News
iPhone 14 Is Now Harder to Order. Blame Apple Store for Errors
Every time a new iPhone is revealed, millions of people want to be the first to buy it. Preordering is a good thing, as it grants you your new device with an apple on the back as soon as it’s there. This time it’s not so easy, though: many customers had to retry in some time after encountering a glitch during the checkout process.
The glitch was, to say the least, large. Not only did it upset those trying to preorder the new iPhone. The same went on for AirPods Pro 2. But there were much more problems linked to the Apple website. Failing financing and credit cards issued by Apple, inability to verify the phone number, sites simply not loading, and apps hanging up – that’s the incomplete list of the disasters following the event.
Well, Apple tried to control the flood by making a two-step preordering system. The pre-preordering allows users to choose the model and the accessories they would like to buy, specify the shipping address, and select the payment method. And when the real preordering begins, all one has to do is check out. In theory, at least. This year the failure rate was unusually high.
The crash, though, was not total; many customers still managed to complete their preordering. Even that, though, was no guarantee. Some of them had their shipping dates moved ahead for as much as a week. Not the most pleasant surprise, given that you may have built plans to be somewhere else on that day.
It’s not the first time such a mess occurs. A similar glitch, though on a lesser scale, happened last year when preordering opened for iPhone 13. This year, not all the models are available right now, and later Apple will announce more products, like, say, the next iPad Pro and MacBook, so this can happen again.
Did it happen to you too? Or did you preorder your iPhone successfully? If so, which model did you choose and why? Share your expectations from the brand-new iPhone and your impressions from preordering in the comments!
Ethan Blackstone
14 09 2022
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News
Cyberpunk 2077 Expansion is a Disappointment to Those on PS4 and Xbox One
CD Projekt RED is well known for the fantastic expansions it makes for its games. The fans of The Witcher 3 still fondly remember Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, and they have all the reasons to expect the expansion to Cyberpunk 2077 to be just as good. And it may be just so, but – and that’s what disappoints – not for everyone.
Phantom Liberty (that’s the strangely fitting name of the expansion) is scheduled to be released in 2023. But the list of the platforms for which it will be released is underwhelming for many. While PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Google Stadia are all here, those on PS4 and Xbox One will not receive it. It’s even more disappointing given that the Phantom Liberty (unlike the expansions for The Witcher 3) will be available for free.
As a minor consolation, here comes the statement that Phantom Liberty is the only expansion planned for Cyberpunk 2077. It is a rather rich one, as it changes both the location, adding a completely new district to Night City, and the genre, being rather a spy-fi thriller than a straight-up cyberpunk.
After the release of Phantom Liberty, CDPR will focus on completely new games. One of them is already confirmed to be the next installment in The Witcher saga, which hasn’t been left alone all these years with Gwent and mobile games. The other one at which Adam Kiciński, the CEO of CDPR, hints may be the sequel of Cyberpunk 2077. There is one thing, though, that these two games will probably have in common: they will not be released for PS4 and Xbox One at all. Given how much time it will take to develop them, maybe even PS5 and Xbox Series X/S will lose their “next-gen” status to the real next-gen by that time.
If you’re still on the last-gen console, will this information motivate you to switch sooner? If you are one of those to receive the expansion when it’s out, what do you expect from it? Share your thoughts and expectations with us in the comments!
Ethan Blackstone
12 09 2022
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News
Twitter Plans on Combining Service and Health Experience Teams
One of the decisions taken by Twitter’s top management in response to recent scandals is to join the two teams that were responsible for the climate on the microblogging service. The health experience team, specializing in reducing harmful and toxic content, and the service team whose job was to review profiles reported by users now will work as one unit.
The new team, reportedly called HPS (Health Products and Services), will hold both these responsibilities. It seems logical, because the reported accounts may be reported just for toxic behavior, thus being the responsibility of both teams. Now, working as one, they will be able to join forces in solving this issue. As for tracking bots, Twitter will have to pay more time and effort to it – because of the latest scandals, of which Elon Musk’s refusal to finalize the deal on acquiring Twitter is just the tip of the iceberg.
Behind this, as Peter Zatko, the former Twitter security chief, claims, stands the step that the company took to mislead the regulators and to conceal the real percentage of bots and spammers on the platform. According to Zatko, the company also spread misinformation about its solid security plan and anti-hacking defense. For the top management, user growth was a priority, which resulted in its refusal to delete spam accounts, bots, and doubles. This misprioritising led to the whole chain of scandals and keeps spoiling the experience for regular Twitter users.
How will the new team perform? Will it be tasked with solving this problem at all? Probably it will, because the pressure may become intolerable for Twitter. HPS will reportedly be led by Ella Irwin, the current VP of product for health and Twitter service.
Do you think this reorganization will be efficient? Will Twitter aim at tracking down and removing bots at all? Do you expect any results soon? Share your expectations with us in the comments if you please!
Ethan Blackstone
31 08 2022
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News
GOG Gives Away a Cyberpunk Platformer Dex, And Not Only… But Not for Long
If you are into old or old-school games, you must be well aware what GOG is. The greatest store featuring classical games is also famous for its insane deals and discounts, as well as giveaways. Don’t miss this one: DEX, a great cyberpunk-themed platformer, is available here for free… but not for long, so hurry up.
When you read “GOG” and “Cyberpunk” in the same sentence, you may think of Cyberpunk 2077, developed by CD Projekt RED – the same Polish company that owns GOG. Yet the only thing it has in common with DEX is the overall style. DEX, in fact, is one of the game GOG was originally created for: an old-school, insolently hard, and non-linear, which makes it a treat for cyberpunk and classical game fans. It was released in 2015 and crowdfunded by a campaign on Kickstarter, which led to an astonishing success.
Other fantastic deals include iconic games like Disco Elysium ($13.99 instead of $39.99), Slime Rancher ($4.99 instead of $19.99), Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines ($9.99 instead of $19.99), Kingdom Come: Deliverance ($8.99 instead of $29.99), and many other famous titles as well. But while the discounts for these games reach 75%, they are still paid, while DEX is a rare game that GOG will give you just for nothing. All you need to do is register and install the client application.
Chances are, though, that after the deal expires, the game will still be available for some crazily discounted price. If you read this after the deal is no more, though, you can always find other deals in the “Discounted” section of the store.
Do you list GOG among your favorite game stores, along with Steam, Epic, or Xbox? What do you think about this store? Have you just followed the link and seen the deals? If so, how did you like them? Bought anything? Share your impressions with us in the comments!
Ethan Blackstone
29 08 2022
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News
The Recent Telegram Update Held Up by Apple. Because of the Emoji
The recent update of Telegram for iOS is finally out. But it doesn’t contain everything it should have, and this is due to Apple’s policy. After two weeks of reviewing, it’s finally released without a new feature named Telemoji. And this is not a simple failure: the removal of it was directly demanded by Apple in order to allow the update.
As Pavel Durov, the CEO and the founder of Telegram, admits, the update was ready two weeks before it was finally released. After the update was submitted to App Store, though, it turned out that Apple does not approve on the Telemoji feature. So the developers had to remove it to comply after the negotiation led to nothing.
The feature was quite ready, and it would have brought high-quality animated emoji to Telegram. It was based on the default emoji set, though, and this might reshape the emoji experience users have on Telegram. Apple, though, wanted them removed and forced them out of the update finally. It’s even more of a pity because Pavel Durov had already announced that and published a short video showing them to the multimillion audience.
It's not known yet why it was exactly this feature (and not, say, support of DIY stickers for Premium users) that Apple was unsatisfied with. Probably, the Cupertino company has another company working on a similar project that would be applicable throughout various iOS apps. In this case, Telegram with its own vision, would be a rival or, well, just a duplicate of it. Given that Telegram would come first, the new addition would be perceived as a rip-off, which Apple doesn’t want to happen.
Anyway, the update is here, and it still has a lot to offer, like new sticker sets and user-created stickers for Premium users, permission to send voice and video messages (again, on Premium), and interactive effects in emoji. Have you liked this update? Or not? Anyway, we’d like to read your comments down here!
Ethan Blackstone
23 08 2022
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News
When Will the Next Genshin Impact Patches Be Released?
Among the things that keep Genshin Impact so popular are regular updates. Though every one of them brings a lot of new content into the game, the upcoming 3.0 version is even more of that. And not only because this update is a major one, potentially bringing new mechanics along with locations and characters. This update signifies the start of a new era in the game and a new approach to updates in general.
The main thing we learn from the official tweet by Hoyoverse is that Genshin Impact will now receive updates more regularly. The period between updates, according to the tweet, will be now five weeks – enough to explore the new content if you give it enough time. Thus, the next updates can be scheduled more predictably.
The first of them, the major update 3.0, will be released on August 24. This means that Genshin Impact 3.1 is to be expected on September 28, the version 3.2 will arrive on November 2, and the following 3.3 version is scheduled on December 7. The publisher doesn’t look any further, though the schedule of the nearest updates already gives a lot to expect.
Given all that, the official account is careful enough to put it as “expected to be updated”. Delays still can happen, the developers admit by saying this. Still, it doesn’t mean that the entire schedule will be reviewed after a single delay. Rather, the company will carry on as normal.
Nothing, though, is said about what these updates will bring so far. The official account on Twitter does not reply to users’ comments. Until the update is released, we only have leaks as the basis to anticipate and speculate. What we know from the post is that the experience necessary for each BP level of the Battle Pass is reduced from 1,000 to 900.
Are you still with Genshin Impact? What do you expect from the updates? Will this updated order make you review your gaming habits? Tell us what you think about it in the comments if you please!
Ethan Blackstone
23 08 2022
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News
TikTok App Now Has Six New Built-In Mini-Games
TikTok is expanding its media power in all the directions it can. Recently, it became known that the Chinese short video giant may launch its music streaming service. Another domain’s now slowly exploring is gaming. Now you can play six minigames on the official TikTok app, and this seems only the beginning.
How does the new feature work? A game can be attached to the video you upload. In the editor, you need to tap the “Add Link” button and select a “MiniGame”. After you post the video, it is displayed with a link that viewers can tap and proceed to the game.
So far, there are twelve games on TikTok. Three of them have been here for a while, while six new ones have been added recently without much ado. Now there are Basketball, Space Destroyer, Kitten Force, and other games. They are HTML5-based, which makes them lightweight and easy to run within the main app. According to ByteDance’s spokespersons, TikTok plans to add more games as it sees the perspective clearer.
Minigames on social media aren’t anything new: Snapchat, for example, has plenty of them. Video-focused services trying their force in the gaming industry are already here, too: Netflix, for example. But TikTok has probably the strongest potential in this segment, given how it’s all about interaction rather than passive content consumption.
The games are already available worldwide, though their number may differ in various countries. In the next months, there will probably be more games on TikTok, as the company has the habit of thinking big. To develop these games, TikTok collaborates with several third-party developers like Aim Lab, FRVR, Lotum, Nitro Games, and Vodoo; the list may grow with time.
Have you tried all the new games on TikTok? How was the experience? Which of them did you like the most? Share your impressions in the comments if you please!
Ethan Blackstone
04 08 2022
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News
On August 9, Apex Legends Launches a New Season
It’s just days before Apex Legends starts a new season. Named Hunter, it will introduce a new playable character, a female sniper named Vantage. Along with this, there will be some new (or rather renovated old) locations, new items available, an updated level cap, and new privileges for those with Battle Pass. So, what should you be prepared to do?
The trailer to the new season heavily focuses on Vantage. The new Legend is a girl who grew up on a hostile planet covered with ice, with her mother accused of a crime. To save her daughter when she got injured, her mother had to call for help, which sent her back to prison. Now, Vantage has to take her out, and in order to get resources for that, she decided to use her survival skills in Apex Games.
Her backstory is well served in the trailer, as if it was a full Arcane-like story behind it. Yet the introduction of Vantage is not the only thing to expect in Hunted. There are also renewed locations from earlier seasons. The Kings Canyon is now back, restored after its destruction earlier in the game, and now it gets bigger as the new POI named Relic is introduced. Along with it, we can revisit Skull Town. Also, Cage, Hillside, and Relay have been slightly modified.
Other changes include loot redistribution, which is now more even. The level cap is now increased from 500 to 2000, so for experienced seen-it-all players, the game is sort of revitalized with new packs and tokens to gain. Even more so for those with Battle Pass: they have exclusive daily and weekly challenges and trophies to earn.
Are you looking forward to the new season to begin? Would you rather play as Vantage or try to take her out, despite her fantastic sniper skills and tactical abilities? What do you expect from the revamped locations? Tell us about your hopes and expectations in the comments!
Ethan Blackstone
02 08 2022
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News
Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 3: Rumors, Leaks, and Expectations
As Chapter 3, Season 3 is about to start. The new Fortnite version v21.30 is delivering new content that will make this season really new. What does Epic bring to make the new season feel fresh? Some hints and leaks promise something interesting, and though we still have to wait for the official announcement, there are things we can already discuss.
Thanks to data miners, we already know something about the new items. Epic prepares for the summer-themed season. First of all, these are Summer Event skins that will make the experience even funnier. The map will also be changed, though the explorers haven’t found new locations yet. It’s still to be seen as the season unfolds. Neither is it clear about new weapons, except for the fact there will be some (there are always some). We don’t even know whether these will be all-new weapons or unvalued fan favorites.
The Refer-a-friend segment will feature a surprise: a Xander skin. So you may already search for your friends who haven’t joined Fortnite yet and bring them in. Maybe they will like it, even despite missing so many seasons. As for other content for the next updates, it remains mysterious and probably needs another update.
One of the most anticipated but not yet conformed additions, probably, is the crossover with the Dragon Ball franchise, namely Dragon Ball Z. Among the characters that may join the skin collection of Fortnite, there is almost certainly Goku. The skins and probably some other stuff will be available in early August when Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is to hit the screens outside Japan (where it was released on June 11).
What do you expect from the upcoming season? Are you excited to see the long-awaited cameo from the Dragon Ball franchise? What weapons would you like to be unvalued? Tell us what you think of it in the comments if you please!
Ethan Blackstone
25 07 2022
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News
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Will Exclusively Use Gender-Neutral Language
World of Warcraft seems an immortal yet evolving game, and the next massive expansion, Dragonflight, directs its evolution in a logical yet a bit unexpected way. The character generator, as the developer emphasizes, will not use gendered language when it comes to characterization. At least, in the beginning, later, things will get more interesting.
The alpha version of the expansion, already available to reviewers, features no gender characteristics when it comes to character creating. Instead of “Male” and “Female” options, you will choose between “Body 1” and “Body 2”. In fact, these numbered bodies are the same as they used to be under gendered names. The change mostly concerns words used in descriptions.
Slight as it is, this change allows for creating a character that does not conform to any gender (though, of course, there is an opportunity to create an obviously male or female personality). Even more than that: so far, the generator does not allow characters to have both beard or mustache and female breasts (sorry, Lil Nas X). This is just the first step to gender neutrality that will be developed further. Even the current code suggests that later players will be free to choose their preferred pronouns. The options are standard: he/him, she/her, and they/them. This, though, will appear in the expansion later.
This is not the most important new addition in Dragonflight in terms of gameplay (playable dragons or professional system updates will certainly excite most players much more). But this paradigm shift will certainly make nonbinary, transgender, or just nonconformist players feel more comfortable in this environment.
What do you think about this addition? What else do you expect from Dragonfly after it evolves from alpha? We’d like to read your opinion in the comments!
Ethan Blackstone
25 07 2022
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News
Twitter Blue Subscribers Will Get Their Accounts More Customizable
If you needed one more reason to become a Twitter Blue subscriber, here it is. Now the subscribers can remove the Spaces button in case they don’t actually use it (which is the case for many Twitterians). The navigation bar at all is now also way more customizable. This applies to both iOS and Android mobile apps, and this isn’t the only improvement in your experience.
Twitter Spaces, a Clubhouse-like audio room feature, is great… if you ever use it. For many text-oriented Twitter users, Spaces is just another addition that’s good to know you have, but the button for which only stands in the way of more demanded features.
Now, Twitter Blue subscribers have more options in customizing the navigation bar in their apps. If you’re not a fan of Spaces, you can just hide the button and forget such a service exists (unless there is some active Spaces event by one of those you follow, which will still be visible on the banner above).
Other buttons can be removed as well. By no means does this exclude the tabs themselves from the app or the features from your account. You still can access your alerts and DMs even if you remove the buttons from the bar. And of course, everything remains accessible in the web version or via third-party apps if you ever feel like exploring Spaces or checking your DM just one time.
The banner above may be the last reminder that Twitter Spaces exists at all. Yet it becomes way more informative. Now it displays the information about who’s hosting the event, who’s tweeting about it or within it, and the topics it revolves around. Maybe you will one day find Spaces interesting enough to return the button where it was. Or at least Twitter hopes so.
Do you ever use Twitter Spaces? Is this customization option a reason to become a Twitter Blue subscriber? Is it worth the price for you? Let us know what you think about it in the comments!
Ava Reynolds
08 07 2022
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News
No More Party Events on Airbnb
No secret that Airbnb is used not only for room rental but for other purposes as well, though these features aren’t what the service was made for. One of these uses was party advertising. It was now Airbnb announced it bans these events. The violators can have their accounts deleted without any chance of recovering.
The ban on events was emphasized in 2020 when COVID-19 struck. The complicated relationship between Airbnb and event managers can be tracked further, for example, down to the 2019 shooting in California that claimed five lives. Even then, though, property owners were, at the end, free to provide their properties for parties. What turned out to be an efficient measure in 2020 now becomes a permanent policy by Airbnb.
The company acknowledges it directly by calling party prohibition “a bedrock community policy”. This attitude grew tighter when undercover parties were massively helped in private places under the lockdowns caused by COVID-19. Now it finds its embodiment in the new stricter rules that rule out any Airbnb mediation in any private or public events. Having the ban, as a rule, the company representatives say, works better than a temporary ban that seemingly can be lifted at any minute.
What shall the company do to an event holder or advertiser if such blatant behavior is detected? The rules allow for various measures, from temporary account suspensions to complete deletion of them, without any chance of recovery. According to Airbnb, in 2021, over 6,600 users were suspended for violating this exact rule.
Do you agree that Airbnb is no place for advertising parties? Have any participated in an event organized like this? As a property owner, have you ever been annoyed by using your place for a party, or did you rather benefit from it? Welcome to the comments; let us know what you think!
Ethan Blackstone
08 07 2022
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News
Adobe Comes Up with Metaverse Creation Tools
While everybody is crazily rushing to get on board as the Metaverse train is accelerating, Adobe already has something in store to stay related and relevant in the Metaverse-obsessed world. The tool the Photoshop maker offers for creating Metaverse destinations will be useful not only within the VR environment by Meta but in other Metaverses as well.
Adobe Substance 3D is an environment editor developed for this specific purpose, and it’s already here. The core tool Substance 3D was introduced by Allegorithmic no later than in 2007 and acquired by Adobe in 2019. But with the recent update, it becomes much more suitable for creating virtual environments where Metaverse users (or rather their avatars) can meet, interact, and communicate. It’s also rebranded into Adobe Substance 3D, while the old version has become unavailable since September 30.
The tool has been extremely popular among, for example, game designers who used it for creating environments. With the new update, though, it becomes more VR-oriented. Also, its integration with other Adobe products reaches a new level: now Substance 3D can be used with, say, Photoshop and Illustrator via a dedicated plugin.
Arguably the most important addition is the introduction of Substance SDK. With this tool, third-party developers will be able to create their plugins and expand the functionality of the core application. With this SDK, the Substance 3D engine can also be run within other applications. Later, Adobe plans to add even more features and again rebrand it into Substance Modeler 3D, emphasizing its primary function from then on.
What do you think about the perspectives of this project? Will Substance 3D Modeler become the Photoshop of the Metaverse generation? Are you already planning to master it? If you have an idea or two to share about it, share it in the comments if you please!
Ava Reynolds
28 06 2022
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News
Snapchat Reportedly Start Internal Testing for Premium Subscription
Every messenger wants a premium plan now. First, it was officially launched by Telegram, and now we learn that Snapchat also may be testing its premium plan. Reportedly dubbed Snapchat+, it will offer new possibilities for creating content. Some non-functional but pleasant to have bonuses also come with it, adding to the impression.
The news was first delivered by Alessandro Paluzzi, a well-known app researcher, on his Twitter page. According to Paluzzi, Snapchat has indeed been testing subscription-based features. He even disclosed the supposed pricing: €4.59/month, €24.99 for six months, and €45.99 for the yearly subscription. This is about the same as the price of Telegram Premium.
Then the plans were confirmed by Liz Markman, the Snap spokesperson – it doesn’t get more official than that. According to Liz Markman, the new plan is under internal testing, and soon it may be announced officially. She did not disclose any details of what Snapchat+ will offer, but the leaks have brought out at least a part of these features.
Snapchat+ users will have a special badge next to their names, marking them as such. They will also be able to use special icons for their contacts and pin one of them, probably the most trusted one (#1 BFF, oh what status to have on somebody’s contact list!) Also, Snapchat may let its Plus users see who rewatches their stories.
A more important selling point, though, is early access to new and experimental features. It’s not known yet for how long these features (which Snapchat constantly adds) will remain Plus exclusives. Neither is it clear whether any of them will remain Plus-only forever.
Does it sound convincing for you to subscribe as soon as it’s available? What other features would you like to see in Snapchat+ that would be worth the price? Will the free version of the app heavily lack these advantages? Tell us what you think about it in the comments if you please!
Ethan Blackstone
28 06 2022
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News
Meta Works on the “Basic Ads” Plan to Comply with New Privacy Policies
Everyone seems to know that Facebook has built its success on advanced targeting which made ads on it more relevant. But how can it go without it, forced by regulations and privacy obsession? The answer is called “Basic Ads”, and it seems to be the version of Facebook advertising that (as Meta puts it) does not use too advanced targeting technologies that come close to stalking.
The new product for marketers is advertised as “privacy-friendly”, the term that sounds contradictory as it refers to ads. But Meta seems to come up with the best of both worlds: the users get their privacy intact, and the marketers still may get the right audience. How will it function?
Well, it’s secret so far, but we know what it’s supposed not to do. According to the article by Business Insider, Facebook wants to develop a method of marketing that does not use any personal data from users even in the anonymized form that’s been so hyped about recently. The name of the new plan is “Basic Ads”, and it only uses the basic metrics like video views and overall engagement.
This will, in theory, motivate marketers to develop the new approach that makes their ads more engaging (read: viral), so the more engagement the ad generates, the easier it is for it to reach the audience. The price will vary too, though not too much. The main change Basic Ads will bring is shifting the focus to general brand awareness rather than specific products targeted to narrower audience.
The effect of these campaigns may be lower than that of those using targeting heavily. But this seems to be the most adequate response to the new policies around, like, say, Apple ATT update which allows users not to be tracked by apps they install on their iPhones and iPads. So, while lesser efficiency is recompensed by wider approach and reviewed strategies, it has a chance to succeed.
What do you think of this new product? If you are a marketer or an advertiser, how do you expect to use it relevantly? If you are just a user, don’t you think it will bring lots of unrelated ads to your feed? Let’s speak about it in the comments!
Ethan Blackstone
20 06 2022
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News
Cuphead’s New Look Revealed at Summer Game Fest
Cuphead and Mugman really rock this year. Not only do they star in The Cuphead’s Show! animated series on Netflix. After four years of success, the protagonist of the show has received a new fashionable look. Now we only have to wait while the extension that features the new Cuphead and some new adventures is on the way, set to release on June 30.
The original game took the gaming community by surprise. Its design inspired by the 1930s’ cartoons (and remaking it better than any other), the charmingly absurd setting and storyline, and the gameplay which is both rewarding and frustrating (just the way a good run-and-gun should be) – everything was just fine. More than that: The Cuphead Show, an animated series made in collaboration with the original game creators, showed that the entire style of the game can be transferred to another type of media. Look and learn, Warcraft and Pac-Man!
The DLC named Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course is set to release this year. Not only will it feature the renovated protagonist. There is also a new playable character named Ms. Chalice you can unlock. And, of course, a new location – an island full of challenges and incredibly hard (as usual, you know) tasks to complete. The Devil is still after the protagonists, and you cannot simply dismiss it… if you have played the game at least once.
But what about the new Cuphead look? Oh, it was revealed at the Summer Game Fest which starts on June 9. Not only did we finally get to see Ms. Chalice: the fragment of the gameplay revealed at the fest shows that the DLC (which stands for Delicious Last Course, in case you missed the point) is in fact a full game inside Cuphead. And yes, it’s quite a challenge, but if Cuphead can, so can you.
Are you a Cuphead fan? Are you already anticipating the DLC? Have you added it to your wishlist? What do you love about Cuphead the most? Tell it in the comments if you please!
Ava Reynolds
20 06 2022
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News
Netflix Pays the Italian Authorities Almost $60M to Settle the Tax Dispute
As digital business goes international, legal conflicts are inevitable. So it happened to Netflix which recently faced allegations of tax evasion in Italy. It cost the company about 55.8 M EUR (about $60M) to reach an agreement with Italian authorities. In addition, Netflix now has a local office in Rome with about 40 employees to operate legally.
The reason for the allegation was the fact that Netflix has been using Italian digital infrastructure to deliver its services to subscribers and thus has been subject to the Italian tax code. The case was initiated by Milan prosecutors who reasoned that, while Netflix had been using Italian physical communication means (like cables and data centers), it should have paid taxes in Italy.
Probably the amount in question had been much higher before the issue was settled. The prosecutors in their statement didn’t drop any names, referring to some “multinational video-on-demand streaming company” instead. Netflix, though, confirmed the fact in its own statement a bit later.
Netflix isn’t the only international corporation that Italian prosecutors took to the court for tax evasion. Similar settlements have been reached with Amazon, Apple, and Facebook, and the amounts were much larger than that paid by Netflix, being in the billions.
From now on, though, Netflix operates legally in Italian jurisdiction, its office in Rome granting that. By the way, since 2017, Netflix has been making shows in Italy, including popular ones like The Trial, Black Moon, Suburra: Blood on Rome, and Generation 56K. Italy has rich traditions of cinema and TV shows, but Netflix still brought something new there: for example, Luna Nera was made almost entirely by women, which was new for Italian traditions.
What do you think about this settlement? Are local laws ready to handle international business as efficiently as they do locally? Let us know what you think about it in the comments.
Ethan Blackstone
25 05 2022
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News
Disney Promises There’ll Be No More Than 4 Minutes of Ads an Hour
To make its plans more attractive for those who think $8/month is too much for Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, and the original Disney classics, Disney+ introduces new ad-supported plans. More affordable than the default one, it will feature ads periodically. And Disney assures us there won’t be too much time spent on ads in your streams.
According to the statement made by some Disney executives, the service will not show more than 4 minutes of ads per hour. This is a rather modest ratio. For example, Hulu easily doubles that number with its own ad-supported plan. If Disney offers you such a bundle, you’ll be able to subscribe to both and then compare the experience. Even if not, though, it can make a lot of people consider subscribing and joining the 137-million ranks of Disney+ users which has recently shown serious growth.
Little is known so far about when, where, and how much. Disney only states that ad-supported plans will be launched in the U.S. later in 2022, and if the experiment is a success, they will continue with it in other markets too, probably in 2023. As for the price, hardly will it be above $5/month: otherwise, it just wouldn’t be worth it. Still, you can’t expect it to be completely free as well.
Last but not least: movies, cartoons, and series for kids will not feature ads at all. How does Disney detect who’s watching? By the profile type. Within family subscriptions, kids’ accounts will remain ad-free, but with limited content (which Disney+ has in abundance). But if you want to watch something more adult, including even Marvel and Lucasfilm, works, they will be ad-supported. Even among content for grown-ups, though, alcohol and politics will not be advertised.
Are you interested in an ad-supported plan for Disney+? How much should it cost to make sense for you? What do you think about similar plans by, say, Hulu (that’s owned by Disney too)? Let us know your opinion in the comments if you please!
Ethan Blackstone
23 05 2022