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Microsoft closes its e-book store (updated)
Did you build your e-book library through the Microsoft Store? You'll need to make a change in plans. Microsoft has not only removed books from its online portal, but plans to remove access to existing purchases and rentals in early July. It's not a complete loss when Microsoft plans to offer refunds in the form of store credit, including $25 extra if you've made annotations before April 2nd. However, that still leaves you paying to re-stock your library through a third-party service -- and any notes you've made will disappear into the ether.
There are only two Blockbusters left in the world, and one is closing
And then there was one. A Blockbuster video rental store located in a suburb of Perth Australia announced that it will be closing its doors for good at the end of the month, according to local newspaper the Eastern Reporter. It was the last remaining Blockbuster on the continent. Once it ceases offering rentals at the end of March, there will only be one Blockbuster in the world remaining. The final store is located in Bend, Oregon.
Rotten Tomatoes takes on trolls by removing 'want to see' scores
Rotten Tomatoes is overhauling its Audience Rating System in an effort to stamp out so-called "review bombing." As part of the ongoing changes, the review aggregation site is axing the "want to see" audience anticipation rating ahead of a film's release. The update arrives in the wake of the latest "review bombing" campaign against Captain Marvel, the first female-led Marvel Studios movie, which saw trolls weaponize the user rating system to drive down its "want to see" score. This despite all box office tracking estimates indicating the film was set for a blockbuster opening.
Classic cinema streaming service FilmStruck will close November 29th
FilmStruck, WarnerMedia's streaming service that focuses on classic and indie cinema, is shutting down November 29th. The two-year-old platform is already closed to new subscribers.
CompuServe's still-active forums are finally shutting down
It turns out that Instant Messenger (AIM) isn't the only thing that AOL is shutting down next month. On December 15th, Oath (AOL and Engadget's dear parent) is also closing what remains of the CompuServe forums which, yes, still actually exist. CompuServe had the first ever mainstream online forums well before the internet came along, letting users connect to its central servers via old-school dial-up modems. You can credit (or blame) the company for allowing some of the first online group chats about subjects like investing, politics and religion.
Trump's White House website deletes climate change, LGBT pages
As Donald Trump takes over the White House today, a number of folks on Twitter have been pointing out that many crucial pages on WhiteHouse.gov have disappeared, including those relating to climate change and the LGBTQ community. While certainly troubling to the many millions of Americans worried about how the incoming administration will handle such topics, what's happening on the White House website is little more than a transition -- every page that was up on the site under the Obama administration has been removed, not just ones relating to topics that the new president doesn't care about.
