Month: October 2021

Nach Afghanistan ist vor neuen Einsätzen

Ein Wegweiser für die CIA, den BND, befreundete Dienste, das Weiße Haus, benachbarte Häuser, die Bundesregierung, die EU, Mainstream-Medien auf beiden Seiten des Atlantiks und alle angeblich Überraschten von den Entwicklungen am Hindukusch

Ein Wegweiser für die CIA, den BND, befreundete Dienste, das Weiße Haus, benachbarte Häuser, die Bundesregierung, die EU, Mainstream-Medien auf beiden Seiten des Atlantiks und alle angeblich Überraschten von den Entwicklungen am Hindukusch

iOS 15.1 brings delayed SharePlay feature to iPhones and iPads

iOS also adds ProRes video-capture support on the iPhone 13 Pro.

A blue smartphone with two cameras.

Enlarge / The back of the iPhone 13. (credit: Samuel Axon)

Timed with the launch of macOS Monterey, Apple today pushed out new versions of iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1 most notably add SharePlay, a flagship feature intended for iOS 15 that didn't make the annual release's launch last month.

SharePlay is Apple's word for a suite of features that allows consumption of content with other callers inside a FaceTime call, like watching synchronized streams of Apple TV+ shows and Apple Fitness+ workouts. There's also an API to allow third-party applications to offer the same features.

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Tesla pulls Full Self-Driving update after sudden braking spooks drivers

Automaker released another new version of its controversial software today.

Photograph of a high-end red sports car.

Enlarge / The front view of Tesla's new Model 3 car on display is seen on Friday, January 26, 2018, at the Tesla store in Washington, DC. (credit: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software lived up to its “beta” label this weekend.

On Saturday morning, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced a delay for the 10.3 update after internal quality-assurance testers discovered that the new version performed worse at left turns at traffic lights than previous versions. Then, on Sunday afternoon, Musk said that Tesla would be “rolling back to 10.2 temporarily” after reports of sudden braking, false warnings, and other issues.

Several owners reported that their vehicles braked suddenly when the software mistakenly reported an imminent collision. Known as automatic emergency braking (or AEB), neither the feature nor its bugs are limited to Tesla—Mazda recalled some of its cars in 2019 for similar problems.

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Viewing website HTML code is not illegal or “hacking,” prof. tells Missouri gov.

Professor demands that governor halt “baseless investigation” and apologize.

Cybersecurity professor Shaji Khan sitting in a chair.

Enlarge / Cybersecurity professor Shaji Khan of University of Missouri–St. Louis. (credit: University of Missouri–St. Louis)

The cybersecurity professor who helped uncover the Missouri government's failure to protect teachers' Social Security numbers has demanded that the state cease its investigation into him and stop making "baseless accusations" that he committed a crime.

As we reported on October 14, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson threatened to prosecute and seek civil damages from a St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalist who identified a security flaw that exposed the Social Security numbers of teachers and other school employees. The state is also investigating Shaji Khan, a cybersecurity professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis who helped the Post-Dispatch journalist verify the security vulnerability.

This is all happening despite the fact that the state government made teachers' Social Security numbers available in an unencrypted form in the HTML source code of a publicly accessible website. The governor's strategy of blaming those who discovered the flaw earned him widespread mockery on social media from people who are familiar with the standard "view source" function present in major web browsers.

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‘Free Download Manager’ Removes YouTube Support After Google Complaint

“Free Download Manager” is an iconic download tool that’s been around for nearly two decades. In 2007, the software was one of the first applications to support YouTube downloads but that’s come to an end, for now. Following a complaint from YouTube parent Google, the functionality was suddenly removed a few days ago.

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

youtube sad errorWith over a billion users YouTube is the largest video portal on the Internet.

The service opens the door to a wealth of information and entertainment, including the latest and greatest music which can be streamed for free.

Through YouTube, the music industry generated billions of dollars in advertising revenue. While this sounds great, YouTube also presents an indirect threat, as third-party tools allow people to rip and download music to enjoy outside of the streaming service.

Stream-ripping Crackdown

Over the past several years, major music labels have taken legal action against several stream-ripping services. YouTube-MP3 was shut down after a legal battle and 2Conv and FLVto may suffer the same fate. In addition, rightsholders are actively trying to remove these sites from Google’s search results.

YouTube isn’t sitting still either. The company prohibits third-party services from downloading YouTube content and is actively blocking the IP addresses of known offenders. While YouTube itself hasn’t taken any legal action, the company shut down a YouTube ripper through a WIPO domain name dispute a few months ago.

Most of the enforcement activity of YouTube and its parent Google takes place outside of the limelight. However, there’s plenty going on behind the scenes, as a recent issue at “Free Download Manager” (FDM) shows.

‘Free Download Manager’ Pulls YouTube Support

FDM is a multi-purpose download tool that has been around since 2004. The software can optimize browser downloads and has a built-in BitTorrent client. It was also one of the first tools to add support for YouTube downloads back in 2007, but this functionality was abruptly removed a few days ago.

There is no official announcement on FDM’s website but, after reports started to trickle in at the forums, developer Alex confirmed that YouTube support was pulled intentionally.

“We’re sorry to say, YouTube downloads are not available for now. We are in progress of discussing this issue with Google,” Alex writes, adding that FDM received a claim from Google and that the functionality has been “temporarily” removed until the issue is sorted.

The question remains whether YouTube downloads will ever return to the tool, as YouTube makes it very clear that this isn’t allowed anywhere in the world. While it’s technically possible, it seems doubtful that FDM will get the green light from Google.

YouTube References Disappear Too

Also, FDM hasn’t just removed the YouTube downloading functionality, it has also stripped the official site of YouTube references. This includes the 2007 blog post titled “FDM 2.3 BETA 6,” where YouTube support was officially announced.

fdm reference

The blog post itself remains online but the YouTube reference above is no longer present. And there is more. FDM’s dedicated Youtube page now returns a 404 error. As Ghacks notes, this page was working just fine earlier.

TorrentFreak reached out to FDM to find out more about the nature of Google’s demands. A spokesperson informed us that the issue persists but didn’t add any specifics regarding Google’s complaint, or whether FDM faces ‘potential’ legal consequences.

Warnings From YouTube’s Legal Team Are Not New

Over the years, YouTube’s legal team has regularly approached operators of stream-ripping services with cease and desist notices. These warnings typically don’t come with any concrete legal threats. Instead, they urge the recipients to comply with YouTube’s Terms of Services and Developer Policies, which prohibit unauthorized downloading.

Example of a Legal Warning (previously sent to another service)

youtube legal team

The warnings come with an ultimatum requiring the operators to comply. This strategy can be quite effective, as smaller sites are easily threatened and swiftly throw in the towel, but others continue regardless.

We don’t know whether FDM received such a threat but it’s clear that, whatever the message was, it’s serious enough for the developers to remove the YouTube stream-ripping functionality. For now…

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

Lilbits: Google Pixel 6 reviews, Kodi 19.3, and JioPhone Next

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro reviews are starting to arrive, and they’re looking pretty good. The phones aren’t perfect, but they seem to largely deliver on Google’s promises, and with prices starting at $599, they’re more affordable many competitors, which make any flaws a lot easier to handle. In other recent tech news […]

The post Lilbits: Google Pixel 6 reviews, Kodi 19.3, and JioPhone Next appeared first on Liliputing.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro reviews are starting to arrive, and they’re looking pretty good. The phones aren’t perfect, but they seem to largely deliver on Google’s promises, and with prices starting at $599, they’re more affordable many competitors, which make any flaws a lot easier to handle.

In other recent tech news from around the web, LG may be planning to launch its first Chromebook, Indian telecom Reliance Jio is showing off the upcoming JioPhone Next, a budget phone developed together with Google, and there’s a new build of the open source Kodi media center application.

Google Pixel 6 and 6 pro review megathread [/r/Android]

The first Google Pixel 6 reviews are in and they’re mostly positive. The Tensor processor may not be a Snapdragon 888 killer, but it holds its own, cameras and battery life are great, and prices are very competitive. Here’s a roundup of reviews & comments.

Samsung Galaxy Book released for $750 and up [press release]

Samsung’s updated Galaxy Book is a 15.6 inch notebook with up to a Core i7-1165G7 processor and Iris Xe MAX graphics. It’s a lot like the version that launched earlier this year, but prices now start at $750 with no Celeron or Pentium (or NVIDIA) options.

LG may be entering the Chromebook business [Chrome Unboxed]

LG may be preparing to launch its first Chromebook. That’s… about all we know about it so far, but a Bluetooth SIG listing for an “LG Chromebook” with model number 11TC50Q suggests that it’s on the way.

LG Chromebook listing at Bluetooth SIG

Kodi “Matrix” 19.3 Release [Kodi]

Kodi 19.3 released, with the latest version of the open source media center application bringing fixes for Dolby Atmos sound, Airplay support, and Xbox support plus improvements for displaying metadata shown in Linux app stores.

Size comparison between Pocket 2 and Pocket 3 [GPD/YouTube]

Unsurprisingly, the GPD Pocket 3 with an 8 inch display is larger than the Pocket 2, which has a 7 inch screen. There’s also room for a bigger keyboard and a touchpad. As this short comparison video shows, it’s probably a little less pocket-sized though.

Making of JioPhone Next [Jio/YouTube]

The JioPhone Next is a budget phone from Reliance Jio and Google. First teased in September, it launches soon in India, but instead of running Android Go, it will have a custom Android UI called Pragati OS with Jio apps, text-to-speech, translation & more.

Keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter and Facebook and follow @LinuxSmartphone on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news on open source mobile phones.

The post Lilbits: Google Pixel 6 reviews, Kodi 19.3, and JioPhone Next appeared first on Liliputing.

Resident Evil 4 VR analysis: Use Sidequest to access what Facebook denies you

Not every classic 3D game works in VR, but RE4 sure does.

This faked perspective of <em>Resident Evil 4</em>'s monsters coming at you implies that playing the new VR version will make your VR lenses crack. Ars Technica can verify that this is not actually the case—and even better, after applying some manual, "developer mode" toggles, the game is quite good.

Enlarge / This faked perspective of Resident Evil 4's monsters coming at you implies that playing the new VR version will make your VR lenses crack. Ars Technica can verify that this is not actually the case—and even better, after applying some manual, "developer mode" toggles, the game is quite good. (credit: Capcom / Facebook)

After testing Thursday's virtual reality launch of Resident Evil 4 (RE4VR), which is currently an Oculus Quest exclusive, I found myself equally impressed and puzzled. As the roughly 4,000th port of RE4 since the game's original 2005 launch, this new version manages to establish itself as the action-horror classic's best version. It's absolutely the one new and old players should gravitate toward—even if it's missing a few crucial elements.

But as of press time, our recommendation comes with some asterisks, so this is both a review and a technical guide. Facebook may sell the Oculus Quest as a simple, "set-and-forget" path to VR, but in the case of RE4VR, I recommend going through some complicated steps to make the game far more playable on its target platform of the Quest 2—and explain the iffy method to unlock the game's compatibility with the Quest 1. It's not clear why Facebook, Capcom, and porting studio Armature didn't straighten all this out for average customers in the first place.

Investigating the Quest 1 restriction

Armature and Capcom's official screens from the game are cropped to look better on a desktop monitor and are slightly sweetened visually. This one is the most authentic representation of how the game looks on the Quest 2. You can clearly see the original polygonal makeup here.

Armature and Capcom's official screens from the game are cropped to look better on a desktop monitor and are slightly sweetened visually. This one is the most authentic representation of how the game looks on the Quest 2. You can clearly see the original polygonal makeup here. (credit: Capcom / Facebook)

For now, this version of Resident Evil 4 only works on Oculus Quest hardware and not on Windows PCs or PlayStation 4's VR mode. Capcom seems to love locking VR versions of its horror games to specific platforms, as the groundbreaking VR mode in 2017's Resident Evil 7 remains exclusive to PlayStation VR. (Seriously, Capcom? Five years later, and you still haven't ported that wonderful game to a more powerful VR system?)

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Four revelations from the Facebook Papers

Trove of leaked documents paint damaging picture of company that has prioritized growth.

Four revelations from the Facebook Papers

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

Facebook is battling its gravest crisis since the Cambridge Analytica scandal after a whistleblower accusing the company of placing “profit over safety” shed light on its inner workings through thousands of pages of leaked memos.

The documents were disclosed to US regulators and provided to Congress in redacted form by Frances Haugen’s legal counsel. A consortium of news organisations, including the Financial Times, has obtained the redacted versions received by Congress.

Earlier this month, Haugen testified in Congress that the social media company does not do enough to ensure the safety of its 2.9 billion users, plays down the harm it can cause to society and has repeatedly misled investors and the public. The Wall Street Journal also ran a series of articles called the Facebook Files.

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