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Taika Waititi to Direct Series of 'Time Bandits' for Apple

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple’s in-development series Time Bandits will be directed by Taika Waititi, Variety reported.  The series was based on a film, originally released in 1981,  written by Monty Python star Terry Gilliam. It told the story of a young Brit called, Kevin, who finds a time hole in his wardrobe. Apple’s streaming service is expected to be revealed at its March 25th event, confirmed Monday.

Apple’s adaptation will be co-produced by Paramount TV, Anonymous Content, and Media Rights Capital. Waititi will direct and co-write the pilot, as well as executive producing alongside Gilliam and producer Dan Halsted. Waititi was recently announced as one of several directors for the Disney+ “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian.” The TV adaptation of his horror mockumentary “What We Do in the Shadows” premieres March 27 on FX, and his next film, “Jojo Rabbit,” is slated to comes out this fall.

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John Oliver Robocalls FCC to Protest Ineffective Rules

Andrew Orr ·

John Oliver is robocalling FCC commissioners like Ajit Pai. He argues that the rules are ineffective at stopping them.

“Hi FCC, this is John from customer service,” Oliver’s recorded voice says on the call. “Congratulations, you’ve just won a chance to lower robocalls in America today… robocalls are incredibly annoying, and the person who can stop them is you! Talk to you again in 90 minutes—here’s some bagpipe music.”

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Spotify Premium Users can get Hulu for Free

Charlotte Henry ·

Spotify Premium users can now access Hulu’s ad-supported tier at no extra cost. However, The Verge said that these users cannot add premium channels, such as Showtime or HBO, to their account alongside Hulu. The deal also excludes those who have a family plan on the music streaming service, but others can access Hulu via the ‘Your Services’ section of an account. This offer is time limited though – it will close on June 10th, 2019.  Hulu recently lowered its pricing to $4.99 a month, following Netflix’s recent price hike.

To take advantage of this deal, new Spotify users can sign up now. Just be sure to activate Hulu on the “Your Services” page within account settings. If you already get Hulu through Spotify, you won’t have to do anything to start saving an extra $3 per month. On the other hand, if you subscribe to Hulu and don’t yet have a Spotify account, you’ll need to cancel your billing through Hulu, then set it up through Spotify to receive the discount.

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You'll do Backflips When You See This Robot do Backflips

John Martellaro ·

As bits and pieces of robot dexterity come together, soon we’ll see some remarkable robot athletes. It’s a glimmer of things to come. The Verge writes:

MIT is back with the latest version of its Cheetah quadrupedal robot, the Mini Cheetah, and it’s got a new trick up its sleeve: it can do backflips.

Podcast

TMO Background Mode Special Edition Chat #5 with Kelly Guimont

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Kelly Guimont is a long-time pro podcaster, Contributing Editor for The Mac Observer, host of the Mac Observer’s Daily Observations podcast, a tech support guru, and a Founding Volunteer of App Camp for Girls.

Kelly first appeared here in December, 2015 to tell her career story and has returned several times for interesting technical discussions. In this encore special edition, we chat about our favorite TV shows of late. John: Star Trek: Discovery, Saving Hope, and Being Erica. Kelly: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Doc Martin, and Wynonna Earp. Join us as we explore together what makes these shows so cool.