Month: December 2016

Da ist es ja! Strafverfolger und BMW-Mitarbeiter in den USA haben ein gestohlenes Auto orten können. Der Dieb wurde von den Möglichkeiten der Autovernetzung im Schlaf überrascht. (Automotive, Auto)

Zwei neue Mediatek-Chips mit drei CPU-Kern-Clustern: Der Helio X23 läuft mit 2,3 GHz und der Helio X27 mit 2,6 GHz, und auch die Grafikeinheit bekommt mehr Takt. Beide Speed-Bumps sind Übergangslösungen bis zum Helio X30. (Mediatek, Smartphone)

Earlier this year, the Australian Government’s Productivity Commission published a Draft Report on Intellectual Property Arrangements. It recommended various amendments to local copyright law.

As previously reported, the Commission suggested allowing the use of VPNs and similar technologies to enable consumers to bypass restrictive geo-blocking. It also tabled proposals to lower the length of time content remains protected by copyright and suggested the introduction of fair use exceptions.

Australia currently employs a “fair dealing” approach. Specific exemptions for research or study, criticism or review, parody or satire, news reporting and certain use within legal circles are available. Under a “fair use” arrangement, it’s envisioned that a use would not necessarily have to fall into the categories above to be fair.

“This is one of the key benefits of fair use. Unlike the fair dealing provisions, fair use is not limited to a set of prescribed purposes,” the Australian Law Reform Commission explains.

While the Commission insists that under “fair use” it will still be possible to outlaw instances where infringement undermines the ordinary exploitation of a work, copyright holders are not convinced. They see the introduction of fair use as an erosion of their rights.

For example, Foxtel says that fair use would introduce “significant and unnecessary uncertainty into Australian law” while undermining copyright protection that’s essential for “protecting investment in Australia‘s cultural industries.”

As 2016 enters its final weeks, momentum against fair use is building. A new campaign launched by the Copyright Agency alongside royalties and anti-piracy group APRA AMCOS hopes to convince lawmakers that culture itself is under threat.

The campaign comes in two slightly different flavors “This Song Changed My Life” and “This Book Changed My Life.” It has many Australian celebrities uploading short videos to the campaign site in which they explain how songs and books changed their lives.

“Your choices around how you access creative content can have a real impact. Books, songs, plays, movies, art and even poems are powered by copyright. Copyright helps take our Australian voices, our unique take on life, to the world,” the campaign notes read.

“You can show your respect for creators by pledging to pay for the creations you love, asking before you use other people’s creative work, crediting creators for their work and letting others know that it’s important to you. By showing your respect in this way, you can help an author, musician or artist to keep creating amazing and powerful works for us to enjoy.”

For royalties outfit the Copyright Agency, the introduction of fair use could mean a significant reduction in revenues. Currently the agency collects between AUS$17 and AUS$30 per student per year when teachers copy and share content with their students. Under fair use, arguably that same freedom could be obtained for free.

Author and TV personality Tara Moss told News.com.au that the introduction of fair use would mean that creators have to go to court to protect their rights.

“Court battles are not something most authors can afford, and history tells us that a lot of this style of fair use benefits big companies the most, including tech companies, while smaller businesses and individuals, including writers, lose their rights to fair compensation,” she said.

Following the publication of the government’s Productivity Commission draft in April, the final report detailing all of the proposed changes to copyright law is currently with the government. It’s expected to be tabled in parliament during the first quarter of 2017.

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

64 Prozent der Nutzer haben den Eindruck, mit Fake-Profilen angelockt zu werden. Der Betreiber habe nur ein Ziel: jede kostenlose Mitgliedschaft in ein kostenpflichtiges Abo zu wandeln. (Verbraucherschutz, Studie)

Bislang ging es nur über Umwege, jetzt funktioniert die Zwei-Faktor-Authentifizierung bei Amazon auch in Deutschland offiziell. Hardwareschlüssel werden leider nicht unterstützt. (Amazon, Google)

Lenovo setzt alles auf das Moto Z. Für die Smartphone-Reihe sollen pro Jahr mindestens zwölf neue Moto Mods erscheinen. Damit soll das modulare Smartphone zum Erfolg gebracht werden. Dafür sind aber ganz andere Anstrengungen erforderlich. (Moto Mods, Smartphone)

This week we have four newcomers in our chart.

Ben Hur is the most downloaded movie for the second week in a row.

The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.

RSS feed for the weekly movie download chart.

This week’s most downloaded movies are:

Movie Rank	Rank last week	Movie name	IMDb Rating / Trailer
Most downloaded movies via torrents
1	(1)	Ben Hur	5.7 / trailer
2	(…)	Inferno (subbed HDrip)	6.4 / trailer
3	(3)	Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (TS)	7.9 / trailer
4	(2)	Pete’s Dragon	7.1 / trailer
5	(…)	The Accountant (subbed HDrip)	7.6 / trailer
6	(…)	Sully	7.7 / trailer
7	(5)	Doctor Strange (Cam/TS)	8.0 / trailer
8	(4)	Snowden	7.4 / trailer
9	(6)	Suicide Squad	6.7 / trailer
10	(…)	Storks	7.0 / trailer

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

Wer viel reist, hat in der Regel ziemlich viel Kleingeld dabei, das nichts weiter als ein Souvenir ist. Die Travelers Box soll das Problem der überschüssigen Münzen lösen. Wir haben uns das System in Tokio angeschaut. (Paypal, QR-Code)

Apple hat erstmals Details zum Grund für den notwendigen Akkutausch im iPhone 6S genannt. Der Produktionsfehler soll nur wenige Kunden betreffen. Sicherheitsgefahren gebe es dadurch nicht. (iPhone 6S, Smartphone)

Despite coming third in the recent Icelandic elections, the Pirate Party now has a chance to build a coalition and govern the country.

Iceland president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson reached out to the party after the two parties that received more votes than the Pirate Party failed in their negotiation efforts to build a working majority. 

This task, based on a new proclamation and edict handed down by the president, now falls to the Pirate Party. If they can do the unlikely and successfully negotiate with other parties to build a coalition, the Pirate Party would then be in the unexpected position of governing the country of Iceland.

The Pirate Party managed to receive 14% of the vote in recent elections, winning 10 seats in the 63 seat Icelandic parliament.

The party's success follows in the wake of recent successes, in Europe and around the world, by anti-establishment parties and candidates. Economic woes caused by the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and the failure by governments to address the cause of the problem, to go after the moneyed elite responsible for the crisis, and failing to provide assistance to those most affected, have led to a wave of anti-establishment feelings. 

Iceland's Prime Minister was also caught up in the Panama Papers scandal, which the public perceived as a further sign of how the moneyed elite brazenly skirt the law at the expense of the general public led to widespread protests and helped to cement the Pirate Party's popularity in the country.

The party's leader, Pirate captain Birgitta Jónsdóttir released a statement saying that the party is looking forward to negotiations this week.

[via The Register, The Conversation]