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The entry-level LG Nexus 5X smartphone sells for $349 if you buy it from the Google Store… but it’s been on sale a number of times since Google and LG launched the phone in late 2015. Right now Yapper Wireless is running one of the better deals I’ve seen: you can pick up a model with 16GB […]
Deals of the Day (2-26-2016) is a post from: Liliputing
The entry-level LG Nexus 5X smartphone sells for $349 if you buy it from the Google Store… but it’s been on sale a number of times since Google and LG launched the phone in late 2015. Right now Yapper Wireless is running one of the better deals I’ve seen: you can pick up a model with 16GB […]
Deals of the Day (2-26-2016) is a post from: Liliputing
Amazon darf Kunden wegen zu vieler Rücksendungen nicht mehr beliefern. Der Zugang für bereits gekaufte digitale Gütern kann aber nicht blockiert werden. (Onlineshop, Amazon) 
Amazon darf Kunden wegen zu vieler Rücksendungen nicht mehr beliefern. Der Zugang für bereits gekaufte digitale Gütern kann aber nicht blockiert werden. (Onlineshop, Amazon) 
RIAA: “The modern Internet landscape has no room for this blatantly illicit site.”
The labels sued MP3Skull in April 2015, calling it a "very popular rogue website" devoted to "the massive, brazen, and egregious theft of millions of copyrighted sound recordings." They didn't know who owned the site, but a summons was issued to Monica Vasilenko of Petrozavodsk, Russia, the name last listed as the site owner.
According to the complaint (PDF), MP3Skull operators helped users acquire "obviously infringing files," offering tips via Facebook and Twitter telling users to be "very creative when you are searching our site" to avoid copyright notices and get their files. MP3Skull had already been banned in the United Kingdom at the time of filing.
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Toshiba introduced a set of smart wearable glasses in January, promising to deliver the Toshiba WearVue on February 29th. Now, just days ahead of the expected launch date, Toshiba has canceled the product altogether. Smart glasses had a bit of a moment when Google first introduced its Google Glass platform in 2012, promising a future […]
Toshiba introduces, then quickly cancels smart eyeglass product is a post from: Liliputing
Toshiba introduced a set of smart wearable glasses in January, promising to deliver the Toshiba WearVue on February 29th. Now, just days ahead of the expected launch date, Toshiba has canceled the product altogether. Smart glasses had a bit of a moment when Google first introduced its Google Glass platform in 2012, promising a future […]
Toshiba introduces, then quickly cancels smart eyeglass product is a post from: Liliputing
A new study has shown that music piracy is still rampant in the United States with 57 million people between the ages of 13 and 50 accessing music through unauthorized sources. Interestingly, however, these pirates also spend significantly more money on CDs and paid downloads, more than their counterparts who only consume legally.
Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.
Over the past several years numerous studies have looked at the effects of piracy on the music industry.
One very consistent result seems to be that pirates are not by definition cheapskates. On the contrary, they tend to spend more money on merchandise, theater visits and concerts.
This week a new study conducted by the entertainment industry research firm MusicWatch confirmed this trend.
First off, the results of the survey debunk a popular belief that the number of music pirates is falling. While P2P sharing appears to be down, the use of popular alternatives including mobile apps and direct download sites has increased.
Overall, the study estimates that 57 million Americans between the ages of 13 and 50 admit to acquiring music through unauthorized sources. That’s a very significant number which will undoubtedly cause concern among music industry executives.
In part people turn to piracy because they don’t want to pay. However, there’s also a large group of legal music consumers who pirate tracks in addition to buying CDs or paying for legal downloads.
More than one-third of all music buyers (35%) pirate tracks on the side. Interestingly, this group appears to consist of the music industry’s most valuable customers.
The results show that average Americans (pirates included) spend $19 on CDs and music downloads per year, a number that goes up to $33 among pirates alone.
Similarly, the study finds that the average music buyer (pirates included) spend an average of $45 per year, compared to $61 for the subgroup of pirating music buyers. Extra data which MusicWatch kindly shared shows that non-pirates spent just $36 on average.
In addition, the results also show that pirates are more likely to use paid streaming services.
The findings clearly show that pirates spend more money on legal music than those who only consume music through authorized sites and services. So how can this be?
The most logical explanation for this finding is that “pirates” are more engaged than those who don’t share, and that they complement their legal purchases with unauthorized downloads.
Of course, none of the above says anything about the effect of piracy on legal consumption. The people who are now classified as pirates may pay even more if piracy disappeared overnight, or less because they can’t sample any music.
What it does show is that half of all music pirates are paying customers and these people are bringing in a lot of money. If anything, the music industry should be cautious to brand these pirates as thieves, because they are their most valuable consumers.
Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.
Die Kritik aus Politik und Öffentlichkeit am Umgang von Facebook mit Hasskommentaren ist berechtigt: Das hat Firmenchef Mark Zuckerberg bei einem Treffen mit Studenten und Schülern in Berlin gesagt. (Mark Zuckerberg, Soziales Netz) 
Die Kritik aus Politik und Öffentlichkeit am Umgang von Facebook mit Hasskommentaren ist berechtigt: Das hat Firmenchef Mark Zuckerberg bei einem Treffen mit Studenten und Schülern in Berlin gesagt. (Mark Zuckerberg, Soziales Netz) 
Nicht nur Gesichter verwischen: Das Videoportal Youtube hat die Blur-Funktion erweitert. Jetzt können beliebige Objekte in Videos unkenntlich gemacht werden. (Youtube, Video-Community) 
Nicht nur Gesichter verwischen: Das Videoportal Youtube hat die Blur-Funktion erweitert. Jetzt können beliebige Objekte in Videos unkenntlich gemacht werden. (Youtube, Video-Community) 
Study confirms the forensics of the oldest evidence for animal life.
These barrel sponges have one hell of a pedigree. (credit: Albert Kok/Wikimedia)
The earliest chapters in the history of life are in some ways the most interesting, but also the hardest to read. The pages are badly stained and tattered, and the print was terribly small to begin with. You can occasionally trip on a dinosaur femur, but any evidence that remains from the earliest animals is incredibly subtle.
Despite the challenges, we've learned that the “Cambrian explosion” was far from the start of multicellular life. The title for “most ancient animal” currently belongs to the sponge. A recently described fossil just a millimeter across appears to be a 600 million year old sponge—that’s 60 million years before the start of the Cambrian period. But we can find chemical traces going back another 50 million years that have been interpreted as a calling card for sponges. Some have challenged that interpretation, however, on the grounds that this chemical “biomarker” is not unique to sponges, and could instead have come from a type of algae.
The biomarker of interest is the remnant of a sterol (as in “cholesterol”), which is a key component in the cells of eukaryotes (as opposed to bacteria and archaea). With a small bit of the chemical structure lopped off, you get a sterane that can happily hang around in the rock record. A group of researchers led by MIT’s David Gold took a closer look at the sterol 24-isopropylcholesterol in sponges and other organisms to find out more about when the genes for it evolved—and what is most likely to have left it in 650 million year old rocks.
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I picked up a first-generation Amazon Kindle Fire tablet in 2011 and performed a bunch of experiments on it. But I never really used it all that much as a tablet… so eventually I loaded CyanogenMod on it, installed TuneIn Radio, 1Weather, and set it up as an alarm clock in my bedroom. It was […]
What do you do with old phones, tablets? is a post from: Liliputing
I picked up a first-generation Amazon Kindle Fire tablet in 2011 and performed a bunch of experiments on it. But I never really used it all that much as a tablet… so eventually I loaded CyanogenMod on it, installed TuneIn Radio, 1Weather, and set it up as an alarm clock in my bedroom. It was […]
What do you do with old phones, tablets? is a post from: Liliputing
Die Absätze des 3DS gehen zurück, die Entwicklung von Gesundheitslösungen ist eingestellt, unabhängige Entwickler schimpfen über die Informationspolitik in Sachen NX: Bei Nintendo läuft es schlecht – jetzt muss der japanische Konzern auch noch eine Gewinnwarnung herausgeben. (Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS) 
Die Absätze des 3DS gehen zurück, die Entwicklung von Gesundheitslösungen ist eingestellt, unabhängige Entwickler schimpfen über die Informationspolitik in Sachen NX: Bei Nintendo läuft es schlecht - jetzt muss der japanische Konzern auch noch eine Gewinnwarnung herausgeben. (Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS) 
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