action – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Amazon To Take On UPS, FedEx Via ‘Shipping With Amazon’

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Amazon is planning to take on UPS and FedEx with a new shipping service named “Shipping with Amazon” (SWA). The new service will reportedly roll out in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. Ars Technica reports: Aside from first starting in LA, SWA will first serve third-party merchants that already sell on Amazon. The company plans to send drivers to pick up shipments from these businesses and deliver the packages for them. While shipping and delivery will mostly go through Amazon, anything outside of the retailer’s reach will be given to the USPS and other shipping services for the “last mile” portion of the delivery. In the future, Amazon reportedly wants to open up SWA to businesses that aren’t affiliated with the site — meaning Amazon could ship and deliver packages from companies of all sizes. Amazon also believes it can compete with UPS and FedEx by making SWA more affordable for business customers, but its pricing structure hasn’t been revealed. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Amazon To Take On UPS, FedEx Via ‘Shipping With Amazon’

Netflix adds HDR support for iPhone 8, iPhone X and iPad Pro

Netflix is adding high dynamic range (HDR) support to more mobile devices. A handful of Android handsets are already benefitting from the picture upgrade, including the LG G6 , Sony Xperia XZ Premium , and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 , among others . Now, thanks to the release of iOS 11, iPhone users suffering from FOMO can get in on the action too. You’ll be able to binge watch in Dolby Vision HDR on the newly launched iPhone 8, 8Plus , and the upcoming iPhone X . Along with Apple’s new smartphones, iPad Pro (2nd-gen) owners will also receive the bump in picture quality — that goes for both the 10.5 and 12.9 inch models of the tablet. HDR essentially expands the range of both contrast and color in comparison to standard dynamic range. As a result, bright parts of an image look brighter, and the darker bits also pack more depth. If you’re on Netflix’s premium plan, and you’re selected programme carries the HDR or Dolby Vision tags, then you’re good to go. Source: Netflix

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Netflix adds HDR support for iPhone 8, iPhone X and iPad Pro

‘Cowboy Bebop’ director made a ‘Blade Runner’ animated short

Over 35 years since Blade Runner came out, its sequel is almost upon us. Blade Runner: 2049 hits theaters in less than a month. And (depending on who you ask) it’s either been too long a wait, or it should never have seen the light of day. For anyone still on the fence, the film’s marketing blitz is on hand to help part you from your cash. We’ve seen trailers , a VR tie-in , and a short prequel featuring Jared Leto’s impeccable beard. Just in the last 24 hours, a new promo starring Dave Bautista has hit the web, along with another (more exciting) teaser: Sony Pictures just unveiled a new anime spinoff for the upcoming film. Blade Runner Black Out 2022, as it’s known, will be directed by none other than Shinichiro Watanabe. For all those out of the loop, he’s the legend behind Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo . As you can tell by its title, the anime short will serve as a prequel to the upcoming film, with the action taking place during a power outage, according to NetLab . The brief video above also offers a closer look at its test animation, concept art, and some actual footage. “The work that has influenced me the most in my anime profession would be, of course, Blade Runner , ” says Watanabe in the video. That’s high praise. But, Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic left its imprint all over pop culture, so it’s no surprise its reach extends to Japanese animation. Anime studio Cygames Pictures is producing the short, and Shukou Murase ( Halo Legends , Mobile Suit Gundam Wing ) is on hand as character designer and animation director. Plus, electronic mastermind Flying Lotus will be in charge of the score. You can watch Blade Runner Black Out 2022 in full on the Sony Pictures Japan YouTube channel on September 26th. Source: Sony Pictures Japan (YouTube)

Netflix reveals new slate of anime originals

Netflix is taking the plunge into the world of Japanese animation. The streaming giant already licenses a number of animes, and now its sprucing up its library with a raft of originals. The new wave of shows includes exclusives from the studios behind Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell. By snapping up titles you can’t watch elsewhere, Netflix is hoping to one-up its rivals Funimation (and its parent company Sony) and Crunchyroll . The new anime line-up follows in the footsteps of the platform’s other originals, among them Castlevania and the upcoming Assassin’s Creed series. Several of the new shows will bow in 2018. They include Sword Gai , a modern-day fantasy about a boy who fuses with a demonic sword to battle hordes of monsters. Based on the manga, Baki is a 26-episode series about a mixed-martial arts fighter who dukes it out with death row inmates. From the studio behind Ghost in the Shell comes B: The Beginning , which follows an investigator on the case of a serial killer, who could be part of a wider criminal organization. The show reportedly mixes sci-fi and fantasy elements with an added dose of drama. Another high-profile anime, from the talent behind My Hero Academia, is A.I.C.O. Incarnation . Set in the near future, the show features a dangerous artificial life form secured behind a restricted zone. An unwitting young girl is drawn into the action after learning she may have ties to the synthetic organism. The gory chaos, as teased in the trailer, recalls the apocalyptic end-scenes from the iconic anime Akira . As it did with the classic US cartoon Voltron , Netflix is also reaching into the past to reboot an iconic Japanese anime. Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya revives the 80s show starring a team of heroes who don magical armor that matches the designs of the constellations. Their mission: to defend the reincarnation of the Greek goddess Athena against the other Olympian Gods. Devilman Crybaby also plumbs the past, this time adapting a 1972 anime about a normal boy turned demon-human hybrid who devotes his life to saving the world from invading evil spirits — as you do. The bombastic bunch is rounded out by a gentler show in the guise of the musical fantasy Lost Song . Aside from the exclusives, Netflix will also drop a crop of licensed originals shortly after they air in Japan. The list includes Children of the Whales , Cannon Busters, Fate/Apocrypha , and a series about popular Japanese stuffed toy Rilakkuma. Via: CNET

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Netflix reveals new slate of anime originals

Verizon Expected To Cut Up To 1,000 Yahoo, AOL Jobs After Acquisition

Verizon’s acquisition and merger of AOL and Yahoo will result in many job cuts. According to Recode, up to 1, 000 AOL and Yahoo jobs are expected to take place across the two companies as the merger is completed. From the report: This action is not unexpected, given that both companies have a lot of redundancies, including in human resources, finance, marketing and general administration. The merger between the two companies — after Verizon bought both in succession to add tech and content to its mobile services — is expected to be completed in the next week. The shareholder meeting to approve the deal takes place tomorrow. Plans to combine both companies have been in the works for a while, as the pair attempt to make a cohesive unit out of two entities that have multiple assets and also multiple problems. It will be headed by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, who will become the CEO of Oath, the new name for the Verizon subsidiary. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Verizon Expected To Cut Up To 1,000 Yahoo, AOL Jobs After Acquisition

Here’s our first look at Windows’ new adaptive interface

Microsoft has been steadily working on bringing the full Windows experience to devices of all types over the past few years, including PCs, phones and even the Xbox One. But there are still a few differences with how Windows runs across them. That’s why the company is developing CShell, a new version of the Windows Shell that can adapt to screen sizes of all types, as well as unify the overall experience. It’ll likely play a large role in Microsoft’s Fluent design strategy , which is broadly focused on scaling Windows to more devices. Now, we’ve got our first look at what CShell actually looks like on a Windows Phone, Windows Central reports . At first glance, CShell looks exactly like the current Windows shell on mobile. But dig a bit deeper, and you’ll notice some important changes. It gives you more size options for Live Tiles on the Start screen, for one. It also brings over the Action Center from Windows 10, and adds a landscape option for displaying the Start screen. CShell also gives Windows Continuum the ability to run several apps at once in windowed mode, instead of forcing them to be full screen. Given that that was one of our biggest gripes with Continuum , it’s a particularly useful upgrade. Source: Windows Central

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Here’s our first look at Windows’ new adaptive interface

Microsoft Finally Bans SHA-1 Certificates In Its Browsers

An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet: With this week’s monthly Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has also rolled out a new policy for Edge and Internet Explorer that prevents sites that use a SHA-1-signed HTTPS certificate from loading. The move brings Microsoft’s browsers in line with Chrome, which dropped support for the SHA-1 cryptographic hash function in January’s stable release of Chrome 56, and Firefox’s February cut-off… Apple dropped support for SHA-1 in March with macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and iOS 10.3… Once Tuesday’s updates are installed, Microsoft’s browsers will no longer load sites with SHA-1 signed certificates and will display an error warning highlighting a security problem with the site’s certificate. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Microsoft Finally Bans SHA-1 Certificates In Its Browsers

An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet: With this week’s monthly Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has also rolled out a new policy for Edge and Internet Explorer that prevents sites that use a SHA-1-signed HTTPS certificate from loading. The move brings Microsoft’s browsers in line with Chrome, which dropped support for the SHA-1 cryptographic hash function in January’s stable release of Chrome 56, and Firefox’s February cut-off… Apple dropped support for SHA-1 in March with macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and iOS 10.3… Once Tuesday’s updates are installed, Microsoft’s browsers will no longer load sites with SHA-1 signed certificates and will display an error warning highlighting a security problem with the site’s certificate. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Microsoft Finally Bans SHA-1 Certificates In Its Browsers

Microsoft Finally Bans SHA-1 Certificates In Its Browsers

An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet: With this week’s monthly Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has also rolled out a new policy for Edge and Internet Explorer that prevents sites that use a SHA-1-signed HTTPS certificate from loading. The move brings Microsoft’s browsers in line with Chrome, which dropped support for the SHA-1 cryptographic hash function in January’s stable release of Chrome 56, and Firefox’s February cut-off… Apple dropped support for SHA-1 in March with macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and iOS 10.3… Once Tuesday’s updates are installed, Microsoft’s browsers will no longer load sites with SHA-1 signed certificates and will display an error warning highlighting a security problem with the site’s certificate. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Microsoft Finally Bans SHA-1 Certificates In Its Browsers

Microsoft Finally Bans SHA-1 Certificates In Its Browsers

An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet: With this week’s monthly Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has also rolled out a new policy for Edge and Internet Explorer that prevents sites that use a SHA-1-signed HTTPS certificate from loading. The move brings Microsoft’s browsers in line with Chrome, which dropped support for the SHA-1 cryptographic hash function in January’s stable release of Chrome 56, and Firefox’s February cut-off… Apple dropped support for SHA-1 in March with macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and iOS 10.3… Once Tuesday’s updates are installed, Microsoft’s browsers will no longer load sites with SHA-1 signed certificates and will display an error warning highlighting a security problem with the site’s certificate. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Microsoft Finally Bans SHA-1 Certificates In Its Browsers