It’s Thursday, May the Fourth, and, of course, it’s Star Wars Day. Believe it or not, the seminal film that has become much like a religion to millions turns 40 this year.
George Lucas’ space opera about a bratty teenager with a secret past, a beautiful princess that could also kick ass, a kind, wise wizard and a scruffy nerfherder who together took on a galactic empire headed by a dark lord hit theaters on May 25th, 1977, and the world would never be the same.
Made for what then was the massive sum of $11 million, Star Wars blew up theaters to the tune of almost $800 million to become the original summer sci-fi blockbuster, and four decades later, generations of fans still love the original – and most of the seven films that came after it.
Now, Lucas has passed the torch to Disney, ensuring we’ll continue to have new Star Wars movies, hopefully for at least four more decades to come. We’ve got a full slate of Star Wars-related stories on DT today, but here’s an interesting place to start.
A billion here, a billion there
Despite some photos showing him looking a bit… tense while sitting in with President Trump’s tech advisory board, Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company is going to spend a billion dollars on a push to make more Apple products in the United States, something the president has pushed hard for.
Cook sat down for a chat with CNBC’s Jim Cramer of Mad Money, and said that despite Apple having more in cash than the GDP of many small countries, pulling together a billion somolians in the US is actually hard to do because of tax laws – an issue Trump says he’d like to change, and something Cook agrees with. The Mad Money interview is pretty interesting and wide-ranging, so hit this link to watch the whole thing.
Return of the crackberry? Not so much
We talked briefly about Blackberry’s new smartphone, the KeyOne, last week, and now that we’ve had time to play around with it, we’ve got a better handle on what works – and what doesn’t.
The phone has a lot of positives: great battery life, top-notch security, and a capable camera. And hey, if you dig that physical keyboard thing, that’s a plus too.
But it’s not perfect, so check out the video and review by DT mobile tech editor Julian Chokahtoo for a full rundown of the new KeyOne.
We’ve got more news on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and be sure to tune in to this week’s DT podcasts: Close to the Metal (computers and such) on Tuesday, Trends with Benefits (general tech shenanigans) on Thursdays, and Between the Streams (movie and TV topics) every Friday.
