Technologies

Verizon’s Plus Play Arrives in Beta With Offer of Free Year of Netflix Premium

Verizon wants to draw people to its new subscription manager by offering free access to Netflix’s top plan if you buy another subscription.

In March Verizon announced Plus Play, a central location to manage all your streaming services and subscriptions. The company promised a full launch by the end of the year, and while it hasn’t fully reached that goal, Verizon is finally opening up the service in beta to its mobile and 5G and 4G LTE home internet customers.

To get people to try its free subscription management platform, the carrier is dangling a «limited time» offer of one year of Netflix Premium for free if you also sign up for «a 12-month or seasonal subscription» to one of its other partners. Initial eligible options include the NFL’s NFL Plus, the NBA’s League Pass, AMC Plus, Super Duolingo, Calm and Peloton.

Verizon says it will have 20 partners for the beta launch — including Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, HBO Max, Discovery Plus and The Athletic — with an undisclosed «many more» partners coming in the first quarter of 2023.

Netflix Premium normally runs $20 a month ($240 for the year) and includes 4K streaming and the ability to watch on four devices at once. While you can’t sign up for a monthly subscription to a different service and then get this deal, there are a few «seasonal» options that make it pretty compelling.

A seasonal subscription to NFL Plus Premium, which lets you stream local and national NFL games on a phone or tablet, runs a one-time $25 for the rest of this season. Under Verizon’s promotion, spending that $25 and signing up for NFL Plus through Plus Play will also get you Netflix Premium for free for a year.

It is worth noting that the carrier also has a seasonal offer for the regular NFL Plus at $13, but despite it having that seasonal language only the $25 Premium version will apply for the Netflix offer (a similar situation exists for the NBA’s League Pass).

If you’re already on Netflix, you can bring over your subscription and move to Premium through Plus Play. However, Verizon doesn’t appear to offer Netflix’s other tiers, and it isn’t immediately clear if you’ll be able to downgrade from Premium through Plus Play after the free year offer expires. Verizon’s website has steps on how to migrate a Netflix account.

If you have HBO Max, you can move your existing subscriptions to the platform, though you can’t move most other services. according to Verizon’s FAQ. If you want to take advantage of most of Verizon’s Plus Play offers, you’ll likely need to cancel your current subscriptions and then make new accounts.

What you can and can’t do with Verizon Plus Play

Plus Play is intended to be a hub where Verizon users can sign up, manage and cancel a host of streaming services and subscriptions. The Play Plus website will also be where the carrier offers deals or trials to get you to sign up for new services. While the platform will recommend shows to watch or things to do, it won’t be a place for you to watch shows or view content. Instead. it will direct you to that service’s app or website.

Verizon previously told CNET that it wouldn’t be able to see which shows you’re watching or content you’re interacting with. Instead, it will make the recommendations «based on information about you we’ve acquired independently of what you are watching on a particular service,» Frank Boulben, chief revenue officer of Verizon’s consumer group, said in March.

If you leave Verizon’s wireless or home internet services you won’t necessarily lose access to Plus Play, though it isn’t immediately clear if you’ll still be able to adjust your plans or sign up for new services. CNET has reached out to Verizon for more information and will update if it responds.

Verizon won’t add these subscriptions to your monthly wireless or home internet bill, but will instead charge them to a credit or debit card you have on your account.

Unlike with a wireless bill, the carrier won’t charge you an extra fee to pay for a Plus Play service with a regular credit card. But it will give you 2% back on Plus Play subscriptions if you pay with its Verizon-branded credit card.

Verizon is limiting the beta access, but it plans to expand the Plus Play offering to its Fios users in the future. It hasn’t specified when that might happen, however. It also hasn’t announced when the service will be available to its prepaid wireless users.

Technologies

iOS 17 Cheat Sheet: Your Questions on the iPhone Update Answered

Here’s what you need to know about new features and upcoming updates for your iPhone.

Apple’s iOS 17 was released in September, shortly after the company held its Wonderlust event, where the tech giant announced the new iPhone 15 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. We put together this cheat sheet to help you learn about and use the new features in iOS 17. It’ll also help you keep track of the subsequent iOS 17 updates.

iOS 17 updates

Using iOS 17

Getting started with iOS 17

Make sure to check back periodically for more iOS 17 tips and how to use new features as Apple releases more updates.

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

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See all photos

Technologies

Get Ready for a Striking Aurora That Could Also Disrupt Radio Communications

Don’t expect the storm to cause a lingering problem, though.

A geomagnetic storm is threatening radio communications Monday night, but that doesn’t mean you should be concerned. In fact, it may be an opportunity to see a colorful aurora in the night sky.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a geomagnetic storm watch after witnessing a coronal mass ejection from the sun on Saturday. The watch, which was issued over the weekend and will expire after Monday, said the onset of the storm passing over Earth on Sunday night represented a «moderate» threat to communications. As the storm continues to pass through, it could deliver a «strong» threat on Monday night that could cause radio communications to be temporarily disrupted during the worst of it.

Even so, NOAA said, «the general public should not be concerned.»

A coronal mass ejection occurs when magnetic field and plasma mass are violently expelled from the sun’s corona, or the outermost portion of the sun’s atmosphere. In the vast majority of cases, the ejection occurs with no real threat to Earth. However, in the event the ejection happens in the planet’s direction, a geomagnetic storm occurs, and the Earth’s magnetic field is temporarily affected.

In most cases, geomagnetic storms cause little to no disruption on Earth, with radio communications and satellites affected most often. In extreme cases, a geomagnetic storm can cause significant and potentially life-threatening power outages — a prospect that, luckily, the planet hasn’t faced.

Switching poles

Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic poles switch, with the north pole and south pole swapping positions. During those cycles, the sun’s activity ramps up as it gets closer to pole-switching time. The height of its activity is called solar maximum, and scientists believe we either may be entering the solar maximum or may be already in it.

During periods of heightened solar activity, sunspots increase on the sun and there’s an increase in coronal mass ejections, among other phenomena. According to NOAA, solar maximum could extend into October of this year before the sun’s activity calms and it works towards its less-active phase, solar minimum.

Even when geomagnetic storms hit Earth and disrupt communications, the effects are usually short-lived. Those most affected, including power grid operators and pilots and air traffic controllers communicating over long distances, have fail-safe technologies and backup communications to ensure operational continuity.

But geomagnetic storms aren’t only about radios. In most cases, they also present unique opportunities to see auroras in the night sky. When the storms hit, the plasma they carry creates a jaw-dropping aurora, illuminating the night sky with brilliant colors. Those auroras can be especially pronounced during the most intense phases of the storm, making for nice stargazing.

If you’re interested in seeing the aurora, you’ll need to be ready. The NOAA said the «brunt of the storm has passed» and even if it lingers into Tuesday, there won’t be much to see after Monday night.

Technologies

Last Total Solar Eclipse for 20 Years Is Coming: How to See and Photograph It

It’s your last chance until 2044.

Get your eclipse glasses ready, Skygazers: the Great American Eclipse is on its way. On April 8, there’ll be a total eclipse over North America, the last one until 2044.

A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking the sun and turning an otherwise sunny day to darkness for a short period of time. Depending on the angle at which you’re viewing the eclipse, you may see the sun completely shrouded by the moon (called totality) or some variation of it. The more off-angle you are and the further you are from the path of the eclipse, the less likely you’ll be to see the totality.

The 2024 total solar eclipse will happen on Monday, April 8. The Great American Eclipse will reach the Mexican Pacific coast at 11:07 a.m. PT (2:07 p.m. ET), and then traverse the US in a northeasterly direction from Texas to Maine, and on into easternmost Canada. If you want a good look at it, but don’t live in the path of totality, you shouldn’t wait much longer to book accommodation and travel to a spot on the path.

Or how about booking a seat in the sky? Delta Airlines made headlines for offering a flight that allows you to see the entire path of totality. Its first eclipse flight, from Austin, Texas, to Detroit sold out quickly. But as of Monday, Delta has added a second flight from Dallas to Detroit, which also covers the path of totality. The airline also has five flights that will offer prime eclipse viewing.

Not everyone can get on one of those elusive eclipse-viewing flights. Here’s a look at other options to nab a chance to see this rare sight and what to know about it.

Total solar eclipse path

The eclipse will cross over the Pacific coast of Mexico and head northeast over mainland Mexico. The eclipse will then make its way over San Antonio at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET on April 8 and move through Texas, over the southeastern part of Oklahoma and northern Arkansas by 2:50 p.m. ET.

By 3 p.m. ET, the eclipse will be over southern Illinois, and just 5 minutes later, will be traveling over Indianapolis. Folks in northwestern Ohio will be treated to the eclipse by 3:15 p.m. ET, and it will then travel over Lake Erie and Buffalo, New York, by 3:20 p.m. ET. Over the next 10 minutes, the eclipse will be seen over northern New York state, then over Vermont. By 3:35 p.m. ET, the eclipse will work its way into Canada and off the Eastern coast of North America.

Best places to watch the Great American Eclipse

When evaluating the best places to watch this year’s total eclipse, you’ll first want to determine where you’ll have the best angle to see the totality. The farther off-angle you are — in other words, the farther north or south of the eclipse’s path — the less of an impact you can expect.

Therefore, if you want to have the best chance of experiencing the eclipse, you’ll want to be in its path. As of this writing, most of the cities in the eclipse’s path have some hotel availability, but recent reports have suggested that rooms are booking up. And as more rooms are booked, prices are going up.

So if you want to be in the eclipse’s path, and need a hotel to do it, move fast. And Delta’s eclipse-viewing flight from Dallas to Detroit has just four seats left at the time of publication.

Eclipse eye safety and photography

As with any solar eclipse, it’s critical you keep eye safety in mind.

During the eclipse, and especially during the periods before and after totality, don’t look directly at the sun without special eye protection. Also, be sure not to look at the sun through a camera (including the camera on your phone), binoculars, a telescope or any other viewing device. This could cause serious eye injury. Sunglasses aren’t enough to protect your eyes from damage.

If you want to view the eclipse, you’ll instead need solar viewing glasses that comply with the ISO 12312-2 safety standard. Anything that doesn’t meet that standard or greater won’t be dark enough to protect your eyes. Want to get them for free? If you’ve got a Warby Parker eyeglasses store nearby, the company is giving away free, ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses at all of its stores from April 1 until the eclipse, while supplies last.

If you don’t have eclipse viewing glasses handy, you can instead use indirect methods for viewing the eclipse, like a pinhole projector.

Read more: A Photographer’s Adventure With the Eclipse

In the event you want to take pictures of the eclipse, attach a certified solar filter to your camera. Doing so will protect your eyes and allow you to take photos while you view the eclipse through your lens.

There’s also a new app to help you both protect your eyes and take better photos of the eclipse on your phone. Solar Snap, designed by a former Hubble Space Telescope astronomer, comes with a Solar Snap camera filter that attaches to the back of an iPhone or Android phone, along with solar eclipse glasses for protecting your eyesight during the event. After you attach the filter to your phone, you can use the free Solar Snap Eclipse app to zoom in on the eclipse, adjust exposure and other camera settings, and ultimately take better shots of the eclipse.

2024 eclipse compared to 2017

The last total solar eclipse occurred in 2017, and many Americans had a great view. Although there are plenty of similarities between the 2017 total solar eclipse and the one coming April 8, there are a handful of differences. Mainly, the 2024 eclipse is going to cover more land and last longer.

The 2017 eclipse started over the northwest US and moved southeast. Additionally, that eclipse’s path was up to 71 miles wide, compared with a maximum width of 122 miles for this year’s eclipse. Perhaps most importantly, the moon completely covered the sun for just 2 minutes, 40 seconds in 2017. This year, maximum totality will last for nearly four-and-a-half minutes.