Steve Dent, writing for Engadget:
The Switch has broken the US record for the fastest selling console ever, with 4.8 million units sold in just 10 months, Nintendo says. That shatters the previous record of 4 million US sales in the same time, also held by Nintendo with the Wii. Switch sales first opened on March 3rd, 2017, and it looks like strong holiday sales pushed the Switch over the top.
Travis Barker has teamed up with Olympian Shaun White for the inaugural Air + Style qualifier event and free concert at Bear Mountain this weekend:
White has tapped his friend and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker to play the gig on Saturday, Jan. 6, there will also be more than 50 snowboarders testing out their rail riding skills. Registration is open and free to the first 50 riders who sign up the day of the event.
Speaking of that huge security bug, here’s Troy Wolverton reporting for Business Insider:
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich sold off a large portion of his stake in the company months after Google had informed the chipmaker of a significant security vulnerability in its flagship PC processors — but before the problem was publicly known.
The vulnerability, which affects processors from Intel, AMD, and ARM and could allow malicious actors to steal passwords and other secret data, became public this week.
The two problems, called Meltdown and Spectre, could allow hackers to steal the entire memory contents of a computer. There is no easy fix for Spectre, which could require redesigning the processors, according to researchers. As for Meltdown, the software patch needed to fix the issue could slow down computers by as much as 30 percent — an ugly situation for people used to fast downloads from their favorite online services.
Bad, this is all bad. More information can be found on the official website for these bugs. Yes, there’s an official website.
On a recent podcast, voice actor Ryan Ridley announced that Rick and Morty may not come back until 2019. Polygon summarizes:
Ridley pointed out that the script for Rick and Morty’s third season was finished in November 2016, about eight months before the show returned to Adult Swim. Since then, however, he hasn’t worked on it and is adamant that other writers haven’t either.
Creator of the show, Dan Harmon, was also recently called out by former Community writer Megan Ganz for workplace misconduct:
In turn, Ganz implied some form of workplace harassment, writing that it took her “years to believe in my talents again, to trust a boss when he complimented me and not cringe when he asked for my number.”
Although 2017 was an off-cycle election year, Anschutz opened up his checkbook again and gave close to $200,000 to Republican politicians and Super PACs. […] He gave Senator Tipton $2,700 in August. Tipton opposes same sex marriage and abortion. Mike Coffman, a member of the House who opposes abortion, received $5,400 from Anschutz in August.
Reports are that Spotify has confidentially filed for an IPO:
Both Silicon Valley and Wall Street are paying close attention to this one, given that Spotify is pursuing a direct listing instead of a traditional float. That means no road show or other typical IPO accoutrements (including some of the Wall Street fees, although several investments banks are involved). The quiet period does seem intact, however, as a Spotify spox declined comment.
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, like a lot of us, think it’s time for Donald Trump to be impeached:
This isn’t funny. This is our president acting like a madman drunk on power THREATENING to kill innocent starving people by way of nuclear war. The 25th amendment needs to be enforced. This man is sick and unfit for office. I don’t care if your liberal or conservative.. this has to stop.
Tom Breihan, writing for Stereogum:
The answer, of course, is that nobody at Coachella wants to see any fucking bands. (One exception might be Tomlinson’s old band, which only fits the loosest possible definition of the term “band.”) If you’ve been to the festival in recent years, you already know that rock bands basically don’t move the needle at all when it comes to that festival.
Taco Bell is officially adding nacho fries to their menu for a “limited time.” Delish reports:
Nacho Fries start at $1 and come with a side of the brand’s bright orange cheese sauce. They can be upgraded to a supreme or Bell Grande status (for $2.49 and $3.49, respectively), and topped with beef, sour cream, and pico de gallo. And, of course, more cheese.
Stray Cats will be reuniting on April 21st in Las Vegas at The Orleans when they headline “Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend.”
Eriq Gardner, writing for The Hollywood Reporter:
As the new year begins, the music industry could be set for an epochal moment. Hopes are running high for the first significant reform of music licensing rules in decades. The coming year may also see Spotify go public. But before any of this happens, the Stockholm, Sweden-based streaming giant must now contend with a massive new copyright lawsuit from Wixen Music Publishing, which administers the song compositions by Tom Petty, Zach De La Rocha and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, David Cassidy, Neil Young, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, Stevie Nicks, and many others.
Taylor Swift once again has the number one album in the country:
Taylor Swift’s Reputation returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a fourth nonconsecutive week, as the set steps 2-1 in its seventh week on the list. Reputation earned 107,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Dec. 28, according to Nielsen Music (down 19 percent). Of that sum, 79,000 were in traditional album sales (down 24 percent).
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