Year: 2023

Apple and Paramount+ Discussing Bundling Services

CompuScoop Staff December 1, 2023 0

The companies have talked about offering a combination of Paramount+ and Apple TV+ that would cost less than subscribing to both services separately, according to people familiar with the discussions…

Because most streaming services are available through a monthly subscription, it is easy for viewers to cancel when they are done binge-watching a specific show. Offering multiple services as part of one package decreases the likelihood that subscribers will cancel on any given month, according to data from Antenna, a subscriber-measurement company…

Both Apple TV+ and Paramount+ had a customer-defection rate — known in the industry as churn — of more than 7% in October, a higher rate than the 5.7% average for the streaming industry as a whole, according to Antenna data. Streaming companies typically don’t share data on customer defections…

Apple currently offers Apple TV+ as part of an entertainment bundle that includes other Apple services such as Apple Music and Apple Arcade. That bundle, known as Apple One, has a far-lower churn rate than the stand-alone Apple TV+, according to Antenna.

Via: The Wall Street Journal

Apple to produce and package some Apple Silicon chips in America

CompuScoop Staff November 30, 2023 1

Apple announced it will be the first and largest customer of the new Amkor manufacturing and packaging facility being developed in Peoria, Arizona. Amkor will package Apple Silicon produced at the nearby TSMC fab, where Apple is also the largest customer.

“Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we’ll continue to expand our investment here in the United States,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, in a statement. “Apple silicon has unlocked new levels of performance for our users, enabling them to do things they could never do before, and we are thrilled that Apple silicon will soon be produced and packaged in Arizona.”

Apple and Amkor have worked together for more than a decade, packaging chips used extensively in all Apple products. With a shared desire to manufacture in the U.S., Apple and Amkor developed plans to build the largest outsourced advanced packaging facility in America. Amkor will invest approximately $2 billion in the project, and upon completion, it will employ more than 2,000 people.

Apple’s investments in advanced manufacturing are part of the commitment the company made in 2021 to invest $430 billion in the U.S. economy over five years. Today Apple is on pace to meet its target through direct spend with American suppliers, data center investments, capital expenditures in the U.S., and other domestic spend.

Elon Musk has an answer for Disney and others

CompuScoop Staff November 30, 2023 2

Editor's Note: This article contains words that may offend some of our readers. Viewer discretion is advised.

Elon Musk has a succinct message for Apple and others who paused advertising on X over a fake controversy ginned-up by Media Matters: “Go fuck yourself.”

“Don’t advertise. If someone is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is,” Musk said.

Seems fairly clear.

Musk added, “What I care about is the reality of goodness, not the perception of it. And what I see all over the place is people who care about looking good, while doing evil. Fuck them.”

The backstory: X CEO Linda Yaccarino sent a note to employees on the evening of Sunday, November 19th, saying a Media Matters hit-piece on ads appearing near antisemitic content on the social media platform is “misleading” and that the company is in the midst of battling “deceptive attacks.”

The statement comes after Media Matters claimed the platform was placing ads for major companies such as Apple and others “next to content that touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party.” In knee-jerk reaction, many advertisers, including Apple, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Lionsgate quickly paused ads on the social media platform. Yaccarino says this advertising pause is only “temporary.”

“While some advertisers may have temporarily paused investments because of a misleading and manipulated article, the data will tell the real story. Because for all of us who work at X, we’ve been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination, as there’s no place for it anywhere in the world,” Yaccarino wrote in the memo to all X employees, under the headline “Our Work is Meaningful.”

Additionally, [X owner Elon] Musk drew criticism for writing a post on Wednesday that many are calling out as being antisemitic. Musk said “you have said the actual truth” in response to another user on X, who said, “I’m deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest shit now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don’t exactly like them too much.”

iOS 17: How to use Namedrop to share your contact information

Dan Uff November 29, 2023 1

Editor's Note: There have been media and law enforcement reports about the dangers of iOS 17's new Namedrop feature. I am providing this tip so that you can make up your own mind on if you want to use this feature or not.

What is it?

iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 has introduced a new feature called Namedrop. This enables you to share your contact information with someone else who is also running iOS 17.1 or watchOS 10.1

Do one of the following:
- Share from iPhone to iPhone or Apple Watch: Hold the display of your iPhone a few centimeters from the top of the other person’s iPhone or Apple Watch.
- Share from Apple Watch to another Apple Watch: Open the Contacts app on your Apple Watch, tap your picture in the top-right corner, tap Share, then bring your watch close to the other person’s Apple Watch.
  A glow emerges from both devices and Apple Watch vibrates to indicate a connection is being made.
Continue holding your devices near each other until NameDrop appears on both screens.
Choose to share your contact card and receive the other person’s, or to only receive the other person’s.
To cancel, move the two devices away from each other or lock your iPhone before the NameDrop transfer completes.