Month: November 2014

Pirate Bay Linked 'Bayfiles' Goes down, Possible Links to Pirate Bay Operator Arrest

The cyberlocker site founded by former operators of The Pirate Bay has apparently disappeared without any reasons being given.Bayfiles, launched in 2011, operated like most other cyberlockers, but with the distinction of being linked to The Pirate…



The cyberlocker site founded by former operators of The Pirate Bay has apparently disappeared without any reasons being given.

Bayfiles, launched in 2011, operated like most other cyberlockers, but with the distinction of being linked to The Pirate Bay (and being linked from The Pirate Bay homepage - with the link still present, even though the site is not longer available).

But following the arrest of one of the founders of the site Fredrik Neij in Thailand earlier this month, the site has since disappeared without reason, and now simply redirects back to the main Pirate Bay website.

The cyberlocker site has been growing steadily since its launch in 2011, although the site appears to have received a Google penalty in June due to unspecified reasons. The site's latest disappearance, however, seems more permanent and users who have hosted files on the site are now left in the lurch as to the future of the site.

Bayfiles was launched by Pirate Bay operators Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde, but the two friends have since parted ways, partially due to differences which emerged during the launch of the site. Sunde claims that Neij took control and prevented him access to the site on the eve of the launch, and the two have been on bad terms ever since.

A preview of features for Flightgear 3.4

Flightgear is constantly under development and as the feature freeze for the next 3.2 release approaches, it is becoming increasingly clear what the next version will have to offer to users:

(to avoid misunderstandings – this is a selection of features currently under development and not a release note, i.e. there is no guarantee that all items will appear in 3.4, nor are the features of 3.4 limited to what is listed here)

Precipitation

Added realism for precipitation:

The precipitation system has been partially upgraded. The speed of falling raindrops now follows a physical scaling with droplet size, and the …
Read the rest… >>

Flightgear is constantly under development and as the feature freeze for the next 3.2 release approaches, it is becoming increasingly clear what the next version will have to offer to users:

(to avoid misunderstandings – this is a selection of features currently under development and not a release note, i.e. there is no guarantee that all items will appear in 3.4, nor are the features of 3.4 limited to what is listed here)

Precipitation

Added realism for precipitation:

The precipitation system has been partially upgraded. The speed of falling raindrops now follows a physical scaling with droplet size, and the system renders now hail in addition to rain and snow. The correct dependence of lighting with illumination of the scene has been added. In Advanced Weather, droplet size and rain intensity are now set independently, allowing to realistically render fine spray as well as splattering rain in thunderstorms. A dynamical splash-pattern of raindrops added to the Atmospheric Light Scattering (ALS) runway effect completes the visual impression.

Advanced Weather clouds

Near photo-realistic 3d clouds:

The cloud rendering system has received an upgrade, allowing to let the edges of cloud patches gradually fade out. This makes several types of cloud formations appear even more realistic.

Haze

Have you ever wondered why the terrain appears bluish in the distance?

The Atmospheric Light Scattering (ALS) rendering framework has received a significant upgrade rendering the effects of Rayleigh scattering of light with air molecules and fine dust. This includes the in-scattering of light, resulting in the blue appearance of distant objects, as well as an out-scattering effect which makes colors seen through dry haze shifted towards the red. Combined with the already existing model for rendering hazes, this leads to truly impressive visuals.

Instrumentation

Improved instruments:

A new flexible CDU framework allows aircraft developers to set up extensive CDU pages with relatively little effort. The framework supports both 3D and 2D instruments, multipages, down selecting settings to the scratchpad and various input formats (e.g. FL115 or 11500). It comes with a 2D panel popup screen so you won’t have to pan around the cockpit all the time. The CDU is expected to be introduced on the Boeing 747-400, but the framework has been designed to be flexible and fit other airliners.

Aircraft

Enjoy the latest additions:

The Extra 500 introduces a luxury aircraft one of the most advanced glass cockpits to be simulated by Flightgear. The F-14b has received a significant upgrade with an added JSBSim flight dynamics model. There is also progress on a new version of the X-15 which might make it into the release, as well as the F-20.

Atmospheric Light Scattering

Enjoy yet more interesting visuals:

ALS continues to receive a host of additions, allowing for some stunning visuals:

* tree shadows, rendered using a very performance-friendly technique
* landing and search lights for better night flight experience
* improved implementation of Fresnel scattering on water surfaces, leading to more realistic water appearance
* a procedural rock effect, capable of rendering a large variety of different rock textures and colors across the world
…

And many improvements more!

Much work is done under the hood which is not all visible:

* improvements to the rendering framework, leading to better performance
* more applications utilizing the FG-internal webserver
* a canvas-based alternative GUI and aircraft center, allowing to manage installed aircraft inside FG
…

Stay tuned as we fly towards our next release!

Netflix Boss Predicts Demise of Broadcast TV in 2030

Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings has boldly predicted that free-to-air and subscription TV will be dead by 2030.Hastings made these remarks during a promotional tour of Netflix’s Latin American operations, and he likened broadcast TV to a “horse”, and Netfl…



Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings has boldly predicted that free-to-air and subscription TV will be dead by 2030.

Hastings made these remarks during a promotional tour of Netflix's Latin American operations, and he likened broadcast TV to a "horse", and Netflix's new streaming model to the car.

"It's kind of like the horse, you know, the horse was good until we had the car. The age of broadcast TV will probably last until 2030," said Hastings.

A Morgan Stanley analyst recently published data showing a 50% decline in broadcast TV viewership between 2002 and 2012.

Hastings also spoke about plans by Nielsen to monitor ratings for streaming content on Netflix. Hastings feels that, as Nielsen will only monitor main TV set viewing and no mobile or tablet viewing, the ratings data will be incomplete. Nielsen's plans may also offer TV networks more data that they could use to compete with Netflix, including requiring higher payments for content licensing.

Netflix's foray into Latin America follows the company's steady expansion in Europe, and in 2015, to Australia and New Zealand. The company is also currently producing their own movie, a sequel to the Oscar winning 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', set to be simultaneously released in cinemas and on Netflix in 2015.

Google Not Keen to Remove Homepages of Suspected 'Piracy Sites'

Google has rejected DMCA removal requests filed by the MPAA for homepages and category pages on several suspected piracy sites.Of the 81 URLs submitted for removal, only 21, or 26%, were actually removed. Google decided not to take any action on 6…



Google has rejected DMCA removal requests filed by the MPAA for homepages and category pages on several suspected piracy sites.

Of the 81 URLs submitted for removal, only 21, or 26%, were actually removed. Google decided not to take any action on 60 URLs.

One rejected submission refers to the movie 'The Calling', with the URL being requested to be removed being that particular site's "new releases" page, with 'The Calling' being one of the listed movies on that page. The same website's homepage was also part of the DMCA takedown request for the movie 'Fury', which at the time of writing, did not actually feature on the homepage (which features dynamic and changing content).

Google does not provide any information on why a submission was rejected, Google previously told BitTorrent news website TorrentFreak that they do not take action on materials deemed "too remote from infringing activity". 

Most rights holders submit specific pages related to a specific title for removal, but this process can be drawn out and time consuming. The MPAA has been successful before in removing homepages in "strategic" takedowns, but it appears their tactics have fallen foul of Google's removal policies this time.

Blu-ray sales stats for the week ending 15th November 2014

The results and analysis for Blu-ray (and DVD) sales for the week ending 15th November 2014 is in. How to Train Your Dragon 2 was the week’s top seller, helping Blu-ray revenue and market share keep and improve upon last week’s highs. 
Y…



The results and analysis for Blu-ray (and DVD) sales for the week ending 15th November 2014 is in. How to Train Your Dragon 2 was the week's top seller, helping Blu-ray revenue and market share keep and improve upon last week's highs. 

You can read the rest of the stats and analysis here

Das richtige Tablet für Couch, unterwegs und Arbeit finden

Die Bandbreite bei Tablets ist enorm: Man kann nur 50 oder über 2000 Euro ausgeben und findet nahezu jede Display-Größe zwischen 6 bis 15 Zoll. Mit Android, iOS und Windows buhlen zudem drei immer ähnlicher werdende Systeme um die Gunst der Kunden. Wenn man erst mal weiß, was man will, gibt es für jede Aufgabe das passende Tablet.



Die Bandbreite bei Tablets ist enorm: Man kann nur 50 oder über 2000 Euro ausgeben und findet nahezu jede Display-Größe zwischen 6 bis 15 Zoll. Mit Android, iOS und Windows buhlen zudem drei immer ähnlicher werdende Systeme um die Gunst der Kunden. Wenn man erst mal weiß, was man will, gibt es für jede Aufgabe das passende Tablet.








Netflix Bandwidth Share up Again, HBO Go Accounts for Only 1% of Usage

Netflix’s share of peak download bandwidth has grown in the second half of 2014, but only slightly, according to a report by network management firm Sandvine.Sandvine’s bi-annual Global Internet Phenomena Report shows that Netflix’s share of …



Netflix's share of peak download bandwidth has grown in the second half of 2014, but only slightly, according to a report by network management firm Sandvine.

Sandvine's bi-annual Global Internet Phenomena Report shows that Netflix's share of peak download traffic in North America has grown from 34% in the first half to nearly 35% (34.98%) in the second half.

Showing Netflix's dominance in the region, Amazon Instant Video, the second largest subscription video-on-demand service, only accounted for 2.6% of peak download traffic. This was still more than double what the service consumed 18 months ago.

Netflix's global dominance may also grow thanks to the its official introduction into more regions next year, including into the Australasian region. But despite Netflix's lack of an official presence in that region, 2.5% of users, on an unnamed fixed network in the region, are already accessing the service via geo-unblockers, accounting for as much as 4% of peak downstream traffic.

The figures also show HBO's introduction of a standalone streaming product in 2015 can't any come sooner, with its current cable-tied HBO Go product only accounting for 1% of download traffic.

"With both Netflix and Amazon Instant Video gaining bandwidth share in North America during 2014, it will be fascinating to see how a standalone HBOGO streaming option will impact networks when it launches in 2015," said Dave Caputo, President and CEO, Sandvine.

The increasing popularity of legal streaming options may also be having an effect on illegal download traffic, with filesharing traffic continuing to shrink in all regions, except in Asia-Pacific countries.