Month: October 2020

There’s no place like the perfectly sized home for the mighty mantis shrimp

Mantis shrimp will fight longer and harder, and often win, for burrows of ideal size.

"Nice burrow you have there. I want it." Patrick Green of the University of Exeter filmed this fight between mantis shrimp. (video link)

Size matters to the small-but-mighty mantis shrimp, which show a marked preference for burrows in coral rubble with volumes that closely match their own body size or are just a bit larger—in other words, large enough to accommodate their body, but small enough that they can defend the entrance. But according to a new paper published in the journal Animal Behavior, sometimes a mantis shrimp will compromise. If a burrow is already occupied and is close to the ideal size, or a bit smaller, the mantis shrimp will fight longer and harder for that burrow—and be more likely to win the contest.

As we previously reported, mantis shrimp come in many different varieties: there are some 450 known species. But they can generally be grouped into two types: those that stab their prey with spear-like appendages ("spearers") and those that smash their prey ("smashers") with large, rounded, and hammer-like claws ("raptorial appendages"). Those strikes are so fast—as much as 23 meters per second, or 51mph—and powerful, they often produce cavitation bubbles in the water, creating a shock wave that can serve as a follow-up strike, stunning and sometimes killing the prey. Sometimes a strike can even produce sonoluminescence, whereby the cavitation bubbles produce a brief flash of light as they collapse.

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Apple earnings show strong iPad and Mac sales can’t make up for the iPhone

New iPhone sales will rest entirely in the next quarter this time.

An older man in a white polo shirt flashes a peace sign while walking outdoors.

Enlarge / Apple CEO Tim Cook. (credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Apple announced its fourth-quarter earnings today after the bell, and it was something of a strange quarter because, unlike some previous years (including last year), this quarter's numbers did not include an iPhone launch. The iPhone 12's various models ship in October and November instead of September this year.

CEO Tim Cook proudly announced double-digit YOY growth in all product categories besides iPhone on the call, but the iPhone is important: Apple's total revenue was up only 1 percent year-over-year, with iPhone revenue down almost 21 percent.

While the iPhone didn't help push up the bottom line, Apple did launch other products during the period, including the redesigned iPad Air and two Apple Watches: the Apple Watch Series 6 and the Apple Watch SE. iPad revenue was up a substantial 46 percent YOY (it totaled $6.8 billion), and Mac revenue was also strong at $9 billion, or 28 percent more than the same quarter last year.

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Ancient skull a new window on human migrations, Denisovan meetings

New sequences also show Denisovans were living at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

Image of a large, lit trench with people working in it.

Enlarge / These excavations identified Denisovan DNA within the sediment. (credit: Dongju Zhang, Dongju Zhang, Lanzhou University)

The Denisovans occupy a very weird place in humanity's history. Like the Neanderthals, they are an early branch off the lineage that produced modern humans and later intermingled with modern humans. But we'd known of Neanderthals for roughly 150 years before we got any of their DNA sequence and had identified a set of anatomical features that defined them. In contrast, we had no idea that Denisovans existed until their DNA turned up unexpectedly in a single, tiny piece of finger. And, to this day, we've not identified enough remains to really say anything about what they looked like.

But, over time, we've gotten increasing ancient DNA samples that are providing a clearer picture of our interactions with this enigmatic lineage. Now, two new reports describe ancient DNA that provides some more details. One paper describes a modern human genome from Asia that dates to closer to the time when interbreeding must have taking place. It provides further evidence that there were at least two instances of interbreeding, and it helps clarify how early human populations moved around Asia. The second confirms that Denisovans were living along the Tibetan Plateau and may have adapted to high altitudes.

The Mongolian skull

Back in 2006, mining in Mongolia's Salkhit Valley turned up the top of a skull that was clearly old. But, because it didn't have any definitive features, people argued over whether it might be Neanderthal or Homo erectus. However, preliminary DNA sequencing indicated it belonged to a modern human, with carbon dating placing its age at roughly 34,000 years old.

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It’s getting easier to install Windows Subsystem for Linux in Windows 10

The Windows Subsystem for Linux allows you to download and install Linux and run command-line tools (and soon full-fledged desktop apps) on a Windows 10 computer. But installing a Linux distro using WSL has been a kind of tricky, multi-step process&#8…

The Windows Subsystem for Linux allows you to download and install Linux and run command-line tools (and soon full-fledged desktop apps) on a Windows 10 computer. But installing a Linux distro using WSL has been a kind of tricky, multi-step process… until now. Earlier this year Microsoft announced it was working on an update that […]

The post It’s getting easier to install Windows Subsystem for Linux in Windows 10 appeared first on Liliputing.

US Court Dismisses ‘Unique’ YTS Trademark Case Against Pirate Sites & Apps

Anti-piracy lawyer Kerry Culpepper has failed to secure $250,000 damages claims against sites and apps that used the YTS trademark he obtained. The court dismissed the case as it lacks sufficient evidence to prove that the defendants purposefully targeted the US. Meanwhile, the trademark infringement claims shed an interesting light on related YTS cases that were filed recently.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

YTS logoBrands are important for most businesses. They identify a service or product and are often associated with certain qualities.

The position is no different in the piracy ecosystem. Brands are essential there as well but are not always what they seem to be.

YTS Copycats

Given the nature of pirate sites, brand copying is widespread. This is also the case with YTS, the name of a long-defunct pirate release group. Today, there are still many YTS sites and apps online, using the name to attract visitors.

It is easy for copycats to jump in as pirate sites are unlikely to sue each other over a stolen brand. However, anti-piracy lawyers can sue sites and apps, especially when they are the rightful trademark owner.

This is exactly what happened earlier this year after anti-piracy lawyer Kerry Culpepper turned some of the most popular piracy brands into a powerful anti-piracy tool.

The attorney, who is listed as director of the company ’42 Ventures,’ registered several piracy-related trademarks, including ‘YTS’ and ‘Popcorn Time.’

YTS Trademark Lawsuit

Soon after the trademarks were granted Culpepper began using them as an enforcement tool. This includes a trademark infringement lawsuit that targeted the operators of yst.lt, ytsag.me, yts.ae, ytsmovies.cc, yts.ms, as well as apps such as “Y Movies,” “YTS Movies Library” and “YTS movies.”

These pirate apps and tools used the YTS trademark without permission, Culpepper argued. And when the operators, who are believed to be from India, China and Egypt failed to respond, he demanded a default judgment of $250,000 against each defendant.

Without any opposition, the case looked like it may turn into an easy win. However, that’s not what happened here.

A few weeks ago, US Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter recommended the court to deny the $250,000 damages request and dismiss the complaint because the court lacks personal jurisdiction.

A foreign citizen can only be subjected to the jurisdiction of a US court when several conditions are met. This includes evidence that the defendant specifically aimed his or her actions at the US. According to Judge Porter, that was not the case here.

Culpepper disagreed and objected to the recommendation, but without success. In a final ruling released by District Court Judge Derrick Watson, the case is dismissed.

Court Lacks Jurisdiction

Judge Watson agrees with the Magistrate’s recommendation that the defendant’s connections with US-based services including Cloudflare, Amazon, and Namecheap, don’t prove that the site and app operators subjected themselves to US jurisdiction.

“Amazon Web Services, which Plaintiff claims Defendant Mav used to host his website, boasts of ‘over a million customers in more than 190 countries.’ Surely, it cannot be said that each of these million plus customers use AWS for the purpose of targeting the United States market any more than it can be said of Defendants alone,” Watson writes.

“Likewise, Cloudflare, whose services Plaintiff claims Defendants Vinit and Shan utilize, boasts that its network spans ‘over 200 cities in more than 100 countries.’ Defendants alleged use of the Google Play Store, Visa, Dynadot, and Namecheap, are no different.”

“In short, these are all companies with global reach, and Plaintiff has failed to show they were selected by Defendants specifically to target the United States market.”

Case Dismissed, No Damages

Based on these and various other examples and arguments, the Court adopts the recommendation to dismiss the lawsuit against the three defendants. As a result, the $250,000 damages claims are also off the table.

In his opposition, Culpepper asked the Hawaii court to transfer the case to California if it concluded that it doesn’t have jurisdiction because many of the US-based intermediaries are incorporated there. However, Judge Watson denied this request as well because he believes that no US court has jurisdiction.

This means that the first-ever trademark dispute over a pirate brand is over, with most defendants walking away unscathed.

We say most, because one of the targeted site operators already agreed to settle the trademark infringement matter for $200,000 a few weeks ago. In hindsight, that may not have been the best decision and certainly not the cheapest.

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A copy of Judge Watson’s order adopting the findings and recommendations and dismissing the claims against the remaining defendants is available here (pdf)

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Nemeio customizable keyboard with ePaper keys hits Kickstarter

Almost two years after we first went hands-on with a prototype, the Nemeio customizable keyboard with ePaper keys is up for pre-order through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Super Early Bird backers can reserve one for a pledge of €168 (~$200) pl…

Almost two years after we first went hands-on with a prototype, the Nemeio customizable keyboard with ePaper keys is up for pre-order through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Super Early Bird backers can reserve one for a pledge of €168 (~$200) plus shipping, and the Nemeio is scheduled to begin shipping to backers in September, 2021. […]

The post Nemeio customizable keyboard with ePaper keys hits Kickstarter appeared first on Liliputing.