Month: April 2016

Reports: Xiaomi to manufacture its own chips

Reports: Xiaomi to manufacture its own chips

Xiaomi may be best known for its low-cost, high-quality smartphones. But the company makes everything from air purifiers to HDTVs. And soon Xiaomi may also begin producing its own chips.

Earlier this year Reuters reported that “a source with direct knowledge” said the Chinese startup would begin making its own smartphone processors.

Now the Korea Times has published a report suggesting that Xiaomi could unveil its new chip at an event in May.

Continue reading Reports: Xiaomi to manufacture its own chips at Liliputing.

Reports: Xiaomi to manufacture its own chips

Xiaomi may be best known for its low-cost, high-quality smartphones. But the company makes everything from air purifiers to HDTVs. And soon Xiaomi may also begin producing its own chips.

Earlier this year Reuters reported that “a source with direct knowledge” said the Chinese startup would begin making its own smartphone processors.

Now the Korea Times has published a report suggesting that Xiaomi could unveil its new chip at an event in May.

Continue reading Reports: Xiaomi to manufacture its own chips at Liliputing.

Game Of Thrones Season 6 Premiere Triggers Piracy Craze

With more than a million downloads in half a day, the premiere of Game of Thrones’ sixth season has once again ignited a piracy craze. People from all over the world grabbed a copy, and this morning over 200,000 BitTorrent users are actively sharing copies of the episode, a number that’s still rising.

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

got6Yesterday the sixth season of Game of Thrones premiered, generating a massive demand on both legal and less-authorized channels.

For several years in a row Game of Thrones has been the most pirated TV-show, and this year the interest is once again overwhelming.

After many people failed to find a copy of a rumored leak, the first pirated copies of the episode appeared online shortly after the official broadcast. A few hours later, hundreds of thousands of people already grabbed a copy.

Data gathered by TorrentFreak estimates that after half a day, over a million people have downloaded the episode via BitTorrent. At the time of writing, more than 200,000 people are actively sharing one of the three most-popular torrents.

An interesting trend among pirates is a move from standard definition (480p) to high-definition (720p and 1080p) video. A few years ago roughly 10% downloaded HD copies, which are larger in size, but today this is getting close to 50%.

A brief inspection of the download locations of the most popular torrent shows that Game of Thrones pirates come from all over the world, as we’ve seen previously. The show is particularly popular in Australia (12.5%), India (9.7%), United States (8.5%) and the United Kingdom (6.9%).

The top 10 is completed by the Philippines, Canada, the Netherlands, Greece, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. It has to be noted, however, that this data is skewed due to time differences, as our sample of 10,000 downloaders was taken throughout a 12 hour period.

While the download numbers are significant and higher than we’ve seen for any recent TV-shows, last year’s “swarm” record has not been broken.

The statistics reported above only account for BitTorrent downloads, so it’s possible that other pirate sources such as streaming and direct download sites did see an increase. Also, in the U.S. HBO was available for free over the past weekend, which may have had an effect too.

Record or no record, judging from the recent numbers there’s little doubt that Game of Thrones is once again the main contender for the title of most pirated show of the year.

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

Niederlande: Betreiber von Verschlüsselungsdienst Ennetcom festgenommen

Der Chef des größten niederländischen Anbieters verschlüsselter Kommunikation ist von der Polizei festgenommen worden. Ihm wird aber nicht der Betrieb des Netzwerkes zur Last gelegt – auch wenn es der Polizei ein Dorn im Auge ist. (Verschlüsselung, VoIP)

Der Chef des größten niederländischen Anbieters verschlüsselter Kommunikation ist von der Polizei festgenommen worden. Ihm wird aber nicht der Betrieb des Netzwerkes zur Last gelegt - auch wenn es der Polizei ein Dorn im Auge ist. (Verschlüsselung, VoIP)

Depression, neuroticism, and sense of well-being may have genetic links

Studying these traits in tandem could help us understand them better.

(credit: Nogas1974)

The role of genetics in mental illness is a complex topic. On the one hand, evidence of genetic and biological causes for mental illnesses may help to fight the stigma that often accompanies them. On the other hand, certain researchers have suggested that a focus on genetics rather than traumatic life events can run the risk of ignoring the social ills that underlie or enhance many mental illnesses.

Despite some ambiguous feelings, the work has gone on. A genetic study recently published in Nature Genetics describes the results from the work of an eye-popping 190 scientists around the world. It describes an in-depth exploration of three separate traits: depression, neuroticism (the tendency to experience anxiety and fear easily), and subjective well-being (an experience of life satisfaction and/or happiness). They found evidence suggesting that these three traits are influenced by some of the same genes and are linked to the pancreatic, adrenal, and central nervous systems.

Tiny cumulative effects

Psychology researcher Richard Bentall argues that genetic studies are fruitless; so many genes have been identified as playing a role in mental illness that their medical usefulness becomes diluted. And, even when the genetics are simple, it's not always helpful. “Consider Huntington’s Disease, a terrible degenerative neurological condition that is caused by a single dominant gene with a known biological function,” he writes. “Many years after this gene was discovered there is still no sign of a medical therapy for this simplest of all the genetic conditions.”

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Anga: Ein Drittel der Kabelinternetnutzer will 100 MBit/s

Internetkunden der TV-Kabelnetzbetreiber wollen hohe Datenübertragungsraten, die im Koaxialnetz oft preisgünstig angeboten werden. Die Branche erwartet, dass Docsis 3.1 im Jahr 2017 kommt. (Kabelnetz, Glasfaser)

Internetkunden der TV-Kabelnetzbetreiber wollen hohe Datenübertragungsraten, die im Koaxialnetz oft preisgünstig angeboten werden. Die Branche erwartet, dass Docsis 3.1 im Jahr 2017 kommt. (Kabelnetz, Glasfaser)

Unofficial Windows 10 Mobile for Surface RT (is a work in progress)

Unofficial Windows 10 Mobile for Surface RT (is a work in progress)

When Microsoft launched Windows 8, the company also released a version of the operating system designed to run on devices with ARM-based processors. Windows RT debuted on the Microsoft RT tablet, but it wasn’t widely adopted by other computer makers and after launching the Surface 2 tablet with Windows RT software, Microsoft has pretty much abandoned the project in favor of Windows 10.

But while there’s a mobile version of Windows 10 that can run on smartphones with ARM-based processors, Microsoft has not released Windows 10 for its discontinued Surface RT or Surface 2 tablets… and that’s where independent developer black_blob comes in.

Continue reading Unofficial Windows 10 Mobile for Surface RT (is a work in progress) at Liliputing.

Unofficial Windows 10 Mobile for Surface RT (is a work in progress)

When Microsoft launched Windows 8, the company also released a version of the operating system designed to run on devices with ARM-based processors. Windows RT debuted on the Microsoft RT tablet, but it wasn’t widely adopted by other computer makers and after launching the Surface 2 tablet with Windows RT software, Microsoft has pretty much abandoned the project in favor of Windows 10.

But while there’s a mobile version of Windows 10 that can run on smartphones with ARM-based processors, Microsoft has not released Windows 10 for its discontinued Surface RT or Surface 2 tablets… and that’s where independent developer black_blob comes in.

Continue reading Unofficial Windows 10 Mobile for Surface RT (is a work in progress) at Liliputing.

Angriff auf Zentralbank: Billigrouter und Malware führen zu Millionenverlust

Man sollte meinen, dass die Zentralbank eines Landes über eine Firewall verfügt. In Bangladesch war das offenbar nicht der Fall. So konnten Angreifer mit spezialisierter Malware fast 1 Milliarde US-Dollar überweisen – und scheiterten dann an einem Fehler. (Security, Virus)

Man sollte meinen, dass die Zentralbank eines Landes über eine Firewall verfügt. In Bangladesch war das offenbar nicht der Fall. So konnten Angreifer mit spezialisierter Malware fast 1 Milliarde US-Dollar überweisen - und scheiterten dann an einem Fehler. (Security, Virus)

The curious incident of Doctor Who’s new companion

Londoner exits stage left for hair-raising Dalek adventures with the Time Lord.

(credit: BBC)

Doctor Who fans may be fretting about the sci-fi show's break from our screens this year, but the BBC has already began its PR blitz for the next series by unveiling the Time Lord's new companion.

Step forward (or should that be run away from the Daleks?) Pearl Mackie, who is expected to make her debut as the Doctor's sidekick on this year's Christmas special.

Mackie's character name is Bill, and—based on a short introductory clip—appears to be a straight-talking ("wouldn't it be quicker just to say 'kill'?"), and cheeky ("it's got a sucker on it") Londoner for the tenth season of the rebooted show.

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Warning to tech CEOs: Silicon Valley’s new season is sharpest satire yet

Internecine strife in House Bachman and the kingdom where “failure is growth.”

As Season Three starts, Richard Hendricks is heading out the door, and everyone is thinking through their options. (credit: HBO)

When I watched the first season of HBO's Silicon Valley in 2014, I thought it was OK, but not amazing. Yet I kept thinking about the show and talking to friends about it. That's when I realized—Silicon Valley isn't a perfect satire, but that doesn't matter. It's the satire we need in our tech-obsessed world. Hunger is the best seasoning, and when it came to tech satire, I was a starving man.

The tech corporations that run the machines in our pockets and the skies have more money, power, and influence than ever before. Even when they're good, but especially when they're bad, we've got to take them down a notch sometimes—just to stay sane. And nothing does that like satire.

So where's The Daily Show for the tech world? Comedies about computers tend to be insipid, miss the target, or worse, culminating with The Internship. That vapid and formulaic 2013 film used the considerable talents of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn to produce what amounted to a Hollywood press release for Google.

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