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Hulu To Soon Offer Episode Downloading and Offline Streaming

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Hulu recently announced that it would join both Netflix and Amazon Prime in allowing its users to download content to watch offline, but in Hulu’s case, it comes with a twist.

If you subscribe to the $7.99 a month tier, in addition to downloading the content you want to watch, you’ll also be downloading the advertising associated with that content.  It’s an important distinction because Hulu is structured quite differently from Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Much of Hulu’s programming is available on regular network television, and often airs the same day it does on the regular networks.  Consequently, ads on Hulu tend to command more of a premium than ads on the other two companies.

Combine that with the fact that Hulu gets most of its revenue from advertising, and you begin to see the appeal and the necessity of such a strategy from Hulu’s perspective.  Netflix and Amazon prime both have a deep bench of their own, unique programming which acts as a draw. However, Hulu is currently dependent on content licensed from others, which is why ad revenue is of utmost importance to them.

It should be noted that if you subscribe to the company’s $11.99/month plan, you can download ad-free content.

Either way, the ability to watch content offline is a big deal. This is especially important to frequent travelers who often find themselves in places with patchy internet service, or no connectivity at all.  In those cases, having access to offline content can be a real godsend that can mean the difference between a tolerable trip and a miserable one.

Kudos to Hulu for joining the ranks of Amazon and Netflix, and although there have been a few grumblings about having to endure ads, it really is a small price to pay for the flexibility and convenience.

Lego and Alexa Team Up For Storytelling Through Device

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In terms of toys, what could possibly be better than LEGOS?  How about LEGOS, combined with Alexa?  That’s the latest idea from Amazon, who has paired the unlikely duo in a newly announced service called “LEGO Duplo Stories.”  The new service (“skill,” in the parlance of Alexa) will be available on any device that offers Alexa support including Echo Dot and Amazon Echo. It provides a selection of stories with audio prompts that guide children in the construction of something with their LEGO Duplos that ties in with the story being told.

The stories are quite inventive, and change based on the responses of the children listening and interacting.  For example, one story involves going on vacation via plane, and based on what the children say they want to pack, the vacation destination will be either to a warm or a cool place, with various build instructions being introduced along the way.

According to the company, the goal is to use these interactive stories as a means of developing color recognition, social, and cognitive skills.

It’s an innovative approach, and an excellent use for a technology that is becoming increasingly common in American homes.  To access the stories, simply say “Alexa, open LEGO Duplo Stories,” then follow the prompts to begin the interactive experience.

Currently, the stories span ten different themes and work in tandem with existing Duplo sets.  It should be noted that you can still interact with the skill even if you don’t own a set of LEGOS, or don’t have all the required pieces (although obviously this will make it even more interactive).

James Poulter, the Head of emerging Platforms and Partnerships at LEGO, had this to say about the new offering: “Voice is such a powerful tool for play as it is one of the most human ways of interacting.  Long before we can type, read or control a device, we listen and speak.”

An exciting development, and it is available right now.

Firefox To Start Showing Ads On Tab Page

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Before Google released its Chrome browser, Firefox felt pretty good about their arrangement.  They got a handsome reward in exchange for making Google.com their default search engine.  It was a win-win.

These days though, Firefox’s position is a bit more precious.  The Google deal is still the main source of the company’s income, but they’re also in direct competition with Chrome.  If Google one day decides to pull the plug on the deal, the company could find itself in dire straits indeed.

That’s why they’ve been casting about for some means of expanding and diversifying their revenue, and the strategy they’ve hit on is advertising.

Don’t worry, you’re not about to be buried under a mountain of annoying ads, but with the release of Firefox 60, any time you open a new tab, you’ll see a listing of recommended links based on your browsing history.

Anytime the conversation turns to “recommended links” it naturally brings privacy concerns to the fore.  After all, the only way Firefox can make sensible recommendations you’re likely to be interested in is to track your browsing habits.

Here though, the company has an innovative approach, because all the tracking happens on the client side, so Firefox doesn’t actually store anything. Although they will track how many of the “recommended links” you visit, so they can cull the list and remove any of the ones you don’t bother with, so they don’t keep reappearing.

On balance, it’s a good, even-handed approach that should solve the company’s revenue problems, while treading lightly on the good graces of their user base.

Like it or not, ads are an unavoidable consequence of the internet as it exists today.  At the very least though, Firefox deserves credit for not making excessive use of them, and for respecting the privacy of its users by coming up with a non-intrusive method of deciding what links to display

Having Chrome Issues Since The Latest Windows 10 Update?

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Microsoft has been having some “issues” of late.  It’s April Windows 10 rollout had to be delayed on account of some mysterious BSOD (“Blue Screen of Death”) issues. This month’s rollout is plagued by similar problems, trading the BSOD issues for problems with both “Hey Cortana” and Google’s Chrome browser.

The problem is that when you try to navigate the web using Chrome with the latest Windows 10 update, the entire system will inexplicably hang.  The company is hoping to have a fix ready for release in time for the next “Patch Tuesday” on May 8, but in the meantime, offered the following suggestions to users who are impacted by this issue:

If you’re on a laptop, sometimes (but not always) opening and closing the lid will revive the system.

Failing that, or if you’re not on a laptop, try using the keyboard combination: Win + Ctrl + Shift + B. This activates the “wake screen” sequence.

If you’re on a tablet, press the volume up and volume down buttons at the same time, three times within two seconds. If you hear a short beep, then you know Windows is responsive, and it will attempt to refresh the screen.

If none of the above works for you, then your only other option is to simply reboot the system, which is beyond annoying.  Fortunately, however, it’s only temporary. The company is currently working on a fix (although whether it’s ready by Patch Tuesday remains to be seen).

While this is by no means the kiss of death, it is troubling that the last two updates have had major issues.  Unless the issue is identified and remedied, the company could be facing larger and more pervasive problems in the months ahead.

T-Mobile And Sprint To Merge Companies

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The on-again, off-again talks about a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint is definitely back on, with T-Mobile planning to buy Sprint for a staggering $26 billion.

The deal has been in the works since before Trump was elected President. It died quietly when it became clear that the Obama administration would not allow the deal to go forward, due to concerns that it would leave the US with only three telecom providers, which could harm consumers.

The Trump administration has made it clear that they applaud the move.  However, Trump’s Justice Department may be a significant hurdle to clear.  Nonetheless, as things stand now, the deal is steaming ahead and the combined company would have a whopping 127+ million customers, putting it not far behind AT&T’s 141.6 million and Verizon Wireless’ 150.5 million customers. T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere would lead the new, larger company.

John had this to say about the planned merger:

“This combination will create a fierce competitor with the network scale to deliver more for consumers and businesses in the form of lower prices, more innovation, and second-to-none network experience – and do it all so much faster than either company could on its own.”

The underlying argument in favor of the merger is that the US is falling behind in terms of network speed. If there is to be any hope of arriving first at a nationwide 5G network, we need bigger, stronger and more robust competitors.

As history shows us clearly though, the regulators of the previous administration have valid concerns about the monopolization of the industry.  Any time there are fewer competitors on the board, regardless of the industry, consumers invariably get hit with higher prices. There’s no reason to believe this merger will lead to a different outcome.

Regardless, it now appears that the merger is likely to happen.

Some VW and Audi Cars May Be Hacked Through WiFi

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Thanks to researchers Daan Keuper and Thijs Alkemade (who work at the Dutch cyber-security firm Computest), newly produced Golf GTE and Audi A3 vehicles are a little bit safer, and a lot less vulnerable to remote hacks.

The duo found that by taking advantage of these vehicles’ WiFi connection, they could access the cars’ IVI, (in-vehicle infotainment system) and from there, gain access to other systems as well.

The researchers had this to say about their work:

“Under certain conditions, attackers could listen in to conversations the driver is conducting via a car kit, turn the microphone on and off, as well as gaining access to the complete address book and conversation history.  Furthermore, due to the vulnerability, there is the possibility of discovering through the navigation system precisely where the driver has been, and to follow the car live wherever it is at any given time.”

It gets worse though.  Once the researchers had gained access to these systems, they found they could also access the car’s braking and acceleration systems. They stopped short of performing exploits on these for fear of violating Volkswagen’s intellectual property rights.  A hacker, however, would not hesitate to do so.

Worse still, the company apparently had no idea there was a problem. In fact, when the researchers presented their findings, they discovered that the company had deployed the IVI system completely untested.

Since bringing the issue to the company’s attention, they have addressed the issue. However, the fix only applies to newly manufactured vehicles.  If you purchased either of the models listed above prior to June 2016, your vehicle has not received the fix, and will not get fixed unless you take it back to the dealership.  There’s no way for the company to remotely install it.  That means there are untold thousands of cars on the road right now that are vulnerable.

Use Caution Traveling, Hackers Now Have Keys To Hotel Rooms

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Score one for the good guys, but with hesitation. Unfortunately, in today’s fast-moving digital world, even a victory doesn’t mean the end of a problem.

Recently, a pair of researchers (Tomi Tuominen and Timo Hirvonen of F-Secure) released information about a new hack they had discovered. It takes advantage of a critical security flaw in the magnetic VingCard locking systems used in hotel chains around the world.

This particular system produced by Assa Abloy is deployed in more than 42,000 facilities around the world. So in terms of scope and scale, this flaw impacts literally millions of doors.

The security flaw is about as bad as it gets, too.  The duo found a way that hackers could turn an old, dead RFID key card into a master key that could be used to unlock any VingCard door.  Although the software they used to create the master key card is proprietary, any hacker worth his salt and with a couple hundred dollars to spare for equipment could reproduce the hack on their own, if given time.

Fortunately, long before the pair announced their discovery of the hack, they contacted Assa Abloy privately. They have been working with the company’s R&D department to develop a fix for the security flaw.  That fix has now been deployed, and the researchers stress that so far, there is no evidence that the exploit has ever been used in the wild.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be used, and just because Assa Abloy has released a fix for the flaw doesn’t mean that everyone will promptly install it. So, the risk is still very real.  If you’re a frequent traveler, take extra precautions and don’t leave your valuables in plain sight in your room.  They may be more vulnerable than you realize.

Apple Will Officially No Longer Sell Routers

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After more than two decades in the business, Apple is officially going to stop selling routers.  The writing has been on the wall for a while now, since the company’s “AirPort” family of products hasn’t received a significant update in more than five years.

When Apple first introduced its AirPort product line, wireless computing was still something of a rarity, and Apple’s offerings were ahead of their time.  In the years between then and now though, the market has changed significantly.  Unfortunately, Apple’s product line never really changed with it.

These days the competition is fierce with industry giants like Google and Linksys both offering great options for power users. With the rise of mesh networks, the AirPort product line has fallen increasingly behind the times.

The company announced that it would sell its existing AirPort product inventory and support its current user base for the time being, but after that, it would quietly fade away.  The company has simply moved on and has redirected its efforts toward other initiatives.

In looking at the broader market, it’s not a huge blow. Of course, if you own and use an AirPort product, now is the time to begin casting about for alternatives.  The clock is ticking, and once Apple sheds its existing inventory, we can expect to get an end of support date from them. This will leave any AirPort products still in operation at that point increasingly vulnerable to a variety of hacks.

Even so, given how ubiquitous wireless networking is these days, and how many powerful options are out there, finding a replacement for your AirPort product shouldn’t present too much of a challenge.  Just make sure your IT staff knows that the end is nigh, so they can get a replacement in place before the clock runs out.

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