Techlife News #346

A federal judge approved the $85 billion mega-merger of AT&T and Time Warner on Tuesday, a move that could usher in a wave of media consolidation while shaping how much consumers pay for streaming TV and movies. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon green-lit the merger without adding major conditions to the deal. The Trump Justice Department had sued to block the $85 billion merger, arguing that it would hurt competition in cable and satellite TV and jack up costs to consumers for streaming TV and movies. Now, the phone and pay-TV giant will be allowed to absorb the owner of CNN, HBO, the Warner Bros. movie studio, “Game of Thrones,” coveted sports programming and other “must-see” shows. The Justice Department could decide to appeal the ruling, however. “The impact from this decision…

Comcast will likely bid for Fox’s entertainment business, now that a federal judge has cleared AT&T’s $85 billion takeover of Time Warner. If Comcast succeeds in outbidding Disney for Fox, a major cable distributor would control even more channels on its lineup and those of its rivals. There are fears that it could lead to higher cable bills or hinder online alternatives. But U.S. District Judge Richard Leon cleared the AT&T deal despite similar concerns. The ruling signaled that federal regulators might have a hard time stopping companies from getting bigger by gobbling up rivals and the content they own. Comcast isn’t likely the only mega-media bid in the works. There will probably be a rush to consolidate. Even if a company doesn’t need to get bigger right away, it might need to…

Last week, we looked at how Apple’s continued push for innovation can nonetheless be stymied by the company’s heavy reliance on the likes of Samsung, Intel and Qualcomm. These are all examples of companies which produce components for Apple devices but, at one point or another, have landed a place in the Cupertino firm’s bad books. Recently, however, Apple has been relinquishing its dependence on such partners by taking more control over the parts that go into its devices. HOW THE QUALCOMM QUARREL COULD BE EXTINGUISHED In many ways, Apple has long taken pride in providing seamlessly integrated products and services. It is, after all, still the only major player to hold a firm grip over both the hardware and software of its smartphones, with Google’s own Pixel devices yet to seriously…

The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson will receive about $650,000 from NASA to promote science, technology engineering and math education. NASA announced this week that the Cosmosphere was one of three applicants to receive funds after 43 groups submitted proposals. The Hutchinson News reports the Cosmosphere’s $650,594 will be used to refurbish 12 historic Apollo-era mission control consoles that will be used in traveling interactive exhibits for classes that will be offered free to Kansas students. Cosmosphere executive vice president Tracey Tomme says she hopes to have first console on the road before April 2019. NASA used the consoles at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, during missions from the 1960s through the early 1990s. The Cosmosphere obtained the consoles shortly after they were decommissioned.…

“The Incredibles” writer/director Brad Bird has said that his characters’ powers are all born of stereotypes. Dad is strong, mom is stretched in a million directions, teenage girls put up shields, little boys are full of boundless energy and babies are unpredictable. It’s why he decided that for the sequel, “Incredibles 2 ,” a buoyant and quick-witted romp, he’d pick up right where we left off, in that parking lot after Dash’s track meet where a new threat emerges from underground. No matter that in reality, 14 years had actually passed. Animation is not bound by time or aging actors. For the rest of us, however, 14 years is still 14 years. And in the past 14 years, the business of Hollywood has become the business of superhero movies. It’s hard to…

If technology giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon face a common threat to their dominance, it probably lies in a single word: trust. In some respects, these companies are riding high. They have woven themselves into the fabric of our daily lives, making their services indispensable for daily tasks like keeping in touch with family and friends, watching TV and buying cat food. Revenues are up and profits are soaring. But they’ve also drawn the attention of regulators in Europe and the U.S. thanks to carelessness with consumer data and other problems. Facebook’s leaky data controls, for instance, let Cambridge Analytica mine the profiles of up to 87 million people in an attempt to swing elections. The social network has also had to beef up manual oversight to clamp down on the…