The secret strength of Disney+ isn't Star Wars, it's Hannah Montana and Boy Meets World
Welcome to Tech Briefs, a weekly newsletter from Flipboard and Digital Trends that fills you in on the most interesting stories in tech from the past week, and provides analysis from our expert staff about how it affects you and why you should care. It’s been a big week for Disney, so let’s get right to it:
Disney+ is the first true Netflix competitor
The biggest entertainment story of the week (and year) is Disney+, which launched this week. Despite some ongoing technical hiccups, more than 10 million people signed up during the new streaming service’s first 24 hours -- though that’s likely helped by a promotion that allows Verizon Wireless customers to claim a year’s membership for free.
Thanks to the sheer size of Disney’s back catalog, Disney+ feels like the first true must-have competitor to Netflix. While shows like The Mandalorian are appointment viewing, don’t underestimate the power of millennial nostalgia when it comes to the success of Disney+.
Among my friends, there’s more excitement about having streaming access to classic episodes of The Simpsons and Disney Channel Original Movies than anything related to Star Wars or Marvel. Take a look at the Trending section on Disney+ and the top-watched content includes Disney Channel shows like Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and even the TGIF-era Boy Meets World.
Viewers want their comfort food television shows -- that’s why The Office and Friends are so popular on Netflix -- and Disney+ seems to be delivering in spades. This week was the first major shot in the Streaming Wars -- expect to see more as Warner and NBC get their streaming services online next year.
Apple launches the 16-inch MacBook Pro with a brand-new keyboard
By Luke Larsen, Computing Editor
There’s been one recurring complaint about the MacBook Pro in the past few years: The keyboard. It’s hard to love your laptop if the typing experience is uncomfortable -- or worse, unreliable.
Apple isn’t known for reacting to criticism, but the company reversed the direction of its keyboards this week with the sudden launch of a new 16-inch MacBook Pro. It replaces the previous 15-inch MacBook Pro, bringing with it a more conventional keyboard with longer key travel. The physical Escape key has even made a return!
Beyond the new keyboard, the 16-inch MacBook Pro also brings improved graphics, better thermals, a higher-resolution screen, and an option for up to 8TB of storage. If you’ve been turned off by Apple’s recent changes to the MacBook Pro, its latest release just might bring you back.
Robots might actually make your job better
By Will Nicol, Senior Writer
While health care has dominated the presidential debates in 2019, the future of labor has been a recurring theme. Candidate Andrew Yang has made automation the key problem his campaign aims to solve, advocating for a universal basic income to offset job losses due to robots.
Digital Trends’ Luke Dormehl wrote this week about some of the ways machines could actually make people’s jobs better, by “combining the benefits of robots (high accuracy levels, speed, and repeatability of tasks) with the benefits of human experts (flexibility and cognitive skills).”
Not everyone has such a rosy viewpoint on automation, however. Researchers from the University of Illinois published a study in October claiming that although new technologies won’t cause job loss, they are making warehouse work more dangerous for humans, largely due to increased pace and a focus on efficiency.
Google’s Stadia isn’t looking impressive
By Will Nicol, Senior Writer
Launching a new game service in today’s crowded market is an audacious move -- doubly so when it’s missing major features. Case in point: Google’s video game streaming service Stadia, set to launch on November 19.
In an Ask Me Anything thread on Reddit, members of the Stadia team revealed that the service will be lacking some typical console features. Although Stadia will have achievements, the UI at launch will not be able to notify users when they unlock them. The Stream Connect feature, which would allow for asymmetric multiplayer experiences, will also be missing.
In all, it’s looking to be a rough launch for Stadia beyond the missing features, as the service’s launch lineup will consist of a mere 12 games, with Gylt being the only new title. We’ll have a review of the new console next week, so stay tuned for our full thoughts on whether Stadia is worth it.
What we’ve been reading
- Motorola just unveiled a new version of it’s classic Razr. Associate Mobile Editor Simon Hill broke down 4 things he liked and 4 he didn’t about the new folding phone.
- Speaking of Disney+, Variety has a delightful interview with Werner Herzog, who plays the villain in The Mandalorian despite never having seen a Star Wars film.
What we’re watching
Looking for a movie this weekend that’s essentially the opposite of Disney+? Will Nicol recommends the psychological, labor-centric horror of The Lighthouse.
Two men, a desolate shore, and a lot of liquor. Such is the nightmarish recipe in Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, which opens with Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) arriving at a remote island off the coast of New England for his new job as a lighthouse keeper. He’s working under a salty, old seadog named Thomas Wake (Willem Defoe), who tasks Winslow with all the hard, gross chores, while Wake himself takes the juicy shift, keeping watch over the lamp at night. As the weeks drag on, the men are either in their cups or at each other’s throats.
Eggers established himself as one of the new horror auteurs with 2015’s The Witch, and while The Lighthouse does evoke the ominous atmosphere of H.P. Lovecraft, it’s largely a mix of workplace drama and black comedy, with the tempestuous Defoe and a mischievous seagull drawing laughs.