Month: April 2018

Lootboxen: Pubg und Fifa droht Verkaufsverbot in den Niederlanden

Die Lootboxen in vier von zehn untersuchten Games verstoßen gegen das Glücksspielgesetz: Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt die zuständige Behörde in den Niederlanden. Beliebte Titel wie Pubg und Fifa müssen ihr Geschäftsmodell ändern – sonst drohen Verbote. (Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, Steam)

Die Lootboxen in vier von zehn untersuchten Games verstoßen gegen das Glücksspielgesetz: Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt die zuständige Behörde in den Niederlanden. Beliebte Titel wie Pubg und Fifa müssen ihr Geschäftsmodell ändern - sonst drohen Verbote. (Playerunknown's Battlegrounds, Steam)

Married Torrent Tracker Couple Settles With BREIN

Acting on behalf of various copyright holders, anti-piracy group BREIN has shut down the private torrent tracker Snuffelland. The group tracked down the site’s operators, a middle-aged married couple and a 60-year-old uploader. All agreed to a pay a modest settlement.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.

Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN has targeted operators and uploaders of pirate sites for more than a decade.

The group’s main goal is to shut the sites down. Instead of getting embroiled in dozens of lengthy court battles, it prefers to settle the matter with those responsible.

This week, BREIN announced another victory against a small torrent site, Snuffelland. The private tracker was targeted at a Dutch audience and the anti-piracy group managed to track down its operators.

According to BREIN, the site was run by a married couple from the town of Montfort, a 65-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman. In addition, the group also identified one of the uploaders, a 60-year-old man from Heukelum.

All three are unemployed and their financial position was taken into account in determining the scale of the settlement. The couple agreed to pay 2,500 euros and the uploader settled for 650 euros, with a threat of further penalties if they are caught again.

The private tracker itself was shut down and replaced by a message that was provided by BREIN.

“Making copyright-protected works available infringes the copyrights of the entitled rightsholder. Downloading from unauthorized sources is also prohibited in the Netherlands,” the message reads.

“For providers of legal content, snuffelland.org refers you to thecontentmap.nl and film.nl,” it adds.

These type of shutdowns are nothing new. BREIN has taken down hundreds of smaller sites in the past. However, only in recent years has the group has started to publish these settlement details.

That serves as a deterrent but also provides some more insight into how the group prefers to solve these cases, which appears to be relatively softly. In this case, it also disproves the notion that torrent sites are run by youngsters.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.

Android-Messenger: Google pausiert Arbeit an Allo

Der Messenger Allo wird vorerst von Google nicht weiterentwickelt, wie Medien berichten. Stattdessen soll das Team den auf SMS basierten Android-Messenger Messages zu einer universalen Chat-App weiterentwickeln – ähnlich wie es Apple mit iMessages für …

Der Messenger Allo wird vorerst von Google nicht weiterentwickelt, wie Medien berichten. Stattdessen soll das Team den auf SMS basierten Android-Messenger Messages zu einer universalen Chat-App weiterentwickeln - ähnlich wie es Apple mit iMessages für iOS getan hat. (Google, Instant Messenger)

Thermalright ARO-M14 ausprobiert: Der den Ryzen kühlt

Mit dem ARO-M14 bringt Thermalright eine Ryzen-Version des populären HR-02 Macho Rev B. Der in zwei Farben erhältliche CPU-Kühler leistet viel und ist leise, zudem hat Thermalright die Montage etwas verbessert. Ein Hands on von Marc Sauter (Kühlung, Pr…

Mit dem ARO-M14 bringt Thermalright eine Ryzen-Version des populären HR-02 Macho Rev B. Der in zwei Farben erhältliche CPU-Kühler leistet viel und ist leise, zudem hat Thermalright die Montage etwas verbessert. Ein Hands on von Marc Sauter (Kühlung, Prozessor)

ISO 15118: Elektroautos ohne Karte oder App laden

Elektroautos an öffentlichen Stationen zu laden, ist wegen unterschiedlicher Zahlungssysteme kompliziert. Plug & Charge geht einen neuen Weg über den Standard ISO 15118: Das Auto wird zur Geldbörse und das Hantieren mit Karten und Apps überflüssig. Dai…

Elektroautos an öffentlichen Stationen zu laden, ist wegen unterschiedlicher Zahlungssysteme kompliziert. Plug & Charge geht einen neuen Weg über den Standard ISO 15118: Das Auto wird zur Geldbörse und das Hantieren mit Karten und Apps überflüssig. Daimler hat ein erstes Fahrzeug damit vorgestellt. (Elektroauto, Technologie)

Regulierungsbehörde EEC: Apple könnte im Sommer neue iPhones vorstellen

Apple hat bei der Regulierungsbehörde Eurasian Economic Commission elf neue iPhone-Modellnummern angemeldet. Das deutet darauf hin, dass Apple bald neue Smartphones vorstellt, möglicherweise schon im Juli 2018 zum WWDC. (iPhone SE, Apple)

Apple hat bei der Regulierungsbehörde Eurasian Economic Commission elf neue iPhone-Modellnummern angemeldet. Das deutet darauf hin, dass Apple bald neue Smartphones vorstellt, möglicherweise schon im Juli 2018 zum WWDC. (iPhone SE, Apple)

Infotainment: Shell ermöglicht Bezahlen am Armaturenbrett

Über den Infotainment-Bildschirm können Chevy-Besitzer ab Sommer 2018 das Benzin bezahlen, das sie von der Tanksäule zapfen wollen. Ohne Aussteigen geht es zwar nicht, dafür ist das System ohne Smartphone nutzbar. (Auto, Technologie)

Über den Infotainment-Bildschirm können Chevy-Besitzer ab Sommer 2018 das Benzin bezahlen, das sie von der Tanksäule zapfen wollen. Ohne Aussteigen geht es zwar nicht, dafür ist das System ohne Smartphone nutzbar. (Auto, Technologie)

Tim Cook on merging macOS and iOS: “I don’t think that’s what users want”

Apple’s CEO appeared to debunk speculation that the company seeks a unified OS.

Enlarge / Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks during an event at Lane Technical College Prep High School in Chicago on Tuesday, March 27, 2018. (credit: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In an interview published in The Sydney Morning Herald today, Apple CEO Tim Cook suggested that Apple is not working toward eventually running the same operating system on Macs and mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad, counter to widespread speculation.

The interview took place at the education-themed event in Chicago at which Apple unveiled the last iPad. Here's the relevant quote from Cook:

We don't believe in sort of watering down one for the other. Both [the Mac and iPad] are incredible. One of the reasons that both of them are incredible is because we pushed them to do what they do well. And if you begin to merge the two... you begin to make trade-offs and compromises.

So maybe the company would be more efficient at the end of the day. But that's not what it's about. You know it's about giving people things that they can then use to help them change the world or express their passion or express their creativity. So this merger thing that some folks are fixated on, I don't think that's what users want.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg ran a report saying that Apple will soon unveil tools for developers that will allow deploying an app for both macOS and iOS machines. Apps that target both platforms would be usable with either a touchscreen or a mouse/trackpad, depending on which device launches them. While some outlets are saying Cook's statement debunks that rumor, that's not necessarily the case; apps that support macOS/iOS interoperability don't require a unified operating system.

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PUBG’s first-ever free weekend has begun on Xbox One (for XBL Gold members)

Download and play the fully unlocked “early access” version for free until April 22.

Enlarge (credit: PUBG Corp./Microsoft)

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)'s stratospheric rise in popularity on PC and console has been curious, in particular because of its $30 cost of entry—a fact that sets it apart from its popular, free-to-play rival Fortnite Battle Royale. For at least a few days, however, that barrier is (for the most part) going away... if you are willing to play PUBG on Xbox One.

The console's "early access" version of the 100-person, massive-arena shooter is currently free to download and play so long as you are an Xbox Live Gold subscriber. (If you do not pay for Xbox Live Gold and are interested, now might be a good time to dig out one of the many 48-hour and 7-day trials packed into Xbox game boxes.) The game's "Free Gold Weekend" promotion runs from today, April 19, until 11:59pm ET on Sunday, April 22.

In some ways, this mostly-free version doesn't offer an ideal way to get to know the popular shooter. We defer to the frame rate analysis gurus at Digital Foundry, who took a hard look in March at what had and hadn't improved for the console version in its first three months. In short: the game is fun, but the performance issues don't help.

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Southwest Airlines protested airworthiness directive designed to prevent engine failures

Engine maker urged more frequent inspections after previous Southwest incident.

Enlarge / Southwest's Boeing 737-700, tail number N772SW, was the aircraft for Southwest flight 1380. A failure in its left turbofan engine caused the death of one passenger and multiple other injuries. (credit: Aeroprints)

While a National Transportation Safety Board investigation is still underway, NTSB officials confirmed that the uncontained engine failure aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 was the result of a fan blade breaking from a crack near the fan's hub. The failure is similar to one that occurred on another Southwest flight in September 2016.

"The fan blade separated in two places," said NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt . "At the hub... there's a fatigue fracture where this #13 fan blade would come into that hub. It also fractured roughly halfway through it. But it appears the fatigue fracture was the initial event. We have the root part, but we don't have the outboard part. The crack was interior, so certainly not detectable from looking at it from the outside."

After that incident, the manufacturer of the engine—CFM International—issued a technical bulletin urging customers to conduct more frequent ultrasonic inspections of the fan in the type of turbofan engine used by Southwest's 737 Next Generation aircraft. In 2017, CFM even asked the FAA to enact a new rule requiring those checks. But Southwest Airlines opposed the proposed change to frequency of inspections, stating in a comment to the FAA that it would take longer for the airline to comply because of the number of engines in its fleet:

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