SolarCity co-founder Peter Rive will leave Tesla, following his brother

The Rive brothers built the company, stayed through Solar Roof announcement.

Enlarge / Lyndon Rive, right, and Peter Rive, fellow co-founders of SolarCity. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images (credit: Getty Images)

Peter Rive, the co-founder and CTO of solar panel company SolarCity, will leave Tesla to focus on other projects and spend more time with his family, according to the company. His departure comes just eight months after SolarCity was purchased by Tesla for $2.6 billion in stock and two months after Tesla opened up pre-orders for the Solar Roof, which puts solar panel components in glass tiles for a more camouflaged look.

Rive was at SolarCity for 11 years prior to the company’s sale to Tesla, and it eventually became the largest solar panel maker in the US. Prior to SolarCity’s sale, it was in the process of building a solar panel “gigafactory” in Buffalo, New York, much like Tesla’s electric vehicle and battery Gigafactory in Nevada.

Lyndon Rive, Peter’s brother and the other co-founder of SolarCity, also left Tesla in May, reportedly to explore other opportunities in entrepreneurship. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the cousin of both Rives.

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Will Intel’s 8th-gen Core chips feature AMD integrated graphics? (Updated)

Will Intel’s 8th-gen Core chips feature AMD integrated graphics? (Updated)

Earlier this year we heard that Intel was licensing AMD graphics technology with plans to launch an Intel processor featuring AMD Radeon integrated graphics by the end of 2017. The report said that chip would likely be a Kaby Lake processor. But could Intel also be planning to bring AMD graphics to its upcoming 8th-gen […]

Will Intel’s 8th-gen Core chips feature AMD integrated graphics? (Updated) is a post from: Liliputing

Will Intel’s 8th-gen Core chips feature AMD integrated graphics? (Updated)

Earlier this year we heard that Intel was licensing AMD graphics technology with plans to launch an Intel processor featuring AMD Radeon integrated graphics by the end of 2017. The report said that chip would likely be a Kaby Lake processor. But could Intel also be planning to bring AMD graphics to its upcoming 8th-gen […]

Will Intel’s 8th-gen Core chips feature AMD integrated graphics? (Updated) is a post from: Liliputing

N. Korean defectors show locations of mass graves using Google Earth

NGO creates maps to guide future investigation of crimes against humanity.

Much of what happens in North Korea remains hidden from the outside world. But commercial satellite imagery and Google Earth mapping software are helping a human-rights organization take inventory of the worst offenses of the North Korean regime and identify sites for future investigation of crimes against humanity.

A new report from the South Korea-based Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG)—a non-governmental organization that tracks human-rights abuses and crimes against humanity by the world's most oppressive regimes—details how the organization's researchers used Google Earth in interviews with defectors from North Korea to identify sites associated with mass killings by the North Korean regime. Google Earth imagery was used to help witnesses to killings and mass burials orient themselves and precisely point out the locations of those events.

Entitled “Mapping Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea: Mass Graves, Killing Sites and Documentary Evidence,” the report does not include the actual locations of what the researchers deemed to be sensitive sites out of concern that the North Korean regime would move evidence from those sites. But it does provide location data of other sites with potential documentary evidence of crimes, including police stations and other government facilities that may have records of atrocities.

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Bug fixes abound in macOS Sierra 10.12.6, iOS 10.3.3, and watchOS 3.2.3 updates

Likely the final updates before macOS High Sierra and iOS 11 become available.

Enlarge

Apple released a slew of software updates today for nearly all of its systems; you can now download macOS Sierra 10.12.6, iOS 10.3.3, watchOS 3.2.3, and tvOS 10.2.2 to any of your compatible devices. The updates appear to be minor, as most of them focus on bug fixes.

MacOS Sierra 10.12.6 is the sixth update to this version of Apple's operating system, and it may very well be the last before the introduction of macOS High Sierra. As per Apple's usual refresher schedule, macOS High Sierra should be pushed out to users this fall. According to Apple's information page, macOS Sierra 10.12.6 improves the "security, stability, and compatibility" of Mac systems and tackles three main issues:

  • "Resolves an issue that prevents making certain SMB connections from the Finder."
  • "Fixes an issue that causes Xsan clients to unexpectedly restart when moving a file within a relation point on a Quantum StorNext File System."
  • "Improves the stability of Terminal app."

That's the extent of the details provided for any of these updates. Neither iOS 10.3.3 nor watchOS 3.2.3 lists any new features, but they do mention general "improvements" and "bug fixes." Similarly to macOS, the operating systems for iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches will be totally revamped when iOS 11 and watchOS 4 launch. Both of those updates are expected to come out alongside macOS High Sierra in the fall.

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Buick’s 2018 Regal GS takes aim at the Audi A5

It has a 310hp V6, clever suspension, and all-wheel drive, starting at under $40k.

Buick

MILFORD, Mich.—When Buick's invite to witness the unveiling of its new 2018 Regal GS hit our inbox, we didn't have to think long before replying in the affirmative. For one thing, despite a punishing travel schedule of late, the reveal would take place at General Motors' Milford Proving Ground.

Any chance one gets to visit one of these asphalt and concrete automotive playgrounds is an opportunity to be seized; the grounds are normally off-limits to members of the press, as they're home to numerous prototypes being tested away from public glare. For another, Buick is a rather enigmatic automaker. Not as brash or flashy as Cadillac but more refined than the blue-collared Chevrolet, it's ploughing the same ground as Mazda—a small brand with upwardly mobile aspirations.

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“Autumn Creators Update” was “mistranslation“; “Fall Creators Update” for all

It’s going to be called “Fall” even when it should be “Autumn”… or “Spring.”

Enlarge (credit: Gordon Plant)

We wrote on Monday that Microsoft was branding the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update as the "Autumn Creators Update" in countries such as the UK and India, where the season between summer and winter isn't called "fall." Microsoft was using this British English branding on its English-language sites where British English prevails over American English.

The company has informed us today that this was a "mistranslation"—yes, between English and English—and that the update will, in fact, be called the "Fall Creators Update" everywhere. The use of British English branding for British English speakers was a mistake.

Similarly, the update will retain this branding for those living in the southern hemisphere, where it isn't fall or autumn, because it's spring.

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SpaceX appears to have pulled the plug on its Red Dragon plans

Musk said his company has come up with a “far better” approach to landing on Mars.

Enlarge / SpaceX seems to no longer be planning to land its Dragon spacecraft on Mars. (credit: SpaceX)

In recent weeks, there have been rumors that SpaceX is no longer planning to send an uncrewed version of its Dragon spacecraft to Mars in 2020, or later. Now those rumors about the Red Dragon concept have been largely confirmed.

The company had planned to use the propulsive landing capabilities on the Dragon 2 spacecraft—originally developed for the commercial crew variant to land on Earth—for Mars landings in 2018 or 2020. Previously, it had signed an agreement with NASA to use some of its expertise for such a mission and access its deep-space communications network.

On Tuesday, however, during a House science subcommittee hearing concerning future NASA planetary science missions, Florida Representative Bill Posey asked what the agency was doing to support privately developed planetary science programs. Jim Green, who directs NASA's planetary science division, mentioned several plans about the Moon and asteroids, but he conspicuously did not mention Red Dragon.

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How to uninstall any app from an Amazon Fire (or Fire HD) tablet, no root required

How to uninstall any app from an Amazon Fire (or Fire HD) tablet, no root required

Want to remove an app you’ve installed on a recent Amazon Fire or Fire HD tablet? All you need to do is long-press the app icon on your home screen, then tap the “uninstall option” that appears at the top of the screen after you release your finger. But what about apps that come pre-installed […]

How to uninstall any app from an Amazon Fire (or Fire HD) tablet, no root required is a post from: Liliputing

How to uninstall any app from an Amazon Fire (or Fire HD) tablet, no root required

Want to remove an app you’ve installed on a recent Amazon Fire or Fire HD tablet? All you need to do is long-press the app icon on your home screen, then tap the “uninstall option” that appears at the top of the screen after you release your finger. But what about apps that come pre-installed […]

How to uninstall any app from an Amazon Fire (or Fire HD) tablet, no root required is a post from: Liliputing

Dealmaster: Get a Dell XPS tower PC with a Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM for $715

Plus deals on laptops, TVs, routers, dash cams, and more.

Greetings, Arsians! Courtesy of our friends at TechBargains, we're back to share a bunch of new deals. Of note are two high-end PCs—now you can get a Dell XPS 8920 tower desktop with a Core i7 processor and 16GB of Optane memory for $714.99. You can also get an HP Omen gaming laptop with a 4K display, Core i7 CPU, GTX 1070 GPU, and a 512GB SSD for just $1,349.99. Both are powerful systems that let you work and play as hard as you want, whenever you want.

Check out the full list of links below.

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

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Game of Thrones Pirates Being Monitored By HBO, Warnings On The Way

HBO is doing its best to keep Game of Thrones piracy under control. The company is monitoring various popular torrent swarms and sending thousands of warnings targeted at Internet subscribers whose connections are used to share the season 7 premiere of the popular TV series.

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

Earlier this week, HBO released the long-awaited seventh season of the hit series Game of Thrones.

The show has broken several piracy records over the years and, thus far, there has been plenty of interest in the latest season.

This hasn’t gone unnoticed by HBO. Soon after the first episode of the new season appeared online Sunday evening, the company’s anti-piracy partner IP Echelon started sending warnings targeted at torrenting pirates.

The warnings in question include the IP-addresses of alleged BitTorrent users and ask the associated ISPs to alert their subscribers, in order to prevent further infringements.

“We have information leading us to believe that the IP address xx.xxx.xxx.xx was used to download or share Game of Thrones without authorization,” the notification begins.

“HBO owns the copyright or exclusive rights to Game of Thrones, and the unauthorized download or distribution constitutes copyright infringement. Downloading unauthorized or unknown content is also a security risk for computers, devices, and networks.”

Under US copyright law, ISPs are not obligated to forward these emails, which are sent as a DMCA notification. However, many do as a courtesy to the affected rightsholders.

Redacted infringement details from one of the notices

The warnings are not targeted at a single swarm but cover a wide variety of torrents. TorrentFreak has already seen takedown notices for the following files, but it’s likely that many more are being tracked.

  • Game.of.Thrones.S07E01.720p.WEB.h264-TBS[eztv].mkv
  • Game.of.Thrones.S07E01.HDTV.x264-SVA[rarbg]
  • Game.of.Thrones.S07E01.WEB.h264-TBS[ettv]
  • Game.of.Thrones.S07E01.HDTV.x264-SVA[eztv].mkv
  • Game.of.Thrones.S07E01.720p.HDTV.x264-AVS[eztv].mkv

This isn’t the first time that Game of Thrones pirates have received these kinds of warnings. Similar notices were sent out last year for pirated episodes of the sixth season, and it’s now clear that HBO is not backing down.

Although HBO stresses that copyright infringement is against the law, there are no legal strings attached for the subscribers in question. The company doesn’t know the identity of the alleged pirates, and would need to go to court to find out. This has never happened before.

Filing lawsuits against Game of Thrones fans is probably not high on HBO’s list, but the company hopes that affected subscribers will think twice before downloading future episodes after they are warned.

The DMCA notice asks ISPs to inform subscribers about the various legal alternatives that are available, to give them a push in the right direction.

“We also encourage you to inform the subscriber that HBO programming can easily be watched and streamed on many devices legally by adding HBO to the subscriber’s television package,” the notice reads.

While this type of message may have an effect on some, they only cover a small fraction of the piracy landscape. Millions of people are using pirate streaming tools and websites to watch Game of Thrones, and these views can’t be monitored.

In addition, the fact that many broadcasters worldwide suffered technical issues and outages when Game of Thrones premiered doesn’t help either. The legal options should be superior to the pirated offerings, not the other way around.

A redacted copy of one of the notices is available below.

Dear xxx Communications,

This message is sent on behalf of HOME BOX OFFICE, INC.

We have information leading us to believe that the IP address xx.xxx.xxx.xxx was used to download or share Game of Thrones without authorization (additional details are listed below). HBO owns the copyright or exclusive rights to Game of Thrones, and the unauthorized download or distribution constitutes copyright infringement. Downloading unauthorized or unknown content is also a security risk for computers, devices, and networks.

As the owner of the IP address, HBO requests that xxx Communications immediately contact the subscriber who was assigned the IP address at the date and time below with the details of this notice, and take the proper steps to prevent further downloading or sharing of unauthorized content and additional infringement notices.

We also encourage you to inform the subscriber that HBO programming can easily be watched and streamed on many devices legally by adding HBO to the subscriber’s television package.

We have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted material detailed below is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law. The information in this notice is accurate and we state, under penalty of perjury, that we are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. This letter is not a complete statement of HBO’s rights in connection with this matter, and nothing contained herein constitutes an express or implied wavier of any rights or remedies of HBO in connection with this matter, all of which are expressly reserved.

We appreciate your assistance and thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Your prompt response is requested. Any further enquiries can be directed to xx@copyright.ip-echelon.com. Please include this message with your enquiry to ensure a quick response.

Respectfully,

Adrian Leatherland
CEO
IP-Echelon

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