Gloss Staff

Gloss Staff

Max launches in Australia March 31, putting Binge in limbo.

There's a a big shake up coming for Foxtel, specifically Foxtel's Binge. Another streaming platform is launching in Australia, with Warner Bros. Discovery today announcing the local launch date for Max. The service will start March 31, but other details are still a little unclear. Previously known as HBO Max, but also confusingly hosting both HBO Originals and Max Originals, the service has been available in the US since 2020.

It looks like the service will launch with exclusive access to HBO programming, as well as other Warner Bros. Discovery properties. Which does might put Binge in a bit of limbo, if we're reading this literally.

Via Whistleout:

A spokesperson for WBD confirmed to WhistleOut that new Warner Bros. and HBO content won't premiere on Binge. Hubbl has started bringing some live and on-demand Kayo Sports over to Binge to add value to the service. 
WhistleOut has reached out to Foxtel for comment on what will happen to the existing catalogue of HBO content on Binge. 

And from the press release:

As the home of HBO Originals and Max Originals, Max will offer fans culture-defining series including returning seasons of The Last of Us, And Just Like That...House of the Dragon, Euphoria and Peacemaker as well as highly anticipated new shows such as It: Welcome to Derry and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, from the world of Game of Thrones.  
 
Subscribers will also be able to enjoy recently released theatrical hits from Warner Bros. Pictures, including blockbusters from the last few years such as Barbie, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice and Twisters, alongside treasured franchises including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and the DC Universe. Coupled with all-time fan-favourites including Friends, The Big Bang Theory and Rick and Morty, best-in-class real-life stories across food, home, lifestyle and factual like 90 Day Fiancé and Outback Opal Hunters, as well as family viewing such as Ben 10 and We Bare Bears, Max promises to set the bar for consistently captivating, craveable entertainment.
In addition, WBD also announced a launch partnership with Foxtel, providing Foxtel subscribers with access to the Max app at no additional cost.*
*Requires a compatible Foxtel IQ box. Some customers will need to upgrade their box. Included Max plan is Basic with Ads.

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The 150-year-old font you've seen everywhere, but never heard of.

A gorgeous story from Marcin Wichary about the 150-year-old font that can still be seen everywhere. Even Australia, as the author notes.

But there was one font I didn’t even notice, even though it was everywhere around me. Last year in New York, I walked over 100 miles and took thousands of photos of one and one font only. The font’s name is Gorton.

[...]

Gorton made its way to peace- and wartime nuclear facilities, it was there on the elevator at the Kennedy Space Center with labels marked EARTH and SPACE… and it went to actual space, and then the Moon, as key legends on Apollo’s onboard computer.
The hardest working font in Manhattan
A story of a 150-year-old font you have never heard of – and one you probably saw earlier today.

A nice AEW Grand Slam in Brisbane.

The only way I can make this post relevant is to mention that ESPN is coming to Disney+. Not sure yet if that will include All Elite Wrestling content.

We used to care about space programs.

Now the real fight in the broligarchy, of course, is around a bad chat bot that can write really long emails and lie confidently. The true technology of our time.

Hmm I haven't tried ChatGPT in a while — time to give it a spin and see why it's worth $157 billion

Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-01-27T21:32:27.978Z

Every single one of these is made up

Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-01-27T21:39:17.245Z

Meta's new policy chief is a former senior adviser to George W. Bush.

Joel Kaplan on the left, Aug. 8, 2007, at the U.S. Department of Treasury

From The New York Times:

Meta on Thursday appointed Joel Kaplan, a longtime executive who was a former senior adviser to George W. Bush and is known for his Republican ties, to be its new head of global policy, as the social media giant seeks to strengthen its links to the incoming Trump administration.
Mr. Kaplan, 55, replaces Nick Clegg, a former deputy prime minister of Britain who had handled policy and regulatory issues globally for Meta since 2018. In a post to his personal Facebook page, Mr. Clegg, 57, said Mr. Kaplan was “quite clearly the right person for the right job at the right time, ideally placed to shape the company’s strategy as societal and political expectations around technology continue to evolve.”

From Deadline:

In 2020, The Washington Post reported that Kaplan argued against some content moderation measures, arguing that they would disproportionately harm conservative voices.

Australia was behind a lot of 2024 games - SIFTER has the full list.

It’s so awesome to see Australia’s video game industry coming back to life, especially over the past few years.

SIFTER has put together a great list of Australian-made games, plus has a few lists from years past of Australian-made gems:

2024 The definitive list of Australian made video games | SIFTER
SIFTER’s sixth annual list collecting every single game released in 2024 that has been made in Australia, from PC, Xbox, PlayStation Switch and more.

Wordpress ordered to revert WP Engine attack, including update and plugin directory block.

Via TechCrunch:

A California district court judge has granted a preliminary injunction to WP Engine. The order asks WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg and WordPress.com owner Automattic to restore WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org, a WordPress theme and plug-in repository site owned by Mullenweg.
This ban also resulted in WP Engine not being able to access and update its popular Advanced custom field (ACF) plug-in. Automattic took control of the plug-in, forked it, and named it Secure Custom Fields (SCF). The court has also ordered Automattic to restore WP Engine’s access and control of ACF on WordPress.org.
Court orders Mullenweg and Automattic to restore WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org | TechCrunch
A California district court judge has granted a preliminary injunction to WP Engine. The order asks WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg and WordPress.com