Apple: Macbook (Pro) nutzt Kaby Lake und flottere SSD

Die Macbook-Pro-Familie erhält aktuelle Prozessoren sowie schnelleren Flash-Speicher und die 15-Zoll-Variante eine flottere, dedizierte Grafik. Die 12-Zoll-Macbooks bekommen ähnliche Verbesserungen und selbst die Macbook Air hat Apple nicht vergessen, hier ändert sich aber kaum etwas. (Macbook, Apple)

Die Macbook-Pro-Familie erhält aktuelle Prozessoren sowie schnelleren Flash-Speicher und die 15-Zoll-Variante eine flottere, dedizierte Grafik. Die 12-Zoll-Macbooks bekommen ähnliche Verbesserungen und selbst die Macbook Air hat Apple nicht vergessen, hier ändert sich aber kaum etwas. (Macbook, Apple)

Xbox Unleashed: Our deep-dive study of how millions use Xbox Live

Our follow-up to the Steam Gauge series samples statistics from millions of Gamertags.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich)

For three years now, Ars’ Steam Gauge project and the public sampling projects it has inspired (such as Steam Spy) have provided an important behind-the-scenes look at what kinds of games are popular on PC gaming’s most popular marketplace. Today, after years of work, we’re ready to unveil a new effort that similarly uncovers what’s popular among Xbox Live users on the Xbox One and Xbox 360.

As we introduce you to our data and our methodology, you probably won’t be surprised to see the enduring popularity of franchises like Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and Halo on Microsoft’s platforms. You might be more surprised by just how often the average Xbox console is used as nothing more than a streaming video box, or by how a relative handful of games dominate the total play time spent on both consoles, or by the specific, branded Xbox 360 adver-game that still sees relatively significant play years after its release.

We’re just beginning to play with all the data about Xbox Live users we now have at our disposal. But first, a little about where that data comes from.

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Android-Verbreitung: Marshmallow ist erstmals die stärkste Plattform

Der Anteil an Geräten mit Nougat erhöht sich weiter. Durch einen starken Verlust bei den Lollipop-Anteilen ist Marshmallow erstmals die Version mit der stärksten Android-Verbreitung. (Android, Google)

Der Anteil an Geräten mit Nougat erhöht sich weiter. Durch einen starken Verlust bei den Lollipop-Anteilen ist Marshmallow erstmals die Version mit der stärksten Android-Verbreitung. (Android, Google)

Geplante Obsoleszenz: Reparatur von Elektronik wird verhindert

Hersteller sollten laut Verbraucherschützern Ersatzteile und Reparaturanleitungen zur Verfügung stellen müssen, um geplante Obsoleszenz zu verhindern. Elektronik könnte dann erheblich länger halten. (Elektronikschrott, Verbraucherschutz)

Hersteller sollten laut Verbraucherschützern Ersatzteile und Reparaturanleitungen zur Verfügung stellen müssen, um geplante Obsoleszenz zu verhindern. Elektronik könnte dann erheblich länger halten. (Elektronikschrott, Verbraucherschutz)

Fender Mustang GT-40 im Test: Golem rockt

Fender hat seine ersten Gitarrenverstärker mit Internetzugang und App-Anbindung vorgestellt: Klang und Bedienung des GT-40 überzeugt, die Smartphone-App lässt aber besonders unter Android noch stark zu wünschen übrig. Ein Test von Tobias Költzsch (IoT, Internet)

Fender hat seine ersten Gitarrenverstärker mit Internetzugang und App-Anbindung vorgestellt: Klang und Bedienung des GT-40 überzeugt, die Smartphone-App lässt aber besonders unter Android noch stark zu wünschen übrig. Ein Test von Tobias Költzsch (IoT, Internet)

Hyperloop Global Challenge: Hyperloop One stellt Trassenkonzepte für Europa vor

Ein Kreisverkehr durch Deutschland oder die Niederlande, mehrere Vorschläge für Großbritannien – das US-Unternehmen Hyperloop One hat neun Entwürfe für Hyperloop-Trassen in Europa vorgestellt. Sie treten in einem Wettbewerb an gegen Konzepte von anderen Kontinenten. (Hyperloop, Technologie)

Ein Kreisverkehr durch Deutschland oder die Niederlande, mehrere Vorschläge für Großbritannien - das US-Unternehmen Hyperloop One hat neun Entwürfe für Hyperloop-Trassen in Europa vorgestellt. Sie treten in einem Wettbewerb an gegen Konzepte von anderen Kontinenten. (Hyperloop, Technologie)

MPAA Chief Praises Site-Blocking But Italians Love Piracy – and the Quality

Outgoing MPAA chief Chris Dodd praised European site-blocking efforts Monday but slammed unauthorized content sites that “steal sensitive data and make profit any way they can.” Speaking in Italy, Dodd called for the education of youngsters against piracy but that could be tough. Italians carry out 669 million acts of piracy every year and they’re happy with the quality of pirate copies.

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

After holding a reputation for being soft on piracy for many years, in more recent times Italy has taken a much tougher stance. The country now takes regular action against pirate sites and has a fairly aggressive site-blocking mechanism.

On Monday, the industry gathered in Rome and was presented with new data from local anti-piracy outfit FAPAV. The research revealed that while there has been some improvement over the past six years, 39% of Italians are still consuming illicit movies, TV shows, sporting events and other entertainment, at the rate of 669m acts of piracy every year.

While movie piracy is down 4% from 2010, the content most often consumed by pirates is still films, with 33% of the adult population engaging in illicit consumption during the past year.

The downward trend was not shared by TV shows, however. In the past seven years, piracy has risen to 22% of the population, up 13% on figures from 2010.

In keeping with the MPAA’s recent coding of piracy in 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 variants (P2P as 1.0, streaming websites as 2.0, streaming devices/Kodi as 3.0), FAPAV said that Piracy 2.0 had become even more established recently, with site operators making considerable technological progress.

“The research tells us we can not lower our guard, we always have to work harder and with greater determination in communication and awareness, especially with regard to digital natives,” said FAPAV Secretary General, Bagnoli Rossi.

The FAPAV chief said that there needs to be emphasis in two areas. One, changing perceptions among the public over the seriousness of piracy via education and two, placing pressure on websites using the police, judiciary, and other law enforcement agencies.

“The pillars of anti-piracy protection are: the judicial authority, self-regulatory agreements, communication and educational activities,” said Rossi, adding that cooperation with Italy’s AGCOM had resulted in 94 sites being blocked over three years.

FAPAV research has traditionally focused on people aged 15 and up but the anti-piracy group believes that placing more emphasis on younger people (aged 10-14) is important since they also consume a lot of pirated content online. MPAA chief Chris Dodd, who was at the event, agreed with the sentiment.

“Today’s youth are the future of the audiovisual industry. Young people must learn to respect the people who work in film and television that in 96% of cases never appear [in front of camera] but still work behind the scenes,” Dodd said.

“It is important to educate and direct them towards legal consumption, which creates jobs and encourages investment. Technology has expanded options to consume content legally and at any time and place, but at the same time has given attackers the opportunity to develop illegal businesses.”

Despite large-scale site-blocking not being a reality in the United States, Dodd was also keen to praise Italy for its efforts while acknowledging the wider blocking regimes in place across the EU.

“We must not only act by blocking pirate sites (we have closed a little less than a thousand in Europe) but also focus on legal offers. Today there are 480 legal online distribution services worldwide. We must have more,” Dodd said.

The outgoing MPAA chief reiterated that movies, music, games and a wide range of entertainment products are all available online legally now. Nevertheless, piracy remains a “growing phenomenon” that has criminals at its core.

“Piracy is composed of criminal organizations, ready to steal sensitive data and to make illegal profits any way they can. It’s a business that harms the entire audiovisual market, which in Europe alone has a million working professionals. To promote the culture of legality means protecting this market and its collective heritage,” Dodd said.

In Italy, convincing pirates to go legal might be more easily said than done. Not only do millions download video every year, but the majority of pirates are happy with the quality too. 89% said they were pleased with the quality of downloaded movies while the satisfaction with TV shows was even greater with 91% indicating approval.

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

Palmer Luckey: Oculus-Miterfinder arbeitet an Grenzüberwachungstechnologie

Er hat den Habitus eines Hippies, arbeitet nun aber an Grenzüberwachungs- und Militärtechnologie: Der Oculus-Gründer Palmer Luckey will laut einem Medienbericht künftig helfen, die US-Grenze zu schützen. (Palmer Luckey, Soziales Netz)

Er hat den Habitus eines Hippies, arbeitet nun aber an Grenzüberwachungs- und Militärtechnologie: Der Oculus-Gründer Palmer Luckey will laut einem Medienbericht künftig helfen, die US-Grenze zu schützen. (Palmer Luckey, Soziales Netz)

Blau: Verbesserten Prepaid-Tarif gibt es mit Gratis-EU-Roaming

Blau hat einen seiner Prepaid-Mobilfunktarife überarbeitet. Neu- und Bestandskunden erhalten mehr ungedrosseltes Datenvolumen. Außerdem können die Inklusivleistungen aller Prepaid-Tarife ohne weitere Kosten im EU-Ausland verwendet werden. (Blau.de, Telefónica)

Blau hat einen seiner Prepaid-Mobilfunktarife überarbeitet. Neu- und Bestandskunden erhalten mehr ungedrosseltes Datenvolumen. Außerdem können die Inklusivleistungen aller Prepaid-Tarife ohne weitere Kosten im EU-Ausland verwendet werden. (Blau.de, Telefónica)

HP grows Omen line with new gaming laptops, VR backpack PC, and more

Are you ready for a compact desktop that doubles as a wearable VR machine?

Enlarge (credit: Hewlett-Packard)

HP is stepping up its Omen gaming line ahead of E3 next week with a slew of updates and additions. The company left no stone unturned this year, updating its 15- and 17-inch Omen laptops, introducing a new Omen desktop and updated peripherals, and debuting a new GPU accelerator and a ready-to-go model of its prototype VR backpack PC. All the new devices have a consistent aesthetic that isn't just eye-catching, but also practical for gamers, and the devices that are upgrades have tried to fix the pain-points of previous models.

Updating Omen for 2017

HP's first 15-inch Omen laptop debuted in 2014, and, over time, customers have told the company what they want. For this particular upgrade, HP users told the company they wanted more ports, expansion options, and VR capabilities. The new 15-inch and 17-inch Omen laptops do what they can to address these issues. Both of them have been slightly redesigned with an edgier look and an expanded keyboard to include full-sized arrow keys, and both have a single-access bottom panel that lifts off the underside of the chassis. This gives users access to the HDD, SSD, and RAM so they can expand and upgrade as they please; the 17-inch has an optical drive option as well. The new laptops have a number of storage options from the start, including PCIe SSD, HDD plus SSD, and HDD, and the 15-inch model supports up to 16GB of RAM, while the 17-inch model supports up to 32GB of RAM.

Both models also have larger fans inside, allowing for better airflow throughout the chassis so the device can perform more efficiently. The laptops are also getting a GPU bump, with the 15-inch model supporting up to a Nvidia GTX 960 or an AMD RX500 GPU, and the 17-inch model supporting up to a Nvidia GTX 1070 or an AMD RX580 GPU. They'll both have the latest Intel processors, but there are no Ryzen CPUs included in the model options. HP didn't rule out the inclusion of Ryzen CPUs in the future, but if you want one immediately, you won't find it in the Omen notebooks.

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