Phil

With the European Union’s Digital Market Act (DMA) set to go into effect in March, Apple’s grip on the type of apps that iPhone users can download and install is poised to loosen considerably. For the first time in iPhone history, users will have the ability to officially download apps from outside the App Store. What’s more, developers will be able to launch third-party app stores. So yes, Fortnite will finally be coming back to the iPhone via an Epic Games Store app, but only for users in Europe. Apple, of…

It will be an early spring, and that’s on the wise prediction of none other than Punxsutawney Phil, a famous groundhog.Lifted in front of thousands of spectators on Friday morning (February 2) at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, USA, Phil was once again the star of the annual Groundhog Day tradition celebrated in the US and Canada.Friday’s event reportedly marked the first time since 2020 that Phil predicted an early spring and the 21st time since records were kept.The tradition goes like this: If Phil sees…

Los Angeles has little history with Wagner’s four-opera “Ring” cycle, his epic on how to save the world from conniving gods, power mongers and hoarders of wealth with their ruinous fancies. This global predicament is never out of date. The 2010 L.A. Opera production has been the only full cycle in L.A. since 1930. In this country, San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Seattle have seen several.But after the Los Angeles Philharmonic mounted “Das Rheingold” last weekend — the two-and-a-half-hour prologue to the three main…

Phil and Rita from Groundhog Day are just two of Dakota Randall’s portrait subjects.Image: Dakota Randall/Hero ComplexSometimes you just want a portrait of your favorite characters from TV and movies on your wall. And when that happens, artist Dakota Randall is there. In conjunction with the Hero Complex Gallery, Randall has been creating beautiful, affordable, realistic-looking portraits for a few years now, inspired by dramas, comedies, sci-fi, fantasy, you name it. And after years of simply admiring the work, we…

This time last year, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with remarkable post-COVID robustness, boasted the biggest budget of all orchestras. It was the most venturesome and inventive, with unusually diverse programming and audiences. Orchestras around the world looked up to it.Then in early February the fretting began. Gustavo Dudamel announced that when his contract with the L.A. Phil expires in 2026, he will become music director of the New York Philharmonic. Three months later, the orchestra’s ambitious CEO, Chad Smith,…

In mid-March during the Oscars, Netflix’s Pinocchio took home the award for Best Animated Feature. During his acceptance speech, co-director Guillermo del Toro said the animation medium was ready to be taken to “the next step,” a statement that was meant to be inspiring after animation was belittled at that very ceremony just minutes prior. The category presenters were dismissive of animation overall, basically calling it kiddie fare that parents have to suffer through just to shut their kids up.Spoilers of the Week: July…

Microsoft has reportedly been developing an Xbox mobile storefront that would allow users to bypass Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store and download games off its own application. Earlier this year, Microsoft's gaming chief Phil Spencer, too, had revealed ahead of the annual Game Developer Conference that the company intended to launch its own app store for both iOS and Android. Now, Xbox is reportedly in talks with partners for the same.According to a Bloomberg report, Spencer claimed that the Xbox store app on…

Xbox is celebrating a new milestone for Starfield after Phil Spencer announced it's now seen over 12 million total players in the three months since launch. The Xbox head also talked about the future of the space exploration epic, comparing Bethesda's ambitions for the game to Skyrim's extended life cycle.Speaking at CCXP in Brazil, as picked up by IGN, Spencer celebrated Starfield's success since launch. "Starfield has now had over 12 million players since the launch of Starfield, and it still sits in…

At the 2023 Comic Con Experience in São Paulo, Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer fielded questions about Xbox and its latest titles while revealing some interesting information about the current state of the gaming industry. We had previously received highlights of the event from a Bloomberg article, though with the full interview out, we’ve learned a lot more. One of the first things Spencer highlights is just how big the gaming industry is. In a world of 8 billion people, he claims 3.3 billion play video games. This means…

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has spoken up to say the company has "no plans" to bring Xbox Game Pass to PlayStation or Nintendo. This comes just days after Xbox CFO Tim Stuart said Microsoft's mission is to bring Xbox Game Pass to every screen that can play games, including PlayStation and Nintendo.What seems to be at odds here is the distinction between a "plan" and a "mission." Microsoft could very well have a "mission" to expand Game Pass to every screen imaginable, but a "plan" suggests it's…