Spotify's experimental Stations app is soon to be no more. The company says it will shut down the app on May 16th. It took a leaf out of the Pandora playbook with Stations, as the app and web player offered a way to listen to curated playlists in a radio-style format. Stations debuted in Australia in 2018 and arrived in the US the following year. The app has now been removed from the App Store and Google Play Store.
The company says it often conducts tests to "create better listening experiences" for users. Our "Spotify Stations Beta was one of those tests," Spotify told TechCrunch. "We will be sunsetting the current feature, but users will be able to easily transfer their favorite stations and enjoy a similar radio experience directly within the Spotify app.”
If you're a Stations user, you'll be able to move the stations you want to keep over to the Spotify app. You'll find them in your library in a folder called Spotify Stations.
Those who enjoyed the app and its streamlined design may be disappointed by the move. However, the company noted that the radio feature in the main app offers a similar feature — it can create an ad-hoc station based on any artist, song, album or playlist.
So does the Overwatch 2 beta live up to all of the hype and anticipation? This week, Jessica Conditt joins Devindra to chat about Blizzard’s long-awaited sequel and why she thinks it’s worth the wait. Also, we discuss why you should care about data privacy given the current wave of anti-abortion legislation, and why the Embracer Group is gobbling up so many developers.
Listen above, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
Overwatch 2 beta brings some freshness to a stale game, but is it enough? – 1:15
What does the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade mean for online privacy in the US? – 13:28
Swedish game company Embracer buys several Square Enix studios – 17:47
Sonos is reportedly working on a $250 sound bar called the Ray – 21:46
Obi-Wan trailer drops for May the 4th – 23:19
Engadget’s coverage of Formula-E races in Monaco – 24:53
Working on – 27:14
Pop culture picks – 29:59
Video livestream
Credits Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Jessica Conditt Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos Graphic artists: Luke Brooks and Brian Oh
Whisteblowers are accusing Facebook of purposely blocking government, healthcare and emergency services pages in Australia in order to thwart a potential law that would require platforms to pay for news, according to WSJ. The accusers say the platform last year created an algorithm to identify pages that would affect the most publishers. But Facebook reportedly didn’t just take down pages for media outlets — it also removed pages for hospitals, governments and charities.
According to the documents, Facebook put together a team of roughly a dozen employees who were tasked with removing news content from Australia. The team sidestepped an existing Facebook database of existing news publishers. Instead, the Facebook employees quickly created a new algorithm with a definition of news broad enough to grab a large number of non-news pages. “If 60 percent of [sic] more of a domain’s content shared on Facebook is classified as news, then the entire domain will be considered a news domain,” stated one internal document.
The end-result was that — for several days — Australians weren’t able to access or share any news or information from governments and healthcare services pages on Facebook. The timing was particularly bad, since the nation was just about to embark on a mass vaccination campaign for Covid-19. A number of Australian health officials decried the move. "It is truly ironic that Facebook has allowed health misinformation to be spread via its platform throughout this pandemic, yet today much of this misinformation remains on Facebook while official information sources are blocked … [The decision is] corporate bullying at its worst,” Australian Medical Association President Dr. Omar Khorshid told NBC last year.
Facebook’s troubles in Australia began when the nation’s Parliament began devising ways to force companies to pay publishers for news content distributed via search products and social media platforms. Back in February 2021, the Australian House of Representatives passed a version of this legislation opposed by Facebook. The company then blocked Australians from sharing or viewing news on the platform altogether. Following days of public outcry, the Australian Parliament eventually negotiated with Facebook and passed a new, more lenient bill that had the support of the social media giant. Facebook then reversed the ban.
Facebook has maintained that blocking the government and healthcare pages was accidental. “The documents in question clearly show that we intended to exempt Australian government Pages from restrictions in an effort to minimize the impact of this misguided and harmful legislation,” Facebook spokesman Andy Stone told WSJ. “When we were unable to do so as intended due to a technical error, we apologized and worked to correct it. Any suggestion to the contrary is categorically and obviously false.”
The documents that the whistleblowers submitted were filed with the US Department of Justice and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, WSJ reported. A number of members of the US Congress were also given copies of the Facebook documents.
You won't have to leave the social media sphere to catch some of the coverage surrounding FIFA World Cup matches. Fox Sports has expanded its relationship with Twitter to offer live pre-game shows and in-match previews (through @foxsports and @foxsoccer) for every match of World Cup 2022 and Women's World Cup 2023. You can also expect "near real-time" highlights during play as well as post-match discussions.
The exclusive deal for both the men's and women's tournaments is a first for Twitter, according to the social network's global content head TJ Adeshola. Naturally, you can expect Fox to support the streams through ads.
You'll still have to use the Fox Sports app or website (plus a pay TV subscription) if you want to stream the matches themselves. Like it or not, the broadcaster still wants to steer you toward its most lucrative business. Even so, this at least offers more ways to immerse yourself in the group stages or build up hype for a must-win knockout match.
The following contains spoilers for the premiere episode of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.’
Today Strange New Worlds makes its debut on Paramount+, the long-awaited third live action series in the new Kurtzman-era. But, while Discovery carried the burden of being the first Star Trek show in 12 years and Picard saw the return of a beloved character after 17 years, Strange New Worlds is dealing with a more recent problem: It’s been billed by cast and crew alike as an answer to fan complaints about this new era of Trek, specifically as a return to more episodic storytelling. But, with its series premiere the show also felt the need to fire another shot across the bow to fans: a return to “message” Trek.
Star Trek, from the beginning, has always been imbued with Gene Roddenbury’s humanist philosophy. The original series was meant to depict a universe where all the nations and races of Earth had worked out their differences and traveled to the stars to meet other sentient species and overcome their differences with those groups. Many of the Enterprise’s adventures with alien species were often unsubtle allegories for real-world issues. For example (and most memorably), “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” wherein two warring members of the same species hate each other due to the color configuration of their faces — black on the right side, or black on the left side (they looked a lot like a black and white cookie, if you’ve ever eaten one of these New York classics).
Marni Grossman/Paramount+
The followup shows would tackle other issues in their own ways, from The Next Generation handling issues of drug addiction (badly), gender identity (also kind of badly) and basic civil rights (those were actually pretty good). Deep Space Nine can claim one of the best episodes of the entire franchise with “Far Beyond the Stars,” in which Captain Sisko experiences visions that place him in the shoes of a Black science fiction writer trying to tackle the racial injustices of the early 20th century.
That particular episode of Deep Space Nine is not just meaningful in what it has to say about race, but in the role of science fiction as a way to explore social issues and address injustices. There’s a quote from Stargate SG-1 (yeah, the other-other “Star” franchise) that I often go back to: “Science fiction is an existential metaphor that allows us to tell stories about the human condition.” That is, we can take real-world issues and bury them under fanciful elements such that we can portray them without immediately sending up someone’s hackles, then comment on them with the caveat, “this is just a ‘what if,’ after all; it’s not real.” It’s not real, but it makes you think. Science fiction is the storytelling equivalent of hiding your dog’s pills inside a treat.
Marni Grossman/Paramount+
However, Discovery and Picard have largely stayed away from “message” storytelling, choosing largely to focus on long-term character exploration over a long serialized story. If the shows chose to make any broad statements, it was by the mere presence of marginalized groups and integrating them into the universe: Discovery is the first show led by a Black female captain, with many of its main and recurring characters existing on the queer spectrum. Seven and Raffi are a couple on Picard, and Lower Decks even has an asexual character. But the shows for the most part, have shied away from overt messaging, even if wrapped in a science fiction coating.
Strange New Worlds upends that trend in its first episode, where Pike is sent to right a first contact mission gone wrong. For those unfamiliar with the trope, the Federation always reaches out to races developing warp engine technology for the first time, to catch them before they blunder out into trouble in outer space. It’s a fairly standard Star Trek plot, one that makes for a good standalone adventure to kick off a program that’s been billed as an “episodic” show. First contact episodes are good because both the characters and audience are meeting an alien species for the first time at the same time, so there’s no backstory to explain, nor are they expected to follow up (other ships have the task of continuing diplomatic relations, as seen in Lower Decks).
CBS
But in this case, the development of warp on the planet was not natural; instead the planet is not far from the events of Discovery at the end of season two and was witness to sights and readings that led them to build a warp device… as a bomb. While Starfleet protocol would dictate that the planet should just be allowed to blow themselves up, Pike decides to take responsibility instead, stepping in and delivering a message along the lines of The Day the Earth Stood Still, though less “we’ll blow you up” and more “don’t do this to yourselves.” There’s an entire speech about how Earth went through the same kind of struggles, and this is where the message stops being allegorical as Pike specifically shows footage of January 6th, 2021.
It’s rare for Star Trek to directly acknowledge the present day in its storytelling, partly because that facet of continuity is a mess (the worldwide Eugenics Wars were originally supposed to take place in the ‘90s, for example) but mostly because it violates the whole “science fiction as metaphor” principle. When the show specifically points at something you personally know, something you’re almost sure to have an opinion on, it’s easy to feel like it’s turned against you when your opinions don’t align. Even if they do line up, people don’t particularly like being lectured. So for a show that’s trying to win back fans that seem to have turned away from this new era of Trek, it’s a weird path of Strange New Worlds to take.
CBS
But, between this and the season four finale of Discovery and its Stacey Abrams cameo, it seems that Star Trek has no interest in being metaphorical anymore; too many people are missing the point. There are those on the internet that love to complain about “woke” Trek even though the show has always addressed racism, sexism, gender identity, drug addiction, religious belief, terrorism, persecution of minorities, slavery, colonialism, environmentalism… the list goes on. Many of these situations weren’t even that subtle. And, despite insistences to the contrary, Starfleet is a military organization. The Federation is a government. Almost everything they do is political by definition. But that seems to have escaped many viewers, forcing the franchise to drag the real world in to make its point.
The following contains mild spoilers for the finale episode of ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season two.
Picard has always been an outlier in the Star Trek franchise. It’s not a show about a particular ship and its crew; the title indicates that at its heart, it’s about this one character and any unresolved issues he may have had with his life. It hasn’t been the most compelling premise, and its output so far has been divisive among fans. But as the series finishes up its second year and rolls into its third and final season, its ultimate purpose has become more clear, a purpose that wouldn’t have worked for a broadcast show but fits right in with the more intimate confines of a streaming service.
In its first two seasons, Picard has felt rather directionless. Season one was about artificial life, while season two decided to delve into time travel and emotional trauma. It may be a serialized program, but the plotlines and tone have gone all over the place (mostly notably in “Stardust City Rag,” which starts off with a gory torture scene but by the halfway mark the crew is all wearing silly disguises). But between the departures of cast members at the end of season two and the announcement that The Next Generation crew would be appearing in the series in its last season, however, a clear pathway for the program seems to have emerged from the fog.
CBS
The final TNG movie (Nemesis) is generally considered to be awful, with a weak nonsensical plot, some out-of-character moments and just a bad sendoff for fan favorite characters like Data. Picard has sought to heal some of those wounds by giving Data a proper death, Troi and Riker a proper family, and Jean-Luc himself some needed character growth. That last one was a particular sticking point since the finale of the show, “All Good Things,” ended with a message that Picard needs to grow as a person. And then in the films… he just didn’t.
It’s hard to imagine creating a network television show just to fix some problems with a series of films made twenty years ago, which is why Picard is most definitely a product of the streaming model. I’ve talked before how streaming affects the creative development of shows in both good and bad ways. A streaming program is given a full season order before it starts, meaning that creators know they have at least six or 10 or 13 episodes to play with. It’s a big part of why serialized storytelling is even possible, since showrunners no longer fear being cut off in the middle of an ongoing story (like the recently canceled Legends of Tomorrow on the CW, which ended on a big cliffhanger).
CBS
There are also some drawbacks, to be sure; without audience feedback, it means a creator can’t fine-tune a show as it goes along. They can’t make changes at all until the new season starts production. And if the show hasn’t been renewed for another season, they can’t seed plot points in the current season and be sure they’ll pay off. At least with broadcast shows, they may hear of their renewal while still in production, allowing them to add in some hook for the next season.
But as I said, Picard doesn’t have to worry about any of this. The show was intended to be three seasons and no more, and they’ve already shot the entire thing. Many lapsed fans have publicly stated they intend to jump on board merely for the presence of their TNG faves, meaning Paramount+’s streaming strategy does seem to be working in this case.
CBS
And it’s because the show has such a limited life span, because it’s ending up to be less a tentpole than it is a nice little coda for long-time fans, I find it easier to make peace with the show’s existence. Like many viewers I’ve had problems with Picard, some I’ve written about. The same goes for Discovery. But as the Star Trek universe expands and more options become available, each show has a lot less weight to carry.
They no longer have to try to meet every expectation; instead fans have a fuller menu to choose from. Discovery can be for those who like a quirkier Trek with a progressive cast, Picard is for TNG diehards, Lower Decks is for fans who like the sillier aspects of the franchise, Prodigy is for kids and Strange New Worlds is trying to be an old-fashioned-style Trek for fans who literally hated everything else on this list. And I don’t think any of this would have been possible without the streaming model. There may be too many shows to keep up with, but at least it’s easier to find something that fits your unique taste. Whether the growth of streaming is sustainable is yet to be seen (RIP CNN+) but for now, we can enjoy the plethora of options at the buffet.
TikTok creators might soon have an easier way to profit from their posts. As part of a TikTok Pulse ad solution, the social media giant will start "exploring" a program that shares ad revenue with influencers, publishers and well-known public personas. Those with at least 100,000 followers will be eligible in the first stage, TikTok said.
The company told TechCrunch it will launch Pulse in the US this June, with other countries due in the fall. TikTok will split revenue equally between itself and producers. That's slightly worse than Instagram (where creators get 55 percent), but still significant.
The appeal is clear: if you're popular enough, you could make money with every post. That could encourage more posts on TikTok, not to mention spare some video makers from relying heavily on sponsorships or donations.
This also helps TikTok, of course. It could prevent stars from jumping to Instagram or other, potentially more lucrative rivals. However, it might also encourage more creators to produce ad-friendly clips — you might see cleaner, less polarizing material. That won't be thrilling if you like TikTok's more political or risqué content, but it might help TikTok withstand increasingly fierce competition.
Microsoft is rolling out an update to the Xbox app for iOS and Android that includes a new social sharing feature. Players will be able to share screenshots, gameplay clips and achievements with their friends and others as Instagram- or Snapchat-style stories. You'll be able to respond to other people's stories with a reaction or message too.
You'll find the stories on the home screen of the app. To share a clip, screenshot or achievement, access the channel, tap the plus sign on your gamertag and choose what you want to post from the gallery. You'll be able to add a caption before sharing your story.
Although Instagram and Snapchat stories typically disappear after 24 hours, Xbox stories will be available for 72 hours. That means it's more likely that your friends will see your updates, as long as they can tear themselves away from the new Halo Infinite season for long enough.
There's another new feature for Xbox consoles as part of the May update. Microsoft calls it Quality of Service (QoS) tagging. It says this is a way of prioritizing "latency-sensitive outbound networking traffic such as party chat, console streaming and multiplayer." The company says this feature could help to maintain your gaming experience amid connection issues on congested networks.
You can manage QoS tags in the Settings app. After selecting the General option, go to network settings, then advanced settings. You'll then see the QoS tagging settings. DSCP tagging is enabled at the IPv4 and IPv6 packet level and works on both wired and wireless connections. WMM tagging works on the wireless packed level and is active only on Wi-Fi connections.
These updates are now live in Australia. Microsoft says they'll arrive in other regions soon.
Happy Star Wars Day! Lucasfilm and Disney+ are celebrating May the 4th by offering another look at the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
There's not a ton of new footage in this trailer compared with the first teaser. There is, however, a snippet of a conversation between Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton) about training young Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi. There's also a look at Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) being pieced together, which is much more than the breathing cameo from the previous trailer.
This clip reinforces one of the show's main story threads as well. The Empire is desperately trying to hunt down an on-the-run Obi-Wan in an attempt to wipe out the Jedi once and for all. I wonder how that'll pan out. There's also a very brief peek of Kumail Nanjiani, whose character is intriguingly wearing Jedi-style robes, along with several shots of the villains.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set 10 years after Revenge of the Sith and it will fill in some of the narrative gaps between the prequels and the original trilogy. While The Mandalorian, which was the first live-action Star Wars series, has been a hit, Obi-Wan Kenobi should be an easier sell for Disney+ thanks to the familiar characters that are front and center. Because of that, it doesn’t need to give away too much before the series debuts with two episodes on May 27th.
Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter acquisition hasn't even been finalized yet, but UK's MPs are already inviting him to discuss the changes he wants to implement for the website. The UK House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee MPs told Musk in a letter (PDF) that they're particularly interested in hearing about his intention to roll out verification for all users. They said it echoes their calls on the government as part of a proposed legislation.
Committee Chairperson Julian Knight also wrote:
"Our 2020 Report on Misinformation in the Covid ‘Infodemic’ called for greater transparency of bots and automated and spam accounts, whilst our recent Report on the UK’s Online Safety Bill discussed ways to balance civil liberties like freedom of expression with the need to tackle pernicious, pervasive online child sexual exploitation and abuse."
That suggests that the MPs are looking to discuss the balance between freedom of speech and censorship on the platform and how Musk plans to tackle it. The multi-company exec previously described himself as a "free-speech absolutist," and it remains to be see if and how that will change Twitter's moderation practices.
Twitter under Musk might start charging users to embed tweets from verified accounts, according to a report from Reuters. He also reportedly suggested changes to Twitter Blue, the website's subscription service, to make it more appealing to paying users. In addition, he reportedly floated the idea of job cuts in talks with banks to secure financing for his buyout. More recently, he tweeted that the website will remain free for casual users, but that it might start charging commercial entities and government agencies.
Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users
The MPs letter is only an invitation, however, and Musk isn't legally required to attend. Their committee has a history of summoning CEOs that don't show up, but that hasn't stopped them from trying to get execs to talk. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, for instance, previously refused their requests and only sent a representative to appear before the committee.
