Month: May 2016

Hulu CEO Confirms Plans to Launch Internet TV Service in 2017

HuluLogoVia: MacNN.com

Hulu is planning to launch its own Internet TV service next year, one that will provide live streams of channels to customers alongside its existing on-demand video streaming service. CEO Mike Hopkins confirmed reports from earlier this week that the company was leaning towards making such a service, that it will stream "live programming from broadcast and cable brands," including "live sports, news, and events."

Few other details about the service were offered by Hopkins, reports The Verge, except that it will offer a "deeply personalized experience." Hopkins did refer to the original report on the topic, which may suggest many details from it are in fact true, such as the early 2017 launch date, and the potential channel selection.

According to the original report, Hulu co-owners Disney and 21st Century Fox were both close to making licensing agreements to allow their channels to run on the service, though apparently fellow co-owner NBC Universal is not undergoing the same process, potentially preventing its channels from being made available to subscribers. Current estimates for the service's subscript puts it at around $40 per month, comparable to other existing Internet TV options.

Aside from the Internet TV rumor confirmation, Hulu's presentation in New York today also includes a number of other announcements. Its subscriber base has grown from 9 million last year to 12 million, though apparently this is a reduced growth rate compared to the difference between 2014 and 2015. By comparison, main competition Netflix has over 77 million subscribers around the world. Hulu is also going to increase its original content strategy for the next year, with Hulu Documentary Films providing exclusive movies for viewers, including The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.

Kohl’s Becomes First Retailer to Support Payments and Rewards with One Tap Apple Pay

KohlsStoreKohl's has announced that customers can now pay for their purchases with Kohl’s Charge store-branded credit cards and simultaneously earn Yes2You Rewards loyalty points with a single tap using Apple Pay.

The combined functionality is currently available in approximately 250 Kohl’s stores in the United States, and the department store chain expects one-tap checkout to be available in all stores nationwide later this month.

Dish Network now Repairs iPhones – No, Really!

iPhone 6In a surprising move, the satellite company, Dish Network, has announced a repair program for the Apple iPhone.

The company is charging a minimum $35 "Drive to Me" fee, after which costs vary between about $40 and $190 depending the iPhone model and exact services needed. While a battery replacement costs a flat $74.99 — Drive to Me included — total costs can rise as high as $224.98 for someone getting both the screen and battery fixed on an iPhone 6 Plus.

Currently, only the iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6, and 6 Plus are supported, not SE or 6s models. More devices are due to be supported sometime in "coming months," Dish said.

For more information, click here.

LA Judge Issues Warrant to Force Women to Unlock iPhone using Touch ID

FingerprintThe issue of law enforcement gaining access to data on a smartphone has resurfaced, after it was revealed a court ordered an individual to unlock an iPhone seized as evidence in an investigation, by using Touch ID. A Los Angeles court has issued a warrant to the FBI forcing a girlfriend of an Armenian gang member to use Touch ID on the iPhone in question, as it was believed her fingerprint was registered to the device and would provide access to data that could help an ongoing investigation into the gang member move onward.

The girlfriend, identified by the Los Angeles Times as Paytsar Bkhchadzhyan, was arrested for alleged identity theft, a charge she pleaded no contest to, and was sentenced on February 25. Court and jail record reveal that US Magistrate Judge Alicia Rosenberg granted the warrant approximately 45 minutes after Bkhchadzhyan was taken into custody, with a cybercrimes agent of the FBI taking her fingerprint later that day for use with the iPhone.

To read the rest of the MacNN.com report, click here.

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