appmarsh

Wednesday, 8 January 2020

Ring's Security Update Isn't Enough, Sen. Ron Wyden Says

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden isn’t satisfied with Amazon’s response to a string of incidents involving compromised home security cameras made by its subsidiary Ring, such as a high-profile event in 2018 in which a hacker taunted an eight-year-old Tennessee girl in her own bedroom.

TiVo's Planned Apple TV App 'In Limbo'

During the January 2019 CES event, TiVo demoed a TiVo app to the Apple TV, but a year later, the project is "in limbo" and an Apple TV app is no longer being actively developed.

In an interview with TechHive at CES 2020, TiVo vice president of consumer products and services Ted Malone said that while ‌Apple TV‌ app plans haven't been canceled, it's not TiVo's focus at this time.

"My bet is we'll get Android, and because of that we'll get the Fire TV, because it's the same app, just different qualifications," Malone said. "I think Roku and Apple are in limbo."

TiVo had initially planned to release new apps for Roku, ‌Apple TV‌, Fire TV, and Android TV at some point in 2019, allowing TiVo users to access TiVo DVRs on other TVs throughout the home without the need to purchase TiVo Mini boxes, but limited resources, technical challenges, and strategy changes have delayed those plans.

According to Malone, TiVo has to transcode video before sending it to other devices, which results in quality and performance issues that TiVo has not been able to resolve. The company has also been working on the TiVo Stream 4K and the TiVo+ streaming service, and an ‌Apple TV‌ app is not a priority.

Malone said that TiVo needs to "double down" on the streaming market and not get distracted by a "bunch of things people want, but aren't really going to move the needle."

Tags: TiVo, CES 2020

This article, "TiVo's Planned Apple TV App 'In Limbo'" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/302NfcF

Apple TV+ 'Mythic Quest' Star Rob McElhenney Calls Apple 'Really Helpful' in Creative Process

Apple TV+ series "Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet" is set to launch on February 7, and star and creator Rob McElhenney has shared some insights into working with Apple ahead of the show's debut.

In an interview with Variety, McElhenney said that Apple was "really helpful" in the creative process. He said that Apple would push back on aspects of the show that it felt strongly about, but ultimately deferred to McElhenney and his team.

Pushback, he said, is an essential part of the creative process as working with no challenges is "never a good thing."

"Deference would assume we always know what we're doing and when we walk into the room everyone should just be quiet," he says. "That is dangerous because then you have no opposition, and it doesn't make for the best process."

Prior to the launch of ‌Apple TV‌+, there were rumors that Apple was not allowing more mature content and attempting to keep the service family friendly, but that has turned out to be inaccurate. Multiple ‌Apple TV‌+ shows feature violence, adult themes, and adult language, much like other streaming services on the market, though there are some shows tailored specifically towards children such as "Helpsters" and "Ghostwriter."

Prior information has suggested that Apple has been rather involved in some of the TV shows on ‌Apple TV‌+, and there were reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives were "intrusive," making Apple "difficult" to deal with, but McElhenney doesn't appear to have felt Apple's involvement was over the top.

On the topic of ‌Apple TV‌+ reviews, McElhenney said that Apple is "working out some kinks," and that getting episodes to critics was "a little tricky" but that has now "been ameliorated." McElhenney also said that Apple has been helpful addressing any issues that have popped up. "Any time we've called and said we have an issue, it's all hands on deck and they fix the issue and we move forward," he said.

Matt Cherniss, Apple's head of development, told Variety that he feels like Apple's promotional campaigns have been "really strong" and that everyone he's spoken to has been "really happy with the launches of their shows."

Cherniss also called McElhenney is an "incredible creator." He said that "Mythic Quest" is a great combination of humor, characters, and social commentary, which is why Apple chose to support it.

"Rob is an incredible creator" says Matt Cherniss, Apple's head of development. "It's really rare to find someone who can be a showrunner, a head writer and the star of the show. He is that unique kind of talent." As for "Mythic Quest," he adds: "It was really a combination of humor, smart social commentary, great characters and some surprising heart. That made us feel like it was a great show to have on our service."

"Mythic Quest" was written by McElhenney and his "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" co-star Charlie Day, though Day does not star in the series.

According to McElhenney, "Mythic Quest" will set itself apart from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" through the characters. On "Sunny," the characters are awful people no one is meant to relate to, but in "Mythic Quest," the audience is intended to be invested in the journeys of the main characters.

"Mythic Quest" will focus on a game studio that runs a popular World of Warcraft-style game. McElhenney will play Ian Grimm, the game's creative director, and other stars will include F. Murray Abraham, Danny Pudi, Imani Hakim, Charlotte Nicdao, David Hornsby, Ashly Burch, and Jessie Ennis.

For those interested in additional detail on "Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet," Variety's full interview with Rob McElhenney is worth reading.

Tags: Apple TV Shows, Apple TV Plus

This article, "Apple TV+ 'Mythic Quest' Star Rob McElhenney Calls Apple 'Really Helpful' in Creative Process" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/2N5P0kc

Plex Is Making Itself Impossible to Ignore as a Go-To Streaming Service

CES may be all about gadgets, but this year’s event is jam-packed with news from streaming services looking to muscle their way into the fray. Plex is one of them.

Twitter Built a New Feature for Chris Cillizza

Suppose you get ratioed all the time on Twitter for likely exaggerating your salary and spitballing logical fallacies on a news site and complaining about the temperature live from a White House briefing, and your name is Chris Cillizza. Today is your luckiest day on Twitter! The platform has announced a new function…