies throwing around words like crypto and blockchain in order to bump up their stock prices. There have been quite a few instances of that lately and the SEC says it will be looking more closely at public companies that suddenly shift their interests to cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology.

During a speech given earlier this week at the Securities Regulation Institute, SEC Chair Jay Clayton said, “I doubt anyone in this audience thinks it would be acceptable for a public company with no meaningful track record in pursuing the commercialization of distributed ledger or blockchain technology to (1) start to dabble in blockchain activities, (2) change its name to something like “Blockchain-R-Us,” and (3) immediately offer securities, without providing adequate disclosure to Main Street investors about those changes and the risks involved.” He added, “The SEC is looking closely at the disclosures of public companies that shift their business models to capitalize on the perceived promise of distributed ledger technology and whether the disclosures comply with the securities laws, particularly in the case of an offering.”

Among the companies with a sudden interest in the crypo field is Kodak, which announced an initial coin offering earlier this month and attached its name to a bitcoin-mining business. Another company, Long Island Iced Tea, changed its name to Long Blockchain Corp. and announced it would begin mining bitcoin. Its stock had a nice surge before the company later said that it couldn’t guarantee its mining future and pulled its common stock offer. Other examples include a company called LongFin Corp. that purchased a supposed cryptocurrency microlender and saw a 2,600 percent rise in its stock prices, an e-cigarette company that changed its name from Vapetek Inc. to Nodechain, a biotech company called Bioptix Inc. that changed its name to Riot Blockchain and began investing in cryptocurrency and blockchain, a tea company called Ping Shan Tea Group Limited that renamed itself as Blockchain Group Co Ltd. and a gaming company called Veltyco Group that only had to mention that it was interested in blockchain and cryptocurrency in order to see a jump in its stock price.

The SEC has begun to put a bigger focus on cryptocurrency. It formed a Cyber Unit last year that’s focused on online financial crimes and has already brought fraud charges against some individuals, as has the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Clayton and CFTC Chair Christopher Giancarlo said, “The SEC is devoting a significant portion of its resources to the ICO market. Through statements, reports and enforcement actions the SEC has made it clear that federal securities laws apply regardless of whether the offered security — a purposefully broad and flexible term — is labeled a “coin” or “utility token” rather than a stock, bond or investment contract. Market participants, including lawyers, trading venues and financial services firms, should be aware that we are disturbed by many examples of form being elevated over substance, with form-based arguments depriving investors of mandatory protections.”

Via: TechCrunch

Source: SEC

State senator wants to regulate loot boxes in Washington

Despite its long-awaited single-player story and gorgeous graphics and sounds, Star Wars Battlefront II will likely be remembered for one thing: Loot boxes, or the mismanagement of. The game’s rewards took so long to earn that players were incentivized to buy crates of randomized extras that could speed the process up…or not. That uncertain outcome paid with real money, which is becoming increasingly common in games, sounds like gambling to some legislators, and Belgium moved to ban SW Battlefront II-style loot boxes outright. This month, a Washington Senator introduced a bill that would require the state’s gambling commission to determine whether loot boxes are, in fact, gambling — and suggest how to regulate them across gaming.

“What the bill says is, ‘Industry, state: sit down to figure out the best way to regulate this,’” the bill’s author state Senator Kevin Ranker told The News Tribune. “It is unacceptable to be targeting our children with predatory gambling masked in a game with dancing bunnies or something.”

The bill’s text (PDF) includes loot boxes ‘and similar types of mechanisms’ on online titles and mobile apps, expanding the inquiry across all of video gaming. It would require the Washington state gambling commission to consult with the industry and commit a near year-long survey before submitting their findings by December 1st. The commission’s report will also recommend how to regulate loot boxes and restrict the sale of games that include them, especially to young players.

Rankin believes loot boxes and similar mechanisms are especially harmful for children who don’t know better.

“If (parents) realized how predatory these game are then they wouldn’t want them under their Christmas tree, they wouldn’t want them going to their kids,” Ranker told The News Tribune.

While not a requirement for the final results, Rankin and his coauthors wrote their concern in the bill that games don’t disclose loot box odds for receiving particular items. Loot box games rarely volunteer this information, and their studios are extremely coy about publishing the drop chances for, well, obvious reasons. Last month, Apple finally required games on the Apple Store to list their loot box odds, while China forced EVERY developer across all platforms to disclose theirs a year ago. That’s the only reason we know the odds in every Overwatch, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm loot box drop, incidentally — since Blizzard won’t reveal them publicly.

Via: Glixel

Source: The News Tribune