Fully Charged: Netflix to raise prices, Leo to play Jobs, and Apple promises to recycle your old iPod
Kick off the day with our speedy round-up of all the new tech news
DiCaprio to play Jobs in Boyle-directed biopic?
Remember that Aaron Sorkin-penned Steve Jobs biopic that we’ve been hearing about for so long? The one that was rumoured to have attracted David Fincher as director and Christian Bale as leading man? Well, now it appears that a different director and star are keen to get involved: Danny Boyle and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Leo doesn’t have much of Jobs about him physically, but that’s not too big a deal (Ashton Kutcher’s resemblance to a young Jobs is uncanny – and look how that movie turned out) and DiCaprio has proven talent when it comes to playing obsessive, mercurial types – while Boyle commands just as much respect in Hollywood and critical circles as Fincher. The two have history too, having worked together on The Beach back in 2000.
[Source: HitFix]
Netflix pricing to rise – but only for new members
TV and movie streaming service Netflix has announced that it is to raise the price of its monthly subscription fee, but only for new customers – at least at first. While the company hasn’t announced when and by how much the current UK monthly fee of £5.99 will rise, it’s likely to be at some point in the next couple of months and of no more than a pound. Existing members will remain paying the current fee “for a generous time period”.
So why the increase? Netflix has just announced that it has generated over US$1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2014 and has grown its membership by 1.75 percent since January, so it seems to be in rude health finance-wise. According to Netflix, the extra cash will be used to improve the streaming experience and “to acquire more content” – and perhaps to make even more original shows like House of Cards, too?
[Source: Telegraph]
Apple Stores to accept all old products for recycling – and may even give you money for them
Apple has announced that, from today, all of its stores will accept any used Apple product for recycling at no charge. And it gets even better: if the product looks re-sellable, you may even get some store credit in return.
The announcement comes as CEO Tim Cook reiterates his desire to make Apple into a company that will “leave the world better than we found it”. The company is already one of the few in tech that gets a thumbs-up from Greenpeace, as it strives to use renewable power for its facilities and stores and recycled materials and less packaging in its products.
[Source: Apple]
Sam Kieldsen
Contributor 
