After raising the prices of its premium tier last year, Netflix is now raising the prices for its basic and standard plans over the coming weeks for existing members and effective immediately for new signups. The basic plan is going up by $1 to $10.99 and the standard plan increasing by $2 to $15.99.
I do find it quite strange that Netflix would increase the prices of its streaming service during a pandemic, and furthermore, at a time when Australia officially entered recession not too long ago where the economy contracted seven per cent.
I have been solely a front-end developer for six years now and while I can still find my way around on the backend (with Node and PHP) my interest in the backend has all but faded.
This is where platforms like Firebase are a real asset for developers like me.
It is no secret the front-end has become complicated, if you’re not fighting a framework or library for control, you’re debugging confusing TypeScript error messages or trying to get Webpack configured. While the backend is a little more straightforward from a lack of new things to learn every five minutes like the front-end, it’s just another thing to worry about.
It’s hard to deny that Elon Musk’s brand of futuristic dreamer type thinking is not contagious. I, for one, am excited about the future of electrical vehicles and the innovation brought about by Tesla is undeniable.
But, I want to talk about one of Elon’s most bizarre product ideas: Neuralink.
Brain implants, dude.
Allegedly, it’ll cure everything from neurological disorders to autism. And what futuristic brain-computer would be complete without the ability to use it to listen to music as well?
I made a realisation the other day, I own a lot of games. Not just on PC, but on my Nintendo Switch as well. Of all of the games I own, I’ve played maybe a few hours of a couple in 2020, but for the most part, haven’t really spent much time gaming whatsoever.
And it isn’t for lack of trying.
I recently bought the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 remastered version and I was instantly taken back to my youth, the days where I could game all day and then all night, get up and go to school the next day and somehow function.
There has been plenty of talk and speculation for years about what a Grand Theft Auto 6 game could look like, what world it would be set in and how it might work. It’s not an industry secret that GTA V is a money-making machine, still making a tidy profit in the seven years it has been out.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 was recently released and it is a next-gen marvel. The game uses a combination of real-life data (Bing Maps run through a 3D algorithm) combined with real weather and air traffic, you’re flying in a realistic living world.
Not that kind of scraping.
If you’re a developer, chances are in your career you’ve written a web scraper before. You either did it for a personal project, learning exercise or you were asked by someone else to build a scraper. My first freelancer job was a scraper on Freelancer.com years and years ago.
There is often confusion around the legality of scraping and it’s not illegal to scrape public data. This was further reinforced by the case of hiQ vs LinkedIn which ruled it is legal to scrape public data.
Well, it has barely been a day with Joe Rogan starting his new $100 million dollars multi-year deal with Spotify and already the move is already generating controversy.
Eagle-eyed fans have noticed that there are numerous existing Joe Rogan podcast episodes missing from Spotify, perhaps most notably are the infamous and highly entertaining Alex Jones episodes. A Reddit thread has compiled a list of missing names and there are some recurring guests that come up.
If you’ve been following any tech news for the last few weeks, you have probably heard about the TikTok situation unfolding in the US where Donald Trump via executive order is forcing a sale of TikTok in the US or banning it.
To say that 2020 has been a wild and unprecedented year is an understatement. TikTok has been a source of entertainment for those staying at home as the COVID-19 pandemic closes down schools, states, countries and limits movement.
As much as some people wanted to believe in Slack’s tagline that email was dead, it seems in 2020 that email is anything but dead. I observe trends in tech, I’m always looking for new ideas and startups to explore.
One thing I have noticed these past few months in 2020 is newsletters are becoming big business.
Instead of launching products, people are launching niche newsletters. And honestly, I’m sold. The past month alone, I’ve subscribed to more newsletters than I have my entire internet life.
It looks like a new hardware arms race is upon us. I am not talking about consumers rushing to buy GPU’s to mine cryptocurrencies in their parent’s basement: masks are the new hot tech (for obvious reasons).
LG has announced a yet unavailable air purifying mask that you strap to your face. They are calling it the PuriCare™ Wearable Air Purifier.
Considering 2020 is anything but normal, it seems fitting that LG would release a face mask to help continue the 2020 dystopian theme we all find ourselves embedded in. This looks like something out of Dune or a movie about a highly-infectious virus turning people into zombies.