Month: April 2020

You’ll be able to connect an 8K display to a USB 4 port thanks to DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0

USB 4 is on the way, and when it arrives it’ll support data transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps. At least that’s what we learned when the specification was released last year. But it turns out that speeds actually top out at 80 Gbps when using Di…

USB 4 is on the way, and when it arrives it’ll support data transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps. At least that’s what we learned when the specification was released last year. But it turns out that speeds actually top out at 80 Gbps when using DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 to drive an 8K display. […]

The 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV is solid but lacks advanced features

The midlife refresh is delayed until 2021, but Chevy’s EV got a 10% range boost.

  • Three years on since our first drive, the Bolt EV now comes in a range of brighter colors and with a 10 percent bigger battery. But otherwise, has it been left in the dust by newer BEVs with better features? [credit: Jonathan Gitlin ]

When the Chevrolet Bolt EV first took to the streets at the end of 2016, it was a groundbreaking little car—the first battery electric vehicle with more than 200 miles (321km) of range at a price normal people could afford. But three years is an eternity in the electric car world. In the time since the Bolt showed up, similarly priced BEVs have shown up from other automakers, cars with features that the Bolt won't get until its midlife refresh—something that won't now happen until 2021 thanks to COVID-19. But Chevy did recently bump up the Bolt's range with better battery chemistry and a bigger capacity, and it's offering discounts of up to $8,500 on the once-groundbreaking BEV. We spent another week with one to see whether it still measures up.

The main difference between the model year 2020 Bolt EV and the ones we've driven in the past is in the battery. Chevrolet wanted more range, so LG Chem came up with some new lithium-ion chemistry that boosted energy density. The pack is still the same size and shape, and it's still made up of 288 individual cells, but it now has a useable 66kWh (as opposed to 60kWh), and that means an increase of its EPA range from 238 miles (383km) to 259 miles (416km).

Other than that, the compact BEV is pretty much as we knew it at launch. It still has the same 200hp (150kW), 366lb-ft (360Nm) permanent magnet synchronous motor driving the front wheels. It still only DC fast-charges at 55kW, adding 100 miles of range in 30 minutes, although software tweaks mean it should charge more rapidly than before in cold temperatures). And it still doesn't offer adaptive cruise control or the excellent Super Cruise driver assist.

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Amazon Joins Pirate Bay and FMovies on US Govt’s “Notorious” Markets List

The US Government has classified some of the largest websites as notorious piracy and counterfeiting venues. The report includes pirate sites such as 1337x, FMovies, RARBG, and The Pirate Bay. Surprisingly, Amazon is also tagged for providing a platform to copyright infringers. For the first time, the USTR also lists an advertising company as a “notorious” actor in the piracy ecosystem.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, torrent sites and more. We also have an annual VPN review.

Every year the United States Trade Representative (USTR) publishes an updated list of its “Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets.”

Drawing on input from copyright holders, the report includes a non-exclusive overview of sites and services that are believed to be involved in piracy or counterfeiting.

The targets traditionally include popular piracy portals such as well known torrent sites, cyberlockers, and streaming portals. However, in recent years we have also seen domain registrars, hosting companies, and advertisers thrown into the mix.

That is also the case this year. As expected, the USTR mentions cyberlockers such as 1fichier and Uploaded, streaming portals including FMovies, and the torrent sites RARBG, Rutracker, The Pirate Bay, and 1337x.

The latter site is a new addition, of which there are a few. BestBuyIPTV, for example, which sells access to pirate IPTV services, and the streaming site Cimaclub.com, which is very popular in Saudi Arabia.

The most surprising new additions are in another league, however. For the first time ever, the USTR has listed an advertising company as a notorious market. The report calls out Propeller Ads for its role in funding piracy websites and spreading malware.

“Right holders identify Propeller Ads as providing significant advertising revenue for many popular torrent sites, cyberlockers, and other pirate websites. Propeller Ads has also been linked to serious ‘malvertising’ operations whereby malware is distributed through online advertisements,” USTR writes.

The malware angle plays an important role, as it’s the USTR’s special focus this year. The report cites a broad list of articles that highlight the malware risks on pirate sites. However, it also references a TorrentFreak article that describes some of these claims as overblown.

It’s a significant step for the USTR to add an advertising company to the report, but this is largely overshadowed by Amazon’s surprise appearance.

As a US-based company, Amazon.com can’t be listed as a notorious market, because this list is exclusively meant for foreign actors. However, the USTR bypassed this restriction by calling out Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, and Amazon.in.

The world’s largest online retailer is being labeled a notorious market because it reportedly provides a platform for copyright infringers, counterfeiters to be precise. While that is true for many online retailers, Amazon’s response to these infringers has apparently been below par.

The USTR mentions that copyright holders complain that sellers are not vetted, that the removal process is burdensome, while the counterfeiting problem continues to grow. Amazon should change its policies to address these issues.

“[Rightsholders] ask that Amazon take additional actions to address their concerns, including by collecting sufficient information from sellers to prevent repeat infringers from creating multiple storefronts on the platforms, making detailed information about the real seller of a product obvious to consumers and right holders,” the USTR writes.

Responding to the listing, an Amazon spokesperson characterized the company’s inclusion as being part of a personal vendetta of the Trump administration against the company.

“This purely political act is another example of the administration using the U.S. government to advance a personal vendetta against Amazon,” the company informed Politico.

Vendetta or not, Amazon was reported to the Government by the American Apparel & Footwear Association, which specifically asked for a listing of the foreign Amazon domains.

Amazon is not the only online retailer that’s listed. The US Government also sees the Chinese platform Taobao, India’s Snapdeal, and the Indonesian store Tokopedia as notorious platforms.

Below we have compiled a full list of all the online sites and services that are mentioned. Although some harsh language is used, the USTR stresses that its overview doesn’t “make findings of legal violations” and that these are merely “illustrative.”

Most importantly, perhaps, the report is used to send a clear warning to the sites and companies involved, suggesting that it might be a good idea to implement some changes. That’s not likely to impress sites such as The Pirate Bay, but others may be more susceptible.

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A copy of the USTR’s 2019 overview of notorious markets (published yesterday) is available here (pdf). The full list of highlighted online sites/service, including those focused on counterfeiting, is as follows:

-1337x.to
-1Fichier.com
-Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, and Amazon.in
-Bestbuyiptv.com
-Bukalapak.com
-Carousell.com
-Chomikuj.pl
-Cimaclub.com
-DHgate.com
-Dytt8.net
-FlokiNET
-Flvto.biz and 2Conv.com
-FMovies.is
-Hosting Concepts B.V.
-MP3juices.cc
-Mp3va.com
-Mpgh.net
-Newalbumreleases.net
-Phimmoi.net
-Pinduoduo.com
-Private Layer Hosted Sites
-Propellerads.com
-Rapidgator.net
-RARBG.to
-Rutracker.org
-Sci-Hub and LibGen
-Seasonvar.ru
-Shopee.sg
-Snapdeal.com
-Taobao.com
-Thepiratebay.org
-Tokopedia.com
-Torrentz2.eu
-Turbobit.net
-Uploaded.net
-Uptobox.com
-VK.com
-Warmane.com

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, torrent sites and more. We also have an annual VPN review.

Raspberry Pi’s new 12.3MP camera supports interchangeable lenses

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has introduced a new camera module for its small, low-power computers. The new High Quality Camera features a 12.3MP Sony IMX477 image sensor, adjustable focus, and a 1.55 μm × 1.55 μm pixel size. It’s the best officia…

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has introduced a new camera module for its small, low-power computers. The new High Quality Camera features a 12.3MP Sony IMX477 image sensor, adjustable focus, and a 1.55 μm × 1.55 μm pixel size. It’s the best official Raspberry Pi camera module to date… which helps explain why it’s also the most […]