Month: January 2017

Petition asks Disney to scrap its “animated” princess rule for Leia

Help her, Obi-Bob Iger. You’re her only hope.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images / Jeff Spicer)

In the week following the passing of actor, writer, and mental health advocate Carrie Fisher, outpourings of grief and tribute have spread far and wide across the galaxy. For now, few have come directly from the current license holders to the Star Wars franchise, the Walt Disney Company.

A change.org petition posted by Star Wars fan Cody Christensen seeks to change that. It includes a simple request to the Walt Disney Company and its CEO, Bob Iger: declare the character of Princess Leia an official "Disney princess."

"We feel that it is only fitting for Disney to do away with the rule that an official Disney princess must be animated and make Leia a full-fledged princess," Christensen's petition reads. "This would be a wonderful way to remember Carrie and a welcoming to one of Disney's new properties that is beloved by millions."

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XPS 13 Convertible im Hands on: Dells 2-in-1 ist kompakter und kaum langsamer

Dell macht aus einem exzellenten Ultrabook ein dem ersten Eindruck nach tolles 2-in-1: Das XPS 13 Convertible nutzt Thunderbolt 3, einen sich selbst übertaktenden Kaby-Lake-Chip und trotz der kompakten Maße großen Akku. (Dell XPS 13, Notebook)

Dell macht aus einem exzellenten Ultrabook ein dem ersten Eindruck nach tolles 2-in-1: Das XPS 13 Convertible nutzt Thunderbolt 3, einen sich selbst übertaktenden Kaby-Lake-Chip und trotz der kompakten Maße großen Akku. (Dell XPS 13, Notebook)

Canonical: Arbeiten an Ubuntu-Phone vorerst pausiert

Es wird wohl bis auf weiteres weder neue Telefone mit Ubuntu-Phone noch größere Updates für die Plattform geben, bis die Arbeiten an der Oberfläche Unity 8 sowie an dem neuen Snap-Paketformat nicht weiter ausgereift sind. (Ubuntu für Phones, Ubuntu)

Es wird wohl bis auf weiteres weder neue Telefone mit Ubuntu-Phone noch größere Updates für die Plattform geben, bis die Arbeiten an der Oberfläche Unity 8 sowie an dem neuen Snap-Paketformat nicht weiter ausgereift sind. (Ubuntu für Phones, Ubuntu)

FridgeCam lets you make your dumb fridge smart with a simple camera

Why replace an entire fridge when you can stick a camera inside the one you have?

Video shot/edited by Jennifer Hahn. (video link)

LAS VEGAS—Companies love to debut as many "smart" home products as possible at CES to show that Wi-Fi in anything could make your life easier. LG is a perfect example as it just announced a new smart refrigerator (pricing info not disclosed yet) and the plan to put Wi-Fi in a number of its connected appliances. But investing in the smart home doesn't mean you have to drop thousands of dollars on a whole new fridge or oven. At CES, the London-based company Smarter announced its new FridgeCam, a small circular camera you stick on the inner door of your refrigerator to monitor the food you have.

One of the most practical uses of any smart fridge is the ability to see what food you have (and don't have) even when you're not home. FridgeCam focuses on this: every time you close the refrigerator's door, the FridgeCam snaps a photo of the contents inside. That photo is instantaneously sent to your smartphone in the Smarter app where you can pull it up when you're grocery shopping or on a whim if you want to check your food supply. The camera and app combo is smart enough to know when you finish a certain product, and it'll add that item to your shopping list automatically. In addition, the app will alert you to pick up needed items when you're out and near a grocery store. But FridgeCam is also smart enough to know when you move food around, so it won't get confused and add ketchup to your list when your current bottle is just living on a different shelf.

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Western Digital Pidrive im Test: Festplatte am Raspberry Pi leicht gemacht

Western Digital bietet mit der Festplatte für den Raspberry Pi ein angeblich anfängerfreundliches Festplattenset an. Wir wollten wissen, ob der Hersteller hier nur unbedarfte Pi-Einsteiger abzocken will, und haben es uns näher angeschaut. Dabei waren wir in mehrfacher Hinsicht positiv überrascht. (Raspberry Pi, Speichermedien)

Western Digital bietet mit der Festplatte für den Raspberry Pi ein angeblich anfängerfreundliches Festplattenset an. Wir wollten wissen, ob der Hersteller hier nur unbedarfte Pi-Einsteiger abzocken will, und haben es uns näher angeschaut. Dabei waren wir in mehrfacher Hinsicht positiv überrascht. (Raspberry Pi, Speichermedien)

Außerirdische: Erstkontakt in Elite Dangerous

Seit mehr als zwei Jahren suchen Spieler in den Weiten von Elite Dangerous nach Aliens. Nun hat ein Spieler offenbar erstmals eines der außerirdischen Raumschiffe getroffen – und den Erstkontakt im Video festgehalten. (Elite Dangerous, Playstation 4)

Seit mehr als zwei Jahren suchen Spieler in den Weiten von Elite Dangerous nach Aliens. Nun hat ein Spieler offenbar erstmals eines der außerirdischen Raumschiffe getroffen - und den Erstkontakt im Video festgehalten. (Elite Dangerous, Playstation 4)

Telekom-Vectoring: Telefónica baut ihr Festnetz ab

Die Kooperation der Telefónica bei Vectoring und VDSL mit der Deutschen Telekom führt dazu, dass immer mehr eigene Hauptverteiler des spanischen Konzerns verschwinden. Die Telefónica zahlt auch für den Vectoring-Ausbau der Telekom. (Festnetz, DSL)

Die Kooperation der Telefónica bei Vectoring und VDSL mit der Deutschen Telekom führt dazu, dass immer mehr eigene Hauptverteiler des spanischen Konzerns verschwinden. Die Telefónica zahlt auch für den Vectoring-Ausbau der Telekom. (Festnetz, DSL)

Wrongfully Accused ‘Movie Pirate’ Gets $17,000 in Compensation

The makers of the Adam Sandler movie The Cobbler learned that suing alleged torrent pirates doesn’t always pay. An Oregon District Court Judge ruled that a wrongfully accused pirate is entitled to more than $17,000 in compensation, a direct result of the filmmakers’ overaggressive tactics.

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

trollsignFor more than half a decade so-called “copyright trolling” cases have been keeping the U.S. judicial system busy.

In many cases the copyright holders end up extracting a settlement from the alleged pirates, but every now and then a defendant fights back with success.

This also happened in Oregon last summer, in a case filed by the makers of the Adam Sandler movie The Cobbler. The judge dismissed a direct infringement complaint against an alleged movie pirate from the outset, as it was clear that the defendant wasn’t the infringer.

The defendant in question, Thomas Gonzales, operates an adult foster care home where several people had access to the Internet. The filmmakers were aware of this but decided to move their case ahead nonetheless.

For this decision they now have to pay. Following an earlier recommendation from the magistrate judge, District Judge Michael Simon this week ruled that the filmmakers should pay the legal fees of the falsely accused man.

“The Court will issue a Judgment dismissing with prejudice Plaintiff’s indirect infringement claim and without prejudice Plaintiff’s direct infringement claim against Mr. Gonzales,” he writes.

In addition, the copyright holder, Cobbler Nevada, is ordered to pay Gonzales $17,222 in attorney fees as well as $255 in other expenses.

Apart from the decision being a financial success for the defendant, it also provides some great ammunition for people who end up in a similar position.

As explained in the magistrate’s recommendations, the option to shift the legal fees to the rightsholder should send a strong message to other rightsholders that dragging people to court without proper evidence is not without consequences.

“Compensating Gonzales will encourage future defendants with valid defenses to litigate those defenses, even if the litigation is expensive,” Judge Beckerman wrote.

“Conversely, and perhaps more importantly, awarding fees to Gonzales should deter Plaintiff in the future from continuing its overaggressive pursuit of alleged infringers without a reasonable factual basis,” she added.

This week’s ruling shows that falsely accused pirates shouldn’t simply cave to intimidating threats. While it is not without risk to fight these cases, it is perhaps the only way to stop the clearly abusive practices in the long run.

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

Kuchofuku Air-Conditioned Coat: Walk Down The Summer’s Road Without Sticky Shirt

I was living in the equator area, so I don’t have much experience about how the Summer feels like. However, I do know that walking on the street on a very shiny day will wet my shirt and trouser, It will be the worst case if I’ve to meet important client under such condition. Japan’s […]

I was living in the equator area, so I don’t have much experience about how the Summer feels like. However, I do know that walking on the street on a very shiny day will wet my shirt and trouser, It will be the worst case if I’ve to meet important client under such condition. Japan’s […]

Man claims Uber driver “left him in a pool of blood” after refusing trip

“Driver stomped…Plaintiff in the face and head while he was already unconscious.”

Enlarge (credit: Daniel Sorabji / Getty Images News)

A New Jersey man sued Uber on Thursday for negligence, fraud, and assault, among other accusations. In the lawsuit, Joseph Fusco claimed that he was "nearly beaten to death” after his driver refused to drive him from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to his home in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, about nine miles away.

Uber has faced legal battles previously over alleged incidents of violence perpetrated by drivers against passengers.

According to the 34-page civil complaint, on the evening of December 22, 2016, Fusco was attending a private party at a Philadelphia sports bar with his colleagues from Allied Universal and other public safety officials from the University of Pennsylvania.

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