Technology
Disney signs deal to stream 'Spider-Man,' other Sony films
Media|HollyWood|: Los Angeles: Walt Disney Co said on Wednesday it had reached a deal with Sony Pictures to bring new “Spider-Man” movies and other films to Disney’s streaming services and TV networks in the United States after they play on Netflix. Disney also secured rights to offer older Sony films, including “Jumanji” and “Hotel Transylvania,” much sooner. The company said it will add a significant number of Sony titles to Hulu starting in June. Financial terms were not disclosed. The arrangement means Disney will be able to offer new Marvel films in the “Spider-Man” and “Venom” series starting in 2023. First they will play in theatres and be offered on DVD and video-on-demand. Next, they will head to Netflix for an exclusive 18-month period before going to Disney platforms. After their run in cinemas, the new movies will be offered via DVD, video-on-demand and then on Netflix, which reached a deal with Sony earlier this month, before heading to the Disney+ streaming service and other Disney platforms.
Tesla owners warned of 'full self-driving' risks even before fatal crash
Tesla's "full self-driving" feature has attempted to drive under a railroad crossing arm while a speeding train passes. It's nearly driven head on into a concrete wall of a parking garage, attempted ill-advised left turns, clipped at least one curb, and at least one driver was able to set a maximum speed of 90 mph on a street where the posted speed limit was 35 mph, according to videos posted on social media.
Instagram introduces new feature to filter out abusive DMs automatically
Technology|: Washington: After facing regular backlash over cybersecurity from celebrities and public figures, Facebook-owned company Instagram has announced a new feature on Wednesday that will automatically filter abusive direct messages for users. The Verge reported that the new tool introduced by Instagram will allow users to automatically filter out direct message requests containing offensive words, phrases, and emojis. The tool is targeted at celebrities and public figures who receive a large number of unwanted, harmful DMs. The new feature update by the photo-sharing platform will help combat users from hate speech on the platform. In February, the company said it would "begin disabling the accounts of users who sent multiple harassing messages". On a related note, in 2018, the company expanded its offensive comments filter to automatically block comments that attack a person's appearance or character. As per reports from The Verge, the message requests feature can be turned on or off by the users in a new section of the app titled 'hidden words'. When the feature will be enabled, offensive messages will be pushed to a separate folder. The messages stored in that folder will then be concealed, allowing users to browse messages without needing to read what they say. If a user taps into a message, they will be able to read, delete, or report it further. According to an official statement given by the social media giant, it said that it worked with "leading anti-discrimination and anti-bullying organisations" to come up with a preset list of offensive phrases. The Verge reported that users are also given freedom by the platform to customise their own list based on what they do find offensive and wants to block. Instagram shared that the new feature will roll out to "several countries" in the coming weeks, though it did not specify which countries those are. The company plans to expand to more countries in the next few months. The company also announced that it is rolling out a tool to allow people to preemptively block new accounts from harassers. This will further allow users who block someone in the app, to block any new accounts that person creates. The feature will be pushed out globally in the next few weeks.
Scientists rediscover lost coffee species suited to a warmer climate
News/Technology & Science: In dense tropical forests in Sierra Leone, scientists have rediscovered a coffee species not seen in the wild in decades — a plant they say may help secure the future of this valuable commodity that has been imperiled by climate change.
Decades-long battle over 2 B.C. lakes shines light on public access to Crown lands
News/Canada/British Columbia: A legal battle that has pitted Canada's largest private ranch against a small recreation club in British Columbia has exposed the gaps in provincial legislation when it comes to access to public lands, say experts.
Tesla apologises as China disquiet mounts
Tesla Inc. is coming under increasing pressure in China with two government entities firing off missives about the carmaker's behavior and treatment of customers, eliciting an apology from the company. The trouble started early Tuesday when China's state-run Xinhua news agency published an article that said the quality of Tesla's electric vehicles must meet market expectations in order to win consumer trust. The Palo Alto, California-based company should address consumer hesitation over buying its cars after issues ranging from malfunctioning brakes to fires during charging emerged, the article said. A few hours later, the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee weighed in, posting a commentary on its WeChat account saying the automaker should respect Chinese consumers and comply with local laws and regulations. Making an effort to find the cause of problems and improve features is something any responsible business should do, and Tesla hasn't done that, the Communist Party body that oversees China's police, prosecutors and courts said. The blowback appears to stem from an embarrassing incident Tesla faced Monday at the Shanghai Auto Show, one of the world's premier car events. An angry protester climbed on one of its display vehicles shouting that her car's brakes had lost control. Her protest was captured by scores of onlookers who then uploaded the footage to social media, helping it go viral. Tesla's booth at the show had a noticeably increased security presence Tuesday. After initially pushing back against the woman's claims on Monday, saying he was "widely known" for protesting against Tesla, and that it would "never compromise against unreasonable demands," the automaker struck a more conciliatory tone in a statement late Tuesday. "We apologize for the delay in resolving the car-owner's problem,” it said. "Tesla appreciates the trust and tolerance given by our car-owners, netizens and media friends, and actively listens to the suggestions and critics. In order to make up for the discomfort of the owner as much as possible and the negative impact on her car using experience and life, we are always willing to try our best to actively communicate with her and seek solutions with the most sincere attitude, firmly fulfilling our commitment of being responsible to the end." A special taskforce has been created and Tesla "will strive to do our best to meet the demands of the owner, making the owner satisfied under the condition of compliance and legality." It added that it "respects and firmly complies” with decisions of the relevant government departments, respects its consumers, abides by laws and regulations, and actively cooperates with all investigations by government authorities. The unwanted publicity comes at an uncomfortable time for Tesla, which since breaking ground on its Shanghai Gigafactory in early 2019 has enjoyed a dream run in China, receiving all-important support from the government and appearing to skirt the tensions between Washington and Beijing. The world's biggest maker of EVs has extracted perks other international companies have struggled to obtain in China, the No. 1 global EV market, including tax breaks, cheap loans and permission to wholly own its domestic operations. But over the past month, Tesla has had to defend the way it handles data in China and had its cars banned from military complexes because of concerns about sensitive information being collected by cameras built into the vehicles. After that order, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk strenuously denied the company would ever use a car's technology for spying, and Tesla's Beijing unit said cameras that are built into its EVs aren't activated outside of North America. Tesla has been called out by Chinese regulators over quality and safety issues before, including battery fires and abnormal acceleration. In early February, it was forced into issuing a public apology to China's state grid after a video purportedly showed staff blaming an overload in the national electricity network for damage to a customer's vehicle. Tesla's China honeymoon appears to be coming to an end at a time the U.S. automaker is facing increasing competition from a slew of younger, cashed up local EV players like the New York-listed Nio Inc. and Xpeng Inc., which also enjoy the support of municipal governments. Their presence at this year's Shanghai Auto Show was telling, with their large, shiny booths overshadowing exhibits from some of the more traditional carmakers. For all the hype over these newer entrants, however, Teslas remain hugely popular in China, the world's biggest car market for conventional automobiles as well. A record 34,714 China-built and imported Teslas were registered in the country in March, almost double the 18,155 registrations in February, when the week long Lunar New Year holiday slowed sales, and almost triple the number a year earlier, when the nation was in the grip of coronavrius lockdowns. The pushback against Tesla comes as other Western brands also face greater scrutiny and become ensnared in geopolitics. Swedish clothing giant Hennes & Mauritz AB was earlier criticized by state entities for an old statement on its website about forced labor in the contentious Chinese region of Xinjiang, while there has been a marked increase in nationalism among some Chinese consumers, with campaigns to buy local brands gathering pace.
Why the Canada jay's friendly begging for food is an evolutionary winter survival tactic
News/Canada/Calgary: Most people in Canada recognize one of the country's most common birds, the Canada jay, or grey jay. Naturalist Brian Keating delves into the question of why we aren't seeing as many.
Social media platforms brace for the Chauvin trial verdict
Social media companies are on high alert for a verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd, knowing that their platforms have been used in the past to inflame tensions in the United States and that the same thing could well happen again in the wake of the verdict.
What happened at Rogers? Day-long outage is over, but questions remain
News/Business: A day after a software error wiped out wireless services for thousands of Rogers customers across Canada for most of the day, consumers, telecom executives and critical public services still have questions about what exactly happened and how it can be avoided in the future.
