December 2016 – Page 13 – news.buyenne.com

Vaporware: Verspätungen von Star Citizen bis Zelda

Der ewige Vaporware-König Duke Nukem Forever ist zwar kaum noch zu schlagen, aber Jahrgang 2016 der berühmten, “längst überfällig”-Liste von Wired enthält einige andere prominente Namen – und beim Spitzenreiter immerhin bis zu acht Jahre Verspätung. (Star Citizen, Nintendo)

Der ewige Vaporware-König Duke Nukem Forever ist zwar kaum noch zu schlagen, aber Jahrgang 2016 der berühmten, "längst überfällig"-Liste von Wired enthält einige andere prominente Namen - und beim Spitzenreiter immerhin bis zu acht Jahre Verspätung. (Star Citizen, Nintendo)

New Tool Downloads Any Netflix Video Instantly

There’s a new tool on the market that offers something many people have been desperately looking for. With ‘Free Netflix Downloader’ people can download videos from Netflix instantly, on Windows at least. The first of its kind tool appears to work surprisingly well, despite the lack of high definition video quality.

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

A few weeks ago Netflix announced that it would allow users to download a small selection of videos for offline use, on mobile devices.

While this is a great step forward, there’s also a large group of users who would like to do the same with other videos on other operating systems.

Free Netflix Downloader is application that offers exactly this. Developed by DVDVideoSoft, it is the first Windows application that allows people to download Netflix videos to their computers through an easy-to-use interface.

After logging in to Netflix, users simply enter the video URL and Free Netflix Downloader (FND) then downloads any video in a few minutes. The tool also offers the option to convert the output files to AVI, MP3, or a version optimized for iPhone and iPad.

“This is the ONLY app in the world that can do this trick now!” DVDVideoSoft’s Marina informs TF.

The software supports multiple downloads at the same time and according to the developer, it is ideal for people who have slow Internet connections, among other things.

“[It is intended for] users with slow Internet connections, for those who like to store everything on their computer, for those who don’t have smart TVs; it’s also great for downloading a whole series season at a time,” Marina says.

Free Netflix Downloader in action

netflix-downloader

While Free Netflix Downloader works as advertised, there is also a major drawback. The video quality appears to be rather low and certainly not what people are used to when watching Netflix.

The developers don’t go into detail on this issue but say higher quality video may follow later. However, it’s likely that Netflix’s higher resolution video is better protected, which makes it much harder to rip.

Finally, it should be stressed that people who use the tool might violate Netflix’s Terms of Service, which forbids users to archive or download content without permission. This is also the main reason why Netflix and rightsholders are probably not too fond of the service.

For now, Free Netflix Downloader’s developers don’t anticipate any pushback from Netflix. However, they realize that this could change if their software becomes very popular in the future.

“Maybe if the program becomes very popular,” Marina says, but she also notes that Netflix just created its own downloader feature for mobile users.

For now, however, the tool is still freely available. More information on Free Netflix Downloader and its capabilities is available at DVDVideoSoft’s official site. As always, those who are interested should proceed at their own risk.

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

FTTH: Wer in Deutschland in aller Stille Glasfaser ausbaut

Was Telekom, Vodafone und Mnet im Bereich Glasfaser bis zum Endnutzer und Vectoring machen, ist nicht alles: Kleine Betreiber sind hier aktiv, werden aber wenig beachtet. Golem.de hat zusammengetragen, wer sonst noch Glasfaser ausbaut und was 2017 pass…

Südkorea: Qualcomm soll erneut Milliardenstrafe zahlen

Qualcomm soll nach einer Beschwerde von Samsung eine Strafe in Höhe von 854 Millionen US-Dollar wegen seiner Lizenzgebühren zahlen. Die Behörde entscheide im Interesse von Samsung, sagte der Qualcomm-Chefjustiziar. (Qualcomm, Smartphone)

Dieselgate: VW-Hacker fordert externe Kontrolle von Autosoftware

In mühsamer Kleinarbeit hat Felix Domke die illegale Steuerungssoftware von Dieselmotoren analysiert. Die Hersteller sollten aber von sich aus den Code herausrücken. Erst recht, wenn es um autonome Autos gehe. (Auto, VW)

Diving into the unthinkable cold truths of a nuclear war

“Our national security has been based on the perception that nuclear war is unhealthy.”

Last Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump issued a few statements (guess where) about America's military, with this statement as a kicker: "The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its sense regarding nukes." Though much remains to be seen about how Trump's tweets will actually translate into policy, it seems likely that nuclear war will be back on the table. Are we going to roll back decades of policy and technology to return to the Atomic Age?

Despite Trump's assertion, the world has come to its senses about nukes (and not just in Hollywood). Political consensus over issues like denuclearization has been fairly stable since the 1980s, thanks in part to scientific researchers showing what would happen to a world ravaged by nuclear bombs. One such study was The Medical Implications of Nuclear War, published by Fred Solomon and Robert Q. Marston in 1986. This rigorous and grim estimate of nuclear war's effects on our planet is written in a bleak manner for good reason: to scare us straight.

"Our national security for the past 40 years has been based on the perception that nuclear war would be unhealthy," the study begins. "Understanding what the health consequences of a nuclear war would be, as best we can know them, is very important for informed opinions and actions by citizens and by government."

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Nintendo Switch game console hits the FCC ahead of 2017 launch

Nintendo’s Switch game console is expected to ship in March, but after releasing a promotional video in October, the company plans to start showing off the Switch to the public in January.

The Switch is a multi-purpose gaming device that can be used either as a portable tablet or as a living room console that connects to your TV, thus the “switch” name.

Recently a device that appears to be a Nintendo Switch game controller showed up at the FCC website.

Continue reading Nintendo Switch game console hits the FCC ahead of 2017 launch at Liliputing.

Nintendo’s Switch game console is expected to ship in March, but after releasing a promotional video in October, the company plans to start showing off the Switch to the public in January.

The Switch is a multi-purpose gaming device that can be used either as a portable tablet or as a living room console that connects to your TV, thus the “switch” name.

Recently a device that appears to be a Nintendo Switch game controller showed up at the FCC website.

Continue reading Nintendo Switch game console hits the FCC ahead of 2017 launch at Liliputing.

Panasonic will spend $256 million on Tesla solar panel factory in Buffalo, NY

After Tesla bought SolarCity, proposed deal with Panasonic is a go.

A Tesla solar roof. (credit: Tesla)

On Tuesday Tesla announced that it had struck a deal with Panasonic to produce photovoltaic cells at the new Buffalo, New York, solar panel factory scheduled to go online in 2017. The factory’s construction was started by SolarCity, which was purchased by Tesla in November in a $2.6 billion all-stock deal.

Tesla had teased the announcement in October, but the electric vehicle and stationary battery maker noted that the deal would fall through unless investors approved the SolarCity purchase.

Reuters now reports that Panasonic is investing $256 million in the factory. In a blog post, Tesla wrote that “Panasonic will cover required capital costs in Buffalo and Tesla is making a long-term purchase commitment from Panasonic.” The deal is similar to the partnership between Tesla and Panasonic at the Gigafactory, a $5 billion battery factory outside of Sparks, Nevada, that has been ramping up production throughout the year.

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Lawsuit dropped: Jawbone can sell devices in the US (if it can sell devices at all)

Several other lawsuits still divide the two wearable companies.

Rival fitness companies Fitbit and Jawbone have been fighting over a few lawsuits for the past couple of years, but Fitbit recently put one to rest. Just before the Christmas holiday, Fitbit dropped a case it filed with the US International Trade Commission claiming Jawbone had violated one of Fitbit's patents. The trial for this case had been set for March 2017, and if Fitbit had won, it would have prevented Jawbone from importing its devices into the US.

In a report from The Wall Street Journal, Fitbit states: "Jawbone appears to be a different company. SEC filings of one of its biggest investors now value Jawbone shares as worth nothing, as well as indicate that Jawbone has filed for bankruptcy or is in default."

There are no reports of Jawbone being in default, nor has the company filed for bankruptcy. Jawbone gave a statement to Recode which states: "By dismissing this action, Fitbit is no longer seeking to block importation of Jawbone devices, including Jawbone products in development. Jawbone believes this case—involving patents already found once to be invalid—should have been dismissed long ago by Fitbit."

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Fintech: Das geschwätzige API von N26

Banking mit dem Smartphone klingt innovativ und bequem. Doch immer wieder gibt es Sicherheitsprobleme – jetzt hat es N26 getroffen. Das API des Unternehmens war überaus geschwätzig. (Number26, Spam)

Banking mit dem Smartphone klingt innovativ und bequem. Doch immer wieder gibt es Sicherheitsprobleme - jetzt hat es N26 getroffen. Das API des Unternehmens war überaus geschwätzig. (Number26, Spam)