Home Blog Page 219

Frontier Customers Were “Ripped Off” According to the FTC

Mike Phalin
-
2
Frontier Customers Were “Ripped Off” According to the FTC

The Federal Trade Commission is not mincing words about how Frontier treated those who subscribed to the company’s internet service. Apparently, people who lived in areas that only had access to the provider’s DSL service were misled into believing just how fast the service would be.
According to Ars Technica, the FTC took Frontier to court in 2021, ending in a settlement. However, this lawsuit only applied to citizens in California. Following the lawsuit, which includes Frontier paying $8.5 million, plus $250k for Californias legal fees and restitution to customers, the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine had the following to say:

“Frontier lied about its speeds and ripped off customers by charging high-speed prices for slow service. Today’s proposed order requires Frontier to back up its high-speed claims. It also arms customers lured in by Frontier’s lies with free, easy options for dropping their slow service.”

Aside from the financial penalties, the FTC is forcing Frontier to back up its claims regarding service speeds. Additionally, Frontier must be upfront with the speeds DSL customers should expect, and customers will no longer be required to pay a fee for canceling service.
An upside to the settlement is that Frontier must agree to install, within four years, fiber infrastructure to service 60,000 customers. However, I wouldn’t keep my hopes up because Frontier left a bankruptcy filing promising 350k new fiber drops by 2026.
Although I’m not familiar with Frontier’s DLS service, I was a very brief customer of theirs when the company took over Verizon’s fiber service. By brief, I mean less than two weeks. During the first day of Frontier running the service, there was a significant outage which lasted two days. Upon service being restored, internet speeds were drastically slower, coming in at about 35% of the advertised speed. This lasted for another week when I canceled my account. Frontier expected me to pay $200 for exiting my contract early. Yeah, I didn’t do that, and Frontier didn’t push the issue.
Do you have any experience with Frontier? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Ars Technica] [Source: Ars Technica]

‘Rifftrax: The Game’ Lets You Riff With The MST3K Crew!

Mike Phalin
-
0
‘Rifftrax: The Game’ Lets You Riff With The MST3K Crew!

Are you ready to add your own commentary to some of the entertainment industry’s worst movies? Then it’s time for Rifftrax! It’s a party game that lets you and up to six others turn terrible films into comedy gold!
Rifftrax: The Game works similarly to how You Don’t Know Jack does now. Rather than everyone playing on one console with several controllers, players join using their smartphones or other internet-connected devices. Players can either create their own riffs or select pre-recorded ones from the Rifftrax team.

  • Featuring over 250 movie clips from the RiffTrax library including fan favorites such as Rollergator, Attack of the Supermonsters, Plan 9 From Outer Space, and more!
  • Featuring two exciting ways to play! Write your own riff and watch your comedy genius come to life via text-to-speech. Or leave it to the pros and choose from over 2,000 expertly crafted riffs from the RiffTrax team.
  • Play head-to-head with up to 6 players using any internet connected device as controller. An additional 12 audience members can also play along.
  • Support for remote games, cross play, and voice chat.
  • Twitch integrations that can get your whole chat in the action with Twitch Chat voting, additional moderation, privacy, and content tools.
  • Launch price of $9.99 across platforms!

If you’ve not checked out Rifftrax before, you should. If you’re a fan of the Mike Nelson days of MST3K or disappointed by the recent reboot, I say this. Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy (Tom), and Bill Corbett (Crow) riff on everything from old MST3K throwback films to newer fare. Of course, plenty of educational films get roasted, too.
My favorite Rifftrax video is Santa And The Ice Cream Bunny. However, the team’s riff on the Star Wars Holiday Special is pretty good, too.

What do you think about Rifftrax as a party game? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Rifftrax YouTube Channel] [Source: Rifftrax]

Anime and Manga That Highlight Motherhood

Sarah Leone
-
0
Anime and Manga That Highlight Motherhood

Mother’s Day is upon us and it’s time to honor the ones who brought us into the world. Although that should be done regardless of the time of year. Maybe you would like to watch something with your mom? Or perhaps find an anime to watch that centers around motherhood. Moms in animes and manga tend to be the supporting character, a tragic death character, or just not part of the story for one reason or another. But then there are the ones that play a more prominent role. Here is a list of animes and manga that involve mothers who are living.

Wolf Children

The first one is on just about every list that involves anime mothers. And for good reason! Wolf Children highlights life as a mother to two children after losing the wolf man she loves, and her childrens father. Directed by Mamoru Hosoda (Belle).

A Silent Voice

Although motherhood is not the main theme of the movie, it does highlight the struggles single parenthood can create. Both main characters have mothers who do their best to support their children, even if it may not always be the best decisions made. For further backstory on the mothers, you will get more from the manga.

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

Maquia is a 2018 movie that starts with people of Iorph who live far away from the land of men. They can live for centuries, maintaining their youthful appearances. One day they are invaded by the Mezerte army on a dragon fleet, who seek the blood that give Iorph’s their long lasting life. Iorph orphan Maquia manages to escape, leaving her to be all alone and far from home and all those she knew, in the strange land of men. Just as she begins to give up hope, she hears the cries of an orphaned baby. From then on, she strives to raise him as her own to the best that she can. What will happen as he grows up, but she never ages? Is the blood differences worth the pain a love can bring?

With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child

If you would rather read, With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child manga might be worth looking into. There is no tragic death or divorce or single parenthood. Both parents exist together, raising two children. Created between 2000-2009, with 15 volumes and 92 chapters, With the Light is about Azumas’ newborn son, Hikaru, which means “light”, because he was born during the sunrise. All is well until one day, during a play date, Azuma notices her son is slightly different from the other children. This is a heartwarming and bittersweet tale of a young mother who tries her best to learn and grow with understanding of her son’s autism and the trials the family goes through as he grows up. There is also a live action 11-episode Japanese series that came out in 2004.

Do any of these interest you? Do you think Mom would like any of them? Let us know!
And Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Facebook / Meta Freezes Hiring, Cost Cutting Measures On The Way

Mike Phalin
-
0
Facebook / Meta Freezes Hiring, Cost Cutting Measures On The Way

Meta’s stock value declined by almost half, and the company is now putting a freeze on hiring. Revenue growth is not what Facebook’s executives expected, and the company just opened a weird physical Meta store in California. This sounds like the start of an infection that may end the former social media powerhouse.
This week a memo was released outlining Meta’s obstacles and the company’s plans to steer the ship out of the storm. Business Insider published the Meta memo in its entirety. Unfortunately, it’s not looking too good for the social media giant. The company’s CFO, David Wehner, broke the concerns down fairly well, but still managed to cloud things with Corpo-speak:
“… as we look towards the second half, we’re going to adjust those targets in a couple of ways:

  1. Reducing our hiring targets for 2022. This means hiring fewer people than we initially forecast. We’re still working out what this means for each org, but this will affect almost every team in the company. We’re entering into the H2 planning cycle, and this will be an opportunity to reprioritize work to make sure we’re all focused on the most important things and the top priorities for the company. Your org leaders will follow up with more information over the coming days and weeks, but today we’re announcing some changes on the Engineering side — look out for a post in Engineering FYI for details.
  2. Reviewing headcount allocation to make sure it’s aligned to our top company priorities given our modified hiring targets. This will help us resource the projects that we’re prioritizing for the rest of the year. You’ll learn more about this from your functional and org leads over the next couple of weeks.”

Recently, Facebook was rebranded to Meta and this new label was also passed along to the Oculus, turning the VR headset into the oddly named ‘Meta Quest 2.’ It all sounds like a bad parody you’d find in a GTA game. The new name and shiny logo didn’t help the company’s fortunes as financial growth failed to meet expectations. When that happens, cuts are not far behind.
How, exactly, this will affect the Oculus, I mean Meta Quest 2, is not immediately clear. The Metaverse has yet to find its foothold in the mainstream, and other companies have already announced that they’re creating their own virtual spaces. So will there be room for Facebook when the company gets back on its feet?
It’s no secret that Facebook has been shrinking in importance, much like MySpace before it. Aside from buying and selling items via the Facebook marketplace, the allure of using the platform as part of the social media network is not there. From personal experience, dumping money into advertising on Facebook yields little in return as far as clicks are concerned.
[Source: Bloomberg] [Source: Business Insider] [Source: Business Insider]

JND Studios’ 1/3 Scale Batman Is Brooding and Expensive

Mike Phalin
-
0
JND Studios’ 1/3 Scale Batman Is Brooding and Expensive

The Batman is now available to stream on HBO Max, and the merchandise is still being pushed pretty hard. For those collectors out there looking for some premium pieces of BatMerch, JND Studios and the Big Bad Toy Store have something just for them.
The 28″ tall statue of the Dark Knight features swappable heads, removing the cowl if you choose. Like many high-end statues we cover here, the price typically means quality construction. The skin is made of silicone, the eyes of glass, and the hair is rooted. I’m not sure who is clamoring for Robert Pattinson’s greasy hair look from The Batman, but it’s your money.
How much? Between $2,499 and $2,999.99 depending on the retailer. Yup.

JND Studios
JND Studios
JND Studios
JND Studios
JND Studios
JND Studios
JND Studios
JND Studios

JND Studios is very proud of our 8th project, Batman and Bruce Wayne from the film, The Batman. With a newly developed silicone painting method, we will be able to add even more details to the face of our statues IN PRODUCTION that will bring our characters to life in the true sense of words, hyperreal movie statue. So please support JND Studios, as we make your collection STAND APART.

  • Measurements: 28” x 12” x 12” including the base (71 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm)One (1) main body
  • One (1) main body
  • Two (1) silicone heads, including glass eyes and rooted hair
  • One (1) uniquely designed base

I’m not going to lie. I forgot that I watched The Batman on HBO Max two weeks ago. Nothing about the film stuck out to me, and I had to be reminded that Catwoman was supposedly in the movie. Unfortunately, aside from some great setpieces, this film commits the greatest sin a Batman movie could commit: being totally unmemorable.
Even Batman Begins stands out because it was a radical departure from WB’s previous entries. Snyder’s Batman, though bland, was a savage brawler with a great suit that homaged The Dark Knight Returns. Robby Pattinson’s Batman? No clue what he was going for. Sigh. Let’s hope the inevitable sequels improve things.
What do you think of The Batman and this pricy collectible? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: JND Studios] [Source: Big Bad Toy Store]

Three Pirate Streaming Services To Be Banned In US By Every ISP

Mike Phalin
-
0
Three Pirate Streaming Services To Be Banned In US By Every ISP

The federal government has ensured that three overseas pirating streaming services can no longer operate in the United States. The rulings came down on April 26th and ordered that all US-serving IPSs must “block access to the Website and any domain address known today … or to be used in the future by the Defendants … by any technological means available on the ISPs’ systems.”
This action, which we found out about over at Ars Technica, was directed towards three specific sites:

  • Israel.tv
  • Israeli-tv.com
  • Sdarot.tv

The owners of these domains raised no defense because no one showed up in court to battle the plaintiff’s claims. This is not surprising since the defendants were only named as “Doe.” The real identity of the people responsible for the pirate streaming websites may never be discovered.
United King Film Distribution Ltd brought about the lawsuit that put this order into action by filing three separate lawsuits. The total number of ISPs that must follow the ruling came to 96. If someone were to attempt to go to one of the above-listed sites, he/she would be met with the following message:

US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla
I’m unfamiliar with these streaming sites or what they were pirating, but it looks like United King Films specializes in Israeli-based dramas and comedies. Of course, the domains used to pirate the plaintiff’s material must also be handed over, but trying to enforce that could be tricky depending on who the host companies are.
While this is undoubtedly a win for UKF, there are so many other avenues people can go about obtaining these films and everything that comes out of Hollywood. So is this much of a win, or will it encourage the pirates to explore other distribution channels?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
[Source: Ars Technica] [Source: Court Listener] [Source: Court Listener] [Source: Court Listener]

Roku’s Weird Al Biopic Trailer Looks A Little … ‘Weird’

Mike Phalin
-
0
Roku’s Weird Al Biopic Trailer Looks A Little … ‘Weird’

Yes, it’s a real thing. The teaser trailer for the Weird Al biopic starring Harry Potter‘s Daniel Radcliffe is here. We spotted the video over at Variety, and it’s a little weird. While Al Yankovic’s music and videos are usually unusual, the thought of Radcliffe playing the California-based parody songwriter/signer is even stranger.
Based on the teaser, this biopic isn’t going to take itself seriously. This should be expected since Yankovic co-wrote the film along with its director Eric Appel. Appel’s previous directing duties included the TV shows Die Hart and Son of Zorn.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is an original movie produced by Funny Or Die for the Roku Channel. While there isn’t currently a release date, the biopic is expected to premiere this Fall.

If you’ve already watched the 1985 mockumentary The Complete Al, you may know everything you need to know about the musician and his origins. Unfortunately, the casting of Daniel Radcliffe as Al is a headscratcher. The actor’s voice does not resemble Al’s distinctive tone at all. But that may all be part of the plan.
The oddities in the casting don’t end there. The Office’s Rainn Wilson will play legendary radio DJ Dr. Demento, who helped boost Al into stardom. Evan Rachel Wood will be portraying 80’s Madonna (the only good Madonna). That’ll be interesting.
I expect the biopic to be the spiritual successor to UHF, to be honest. There will probably be many gags and hyperbole surrounding actual events in Yankovic’s early career. Will Michael Jackson appear in some sort of overblown or stylized manner? If we were to assume based on the trailer’s tone, then yes.
What do you think of the former boy wizard playing the iconic Weird Al? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Variety] [Source: Roku]

TMNT’s April O’Neil is NECA’s Bride of Frankenstein!

Mike Phalin
-
0
TMNT’s April O’Neil is NECA’s Bride of Frankenstein!

The NECA Store has transformed Judith Hoag’s April O’Neil into the Universal’s Bride of Frankenstein! From hard-hitting reporter to reanimated corpse, what a career move!
April will be available in two editions: standard and signature. The signature edition will come with a signed photo from Judith Hoag, as the name implies. That option comes with a $99.99 price tag, according to Figures.com, and is limited to only 2,000 copies. The standard version of the reimagined figure is only
$32.99.
Franken-April will be the perfect companion for NECA’s Raphael as The Monster. Pre-orders for April will be available until May 11th or while supplies last. Click here to pick up yours!

NECA
NECA
NECA
NECA
NECA
NECA
NECA
NECA

April as The Bride reimagines Judith Hoag’s April O’Neil as the Bride of Frankenstein in a terrifying mashup! Electrifying exposés! Shocking news stories! It’s journalism that really goes for the jugular. WTRL’s only reanimated reporter digs up the dirt with a full complement of accessories, and never misses a DEADline… This 7” scale figure includes microphone, handbag, spider, lightning bolt sai, interchangeable heads and swappable hands. Comes in collector-friendly window box packaging with opening flap featuring an all-new, breath-taking illustration by Daniel Horne.

It shouldn’t be surprising that Hoag was the April NECA chose to be in this mashup toyline. Over the past year, the actress has done quite some work with NECA to promote the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys. In addition, she had her own segment on NECA’s YouTube channel, which you can check it out below.

From what I remember, Hoag wasn’t all thrilled about the violence level in the first TMNT movie. Maybe she’s seen that the brand and fans are more interested in the characters than the fighting? Regardless, it’s cool to have someone attached to the original production here to promote it.
What do you think of the reanimated April? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: The NECA Store] [Source: Figures.com]

No Way Home’s Electro Is Looking Good As A Hot Toys Figure

Mike Phalin
-
0
No Way Home’s Electro Is Looking Good As A Hot Toys Figure

Spider-Man: No Way Home did an excellent job fixing the problems The Amazing Spider-Man 2 created. It gave Andrew Garfield’s Spidey the heart he needed; it also allowed Electro to be less goofy regarding design. Opting for a more down-to-earth approach, Jamie Foxx’s Electro manages to be more realistic while also showing off homages to the villain’s comic book origins.
Sideshow Collectibles has announced that Electro is joining the Hot Toys line of 1/6th scale figures. He’s loaded with lots of effects accessories and LED lights. How would an Electro figure be complete if you could not show off his lightning powers? He is priced at $285 and will be coming out around the second half of 2023.

Hot Toys
Hot Toys
Hot Toys
Hot Toys
Hot Toys
Hot Toys

Meticulously crafted based on Electro’s appearance in the movie, the movie-accurate Marvel figure features a newly developed head sculpt of Max Dillon a.k.a. Electro with stunning likeness; a detail recreation of his practical outfit with real-like cables; lightning effect accessories including a star-shaped mask inspired by his original design from comic pages; and a figure stand.

Max Dillon, a.k.a Electro will come with the following accessories and features:

  • ED light-up areas located at circle-shaped arc reactor on chest (white light, battery operated)
  • Six (6) pieces of interchangeable gloved hands including:
    • One (1) pair of fists
    • One (1) pair of open hands
    • One (1) pair of gesture hands
  • Each head sculpt is specially hand-painted
  • One (1) black shirt with silver plates and yellow cables wrapped around
  • One (1) pair of beige colored pants with silver plates and yellow cables wrapped around
  • One (1) utility belt
  • One (1) pair of brown colored working boots
  • Four (4) pieces of lightning effect accessories (attachable to face, chest and fists)
  • Specially designed figure stand with movie logo and character nameplate

What do you think of the redesigned Electro? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Sideshow Collectibles]

Beast Kingdom’s Little Ronin Logan Is Adorable

Mike Phalin
-
0
Beast Kingdom’s Little Ronin Logan Is Adorable

Sometimes you need a break from the yellow and blue spandex. While deadly regardless of his garb, Logan looks even more intimidating when he doesn’t resemble a neon sign. Much like his Patch disguise, sometimes mixing things up helps to add to the mutant’s already legendary profile.
Beast Kingdom‘s interestingly named Egg Attack Action (EAA) figures will be adding Logan to the line. This addition sees the adamantium-clawed X-Man in his ronin attire. Logan stands at 6″ tall and is loaded with accessories. The robes are made from fabric, and he has interchangeable hands and an alternate head. He’s priced at $99.99 and will be coming out in March 2023.

Beast Kingdom

Beast Kingdom

The 6-inch EAA action figure under the EAA (Egg Attack Action) brand of Beast Kingdom launches the special EAA-094 X-Men Ronin Logan! With the included two faces sculpts collectors are able to show off the mighty character in his different angry moods! A full Samurai outfit made of real fabric, as well as a Samurai sword and collection of replaceable hands and add-ons, complete the set!

Ronin Logan comes with the following features and accessories:

  • Dedicated EAA body with over 20 points of articulation
  • Use of real fabric in the outfit and clothing
  • Two (2) replaceable head sculpts (Regular, open mouth)
  • Two (2) replaceable hairstyles (Regular, Samurai)
  • Four (4) replaceable hands (Closed fist, open, gripping, clenched)
  • Katana sword
  • Special, branded base with logo
  • Dedicated EAA body with over 20 points of articulation
  • Use of real fabric in the outfit and clothing
  • Two (2) replaceable head sculpts (Regular, open mouth)
  • Two (2) replaceable hairstyles (Regular, Samurai)
  • Four (4) replaceable hands (Closed fist, open, gripping, clenched)
  • Katana sword
  • Special, branded base with logo

I’m hopeful that Logan/Wolverine will get a more comic book accurate look when he is introduced into the MCU. While the FOX X-Men movies were pretty good sometimes, Wolverine needed to be more vicious.
What do you think of lil’ Logan? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Source: Beast Kingdom]

1...218219220...355Page 219 of 355
Clownfish TVAction FiguresToysAnime NewsRetroMoviesVideo GamesComic Books

Copyright © WebReef Media, a subsidiary of Clownfish Studios LLC.

Close Subscribe Card
Clownfish TV

Clownfish TV

6,771 Videos

Subscribe 621.0K