News

$3.8 billion. That’s the amount of money Clint Eastwood’s films have grossed at the North American box office throughout his career. A superstar since the 1960s, Eastwood is rare in that almost all of his biggest blockbusters, including all the Dirty Harry movies, were all made for Warner Bros. It’s been his home studio since about the time he made The Outlaw Josey Wales. He’s made everything from Oscar-winners to action movies, to movies where he’s chilling with his pal Clyde the Orangutan for them, and they almost always ended up at least breaking even. Sure, he’s had a few flops, but even in his golden years, he still cranked out smash hits for them, with American Sniper making over half a billion dollars, while The Mule and Sully both made over $100 million domestically. Even when his movies didn’t do well, Eastwood keeps his...

Earlier this month, Warner Bros. (barely) released Clint Eastwood‘s 40th film as director, the exquisitely crafted and morally probing courtroom drama “Juror #2.” Like many of Eastwood‘s movies, it somehow feels like both a summation of all that came before it and something new in his oeuvre; it’s filled with the aesthetic preferences and thematic preoccupations that have obsessed him going back to the 1970s, but the abundance of rich visual and philosophical ideas are expressed with more clarity and concision than ever. With nothing to lose and nothing to prove, Eastwood has created a film as clean and fast as one of his 1990s programmers but as wrenching in its internal tensions as masterpieces like “Unforgiven” and “Mystic River.”

This is all in keeping with the overall trajectory of Eastwood’s career, as his filmmaking has grown increasingly confident with each film. Not every experiment has worked — even as an Eastwood partisan,...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Clint Eastwood was one of the biggest movie stars in the world in 1995, but, up until that point, he was not known for appearing in family-friendly films. CBS' "Rawhide," the television series that launched him in the 1960s, and 1982's "Firefox," with its video game tie-in, are probably his two most kid-appropriate works. "Bronco Billy" and "Honkytonk Man" are also family films in a way, though, really, Eastwood only hit the bullseye with kids when he plopped Clyde the orangutan into the bare-knuckle-brawling adventures of Philo Beddoe in "Every Which Way But Loose" and "Any Which Way You Can" (both of which have no shortage of gleefully raunchy moments).

Eastwood also wasn't known for his romantic dramas, so the summer of 1995 promised to be an outlier for him with his adaptation of Robert James Waller's runaway bestseller "The Bridges of Madison County.

In light of the Christopher Nolan rumours, we take a look back at 1983’s Blue Thunder – a high-tech thriller that deserved more attention on its release.

It’s hard to pinpoint why the vehicular TV and film boom of the 1980s happened. Was it a coincidence that the likes of Knight Rider (1982), Firefox (also 1982), Blue Thunder (1983), Airwolf (1984) and Street Hawk (1985) all came out within a few years of each other?

Whatever the explanation, there was a brief period where vehicles got top billing, whether they were experimental planes (Firefox) helicopters, an ‘all-terrain attack motorcycle’ (Street Hawk) or Knight Rider.

Blue Thunder – the original 1983 film, not the short-lived TV spin-off which emerged the following year – is arguably the best of the lot. An action thriller directed by John Badham, it was one of the most exciting movies of its type released in the early 1980s – and yet, for some reason, several...

The Story: Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider), a helicopter pilot working for the LAPD, is selected to test pilot an experimental government helicopter called “Blue Thunder.” Highly sophisticated, and heavily armed, Murphy discovers the helicopter is being designed for urban use by a group within the government, headed by his old Vietnam nemesis, F.E Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell). Thought to be insane by his LAPD bosses thanks to his troubled history of war-related Ptsd, Murphy steals ”Blue Thunder” in an attempt to reveal the murderous conspiracy behind its creation, culminating in a series of spectacular dogfights in skies above downtown Los Angeles.

The Players: Director: John Badham. Writers: Dan O’Bannon, Don Jakoby. Starring: Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern, & Warren Oates. Score by Arthur B. Rubinstein.

The History: During the early eighties, the comic book-style techno-thriller was in-vogue. Usually, these thrillers revolved around lone-wolf cops or military men given...

Sure, 9-1-1: Lone Star is about a fire family, but what’s a family without a little healthy competition?

And there is no duo more competitive than besties Paul and Marjan, which is why things are heating up and getting messy in the battle for lieutenant.

Ahead of a highly-anticipated season premiere, TV Fanatic was fortunate enough to score an exclusive sneak peek featuring none other than this hilarious duo, and we can’t wait to share it with you!

(Kevin Estrada/Fox) Judd’s Lieutenant Position is Up for Grabs in 9-1-1: Lone Star’s Premiere

Much to our displeasure, Judd retired early during the season finale.

Judd resigned as lieutenant to take care of his son. It’s noble!

Industry’s Season 4 Renewal Proves Patience & Risks Reap Ratings & Rewardsby Jasmine Blu TV’s Bold and Brazen Leading Ladiesby Lisa Babick Is the Ten-Hour Movie Model Killing TV?...

Apple now allows podcast fans to stream their favorite shows through a web browser, a complement to the Podcast apps on Apple devices.

Apple has decoupled its popular Podcast apps from its own iPhone and iPad devices, allowing anyone with an Apple account to stream thousands of on-demand shows from any web browser.

In a note sent to podcast publishers on Monday, Apple affirmed it had launched a web version of Podcasts, which works in popular web browsers like Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge, among others.

“With the full Apple Podcasts experience on the web, listeners can sign in with their Apple Account and get access to their Library, Up Next queue, and subscriptions,” a spokesperson for Apple said in the note, a copy of which was obtained by The Desk. “They get personalized recommendations and notifications about new episodes, and can follow shows and save play progress...

The Supreme Court decision Miranda v. Arizona came down in 1966, and served as a crackdown on sloppy or abusive police interrogations. Miranda noted that suspects, when being arrested, had certain rights afforded them, including the right to remain silent while in custody, and the right to have a state-appointed attorney to defend them. Thanks to its use in an endless stream of cop shows and "Law & Order" reruns, most Americans can recite the Miranda warning by heart. We all now know that, upon arrest, we have the right to remain silent.

Not everyone was pleased about the Miranda decision, however, and many conservative pundits at the time felt that it only hamstrung police officers. There was a fear that truly evil criminals would exploit the system to their benefit, keeping silent and protected, while street cops -- knowing them to be guilty -- would be helpless to, say, beat a confession out of them.

City Year is an education-focused organization founded in 1988 dedicated to helping students and schools succeed. City Year partners with public schools in 26 urban, high-poverty communities across the U.S. and through international affiliates in the U.K. and Johannesburg, South Africa. Diverse teams of City Year AmeriCorps members provide high-impact student, classroom and school-wide support, to help students stay in school and on track to graduate from high school, ready for college and career success.

Celebrity supporters

City Year has 55 known supporters, including Russell Simmons, Jennifer Garner, and Edward Norton

Areas of work Education Read more about City Year's work and celebrity supporters. Related articles Barbra Streisand To Launch Massive Charity AuctionMozilla Firefox Launches Celebrity Charity ChallengeStars Support City Year Los Angeles Spring BreakBeach Boys Make Commitment To Education OrganizationCrowdRise Launches Holiday Charity Challenge

Feature your company alongside thousands of celebrities, charities & causes →

Copyright © 2024 Look To The Stars. This...

San Francisco, Sep 8 (Ians) Automakers Nissan and Kia can collect data on their drivers’ “sexual activity” and “sex lives,” and may sell information to third parties, a new report has found. According to the maker of the Firefox web browser Mozilla, most automakers can check various sources to obtain personal information about drivers after they connect their smartphones to vehicle-connected services.

“They can collect super intimate information about you — from your medical information, your genetic information, to your ‘sex life’ (seriously), to how fast you drive, where you drive, and what songs you play in your car — in huge quantities,” said the researchers.

“They then use it to invent more data about you through ‘inferences’ about things like your intelligence, abilities, and interests,” they added.

The interest of Nissan in users’ “sexual activity” is mentioned in the privacy policy.

This brand was ranked second-to-last as it collected some of the...

Law And Order

The Indian parliament has passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, which aims to curb piracy that causes losses of INR200 billion ($2.4 billion) to the film industry, according to government estimates. Those found guilty of film piracy by way of camcording in theaters or unauthorized copying and online transmission and exhibition of a pirated copy of any film will now face punishment of minimum three months imprisonment and a fine of $3,650, which can be extended up to three years imprisonment and fine up to 5% of the audited gross production cost.

The bill also introduces age-based categories of certification by further sub-dividing the existing UA category into seven years (UA 7+), 13 years (UA 13+) and 16 years (UA 16+), instead of 12 years. These age-based markers are recommendatory only, meant for the parents or guardians to consider whether their children should view a film. In addition, films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification...

San Francisco, July 31 (Ians) Google has received criticism from Internet software developers over the Web Environment Integrity (Wei) Api on Chrome, arguing that the proposed standard restricts user freedom and undermines the core principles of the open web.

Employees from web browsers Vivaldi, Brave, and Firefox have taken a stance against Google’s Wei proposal, with some comparing it to digital rights management (DRM) for websites, reports BleepingComputer.

Wei is a new Api proposal that introduces a trust mechanism for websites that will allow them to verify the authenticity of clients (browsers) and block insecure or fake interactions. This mechanism, for instance, can be used to determine whether a website is being visited by a human or a bot, or whether a particular browser on a specific type of device is trustworthy.

The Wei proposal’s stated goal is to assist websites in determining the authenticity of the device and...

The lineup for the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con has been unveiled, giving attendees – and those refreshing their browsers the entire weekend – a little less to look forward to but still plenty of panels, reveals and anniversary spotlights. The 2023 Comic-Con is a far more limited affair this year due to major players like Marvel, Sony, Universal, Disney, and more dropping out at least partly due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. And with deadlines on the potential Screen Actors Guild strike quickly approaching, could only harm the event even more.

Here are some of the highlights of the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con:

Thursday, July 20th:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – “Paramount Pictures brings a panel discussion and footage presentation with filmmakers.”

Project K – “From the heartland of India emerges a unique tale that intertwines ancient mythology with cutting-edge science fiction, all within the captivating Spice Punk aesthetic. Welcome to Project K,...

San Francisco, July 5 (Ians) Mozilla has released the last major Firefox browser update for old versions of Windows and macOS.

“In January 2023, Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 and Windows 8. As a consequence, this is the last version of Firefox that users on those operating systems will receive,” the company said in release notes on Tuesday.

Windows 7 and Windows 8 users will automatically be migrated to the Esr 115 version of Firefox so that they continue to receive important security updates.

“Similarly, this is the last major version of Firefox that will support Apple macOS 10.12, 10.13 and 10.14.”

Users on those operating systems will also be migrated to the Esr 115 version of the browser so that they continue to receive important updates.

While migrating from another browser, users can now bring over payment methods they have saved in Chrome-based browsers to Firefox, with the new update.

Moreover, the Tab Manager dropdown now features close buttons,...

Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s bulked-up and revamped streaming service that takes the place of HBO Max, makes it U.S. debut on Tuesday (May 23). Max makes several subtle enhancements aimed at making the service easier to use and more engaging — while execs say it should also be more stable than HBO Max.

According to the company, a “large portion” of HBO Max subscribers will have their apps automatically updated to Max — while in some cases, users will be prompted to download an updated Max app. If all goes as planned, HBO Max subscribers will have their previous plan info, profiles, avatars, and settings including “Continue Watching” and “My List” items migrated over to the new Max.

See Also: What Max Launch Means for Existing HBO Max Customers

For the Max launch, Wbd has set up “war rooms” in multiple locations worldwide — including in Bellevue, Wash., New York and London...

For as long as YouTube pre-roll ads have existed, users have attempted to block them. Software programs like AdBlock Plus and AdBlock Pro have attracted millions of users by turning YouTube into an ad-free experience.

Though YouTube has never expressed support for ad blockers, it has not taken serious steps to restrict them — until now. Some users on the Google video platform are seeing a message that says ad blockers are “not allowed.” In lieu of popular third-party programs, YouTube wants its users to pay for YouTube Premium, which costs $11.99 per month and offers ad-free browsing as one of its primary perks.

As seen in the above image, YouTube’s warning message is targeting users who have ad blockers installed on their internet browsers. The platform is asking its community to consider the impact of ad blocking: “Ads allow YouTube to stay free for billions of users worldwide,” the message reads.

San Francisco, May 4 (Ians) Meta (formerly Facebook) has said that it had discovered malware creators who are taking advantage of the public’s interest in ChatGPT and using this interest to entice users into downloading harmful applications and browser extensions.

Meta has compared this phenomenon to cryptocurrency scams, as both tactics exploit people’s curiosity and trust to gain access to sensitive information.

The company said they have found around 10 malware families posing as ChatGPT and similar tools to compromise accounts across the internet.

“Over the past several months, we’ve investigated and taken action against malware strains taking advantage of people’s interest in OpenAI’s ChatGPT to trick them into installing malware pretending to provide AI functionality,” Meta writes in its Q3 2023 security report.

“We’ve detected and blocked over 1,000 of these unique malicious URLs from being shared on our apps, and reported them to our industry peers...

San Francisco, May 3 (Ians) Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox Internet browser, has acquired Fakespot — a startup that helps users identify fake or unreliable reviews via a website and a browser extension.

With Fakespot, the company said that Firefox users will have access to a trustworthy shopping tool that will help improve the e-commerce experience.

Mozilla also mentioned that it will introduce Fakespot functionality to Firefox over time.

“Fakespot will continue to work across all major web browsers and mobile devices, and the Mozilla team will be investing in continuing to enhance the Fakespot experience for its many, dedicated users,” Mozilla said in a blogpost on Tuesday.

“There will also be future Fakespot integrations that are unique to Firefox. The addition of Fakespot’s capabilities will make Firefox customers the best equipped to cut through deceptive reviews and shop with the confidence of knowing what they’re buying is high-quality and authentic,...

New Delhi, May 3 (Ians) Google Chrome has gained the top spot in the world’s most popular desktop browser, while Apple’s Safari browser ranked second.

According to the data provided by the web analytics service StatCounter, Chrome is now used on 66.13 per cent of desktop computers worldwide, while Safari is used on 11.87 per cent of desktop computers in the last 12 months.

Microsoft Edge browser stands in third spot with 11 per cent, and Mozilla’s Firefox stands in fourth with 5.65 per cent.

Opera browser is in the fifth spot with a 3.09 per cent share, and Internet Explorer stands in the sixth spot with a 0.55 per cent share.

However, in India, the stats are a little different.

Being the world’s most popular desktop browser, Chrome is on top in India as well, with a 90.4 per cent market share, while the second spot has seen some changes in India.

The second...

San Francisco, March 23 (Ians) Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox Internet browser, has introduced a new startup called Mozilla.ai, which the company hopes “will build a trustworthy and independent open-source AI ecosystem”.

The company said that it is initially investing $30 million to build this new startup.

“The vision for Mozilla.ai is to make it easy to develop trustworthy AI products. We will build things and hire/collaborate with people that share our vision: AI that has agency, accountability, transparency and openness at its core. Mozilla.ai will be a space outside big tech and academia for like-minded founders, developers, scientists, product managers and builders to gather,” Mark Surman, the executive president of Mozilla and the head of Mozilla.ai, said in a blogpost.

Moreover, the company stated that this group of people, working collectively, can turn the tide to create an independent, decentralised and trustworthy AI ecosystem — a...

Marjan’s return to Austin included a hell of a detour on Tuesday’s 9-1-1: Lone Star, which found the firefighter facing off against a familiar foe.

With Kylie safely en route to Florida by bus, a furious (and unfortunately free) Grant sought revenge on Marjan, running her off the road before literally hunting her down with the intent to murder. The grueling hour chronicled Marjan’s desperate fight to escape — and ultimately kill — her attacker, all while protecting a young girl named “Mouse,” whose friend and friend’s parents died in a car accident caused by Grant and Marjan’s chase.

The Nordic region’s largest streamer, Viaplay, has debuted in Canada, continuing its expansion into North America after landing in the U.S. on Feb. 22.

The direct-to-consumer platform touts itself as the premiere platform for Nordic Noir, the term used to describe the growing subgenre of Scandinavian crime dramas, thrillers, dark comedies and YA offerings.

Available in every Nordic and Baltic country, Viaplay has been gaining ground over the past several months, expanding across Europe, U.K. and Australia. In February, it reported an 83% rise year-over-year in streaming subscribers, a number that is expected to swell with the North American launches.

At launch, Viaplay is available at a rate of Cad$6.99 ($5.13) monthly after a free seven-day trial. A subscription includes the exclusive Canadian premieres of more than 50 premium series and films throughout 2023. Titles include biopic series “The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen,” starring Connie Nielsen; Berlinale selection “The Architect”; and...

New Delhi, Feb 23 (Ians) A team of researchers have identified a new and ongoing malware campaign that capitalises on the increasing popularity of the ChatGPT AI chatbot, a new report said on Thursday.

According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, cybercriminals are distributing the malware via Facebook communities, offering a fake desktop version of ChatGPT.

“This campaign targeting ChatGPT is a prime example of how attackers are leveraging social engineering techniques to exploit the trust that users place on popular brands and services. It is important for users to understand that, just because a service appears to be legitimate, it doesn’t mean that it is,” said Darya Ivanova, a security expert at Kaspersky.

Other than the bot, users are infected with the Fobo Trojan, which steals sensitive data such as Facebook, TikTok, and Google account credentials, as well as personal and corporate financial information.

When users click on the link in the post,...

San Francisco, Feb 19 (Ians) Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox Internet browser, has added three new extensions for its Android web browser to enhance the browsing experience of its users.

These extensions include — hiding the user’s email address when signing up to a website, removing tracking elements before sharing a URL, and listening to an article.

With the “Firefox Relay” extension, users will be able to hide their real email address to help protect their identity.

This will prevent online entities from collecting user email addresses and using them for unrequested marketing or other purposes.

Moreover, the company introduced the “ReadAloud” extension, allowing users to listen to web articles instead of reading them.

“ReadAloud uses text-to-speech technology to convert webpage text to audio. It works on a variety of websites, including news sites, blogs, fan fiction, publications, textbooks, school and class websites, online universities and course materials,” Mozilla said in a blogpost.

2022 was a mixed bag for Twitch. The Amazon-owned platform expanded monetary payouts for smaller streamers but also rankled some partners with changes to its revenue sharing policy. A new Guest Star feature fostered collaborations in the Just Chatting category, but the elimination of host mode drew criticism.

Twitch is hoping the next 12 months will be universally pleasant for its community. In a blog post, the company’s Chief Product Officer outlined his team’s plan for 2023. Here’s an overview of what Tom Verrilli had to say.

“More options to earn” are coming.

Verrilli said “growth” is Twitch’s “main focus” for 2023. The platform is looking to improve upon a year in which it paid out 1 billion to streamers. “In the first half of 2023, we’re launching products and tools that make it easier for you to earn without impacting growth,” Verrilli wrote, “while also improving many of our existing...

Though YouTube stopped publicly displaying dislikes last year, the thumbs-down icon still plays a role in the platform’s operations. By disliking videos, viewers can indicate that they don’t want similar content to be recommended to them in the future.

According to Mozilla, however, that effect may not be as strong as you think. The company known for developing the Firefox web browser conducted a study in which it tested YouTube’s algorithm. The results suggest that “bad recommendations” keep resurfacing on YouTube, and pressing the dislike button rarely keeps those videos away for good.

Mozilla’s study included a sample of 22,722 people, who installed a browser extension called RegretsReporter in order to track their YouTube activity. Those participants collectively analyzed more than 567.8 million videos to search for bad recommendations, which Mozilla defines as “videos [recommended] to users that are similar to a video they had previously rejected.” To decide what qualifies as “similar,...

New Delhi, Sep 20 (Ians) YouTube buttons like ‘not interested’, ‘dislike’, ‘stop recommending channel’, and ‘remove from watch history’ are ineffective at preventing similar content from being recommended and its user controls do not work for many people, researchers from Mozilla have discovered.

The team from the developer of Firefox open-source web browser heard from several people who expressed frustration with the user controls, and who said they wanted better tools that simply work the way they’d expect them to.

“People feel that using YouTube’s user controls does not change their recommendations at all. We learned that many people take a trial-and-error approach to controlling their recommendations, with limited success,” said the report.

It added that Google-owned YouTube’s user control mechanisms are inadequate for preventing unwanted recommendations.

“We determined that YouTube’s user controls influence what is recommended, but this effect is negligible and most unwanted videos still slip through,...

New Delhi, Aug 25 (Ians) Privacy-focused online browser DuckDuckGo on Thursday announced that its email protection service in beta is now finally available to all users and they can generate a free “@duck.com” email address and intercepts email trackers before they reach their personal inboxes.

DuckDuckGo Email Protection is a free email forwarding service that removes multiple types of hidden email trackers and lets users create unlimited unique private email addresses on the fly – without switching email providers or apps.

“We’ve also added new features like Link Tracking Protection that helps prevent tracking in email links, Smarter Encryption that helps with unencrypted email links, and the ability to reply directly from your Duck Addresses,” said the company.

To sign up in the DuckDuckGo mobile app (iOS/Android), upgrade to the latest version and then open Settings and select Email Protection.

On desktop, you can navigate to duckduckgo.com/email...

San Francisco, June 30 (Ians) Mozilla’s latest Firefox browser update has a new feature that prevents sites like Facebook from tracking users across websites. According to Bleeping Computer, Mozilla Firefox 102 was released with a new privacy feature that strips parameters from URLs that are used to track users around the web. Numerous companies, including […]...

San Francisco, June 3 (Ians) Mozilla, the firm behind the popular web browser Firefox, has added translation tools to Firefox that do not rely on cloud processing to do its work. The company has also rolled out other features that are aimed to make users’ experiences better. “In January of 2019, Mozilla joined the University […]...

San Francisco, April 3 (Ians) Mozilla, the firm behind the popular web browser Firefox, said that Microsoft took a step in the right direction regarding default browser choice but that there is more to be done. Earlier this month, Microsoft rolled out an optional cumulative update for Windows 11 that made it easier to change […]...

New Delhi, March 7 (Ians) Mozilla, the firm behind the popular web browser Firefox, has released a fix for two critical zero-day vulnerabilities that are actively been exploited by hackers. The Firefox developers said that are aware of “reports of attacks in the wild” actively exploiting these vulnerabilities. “We have had reports of attacks in […]...

San Francisco, Feb 6 (Ians) Mozilla, the firm behind the popular web browser Firefox, has announced this week that four organisations have joined its latest Data Futures Lab cohort. Place Trust, Driver’s Seat Cooperative, Drivers Coop and Digital Democracy will all get $100,000 grants as well as access to Mozilla Fellows and a network of […]...

New Delhi, Feb 2 (Ians) Mozilla, the firm behind the popular web browser Firefox, has started rolling out new updates to its mobile and desktop Vpn offerings. With Vpn 2.7, the firm is adding one of Firefox’s popular add-ons, Multi-Account Containers, to the desktop platform and a multi-hop feature to the Android as well as […]...

The 126 is no more and hasn't been for quite some time.

The Fire Family is fractured, and our beloved crew has never felt more distant from one another during 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 1. After Owen's disciplinary hearing, the season premiere provided us with a time jump, and nothing feels the same.

And if the personal changes weren't enough to hold your undivided attention right out of the gate, a deep freeze winter storm hitting Texas amped up the intensity and excitement.

We're off to a hell of a start, and the third season feels promising. 9-1-1: Lone Star keeps getting better with each season.

One of the ongoing issues for this series was the imbalance among the characters. However, the premiere put that to bed by effectively utilizing its characters.

While it's still early as the storm took precedence, and it's apparent this is a two-part premiere,...

San Francisco, Dec 10 (Ians) Mozilla has released Firefox 95, featuring a new version of its security sandboxing subsystem called RLBox and additional performance and efficiency improvements for the macOS version of the web browser. According to the release notes, RLBox is a new technology that hardens Firefox against potential security vulnerabilities in third-party libraries, […]...

New Delhi, Nov 24 (Ians) Mozilla, the firm behind the popular web browser Firefox, recently announced that it will end support for its Firefox Lockwise password manager next month. According to a blog post from Mozilla, after December 13, 2021, one will no longer be able to install or reinstall Firefox Lockwise from the App […]...

New Delhi, June 13 (Ians) Google has finally announced that like Chrome browser, the Chrome Os will also also move to a four-week release schedule starting in the fourth quarter this year.

The company earlier announced that Chrome will soon release a new milestone every 4 weeks, starting with Chrome 94 in Q3 of 2021.

"To deliver new features more rapidly to consumers while also continuing to prioritise the key pillars of Chrome Os – security, stability, speed and simplicity – Chrome Os will move to a 4-week stable channel starting with M96 in Q4," the company said in an update on Saturday.

For enterprise and education users, Chrome Os will also introduce a new channel with a six-month update cadence by M96.

"To bridge the gap between M94 when Chrome moves to a four week release and M96, Chrome Os will skip M95," Google said.

According to the company, these changes "enable us to evolve...

Everyone knows that improving their cyber security is important, but it’s hard to know where to start. Viruses, spyware, and malware have been plaguing computers for decades, but new threats like ransomware and compromised webcams have made it even more important to be cautious.

Last year, a cyber attack on a Miami hospital forced the hospital to pay $600,000 to retrieve data that was remotely accessed and encrypted by hackers. It’s no longer enough to simply report suspicious e-mails, stop clicking on ads, and be wary of sketchy looking...

New Delhi, May 20 (Ians) Microsoft has announced to retire its iconic Internet Explorer (Ie) browser in June 2022, as it envisions the future of Internet Explorer, which was launched in 1995, on Windows 10 in Microsoft Edge.

Over the last year, Microsoft is moving away from Internet Explorer support, such as an announcement of the end of Ie support by Microsoft 365 online services.

"With Microsoft Edge capable of assuming this responsibility and more, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Internet Explorer was once the most widely used web browser, attaining a peak of about 95 per cent usage share by 2003.

Its usage share has since declined with the launch of Firefox (2004) and Google Chrome (2008), and with the growing popularity of mobile operating systems such as Android and iOS that do not support Internet Explorer.

(Warning: This post contains spoilers for Monday’s “9-1-1” and “9-1-1: Lone Star.”)

Tim Minear’s “9-1-1” universe returned from hiatus Monday with new episodes of the main series and its spinoff, “Lone Star.” And with both series coming back with installments that set up the rest of their respective seasons, TheWrap asked the Fox dramas’ showrunner to break down what’s next for our teams in Los Angeles and Austin.

For starters, “9-1-1” didn’t just bring up Bobby’s (Peter Krause) history as an alcoholic tonight as a quick reminder, as Minear said that’s “definitely setting up a bit more” for him and Athena (Angela Bassett). As fans will remember, Bobby is responsible for the death of his wife and two young children because he passed out drunk and caused a fire that killed them. Tonight’s “9-1-1” featured an alcoholic mother who put her child — and...

The Amazon Echo Show has always struggled with a mild identity crisis. Until now, it’s been easy to write it off as an “Amazon Echo with a screen,” even though new models in different sizes have appeared over the last couple of years.

But the company has taken a big leap forward with the third-generation Echo Show 10. Its fresh design, and Amazon’s continued focus on improving the overall user experience has made this smart speaker feel fresh, and differentiate itself in a crowded field.

As they say, third time’s the charm.

San Francisco, March 13 (Ians) Tech giant Microsoft said it will switch to a four-week release cycle for stable builds of Edge later this year.

According to Engadget, the company plans to move to that schedule starting with Edge 94, which should arrive in September.

Earlier this month, Google announced that Chrome would move to that cycle with Chrome 94 (which should drop in the third quarter) as part of an effort to release new features faster.

At the moment, stable Chrome builds emerge every six weeks or so. Chrome and Edge are both based on Chromium, so it makes sense for Microsoft to adopt the same schedule, the report said.

Microsoft noted that the four-week cycle might not be ideal for everyone. Enterprise customers will have an Extended Stable option, through which Microsoft will roll out major Edge updates every eight weeks.

It will still provide bi-weekly security updates to those who choose that option.

Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia ended on a hell of a note. Here’s what the ending could mean for the show’s future.

“You can almost imagine the pitch meeting for Ginny & Georgia: ‘What if we do Gilmore Girls, only with more sex and Lorelai’s a criminal mastermind?’ By the end of the 10-episode first season of the new Netflix series, that’s basically exactly what the drama has provided.”

Read more at Thrillist.

If you’ve accidentally deleted important photos off your iPhone, all is not lost. Here are some ways you can recover them.

“In today’s digital age, the camera roll of our smartphone is where many of us store our most treasured memories. Which means that browsing an iPhone album can quickly turn disastrous if you hit the wrong button. Fortunately, digital photos are harder to destroy than the physical kind—you...

It’s hard for any sequel to live up to an iconic movie, but The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl‘s follow-up, We Can Be Heroes, does just that.

“No one expected a sequel to 2005’s The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, but We Can Be Heroes proves it was a good idea. Robert Rodriguez’s new film creatively expands the world first established in the original movie and upgrades the action sequences and special effects.”

Read more at Inverse.

The newest Internet Health Report from Mozilla shows that algorithms still have major bias issues.

“Wondering about the health of the internet, both globally and in the US? Mozilla—the company behind the Firefox browser and more—today released its fourth Internet Health Report, which covers topics that impact the internet and big tech companies, such as accountability, labor, and—as we’ll discuss here—racial justice issues.”

Read more at PCMag.

Apple has said it wants to bulk up revenue from services — including Apple TV Plus, which is just over one year old. But new research suggests that the tech giant’s entry into the so-called “streaming wars” is at a distinct disadvantage compared with rivals.

In the fourth quarter, the majority of Apple TV Plus subscribers — a whopping 62% — said they were on the free promotional offer that Apple extended to buyers of its hardware devices, according to research firm MoffettNathan’s Q4 2020 SVOD Tracker report. What’s worrisome for Apple: 29% of those said they do not plan to resubscribe once the promo period expires; only 30% said they plan to renew at the regular $4.99/month price (and the rest were unsure).

By comparison, 16% of Disney Plus users said they access the service via the Mouse House’s promotional partnership with Verizon. About 23% of HBO Max subscribers said they access the service...

New Delhi, Jan 17 (Ians) As people move on to secure messaging apps like Telegram and Signal, privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has surpassed 100 million daily search queries for the first time in its 12-year-old history.

More than 4 million users have installed its app on both Android and iOS app stores and Chrome extension, the company said in a recent tweet.

Launched in 2008, DuckDuckGo's search engine is far behind Google but the latest controversies around user data privacy has helped it gain momentum like Telegram and Signal.

DuckDuckGo has been selected as the default search engine in the highly-secure chat platform Tor Browser, and is often the default search engine in the private browsing modes of several other browsers.

Launched in 2008, DuckDuckGo's search engine is far behind Google, with its average number of searches per day reaching close to 50 million, while Google processes more than 3.5 billion search queries a day.

The DuckDuckGo...

We’ve reached that time of year where the annual parade of Christmas movies are released to generate warm and fuzzy festive feelings in the audience, but none of the titles are as unique as Ian and Eshom Nelms’ Fatman. The R-rated subversion of the holiday genre stars Mel Gibson as a disillusioned Chris Cringle suffering from a downturn in business, who despite the unwavering support of his wife Ruth also has to deal with Walton Goggins’ Skinny Man after a 12 year-old kid hires an assassin to take out Jolly Old Saint Nick after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.

Destined to become a cult favorite, Fatman balances elements of the action, dark comedy, thriller, noir and even Western genres into a distinct cocktail of Yueltide madness. We Got This Covered recently had the chance to speak to directors Ian and Eshom Nelms about Fatman and much more...

In today’s Global Bulletin, Bill Gates will participate in this year’s World Congress of Science and Factual Producers as keynote speaker, Netgem and France Channel co-create a new French content streaming platform, Storyglass announces an arts-themed podcast, “Stath Lets Flats” gets a third season at Channel 4, Damian Kavanagh leaves Tiger Aspect and James Purnell departs the BBC, and ViacomCBS Networks International promotes Lee Sears.

Keynote

The World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (Wcsfp) has announced its highest-profile speaker for this year’s event in Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, who will take part in an interview with medical journalist Dr. Mercy Korir at the upcoming digital edition of Congress ’20.

Originally planned for early December in the French city of Strasbourg, Wcsfp was forced to move this year’s physical event online as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. The rescheduled event will stream Dec. 7-...

Rebecca starring Lily James arrives on Netflix tomorrow. Check out some facts about the gothic thriller novel the movie is based on.

“The film, which stars Lily James (Downtown Abbey) and Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name) arrives on Netflix on October 21, 2020. As you wait for the new adaptation to drop, here are a few facts about this enduring novel to keep you curious.”

Read more at Mental Floss.

Actor Michael B. Jordan is getting on board with DC’s upcoming Static movie as a producer.

“Michael B. Jordan shared with The Hollywood Reporter that he and the production company Outlier Society will be part of bringing the series to life at the movies. ‘I’m proud to be a part of building a new universe centered around Black superheroes; our community deserves that,’ Jordan told THR in a statement.”

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial may just take the cake...