Disney+ ad-free streaming price increases to $11 per month in December

Disney+ isn’t done raising prices. As part of its third quarter earnings report, Disney revealed that it’s hiking the price of the ad-free service in the US to $11 per month, $3 more than today, on December 8th. If you want to keep the same price, you’ll have to subscribe to the ad-supported tier launching the same day. In other words, the ad-backed plan won’t really be cheaper — you’ll just have to pay more to keep the uninterrupted experience you already have.

The media giant also said it would raise the price of ad-free Hulu by $2 to $15 per month on October 10th. If you can accept ads, you’ll also pay $8 per month instead of today’s $7. A $10 monthly outlay provides both Disney+ and Hulu with ads. A bundle offering ad-free Disney+, ad-supported ESPN+ and its Hulu counterpart is climbing by a dollar to $15 per month, but you’ll dip to $13 per month if you’re willing to tolerate commercials across all three. You’ll have to pay $20 per month to get the trio without any sales pitches.

Disney wasn’t shy about the reason for the price hikes. Although it added 14.4 million Disney+ subscribers during the quarter (for a total of 221 million across all services), the operating losses for its streaming-oriented division surged from $293 million a year ago to nearly $1.1 billion. The production costs for Disney+ and Hulu are soaring, and Disney wants to make that money back.

The performance contrasts sharply with a key rival. While Netflix is prepping its own ad-driven plan, it’s currently losing customers — it’s counting on advertising to return growth where Disney is simply hoping to make a profit. As rough as its finances might be, Disney+ is in a stronger position.

FCC rejects Starlink request for nearly $900 million in broadband subsidies

Starlink can’t count on a flood of government subsidies to help expand its satellite internet service. The FCC has rejected the SpaceX unit’s bid to receive $885.5 million in aid through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The broadband provider “failed to demonstrate” that it could deliver the claimed service, according to a statement.

FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said Starlink had “real promise,” but suggested her agency couldn’t justify 10 years of subsidies for “developing technology” that requires a $600 satellite dish. She added that the FCC needed to make the most of “scarce” funding for broadband expansion.

SpaceX won its bid in December 2020 through an auction. At the time, it said it would use the subsidies to serve 35 locations. It also promised prices in sync with terrestrial broadband, and that it would meet “periodic” service buildout requirements.

LTD Broadband, a fixed wireless provider, netted over $1.3 billion in that auction and also lost its bid today. That company was not “reasonably capable” of deploying the required internet service after it lost qualifying statuses in seven states, the FCC said.

We’ve asked SpaceX for comment. The denial isn’t a fatal blow to the company’s plans, but it makes clear that Starlink will have to rely on its own funding if it’s going to expand as outlined in 2020. The FCC’s move might also serve as a warning to other would-be fund recipients. While the Commission is eager to improve rural broadband, it won’t grant money to internet providers without some close scrutiny.

Facebook still has trouble removing white supremacists, study says

Facebook’s crackdown on hate speech apparently has room for improvement. As The Washington Postexplains, the non-profit watchdog Tech Transparency Project (TTP) has published a study indicating that white supremacist groups still have a significant presence on the social network. Over 80 of these racist organizations have a presence on Facebook, some of which the company has already labeled as “dangerous organizations” it normally bans. Researchers found 119 pages and 20 groups, including 24 pages Facebook auto-generated when users listed white supremacist groups as employers or interests.

Searches were also problematic, according to the watchdog. Facebook displayed ads next to searches for white supremacist groups, even when those outfits were on the social site’s blocklist. Recommendations steered visitors to other hate pages, and Facebook’s tactic of redirecting users to pro-tolerance groups was only effective for 14 percent out of 226 searches. Some searches for supremacists displayed ads for Black churches. This could effectively identify targets for extremists, TTP said.

In a statement to Engadget, Meta said it “immediately” began removing ads from searches linked to banned groups. It also said it was fixing the issue with a “small number” of auto-generated pages. The company further vowed to keep working with outside experts to “stay ahead” of hate and other extremist content. You can read the full statement below.

The survival of these groups on Facebook isn’t completely surprising. University of Michigan associate professor Libby Hemphill told The Post that hate groups are increasingly aware of how to dodge content restrictions. Online platforms are frequently scrambling to adapt, and the TTP study suggests they’re not always successful.

Even so, the findings add to Meta’s headaches. They come just weeks after GLAAD accused Meta brands of doing too little to protect LGBTQ users, and relatively soon after whistleblower Frances Haugen said Facebook’s algorithmic content filtering only caught a “tiny minority” of hate speech. There’s plenty of pressure to ramp up anti-hate measures, and it’s not yet clear how well the latest fixes will help.

“All 270 groups that Meta has designated as white supremacist organizations are banned from our platform. We invest extensively in technology, people, and research to keep our platforms safe. We immediately resolved an issue where ads were appearing in searches for terms related to banned organizations and we are also working to fix an auto generation issue, which incorrectly impacted a small number of pages. We will continue to work with outside experts and organizations in an effort to stay ahead of violent, hateful, and terrorism-related content and remove such content from our platforms.”

Boeing delivers its first 787 Dreamliner after pausing for over a year

Boeing is starting to overcome one of its larger hurdles in recent memory. CNBCnotes the aircraft maker has delivered its first 787 Dreamliner in over a year, supplying American Airlines with one out of the nine vehicles it expects to receive in 2022. Boeing paused manufacturing in May 2021 as the Federal Aviation Administration reviewed how the company inspected planes following a string of manufacturing problems.

The company had to halt deliveries multiple times in less than a year after detecting potentially dangerous production problems, such as fuselage spacing. The FAA only cleared Boeing to resume deliveries on Monday. Dreamliner handovers have been on hold for most of the past two years between the manufacturing defects and a pandemic that dramatically curbed passenger flights.

There’s a strong incentive to put the 787 Dreamliner into customers’ hands. The flaws and ensuing production cuts will cost Boeing $5.5 billion, and that’s on top of serious 737 Max issues that led to crashes killing 346 people. Boeing has a tarnished reputation, and these deliveries could help it (slowly) mend its image while capitalizing on an air travel revival.

NVIDIA helps bring more lifelike avatars to chatbots and games

NVIDIA is no stranger to making realistic AI avatars, but now it’s making them more practical. The GPU maker has introduced a toolkit, the Omniverse Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE), that makes it easier for companies to put digital humans into chatbots, games and other apps. The combination of AI models and services helps developers quickly create virtual people that don’t depend on a massive amount of in-house computing power — a startup can produce an avatar as convincing as one from a giant corporation.

ACE revolves around several existing software kits and frameworks. Its namesake Omniverse is used for AI-driven animation. Metropolis handles computer vision tasks (such as object recognition). Merlin helps with recommenders, while NeMo Megatron and Riva respectively help with natural language models and AI speech.

It will take time before you’re speaking to an ACE-based avatar in a role-playing game or at your next hotel stay. And while NVIDIA claims its AI is “on a path” to pass the Turing test, it’s clearly short of that goal at the moment. It’s still obvious that you’re talking to a computer, as you can see in the demo video. With that said, this could still be a welcome upgrade from the cruder avatars and basic text bots you typically deal with today.

Former Twitter worker convicted of helping Saudi Arabia spy on dissidents

At least one former Twitter employee is facing prison time for allegedly helping Saudi Arabia spy on critics. Bloombergreports a jury in San Francisco has convicted US resident Ahmad Abouammo of serving as an agent for Saudi Arabia, as well as falsifyi…

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 lets you do more while it’s closed

As expected, Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip 4 — but the phone’s greatest improvements might come through upgrades to software, not specs. The new clamshell foldable now lets you do more while it’s closed. You can take higher-quality selfies from the 1.9-inch external screen, and start recording a video in Quick Shot that continues when you open the phone to the half-folded Flex mode. You can also use the closed Flip as a digital car key, for outbound calls and texts, for payments and for controlling SmartThings home scenes. You might not have to rely on the 6.7-inch, 120Hz 1080p main display as much as you think.

There are some meaningful (if modest) hardware upgrades, of course. The main camera now packs a 65 percent brighter sensor compared to its equivalent in the Galaxy Z Flip 3, while a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip provides the obligatory boost to processing power. Samsung is also tackling battery life complaints with a larger 3,700mAh power pack (up from 3,300mAh) and faster wired charging that brings the Z Flip 4 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. You still won’t get more than 8GB of RAM, but a new 512GB storage option should appeal to avid media consumers.

The design will seem very familiar, but there are some noticeable tweaks. You’ll see a slimmer hinge, straighter edges and contrasting hazed back glass. The body includes material from recycled fish nets. And yes, there are new colors — you can get the Z Flip 4 in blue and pink gold as well as the more familiar Bora Purple and graphite. Bespoke Edition customization is still available if you prefer to mix-and-match color choices.

As with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Z Flip 4 is available to pre-order today and will reach stores on August 26th. The base price hasn’t changed for the new model — it starts at $1,000 for a 128GB version and you can pre-order it from Samsung, Amazon and other retailers. While that still makes it relatively affordable as far as foldables go, you’ll still be paying a premium for a smaller footprint in your pocket.

Follow all of the news from Samsung’s Unpacked event right here!

Amazon’s palm payments arrive in more than 65 Whole Foods stores in California

Amazon’s palm-reading payment technology will soon be available in many more Whole Foods stores. The company is rolling out Amazon One to more than 65 Whole Foods shops in California, starting with Malibu, Montana Avenue and Santa Monica locations in Los Angeles. More stores in LA, Orange County, Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Cruz will come online in the “coming weeks.”

Before, palm-based payments were only available in a handful of Whole Foods stores in Austin, LA, New York City and Seattle. In California, you could also try Amazon One at the company’s Style fashion store in Glendale and certain Fresh and Go locations.

As usual, One is meant to streamline retail shopping. So long as you link your palm and payment card to the service, you just have to hover your hand over a scanner to complete a purchase. While you still have to stop at a checkout terminal, you don’t have to pull out a phone like you do with Amazon’s camera-based Just Walk Out system.

Third-party adoption may be trickier. While Amazon has touted plans to use One at concert venues and sport stadiums, there’s been a mounting backlash over worries palm data could be misused or stolen. Amazon has maintained that it holds info in secure, One-exclusive cloud storage, but politicians have still been concerned enough to grill company leadership over its practices. There’s a reluctance to trust biometric tech like this, and the Whole Foods expansion isn’t guaranteed to assuage people’s fears.

1Password’s big app redesign brings desktop features to mobile

It took several months, but you now have access to 1Password’s major updates on your phone. The company has released 1Password 8 for Android and iOS, and many of the desktop version’s features have carried over to mobile. For starters, there’s a new home screen that provides quicker, customized access to frequently-used passwords. There’s also a new navigation bar to help you find info across every account you use.

The updated 1Password is also better at dealing with an era when data breaches are all too common. The Watchtower dashboard has reached mobile devices, providing alerts when a breach compromises your login. The tool also helps you randomly generate answers to security questions, and even encourages you to strengthen your sign-ins by generating an overall security score. More advanced passwords, two-factor authentication and other changes can boost your rating.

The additions won’t necessarily persuade you to switch from LastPass and similar password managers. However, they might make a good case for trying 1Password f you routinely search for passwords or want a broader picture of your digital security.

Google’s learn-to-read app for kids is now available on the web

You no longer have to reach for your Android phone to try Google’s learn-to-read tool. Google has launched a beta web version of Read Along that offers a similar experience on your computer. As before, the virtual helper Diya encourages your kids to read aloud and offers correctional feedback. Children can read at different skill levels and receive digital prizes for completing goals.

The beta currently supports reading on Chrome, Edge and Firefox, with functionality for Safari and other browsers due “soon.” Kids can learn in several languages, including English and Hindi. You can sign in for a personalized experience, but Google makes clear that you don’t need an account. All speech recognition also happens in your browser, so you don’t have to worry that someone might grab your child’s voice recordings.

Read Along’s web version won’t change your mind if you prefer the personal touch. However, Google isn’t pitching this as a full substitute for human contact. It helps kids improve their reading in moments where their parents aren’t available, and could help schools teach literacy when one-on-one time isn’t practical.