RIP Cyanogen OS: Company to shut down services, end nightly builds by Dec 31st

RIP Cyanogen OS: Company to shut down services, end nightly builds by Dec 31st

Don’t like the version of Android that comes on your phone or tablet? In many cases you can replace it with a custom ROM, which is typically a modified version of Android built by volunteers.

For years, the developers of CyanogenMod have offered a popular, open-source, community-developed version of Android for dozens of phones, tablets, and other devices.

In 2013 some of the core developers announced they’d raised money to form a company in an effort to build a commercial version of CyanogenMod and work with phone makers to pre-load the software on devices so that you don’t need to do it yourself.

Continue reading RIP Cyanogen OS: Company to shut down services, end nightly builds by Dec 31st at Liliputing.

RIP Cyanogen OS: Company to shut down services, end nightly builds by Dec 31st

Don’t like the version of Android that comes on your phone or tablet? In many cases you can replace it with a custom ROM, which is typically a modified version of Android built by volunteers.

For years, the developers of CyanogenMod have offered a popular, open-source, community-developed version of Android for dozens of phones, tablets, and other devices.

In 2013 some of the core developers announced they’d raised money to form a company in an effort to build a commercial version of CyanogenMod and work with phone makers to pre-load the software on devices so that you don’t need to do it yourself.

Continue reading RIP Cyanogen OS: Company to shut down services, end nightly builds by Dec 31st at Liliputing.

Windows-API: Wine 2.0 nähert sich der Fertigstellung

Für die Ruhephase zwischen den Jahren haben die Entwickler von Wine den dritten Release Candidate für Wine 2.0 veröffentlicht, der zum Testen einlädt, um die letzten wichtigen Fehler zu entdecken. (Wine, API)

Für die Ruhephase zwischen den Jahren haben die Entwickler von Wine den dritten Release Candidate für Wine 2.0 veröffentlicht, der zum Testen einlädt, um die letzten wichtigen Fehler zu entdecken. (Wine, API)

The most popular stories of 2016

Our top 10 features and top 10 news stories by pageviews.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)

What a year 2016 was. There was a US presidential election with an unexpected result, a UK referendum on leaving the European Union with an unexpected result, a constitutional referendum in Italy with an unexpected result... you get the picture. One thing that wasn't out of the ordinary was a year of outstanding stories from the writers at Ars Technica.

2016 saw record traffic for Ars, both in pages served and unique visitors. People not only want to read our takes on the shiniest, newest gadgets; they stop by Ars to learn not only what's going on but why it's important.

As we prepare to put 2016 in our collective rearview mirror, we thought you'd like a look at our top 10 multipage features and single-page news stories from 2016.

Read 39 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Junk food cravings are triggered by the mere thought of being low class

Link between socioeconomic and poor nutrition may partly be in the mind.

Enlarge (credit: Getty | Cate Gillon)

It’s well established that people with low economic status are the hardest hit by the current obesity pandemic, as well as related health problems such as diabetes. Poor healthcare, stress, unhealthy lifestyles, and a cornucopia of cheap junk food are all thought to play a role. But a new study suggests there’s a subconscious component, too.

When researchers merely prompted study volunteers to consider themselves low-class, they were more likely to prefer, choose, and eat larger amounts of food, as well as higher-calorie foods. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, echo what’s been seen in a variety of animals—from birds and rodents to nonhuman primates. Thus, the authors speculate that the mental glitch may be an evolutionary holdover intended to boost survival by compensating for a lack of social and material resources.

More important for humans, the findings suggest that we may not be able to tackle obesity by just improving access to healthier foods and promoting exercise.

Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Firefox und Alt-Windows: XP- und Vista-Nutzer müssen die Browservariante wechseln

Die regulären Firefox-Releases, die nach dem Prinzip der agilen Software-Entwicklung veröffentlicht werden, werden bald nicht mehr Windows XP und Windows Vista unterstützen. Mozilla kündigt den Wechsel für Alt-Systeme auf die Administrator-freundlichen Releases an. (Windows XP, Firefox)

Die regulären Firefox-Releases, die nach dem Prinzip der agilen Software-Entwicklung veröffentlicht werden, werden bald nicht mehr Windows XP und Windows Vista unterstützen. Mozilla kündigt den Wechsel für Alt-Systeme auf die Administrator-freundlichen Releases an. (Windows XP, Firefox)

App Transport Security: Apple verlängert Frist für sichere App-Kommunikation

Mit iOS 9 und OS X 10.11 hat Apple bereits ein festgelegten Weg für die sichere Kommunikation eingeführt. Dieser sollte eigentlich zum Jahreswechsel Pflicht werden. Apple verschiebt die Frist aber, da die Entwickler App Transport Security kaum umsetzen, trotz vieler Ausnahmen im System. (Security, Apple)

Mit iOS 9 und OS X 10.11 hat Apple bereits ein festgelegten Weg für die sichere Kommunikation eingeführt. Dieser sollte eigentlich zum Jahreswechsel Pflicht werden. Apple verschiebt die Frist aber, da die Entwickler App Transport Security kaum umsetzen, trotz vieler Ausnahmen im System. (Security, Apple)

Die besten Artikel 2016: Dirty Harry und die Tests des Jahres

Ein Betrüger und jede Menge spannende Geräte haben unsere Leser in diesem Jahr besonders interessiert. Wir stellen die Top Ten unserer meistgelesenen und meistdiskutierten Artikel und meistgeschauten Videos vor und geben Lesetipps für die Feiertage. Für jeden ist etwas dabei! (Golem.de, Internet)

Ein Betrüger und jede Menge spannende Geräte haben unsere Leser in diesem Jahr besonders interessiert. Wir stellen die Top Ten unserer meistgelesenen und meistdiskutierten Artikel und meistgeschauten Videos vor und geben Lesetipps für die Feiertage. Für jeden ist etwas dabei! (Golem.de, Internet)

Cloud Imperium Games: Engine-Wechsel bei Star Citizen

Star Citizen und Squadron 42 basieren auf der Cryengine von Crytek: Das ist so nicht mehr ganz richtig. Offiziell verwendet das Weltraumspiel von Cloud Imperium Games nun die Lumberyard Engine von Amazon, die allerdings selbst wiederum ein Derivat der …

Star Citizen und Squadron 42 basieren auf der Cryengine von Crytek: Das ist so nicht mehr ganz richtig. Offiziell verwendet das Weltraumspiel von Cloud Imperium Games nun die Lumberyard Engine von Amazon, die allerdings selbst wiederum ein Derivat der Cryengine ist. (Star Citizen, Amazon)

China Shuts Down 290 Websites in Piracy Crackdown

China says that a campaign running since the summer has resulted in the closure of 290 copyright-infringing websites. Fines have also been handed down over the illegal downloading of movies and games with 33 cases ending up in court. Meanwhile, the United States has called out China over other ‘pirate’ venues that remain open.

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

piratekayOn July 12, China’s State Copyright Administration and four other departments launched “Jian Wang 2016”, a program designed to crack down on Internet-based intellectual property infringement.

According to the government, JW2016 targeted the “unauthorized illegal spread” of film and television works, news and other digital literature in order to protect the rights and interests of rightsholders. The program also aimed to further regulate online music and cloud storage services.

The cloud storage impact was felt immediately, with many providers choosing to “voluntarily” close down in the face of government allegations of illegal activity. In October, one of the largest, Qihoo 360, said it would cease offering accounts to private citizens due to the service being used to spread pirated content and other “illegal information” which inflicted “huge harm on society”.

In a statement on the closure, the government said that Qihoo 360 will wipe all user data by February 2017, a move which reflects how much importance the “360 group of companies’ attach to the protection of copyright works.”

This week, China’s National Copyright Administration announced new successes achieved by JW2016 during a five-month period. According to the department, the authorities handled 514 cases of online copyright infringement between July and November. Fines equal to almost $467,000 were handed down.

Others received a harsher treatment. According to the government, a total of 290 websites said to have engaged in Internet piracy were shut down. None of the sites said to have been closed are named in China’s official announcement.

“The State Copyright Administration has also supervised four batches of a total of 31 cases of copyright infringement, granting subsidies to local cases of more than 1.5 million yuan ($216,000),” the Administration said.

“At home and abroad, Jian Wang 2016 has had a very good effect. The initial results of copyright management on the Internet has greatly improved the environment for copyright and laid good foundations for further action.”

While China says it’s making progress on the copyright enforcement front, that hasn’t stopped it from being criticized by the United States.

In this week’s “Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets”, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) mentioned China in connection with a number of sites offering either pirate or counterfeit content, including the little-known-in-the-West ‘Beevideo’.

“BeeVideo is an application that facilitates the viewing of allegedly infringing movies and television shows on smart TVs through set-top boxes, and on mobile devices,” the USTR said.

“The app is available through the BeeVideo.tv website portal. BeeVideo has been downloaded more than 12 million times and once downloaded allegedly provides unlimited unauthorized access to infringing content. The developer and operator of BeeVideo is allegedly based in China.”

The USTR also called out China over Nanjing Imperiosus, a company that allegedly provides domain name registration services to around 2,300 illegal pharmacies. In a comment Thursday, the EFF said that while there may be issues with the sites themselves, domain registrars don’t host any content.

“It’s true that domain names can sometimes point to content deemed unlawful, but so too, ironically, does the Notorious Markets List—as well as this blog post, for that matter,” the EFF said.

“Enforcing content laws against intermediaries who merely point to unlawful information is a never-ending and misdirected quest, in which freedom of expression is an inevitable casualty.”

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