Netflix isn’t worried about the competition

Fresh off of its Oscars win for Icarus, a documentary about Russia’s doping epidemic in sports, Netflix held a press event at its Hollywood headquarters. There, inside a 280,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art studio that it just opened last year, CEO Reed Hastings talked about the state of Netflix and the industry as a whole. The setting seemed fitting, considering the company is planning an $8 billion investment in original content for 2018 alone. That programming strategy is what makes Hastings confident that Netflix’s future is bright, especially as it faces increased competition from the likes of Amazon, Hulu and, soon, Disney. The latter of which is also a partner, since it owns all of the Marvel franchises that Netflix has built a mini-verse around.

Hastings addressed this and a wide range of other topics during a 30-minute chat with members of the media. One of the most notable things the Netflix chief mentioned is that his streaming service doesn’t have any plans whatsoever to do live TV, even if rivals like Hulu and Amazon’s Prime Video are investing heavily in that space. “To follow a competitor, never, never, never,” he said. “We have so much we want to do in our area, so we’re not trying to copy others, whether that’s linear cable, there’s lots of things we don’t do. We don’t do [live] news, we don’t do [live] sports. But what we do do, we try to do really well.”

He said that while “all of these media companies” are trying to get into video, specifically newcomers such as Facebook, Netflix has been competing with seasons rivals like Amazon for a decade and he’s happy with the success of his company thus far. Earlier this year, during its Q4 2017 earnings report, Netflix announced that it added 8.3 million new customers that quarter, its largest single-quarter growth ever. Those numbers certainly seem to bolster Hasting’s confidence. He said that, while it’s a very competitive market at the moment — and it’s only going to get tougher with others like Facebook and YouTube joining the fray — he believes that if Netflix continues to produce great series and content, it has nothing to worry about.

“If we do our own Prime service, we’ll never succeed,” he said, referring to the idea that Netflix could offer something beyond its on-demand content. He added that what hurts Netflix’s competitors is that “their strategy is to win by being broad, you know, a little bit of everything.” Hastings said it’s also key to ensure customers that they’re never going to see ads on a Netflix product, despite the potential for lower prices and creating more revenue. Hastings didn’t have to mention Hulu or YouTube by name to know those are the platforms he was referring to. “Really having great experience — no advertisements or chopping up all of the content — vastly outweigh the fact that one company is gaining a lot of influence.”

PA Archive/PA Images

A major foreseeable threat for Hastings is Disney, which is set to launch its own streaming service in 2019 and it’s expected to be cheaper than Netflix. This presents a challenge because Disney owns Marvel Studios, and that could create friction with future developments of popular shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and The Defenders. “We obviously want the Marvel Television series currently on Netflix to have a long and lauded run,” Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Entertainment, told Bloomberg in January. He said that new projects, however, would look for “networks and platforms that are the best fit for that content, including the Disney-branded streaming service.”

Although Disney’s offering hasn’t even launched, the company announced last year that it would stop streaming its content exclusively on Netflix starting in 2019 — including Lucasfilm and Pixar movies. If the two don’t work out a deal to keep that content on the platform, this could be a huge loss for Netflix and, naturally, a major gain for Disney.

Still, Hastings doesn’t think Disney will make a major dent in Netflix’s business: “The threat is probably that we just slack off. It’s great that we’ve had this early success but it’s so easy for companies [like us] to lose their edge.” At the end of the day, Hastings said, it’ll be up to Netflix, not its rivals, to be sustainable and continue growing. He pointed to the company’s expected revenue of $15 billion this year. “Our content is our crown jewel,” he said, “and it’s up to us to take that money and turn it into great content for [users’] viewing benefit.”

Netflix is bringing video previews to its mobile apps

A year after introducing video previews on its TV experience, Netflix is now planning to bring the feature to its mobile apps. The company announced today that this will be rolling out April, noting that it was developed to help make it easier for users to find content more easily and faster on their smartphone.

Developing…

Google introduces Chinese, Korean, and 20 other languages to Gboard

Google is continuing its trend of continually updating its Gboard keyboard on both Android and iOS, with Chinese (traditional and simplified), Korean, and 20 other languages coming to Gboard on Android in the next few days.

With this update, Google claims to now be covering 74 percent of the world, and the addition of Chinese and Korean is particularly notable since these are currently the two most requested languages from Gboard users. Whether or not Google’s stats are correct, the inclusion of these 22 new languages does bring Gboard up to a mighty total of 312 supported languages. To put that into context, dedicated keyboard app Swiftkey currently has support for 233 languages — almost a hundred languages less.

While that’s more languages than any of us at the DT offices will ever need to speak, Google’s drive to bring Gboard to as many countries and languages in the world is admirable. We’ve seen Google deliver consistent updates to its keyboard app, including new features like GIFs and search functions, and the ability to function well in entry-level devices. This sort of dedication to improving an app is admirable, and why we’ve consistently included Google’s keyboard among our picks for best keyboard on iOS and Android devices alike.

But it’s not just the bigger languages that are getting love, as Google is showing its commitment to bringing its apps to as many people as possible with support for smaller languages, all the way down to such tiny languages as Manx (spoken by 1,800 people in 2015) and up to medium-sized languages like Maori (160,142 speakers in 2015). In Google’s blog post on the subject, Gboard Project Lead Angana Ghosh highlighted the particular challenges of introducing the Fulani language to Gboard. Fulani, an ancient African language, did not have a written language until 26 years ago, and Google worked closely with brothers Abdoulaye and Ibrahima Barry who created the Fulani alphabet.

This update will be rolling out in the next days, and will bring these languages to Android devices following a period of beta testing last month. Gboard for iOS can already enjoy these particular languages, having added them almost a full year ago now.

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‘Alexa, stop being so creepy’: Unprompted laughing is freaking out owners

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

First, she lost her voice, and now, Alexa is laughing at us. It’s been a tough several days for the artificially intelligent assistant, but more importantly, it’s been tough for us. After all, the only thing worse than not being to talk to Alexa is having Alexa laugh — creepily, we might add — at you out of the blue.

So Alexa decided to laugh randomly while I was in the kitchen. Freaked @SnootyJuicer and I out. I thought a kid was laughing behind me. pic.twitter.com/6dblzkiQHp

— CaptHandlebar (@CaptHandlebar) February 23, 2018

As initially reported by BuzzFeed, Amazon’s popular robot helper is apparently chuckling in a rather alarming way, entirely unprovoked by their users. Could it be that Alexa is laughing at how silly we are for allowing her into our homes? Could it be that Alexa is finally letting us know how gleeful she is that the robot revolution will soon come to pass? We may never know.

The Twitterverse has been alight with users complaining about this latest issue with Alexa. One Amazon Echo Dot owner noted that he was almost asleep when he heard a “very loud and creepy laugh” from Alexa. He added, “There’s a good chance I get murdered tonight.” More concerning still, it doesn’t appear as though Alexa is being triggered before she laughs — while the smart assistant is, to some extent, always on, she generally requires the wake word “Alexa” in order to begin any user-facing interactions. But in the case of the laugh, that’s clearly not the case. In fact, another user noted that he was having an office conversation about “confidential stuff” when Alexa started laughing. Needless to say, “It was really creepy.”

Having an office conversation about pretty confidential stuff and Alexa just laughed. Anybody else ever have that?

It didn't chime as if we had accidentally triggered her to wake. She simply just laughed. It was really creepy.

— David Woodland (@DavidSven) March 1, 2018

We should note that every once in a while, Alexa does in fact speak up when unprompted. (I’ve certainly had a number of scenarios with my own Echo Dot when Alexa will pipe up to say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” when I had no intention of waking her up.) But to be fair, having Alexa speak a full sentence to you is far less alarming that a sudden, seemingly random, laugh.

CNBC reported that Amazon is aware of the issue and is working to fix it. We’ve reached out to the Amazon team to see if we can better understand what’s happening here, and will update this story with any further news.

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Wacom’s new Intuos pen tablets are a light, cheap entry into photo editing

Wacom is making it easier to get hooked on photo editing and graphic design via a touch interface. On Tuesday, March 6, Wacom launched updated entry-level Intuos pen tablets that gives newbies access to touch controls under the three-figure mark. The new Intuos tablets, both Mac and PC compatible, continue several earlier Wacom features while adding new tech and slimming down the design.

The new small option costs $99, or $79 without Bluetooth connectivity, while the midsized tablet retails for $199. Despite being one of Wacom’s lower priced options (compared to its new $2,000-plus giant pen tablet, the Cintiq Pro 24), the tablets are bundled with three editing programs that would have cost $160 to buy individually — Corel Painter Essentials 6 for graphics, Corel AfterShot 3 for photo editing, and Celsys Clip Studio Paint Pro for comic-like designs. The small tablet, however, doesn’t include all three but gives users the option of which program to download.

“Wacom has a legacy of providing state-of-the-art technology and full solutions to our customers,” Faik Karaoglu, executive vice president at Wacom’s creative business unit, said in a press release. “We know that only the combination of hardware and software allows for an immediate start. That is why we asked leading software partners to join us in the new pen tablet offer. We believe that our customers will love the new Intuos for its advanced technology and software options.”

Wacom says the new entry-level pen tablets include both technical and ergonomic updates. Some models now include Bluetooth connectivity, while the touch interface offers 4,096 levels of sensitivity.

Despite having the same screen size as earlier models, the updated Intuos have both a smaller profile and a lower weight, with the smallest weighing just over eight ounces. Four express keys, which can be custom set to different controls inside each application, and an LED indicator are built into the tablet, while the update also has a dedicated slot for storing the pen. The updates that include Bluetooth feature a 60-percent improvement on battery life over Wacom’s earlier budget models, with the medium Intuos working for 3.5 hours without a recharge.

The medium Intuos has a 8.5 x 5.3 -inch screen size at a 2,541 lpi resolution while the cheapest version of the Intuos has a 6 x 3.7-inch screen with a 2,540 lpi resolution.

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Are they not picking up? Now you can leave a video message with Google Duo

Google is updating its video calling app, Google Duo, to make it a little more useful for situations in which you can’t reach the other person. Now, if you video call someone and they don’t pick up the phone, you have the option of leaving a video message — kind of like a video voicemail.

According to a blog post from Google, you will be able to leave messages of up to 30 seconds and once you’re done, you can send the message to the other party. They will then be able to see the message within the Google Duo app. If you get a video message for yourself, you will be able to play it back by simply tapping on their icon, after which you can tap the “Call Now” button to return their call.

The new feature is nice and while it doesn’t really change the core functionality of the app, it does mean that you will be able to share a moment with your friends and family regardless of whether or not they pick up the phone. Like standard Duo video calls, video messages are encrypted and secure.

The new feature will start rolling out to Duo users on both Android and iOS starting Tuesday, March 6, and Google says it will be available worldwide within a few days.

The new feature is nice, but not unexpected. 9to5Google found references to the video calling feature in a recent app teardown and even managed to activate it for itself. It also found a few other new features. For example, the website found a revamped screen-sharing interface, which involves a small pill-shaped interface that allows users to start screen-sharing, pause it, and then end it. Next up is “Guest Mode,” which the report found allows users to use Google Duo without an actual account. All the user would need is a phone number.

In general, we expect to see more features added to both Duo and Allo, Google’s text messaging service. We are not quite sure if the apps have been adopted as heavily as Google might have liked — Google launched countless messaging apps over the years and they haven’t all been popular.

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Microsoft tests new privacy settings interface in latest Windows Insider build

A new build for Windows Insiders is available for participants in the Fast ring, bringing Windows 10 to version 17115. As the Redstone 4 update nears a public release, Insiders are now mostly seeing general changes, improvements, and fixes to Windows 10. But for this build, Microsoft made changes to the privacy settings screen along with adding two new privacy settings: “Inking & Typing” and “Find My Device.” 

But here is the kicker: Not all Windows Insiders will see the same revision to the privacy settings interface. As shown above, one batch can customize all settings through a single window, with Inking and Typing, Find My Device and more listed as independent selections. A second batch of Insiders will still see a new privacy settings window, but the actual settings will be divided up into seven individual screens. 

“In this example, Find My Device is shown on its own screen during setup,” the company says. “Microsoft recommends selecting ‘Yes,’ depicted by the dotted line box, to allow us to use the device’s location data to help the customer find the device if it’s lost.” 

This group will also see Inking and Typing as a separate screen. This setting only deals with data related to the recognition aspect that’s sent to Microsoft for improving language recognition along with “suggestion capabilities of apps and services running on Windows.” Either choose “Yes” to send that data to Microsoft or choose “No.” 

The point of offering two new privacy window interfaces is to receive feedback on both and use the more popular design in the final Redstone 4 build (Spring Creators Update). But whether Insiders favor the all-in-one-window setup or love trolling through seven different screens, the location of the final product will not change, residing at “Start > Settings > Privacy.”

Microsoft’s Redstone 4 update arrives this spring, but so far Microsoft hasn’t provided a solid release date, nor has it officially given this update a name. Redstone 4 is simply a code name used by Microsoft, and the company has already moved on to its Redstone 5 update slated to hit Windows 10 later this year. The Redstone naming began with Anniversary Update in August 2016 followed by Creators Update (Redstone 2) and Fall Creators Update (Redstone 3). The company is expected to simply go with Spring Creators Update for Redstone 4. 

As for the remainder of Build 17115, the notes only list 13 fixes to the platform as Microsoft works out the final kinks prior to the official spring launch. Two pertain to Windows Mixed Reality: One bug that caused a sub-10FPS framerate and one that caused the platform from working after a startup crash. Another fix addresses a problem preventing users from interacting with the Timeline scrollbar using touch. 

“This week we have 50 Windows Insider MVPs on campus as a part of the global MVP Summit,” Insider lead Dona Sarkar said. “It’s been a pleasure to get face-to-face time with some of our biggest advocates as well as the people who help the overall Windows community the most.” 

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Sensor-activated trash can opens up like the airlock on a futuristic spaceship

Call it form over function if you want, but the Iris, a new high-tech trash can, looks like something out of a 1960s science fiction movie. The idea is this: It’s a shiny trash can with a sealed top. Approach it with some piece of debris, however, and when you’re within a few inches, you will be detected by an infrared sensor beam. At this point, its iris diaphragm lid slowly opens like an airlock or futuristic spaceship door so you can carefully place the object inside without having to touch the can. The sensors then cause the mechanism to close again as you walk away.

Way slower than throwing a regular item in the trash? Sure. Awesome nonetheless? You bet!

“The idea came to me when I was helping my wife prepare dinner,” creator Everett Belmont told Digital Trends. “After cutting some vegetables, I had to throw some debris into our bin that was located inside a cabinet under the sink. The bin was one of those with a stepper that propels the lid open. The lid kept bumping into the undersink so I [started thinking about whether it was possible to build] a trash can with a closing mechanism that didn’t lift up like most trash cans in the market, but one that could retract within itself.”

Belmont admits that the idea appeals to people primarily because it looks cool and unusual. After all, it’s not every day that you can transform the experience of throwing away vegetable peelings into something fun. All the same, we can imagine potential practical applications, such as for an elderly person or individual with limited mobility who can’t operate a regular pedal trash can. It could also potentially be used in scenarios like medical environments to dispose of sharp objects without having to risk coming into contact with other discarded items.

Ultimately, though, it’s just a neat geeky product that would fit perfectly in any gadget lover’s home. If the concept appeals to you, you can currently pledge money on Kickstarter to hopefully secure yourself a finished unit. As always, we offer a warning about pledging money on crowdfunding campaigns. However, if you want to join the slow-moving Iris trashcan revolution, a unit will set you back $189. Shipping is set to take place in January 2019.

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Rhode Island lawmakers look to limit internet porn with a $20 fee

Lawmakers in Rhode Island are considering new legislation that would require internet service providers (ISPs) to automatically block “sexual content” and charge a fee of $20 to any customer who seeks to watch porn or other “offensive material.” That $20 fee would then be redirected to the state in order to “fund the operations of the council on human trafficking.”

The bill, titled “An Act Relating to Public Utilities and Carriers — Internet Digital Blocking,” would force ISPs to provide “a digital blocking capability that renders inaccessible sexual content and/or patently offensive material” That includes just about any form of sex and means that the bill, if signed into law, would effectively block all pornography in the state. But it could also go further. Because the bill suggests that ISPs would have to block “patently offensive material,” this could include anything that is “so offensive on its face as to affront current standards of decency.” Given the relative opacity of this standard, it’s unclear as to exactly how this material would be judged and what material might be affected.

Under the proposed legislation, if a customer wanted to bypass the initial block, he or she would have to request in writing that the capability be disabled; present identification to verify that he or she is at least 18 years old; acknowledge the receipt of a written warning about the danger of deactivating the block; and finally, pay the one-time $20 digital access fee.

This actually isn’t the first time that such legislation has been proposed. In February, lawmakers in Virginia offered up a similar bill, but it has yet to be passed.

While the bill would have been in violation of the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules, given that the FCC is actually repealing its existing standards, the potential legislation is in the clear — at least from a federal legality standpoint. That said, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin is one of many joining a lawsuit against the FCC looking to reverse the net neutrality repeal, which would render the law … unlawful. As Ars Technica reports, any overarching laws to ban pornography or sexual content might be in violation of the First Amendment.

Of course, even if the bill were to become law, it would come with a number of issues. Already, the bill’s sponsors recognize that ISPs would have to “establish a reporting mechanism, such as a website or call center, to allow a consumer to report unblocked sexual content or potentially offensive material or report blocked material that is not sexual content or potentially offensive.” And in the case that material is incorrectly blocked, the bill notes that “the material shall be unblocked within a reasonable time, but in no event later than five business days after the block is first reported.”

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Cortana flaw enables hackers to load malicious websites from the lock screen

Two independent Israeli researchers recently discovered that anyone with access to a Windows 10 PC could use Cortana and a USB-based network adapter to download and install malware even if the machine remained locked. This was accomplished using voice commands directed to Cortana, which could load up a malicious website in a browser without unlocking Windows. The PC could also be moved to a wireless network controlled by the hacker. 

The two researchers, Tal Be’ery and Amichai Shulman, presented their method in a session called, “The Voice of Esau: Hacking Enterprises Through Voice Interfaces” during the Kaspersky Analyst Security Summit in Cancun, Mexico, last week. Their attack relied on Cortana’s ability to keep the microphone active at all times to receive voice commands, especially PCs that aren’t restricted to a single user’s voice. The attack also required physical access to the target PC. 

In their scenario, a hacker could sit down in front of a locked Windows 10 PC and insert a network adapter into one of the USB slots. After that, the hacker could verbally tell Cortana to open the web browser and head to any specific HTTP-based address that doesn’t rely on a secure connection (HTTPS means the connection is encrypted). The inserted adapter receives the outgoing command but directs the web browser to a malicious website instead. 

The malicious destination is designed to download malware to the machine even though it’s still locked. After that, the PC is at the mercy of the hacker. As previously stated, a hacker with physical access to the Windows computer can switch to a wireless, malicious network through the USB adapter: just click on the destination using a mouse even though the PC remains locked. 

Windows 10 provides several settings regarding Cortana. For starters, device owners can toggle on or off the ability for the virtual assistant to respond to the “Hey Cortana” voice command. There is also a checkbox to prevent the device from sleeping when it’s plugged in so Cortana can respond to commands. Most importantly, there are two main settings for voice command acceptance: Let Cortana respond to anyone or lock Cortana to one specific voice. 

That is not all. There is a specific setting for the lock screen, enabling users to enable or disable voice commands while the PC remains locked. Windows 10 also provides a keyboard shortcut you can toggle to disable or enable Cortana commands after pressing the Windows logo key and the “C” key simultaneously.  

“We still have this bad habit of introducing new interfaces into machines without fully analyzing the security implications of it,” Be’ery said. “Every new machine interface that we introduce creates new types of vehicles to carry an attack vector into your computer.” 

Ultimately, Microsoft resolved the issue discovered by Be’ery and Shulman. Browser-based commands made to Cortana on the lock screen now go directly to Bing, the company’s search engine. But because Cortana responds to other commands, the duo is currently investigating how these commands can be used for malicious purposes as well. 

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