HBO Max exec admits to the app’s early flaws

Viewers have long complained about the early HBO Max app’s tendency to crash, and its lack of discoverability features. There have been a number of overhauls and fixes since then. Now we know why. Turns out that HBO Max launched its apps before they were ready in order to keep up with its competitors. The app was “never intended to go global” or to suit the needs of a direct-to-consumer market, according to an interview that Sarah Lyons, HBO Max’s head of product experience, gave Protocol. The network wanted to build an audience first, and then fix the app’s flaws as the service scaled up.While Lyons admits that the early days of HBO Max were rocky, she thinks the company made the right decision. We’ve been changing out the engine of the plane while we’re flying the plane,” she said. “I do think it was the right decision to try to balance both,” said Lyons.HBO Max first released its app in May 2020, to join an already saturated streaming ecosystem that included Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+ and others. At the time, both HBO Go (the network’s on-demand app for cable subscribers) and HBO Now (the standalone app for cord-cutters) were still available, a fact that confused many subscribers. The network has since retired both apps.Viewers have flocked to Reddit since the app’s initial launch with complaints that spanned platforms and devices. “We’ve been trying to watch the Harry Potter movies and literally every 15 min or so we get an ERROR message and have to force close... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2022-04-14 23:32:58 UTC ]
News tagged with: #apple tv+ #streaming platforms #home page #biggest change #harry potter

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Stephen King Explains Why HBO's 'Chernobyl' Reminds Him Of Donald Trump

The horror writer said it was “impossible” to watch the show without thinking of the president. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2019-05-31 09:36:40 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2019: Max Brooks Knows How to Win the Game of Thrones

Brooks thinks 'Game of Thrones' reminds us of mistaken military assumptions after the Cold War ended. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2019: S&S Welcomes Angelina Ballerina and Max & Ruby

Three classic picture book and board book characters, who have enchanted multiple generations of children, return in a pair of fall releases from Simon & Schuster. The books mark the relaunch of the Angelina Ballerina and Max & Ruby series under the S&S banner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Ex-Vice exec launches pot-focused agency with ties to Snoop Dog’s media company

Former Vice executive Ryan Archibald and Ted Chung, a business partner of Snoop Dogg, have joined forces to launch a new global agency specializing in cannabis marketing. The shop, called Gram By Gram, has already inked a significant client–Canopy Growth, a Canadian cannabis firm recently... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-21 10:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Game of Thrones’ finale sets an HBO record

The much griped-about series finale of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” on Sunday night broke the premium cable network‘s all-time ratings records, as nearly 20 million viewers tuned in to find out who would get to sit on the Uncomfortable Pointy Chair. According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, the... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-20 20:41:27 UTC ]
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'We don't understand the impacts': Former Facebook exec calls for more government scrutiny

The tech giant's former NZ and Aus boss calls for more examination following the surprise election win in Australia. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2019-05-19 21:15:47 UTC ]
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MSN Messenger 2019 Edition is the messaging app you didn't know you needed

These days, if you want to chat with friends and family you probably do so through one of the many mobile messaging choices -- such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Snapchat. Before mobile communications really took off, Microsoft’s cross-platform MSN Messenger (later rebranded Windows Live... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2019-05-16 19:05:22 UTC ]
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Apple Pay can be used for iTunes, App Store and Apple Book purchases

You can now use Apple Pay to make purchases from iTunes, the App Store and Apple Books. You can also use it for Apple Music and iCloud storage subscriptions. MacRumors spotted the change in a recently updated support document. The added Apple Pay opt... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #app store #make purchases #apple books #apple music


WhatsApp flaw let spies take control of phones

Spyware crafted by a sophisticated group of hackers-for-hire took advantage of a flaw in Facebook Inc.’s popular WhatsApp communications program to remotely hijack dozens of targeted phones without any user interaction. The Financial Times identified the hacking group as NSO Group, an... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-05-14 21:55:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #whatsapp flaw #targeted phones #spyware crafted #sophisticated group #user interaction #hacking group #nso group #israeli company


WhatsApp flaw let spies take control of phones

Spyware crafted by a sophisticated group of hackers-for-hire took advantage of a flaw in Facebook Inc.’s popular WhatsApp communications program to remotely hijack dozens of targeted phones without any user interaction. The Financial Times identified the hacking group as NSO Group, an... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-05-14 21:55:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #whatsapp flaw #targeted phones #spyware crafted #sophisticated group #user interaction #hacking group #nso group #israeli company


Unit Sales Had Small Gain in Early May, Led by Nonfiction

Unit sales of print books inched up by just under 1% in the week ended May 3, 2019, over the comparable week in 2018, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Race to the bottom’: Top publishing execs sound off on the biggest challenges in the industry

See our five major takeaways from the Digiday Publishing Summit. The post ‘Race to the bottom’: Top publishing execs sound off on the biggest challenges in the industry appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Norwegian reading app to launch in the UK

Poio, an app created to help children learn to read, is launching in the UK in June. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vodafone is said to have found Huawei security flaws from 2009

For months, Huawei Technologies Co. has faced U.S. allegations that it flouted sanctions on Iran, attempted to steal trade secrets from a business partner and threatened to enable Chinese spying through the telecom networks it has built across the West. Now Vodafone Group has acknowledged to... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-04-30 22:20:00 UTC ]
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Facebook leans harder into Groups as it redesigns main app

Facebook Inc. unveiled a redesign Tuesday that focuses on the Groups feature of its namesake social network, doubling down on a successful but controversial part of the big blue app. It’s another sign that Facebook is moving toward more private, intimate communication. The changes, announced... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-04-30 22:05:00 UTC ]
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Easter Titles Help Lift Unit Sales 4.3% in Early April

With Easter having passed by this time in 2018 and the holy day still a few weeks away this year, overall unit sales of print books rose 4.3% in the week ended Apr. 6, 2019, over the comparable week last year, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Farhan Zaidi thinks Connor Joe can follow the Max Muncy model with Giants

In the final week of February, in a hotel in Las Vegas, Farhan Zaidi lobbied free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper to spend the next decade with the San Francisco Giants. When Harper declined San Francisco’s $310-million offer for a more lucrative contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, Zaidi... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leadership Briefs: 3 Execs on Navigating Challenges in New Roles

If there’s one universal truth in publishing, it’s that you can never get complacent. You see that even with the launch of the new subscription service Apple News+, for which publishers are lining up in one way or another as they question the reliability of Google and Facebook to send them... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Baltimore Mayor Pugh apologizes for 'Healthy Holly' deal but admits some books being delivered only now

Mayor Catherine Pugh apologized Thursday for upsetting the people of Baltimore over a book deal with the University of Maryland Medical System, as she for the first time produced evidence that 60,000 of her “Healthy Holly” children’s books have been printed and distributed. But she also said that... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book deal #healthy holly