Month: January 2022

The PinePhone is an inexpensive Linux-friendly smartphone with a $150 starting price. And now you can turn it into a tiny Linux laptop thanks to a $50 keyboard accessory.

It’s one of four new PinePhone accessories that are now available from the Pine Store.

In addition to being able to run mobile Linux distributions, the PinePhone has a few other special features that are available when you remove the back cover of the phone. There are a set of hardware kill switches for disabling the mic, camera, or wireless features. And there are a set of pogo pins that allow you to connect other hardware.

Pine64’s new accessories are all designed as replacement covers that can connect to those pins:

• PinePhone Wireless Charging case for $10
• PinePhone LoRa case for $20
• PinePhone Fingerprint reader for $25
• PinePhone Keyboard for $50

All of the cases are compatible with both the original PinePhone and the newer PinePhone Pro, a higher-performance smartphone with a faster processor, more memory and storage, and a $399 price tag. PinePhone Pro Developer Edition devices began shipping recently and an Explorer Edition for early adopters is expected to be available soon.

The PinePhone Keyboard and wireless charging cases have been under development for over a year, and after extensive testing, the final design features a clamshell-style design that allows the phone to fold over the keyboard when closed, or open up like a laptop.

There’s a 6,000 mAh battery in the keyboard that helps extend the PinePhone’s battery life and also helps balance the device when placed flat on a table. And thanks to a 180-degree hinge, you can also hold the PinePhone keyboard in two hands for thumb typing.

Since the keyboard connects to the phone’s pogo pins, you don’t lose access to the PinePhone’s USB-C port, and there are also cut-outs for the phone’s camera and headphone jack. The keyboard also has its own USB-C port that can power and charge both the keyboard and the PinePhone.

And if you’re not happy with the keyboard layout, most of the keys can be removed and rearranged. The keyboard’s firmware is also open source and programmable.

You can find more information about the new accessories at the Pine64 blog.

	PinePhone Pro	PinePhone
Display	6 inch 1440 x 720 pixel IPS LCD Gorilla Glass 4	5.95 inch 1440 x 720 pixel IPS LCD
SoC	Rockchip RK3399S 2 x ARM Cortex-A72 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.5 GHz	Allwinner A64 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.2 GHz
GPU	ARM Mali-T760 4-cores @ 500 MHz	ARM Mali-400MP2
RAM	4GB LPDDR4 @ 800 MHz	2GB or 3GB LPDDR3
Storage	128GB eMMC	16GB or 32GB eMMC
Camera (rear)	13MP Sony IMX258 LED flash	5MP Omnivision OV5640 LED flash
Camera (front)	8MP Omnivision OV8858	2MP GC2035
Modem	Quectel EG25-G with global GSM and CDMA 4G LTE GPS, A-GPS, GLONAS	Quectel EG25-G with global GSM and CDMA 4G LTE GPS, A-GPS, GLONAS
WiFi	Ampak AP6255 WiFi 5	WiFi 4
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.1	Bluetooth 4.0
I/O	USB 3.0 Type-C (power, data, video) pogo pins 3.5mm headphone microSD card reader	USB 2.0 Type-C (power, data, video) pogo pins 3.5mm headphone microSD card reader
Sensors	Accelerometer Gyroscope Proximity Compass Ambient Light	Accelerator Gyroscope Proximity Compass Ambient Light Barometer
Buttons	Power Volume up/down	Power Volume up/down
Hardware kill switches	Cameras Microphone WiFi & BT LTE modem Headphones	Cameras Microphone WiFi & BT LTE modem Headphones
Battery	3,000 mAh Samsung J7 form-factor	3,000 mAh Samsung J7 form-factor
Charging	5V/3A (15W)	5V/3A (15W)
Dimensions	160.8 x 76.6 x 11.1mm	160.5 x 76.6 x 9.2mm
Weight	215 grams	180 – 200 grams
Price	$399	$149 / $199

Recent PinePhone news

• PinePhone keyboard now available (Wireless charging, fingerprint, and LoRa cases too)

• $399 PinePhone Pro Explorer Edition Linux Smartphone will go on sale within weeks

• PineBoy 3000 wrist mount turns a PinePhone into a Pip-Boy

• PinePhone Pro and PineNote now shipping to developers

• Glodroid brings Android 12 to the PinePhone (sort of)

The post PinePhone keyboard now available (Wireless charging, fingerprint, and LoRa cases too) appeared first on Liliputing.

The PinePhone is an inexpensive Linux-friendly smartphone with a $150 starting price. And now you can turn it into a tiny Linux laptop thanks to a $50 keyboard accessory.

It’s one of four new PinePhone accessories that are now available from the Pine Store.

In addition to being able to run mobile Linux distributions, the PinePhone has a few other special features that are available when you remove the back cover of the phone. There are a set of hardware kill switches for disabling the mic, camera, or wireless features. And there are a set of pogo pins that allow you to connect other hardware.

Pine64’s new accessories are all designed as replacement covers that can connect to those pins:

• PinePhone Wireless Charging case for $10
• PinePhone LoRa case for $20
• PinePhone Fingerprint reader for $25
• PinePhone Keyboard for $50

All of the cases are compatible with both the original PinePhone and the newer PinePhone Pro, a higher-performance smartphone with a faster processor, more memory and storage, and a $399 price tag. PinePhone Pro Developer Edition devices began shipping recently and an Explorer Edition for early adopters is expected to be available soon.

The PinePhone Keyboard and wireless charging cases have been under development for over a year, and after extensive testing, the final design features a clamshell-style design that allows the phone to fold over the keyboard when closed, or open up like a laptop.

There’s a 6,000 mAh battery in the keyboard that helps extend the PinePhone’s battery life and also helps balance the device when placed flat on a table. And thanks to a 180-degree hinge, you can also hold the PinePhone keyboard in two hands for thumb typing.

Since the keyboard connects to the phone’s pogo pins, you don’t lose access to the PinePhone’s USB-C port, and there are also cut-outs for the phone’s camera and headphone jack. The keyboard also has its own USB-C port that can power and charge both the keyboard and the PinePhone.

And if you’re not happy with the keyboard layout, most of the keys can be removed and rearranged. The keyboard’s firmware is also open source and programmable.

You can find more information about the new accessories at the Pine64 blog.

	PinePhone Pro	PinePhone
Display	6 inch 1440 x 720 pixel IPS LCD Gorilla Glass 4	5.95 inch 1440 x 720 pixel IPS LCD
SoC	Rockchip RK3399S 2 x ARM Cortex-A72 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.5 GHz	Allwinner A64 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.2 GHz
GPU	ARM Mali-T760 4-cores @ 500 MHz	ARM Mali-400MP2
RAM	4GB LPDDR4 @ 800 MHz	2GB or 3GB LPDDR3
Storage	128GB eMMC	16GB or 32GB eMMC
Camera (rear)	13MP Sony IMX258 LED flash	5MP Omnivision OV5640 LED flash
Camera (front)	8MP Omnivision OV8858	2MP GC2035
Modem	Quectel EG25-G with global GSM and CDMA 4G LTE GPS, A-GPS, GLONAS	Quectel EG25-G with global GSM and CDMA 4G LTE GPS, A-GPS, GLONAS
WiFi	Ampak AP6255 WiFi 5	WiFi 4
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.1	Bluetooth 4.0
I/O	USB 3.0 Type-C (power, data, video) pogo pins 3.5mm headphone microSD card reader	USB 2.0 Type-C (power, data, video) pogo pins 3.5mm headphone microSD card reader
Sensors	Accelerometer Gyroscope Proximity Compass Ambient Light	Accelerator Gyroscope Proximity Compass Ambient Light Barometer
Buttons	Power Volume up/down	Power Volume up/down
Hardware kill switches	Cameras Microphone WiFi & BT LTE modem Headphones	Cameras Microphone WiFi & BT LTE modem Headphones
Battery	3,000 mAh Samsung J7 form-factor	3,000 mAh Samsung J7 form-factor
Charging	5V/3A (15W)	5V/3A (15W)
Dimensions	160.8 x 76.6 x 11.1mm	160.5 x 76.6 x 9.2mm
Weight	215 grams	180 – 200 grams
Price	$399	$149 / $199

Recent PinePhone news

• PinePhone keyboard now available (Wireless charging, fingerprint, and LoRa cases too)

• $399 PinePhone Pro Explorer Edition Linux Smartphone will go on sale within weeks

• PineBoy 3000 wrist mount turns a PinePhone into a Pip-Boy

• PinePhone Pro and PineNote now shipping to developers

• Glodroid brings Android 12 to the PinePhone (sort of)

The post PinePhone keyboard now available (Wireless charging, fingerprint, and LoRa cases too) appeared first on Liliputing.

Ein (notwendigerweise subjektiver) Jahresrückblick

Ein großer Konzern und eine Behörde aus Japan wollen dem von Bill Gates mitgegründeten Startup Terrapower beim Bau des ersten Atomkraftwerks helfen. (Strom, Technologie)

Read 34 remaining paragraphs | Comments

With the empty bottles of sparkling liquid still on the table, TorrentFreak plans to tread into uncharted waters today.

We don’t make predictions every year, but when we do, they usually take a while to come true. For example, the “Pirate Coin” we envisioned in 2018 took more than three years to arrive. Sort of.

That said, it never hurts to let imaginations run wild for a while, so here’s what we’ve come up with this year. Needless to say, a pinch of salt is in order.

The Pirate Bay Sells Its Logo as an NFT

NFTs were all the rage last year and the months to come will offer plenty of opportunities to grab some free cash. That should be music to the ears of The Pirate Bay crew, while they are still working out what to do with their token.

Over the past two decades, The Pirate Bay has been the shining example of an early blockchain adopter, so NFTs would fit right in. Especially when they request payment in their own TPB token. The first offering will be an NFT for the iconic Pirate Bay logo, which will sell for roughly $19,229.

This NFT will come with several perks, including VIP uploader status and a counterfeit passport of the micronation Sealand. Soon after, all archived TPB doodles will be sold as NFTs as well.

These images that are tied to these NFTs will of course be shared freely on The Pirate Bay and elsewhere. The buyers can be assured though, no matter how many people copy the images, they still hold the unique NFT rights.

Copyright Holders Sue an Electricity Supplier

In recent years copyright holders have filed a variety of lawsuits against third-party intermediaries that allegedly facilitate piracy. This includes DNS providers, ISPs, hosting companies, advertisers, and VPN providers.

This year we expect to add an electricity supplier to this list. The multi-billion-dollar energy industry profits from nearly all aspects of the piracy ecosystem. And they have never disconnected a single client for copyright infringement.

The problem starts with the pirate suppliers, including scene groups. When they crack or rip content they always use electricity, and the same electricity is used to power the servers of their topsites.

Once the pirated music and movies make their way to public pirate sites – which are powered by energy – millions of people use electricity to illegally stream or download the pirated files. Despite this obvious connection, power companies are all turning a blind eye to this massive infringement.

Ultra-Niche Streaming Platforms Take Off

The success of Disney+, HBO Max, and other streaming services has inspired the movie industry to launch more ‘niche’ products for film fans. Disney is the first to start with Marvel+, which will air Marvel-themed movies and TV series six weeks before they land on Disney+. A combined subscription to both services is available at a discount.

Netflix soon realizes the potential of branching out. The streaming platform will move all of its exclusive content to Netflix Xtra in the summer of 2022.

This new service will host all Netflix originals, which will only be available for three months after their premiere on the regular Netflix platform.

Toward the end of 2022 independent film companies will jump on board. Millennium Films will take their Olympus/London/Angel “Has Fallen” series of all streaming services to launch HasFallen+. A lifetime subscription sells for $49 and comes with three movie posters and a sticker pack.

Guess what this has to do with piracy…

The First ‘Prophylactic’ Site Blocking Order

Copyright holders have managed to get pirate sites blocked in dozens of countries and this trend is not going to stop. However, simply blocking existing domain names and IP-addresses is not longer sufficient.

The next move is obviously to block domain names before they exist. This will ensure that 123movies, The Pirate Bay, or any random torrent site can’t simply move to a new domain to evade the blockade.

The High Court in Delhi, India, is the first to acknowledge this hydra monster threat. It therefore agrees to a prophylactic ‘wildcard’ order that blocks all domain names that include 123movies, tamilrockers, piratebay, and IPTV.

After two weeks the order is revised after several complaints from legitimate domains that use the word torrent, including TorrentFreak and the Spanish city Torrent. The High Court unblocks these domains and instates a complaint board to deal with similar problems going forward.

Premier League Introduces Anti-Piracy Time-Outs (VAR)

Piracy is a massive problem for live sporting events. Regular takedown notices need to be processed in near-real time to be effective. In 2021, sports organizers’ concerns were backed by the EU, which proposed a maximum takedown window of 30 minutes.

In addition, the Premier League and EUFA obtain more dynamic blocking orders, which compel ISPs to take swift action while football matches are ongoing.

These enforcement options are welcome but they’re not enough. To frustrate pirates even further, the Premier League will decide to buy itself some more time. At the start of the 22/23 season, all matches will have two Video Anti-Piracy Restriction (VAPR) time-outs.

These VAPR time-outs are essentially five-minute breaks that will buy anti-piracy specialists some extra time to take down infringing streams. To fill these gaps, TV viewers will be entertained with advertisements, while people in the stadium can get some drinks and snacks.

—

Happy 2022!

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

Das Remake von Uncharted 4, dazu Elden Ring und Dying Light 2: 2022 fängt stark an. Spannend wird es in Sachen PS5 Slim und Switch Pro. Von Peter Steinlechner (Starfield, Gamescom)

Erstmals Rückgang bei der Grünstromerzeugung in 2021. Ausbau müsste massiv beschleunigt werden, auch um die AKW zeitnah zu ersetzen

Nach Absagen diverser wichtiger Unternehmen, darunter Google, Mercedes und AMD, wird die Messe verkürzt. (CES 2022, Google)

Die Gewerkschaft hat in der Nähe von Teslas Fabrik in Grünheide ein Büro eröffnet und will möglichst viele Beschäftigte beraten. (Tesla, Elektroauto)