Month: July 2016

Eine Zulassung gibt es zwar noch nicht, dennoch wird an unbemannten Lufttransportern gearbeitet. In einem Designwettbewerb von Airbus haben fünf Entwürfe für Lieferdrohnen gewonnen. (Drohne, Technologie)

Wer sich eine Telefonzelle in den Garten stellen und als Dusche umbauen will, hat dazu die Chance. Die gelben Modelle der Deutschen Telekom sind allerdings ausverkauft. (Telekom, Telekommunikation)

Nach dem Weggang von Jacob Appelbaum erneuert das Torprojekt alle Direktoren. Unter anderen ersetzt der renommierte Kryptologe und Sicherheitsforscher Bruce Schneier zwei Tor-Gründer. (TOR-Netzwerk, EFF)

Gestiegener Umsatz, ein bisschen weniger Gewinn und gute Aussichten: Der Auftragsfertiger TSMC hat im zweiten Quartal 2016 wieder mehr Grafikchips produziert und bald stehen Mobile-SoCs an. (TSMC, Apple)

Lange hat Valve den Markt für Waffenskins und damit auch für wohl illegales Glücksspiel geduldet. Nun kommt die Kehrtwende: Das Millionengeschäft soll offenbar schnellstmöglich gestoppt werden. (Valve, OpenID)

For the past several years, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has been pressuring Google to stop copyright infringing content and prescription medicines being made available in search results.

In November 2014, Hood issued an administrative subpoena which aimed to reveal inside information detailing Google’s efforts to curtail the appearance of illegal content in listings.

A month later and on the back of secrets revealed as part of the Sony email leaks, Google sued Hood’s office, claiming that the Attorney General was working with groups including the MPAA to undermine its business.

Indeed, evidence produced in court filings showed Hood’s office being coached by lawyers at the MPAA, who in their “cozy relationship” even went as far as helping with the drafting of letters aimed at pressuring Google over piracy.

In March 2015, a judge in the Southern District of Mississippi granted an injunction to stop Hood’s investigation into Google, finding that “interference with Google’s judgment…would likely produce a chilling effect on Google’s protected speech.” Hood was also ordered not to bring any criminal or civil charges against the company.

However, in a blow to Google, just over a year later the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the ruling, noting that the federal judge’s decision to issue a preliminary injunction was made in error (pdf).

While this meant that Hood was free to pursue the administrative subpoena, shortly after the Court of Appeals decision he sent a letter to the court withdrawing it. However, Hood wasn’t quite done, noting that Google still needed to preserve documents demanded under the subpoena, just in case they were needed in future.

In response, Google demanded a rehearing before the Fifth Circuit panel. That was denied but the panel issued a slightly modified opinion which allowed Google to pursue a court ruling declaring that it can not be held liable for content posted by third parties.

But now, however, it appears that from conflict, some kind of peace has broken out. According to a court filing Wednesday, Google has backed down from its efforts to block Hood from investigating its copyright infringement and illegal content practices.

“It is hereby stipulated and agreed, by and between the parties to the above captioned action, by their undersigned counsel, that…….all of the claims that have been asserted in this action are hereby dismissed without costs to any party,” the filing reads (pdf).

The document, signed by lawyers representing both Google and Hood’s office, is short on detail and offers no clear explanation as to why Google decided to discontinue its complaint. However, it does suggest that some kind of agreement has been reached over the core issues at the heart of the dispute.

“[T]he Attorney General and Google endeavor to collaborate in addressing the harmful consequences of unlawful and/or dangerous online content,” the document reads.

While Google will be pleased with the outcome, the case was seen by some as a golden opportunity to see just how far Hood and the MPAA had collaborated on ‘Project Goliath‘. Now that an agreement of sorts has been reached, future revelations seem much less likely.

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

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Der chinesische Drohnenhersteller DJI und Hasselblad haben eine Drohne mit einer professionellen Luftbildkamera vorgestellt, die 50 Megapixel große Bilder aufnimmt. Die Drohne Matrice 600 trägt Nutzlasten von bis zu 6 kg. (DJI, Technologie)

Für Intels Sicherheitssparte McAfee soll es mögliche Käufer geben. Der PC-Markt wirft für das Unternehmen in diesem Bereich zu wenig Gewinn ab. (McAfee, Intel)

Tesla Motors hat mit dem Model X 60D eine günstigere Einstiegsversion seines Elektro-SUV vorgestellt. Die Akkukapazität und damit auch die Reichweite sind geringer. Gegen Aufpreis kann der Akku per Softwareupdate auf 75kWh erweitert werden. (Tesla Motors, GreenIT)