Month: November 2021

Zehn CPU-Kerne dank Alder Lake und eine schnelle Raytracing-Grafikkarte: Der Golem Highend Plus liefert eine sehr hohe Leistung. (Aus dem Verlag, Prozessor)

Tesla bringt für sein spurtstärkstes Elektroauto eine renntaugliche Bremsanlage auf den Markt. (Tesla, Elektroauto)

Read 16 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Read 15 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Read 32 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Zwar laufen diverse Rabattaktionen bei Amazon, Alternate, Media Markt und Co. schon seit einiger Zeit, doch der eigentliche Black Friday ist heute. (Black Friday, Amazon)

Boris Johnson hat viele Probleme auszusitzen versucht. Nun brechen sie über ihn herein. Corona-Krise wird zur Betonierung staatlicher Repression genutzt

Over the past two decades, online piracy has proven a massive challenge for the entertainment industries.

Some copyright holders have tried to go after individual pirates in court but, increasingly, third-party intermediaries are targeted as well.

There are several lawsuits pending in US courts where rightsholders accuse Internet providers of not doing enough to stop piracy. One of the main allegations is that ISPs fail to terminate accounts of repeat infringers in ‘appropriate circumstances’, as is required under the DMCA.

These lawsuits were pioneered by music companies that had some success on this front, including a $1 billion verdict against Cox. More recently a group of filmmakers adopted a similar strategy by suing several Internet providers, including WOW!.

Filmmakers sue WoW!

WOW! is being sued by a group of smaller movie companies, including Millennium Media and Voltage Pictures. They accuse the ISP of failing to terminate the accounts of subscribers who were repeatedly flagged for sharing copyrighted material. As such, they want to hold WOW! liable for these pirating activities, which could lead to millions of dollars in damages.

The ISP responded a few weeks ago with a motion to dismiss the case. Among other things, the company argued that an IP address is not sufficient to prove that subscribers downloaded any infringing material.

The filmmakers opposed the motion to dismiss in court yesterday. With regard to the IP address evidence, they point out that WOW!’s own terms of service points out that subscribers are fully responsible for how and by whom their account is used.

The full opposition includes a wide variety of other arguments as well, which the court has yet to decide over. Meanwhile, a new issue is brewing that could potentially put thousands of WOW! subscribers in the movie companies’ crosshairs.

Disclosing Pirates’ Personal Details

Both sides are preparing for the discovery process, which allows them to gather evidence from the counterparty if the case continues. Among other things, the filmmakers want WOW! to disclose the identities of the account holders whose IP addresses were repeatedly flagged as infringing.

WOW! does want to hand over the names of its subscribers, even if these are only used for this case. However, the filmmakers ask for more. They want to reserve the right to sue these pirating subscribers in separate lawsuits and propose adding the following line to the protective order:

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Plaintiffs are not limited from using subscriber information to pursue legal relief against certain subscribers,” the proposed addition reads.

The disclosure of personal details in a lawsuit like this is not uncommon. Last year, Charter was ordered to do the same as part of its legal battle with several music companies. However, that disclosure order prohibited rightsholders from going after subscribers in separate lawsuits.

Few Other Options

The filmmakers don’t want this limitation. They point out that WOW! leaves them with few other options, since the ISP refuses to terminate repeat infringers based on repeated copyright infringement notices.

“Since Defendant refuses to terminate the accounts of its customer that are pirating Plaintiffs’ Works thousands of times in response to these Notices, Plaintiffs must preserve their opportunity to take actions to protect their valuable copyrights from the piracy of Defendant’s customers,” they inform the court.

The only other option the rightsholders have is to file “John Doe” lawsuits. However, the filmmakers point out that WOW! has criticized these legal efforts as well.

WOW! Objects

Responding to the dispute, WOW! argues that its subscribers should not be subjected to potential legal action through this lawsuit, where they are not listed as defendants.

“Plaintiffs should not be permitted to use information properly designated Confidential or Highly Confidential outside of this case, or specifically to file lawsuits against Defendant’s customers,” the ISP writes.

There is no reason to deviate from the custom rule that protected information can only be used for the present case, not for other lawsuits. And if the movie companies want to sue subscribers they can do so through John Doe lawsuits, WOW! notes.

“Plaintiffs’ counsel has filed many John Doe lawsuits against alleged copyright infringers without first obtaining discovery from the defendant’s internet service provider, so they cannot claim to have no other way to pursue their claims.”

If the filmmakers want an exception to this rule they can file a separate request with the court instead of targeting thousands of subscribers in one go, the ISP adds.

Filmmakers Are Willing to Drop Their Request if…

Interestingly, the filmmakers point out that they are happy to drop the request. However, they’ll only do that if WOW! agrees to terminate repeat infringers, which is the exact issue that started this case.

“Plaintiffs are willing to drop their request for this provision if Defendant will stipulate to an injunction to do what it claims it is already doing – terminate the accounts of its customers for which it receives multiple notices of infringement,” they write.

The issue now rests with the court which is expected to decide on these matters in the weeks to come. The disclosure dispute will only come into play if WOW!’s motion to dismiss is denied, partially or as a whole.

—

A copy of the filmmakers’ opposition to the motion to dismiss is available here (pdf) and the joint motion for the entry of a protective order can be found here (pdf)

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

The 2021 Black Friday shopping season kicked off a bit early this year, and Liliputing’s got an in-depth roundup featuring hundreds of deals on computers, gadgets, and accessories. But if you don’t feel like digging through all of that and you’re just looking for some of the best deals, some that truly stand out from the pack.

Here are some of the best Black Friday tech deals I’ve found so far. Have other favorites? Let us know in the comments.

Best Amazon device deals

As usual, Amazon is offering discounts on most of its first-party hardware including Fire tablets, Fire TV media streamers, Kindle eReaders, and Echo smart speakers and displays. But some deals are more compelling than others.

The Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet, for example, is on sale for $75 and up, which is half the usual price for Amazon’s biggest, fastest tablet. If you’re looking for something smaller and cheaper, the Fire HD 8 is a steal at $45 and up, which is also half off the usual price. At this price, I wouldn’t even think about picking up the Fire 7 just to save $10, as you’ll get a bigger, higher-res display and a faster processor with the 8 inch model.

And while Amazon’s tablets ship with Fire OS rather than Android, it’s pretty easy to install the Google Play Store on them, which opens the possibility to installing millions of apps that aren’t available from Amazon’s Appstore.

Looking for a distraction-free reading experience rather than a multi-purpose tablet? Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite is on sale for $105, but I’d strongly recommend considering the Kindle Paperwhite Kids at $115 instead.

For $10 more, you get exactly the same device, but it comes with a protective cover, there are no ads on the lock screen that you have to pay extra to remove, and you get a 1-year subscription to Amazon Kids and a 2-year worry-free guarantee. All you have to do is set up a Kids profile when you first turn on the Kindle, but then you can disable and delete it if you’re not using it.

If $115 seems like a lot to spend on an eReader, there’s also the entry-level Kindle which is on sale for $50 right now. And Amazon offers trade-in deals which can bring the price of any Kindle way down if you’re replacing an older model (I ended up paying less than $60 for the new Kindle Paperwhite Kids last week by trading in my 2016 Paperwhite).

Amazon is also running deals on most of its Fire TV products, with prices starting as low as $18 for a Fire TV Stick Lite. But the best deal of the bunch might be the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max at $35.

This recently-released model has a faster processor and WiFi 6 support, and it’s on sale for $20 off less than two months after launch.

Amazon’s eero 6 mesh WiFi routers are also on sale at their lowest prices to date, and the Echo Dot smart speakers is on sale for $35. The 2nd-gen Echo Buds true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation are also on sale for $70, which is a great price even if you have no plans to ever use Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.

Best Chromebook deals

Looking for a cheap Chrome OS laptop or tablet? It doesn’t get much cheaper than the Lenovo 10e which is a 10 inch tablet selling for $99 right now, although you’ll have to pay extra if you want a keyboard.

Meanwhile, the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 3 is an 11.6 inch laptop with similar specs, but a 360-degree hinge that lets you use it like a tablet. It’s on sale for $150. And the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is a 10 inch 2-in-1 with a detachable keyboard and slightly beefier specs for $229.

Best Windows laptop deals

There are some great deals on Windows laptops at the moment, and it’s hard to narrow down this portion of the list, so I strongly suggesting checking out our full Black Friday Mobile Tech Deals.

But if you’re looking for a convertible notebook with strong specs and a great display, it’s hard to do much better than a 13 inch Samsung Galaxy Book Pro with a 13 inch AMOLED display, an Intel Core i7 Tiger Lake processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $900.

Looking for something a little cheaper? The Lenovo Yoga 7i 14″ convertible with a Core i5 Tiger Lake processor, 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is just $750. And Lenovo’s ThinkBook 13s clamshell notebook with a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is $779.

And if you’re looking for something a lot cheaper, the HP Stream Pro 11.6 inch laptop with an Intel Celeron processor is just $179 and the Samsung Galaxy Book Go with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c processor is just $250.

Best tablet deals

Want a non-Amazon tablet? Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is on sale for $119 and up, while Lenovo’s Tab P11 Plus is going for $210 and up.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 series tablets are some of the best Android tablets around, but also some of the most expensive. Even after deep discounts, they’re selling for $499 and up.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is selling the Surface Pro 7+ and Surface Go 2 Windows tablets for up to $230 off and $150 off, respectively.

Best media streamer deals

While Amazon’s Fire TV 4K Max is tempting, it might not be the best option for everyone. Right now you can also snag a Roku Streaming Stick 4K for $30, or a Roku LE for just $15.

Google’s Chromecast is just $20, while the newer, more powerful Chromecast with Google TV is $40, representing a rare $10 discount.

Best downloads, streaming & subscriptions

Amazon Prime Channels and the Roku Channel are both offering deals on streaming video channels that allow you to pay $1 per month for up to 2 months on a dozen or more channels to get you fill of TV shows and movies. You can find plenty of gems whether you’re looking for kids programming, British mysteries, horror films, or documentaries.

Hulu is also offering subscriptions for $1 per month for up to 12 months – just keep in mind that this is for the ad-supported version of Hulu. You’d have to pay more to go ad-free.

AMC+ is offering a 1-year subscription for $24 (which comes to $2 per month).

And if you’ve never signed up for an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription, you can get 3 months for free right now.

Pretty much every major PC game store including Steam, the Epic Games Store, GOG, and the Humble Store is also running a Black Friday and/or fall sale right now, offering chances to save money on games. The Microsoft Store is getting in on the action too.

The post Best of Black Friday 2021 Tech Deals appeared first on Liliputing.

Siebeneinhalb Jahre soll der Betreiber des Cyberbunkers nach dem Willen der Staatsanwaltschaft in Haft. Seine Komplizen sollen besser davonkommen. (Cyberbunker, Server)