|
Streaming services keep raising prices. At this point, if you subscribe to all the major services out there, you're basically paying the same price as cable — those antiquated local monopolies that streaming was supposed to save us from. But streaming still has one big advantage over the old ways: no contracts. That means you can grab a good streaming deal and then cancel without penalty.
Our advice is to sign up for a service when you see a good streaming deal (or the latest season of, say, Doctor Who, Severance, Andor and/or The Last of Us). Then, when the deal ends or you've binged whatever it is you want to watch, cancel as needed. But streaming deals don't come around all that often and, when they do, i
|
|
After Netflix announced that it was acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery last week, observers immediatley wondered when or if the deal could obtain regulatory approval. Now, President Trump has made comments indicating that said approval is likely to take awhile if it happens at all, Bloomberg reported.
"Well, that's got to go through a process, and we'll see what happens," Trump told reporters in a recent Q&A scrum. "But it is a big market share. It could be a problem." The President added that he will be personally involved in the approval process.
As we pointed out last week, Netflix and HBO Max combined would account for around 33 percent of the US streaming video market, ahead of Prime Video's 21 percent share and likely enough to attract the antitrust division of the US Justice Department. For its part, Netflix has said that it will "maintain Warner Bros. current businesses," which includes HBO Max and HBO, theatrical releases for films as well as movie and TV studio operations.
Headwinds were likely with any deal, so in November Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos reportedly met with Trump at the White House, arguing that the acquisition wouldn't create a monopoly. Trump said that Warner Bros. Discovery should sell to the highest bidder, and Sarandos left the meeting feeli
|
|
POP Smart Button owners began sharing the end-of-line emails from Logitech late last month, which noted that the buttons would cease working on October 15, giving them only slightly more than two weeks' notice.
"For close to a decade, we have maintained the POP ecosystem, but as technology evolves, we have made the decision to end support for the device," Logitech's email reads. "As of October 15, your POP button(s) and the connected hub will no longer be supported and will lose all functionality."
Logitech added that it would give POP button owners a promo code giving them a 15-percent discount on Logitech and Ultimate Ears products (Logitech owns the Ultimate Ears audio brand).
Annoyed POP button owners on Reddit didn't hold back about the prospect of their devices being turned into paperweights.
"This is why, ‘local first'" wrote one user, while another complained, "12 buttons and 3 hubs in my home are going to become beautiful useless [pieces] of tech. Why?"
|
|
