Month: May 2017

Enlarge / FBI Director James Comey testifies Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (credit: Jim Watson/Getty Images)

FBI Director James Comey told a Senate panel on Wednesday that it would have been "catastrophic" for the bureau to not have disclosed in October, just 11 days before the presidential election, that the agency was revisiting the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal.

The Clinton presidential campaign and many Democrats have suggested that Comey's announcements helped cement rival Donald Trump's win over Clinton.

Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that such an assertion doesn't sit well with him.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Olena_T)

SpaceX today said its planned constellation of 4,425 broadband satellites will launch from the Falcon 9 rocket beginning in 2019 and continue launching in phases until reaching full capacity in 2024.

Space X gave the Senate Commerce Committee an update on its satellite plans during a broadband infrastructure hearing this morning via testimony by VP of satellite government affairs Patricia Cooper. Satellite Internet access traditionally suffers from high latency, relatively slow speeds, and strict data caps. But as we reported in November, SpaceX says it intends to solve these problems with custom-designed satellites launched into low-Earth orbits.

SpaceX mentioned 2019 as a possible launch date in an application filed with the Federal Communications Commission in November and offered a more specific launch timeline today. Cooper told senators:

Enlarge / Take a look at these hands for two hours, then decide whether you want to keep playing.

Almost two years ago, Valve introduced the ability to request refunds on practically any Steam game within the first two hours of play. Some developers worried about the impact this would have on the way games were designed and played on the service. Today, though, at least one developer sees the Steam refund system as an easy way to provide a "free" demo for their PC releases.

Speaking to AusGamers recently, Arkane Studios Co-creative Director Raphael Colantonio explained that the absence of a demo for the PC edition of Prey—unlike the console versions—was not a big deal:

It's just a resource assignment thing. We couldn't do a demo on both the console and on the PC, we had to choose. And besides, PC has Steam. Steam players can just return the game [prior to playing] 2 hours so it's like a demo already.

It's an interesting admission and a recognition of the reality surrounding the way many people use Steam refunds these days. While Steam says it reserves the right to block refunds from people who are "abusing the system," for the most part refunds within that "two hours of play" window are approved without much hassle. And digital storefronts like Microsoft's Xbox Live are following along.

Hulu's live TV streaming service has been rumored for quite some time. At the company's annual Upfront presentation today, it announced the beta version of the service. You can now sign up for Hulu with Live TV, a $40-per-month package that includes all the benefits of Hulu's monthly $7.99 streaming service while adding live TV streams from over 50 channels. It's clear from the service's initial offerings that Hulu tried to fill in the weak spots of its competitors while tempting potential subscribers with an interface that puts all their favorite content, live or on-demand, in one place.

Let's start off with the available channels: Hulu with Live TV has all the major broadcast networks—ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC—along with a variety of news, entertainment, and sports channels. Hulu struck a deal with Scripps Network to provide channels including HGTV, Travel Channel, and Food Network, and it's also launching with other popular networks including TNT, A&E, FX, USA, Syfy, CNN, TBS, and Viceland. Many major sports networks are included as well, like CBS Sports, FS1, FS2, ESPN, ESPNU, and NBCSN. In comparison, for just $5 more than YouTube TV's $35-per-month service, you'll get ten more channels from Hulu's service. Hulu was likely able to bolster its at-launch channel list thanks to its owners: Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, Comcast, and Time Warner. But as with any live TV streaming service, the total channel count might be slightly different depending on where you live.

Hulu with Live TV's $40 price also includes the company's $7.99 streaming features, so you'll have access to the on-demand shows available in that monthly subscription in addition to live TV. One subscription also includes 50 hours of cloud DVR storage, six individual viewer profiles, and two simultaneous streams. While it offers the same number of viewer profiles as YouTube TV, Hulu's service is subpar in the other two ways. YouTube TV gives you unlimited cloud DVR storage and three simultaneous streams at no extra cost, and even Sling TV's beta cloud DVR service gives you 100 hours of storage. DirecTV Now remains the only service without cloud DVR functionality, but Hulu's basic plan still provides fewer hours of storage than any other available plan.