Statistics dub Tyrion the main character of George R. R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords and Veronica got to talk to him! Well, she talked to Peter Dinklage anyway, who plays him on the TV show. She reports back on his handshake and reveals what Arya Stark did to her. Plus, we kick off our April books!
DTNS 2734 – Alibaba is a Fickle Genie
Alibaba spends $1 billion to move into Southeast Asian ecommerce, Brian Brushwood talks with Tom Merritt about doing business on Alibaba.
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Show Notes
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Cordkillers 116 – The Moose in the Room (w/ Chris Mancini and Fraser Cain)
Canada cuts the cord because its cable is cheaper, NFL comes to Twitter, and is Tom Waits a stunt casting? With special guests Chris Mancini and Fraser Cain.
CordKillers: Ep. 116 – The Moose in the Room
Recorded: April 11 2016
Guests: Fraser Cain, Chris Mancini
Intro Video
Primary Target
- Cord-cutting soars in Canada
– Convergence Consulting Group report
– 190,000 Canadians dropped traditional TV in 2015 +80% yoy
– Cable subs last grew in Canada in 2012
– Canada decline 1.5% bigger than 1% decline in US
– Majority HH still subscribe ti TV (11 mm)
– Netflix subs in Canada rose 58% from 2013-2015 (4.9 mm)
– Canadians pay less on average for cable but more for Internet than US
Signal Intelligence
- Twitter reportedly wins streaming rights for NFL’s Thursday Night Football
– Twitter will stream 10 Thursday Night Football games “to a global audience” in 2016 for free without authentication.
– Paid around $10 million acc. Bloomberg’s source (beating out Verizon, Yahoo, Amazon)
– NFL evp media said didn’t take highest bidder.
– Twitter gets a small portion of ad inventory
– CBS and NBC paid $225mm for 5 Thursday games each — Verizon has rights to stream to wireless phones
– Twitter video will be embeddable. Include pregame Periscope streams from players and teams
– Available on Xbox app and possibly partnered w/ Google and Yahoo
– Twitter CFO Anthony Noto (formerly of the NFL) told Bloomberg wants to do other sports, politics and entertainment.
– Twitter claims 800mm audience when counting non0logged-in people
– Thursday night games attracted 17 million viewers last season.
– NFL’s biggest broadcast contracts end in 2021
– Yahoo streamed Oct. 25 game from London (paid $20mm)
Gear Up
- Roku’s new $50 stick fits a quad-core CPU in a smaller frame
– Roku introduced an updated $50 Streaming Stick.
– Quad-core CPU, dual-band MIMO antenna, and the ability to stream audio over Wi-Fi to a smartphone.
– Does not support 4k video only 1080p.
– The stick is available for purchase and will ship near the end of the month.
– Roku is also rolling out OS 7.1 today available on all devices within 6 to 8 weeks.
Front Lines
- It’s going to cost you more to ‘Netflix and Chill’ from next month
– Netflix will raise all subscribers prices to $9.99. Netflix guaranteed the original pricing plan for customers in May 2014. Netflix users in the UK will begin to see an increase of 50p later this month, with prices going up to £7.49. - Starz launches $8.99 per month streaming service
– Starz is making an app for iOS and Android and selling access for $8.99 a month. The same app will be accessible to existing subscribers. Users can get “virtually unlimited” downloads of shows and movies. The premiere of Outlander will come on the app April 7 two days before the premiere. - Hulu is now a channel on Optimum cable boxes
– Cablevision’s Optimum TV service has added Hulu to channel 605. Customers can subscribe through Hulu or Cablevision. - Layer3 TV’s Crazy Plan to Take on Comcast and Reinvent Cable
– A company called Layer3 plans to compete with cable companies by offering traditional cable but with better tech. The company will deliver a better picture by using fiber and HEVC (H.265) video, and one hour appointment windows. It’s set-top box will be simple to install and include Internet options like Amazon and Netflix. The channel guide prioritizes channels based on your interests not channel numbers. Level3 is coming to Chicago first in the next few months for $80-$150. - Verizon Buys More Mobile Video by Investing in DreamWorks’ AwesomenessTV
– Verizon has purchased a 24.5% stake in Awesomeness TV, which is majority owned by Dreamworks. Hearst also owns 24.5%. It looks like Verizon will use Awesomeness content for its G090 mobile video service in a new subscription tier. AwesomenessTV runs YouTube channels for itself, Dreamworks and Seventeen magazine, and produces a sketch comedy series on Nickelodeon. Parents ask your kids. - Plex on the web gets smarter with media searches
– Plex updated its Web interface. Search finds everything across multiple categories as you type. Improved navigation includes more prominent discovery features and better mouse and touch controls. - HDR is TV’s next big format war, and Samsung and Sony could find themselves on the losing side
– CNET has a great explainer up on the latest video format war. This time its two implentation of High Dynamic Range or HDR video in 4K. Here’s the short version. There are two HDR implementations, HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Samsung and Sony support HDR10. LG and Vizio support both. Amazon and Netflix stream in both.
Under Surveillance
- Tom Waits Joins Cast of Hulu’s Mysterious Hero Origin Story, Citizen
– Hulu’s original Citizen, a hero origin story set in a supernaturalized New York has cast Tom Waits as Cesar, an anti-authoritarian priest. Cesar, runs a guerrilla humanitarian outfit with questionable legality from his church in Boyle Heights. - New Game of Thrones trailer – premieres April 24
- Netflix’s first UK show, ‘The Crown,’ arrives November 4
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them Trailer (Nov. 18)
- Star Wars: Rogue One
- Brian: Better Call Saul 208, Justified 113
- Tom: Better Call Saul (208) Daredevil (8-13) Justified (113) American Idol Series Finale, Vinyl
- Chris: Daredevil, Pee-Wee Herman, Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Mad Men
- Fraser: Daredevil, Better Call Saul, YouTube Let’s Plays
- On the Lookout: The Path
Dispatches from the Front
HighTechBill tweeted us about this excellent Cord-cutting guide from ChannelMaster!
Before Star Wars Episode VII came out to own, I decided I would just buy it digitally until the new box set comes out after episode 9. There wasn’t a need to have a physical DVD when I could own it through Amazon or Google. However, I recently replaced my laptop and iPad with a Surface Pro 4. I love to watch movies on the plane when traveling. However, what I found is that neither Amazon nor Google will let me download a movie I own onto my Surface, because it is a computer and they don’t have apps like they do for the iPad where they can control the content. This being said, I opted to buy the physical DVD + Blue Ray + Digital HD version of the movie. I wanted to share this story because this was a rare occasion for me where the physical DVD was the better option for me and fortunately it comes with a digital copy. I am getting to watch what I want, where I want, and sort of on the device I want – but it’s not completely there yet. Would love to hear of any better suggestions for this scenario or any similar frustrations!
Love listening to the show every week!
-Kristen
Hi,
I have the feeling that I emailed you about this before but possibly not for this podcast.
Anytime people talk about users agents, bots or digital butlers automatically doing useful things for you, I am reminded about Hyperland an early 90s TV show written and presented by the late great Douglas Adams.
It is a bit too pre-internet and there’s too much “CD-Roms will fix everything!” which makes it feel out of date. However Douglas Adams makes some interesting predictions especially about how you will be able to get additional information about shows and skip between interesting things.
He is joined in the show by a digital assistant played by Tom Baker. They previously worked together when Douglas Adams wrote for the classic series of Doctor Who (the Douglas Adams co-written story, City of Death is a wonderful intro to classic series).
You can find Hyperland on YouTube (Tom’s wife works for YouTube) and while you are there look up the South Bank Show profile of Douglas Adams from 1992 and feel sad.
– Tim
re: redbox: Think you guys might have missed the point about them going digital. If they bring the same price wars to digital as they did against brick and mortar it could shake things up quite a bit.
Brian seems to think that the reason redbox customers use them is for the physical content. I use them for the incredible price point. Why spend 5$ on Google play when redbox costs a buck? I recently spent 5$ on a YouTube rental for Spotlight because the vending machine only has so many titles. I’m guessing digital could erase that problem as well.
Thanks for the show!!
– Erick
Links
DTNS 2733 – Why People Won’t Shut Up About VR
Is virtual reality good for anything but games? Industry vet Travis Falstad talks with Allison Sheridan and Tom Merritt about what VR is good for.
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A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!
DTNS 2742 – When Technology Becomes Boring
Peter Wells and James Croft discuss the news, contactless payments, Twitter and the NFL, and Telstra’s Dataman
<!–Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.–>
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Follow us on Soundcloud.
A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!
DTNS 2732 – When Technology Becomes Boring
Peter Wells and James Croft discuss the news, contactless payments, Twitter and the NFL, and Telstra’s Dataman
<!–Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.–>
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Follow us on Soundcloud.
A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!
Weekly Tech Views – April 9, 2016
Real tech stories. Really shaky analysis.
If this edition of the Weekly Tech Views makes even less sense than usual, blame today’s visit to the dentist. It was just a cleaning, but their unexpected change of rinse from Cool Mint Listerine to Original Mint Scope really threw me.
For the week of April 4 – 8, 2016…
How Much For Netscape?
Verizon is apparently going to make a bid to obtain Yahoo’s Web business. Already the owner of AOL, Verizon anticipates, if all goes according to plan, to dominate not only the telecommunication business, but the 1998 internet.
With A Special Appearance By The Follow-At-A-Safe-Distance Warrior!
The European Truck Platooning Challenge came to an end Wednesday as a dozen self-driving semi trucks completed travels across Europe and arrived in Rotterdam. As you can imagine, this event, like any involving a significant number of large trucks, was heavily advertised.
“WEDNESDAY! WEDNESDAY! WEDNESDAY! IF YOU THOUGHT MONSTER TRUCKS WERE BIG, YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET! GET ON DOWN TO APM TERMINALS AND WATCH A DOZEN 18-WHEELERS BARRELL INTO ROTTERDAM AT PRECISELY THE SPEED LIMIT! OH, BIGFOOT AND GRAVEDIGGER MIGHT CRUSH CARS, BUT THESE FREIGHT HAULERS ARE CRUSHING HIGHWAY CONGESTION! YOU’LL WATCH IN STUNNED AWE AS THE WI-FI GUIDANCE SYSTEM KEEPS THEM RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR LANE, ALLOWING NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY TO HAPPEN! WEDNESDAY! WE’LL SELL YOU THE WHOLE SEAT, BUT YOU’LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE!
Get Ripped In Just 50 Texts Per Day!
Huawei (pronounced Hua-wei) introduced two phones this week, the P9 and P9 Plus. They offer high-end specs in slim, lightweight form factors, each weighing less than six ounces. Less publicized is their alternative device–developed in concert with fitness guru Tony Horton–for users who are looking for the functionality of the P9 line, “but aren’t sissies”–the fifteen-pound P90X Plus.
Just Page Me
The FBI has briefed Senator Diane Feinstein on how they accessed the data on the iPhone used in the San Bernadino terrorism case. In other news, every one of Diane Feinstein’s family members and acquaintances “lost” their phone yesterday.
The More Things Change, The More They Ruin Our Dreams
The FBI Director stated that the method used to finally unlock the San Bernadino iPhone 5c without Apple’s help will not work on the iPhone 5s or newer. Which, of course, makes sense. Things change. I had an amazing reverse two-handed dunk on the Playskool basketball hoop I had when I was six, but the same technique didn’t fly when I “advanced” to a regulation ten-foot hoop. I, for one, will not blame the FBI if, years from now, it digs out the old 5c and throws down some awesome hacks for old times sake.
Step Up Your Game, Thailand
Messaging app Line may have run into some trouble in Thailand. One of its users created a set of stickers that mocks the royal family, and Line didn’t catch it. Well, who doesn’t mock their leadership a little, right? The correct answer is Thai citizens. Not without some fallout, anyhow. It is against the law to insult the monarchy, with punishment ranging up to 15 years in prison. This sounds harsh, but will look tame when President Trump institutes his own “no insulting the monarchy law” (no, the presidency is not a monarchy, but if Mr. Trump likes the way something sounds, he tends to run with it), where offenders who, say, create an unflattering image of the president on their Miitomo app, will scrub clean a stained section of the ten-foot Mexican border wall and turn around to face a firing squad, giving the next offender something to clean. *
Let Me Twist That Knife A Bit
The new Tesla Model 3 electric car was preordered a phenomenal 276,000 times in just three days. Not surprisingly, the amazing success has prompted a new competitor to enter the market. The Edison Model 1 will be pretty much the same as the Tesla, but is expected to be remembered by historians as the very first electric car.
Relax, I Didn’t Even Have A Girlfriend In 11th Grade
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, riding high on those huge Model 3 preorders, further stoked anticipation by saying the steering controls would “feel like a spaceship.” Easy to claim, since almost none of us know what the controls of a spaceship feel like. Comparisons are more effective if a large number of people have experienced the alternative, like “a high-end joystick” or “my girlfriend in eleventh grade.”
Guys, Could You Not Be A-Holes, If It’s Not Too Much Trouble?
The Federal Communications Commission, in an effort to help consumers understand the terms they are agreeing to with internet service providers, issued non-mandatory guidelines for ISPs to spell out things like prices, data caps, overage charges, and speed. Finally! Nothing says “get your act together!” like non-mandatory guidelines. I remember as a kid, when my brothers and I would be teasing my sister, hiding her Shaun Cassidy album,** nothing got us back in line quicker than Mom dropping the hammer with one of her non-mandatory guidelines rants:
“YOU GUYS THINK IT’S A BIG JOKE TO TEASE YOUR SISTER LIKE THIS, BUT IT’S NOT! IT’S NOT HURTING YOU ANY TO HEAR HER MUSIC, AND I WANT YOU TO GIVE HER BACK HER RECORD RIGHT NOW! THAT’S HER PROPERTY, AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TOUCH IT! JUST REMEMBER, THIS IS A SUGGESTION ON MY PART! I’M NOT MANDATING HOW YOU SHOULD LIVE YOUR LIFE; YOU’RE FREE TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS! THIS IS A GUIDELINE! IT’S COMPLETELY UP TO YOU WHETHER YOU DO THIS OR NOT! THERE WILL BE NO CONSEQUENCES OR REPERCUSSIONS, REGARDLESS OF YOUR DECISION! NOW GO ON AND DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!”
Let me tell you, that, combined with Dad reaching for his belt, was really effective.
* That got dark, didn’t it?
** You can’t blame us for that. Nobody should be subjected to Da Doo Ron Ron twelve times in a lifetime, let alone an afternoon.
Want to keep following Team DTNS’s progress in the Night Attack Summer Movie Draft? Sure, I use the term “progress” loosely, because none Tom and Jennie’s movies are out yet, but other stuff happened. You can check in on the CRUMDUM at https://redd.it/4djyvr.
That’s another week of tech news battered beyond recognition. Now I have a stern non-mandatory guideline letter to work on for my dentist.
Mike Range
@MovieLeagueMike
Weekly Tech Views by Mike Range is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
DTNS 2731 – Kill this Bill
Is Brave’s plan to replace ads in the browser and share revenue with publishers AND surfers Brave? or crazy? Shannon Morse and Tom Merritt discuss while +Len Peralta illustrates!
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A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!
DTNS 2730 – Yahoo! – Japan not included
Facebook isn’t Facebook anymore. It’s Oculus and WhatsApp and more. It looks like a 1980s conglomerate. Google split up into slices and now Verizon is possibly adding Yahoo to its collection. Justin Young and Tom Merritt discuss if decentralization is the new pivot for the big dogs.
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A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit
Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!
It’s Spoilerin’ Time 115
Summer Movie Draft, 11.22.63 (108), Better Call Saul (207), Justified (112)
00:42 – Summer Movie Draft
05:24 – 11.22.63 (108)
17:00 – Better Call Saul (207)
22:15 – Justified (112)