Month: September 2017

Android-Projektor: Sony bringt Xperia Touch nach Deutschland

Nach langer Wartezeit ist Sonys Android-Projektor Xperia Touch in Deutschland verfügbar. Am hohen Preis für das interessante Gerätekonzept hat sich nichts geändert. (Sony Xperia, Sony)

Nach langer Wartezeit ist Sonys Android-Projektor Xperia Touch in Deutschland verfügbar. Am hohen Preis für das interessante Gerätekonzept hat sich nichts geändert. (Sony Xperia, Sony)

EU Prepares Guidelines to Force Google & Facebook to Police Piracy

Companies including Google and Facebook could face tougher legislation if they don’t act proactively to remove illegal content from their platforms. That’s according to draft EU guidelines due to be published at the end of the month, which will require service providers to “significantly step up their actions” to address the problem.

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

In the current climate, creators and distributors are forced to play a giant game of whac-a-mole to limit the unlicensed spread of their content on the Internet.

The way the law stands today in the United States, EU, and most other developed countries, copyright holders must wait for content to appear online before sending targeted takedown notices to hosts, service providers, and online platforms.

After sending several billion of these notices, patience is wearing thin, so a new plan is beginning to emerge. Rather than taking down content after it appears, major entertainment industry groups would prefer companies to take proactive action. The upload filters currently under discussion in Europe are a prime example but are already causing controversy.

Continuing the momentum in this direction, Reuters reports that the European Union will publish draft guidelines at the end of this month, urging platforms such as Google and Facebook to take a more proactive approach to illegal content of all kinds.

“Online platforms need to significantly step up their actions to address this problem,” the draft EU guidelines say.

“They need to be proactive in weeding out illegal content, put effective notice-and-action procedures in place, and establish well-functioning interfaces with third parties (such as trusted flaggers) and give a particular priority to notifications from national law enforcement authorities.”

On the copyright front, Google already operates interfaces designed to take down infringing content. And, as the recent agreement in the UK with copyright holders shows, is also prepared to make infringing content harder to find. Nevertheless, it will remain to be seen if Google is prepared to give even ‘trusted’ third-parties a veto on what content can appear online, without having oversight itself.

The guidelines are reportedly non-binding but further legislation in this area isn’t being ruled out for Spring 2018, if companies fail to make significant progress.

Interestingly, however, a Commission source told Reuters that any new legislation would not “change the liability exemption for online platforms.” Maintaining these so-called ‘safe harbors’ is a priority for online giants such as Google and Facebook – anything less would almost certainly be a deal-breaker.

The guidelines, due to be published at the end of September, will also encourage online platforms to publish transparency reports. These should detail the volume of notices received and actions subsequently taken. Again, Google is way ahead of the game here, having published this kind of data for the past several years.

“The guidelines also contain safeguards against excessive removal of content, such as giving its owners a right to contest such a decision,” Reuters adds.

More will be known about the proposals in a couple of weeks but it’s quite likely they’ll spark another round of debate on whether legislation is the best route to tackle illegal content or whether voluntary agreements – which have a tendency to be rather less open – should be the way to go.

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

E-Paper-Tablet im Test: Mit Remarkable machen digitale Notizen Spaß

Das Remarkable-Tablet ist das wohl konsequenteste digitale Schreibgerät auf dem Markt: Mit seinem E-Paper-Display und dem beigefügten Stift lassen sich Notizen tatsächlich fast wie auf Papier anfertigen. Dieser Komfort hat allerdings seinen Preis. Ein Test von Tobias Költzsch (E-Paper, Server)

Das Remarkable-Tablet ist das wohl konsequenteste digitale Schreibgerät auf dem Markt: Mit seinem E-Paper-Display und dem beigefügten Stift lassen sich Notizen tatsächlich fast wie auf Papier anfertigen. Dieser Komfort hat allerdings seinen Preis. Ein Test von Tobias Költzsch (E-Paper, Server)

Hyperloop Global Challenge: Hyperloop One zeichnet die zehn besten Trassenkonzepte aus

Zehn Projekte aus Großbritannien, Nordamerika und Indien waren die besten Konzepte für Trassen des Transportmittels Hyperloop. Das US-Unternehmen Hyperloop One hat sie aus über 2.6000 Einreichungen ausgewählt. Für eine Strecke in den USA ist schon eine Machbarkeitsstudie geplant. (Hyperloop, Technologie)

Zehn Projekte aus Großbritannien, Nordamerika und Indien waren die besten Konzepte für Trassen des Transportmittels Hyperloop. Das US-Unternehmen Hyperloop One hat sie aus über 2.6000 Einreichungen ausgewählt. Für eine Strecke in den USA ist schon eine Machbarkeitsstudie geplant. (Hyperloop, Technologie)

Windows 10: Creators Update verursacht bei einigen Nutzern Framedrops

Seit April 2017 ist das Creators Update live und seither gibt es Berichte von Leistungseinbrüchen nach dem Update. So ergeht es auch dem Forennutzer Richardwalus. Im Juni kam eine erste Reaktion von Microsoft, bis heute gibt es wohl noch keinen kompletten Fix. (Windows 10, Microsoft)

Seit April 2017 ist das Creators Update live und seither gibt es Berichte von Leistungseinbrüchen nach dem Update. So ergeht es auch dem Forennutzer Richardwalus. Im Juni kam eine erste Reaktion von Microsoft, bis heute gibt es wohl noch keinen kompletten Fix. (Windows 10, Microsoft)

Google Chrome will block autoplay video starting January 2018

Only muted video and user “interest in the media” will be allowed by default.

Enlarge (credit: Isaac Bowen / Flickr)

Google is taking on the irritating trend of auto-playing web videos with its Chrome browser. Starting in Chrome 64, which is currently earmarked for a January 2018 release, auto-play will only be allowed when the video in question is muted, or when a "user has indicated an interest in the media."

The latter applies if the site has been added to the home screen on mobile, or if the user has frequently played media on the site on desktop. Google also says auto-play will be allowed if the user has "tapped or clicked somewhere on the site during the browsing session."

"Chrome will be making auto-play more consistent with user expectations and will give users more control over audio," writes Google in a blog post. "These changes will also unify desktop and mobile web behaviour, making web media development more predictable across platforms and browsers."

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Bitcoin and Ethereum plunge on Chinese crackdown [Updated]

Bitcoin has lost 25 percent of its value since September 1.

Enlarge / The price of Bitcoin has fallen 25 percent since the start of September. (credit: Bitcoincharts.com)

Update: Since this article was originally published on Thursday morning, Bitcoin has risen by about 20 percent to $3,700. It's still down 25 percent from its September 1 high. The original article follows.

The last year has seen an astonishing boom in the two most popular cryptocurrencies: bitcoin and ether—the latter being the currency of the Ethereum network. The price of bitcoins soared from around $1,000 at the start of the year to nearly $5,000 on September 1. Ether rose from $8 to almost $400 over the same period.

But now both currencies are plunging. Bitcoin has fallen to $3,000—an 18 percent drop in 24 hours and down by 40 percent from the start of the month. Ether is worth about $200, down more than 20 percent in 24 hours and almost 50 percent since September 1. And this is part of a broader cryptocurrency bloodbath, with dozens of lesser-known currencies posting double-digit losses in the last 24 hours.

Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

After orbiting Saturn for 13 years, Cassini has become part of the planet

“It’s kind of like a death in the family.”

NASA

The Cassini spacecraft, after spending 13 nearly flawless years revealing a complex, ringed gas giant along with its extensive array of enigmatic moons—and finding two worlds capable of supporting life—died on Friday morning. It expired after setting its engines on full thrust and flying directly into the maw of Saturn. It was 19 years old.

The spacecraft made its final significant maneuver on Monday, flying near enough to Saturn's largest moon Titan to nudge Cassini into a collision course with the planet. Cassini took its final image on Thursday and on Friday morning began accelerating to more than 140,000km/hour. There was no return.

Read 12 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Face ID: Apple erlaubt nur ein Gesicht pro iPhone X

Zu Apples Gesichtserkennungstechnik Face ID sind neue Details bekannt geworden. So ist die Entsperrung eines iPhone X immer nur mit einem Gesicht möglich. Face ID soll auch mit vielen Sonnenbrillen funktionieren und lässt sich temporär abschalten. (iPhone X, Smartphone)

Zu Apples Gesichtserkennungstechnik Face ID sind neue Details bekannt geworden. So ist die Entsperrung eines iPhone X immer nur mit einem Gesicht möglich. Face ID soll auch mit vielen Sonnenbrillen funktionieren und lässt sich temporär abschalten. (iPhone X, Smartphone)