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Free tiers are Hollywood’s next big idea in the streaming wars

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Disney and Paramount Skydance have brainstormed introducing free tiers for their paid streaming services. Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters has said his company will "continue to consider" a free tier. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images; Bloomberg/Getty Images; Michael Yanow/NurPhoto via Getty Images Free tiers could help paid streamers fight the rise of services like YouTube and Tubi. Disney and Paramount are exploring free tiers, Business Insider has reported. However, Netflix's co-CEO suggested that making some content free can be risky. To free, or not to free? That is the question for paid streamers like Netflix, as free services,  and YouTube in particular,  attract TV viewers. Hollywood giants Disney and Paramount Skydance are exploring adding free tiers to their subscription services to build audiences, grow advertising revenue, and turn curious newcomers into customers, Business Insider previously reported. And Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said in mid-July that "a free offe...

I bought a one-way ticket to Shanghai, thinking I'd stay for a year. 12 years later, it feels like home.

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Graeme Kennedy knew he didn't want to stay in Canada but never expected to spend the next decade in China. Provided by Graeme Kennedy Graeme Kennedy left a small town in Canada for Shanghai, expecting to stay one year. He quit marketing, built a photography business, and now documents food and culture. Now, he's lived in Shanghai for 12 years and says it's where he feels most at home. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Graeme Kennedy, a Canadian photographer based in Shanghai. His words have been edited for length and clarity. I grew up in a small town in the Canadian Rockies in the kind of place where you help your neighbor shovel snow off their sidewalk just because. My childhood was spent climbing trees, biking, and skiing. Sadly, the nature that drew in tourists year-round was lost on me. I wanted to get out of that 4,000-person town. Have you relocated abroad — especially to Asia — for career opportunities, retirement, or lower living...

The global memory shortage hits the MacBook Air

The global memory chip shortage appears to be affecting the availability of Apple’s most popular Mac. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/EeU47z8 via IFTTT

I moved abroad to reinvent my life. I forgot to change my dating habits.

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The author said she moved abroad for adventure and a new lease on life. She realized she had forgotten to change some of her habits along the way. Courtesy of Carmen Esselink. I set off on starting my new nomadic life and headed to Cape Verde. I ended up staying put and dating the same type of people I thought I was trying to escape at home. Now, I'm not sure what I'm chasing, but I'm trying to be true to myself and my needs. Nine days into 2025, I stood at gate G7 in Amsterdam waiting to board my flight to Cape Verde to build a nomadic life on my own terms. A year and a half later, strangely enough, I'm still here. The temporary adventure turned into a life, complete with friends , routines, and a man who, after nine months, still isn't ready to call me his girlfriend. None of it was exactly planned. I needed a new path After another dating failure , a stalled job, and a roommate moving out, I felt stuck on the traditional path that includes a career, a mortgage, ...

Sam Altman and AI’s decel debate

On the latest episode of Equity, we discuss why Sam Altman has calling on the industry to "pace the rate of AI development." from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/0Qbofdx via IFTTT

YouTuber Hank Green says his AI usage is ‘not healthy’

Green offered a remarkable apology, saying that "the level of dopamine that I've been getting from interacting with LLMs ... is not healthy for me or good for the world." from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/VHIf0dk via IFTTT

Mamdani just gave wealthy homeowners more time to avoid his pied-à-terre tax

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani introduced the pied-à-terre tax in April. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images Mayor Zohran Mamdani extended a deadline for homeowners seeking exemption from his pied-à-terre tax. Eligible homeowners now have until September 18 to apply for an exemption. The tax applies to people who own a secondary property in NYC valued at over $5 million, but who live elsewhere. Wealthy homeowners who might be subject to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax just got more time to avoid it. Mamdani and Department of Finance Commissioner Richard Lee announced on Saturday that the deadline for homeowners to submit an exemption application has been extended to September 18. That's four weeks past the original August 21 deadline. "The extension gives homeowners additional time to establish that the property is their primary residence or demonstrate they are not subject to the surcharge," a press release said. "It also provides mo...