Technologies

Netflix Warns Content Will Suffer if Company Is Forced to Fund Network Upgrades

Netflix’s investment in quality shows and movies should remain its focus, says co-CEO Greg Peters.

Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters used his first public speaking engagement since taking on the role in January to make it clear that the company doesn’t want to be forced to contribute to the costs of building out internet infrastructure in Europe.

Internet service providers in the region are complaining about being forced to bear all the costs of providing the technology required by data-hungry internet companies such as Apple and Netflix. As a result, the European Commission is now mulling rules that would require streaming services to pay a «fair and proportionate contribution» towards infrastructure costs.

But speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday, Peters said that taxing entertainment companies to subsidize ISPs would have a «significant adverse effect» on their ability to invest in content. This, he added, would hurt the local creative communities around Europe.

Peters emphasized in his speech the extent to which Netflix sees these creative communities as important partners, leaning on the success of the Oscar-nominated All Quiet on the Western Front, which was made in Germany, and other popular shows and films, such as Elite from Spain and The Crown from the UK.

The ongoing argument between streaming services and ISPs is being referred to in Europe as the battle over fair share between Big Telco and Big Tech. The concern from ISPs is that sustained traffic growth driven by Netflix and its rivals as they continue to make ever-higher numbers of shows and movies will put untold pressure on their networks, which the ISPs will have to pay to upgrade. Entertainment companies such as Netflix are reluctant to pay for what they view as bringing more value and more customers to those operators.

Peters acknowledged that investment was necessary, but he argued that Netflix has invested $60 billion, which amounts to around 50% of its revenue, in content over the past five years. The company has played its part by creating «better, more varied content, leading to more people willing to pay for better broadband services,» he said. He also outlined the other initiatives Netflix invests in to nurture talent and fund content delivery networks in countries around the world.

On Monday at MWC, European Commissioner Thierry Breton made a speech in which he said he felt that the idea of Big Tech versus Big Telcos was too binary, especially as they should all be striving to achieve giant leaps in connectivity together. Peters said he agreed with Breton’s assessment and that he remembers having the same conversations and hearing operators express similar worries in Europe 10 years ago. What ended up happening, he said, was that growing internet usage only served to create more opportunity for everyone.

«A much better approach is for entertainment companies and operators to focus on what we both do best and through that create a rising tide that will lift all boats,» said Peters. «For Netflix, that means continue to invest in and improve the quality and the variety of the stories that we offer.»

Technologies

This Transformable Electric Truck Could Become the Cheapest EV in the US

Merging retro touches with a high-tech electric platform, the Slate Truck offers a customizable, budget-friendly alternative to traditional EVs.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 27, #686

Hints and answers for Connections for April 27, #686.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle might make you hungry — especially if you spot the four words in the blue category. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Do the math.

Green group hint: Tresses.

Blue group hint: Munchies.

Purple group hint: Think Stockholm.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Calculator buttons.

Green group: Amounts of hair.

Blue group: Salty snack unit.

Purple group: Swedish ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is calculator buttons. The four answers are equals, minus, percent and times.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is amounts of hair. The four answers are lock, shock, thatch and tuft.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is salty snack unit. The four answers are Combo, Goldfish, Ruffle and Taki.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Swedish ____. The four answers are Chef, Fish, massage and meatball.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 27, #420

Here are hints — and answers — for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 420 for April 27.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Sleep used to be so simple, but now it can be complex, as we try to add in extra things to help us get that good night’s rest. Today’s NYT Strands puzzle highlights sleep assistance, and a few of the words are tricky. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Sleep tight

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Zzzzz…

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BEDS, MINE, TAKE, TAKES, TAKER, STAKE, LATS, EARL, PLUG, PLUGS, ROUT, MIKE, DATE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: