Disney+…4 Streams & 4K; AT&T & FTC Settle Over ‘Unlimited’ Data Throttling; Sony and Yamaha- Self-Driving Cart for Theme Parks; DNA Test Sites Slowdown-Calm Before Storm

Disney has fired a rather large cannon shot over the bow of Netflix and others with its Disney+ streaming service. According to macrumors.com, the service, announced at the D23 expo in Anaheim, will offer up to four simultaneous streams and 4 K content for $6.99 a month! You can already get 4 simultaneous streams and 4K from Netflix…but that will set you back $16 a month! Netflix obviously has a huge library to draw from, but Disney’s planned launch in November will have 500 feature films and over 7,500 shows…including the entire Pixar library. Take my money!

In a deal reached August 2nd, but just published, AT&T has settled its case with the FTC over throttling ‘unlimited’ data, that has been in court since 2014. 9to5mac.com reports that there is still a 90 day stay in place while the FTC reviews details. Other carriers have throttled and continue to do so, but the main issue here was that AT&T didn’t really disclose it. AT&T has always contended it only affected a ‘small number of users.’

Sony is now partnering with Yamaha on its SC-1 Sociable Cart. Engadget.com says the cart, which is being expanded to 5 a 5 passenger model, will be aimed at theme parks, golf courses, and ‘commercial facilities.’ The self-driving carts have NO windows, but instead has a 49-inch mixed reality display inside. Outside, it’s a rolling billboard, with 4 55 inch displays serving ads to passers-by. They expect the cart to go into service in Japan before March 2020, and come to the US after that.

Sales of consumer facing DNA tests form Ancestry and 23andMe are off this year. They haven’t offered any reasons, but it may be natural tapering off of early adopters combined with privacy concerns. CNBC.com reports that Illumina, which makes equipment that converts DNA to bits and bytes, says while short term things are softer, they look for bigger long-term growth as companies add more health reports like showing heart disease risk…even with continued privacy concerns. Illumina likens the first wave to hobbyists using PCs, and sees the next as a big explosion like when PCs started showing up in nearly every home.