It is now official. After over a year of negotiating, approvals, declines, sales, and complicated paperwork, the wait it finally over. It is now confirmed that The Walt Disney Company will be purchasing the assets from 21st Century Fox. This deal has been planned out from over a year, dating back to December 2016.
The two competitors, which own similar content, however different audiences, will be under one roof effective as of March 20, 2019, at 12:02 AM, falling on the Spring Equinox date.
The remainder of 21st Century Fox which will not be purchased wholly by Disney will be split off into the newly-independent Fox Corporation, a holding company formed for this purpose. Fox Corporation will carry on the Fox Broadcasting Network, as well as their over-the-air television stations. Disney will also acquire the Fox Sports Regional Networks, which it must sell before a soon-to-be-given deadline.
With the assets going to Disney, they will gain the film rights to a multitude of Marvel characters, for use within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Most of these ventures are located within films, created by Marvel Studios.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Instagram and Facebook Down
Today, it seems like many people will have to change their normal relaxation and entertainment habits. For the last few hours, Facebook Inc services not limited to Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, have all been down.
During this outage, Instagram users are unable to have any access to their accounts from the website, leading to what is called a network error. For those who use the app, while it may allow you to use offline versions of their account, it does not permit for messages to be sent, posts to be posted, or stories to be uploaded. If a user were to sign out of their accounts during this time, they will remain locked out.
While we do not know how long the outage will last, it has been going on for a total of over three hours at the time of posting the article at 6:40 PM of March 13, 2019.
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Budget Devices getting more Premium
In a world where your traditional smartphones can now cost over a thousand dollars at the start, we have to wonder if we are able to pay less for a device that works just as well? We have often-times criticized the quality of more mid-range and budge offerings that we have been offered, but has anything changed? This year, we have seen many advancements from the likes of LG Electronics, HMD Global (Nokia), and Motorola Mobility. These companies have helped us see how advanced these lower-priced have gotten.
Some of their newer offerings in the price range have included high-resolution cameras, both rear and selfie, fingerprint scanners, and even a larger display. Budget devices are known to have rather mediocre cameras, coupled with rather small displays. These devices also come with versions of Android which feature consistent updates, unlike previous budget devices which have had little to no updates over a course of a couple of years.
Not only are these devices budget-friendly, but they feature specifications only-before seen in high-end devices. This trend is one we hope to see return for future years to come.
Some of their newer offerings in the price range have included high-resolution cameras, both rear and selfie, fingerprint scanners, and even a larger display. Budget devices are known to have rather mediocre cameras, coupled with rather small displays. These devices also come with versions of Android which feature consistent updates, unlike previous budget devices which have had little to no updates over a course of a couple of years.
Not only are these devices budget-friendly, but they feature specifications only-before seen in high-end devices. This trend is one we hope to see return for future years to come.
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Companies to Help Control Phone Usage
Whenever we have free time, oftentimes we will spend it doing one thing: using our phones. Throughout the last couple of years, our reliance on our mobile devices has grown tremendously, enough where we use it as our main form of communication, even over person-to-person talking. Based upon a study in 2017, an average person now uses their mobile devices around two and a half hours per day. That would be over ten percent of your day already gone. Because of this, many companies, including software developers and device manufacturers, have began to implement features to make you use your device less.
The most common of these new features is one which tracks down how long you use your device or app for a set time, usually a day. Apps such as YouTube and Instagram have already began rolling out these features into the newest versions of their mobile applications. Often-times, they will also come with an option to warn you if you were to spend over a certain amount of time on any said application on your devices. Some companies will go even as far as to shut down their apps if you use them over said amount of time you allowed for it.
Device manufacturers such as Google and Apple will roll out these features of their respective versions of the mobile operating systems of Android and iOS. It is same to assume that these implementations will be similar to that offered in the various mobile applications. Expect many more companies to follow this trend over the next couple of months as the public is becoming even more increasingly attached to their devices.
The most common of these new features is one which tracks down how long you use your device or app for a set time, usually a day. Apps such as YouTube and Instagram have already began rolling out these features into the newest versions of their mobile applications. Often-times, they will also come with an option to warn you if you were to spend over a certain amount of time on any said application on your devices. Some companies will go even as far as to shut down their apps if you use them over said amount of time you allowed for it.
Device manufacturers such as Google and Apple will roll out these features of their respective versions of the mobile operating systems of Android and iOS. It is same to assume that these implementations will be similar to that offered in the various mobile applications. Expect many more companies to follow this trend over the next couple of months as the public is becoming even more increasingly attached to their devices.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Sprint and T-Mobile to merge
A few weeks ago, T-Mobile USA and Sprint Corporation jointly announced their intent to merge into a singular company, going under the name of "The New T-Mobile." This new combined company is said to be owned more directly by the German company Deutsche Telekom, the current partial owner of the current iteration of T-Mobile USA (T-Mobile). It is not confirmed yet as to whether Softbank, the Japanese partial owner of Sprint, will own a stake in the new company.
In a video released by T-Mobile, the combined company will focus on trying to be the first and most effective to be able to provide 5G networks to the American people by 2025. They also stated that only the combined company will effectively be able to do so, and state their plan is more effective than that planned by Verizon Communications. The combined company would have a portfolio of brands owned by the company, including, but not limited to, T-Mobile, Sprint, MetroPCS, Boost Mobile, and Virgin Mobile.
The plans for this company are not completely confirmed yet, and the companies will have to pass their new agreement through the various legal departments, and will have to get their merger approved. It has been stated that the two companies will continue competing against each other in the same manner as before, both advertising unlimited networks and no contracts, until the merger is completed in 2019.
In a video released by T-Mobile, the combined company will focus on trying to be the first and most effective to be able to provide 5G networks to the American people by 2025. They also stated that only the combined company will effectively be able to do so, and state their plan is more effective than that planned by Verizon Communications. The combined company would have a portfolio of brands owned by the company, including, but not limited to, T-Mobile, Sprint, MetroPCS, Boost Mobile, and Virgin Mobile.
The plans for this company are not completely confirmed yet, and the companies will have to pass their new agreement through the various legal departments, and will have to get their merger approved. It has been stated that the two companies will continue competing against each other in the same manner as before, both advertising unlimited networks and no contracts, until the merger is completed in 2019.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Nest Labs will re-join Google
As apart of Google LLC's plan to strengthen its hardware division, the Mountain View-based company plans to re-obtain the home automation company, Nest Labs, from its parent company, Alphabet Inc. Google originally purchased Nest Labs back in 2014.
Google is attempting to better compete against the likes of Amazon, who currently owns the home automation market, with Alexa-enabled devices. Google's own hardware division has grown in recent years, going from collaborating with partners for hardware to designing it in-house. Their smartphones are currently being manufactured by HTC, with a few exceptions. At the end of last year, Google began purchasing the mobile division of the Taiwanese company, which concluded in the beginning of this year.
This new combined division of Google is currently one of the largest divisions of the company. It will comprise of Nest Labs, which will retain its name, HTC's former mobile division, and Google's Pixel team.
Google is attempting to better compete against the likes of Amazon, who currently owns the home automation market, with Alexa-enabled devices. Google's own hardware division has grown in recent years, going from collaborating with partners for hardware to designing it in-house. Their smartphones are currently being manufactured by HTC, with a few exceptions. At the end of last year, Google began purchasing the mobile division of the Taiwanese company, which concluded in the beginning of this year.
This new combined division of Google is currently one of the largest divisions of the company. It will comprise of Nest Labs, which will retain its name, HTC's former mobile division, and Google's Pixel team.
HMD Global launched their new wave of devices
HMD Global Oy today in Moscow, Russia, announced their newest wave of Android smartphones. These are each successors to last year's mid-to-low range devices. These devices are the Nokia 2.1, Nokia 3.1, and Nokia 5.1. These succeed last February's Nokia 3 and Nokia 5, and October's Nokia 2. While these are welcome changes, there are a few changes.
One of the biggest changes include that the Nokia 3.1 and 5.1 run the Android One version of Android Oreo, while the Nokia 2.1 has the Go Edition. While the Nokia-branded smartphones from HMD Global have always had a stock and clean version of Android, they more recently committed to the Android One and Go programs from Google.
Each of these devices contain a micro USB port, headphone jack, and micro SD card slot for expansion. All of these devices also lack support for near field communication (NFC), which makes it unable to use mobile payments or share a picture by tapping together devices. Another aspect of this device is that they all will have two years of software updates, and five of security patches, a commitment of HMD for their Nokia-branded Android devices.
The devices also are study in their build-quality, an aspect of which Nokia and HMD Global are both now known for with their devices, using the common Nokia brand. The Nokia 2.1 has a 4000 mAh battery, similar to the original, which is said to last two days on a single charge. The Nokia 3.1 is designed to be a well-rounded device, now with a wider screen. The Nokia 5.1 also now has a wider screen, at an 18:9 aspect ratio and a higher-end design than the previous model.
Similar to a majority of HMD's devices, these will be released in more developing markets before it comes to more established ones.
One of the biggest changes include that the Nokia 3.1 and 5.1 run the Android One version of Android Oreo, while the Nokia 2.1 has the Go Edition. While the Nokia-branded smartphones from HMD Global have always had a stock and clean version of Android, they more recently committed to the Android One and Go programs from Google.
Each of these devices contain a micro USB port, headphone jack, and micro SD card slot for expansion. All of these devices also lack support for near field communication (NFC), which makes it unable to use mobile payments or share a picture by tapping together devices. Another aspect of this device is that they all will have two years of software updates, and five of security patches, a commitment of HMD for their Nokia-branded Android devices.
The devices also are study in their build-quality, an aspect of which Nokia and HMD Global are both now known for with their devices, using the common Nokia brand. The Nokia 2.1 has a 4000 mAh battery, similar to the original, which is said to last two days on a single charge. The Nokia 3.1 is designed to be a well-rounded device, now with a wider screen. The Nokia 5.1 also now has a wider screen, at an 18:9 aspect ratio and a higher-end design than the previous model.
Similar to a majority of HMD's devices, these will be released in more developing markets before it comes to more established ones.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)