Tag: september
Disney World’s immersive Star Wars hotel will shut down in September
The Halcyon, also known as the Galactic Starcruiser, is headed to the boneyard
Lyft Demands Employees Return to Office in September
No longer. On Friday, David Risher, the company’s new chief executive, told employees in an all-hands meeting that they would be required to come back into the office at least three days a week, starting this fall. [Although the Times adds later that “People will be allowed to work remotely for one month each year, and those living far from offices would not be required to come in.”]
It was one of the first major changes he has made at the struggling ride-hailing company since starting this month, and it came just a day after he laid off 26 percent of Lyft’s work force.
“Things just move faster when you’re face to face,” Mr. Risher said in an interview. Remote work in the tech industry, he said, had come at a cost, leading to isolation and eroding culture. “There’s a real feeling of satisfaction that comes from working together at a whiteboard on a problem.”
The decision, combined with the layoffs and other changes, signals the beginning of a new chapter at Lyft. It could also be an indication that some tech companies — particularly firms that are struggling — may be changing their minds on flexibility about where employees work. Nudges toward working in the office could soon turn into demands, as they have at companies like Disney and Apple…
Lyft also planned to tell employees that it would reduce their stock grants this year, according to a person familiar with the decision.
Risher “said the cost savings from the layoffs would go toward lower prices for riders and higher earnings for drivers,” the Times adds, noting that last month Lyft’s two founders said they’d step down after disappointing financial results. (Lyft’s stock price closed Friday at $10.25 — down from a peak of $78.)
Bob Sutton, a Stanford professor and organizational psychologist, suggests another possible motivation to the Times: executives worried about financial stress “feel compelled to increase their own illusion of control.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Explore an island full of cats in Mineko’s Night Market, coming this September
If modern gaming has given us anything that’s good, it’s the surge of recent catventures. Last year’s Stray meowed its way into every cat lover’s heart, Little Kitty, Big City is taking things a chaotic step further later this year, and A Space For The Unbound had an abundance of cats just lying about. Just last night, we received a release date for Mineko’s Night Market, a slice-of-life adventure that’s set on a Japanese island bursting with kittens, cats, cat gods, and other furry feline variations.
Alice0 first wrote about Mineko’s Night Market six years ago, and it’ll finally open its doors on September 26th. Slowly blink at the newest trailer below:
Netflix will shut down its DVD rental business in September
After 25 years, Netflix’s original business is shutting down. The company has revealed that it will “wind down” DVD rentals (that is. DVD.com), with its last movie discs mailing on September 29th. Simply put, the shrinking demand for physical rentals is making it “increasingly difficult” to offer the quality of service the company wants.
Netflix shipped its first disc (Beetlejuice, if you’re curious) in 1998. It has since mailed over 5.2 billion movies in its signature envelopes (nearly all of them before 2019) to more than 40 million customers. You likely know the story after that. The company began streaming on-demand video in 2007, and that business grew quickly enough that it became Netflix’s most popular offering by 2009. After a premature attempt to spin off the mailed rentals as Qwikster in 2011, Netflix moved them to DVD.com in 2016. By that point, the company was well into producing original streaming shows and had stopped mailing DVDs on Saturdays.
There’s also a financial incentive to drop disc rentals. While Netflix is recovering from a bleak 2022, its profits in the first quarter were still worse than they were a year ago. Subscriber growth was relatively modest, too, at 1.7 million new users. A decision to axe the DVD-by-mail unit could help Netflix trim costs, even if the savings are relatively small. The disc market has been on a sharp and steady decline for years, according to VideoScan/MediaPlayNews data — sales alone dropped 19 percent from 2021 to 2022.
It’s nonetheless a sad moment for home video fans. Netflix played a major role in shaking up the movie rental business. Where retailers like Blockbuster dominated in the 1990s and early 2000s, Netflix helped people stay at home. Blockbuster and other rivals hopped into the market years later but fought to gain traction. While retail rentals are still available through Redbox kiosks and similar options, it’s safe to say Netflix changed expectations for good.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-will-shut-down-its-dvd-rental-business-in-september-195213827.html?src=rss
Many Amazon offices won’t be ready for returning workers until September
Sony ending support for Dreams in September
Media Molecule moving on to ‘exciting new project’
‘Super Bomberman R 2’ delivers level-building and 15 vs. 1 chaos this September
Konami announced today that the latest installment in the long-running Bomberman franchise arrives this September. Super Bomberman R 2, initially revealed last year, marks the series’ 40th anniversary by taking the foundations of its 2017 predecessor and adding level-building and a wacky 15 vs. 1 mode.
For this installment, Konami added Castle mode, featuring “attack vs. defend” gameplay where you try to overtake or protect a fortress. Teams of 15 will try to open all the treasure chests to unlock passages into the castle; the lone keeper tries to keep at least one locked before the game’s end. It looks every bit as chaotic as you’d imagine. In addition, the returning game modes include Standard (classic gameplay), Story mode (a single-player adventure), Battle 64 (battle royale) and Grand Prix (“compete for crystals and knock out other players”).
Meanwhile, the new Stage Editor lets you create and share your Castle mode stages. Following the trend set by franchises like LittleBigPlanet and Mario Maker, Konami envisions a robust community of online creators giving you virtually unlimited content.
Super Bomberman R 2 launches on September 12th (although digital versions arrive a day later) and is available for pre-order now. It will support the Nintendo Switch, PS 5/ 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One and Steam.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/super-bomberman-r-2-delivers-level-building-and-15-vs-1-chaos-this-september-213029904.html?src=rss
Rolls-Royce shares soar 135% since September. Too far, too fast?
Rolls-Royce shares have shot up more than 135% since late September. Also, they are the FTSE 100’s best performer in 2022. But are they too expensive now?
The post Rolls-Royce shares soar 135% since September. Too far, too fast? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 set for a September release, according to Venom actor
It appears a release window for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has been leaked by Venom actor Tony Todd, who will lend his voice to the character in the game.
In a now-deleted tweet, the actor stated publicity for the game will start in August leading up to a release in September.
After the deletion of the tweet, Todd returned to Twitter to blame the slip up on jetlag.