Huawei argues congressional ban on its equipment is unconstitutional

A 2018 law banned Huawei—by name—from selling to the US government.

Illustration including a Huawei logo, a smartphone, and keyboard.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto )

Huawei is asking a federal judge in Texas to strike down federal legislation passed last year that banned Huawei—by name—from selling telecommunications equipment to the federal government. Huawei argues that the legislation violates the Constitution's rule against bills of attainder, laws that single out particular people for punishment.

Congress passed the most recent National Defense Authorization Act last August; Huawei launched its legal challenge against the law in March. The company filed a motion for summary judgment in the case on Tuesday. This is a motion that asks the judge to rule on the legal merits in the case prior to the discovery phase, when the two parties get to demand documents from one another to help them build their cases. Huawei hopes to avoid discovery because it could drag on for many months while Huawei is frozen out of competing for federal telecommunications business.

The ban passed last year empowers the Secretary of Defense to ban companies from supplying equipment to the federal government—or contractors using federal funds—if he determines they have ties to the Chinese government. Companies put on this list have an opportunity to appeal the decision to the courts.

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Media & Telecoms Companies Reveal “Self-Learning” Anti-Piracy System

The Media Communication Union, which represents the interests of major media and telecoms companies in Russia, has revealed its new anti-piracy system. Set to be delivered to copyright holders in July, the system is said to utilize neural networks in order to self-learn while reducing the need for human intervention.

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

Last November, major media and tech companies in Russia signed a landmark memorandum in order to tackle the rise of pirated content on the Internet.

Central to the agreement was the creation of a database populated with links to material deemed copyright-infringing by entertainment industry groups

Operators of search platforms agreed to query the database every five minutes and then, within six hours, remove links to the content from their search results. The same applies to sites that actually host content, such as Yandex.video and RuTube, for example.

Population of the database got quickly underway and according to the Media Communication Union (MKC), which represents the interests of major media and telecoms companies, now contains around 300,000 links. However, the companies involved feel that the system can be much improved with the addition of custom software.

To that end, this week the MKC revealed that it has begun testing a new anti-piracy system that will allow content to be added to the database more quickly and efficiently. The tool not only allows URLs to be entered manually but also accepts input from “specialized search systems” that are able to identify illegal content.

“An automated solution based on specially trained neural networks is used to analyze the content of sites specified in the rights holders’ reports,” MKC announced.

MKC says that manual testing is also used in a number of cases, with the results being sent to the neural network for “additional training.” As the project develops, the aim is to require the intervention of human operators on much fewer occasions.

“A modern software solution based on self-learning systems will significantly increase the effectiveness of the fight against Internet piracy and will further increase the consumption of legal video services,” said MKS President Mikhail Demin.

An almost fully-automated anti-piracy seems like a big ask, particularly when machines are often blamed for erroneous takedowns. However, for the head of Russian telecoms watchdog Roskomndazor, removing humans from the equation where possible will make the system more effective.

“This is a significant event for both sides of the Memorandum,” Alexander Zharov says.

“An automated solution for interaction within the framework of the Memorandum will help to increase the reaction times and reduce the risks associated with the ‘human factor’.”

It is not yet clear whether the system under development represents anything drastically new in the anti-piracy space, or whether the “self-learning” component will amount to anything more than scraping allegedly-infringing URLs and then sending these to the registry.

Nevetherless, beta tests are already underway and it’s expected that the finished product will be with rightsholders before the end of July.

The memorandum and supporting technical efforts are currently in operation voluntarily until the terms of the agreement run out November 1, 2019. However, given the level of commitment being shown by the parties involved, it’s expected to continue until the terms of the memorandum can be written into local law.

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

14,000-year-old footprints record an underground Stone Age family outing

This is the first time archaeologists have found tracks of people crawling.

Photo of archaeologists studying ancient footprints.

Enlarge / The clay-rich mud of Basura Cave preserved these footprints for 14,000 years. (credit: Emily Packer (Marcomms))

There was a lot more to Paleolithic life than hunting, gathering, and leaving well-preserved bones for archaeologists. A 14,000-year-old set of footprints and crawl tracks preserves a snapshot of an ancient family’s exploration of a cave in northern Italy—something they apparently did just for the heck of it. The tracks were left in an ancient layer of clay and record how a small group of hunter-gatherers, carrying makeshift torches, waded through ponds and sometimes crawled on their hands and knees to explore the cave. And they apparently brought their young children with them on the adventure.

“Most likely they were pushed into the cave by simple curiosity and a sense of wonder for unexplored places,” archaeologist Marco Romano of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, told Ars Technica.

A dangerous idea of family fun

About 180 tracks from the prehistoric explorers remain in the cave floor. Footprints show where they walked; impressions of hands, knees, and the tops of feet show where they crawled through a low tunnel to the cave’s innermost chamber. Based on the size and number of the tracks, at least five people entered the cave, including three children. The youngest child would have been around 3 years old at the time, and their tiny footprints record the small, unsteady steps of a toddler. It’s a rare look at what childhood must have been like for Paleolithic hunter-gatherers.

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MobileShell makes Windows on ARM more smartphone-friendly

Now that Windows 10 Mobile is dead, Microsoft doesn’t officially make a smartphone operating system anymore. But the company does have a version of Windows 10 designed for tablets and laptops with ARM-based processors… and hackers have been…

Now that Windows 10 Mobile is dead, Microsoft doesn’t officially make a smartphone operating system anymore. But the company does have a version of Windows 10 designed for tablets and laptops with ARM-based processors… and hackers have been finding ways to make it run on smartphones for the past year or so. But while it’s gotten […]

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Koelnmesse: Gamescom expandiert nach Asien

Die Kölner Gamescom bekommt 2020 einen Ableger in Singapur. Es ist nicht der erste Versuch, von Deutschland aus eine Spielemesse in Asien aufzubauen. (Gamescom, Messe)

Die Kölner Gamescom bekommt 2020 einen Ableger in Singapur. Es ist nicht der erste Versuch, von Deutschland aus eine Spielemesse in Asien aufzubauen. (Gamescom, Messe)

Intel’s Twin Reiver prototype is a dual-screen device with a fabric case

There are a lot of ways to build a dual-screen laptop, But up until now, it never occurred to me that one of those ways would be to build it out of fabric. That’s what Intel did for its “Twin River” dual-screen PC prototype though. In…

There are a lot of ways to build a dual-screen laptop, But up until now, it never occurred to me that one of those ways would be to build it out of fabric. That’s what Intel did for its “Twin River” dual-screen PC prototype though. Intel’s device features two 12.3 inch, 1920 x 1280 pixel […]

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Mixed Reality: Varjos neues Headset soll fotorealistische AR bieten

Nach dem Virtual-Reality-Headset VR-1 hat Varjo den angekündigten Augmented-Reality-Aufsatz XR-1 vorgestellt: Dank der hohen Auflösung des VR-1 soll mit dem Aufsatz, der die Außenwelt mit Kameras erfasst, fotorealistische AR erreicht werden. Volvo nutz…

Nach dem Virtual-Reality-Headset VR-1 hat Varjo den angekündigten Augmented-Reality-Aufsatz XR-1 vorgestellt: Dank der hohen Auflösung des VR-1 soll mit dem Aufsatz, der die Außenwelt mit Kameras erfasst, fotorealistische AR erreicht werden. Volvo nutzt das Headset bereits. (Augmented Reality, Tracking)

Nintendo: Pokémon erobern den Schlaf und die Cloud

Nach den Erfolgen von Go und anderen Spielen auf Basis von Pokémon will Nintendo das Angebot ausbauen. Neben einer zentralen Sammelstelle in der Cloud ist auch Hardware geplant, mit der Pikachu und seine Kumpels im Schlaf trainiert werden können. (Poké…

Nach den Erfolgen von Go und anderen Spielen auf Basis von Pokémon will Nintendo das Angebot ausbauen. Neben einer zentralen Sammelstelle in der Cloud ist auch Hardware geplant, mit der Pikachu und seine Kumpels im Schlaf trainiert werden können. (Pokémon, Nintendo)

Horst Seehofer: Reporter ohne Grenzen warnt vor Geheimdienstplänen

Eine von Bundesinnenminister Horst Seehofer geplante Reform sieht vor, dass die deutschen Geheimdienste Medien im In- und Ausland digital ausspionieren dürfen. Reporter ohne Grenzen warnt vor einem Angriff auf die Pressefreiheit. (Überwachung, Datensch…

Eine von Bundesinnenminister Horst Seehofer geplante Reform sieht vor, dass die deutschen Geheimdienste Medien im In- und Ausland digital ausspionieren dürfen. Reporter ohne Grenzen warnt vor einem Angriff auf die Pressefreiheit. (Überwachung, Datenschutz)

Amazon’s $90 Echo Show 5 is a smaller, cheaper smart display

Amazon’s 3rd-gen Echo Show smart display is called the Amazon Echo Show 5… which sort of makes sense because the name refers to the screen size rather than the generation. Rather than replacing the 2nd-gen Echo Show, the new model will be s…

Amazon’s 3rd-gen Echo Show smart display is called the Amazon Echo Show 5… which sort of makes sense because the name refers to the screen size rather than the generation. Rather than replacing the 2nd-gen Echo Show, the new model will be sold alongside it as a smaller, less expensive option. The Echo Show 5 […]

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