Toyota Wants to Make Smart Homes

Toyota wants to make smart homes with Panasonic

Like many carmakers, Toyota is trying to find new sources of revenue beyond making vehicles.

The company been branching out into robotics and now wants to push further into the growing market for homes that can connect with cars, appliances, and services via the internet.

It is teaming up with Panasonic — an existing partner in batteries for electric vehicles — to build smart houses and cities.

The companies said Thursday they will form a joint venture early next year that will combine Toyota's construction subsidiary Misawa Homes and its development unit Toyota Housing with Panasonic Homes.

Panasonic (PCRFF) and Toyota (TM) said that working together will boost their competitiveness in the Japanese housing market, where the country's shrinking population is reducing demand for new homes.

While its parent company is best known as a carmaker, Toyota Housing has sold over 100,000 homes over nearly four decades.

Toyota and other global automakers have been investing heavily in new technologies that connect vehicles to road infrastructure and devices including household products via an internet connection.

The joint venture with Panasonic, which specializes in connected home appliances and batteries, could yield tech breakthroughs that would help Toyota compete against Tesla (TSLA), Google (GOOGL) and Uber.

Toyota has in recent years been on the hunt for tech opportunities: It's making robots that assist with household jobs and health care while venturing into the ride-sharing business.

Other car makers have been forming similar partnerships and strategic alliances. Volkswagen has struck a deal with Microsoft (MSFT) to develop an "Automotive Cloud" that will integrate apps into cars.

The Renault (RNLSY)-Nissan (NSANF) alliance and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) have both partnered with Google, while Volvo (VOLAF) is working with Uber on autonomous vehicles.

Source: CNN

Everything You Need to Know about Disney +

Disney Plus streaming service: Release date, price, shows, and movies to expect

Disney is betting big on its 2019 streaming service called Disney Plus, and it started laying its cards on the table last week. In a three-hour event Thursday, Disney revealed the release date, price, shows, and movies planned for its Netflix competitor.

At an investor day at the company's Buena Vista studios in California, Disney CEO Bob Iger headlined a presentation that included demos of the Disney Plus app, trailers and behind-the-scenes footage of its exclusive shows like the Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian. It even threw in a new Avengers: Endgame clip for good measure. 

But Disney's last big reveal elicited a gasp from the crowd of investors, analysts and press there: The company priced Disney Plus at $7 a month, half the cost of HBO Now and a big discount to Netflix. 

Much of the premium original programming planned for Disney Plus leans into the company's big-budget franchises like Marvel and Star Wars. Some shows -- like the live-action, big-budget The Mandalorian -- have completed filming and will be available at launch. Other Marvel spinoffs, like a show based on Avengers character Loki and WandaVision featuring Scarlet Witch and Vision, will debut in the second year. 

Oh, and every episode of the Simpsons, too. 

So is the Disney Plus streaming service worth paying for? The details that we know so far are below, but basically: If you're a parent or you love Star Wars or Marvel movies, you may find yourself considering yet another subscription before the year is out.

What's the Disney streaming service?

The Disney Plus streaming service will be a competitor to video streaming services such as Netflix, HBO Now and -- later this year -- Apple TV Plus. It's a paid subscription without any advertising, and it gives customers to access a vast library of Disney's and Fox's legacy content as well as new, exclusive TV shows, movies, and documentaries. 

Disney wants its other streaming services -- Hulu and sports-focused ESPN Plus -- to run on the same tech platform so you can subscribe to them with the same password and credit card info. Disney plans for all three to be individual subscriptions, but it said it's likely to bundle them at a discount. 

Hulu will be where Disney streams more adult-oriented fare. For example, Hulu is where a new Marvel collection of grown-up animated series will stream, and it's likely where Deadpool-like content will live now that Disney owns Fox. Hulu will continue to stream content from three of the broadcast networks and its own original series, like The Handmaid's Tale and Castle Rock. (ESPN Plus will, clearly, focus on sports.)

Disney Plus will include all of Disney's family-friendly and much of its mass audience fare. It'll have content from Disney proper, Marvel, Lucasfilm (so, Star Wars), Pixar and National Geographic. And, outside those traditional categories, it'll also offer all 30 seasons of The Simpsons, a new feather in its cap from the Fox takeover. 

When's the release date? 

Disney Plus will launch on Nov. 12 in the US.

The timing is strategically smart. For one, Disney Plus can piggyback on the marketing for all of Disney's big-budget films being released for the holiday season -- Frozen 2 hits theaters Nov. 22 and Star Wars: Episode IX will be released Dec. 20. 

But Netflix has also shown that the last couple of months of the year is when it tends to get some of its biggest viewership. Bird Box, the movie it says was viewed by more than 80 million accounts in its first month of release, came out Dec. 21. Bright, its fantasy crime flick starring Will Smith, was the company's most-viewed film before Bird Box. It was released Dec. 13. 

Disney plans to widen Disney Plus globally over two years. 

How much will it cost?

Disney said the service will cost $7 a month, or $70 a year. Its price undercuts Netflix's $13 monthly fee for its most popular plan in the US, which lets you stream to two different devices simultaneously in high definition. 

Disney Chief Financial Officer Christine M. McCarthy hinted Disney Plus pricing may rise as the service advances, calling the $7-a-month fee an "initial" price. The company also said it's likely to bundle Disney Plus with Hulu and ESPN Plus, offering a discount if you subscribe to two or three of its streaming options.

Way back in 2017, Iger noted that the price would reflect the "fact that it will have substantially less volume" than prime competitor Netflix. As Disney has time to funnel more exclusives and originals into Disney Plus, it's a good bet the company will start tapping its price incrementally higher. 

How can I stream it?

Disney Plus will support streaming to phones, tablets, computers, connected TVs and streaming media boxes, the company said. Disney specifically called out support for Roku TVs and the PlayStation 4. Its presentation slides included photos of Chromecast, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, but the company hasn't specifically confirmed those devices yet. Generally speaking, though, Disney's goal is to have wide device support for Disney Plus by the service's November launch. 

Disney told CNET that Disney Plus will be able to stream 4K and HDR content, but it hasn't specified which titles, how much or whether those higher-quality formats will cost extra. It also hasn't specified how many simultaneous streams are allowed on a single account. 

Shows and movies: What will I be able to watch?

Disney Plus will include content from the Disney brand itself, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic. It'll also integrate programming from Fox -- all 30 seasons of The Simpsons will be on Disney Plus starting on day one, and more titles like The Sound of Music, The Princess Bride and Malcolm in the Middle will join it in the first year.

Disney Plus will be the only place you can stream all of Disney's theatrically released movies starting with Captain Marvel at launch and the rest of its 2019 slate later on. Frozen 2, for example, will be streamable on the service next summer after its theatrical release in November. Disney Plus will also house the entire film libraries of Pixar, Star Wars and its Signature Series and Disney Vault lines of classic hand-drawn animated movies. (Think Bambi, The Lion King, Snow White and so on.)

And of course, the company is developing a big slate of original, exclusive shows and movies for the service.

Major originals include The Mandalorian, a big-budget series starring Pedro Pascal about a bounty-hunting gunfighter that takes place five years after the events in The Return of the Jedi. A Star Wars prequel series based on Rogue One will star Diego Luna, who played Cassian Andor in the original movie. 

And Disney has three live-action series drawing the stars of its blockbuster Avengers movies into their own shows: a Loki series featuring Tom Hiddleston; The Falcon and The Winter Soldier with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, and WandaVision with Elizabeth Olsen in her role of Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany reprising The Vision.

Disney Plus will have original documentaries, reality shows, competition series, behind-the-scenes features, nature and adventure titles, animated programming -- the list goes on. 

Even though all of Disney's movies will stream exclusively on Disney Plus, the company doesn't plan to debut any of its big-budget motion pictures on the service. That's what's known as a day-and-date approach, which releases most of its films on big screens and on its streaming service at the same time, and it was Netflix's strategy for years. Disney, however, plans for all its theatrical films like Star Wars and Marvel to run their course in theaters and home video before making them available with a digital subscription. 

CNET also has a comprehensive list of all the shows and movies expected on Disney Plus. 

How will this affect Disney stuff on Netflix?

Disney will mostly disappear from Netflix by late 2019. 

Since 2016, Netflix has been the first place to watch Disney's movies with a subscription. That deal meant Netflix was the go-to place for the biggest US blockbusters of the last three years. The top two movies of 2017 and the top three movies of 2016 and 2018 were all from Disney, and Netflix has been the place to binge them all. 

But Disney decided against renewing that Netflix deal as it plotted its own competitor. Starting with Disney's 2019 slate of movies, all those films are destined for Disney Plus. That means Captain Marvel, the first movie Disney released theatrically in 2019, will be the first movie Netflix misses out on. It also means that Mary Poppins Returns should be the final Disney movie that will have some type of release window on Netflix.

Netflix's Marvel Defenders shows are complicated, though. Netflix has put out five original series based on Defenders characters in partnership with Disney. In 2018, Netflix canceled three of them: Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Then in 2019, Netflix canceled the last two: The Punisher and Jessica Jones. Kevin Mayer, the Disney executive in charge of Disney Plus, has said Disney Plus could possibly revive the canceled shows. But the terms of their original deal could restrict Disney Plus from any revivals until 2020, according to a report. 

A third and now final, season of Jessica Jones is still set to arrive on Netflix sometime in 2019. But after that, all we know about the future of these characters is Marvel Television chief Jeph Loeb teasing fans that the characters will continue in some form. But the only thing for sure about that form right now: It won't involve Netflix.

What shows and movies do you want to appear on Disney's streaming service? Pop them into the comments section and we'll keep updating this post with more information as it becomes available.

Source: Cnet

Netflix to Publish Magazines?

Netflix to launch magazine to hype its content for awards season, report says

Netflix is reportedly launching a magazine with the working title Wide

For your consideration: a Netflix magazine.

Netflix is casting a wider net with an awards-style magazine meant to tout its productions, according to Bloomberg. The online streaming giant will reportedly launch the publication, with the working title Wide, just in time for Emmy Awards campaigning.

Netflix representatives did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment. The company has not officially confirmed the news.

The print journal’s 100-plus-page inaugural issue will be published in June and will include interviews, essays, and features about and by people who work on Netflix series, according to emails reviewed by Bloomberg. It’s free, too, and will be distributed at various Netflix events.

The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company — which, you’ll recall, started as a movie-rental-by-mail company before making a groundbreaking shift to streaming in 2010 — has been operating a studio in Hollywood and has opened production facilities in New Mexico and Spain.

Last year, it hired veteran publicist Lisa Taback to oversee its awards operation and recently hired Vanity Fair editor Krista Smith to assist, Bloomberg said. It has previously operated its so-called “FYSee” campaign space on the Raleigh Studios lot ahead of and during Emmy nominations voting, the Hollywood Reporter said.

Netflix and its growing roster of A-list talent released some 700 programs last year, including films, TV series, documentaries, comedy specials and more. A print product is the latest heavy-hitting move from the young-but-mighty studio, which earlier this week was revealed to be in talks to buy Hollywood’s iconic Egyptian Theatre.

The prospective purchase has been widely regarded as an attempt to boost Netflix’s controversial Oscars changes, while simultaneously being shunned by traditional cineastes.

The streaming giant also has been spending big during awards campaigns and has already earned a slew of Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Awards with shows such as “The Crown,” “Stranger Things” and “Black Mirror.”

It came very close to winning a best-picture Oscar this year for “Roma,” setting off a bit of anti-Netflix sentiment from the likes of Steven Spielberg in the last few months.

Source: LaTimes

Google Announces Its Plan to Upend the $140 Billion Video Game Industry

The company showed off a new streaming service called Stadia that allows people to play high-end games without purchasing expensive consoles or computers.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the Google keynote address at the Gaming Developers Conference in San Francisco on March 19, 2019.

Google on Tuesday announced its plans to spend the $140 billion gaming industry dominated by Sony and Microsoft with a new streaming service called Stadia that allows people to play high-end games without purchasing expensive consoles or computers. Google said this is a "game platform for everyone."

All of the legwork to render those games is done in Google's cloud.

Google explained a bit about how it will work. The company said that if someone is watching a video of a game on YouTube, they could hit a button that says "play now" and jump right into playing the game themselves in as fast as five seconds. Today, gamers have to buy physical games or wait, often hours, for the game to download before they can play. Even then, they also need special hardware to play those games.

Google says Stadia will run on "any screen type" but it will work on desktops, laptops, TVs, tablets and phones at launch. There's no box at all.

"With Stadia, the data center is your platform," Google said. A gamer can start on one platform and then pick up where they left off on another device, which means you might game on your computer and then continue on your phone when you leave the house.

People will be able to play with a keyboard and mouse or a special Stadia controller that Google will sell. It has a capture button that lets people share their games right to YouTube so that other people can watch. It also has a Google Assistant button, which gives access to the microphone for speaking to in-game features that developers will be able to build into their games.

Google said it will support 4K games at 60fps with HDR but that, in the future, will support games up to 8K resolution. Most people don't yet own 8K TVs and only the most recent gaming consoles from Microsoft and Sony currently support 4K HDR gaming.

AMD helps Google power Stadia's graphics rendering in the cloud. AMD shares were up about 7 percent on news that it was partnering with Google on Stadia.

Google needs game studios to build titles for Stadia. It says developers can build on its cloud or in their own studios. id Software is already building "Doom Eternal" for Stadia and demoed it on stage. Another developer, Tequila Studios, showed its game "Rime" running on the platform.

But beyond that, there weren't many major game titles announced for the system. Google's biggest challenge will be to convince publishers to bring blockbuster games to the platform.

One expert who spoke to CNBC said Microsoft is better poised to offer a streaming video game service since it already has relationships with publishers in place and a strong fan base of gamers who buy its consoles. Microsoft's upcoming competitor is called xCloud.

"I'd favor Microsoft's chances given it too has the scale and technology but has been successfully engaged in the gaming industry via Windows and Xbox for over 30 years," Patrick Moorhead, president, and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy told CNBC ahead of Google's event.

Amazon is also reportedly building a cloud gaming service that could eventually run games like "New World," which is developed by its in-house studio but currently only works on PCs.

Source:  NBC