NBCUniversal has just announced that Universal Pictures will make its movies available on-demand the same day as their global theatrical releases. This will start with DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour (opening April 10 in the U.S.), and the company is also planning to make movies that are currently in theatrical release available on-demand starting as early as Friday, March 20 (The Hunt, The Invisible Man and Emma for now). Read more for a news report and additional information.
Photo credit: Georges Seguin
Social distancing is one way to prevent cluster outbreaks of COVID-19 and as many already know, is hard to accomplish in Apple Stores, especially on busy weekends. As of today, Apple has closed all of their retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27. Everything is working as it should online, or for those without a computer, an alternative would be to download the Apple Store app on the App Store. Now if you were looking to get something repaired in person, that will have to wait for at least two weeks. Read more for a video of Steve Jobs touring the very first Apple Store.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch landed back on Earth at 4:12 a.m. EST in Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, setting a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman. Her first journey into space became a 328-day mission in which she orbited Earth 5,248 times, a journey of 139 million miles, or the equivalent to 291 trips to the Moon and back. Read more for a video and additional information.
A fifth force of nature may have been discovered by scientists at the Institute for Nuclear Research at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Atomki). The team was closely monitoring how an excited helium atom emitted light as it decayed, and the particles ended up splitting at an unusual angle, 115 degrees, which couldn’t be explained by known physics. They called this new particle X17 because they calculated its mass at 17 megaelectronvolts. Read more for a video and additional information.
Disney has officially joined the streaming business with the debut of its Disney+ service. The company hopes that its $6.99-per-month service will attract millions of subscribers with its mix of Marvel / Star Wars movies, TV shows, classic animated films, new series and lots more. The most highly anticipated original show is “The Mandalorian,” a live-action “Star Wars” series created by Jon Favreau. Read more for a video that tells you all about the service and additional information.
It’s official, we’re getting a new “The Matrix” movie. This fourth installment in the franchise will see stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity. Lana Wachowski, co-creator of the original trilogy, will co-write, direct and produce the film, while being joined by writers Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell, as well as producer Grant Hill. Read more for a behind-the-scenes video and additional information.
Photo credit: George Kao | Jonathon Leitschuh
Security researcher Jonathan Leitschuh discovered a zero-day vulnerability for the Zoom video conferencing app on Macs and publicly disclosed it today. Simply put, any website can open a video-enabled call on a Mac with the Zoom app installed because the software automatically installs a web server on OS X systems that accepts requests regular browsers wouldn’t. A website would simply be able to “forcibly join a user to a Zoom call, with their video camera activated, without the user’s permission.” This also means that even if you uninstall Zoom, the web server can reinstall the software without requiring manual approval. Read more of a screenshot of what one person encountered when trying it.
Countless tourists have traveled to the areas across northern Chile to get the perfect viewing spot to witness Tuesday’s total solar eclipse. It all began at approximately 10:24 a.m. local time (2:24 p.m. ET) in the South Pacific and is expected to sweep along a 6,800-mile path across the open waters to Chile and Argentina. Those are the only places where the total eclipse will be seen, or at least in person, but for those who just happen to be online right now, NASA has a live feed of exactly what’s going on. Read more for the live video and additional information.
Jony Ive, Apple’s longtime design chief, announced that he is leaving the company later this year to launch his own independent design company called LoveFrom. “Apple will continue to benefit from Jony’s talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the ongoing work of the brilliant and passionate design team he has built. After so many years working closely together, I’m happy that our relationship continues to evolve and I look forward to working with Jony long into the future,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a company statement. Read more to see three iconic Apple products that Jony Ive helped design over the years.
Bungie announced today that on September 17 it will be launching a free-to-play version of Destiny 2, downloadable on Steam, alongside the game’s upcoming expansion Shadowkeep called Destiny 2: New Light. Featuring the base game as well as all of the year-one content, including “foundational modes, activities and rewards.” Plus, the free-to-play version gives players the ability to explore areas introduced in year-two content without purchasing the expansions themselves.Read more for the full live stream video and additional information.