Digital

Oct
10
2021
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By Troy Warren
Facebook CTO Apologizes for Outages as Apps Take Hours to Return Online

Facebook CTO Apologizes for Outages as Apps Take Hours to Return Online

Digital, Technology, ,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital "To every small and large business, family, and individual who depends on us, I'm sorry," the outgoing CTO said on Monday afternoon. Facebook’s chief technology officer apologized on Monday afternoon after Facebook’s suite of applications, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, remained offline for several hours around the globe. “Facebook services coming back online now — may take some time to get to 100%. To every small and large business, family, and individual who depends on us, I’m sorry,” Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s outgoing CTO, tweeted late on Monday afternoon. A few hours earlier, Schroepfer…
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Oct
09
2021
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By Troy Warren
Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions, Audible Strike Multi-Project Deal

Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions, Audible Strike Multi-Project Deal

Business, Digital, ,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital #Business The first project in development is a comedy series inspired by the life of Kym Whitley. Audible has struck a multi-project development deal with Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani’s Hillman Grad Productions. The first project in the deal is an original comedy series, Kym, inspired by the actress and comedian Kym Whitley’s life. Whitley will star in the series and executive produce through her Kwik Whit Productions banner. “We’re so excited to be expanding into the podcast space in collaboration with Audible and continuing our mission to tell human stories,” Waithe and Rajani said…
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Oct
08
2021
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By Troy Warren
Snapchat to Offer $25K “Prizes” for Top Videos From Creators

Snapchat to Offer $25K “Prizes” for Top Videos From Creators

Digital,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital Beginning next month, an average of three to five creators will be given cash awards for top-performing content that fit the criteria of each challenge. Snapchat will begin giving out cash prizes next month to users who create top-performing content that meet the criteria of specific “challenges,” such as the use of a specific augmented reality lens or audio clip, parent company Snap said on Wednesday. Called Spotlight Challenges, named after Snapchat’s user-generated platform that mimics TikTok’s for you page, U.S. users age 16 and older can receive awards from a pool of…
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Oct
03
2021
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By Troy Warren
NBCUniversal, YouTube TV Ink Carriage Deal to Avoid Dropped Channels

NBCUniversal, YouTube TV Ink Carriage Deal to Avoid Dropped Channels

Digital, ,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital The two companies had previously struggled to reach a deal this week that would keep more than 14 NBCU channels on YouTube TV. NBCUniversal and YouTube TV have reached an agreement that will keep more than 14 NBCU channels on the Google-owned platform, the two companies said on Saturday. “We are thrilled to have reached a deal with YouTube TV and can continue to offer our full network portfolio, without interruption,” an NBCU spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. “YouTube is a valued partner and we never want to involve our fans in a dispute, but…
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Sep
29
2021
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By Troy Warren
Microsoft CEO Says Failed TikTok Deal Was “Strangest Thing” He’s Worked On

Microsoft CEO Says Failed TikTok Deal Was “Strangest Thing” He’s Worked On

Digital, Technology, , ,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital #Technology   Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has mixed feelings about his company’s failed bid to acquire TikTok last year. “It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever worked on,” Nadella told Kara Swisher at Vox Media’s Code Conference on Monday, adding with a laugh, “I learned so much, Kara, about so many things and so many people.” Last year, as TikTok faced a potential ban from the U.S. under the Trump administration, Microsoft emerged as a potential buyer to acquire the social media platform’s U.S. operations. The potential deal eventually fell through last September after…
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Sep
26
2021
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By Troy Warren
What’s the big deal about NFTs? Here’s the madness behind these expensive digital tokens

What’s the big deal about NFTs? Here’s the madness behind these expensive digital tokens

Digital, Technology, ,
Oscar Gonzalez | CNET.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital #Technology NFTs are selling out in minutes for thousands of dollars. We'll explain why. NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, can be tied to a video highlight, a meme or a tweet. But what are they? Think of NFTs as a digital asset that's expensive but may make you a lot of money in the future (or maybe not) -- similar to cryptocurrency but not quite (more below). But it doesn't quite mean that you own an asset or piece of art (more below).  The tokens are so popular that Time Magazine's 4,500 TIMEPieces reportedly sold…
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Sep
26
2021
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By Troy Warren
Cryptocurrency Firms Spend Big on Hollywood Names to Gain Trust

Cryptocurrency Firms Spend Big on Hollywood Names to Gain Trust

Digital, ,
BY ALEX WEPRIN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital FTX, CoinBase and CoinFlip are enlisting stars like Spike Lee, Neil Patrick Harris and Tom Brady (and shelling out for TV ads) to gain wider respectability and convert skeptical consumers. In 1989, the internet was cutting-edge technology. CompuServe, at the time the dominant firm in the nascent sector, wanted to introduce it to the population at large. So it did what any company would do in that situation: It bought ads on TV. “CompuServe combines the power of your computer with the convenience of your telephone,” the company’s first commercial began.…
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Sep
24
2021
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By Troy Warren
Twitter Rolls Out Tipping Feature to All Adult Users, Adds Bitcoin as Payment Method

Twitter Rolls Out Tipping Feature to All Adult Users, Adds Bitcoin as Payment Method

Digital, Technology, ,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital #Technology Tips are now available for all 18+ users on iOS, with Android expected to follow in the coming weeks. Twitter is rolling out its tipping feature to all users 18 and older beginning Thursday and has added Bitcoin as another accepted form of payment. The social media platform began testing its Tips feature earlier this year with a select group of users, and payments could be processed via Bandcamp, Cash App, Chipper, Patreon, Razorpay, Wealthsimple, Venmo or GoFundMe, depending on the user’s choice. With Thursday’s updates, U.S. users will also get to…
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Sep
18
2021
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By Troy Warren
Instagram Beats Photographers’ Suit Over Embed Feature

Instagram Beats Photographers’ Suit Over Embed Feature

Digital
BY ASHLEY CULLINS | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital A California federal judge says established precedent supports the app's argument that third parties embedding Instagram posts aren't committing copyright infringement, so the social giant can't be liable for enabling them. Instagram has defeated a suit from users who say their embed feature flouts copyright laws by allowing third party websites display videos and images without a license. Two photographers in May sued Instagram on behalf users who uploaded content to the app that was later embedded elsewhere without permission. Alexis Hunley and Matthew Brauer argue that Instagram’s embed feature lets third parties display…
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Sep
15
2021
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By Troy Warren
Apple’s New iPhone Features “Cinematic Mode” for Filming Movies

Apple’s New iPhone Features “Cinematic Mode” for Filming Movies

Digital, Technology,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #Digital "That's really bringing it up to the professional film cameras," cinematographer Greig Fraser says during Apple's Tuesday event. Apple’s iPhone 13 includes a new camera feature called “cinematic mode” that’s designed to help filmmakers and amateurs shoot and edit better footage from their device, the company said on Tuesday during its annual September event. Marketed with a Knives Out–inspired whodunnit short movie, the camera feature — which records in Dolby Vision HDR — can track where the video’s subject is looking and adjust the camera’s focus accordingly. Video editors will also be able…
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