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Charlotte Henry

Charlotte is a media junkie, covering how Apple is not just a revolutionary tech firm, but a revolutionary media firm for TMO. She is based in London, and writes and broadcasts for various outlets.

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Articles by Charlotte Henry

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Why Billie Eilish Apple TV+ Doc Looks Like ‘The Office’

Charlotte Henry ·

Pop stars notoriously come up with all sorts of weird demands for those around them. However, director R.J. Cutler was not quite prepared for Billie Eilish to ask for their Apple TV+ collaboration to look like The Office. He explained the request to Entertainment Weekly.

It took a second for the acclaimed The September Issue director to understand what the young music phenom was looking for, exactly. But by spending more time with her, “I realized what she meant was, as you know, there’s a unique relationship that the John Krasinski character in particular has with the camera in The Office, which is a full documentary. And that’s really what she was alluding to,” he tells EW. “That kind of connection to the camera was something she wanted the opportunity to have in making a documentary.” While it’s not an element that takes over the film, “There are two or three key moments where she connects with the camera in a way that is reflective of who Billie is in her connection to her audience,” the director adds.

Cool Stuff Found

CES 2021: Disruptive Technologies Launches Second Generation of Temperature Sensor

Charlotte Henry ·

Disruptive Technologies launched the second generation of its Temperature Sensor at CES 2021. The company said the sensor can deliver over 15 million data points – 30 times more than the previous generation while maintaining the same form factor and size. It also has the same 15-year battery life. Data generated by the sensor is end-to-end encrypted. It is €49 ($USD 59.60), or €39 per sensor if you order 25 or more, with deliveries starting in May.

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Quibi Confirms Deal to Distribute Content on The Roku Channel

Charlotte Henry ·

Roku has done a deal to purchase the rights dozens of Quibi shows, Deadline reported. Titles like Most Dangerous Game, Dummy and Murder House Flip were included in the deal.

The deal puts a final punctuation mark on the Quibi experiment. Founded by Katzenberg and Meg Whitman with a remarkable $1.75 billion in startup capital, the mobile-focused streaming service had a noisy debut last April but never gained traction. Six months in, execs announced it would shut down by the end of the year. The coronavirus pandemic did not help the on-the-go premise of Quibi, whose name is short for “quick bites,” but its shows also drew generally mixed reviews, though #FreeRayshawn netted two Emmys. “The most creative and imaginative minds in Hollywood created groundbreaking content for Quibi that exceeded our expectations,” said Quibi Founder Jeffrey Katzenberg. “We are thrilled that these stories, from the surreal to the sublime, have found a new home on The Roku Channel.”

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Signal Signups Surge After WhatsApp Controversy And Elon Musk Tweets

Charlotte Henry ·

Encrypted messaging app Signal is seeing a surge in signups, The Verge reported. It seems to come on the back of supportive tweets from Tesla chief Elon Musk and controversy around WhatsApp mandating users to share data with its parent company, Facebook.

But what’s happening now appears to be a bit of context collapse on social media, as WhatsApp users think they’re now being forced to share data with Facebook even though that’s been happening all along if they didn’t opt out back in 2016. None of this is helped by Facebook and WhatsApp’s recent attacks on Apple for the iPhone maker’s decision to mandate new self-reported labels on iOS apps and its future plans to force app makers to request permission to track Apple device owners. The new privacy policy notice doesn’t help Facebook’s cause, either, considering it tells users displeased with the changes — which, again, are about how businesses manage their chats on WhatsApp using Facebook’s backend — to “delete their account,” with no other remedies provided.

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NBCUniversal And Charter Agree on Deal For Peacock Free Trial

Charlotte Henry ·

NBCUniversal and Charter have agreed on a deal that includes a free trial of the Premium tier of the Peacock streaming service. Charter will also distribute the Peacock app via its Spectrum Guide platform, Deadline reported.

Networks that are part of the distribution deal include NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, CNBC, E!, MSNBC, The Olympic Channel, Oxygen, Syfy, USA Network, Universal Kids, Universo, The Golf Channel, CNBC World, New England Cable News (NECN), and NBC Sports Network, as well as five Regional Sports Networks — NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Washington, NBC Sports Northwest, NBC Sports Boston, and NBC Sports Chicago. They will be available to Charter’s Spectrum home and business subscribers in 41 states. “Charter is a valued partner with passionate NBCUniversal fans in millions of homes nationwide,” said Matt Bond, Chairman, Content Distribution, NBCUniversal. “We look forward to delivering our industry-leading network content portfolio, as well as the strong collection of original and library content in our Peacock Premium offering, to Charter’s subscribers everywhere.”

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New Facial Recognition Tech Works Even When People Are Wearing Masks

Charlotte Henry ·

Japan’s NEC has launched a facial recognition system that works even when people are wearing masks. Customers for the tool include Lufthansa and Swiss International Airlines, Shinya Takashima, assistant manager of the company’s digital platform division, told Reuters. (BBC News also reported that London’s Metropolitan Police uses the technology.)

The system determines when a person is wearing a mask and hones in on the parts that are not covered up, such as the eyes and surrounding areas, to verify the subject’s identity. Users register a photo of their face in advance. NEC says verification takes less than one second and claims an accuracy rate of more than 99.9%. The system can be used at security gates in office buildings and other facilities. NEC is also trialing the technology for automated payments at an unmanned convenience store in its Tokyo headquarters.