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Roku claims 36 million active users as streaming continues to spread

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According to Roku, we’re now in the “streaming decade.” And the company that grew from a Netflix box to a behemoth in its own right is claiming that the last quarter of 2019 was a big one (PDF), with retail sales up 33 percent and total streaming hours up 60 percent compared to the same period last year. The total number of active Roku accounts reached 36.9 million.

With Disney, NBCUniversal, HBO, Apple and others (including ViacomCBS once it announces something next week) expanding their streaming plans, Roku isn’t just focused on being a platform that customers can use to get all of them in one place. On a call with investors, SVP Scott Rosenberg said “We’ve got data that helps us predict who’s likely to be the next CBS All Access, the next Disney+, the next Apple TV+ viewer. And we deploy those capabilities in partnership with content providers to help them do better, faster customer acquisition and retention.”

CEO Anthony Wood referenced the fast start of Disney+ and noted that the service “leaned into” using its tools, and worked with Roku to help subscribers easily log in. In the release of today’s results, Roku showed off ads that Disney+ ran on its home screen as an example of its capabilities. It can also play off of free content in its streaming Roku Channel, with advertisements for premium services that lead to subscriptions, reminders to watch later, or text messages that people can request, like one from Energizer that sent codes for a discounted movie.

As far as that weirdness with Fox ahead of the Super Bowl, Wood downplayed any expectation of carriage negotiation drama. Instead of squabbling over how to split revenue from a cable bill, he said the company is trying to help build businesses, which doesn’t quite explain what happened, but as long as the game streamed in 4K then that may be all the answer we’ll get for now.

As for the future, it looks like we can expect for Roku OS powered devices like the TVs and soundbars that are out now, as well as more content on its free channels. The Roku Channel reached some 56 million customers in 2019, and with an expectation that by 2024, up to half of US homes will either be cord cutters or cord nevers, it could have many more viewers tuning in.

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Ex-Waymo driver arrested for causing one of its vans to hit his car

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Based on the on-board videos captured by a couple of Waymo vehicles in the area (see below), Tang braked hard in front of them in an attempt to force them to rear-end his car. Authorities said Tang admitted to “brake-checking” the vehicles. While the Waymo vans are equipped with self-driving technology, their back-up drivers were operating them in manual mode in an effort to avoid a collision with Tang who was driving erratically. The driver of the vehicle that crashed into Tang’s car was treated for minor injuries and asthma complications.

The suspect used to work for Genesis10, a staffing agency that provided the Alphabet-owned company with vehicle operators. Waymo ended his assignment nearly a year ago, though, “when he failed to meet the [company’s] high safety standards.” According to AP, court documents show that the January 30th crash wasn’t the first time Tang targeted Waymo vehicles. He also allegedly committed “several crimes against Waymo vehicles” in Chandler between October 23rd and December 10th. Those earlier incidents caused over $3,200 in damages, while the January 30th crash caused $3,500 in damage to the van.

Tang now faces felony charges of aggravated assault and criminal damage, as well as misdemeanor charges for endangerment and reckless driving.

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NVIDIA cuts its outlook by $100 million due to 2019 coronavirus

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NVIDIA opted out of attending MWC 2020 due to coronavirus-related safety concerns before the organization behind the event decided to cancel it altogether. That’s not the only tangible impact the virus has had on the industry, though. Apple had to close all its retail stores in mainland China out of an “abundance of caution.” And since a lot of tech companies have factories in the country, their production has also been affected. The outbreak resulted in production and shipment delays for the Nintendo Switch in Japan, and it delayed the reopening of Foxconn’s (mostly known for being an Apple supplier) factories after the extended Lunar New Year holiday.

As for the rest of the report, NVIDIA says its revenue for fiscal year 2020 was $10.92 billion, down 7 percent from a year earlier. However, its revenue for the fourth quarter ending on January 26th, 2020 is $3.11 billion. That’s up 41 percent from $2.21 billion a year earlier, thanks to its technologies and products geared towards gaming and the world’s growing interest in artificial intelligence.

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Bidding for the ‘Nintendo PlayStation’ prototype is already over $200k

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We’ve already had a chance to play around with the “Super Disc” system, but now that they’ve decided to sell it, getting hold of the artifact yourself is going to be expensive — after being live for about 24 hours the price has reached $205,000. (If you’re wondering who would pay that much, Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey tweeted tonight that he is the current highest bidder.)

Late last year the Diebolds announced they would “let the market determine” what this system is worth in an auction. There’s no reserve price listed yet, as that will be revealed on the 27th, but the owners have already said they turned down a $1.2 million offer. Live bidding will take place on March 6th, so you do have some time to get your funds together and make an offer.

Nintendo PlayStation



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Ohio man charged for laundering $300 million through Bitcoin ‘mixer’

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It’s not clear what level of punishment authorities want if Harmon is found guilty. However, the charges of money laundering conspiracy, running an unlicensed money transmitting business and sending money without a DC license could add up to a significant amount of time behind bars. A charge for an unlicensed money transmitting business carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison by itself.

The charge is a win for feds who want to show they can take down all the infrastructure for a darknet criminal marketplace, not just the main organization. It’s also a symbolic blow given the sheer scale of the claimed operations. At the same time, we wouldn’t count on this being a deterrent. If true, Harmon was running a large operation relatively openly — smaller or stealthier outlets might be harder to take down.

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Last month was the hottest January on record

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This shouldn’t be too surprising, given that 2019 was Earth’s second-warmest year on record, last June was the hottest on record and researchers just recorded record-high temps in Antarctica. According to NOAA, the 10 warmest Januaries have all occurred since 2002. What makes this year especially unique is that there was no El Niño to account for some of the warming.

According to NOAA’s report, parts of Russia, Scandinavia and eastern Canada saw the most notable warmer-than-average land temperatures, clocking in at 9.0 degrees F (5.0 degrees C) above average. Alaska and western Canada saw especially cool temperatures.

Researchers say the planet is warming faster than originally thought. The UN has said even if nations stick to the Paris agreement, climate change will still be a major disaster. Meanwhile, some estimate that current emissions will heat the planet by more than 1.5˚C. That increase could melt nearly 2 million square miles of Arctic permafrost, destroy more than 70 percent of the ocean’s coral reefs and expose 14 percent of the global population to bouts of severe heat.



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YouTube TV won’t work with App Store subscriptions after March 13th

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“You’re currently subscribed to YouTube TV through Apple in-app purchases, so we’re writing to let you know that, starting March 13th, 2020, YouTube TV will no longer accept payment through Apple in-app purchases,” reads the company’s email. “You’ll be billed for one final month of service and then your in-app purchase subscription will be canceled automatically on your billing date after March 13th, 2020.”

The email doesn’t explain why Google is removing one of the ways people can pay for YouTube TV, but the likely reason is that the company doesn’t want to give Apple a cut of its subscription revenue. Depending on how long someone has been a subscriber, Apple takes either a 15 or 30 percent cut of every in-app subscription.

The practice has been a contentious one for a long time. However, Google isn’t the first company to stop accepting App Store subscriptions. In 2018, Netflix stopped taking in-app subscriptions through both the App Store and Google Play Store. Practically speaking, you’ll still be able to use the YouTube TV app on your Apple devices, you’ll just need to subscribe directly through the company’s website.

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Wirecutter’s best deals: The Fibaro Motion Sensor drops to $50

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Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S

Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S

Street price: $55; deal price: $40

Back down to $40, this matches the low price we’ve seen on our runner-up pubic hair trimmer pick, the Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S. We like its vertical orientation, coupled with the V-shaped head, making it a very maneuverable trimmer that can easily navigate the bends and folds of your body. Though they found our top pick serviceable, both of our female testers slightly preferred this more powerful option, even if it meant a shorter battery life than our top pick. If you’re in the market for a versatile and easy-to-maneuver trimmer, this is another great chance to save. This pricing ends after today, 2/13.

With its improved maneuverability and greater power, the Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S is the runner up in our guide to the best pubic hair trimmer. Dorie Chevlen wrote, “The Panasonic Electric Body Hair Trimmer and Groomer for Men ER-GK60-S scored well with our panelists, thanks to its perfect blend of power and maneuverability, and it was the favorite trimmer of our two female panelists. It cut through all panelists’ pubic hair in a single pass over each section, but they still felt protected from nicks and cuts, even when using this model without a guard (because of the trimmer’s round-edge blades). In fact, this was the only trimmer that didn’t cause one nick on any panelist over the course of our weeks of testing.”

iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless

iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless

Street price: $50; deal price: $39

In our guide, we praise the iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless for its extendable neck and fully rotational base. The cradle design offers more support than our other picks, and this deal makes it about $20 less comparatively. Though this isn’t the lowest price we’ve ever seen, it’s still a worthwhile deal on a pick that doesn’t see discounts often. If you’re interested in a wireless charging phone mount for your car, this is a solid discount on one of our recommended options.

The iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless is the extra-secure pick in our guide to the best wireless charging phone mounts for cars. Wirecutter Associate Staff Writer Thom Dunn and Senior Staff Writer Nick Guy wrote, “If you need a mount that’s more adjustable than other models, we recommend the iOttie Easy One Touch Wireless. It has a 4-inch neck that can extend out to 8 inches (compared with about 2 inches for our top picks), so you can position your phone closer to you, if needed. This can be handy if you tend to sit further back from the dash or have a car with a deep, sloping windshield. The suction cup on this dash-mounted model also works better on textured materials than our top pick, and both the base and the attachment that holds the phone can rotate 360 degrees. The neck can also rotate in an arc of 270 degrees, offering a wide range of options for setup and positioning.”

Monoprice Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cable

Monoprice Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cable

Street price: $18; deal price: $14

As sad as it is to acknowledge, many AV add-ons in your setup that may need an HDMI cable still don’t come with one. This is a great chance to stock up if you’re short. Down to $14 from a typical price around $18, this is a new low price for a three-pack of six-foot Monoprice Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cables. It’s just as good as our top pick but typically a bit more expensive. This deal makes the Monoprice option less expensive than a similar set of our top pick.

Available in many lengths and thicknesses, these HDMI cables are the wider variety pick in our guide to the best cheap, great HDMI cables. Geoffrey Morrison wrote, “The Monoprice Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cable performs just as well as our top pick, but is a little more expensive when you include shipping. It too is rated (and as we tested, passes) the 18 Gbps required for 4K HDR. If you need very long or short cables to make your setup work, they come in more lengths and thicknesses than Amazon’s cables, and they also come with a lifetime warranty.”

Fibaro Motion Sensor

Fibaro Motion Sensor

Street price: $60; deal price: $50

If you have a HomeKit smart home system, or are interested in starting one, this is a nice discount on our HomeKit compatible motion sensor pick. With recent street pricing around $60, this drop to $50 is a nice discount and a new low. This is also the first deal we’ve ever seen for the Fibaro Motion Sensor since adding it to our tracking it last July, so it’s a good chance to pick one up.

The top pick in our guide to the best smart home sensors for HomeKit, the Fibaro Motion Sensor is eye-catching and has a wide, 30-foot range. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy wrote, “We like the Fibaro Motion Sensor because it’s small, customizable, and, unlike competing models, also capable of detecting temperature, light, and vibration—for some people it may be able to do the work of multiple sensors all at once. And if you use the free Fibaro companion app, you can get even more functionality out of it: You can adjust the motion sensitivity, set the blind time (the amount of time the sensor will pause after being triggered before triggering again), and customize the LED eye, including turning it off completely—which is essential if you have the sensor in a bedroom. It also has, in our opinion, a great design that allows it to fit securely and discreetly on nearly any surface, and it’s the smallest motion sensor we tested by a long shot.”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go here.

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Facebook Gaming locks down another big-name streamer: Ronda Rousey

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With more than 11.2 million Facebook fans, Rousey already has a massive fanbase that might just be interested in watching her play games. The former WrestleMania headliner, actor and author will be delving into Pokémon Sword and Shield on her first stream, proceeds from which will go towards Australian bushfire recovery efforts.

Rousey’s the latest in a string of mainstream stars to sign an exclusive deal with a game-focused streaming platform. Just this week, it emerged that Drake is joining relative newcomer Caffeine to host rap battles and produce other content (maybe he’ll even make a return to Fortnite there someday).

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