Technology - Google News

Apple Is Waving a Fat Wad of Cash at Hollywood
PUBG Proximity Chat Still Being Considered for Xbox One
Ford recalls 350000 current-year trucks and SUVs due to 'rollaway' potential

Apple Is Waving a Fat Wad of Cash at Hollywood

Posted: 08 Apr 2018 05:35 AM PDT

Netflix(NASDAQ:NFLX) is the undisputed leader in the streaming video industry. The company reported 117 million subscribers worldwide to close out 2017, and said it plans to spend $8 billion this year to continue its growth. Netflix boasts 61% penetration in the U.S. among people who subscribe to a streaming service, according to Hub Entertainment Research report Decoding the Default. That far exceeds the 36% attributed to Amazon.com's Prime Video, or a 22% share for Hulu. A full 38% of respondents subscribe to two or more streaming platforms, illustrating that this isn't a zero-sum game.

Notably absent from the survey was Apple(NASDAQ:AAPL), which has only recently telegraphed its ambitions in creating content. However, the belle of Cupertino isn't content to stay in the shadows, flashing a big wad of cash and saying it plans to spend over $1 billion this year on programming. Some of its early choices show just how serious the company is about making a mark in the streaming space.

Silhouette of a man with a remote standing in front of a wall of dozens of television screens.

Apple wants its piece of the streaming market. Image source: Getty Images.

A slow start

Apple's first two attempts at producing programs resulted in the critically derided Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke: The Series, which were both available to subscribers of Apple Music. Despite a cool reception for those early efforts, Apple made it known it was willing to spend big for the right projects.

The company poached Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, seasoned executives for Sony Pictures Entertainment, to head its nascent efforts. The pair headed the studio behind megahit Breaking Bad, and have signed an impressive array of Hollywood's finest to lead Apple's opening volley.

Star power

In the past six months, Apple has signed more than a dozen projects, with nine of them going straight to series.

Apple penned an agreement with Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston to secure the rights to their highly anticipated drama centered on a morning TV program, agreeing to two 10-episode seasons out of the gate. Witherspoon is hot off the hugely successful Big Little Lies for HBO, and this will mark the first big project for Aniston, best known for her Emmy Award-winning stint on Friends.

In a nod to '80's nostalgia, Apple will be rebooting Steven Spielberg's Emmy-winning science fiction and horror anthology Amazing Stories. The company is said to have green-lit a 10-episode deal for the iconic series, which attracted big Hollywood talent during its mid-80's run, including such heavy hitters as Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, and Kevin Costner.

There are others. Noted director M. Night Shyamalan, fresh off the recent success of horror-thriller Split, will be producing a 10-episode psychological thriller. Apple also signed Oscar-winning writer and director of La La Land, Damien Chazelle, to a project. The company secured Ronald D. Moore, of Battlestar Galactica and Outlander fame, to head a space drama.

Patently obvious

Late last year, Apple filed a patent application titled "Real-time or near real-time streaming" in which the tech giant described the potential for a platform that could stream live content without requiring specialized servers, which Apple says can lead to significant costs in any "large scale deployment." The company goes on to describe a process that could stream live content as it is being created.

It's important to note that Apple is known for pursuing technology and filing patents for ideas that it may never come to fruition. However, it does seem to indicate that Apple isn't ruling out streaming live events that could include sports, an area that Netflix said doesn't fit in with its current strategy.

A decade in the making

Netflix's 10-year lead in streaming will make it difficult to supplant. Consumers have shown, however, that they are willing to subscribe to multiple services to get the programming they want, so there will ultimately be more than one winner.

Apple may see this high-profile move into content as a springboard to achieving its intentions of doubling its services revenue to $50 billion by 2020.

The company may have gotten off to a slow start, but Apple exec Eddy Cue was clear about the company's intentions in a discussion at the South by Southwest tech conference in Austin, Texas. "We're all in," Cue said. "We're completely all in."

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Danny Vena owns shares of Amazon, Apple, and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, and Netflix. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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PUBG Proximity Chat Still Being Considered for Xbox One

Posted: 08 Apr 2018 07:45 AM PDT

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds players on the Xbox One version may get proximity chat at some point, though the feature isn't being prioritized by the console team.

Nico Bihary, executive producer at Microsoft who's focusing on the Xbox One version of PUBG, said on Twitter that the PUBG community's opinions on proximity chat in the console version have been heard. Saying that the feedback has been taken into consideration, Bihary said that there was much to do in order to get the feature set up but added that they weren't ruling it out as a possibility.

Hey #PUBG #Xboxone "Proximity Chat" fans. We hear the feedback, and for clarity, we are still open to the idea of supporting it on XB1. Lots of UI work to be done if we do bring it to console, therefore its low on the priority list, but definitely not a "never".
— Nico (@nico_bihary) April 7, 2018

The PC version of PUBG already has proximity chat included, but it's one of a few features that didn't make its way to the Xbox One version when it was initially released. That hasn't stopped players from asking for it though, be it through questions directed at Bihary and others on Twitter or discussions in PUBG forums. While some in these forums are still a bit skeptical about when the Xbox One players will get the chat feature coupled with those who don't want anything new until everything is optimized perfectly for consoles, many more are at least reassured that the feature is being considered and their voices are heard.

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Many players may turn off proximity chat right away and hardly think of it again, but being able to talk to and hear others who are near by opens up avenues for some fun exchanges and perhaps even some tactical gameplay. It's easy to forget if you have proximity chat on and players can easily give away their location by speaking at the wrong time, or at least warn others that they're nearby. Other games like Sea of Thieves and Friday the 13th: The Game have also found success with including proximity chat as a feature.

But before the Xbox One version gets proximity chat, the console players will first get another new addition that was just announced, the Miramar map. During a panel at PAX East, it was confirmed that the game's second map would be releasing for the Xbox One sometime in May. That release timeframe isn't quite as early as some would hope when it was previewed for "early spring," but it gives PUBG players something to look forward to while waiting for more news about proximity chat and other features.

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Ford recalls 350000 current-year trucks and SUVs due to 'rollaway' potential

Posted: 07 Apr 2018 01:37 PM PDT

The Ford Motor Company has recalled nearly 350,000 F-series pickup trucks and Expeditions from the 2018 model year that were sold in North America. The affected vehicles may have an automatic transmission gear shift cable locking clip that is not fully seated. Drivers could potentially exit a vehicle mistakenly believing the vehicle is in park, which creates the potential for rollaway vehicles.

The recall covers certain 2018 Ford F-150 pickup trucks and 2018 Ford Expedition SUVs with 10-speed automatic transmissions, as well as 2018 F-650 and F-750 trucks with 6-speed automatic transmissions.

Of a total of 347,425 vehicles, 292,909 were sold in the United States and federalized territories, 51,742 in Canada, and 2,774 in Mexico.

The vehicles in the recall include:

2018 Ford F-150 vehicles built at the Dearborn Assembly Plant from January 5, 2017, to February 16, 2018
2018 Ford F-150 vehicles built at the Kansas City Assembly Plant from January 25, 2017, to February 16, 2018
2018 Ford Expedition vehicles built at the Kentucky Truck Plant from April 3, 2017, to January 30, 2018
2018 Ford F-650 and F-750 vehicles built at the Ohio Assembly Plant from April 25, 2017, to March 9,
2018

A partially or fully unseated locking clip could result in "unintended vehicle movement." Specifically, the gear shift lever may incorrectly indicate the transmission is in park. A driver could turn off the ignition key and leave the vehicle without realizing it's not in park and with no warning that the transmission is still in gear.

According to a Ford statement, "Ford is aware of one reported accident and injury related to this condition."

Dealers will inspect recalled vehicles free of charge to make sure cable locking clips are properly installed and secure. If the cable isn't seated securely, the dealership will adjust the cable and reinstall the locking clip.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) had a similar recall issue in 2016 involving 811,586 Jeep Grand Cherokees, Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Chargers. The FCA recall problem was a transmission shifter position indicator that didn't reflect the actual gear the vehicle was in.

For further information about this recall or to check for recalls for any vehicle, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Safety Issues and Recalls website. You can search for recall information for specific models by entering a Vehicle Information Number (VIN), or by entering the vehicle year, make, and model. You can also search by specific complaints such as "automatic transmission" or "car seats."