May 2021 – Page 102 – news.buyenne.com

Messenger: Jeder Dritte nutzt Whatsapp weniger oder gar nicht mehr

In einer Umfrage gaben viele Whatsapp-Nutzer an, neue Messenger ausprobiert zu haben. Dabei dominiert allerdings ausgerechnet Facebook. (Instant Messenger, Studie)

Frauen-Union: Vorratsdatenspeicherung gegen Frauenhass gefordert

Kriminelle Frauenhasser sollen per Vorratsdatenspeicherung ermittelt werden. Das dürfte aber rechtlich nicht zulässig sein. (Vorratsdatenspeicherung, Datenschutz)

Glasfaser: Telekom bestätigt Überbauen von eigenem Vectoring

Noch ist die Telekom stark damit beschäftigt, ihre Vectoring-Ausbauverträge zu erfüllen. Doch dabei geht es mit Glasfaser schon drunter und meistens drüber. (Vectoring, DSL)

Programming a robot to teach itself how to move

Flexible, open-ended learning software works but finds the real world difficult.

image of three small pieces of hardware connected by tubes.

One of the most impressive developments in recent years has been the production of AI systems that can teach themselves to master the rules of a larger system. Notable successes have included experiments with chess and Starcraft. Given that self-teaching capability, it's tempting to think that computer-controlled systems should be able to teach themselves everything they need to know to operate. Obviously, for a complex system like a self-driving car, we're not there yet. But it should be much easier with a simpler system, right?

Maybe not. A group of researchers in Amsterdam attempted to take a very simple mobile robot and create a system that would learn to optimize its movement through a learn-by-doing process. While the system the researchers developed was flexible and could be effective, it ran into trouble due to some basic features of the real world, like friction.

Roving robots

The robots in the study were incredibly simple and were formed from a varying number of identical units. Each had an on-board controller, battery, and motion sensor. A pump controlled a piece of inflatable tubing that connected a unit to a neighboring unit. When inflated, the tubing generated a force that pushed the two units apart. When deflated, the tubing would pull the units back together.

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HTC’s newest headsets signal end of Vive’s 5-year “VR for the home” mission

Vive Focus 3 is a $1,299, enterprise-grade answer to Oculus Quest 2, plus Vive Pro 2.

The HTC Vive Focus 3, the company's latest and highest-powered untethered VR system yet. New controllers, improved internal specs... and a very high MSRP of $1,299. [credit: HTC ]

Today's VR-centric ViveCon 2021, presented by HTC's Vive division of VR headsets, kicks off with two new headset models slated to launch this year.

That's probably the headline HTC wants VR fans to focus on—hooray, new stuff to strap to faces—but a closer examination of both headsets (and feedback directly from HTC's executive team) puts a damper on that, at least for any average consumer interested in buying either.

The Vive Focus 3, HTC's newest "all-in-one" untethered VR headset, competes directly with the Oculus Quest 2, but it costs a whopping $1,000 more than the Facebook-branded option, at $1,299 MSRP. And the Vive Pro 2, a long-overdue spec bump to 2018's Vive Pro, resembles the earlier model all too much while costing either $799 by itself or $1,399 for its "full kit."

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Triller Hits H3 Podcast With $50m Jake Paul Piracy Lawsuit, Judge Guts Original Complaint

Triller’s legal campaign against entities that allegedly streamed the Jake Paul boxing match has taken two new and significant turns. After the judge gutted the original lawsuit targeting several sites, dismissing all but one of them from a $100m lawsuit, Triller has now filed a second complaint, demanding $50m from the popular H3 Podcast.

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

Triller’s legal campaign against sites and other entities that allegedly streamed the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight on April 17 is fast becoming an entertainment product in its own right.

Triller began by filing a $100m complaint against several domains and individuals, describing them as “business entities” that breached its copyrights. On the heels of this complaint, Triller launched an amnesty program, advising people who watched the fight illegally to pay $49.99 to avoid being sucked into its litigation drive.

As reported last week, Triller asked the court for permission to subpoena YouTube and Google to obtain information against the defendants, so that it could build a more thorough case against them. Now, however, it’s clear the court isn’t happy with the way the lawsuit is being pursued.

Triller Fails To Convince Judge, Lawsuit in Peril

Previously, Judge Percy Anderson raised questions over Triller’s claims that the defendants in the lawsuit acted together to infringe the company’s rights. Noting that Triller had not presented any well-pleaded facts to support this allegation, the Judge put the company on notice, warning that he could drop one or more defendants from the lawsuit. Triller did file a response but completely failed to convince the court.

Triller previously insisted that the defendants acted jointly, noting that they were all connected due to each entity being involved in the illegal distribution of the Jake Paul fight. The Judge found this unconvincing and explained that Triller had offered no evidence to show anything other than the defendants acting independently.

“Put simply, the Court provided Plaintiff with an opportunity to provide the Court with some evidentiary basis to support its conclusory allegations supporting joinder of these Defendants. Plaintiff’s failure to provide any such evidence and Ex Parte Application for Expedited Discovery indicates that it currently lacks facts to support joinder and calls into question the adequacy of Plaintiff’s compliance with its pre-suit investigation obligations..,” Judge Anderson responded.

In respect of Triller’s demand to have Google and YouTube hand over information on the defendants as a matter of urgency, so that it could file for a preliminary injunction to prevent further infringement, the Judge said that would not be happening either.

“According to Plaintiff, a preliminary injunction is necessary to prevent the irreparable harm of Defendants continuing to offer the Broadcast without authorization. Plaintiff does not, however, explain what irreparable harm it continues to suffer from the availability of copies of a live sporting event that occurred weeks ago, the outcome of which is publicly available, and lasted less than two minutes,” he wrote.

Judge Guts Triller’s $100m Lawsuit

After denying Triller’s application for expedited discovery, the Judge has also gone ahead with his threat to dismiss several defendants from the lawsuit. AccessTVPro.co, Online2LiveStreams.us, CrackStreamsLive.com, Sports-Today.club, My-Sports.club, BilaSport.com, Trendy Clips, Mike, Your Extra, Eclipt Gaming, ItsLilBrandon, and the H3 Podcast were all dismissed, leaving FilmDaily.com as the sole defendant.

While the dismissed defendants may see this as a victory, the Judge clearly stated that Triller was not being prevented from filing additional lawsuits against these defendants in the future. The main problem was their joining in the same lawsuit as cooperating parties and the possibility that the illegal conduct of one defendant could be wrongly attributed to another independent defendant.

The big question, then, was whether Triller would simply focus on FilmDaily.com or if it would begin filing additional lawsuits. That question has now been answered after Triller filed an individual lawsuit targeting the H3 Podcast, demanding huge financial compensation.

Triller: H3 Podcast Alone Caused $50m in Damages

The new complaint against the H3 Podcast follows a similar format to Triller’s original lawsuit, albeit with some modifications. The claims for two types of copyright infringement, violations of the Federal Communications Act (FCA), conversion, and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act stand, while claims for breach of contract and conspiracy have now been removed.

The claims center on the YouTube channel of the H3 Podcast, from where it’s alleged its operators “unlawfully uploaded, distributed, and publicly displayed” the fight in breach of Triller’s rights and from where infringement continues to this day.

“Defendant’s calculated and reprehensible infringement, theft, and other unlawful acts — committed in knowing violation of the law — has resulted in damages suffered by Plaintiff in excess of $50,000,000.00, by stealing and diverting upwards of 1,000,000 unique viewers of the illegal and unauthorized viewings of the Broadcast from Plaintiff,” the complaint reads.

Whether Triller will file additional lawsuits covering the other defendants dismissed from the original complaint is currently unclear. What is obvious, however, is that the mainstream visibility of the H3 Podcast and its hosts, Ethan and Hila Klein, has made that ‘business entity’ the easiest to pursue.

The judge’s order in response to Triller’s failed attempt to show cause can be found here (pdf). Triller’s new $50m lawsuit targeting the H3 Podcast can be found here (pdf)

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

Amazon and others ordered to slash diesel pollution from warehouse trucks

Southern California is being smothered by pollution from e-commerce warehouses.

An Amazon Prime delivery truck drives through the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach on April 22, 2020, in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)

The trucks that move goods sold by Amazon and other e-commerce retailers have become a growing source of diesel pollution across the US, and few places are feeling the effects as acutely as Southern California. Now, the region is pushing back with a new air pollution rule aimed at slashing noxious emissions from warehouse trucks. The rule could serve as a template for other areas.

As e-commerce has grown in recent years—and surged during the pandemic—retailers have been building warehouses at a breakneck pace. Amazon, for example, plans to expand the square footage of its fulfillment centers in the US by 50 percent this year. Each new or expanded warehouse requires more trucks both to stock its shelves and to distribute its orders.

Though the warehouses serve customers scattered throughout the region, pollution is heaviest on the streets around the warehouse, and the people living nearby suffer most acutely. Diesel pollution from heavy trucks causes everything from asthma to heart attacks, and even Parkinson’s disease. Previously, such pollution tended to be concentrated around shipping ports and highways, but the growth of e-commerce has created a new source that is affecting neighborhoods farther inland.

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