Month: November 2015

Starting in 2016 it’ll be easy to know if Android apps include ads before you download them. Google is requiring all developers that distribute apps through the Google Play Store to declare by January 11th whether or not those apps include ads. Early next year, users will see an “ad-supported” notice on apps in the Play […]

Google Play Store will let you know if apps have ads in 2016 is a post from: Liliputing

Android is the world’s most popular smartphone operating system, followed by iOS. Windows comes in a distant third, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon… unless Windows movies further down the ladder. According to a new report from Gartner, about 3 percent of all smartphones sold during the third quarter of […]

Reports: Windows Phone market share is falling fast is a post from: Liliputing

The IdeaPad 100s is Lenovo’s entry into the compact, low-power, and inexpensive laptop space. the notebook has an 11.6 inch display, an Intel Atom Z3735F Bay Trail processor, and it weighs about 2.2 pounds. Lenovo sells the laptop for $200, which makes it competitive with similar notebooks from Asus, Acer, and HP. But Best Buy […]

Deals of the Day (11-18-2015) is a post from: Liliputing

Lawsuits against alleged file-sharers are a common occurrence in United States federal courts.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been accused in recent years, most after using standard BitTorrent clients.

More recently there’s been a specific focus on Popcorn Time users, who were targeted in a series of lawsuits this summer.

One of the cases was filed by the makers of The Cobbler, who listed the IP-addresses of several Popcorn Time users in their complaint. The goal of the filmmakers is to identify the account holders and settle the dispute out of court, which some have already done.

However, not all of the accused are cooperating.

In a new filing submitted this week (pdf) the movie studio explains that while they have already settled with five Popcorn Time users, four Comcast subscribers failed to respond to their inquiries.

“Four of the subscribers have refused to respond to plaintiff’s letters and plaintiff is without means to obtain voluntary cooperation with its investigation to identify whom may have used their Internet Service to infringe plaintiff’s rights,” the studio writes.

Instead of naming the account holders as defendants, the filmmakers say they would rather depose the subscribers first to ask face-to-face if they can pinpoint the true Popcorn Time pirates.

“While the named subscriber is often the proper defendant, plaintiff wishes to ensure that investigations are complete and proper and submits that in this matter something beyond the mere identification of a subscriber by an ISP is proper before a defendant is named,” the company explains.

Through a testimony under oath the movie studio hopes to identify the real culprits so they can be named in the lawsuit. The depositions can take place at a location the account holders’ lawyers determine and should take no longer than two hours.

The movie studio’s request was granted a day after it was submitted, which means that the depositions will now go ahead.

In the accompanying subpoena (pdf) the subscribers are ordered to identify all persons who had access to the Comcast connections in question. In addition, they must bring along copies of any copyright infringement notices they’ve received.

While the movie studio states that the depositions should help to track down the offenders, more critical observers may note that they’re also an optimal tool to pressure ISP subscribers who choose to ignore settlement requests and other threats.

Depositions in these type of file-sharing cases are relatively new and not all courts are eager to grant them. A few weeks ago a Washington District Court rejected a similar request noting that it may be used as a threat just to get subscribers to settle.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

There’s a lot of data on the web, and Google does a pretty good job of indexing as much of it as possible. But as mobile devices have become more common, some information is locked away in apps. Google’s been indexing in-app content for a few years, but up until now the company could only provide […]

Google Search starts streaming mobile apps (when in-app content isn’t available on the web) is a post from: Liliputing

Auf mehreren hundert Seiten hat das Fraunhofer-Institut die Zukunft des automatisierten Fahrens analysiert. Die Ergebnisse dürften EU-Digitalkommissar Oettinger und Datenschützern nicht gefallen. (Autonomes Fahren, Technologie)

The fourth-biggest wireless carrier in the US says it’s new LTE Plus network is one of the fastest in the country… but that doesn’t do the company much good unless it can attract customers. So Sprint is launching a pretty big sale to promote the launch of its new network: switch to Sprint from one of […]

Sprint says it’ll cut your phone bill in half if you switch from AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile is a post from: Liliputing

Der plattformübergreifende Editor Visual Studio Code von Microsoft ist nun vollständig Open Source. Die aktuell verfügbare Beta-Version unterstützt jetzt auch offiziell Erweiterungen von Dritten etwa für verschiedene Programmiersprachen. (Visual Studio, Microsoft)

If you’ve got a modern smartphone with a broken camera, battery, or display, odds are that you’ll need to send it to the manufacturer or a repair shop to fix what’s broken. Or you can try to do it yourself using replacement parts ordered over the internet and instructions found at sites like iFixit. But there’s […]

Fairphone 2 teardown by iFixit shows a phone meant to be… torn down is a post from: Liliputing

Die Bastler von iFixit haben das Fairphone 2 hinsichtlich seiner Reparaturfreundlichkeit untersucht - und dem Gerät als erstem Smartphone überhaupt die volle Punktzahl gegeben. Wirklich überraschend ist das nicht, ist das neue Fairphone doch explizit darauf ausgerichtet, leicht repariert zu werden. (Fairphone, Smartphone)