A federal judge blocked the launch of Venu, a sports streaming joint venture by Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, due to concerns it would substantially lessen competition and harm FuboTV. Variety reports: Fubo launched in 2015 as a start-up focused on streaming sports programming. [...] Venu, expected to launch in late August ahead of the start of the NFL's coming fall season and priced at an initial price tag of $42.99 per month, was to carry all of the sports offerings of ESPN, Fox Sports 1 and 2, and TNT for a price that is seen as more than a regional sports network but less than a full programming package available via YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV. The three parent companies are targeting a new generation of consumers who disdain the high costs of traditional cable packages are more at home with signing up for streaming venues that are relatively easy to get in and out of based on the availability of favorite entertainment programs or sporting events.

Judge Garnett found that once Venu launches, FuboTV would face "a swift exodus" of large numbers of subscribers, and indicated she felt "that Fubo's bankruptcy and delisting of the company's stock will likely soon follow. These are quintessential harms that money cannot adequately repair." Fubo alleged that Venu's launch "will cause it to lose approximately 300,000 to 400,000 (or nearly 30%) of its subscribers, suffer a significant decline in its ability to attract new subscribers, lose between $75 and $95 million in revenue, and be transformed into a penny stock awaiting delisting from the New York Stock Exchange, all before year-end 2024," the judge said in her decision. "We respectfully disagree with the court's ruling and are appealing it," Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement. "We believe that Fubo's arguments are wrong on the facts and the law, and that Fubo has failed to prove it is legally entitled to a preliminary injunction. Venu Sports is a pro-competitive option that aims to enhance consumer choice by reaching a segment of viewers who currently are not served by existing subscription options."

Roku has removed the Redbox app from its platform, effectively cutting off users' access to purchased content following Redbox parent company Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment's bankruptcy filing. The move signals the likely end of Redbox's digital streaming service, which launched in 2017 to complement its DVD rental kiosks. Customers attempting to use the Redbox app on Roku devices now receive an error message directing them to other streaming services. While the app remains downloadable on some platforms, including Apple's App Store and Google Play, its functionality is severely limited. The shutdown raises questions about the fate of content purchased through Redbox's streaming service and the company's remaining 24,000 physical kiosks.

Paramount Global will lay off 15% of its U.S. workforce, close Paramount Television Studios, and transfer its projects to CBS Studios as part of a massive restructuring plan. According to Reuters, the media company "aims to reduce annual costs by $500 million and return to profitable growth ahead of its merger with David Ellison's Skydance Media." From the report: In an internal memo, Paramount's co-CEOs stated that the company is at an "inflection point" where changes are necessary to strengthen the business. The layoffs, which were announced during a post-earnings call last week, are expected to affect roughly 2,000 people. They will continue through the end of 2024, with 90% of the cuts expected to be completed by the end of September. Paramount Television Studios (PTVS) will also be shut down as part of the company's broader restructuring plans, President Nicole Clemens said in an email to employees.

George Cheeks, Paramount Global's co-CEO, said the move to close down the studio by the end of the week is the result of major shifts in the television and streaming industry and a need to streamline the company. All current PTVS series and development projects will be transferred to CBS Studios, Cheeks said, adding that members of CBS teams will also be leaving the company.

Ibrahim Al-Nasser, a gaming enthusiast from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has set a Guinness World Record for the most video game consoles connected to a single television, with 444 systems hooked up simultaneously.

Al-Nasser's collection spans five decades of gaming history, from the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey to the 2023 PlayStation 5 Slim. It includes mainstream consoles like the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Switch, as well as rare items such as the Super A'Can. To manage the complex setup, Al-Nasser employs over 30 RCA switchers and 12 HDMI switchers, along with various converters for older systems. He maintains an Excel spreadsheet detailing the location and activation procedure for each console. "After a while I noticed that I had a big stack of gaming consoles that I couldn't play," Al-Nasser said. "By adding more switchers, the idea came to my mind to connect all of the gaming consoles I have to the TV then contact Guinness World Records because this project is unique."

Engadget adds: He's even organized his collection so the cables aren't showing or creating the kind of tangled mess most of us have to deal with when we have just two consoles hooked up to a single television. That may sound like a lot of video game consoles for one collection but it's far from the actual record. Linda Guillory of Garland, Texas currently holds the record for the largest collection of playable gaming systems with her collection of 2,430 items, according to Guinness World Records.

Dutch-based copyright enforcement group BREIN has taken down a large language dataset that was being offered for use in training AI models, the organization said on Tuesday. From a report: The dataset included information collected without permission from tens of thousands of books, news sites, and Dutch language subtitles harvested from "countless" films and TV series, BREIN said in a statement. Director Bastiaan van Ramshorst told Reuters it was not clear whether or how widely the dataset may already have been used by AI companies. "It's very difficult to know, but we are trying to be on time" to avoid future lawsuits, he said. He said the European Union's AI Act will require AI firms to disclose what datasets they have used to train their models.

In an interview with The Verge's Nilay Patel, Replika founder and CEO Eugenia Kuyda discusses the role AI will play in the future of human relationships. Replika is an AI-powered chatbot that offers personalized, empathetic conversations to users, serving as a virtual companion for emotional support, mental health, and social interaction. It allows users to engage in meaningful, human-like conversations, enhancing their well-being through AI-driven companionship. Here is an excerpt from the interview: Where have you landed with Replika now? Is it still sort of romantic? Is it mostly friendly? Have you gotten the user base to stop thinking of it as dating in that way?

It's mostly friendship and a long-term one-on-one connection, and that's been the case forever for Replika. That's what our users come for. That's how they find Replika. That's what they do there. They're looking for that connection. My belief is that there will be a lot of flavors of AI. People will have assistants, they will have agents that are helping them at work, and then, at the same time, there will be agents or AIs that are there for you outside of work. People want to spend quality time together, they want to talk to someone, they want to watch TV with someone, they want to play video games with someone, they want to go for walks with someone, and that's what Replika is for.

You've said "someone" several times now. Is that how you think of a Replika AI avatar -- as a person? Is it how users think of it? Is it meant to replace a person?

It's a virtual being, and I don't think it's meant to replace a person. We're very particular about that. For us, the most important thing is that Replika becomes a complement to your social interactions, not a substitute. The best way to think about it is just like you might a pet dog. That's a separate being, a separate type of relationship, but you don't think that your dog is replacing your human friends. It's just a completely different type of being, a virtual being. Or, at the same time, you can have a therapist, and you're not thinking that a therapist is replacing your human friends. In a way, Replika is just another type of relationship. It's not just like your human friends. It's not just like your therapist. It's something in between those things.

With an AI that kind of feels like a person and is meant to complement your friends, the boundaries of that relationship are still pretty fuzzy. In the culture, I don't think we quite understand them. You've been running Replika for a while. Where do you think those boundaries are with an AI companion?

I actually think, just like a therapist has agency to fire you, the dog has agency to run away or bite or shit all over your carpet. It's not really that you're getting this subservient, subordinate thing. I think, actually, we're all used to different types of relationships, and we understand these new types of relationships pretty easily. People don't have a lot of confusion that their therapist is not their friend. I mean, some people do project and so on, but at the same time, we understand that, yes, the therapist is there, and he or she is providing this service of listening and being empathetic. That's not because they love you or want to live with you. So we actually already have very different relationships in our lives. We have empathy for hire with therapists, for instance, and we don't think that's weird. AI friends are just another type of that -- a completely different type. People understand boundaries. At the end of the day, it's a work in progress, but I think people understand quickly like, 'Okay, well, that's an AI friend, so I can text or interact with it anytime I want.' But, for example, a real friend is not available 24/7. That boundary is very different. You know these things ahead of time, and that creates a different setup and a different boundary than, say, with your real friend. In the case of a therapist, you know a therapist will not hurt you. They're not meant to hurt you. Replika probably won't disappoint you or leave you. So there's also that. We already have relationships with certain rules that are different from just human friendships. The full transcript can be read here. You can also listen to the interview on the latest episode of Decoder with Nilay Patel.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Once upon a time, you could have yourself a nice little Saturday of stocking up at Costco (using your sister's membership card, naturally), before hitting up a museum (free admission with your 15-year-old expired student ID) or settling into a reality TV binge sesh (streaming on your college roommate's ex-boyfriend's Netflix login). You wouldn't call it stealing, per se. Mooching, perhaps. Exploiting a loophole in a system of commercialized culture you didn't create but are forced to participate in -- and what could be more capitalist than that? But thanks to the fine-tuning of the tech that Corporate America uses to police subscriptions, those freeloading days are over.

Costco and Disney this month took a page from the Netflix playbook and announced they are cracking down on account sharers. So the next time you want to restock your Kirkland chocolate covered almond stash, you'll need to have an honest-to-God membership of your own that you scan at the door. Want to put on "Frozen" for the kids so you can have two hours to do literally anything else? You're going to need a Disney+ login associated with your household. The tech that tracks your IP address and can read your face has gotten more sophisticated, and, as the Wall Street Journal reported last week, retailers and streaming services are increasingly turning to status-verification tech that make it harder for folks to claim student discounts on services like Amazon Prime or Spotify beyond graduation.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The Australian sea lions glide and dart through underwater tunnels, over seagrass beds and rocky reefs, searching for a meal and dancing with dolphins around a giant bait ball of fish -- all the action captured by a camera stuck on their back. "I can watch this stuff for hours," says Prof Simon Goldsworthy. "It's like the best slow TV ever. You just don't know what you're going to see next." The Australian sea lion is in trouble. They were hunted until the early 20th century. Commercial fishing nets and pots have proved to be a more modern threat. Numbers have crashed by 60% in the past 40 years, leaving only about 10,000 of them mostly spread thinly across 80 breeding sites along Australia's south and west coastline.

Goldsworthy's "slow TV" is the result of new efforts to employ the sea lions to map the ocean floor -- and their own habitats -- by sticking cameras with satellite tracking to their backs. So far, eight females from two seal colonies have filmed almost 90 hours of footage across more than 500km, helping scientists to map 5,000 sq km of habitat. The sea lions have mapped rocky reefs and seagrass meadows along the continental shelf, and shown humans the places that are important to them. With that information, conservationists will have much clearer ideas on how to protect the country's only endemic seal. A study outlining the sea lions' camera work has been published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (paywalled), Apple plans to launch a completely redesigned Mac mini with M4 and M4 Pro chips later this year. MacRumors reports: The new Mac mini will be the first major design change to the machine since 2010, making it Apple's smallest ever desktop computer. The new Mac mini will apparently approach the size of an Apple TV, but it may be slightly taller than the current model, which is 1.4 inches high. It will continue to feature an aluminum shell. Individuals working on the new device apparently say that it is "essentially an iPad Pro in a small box."

Apple is said to have tested Mac mini models with at least three USB-C ports on the back, as well as an area for the power cable and an HDMI port. There will continue to be two versions of the Mac mini: one with the standard M4 chip, similar to the iPad Pro, and one with an M4 Pro chip. The base model is set to begin shipping from suppliers this month ahead of release later in the year, while the high-end model will not be ready until October.

Disney Plus will soon no longer let you share your password with people outside your household. From a report: During an earnings call on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the crackdown will kick off "in earnest" this September. The timeline for Disney's password-sharing crackdown has been a bit confusing so far. In February, Disney announced plans to roll out paid sharing and also began notifying users about the change. It then launched paid sharing in a "few countries" in June but provided no information on when it would reach the US.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: Before WordPerfect, the most popular work processor was WordStar. Now, the last ever DOS version has been bundled and set free by one of its biggest fans. WordStar 7.0d was the last-ever DOS release of the classic word processor, and it still has admirers today. A notable enthusiast is Canadian SF writer Robert J Sawyer, who wrote the book that became the TV series Flashforward.

Thanks to his efforts you can now try out this pinnacle of pre-Windows PC programs for professional prose-smiths. Sawyer has taken the final release, packaged it up along with some useful tools -- including DOS emulators for modern Windows -- and shared the result. Now you, too, can revel in the sheer unbridled power of this powerful app. The download is 680MB, but as well as the app itself, full documentation, and some tools to help translate WordStar documents to more modern formats, it also includes copies of two FOSS tools that will let you run this MS-DOS application on modern Windows: DOSbox-X and vDosPlus. "The program has been a big part of my career -- not only did I write all 25 of my novels and almost all of my short stories with it (a few date back to the typewriter era), I also in my earlier freelance days wrote hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles with WordStar," says Sawyer.

Speaking of Google launching a new TV streaming device, the company says it's "ending production of Chromecast" after 11 years of selling the streaming dongles. From a report: Even though Chromecast devices will now be available "while supplies last," Google says it will continue to push software and security updates to its newer devices without specifying which ones. The most recent update to the lineup was the Chromecast with Google TV released in 2022.

But now, Google says "technology has evolved dramatically" since the launch of the original Chromecast in 2013. "We invested heavily in embedding Google Cast technology into millions of TV devices, including Android TV," Google writes. "We are taking the next step in evolving how streaming TV devices can add even more capabilities to your smart TV, built on top of the same Chromecast technology."

Google today unveiled its new Google TV Streamer, a $99.99 set-top box replacing the Chromecast. The device, shipping September 24, boasts improved performance with a 22% faster processor (over its predecessor), doubled RAM, and 32GB storage. It integrates Thread and Matter for smart home control, featuring a side-panel accessible via the remote. The Streamer supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and includes an Ethernet port. Design changes include a low-profile form factor in two colors and a redesigned remote with a finder function. Software enhancements use Gemini AI for content summaries and custom screensavers.

In a note to clients, seen by Slashdot, brokerage house Jefferies writes: Netflix's last price hike on the standard plan was in Jan 2022, its ad- supported plan remains the cheapest (among major players) in the industry, and its move into live sports increases pricing power - for these 3 reasons we suspect a price hike in Q4 or December of this year could be coming on the standard plan.

As stated in the Q4 2023 letter (following the announcement of WWE Raw coming in 2025): "As we invest in and improve Netflix, we'll occasionally ask our members to pay a little extra to reflect those improvements, which in turn helps drive the positive flywheel of additional investment." We believe Netflix has been positioning itself throughout this year for a year-end price hike. December / 2025 will have major content releases supporting a pricing increase including the Christmas NFL game, Squid Game 2 on Dec. 26th (season 1 - the #1 watched NFLX show of all time), WWE Raw starting Jan 2025, and Stranger Things 5 coming in 2025 (season 3 / 4 in top 10 of all-time).

Apple reported a new June quarter revenue record of $85.8 billion, up 5 percent from a year ago, fueled largely by new iPad sales. iPad "saw the biggest category increase for the quarter, up from $5.8 billion to $7.2 billion year-over-year," reports TechCrunch. It helped counter slowed iPhone revenue, "which dropped from $39.7 billion to $39.3 billion year-on-year." From the report: In spite of a drop for the quarter, iPhone remained Apple's most important category by a wide margin, followed by service, which includes software offerings like iCloud, Apple TV+ and Apple Music. That category continued to grow, up to $24.2 billion from $21.2 billion over the same three-month period last year. Much of the iPhone slowdown can be attributed to the greater China region. Overall, the region dropped from $15.8 billion to $14.7 billion for the quarter. Canalys figures from last week show a marked decline in iPhone sales, down 6.7% from 10.4 million to 9.7 million for the quarter, Reuters reported.

The drop in Apple's third-largest region (behind the Americas and Europe) had a clear impact on the company's bottom line. The company aggressively discounted iPhone prices in China starting in May, as competition intensified from domestic rivals. The strategy resulted in strong iPhone sales that month, up close to 40% from a year prior. [...] Q3 marked the second consecutive quarter decline for global iPhone sales. The news puts additional pressure on the generative AI strategy that the company laid out at WWDC in June.

Google has pulled its "Dear Sydney" Olympics ad after it garnered significant backlash. (You can still watch the ad on YouTube, but comments have been turned off.) According to Ad Age, the ad was "meant to promote Google's Gemini AI platform, but viewers had a difficult time looking past its miscalculated storyline." From the report: In the ad, a father wants to help his daughter write a letter to her idol, Olympic track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. But instead of encouraging her to take part in such a personal moment, he delegates Gemini to write the letter for her. Viewers and ad leaders lambasted the spot on social media for being tone-deaf. Some were upset over Google evidently seeing no problem with an AI co-opting a formative childhood act, while others alluded to its reinforcing of a more existential fear, that AI is bound to replace meaningful work. The ad got significant airplay during NBCU's TV coverage of the Olympics this week, including on NBC in primetime, as well as on E!, CNBC and USA, according to iSpot.tv. It last ran on national TV around midnight of July 30 on USA, according to iSpot.TV. "While the ad tested well before airing, given the feedback, we've decided to phase the ad out of our Olympics rotation," a Google spokesperson told Ad Age today.

The company earlier this week defended the ad in a statement: "We believe that AI can be a great tool for enhancing human creativity, but can never replace it. Our goal was to create an authentic story celebrating Team USA. It showcases a real-life track enthusiast and her father, and aims to show how the Gemini app can provide a starting point, thought starter, or early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing."

A recent investigation by consumer electronics testing site RTINGs has raised concerns about the long-term durability of edge-lit LCD-LED televisions, a popular choice among consumers for their slim profiles and aesthetic appeal. The study, which simulated approximately six years of use through 10,000 hours of extreme testing on dozens of TVs, revealed a troubling trend of uniformity issues in edge-lit models, particularly affecting Samsung and LG products.

According to RTINGs' findings, 64% of edge-lit TVs tested exhibited noticeable uniformity problems, compared to only 20% of full array local dimming (FALD) and direct-lit models. The primary issues identified were warped reflector sheets, cracked light guide plates, and burnt-out LEDs, all exacerbated by extended use at maximum brightness settings. RTINGs attributed these problems to the concentrated heat generation in edge-lit designs, with some LEDs reaching temperatures as high as 253.4F (123C). While Samsung defended its use of edge-lit technology, citing 15 years of reliable implementation and rigorous testing procedures, and LG reported no difference in defect rates between edge-lit and other LCD TV designs, RTINGs' research suggests that consumers seeking more durable TVs may want to consider alternatives to edge-lit models.

Following in the footsteps of competitors Netflix and Disney+, Apple is reportedly working on bringing advertisements to Apple TV+ through an ad-supported tier. MacRumors reports: Apple has apparently been in discussions with the UK's Broadcaster's Audience Research Board (BARB) to explore the necessary data collection techniques for monitoring advertising results. Currently, BARB provides viewing statistics for major UK networks including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky, as well as Apple TV+ programming.

While BARB already monitors viewing time for Apple TV+ content, additional techniques are required to track advertising metrics accurately. This data is vital for advertisers to assess the reach and impact of their campaigns on the platform. In addition to the UK, Apple has also reportedly held similar discussions with ratings organizations in the United States. Apple has already included limited advertising in its live sports events, such as last year's Major League Soccer coverage, where ads were incorporated even for Season Pass holders. It is also notable that in March Apple hired Joseph Cady, a former advertising executive from NBCUniversal, to bolster its video advertising team.

As Comic-Con hits San Diego, "part of the big news in 2024 is that the con won't have a corresponding virtual or online event this year," according to Polygon, "for the first time since 2019."

But there's still some big scifi media news, according to CNET's Comic-Con coverage: Disney revealed a new Doctor Who addition to the franchise that will jump back to the 1970s with the Sea Devils, an ancient group of beings who arise from the sea. Made in partnership with the BBC, the series... will air on Disney Plus, where fans can currently stream season 14 of Doctor Who starring Ncuti Gatwa.
And there's also an upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special.

Meanwhile, Saturday night, USA Today ran a special article with late-breaking announcements about Marvel's Cinematic Universe: Marvel has already won Comic-Con, with a raucous screening of "Deadpool & Wolverine" followed by a high-tech drone show, and the box office, with the new movie on track to have one of the best openings of all time... Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. Kevin Feige says the Fantastic Four will be in the next two Avengers movies... And here comes the Fantastic Four [movie] a year from now. It starts filming Tuesday in the UK...
The article says Marvel's Fantastic Four presentation included "a Fantasti-Car that hovers across the stage — and that castmembers also appeared from the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie.

More geeky news:

• Amazon Prime showed a new four-minute trailer with clips from season two of its J.R.R. Tolkein prequel, "The Rings of Power". (And there was also a three-minute blooper reel for Season 4 of Prime's superhero-themed series, "The Boys".)

• Paramount+ showed a trailer for the Star Trek universe's first streaming movie, Section 31. There was also a trailer for season 5 of the animated comedy Star Trek: Lower Decks — plus a particularly strange clip from the fourth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

• Keanu Reeves accepted the Inkpot award for his contribution to the world of film and comics — partly because since 2021 Reeves has been co-authoring a Kickstarter-funded comic book called BRZRKR. (Netflix plans to adapt it into a movie.)

• Next February will see the release of Captain America: Brave New World, in which the Incredible Hulk may get some competition from Harrison Ford, who's been cast as the Red Hulk.

But things got a little too real Friday when a fire at a nearby steakhouse forced the evacuation of the immersive "Penguin Lounge" — which was promoting Max's new prequel series to 2022's movie The Batman.

"Scientists working with NASA's Perseverance rover state emphatically that they are not claiming to have discovered life on Mars," writes the New York Times.

"But many would regard a rock that the rover just finished studying as 'Most Likely to Contain Fossilized Microbial Martians'..." The rover has drilled and stashed a piece of the rock, which scientists hope can be brought back to Earth in the coming years for closer analysis and more definitive answers. "What we are saying is that we have a potential biosignature on Mars," said Kathryn Stack Morgan, the mission's deputy project scientist. She describes a biosignature as a structure, composition or texture in a rock that could have a biological origin.

The rock, which scientists named Cheyava Falls, possesses features that are reminiscent of what microbes might have left behind when this area was warm and wet several billion years ago, part of an ancient river delta. The scientists clarified that they did not spot anything that they thought might be actual fossilized organisms... Within the rock, Perseverance's instruments detected organic compounds, which would provide the building blocks for life as we know it. The rover also found veins of calcium sulfate — mineral deposits that appear to have been deposited by flowing water. Liquid water is another key ingredient for life. Perseverance also spotted small off-white splotches, about 1 millimeter in size, that have black rings around them, like miniature leopard spots. The black rings contain iron phosphate.

The chemical reactions that created the leopard spots could also have provided energy for microbes to live on.
"One of the key parts of Perseverance's mission is to drill samples of interesting rocks for a future mission to bring samples back to Earth for scientists to study with state-of-the-art instruments in their laboratories," the article points out. And while exactly how those rocks would be return has yet to be determined, deputy project scientist Morgan tells the Times, "I think this sample comes to the top of the list."