Month: February 2022

Videospielindustrie: Ein Patent, sie zu knechten

Große Gamestudios lassen sich auch naheliegende Ideen durch Patente schützen. In einem Medium, das von Offenheit lebt, behindert das die Innovation. Von Denis Gießler (Games, Softwarepatent)

Große Gamestudios lassen sich auch naheliegende Ideen durch Patente schützen. In einem Medium, das von Offenheit lebt, behindert das die Innovation. Von Denis Gießler (Games, Softwarepatent)

This Ancient Roman ceramic pot was probably a portable toilet, study finds

It’s the first time parasite eggs have been found in concreted layers of a Roman pot.

Rim fragments of a chamber pot being excavated at a Roman villa site in Sicily.

Enlarge / Rim fragments of a chamber pot being excavated at a Roman villa site in Sicily. (credit: R.J.A. Wilson)

Ancient Roman archaeological sites are littered with ceramic pots, and it can be challenging to definitively determine the purpose of any given pot—for instance, if it was used for storage or as a portable toilet (chamber pot). Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of British Columbia have now analyzed the residue on one such ceramic pot and identified the eggs of intestinal parasitic worms commonly found in feces, according to a new paper published in the journal Archaeological Science Reports. That's strong evidence that the 1,500-year-old pot in question was most likely used as a chamber pot.

“Conical pots of this type have been recognized quite widely in the Roman Empire, and in the absence of other evidence, they have often been called storage jars," said co-author Roger Wilson of the University of British Columbia. "The discovery of many in or near public latrines had led to a suggestion that they might have been used as chamber pots, but until now, proof has been lacking."

Archaeologists can learn a great deal by studying the remains of intestinal parasites in ancient feces. Just last month, we reported on an analysis of soil samples collected from a stone toilet found within the ruins of a swanky 7th-century BCE villa just outside Jerusalem. That analysis revealed the presence of parasitic eggs from four different species: whipworm, beef/pork tapeworm, roundworm, and pinworm. (It's the earliest record of roundworm and pinworm in ancient Israel.)

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Police in Spain dismantle a SIM-swapping ring that drained bank accounts

Banks still use SMS for 2FA, much to the satisfaction of crooks.

Police in Spain dismantle a SIM-swapping ring that drained bank accounts

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)

Authorities in Spain said they broke up a SIM-swapping crime ring that used identity theft and falsified documents and texts to target victims’ bank accounts.

In a press release, Spain’s National Police agency said it arrested eight individuals in connection with the operation, which began no later than last March. The suspects, the authorities said, posed as bank employees and used fake messages to obtain personal information and bank details of targeted individuals.

“With this, they deceived the employees of phone stores to obtain duplicate SIM cards and, in this way, have access to the bank's security confirmation messages,” the release stated. “In this way, they could operate in online banking and access bank accounts to empty them after receiving security confirmation messages from the banks.”

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Pirate IPTV Operator Ordered to Pay $231,000 in Damages

A man from Sweden has been convicted for selling subscriptions to pirate IPTV service MacIPTV. The 21-year-old served around 3,000 customers and came to the attention of local anti-piracy group Rights Alliance in 2019, which prompted a police investigation and criminal prosecution.

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

IPTVWhen it comes to anti-piracy investigations and prosecutions, Sweden is perhaps best well known for its work against The Pirate Bay but over the past few years a new threat has emerged.

With torrent sites remaining fairly popular, Swedish authorities have also been attempting to disrupt the pirate IPTV subscription market, services that allow users to access premium live TV channels (plus movies and TV shows) at a fraction of the official market rate.

Last month a 58-year-old man was ordered to pay four Swedish TV companies more than $164,000 in damages after being found guilty of selling illegal IPTV service subscriptions.

Sweden can now add another conviction to the list, one with even greater damages attached.

MacIPTV Reported to the Police in 2019

Working on behalf of production companies SF Studios and Nordisk Film, in September 2019 anti-piracy group Rights Alliance reported one of many entities involved in the supply of pirate IPTV subscriptions to the police.

According to the anti-piracy group, in addition to other content the service made available around 24 of the Swedish companies’ films without authorization, including ‘Borg v McEnroe’ and Becoming Astrid (aka ‘Young Astrid’).

A police investigation found that two of the films had been removed from the service but with 22 still remaining live, it was determined that a prosecution was warranted.

Arrested in 2021

Rights Alliance, which has been behind many similar prosecutions in the past, reports that the 21-year-old man was arrested at his home in early 2021.

The investigation concluded that the service provided IPTV accounts to around 3,000 users over a 13-month period, for which payments of SEK 2.8 million (US$306,000) were received via PayPal and bitcoin.

During the search the police found a bitcoin wallet containing 18 bitcoins, worth US$766,584 at today’s exchange rates. Around the same time as the suspect’s final interrogation, however, it was discovered that the wallet had been emptied.

Man Convicted in Sweden

The defendant’s case was heard at Sweden’s Patent and Market Court, a special division of the Stockholm District Court that handles intellectual property matters.

The man admitted to carrying out some work and maintenance on MacIPTV for which he received payment. However, he insisted he did not play a key role at the service and believed that his work was legal.

He denied copyright infringement and accounting-related offenses while pointing to a person he met on Telegram as the operator of the IPTV service.

The Court decided that the man was guilty of copyright infringement and also convicted him for aggravated bookkeeping offenses. He was sentenced to 140 hours of community service and was ordered to pay damages and compensation of SEK 2.1 million (around US$231,000) to the rightsholders.

According to Rights Alliance, MacIPTV attracted customers by pretending its business was legal. The verdict can be appealed until February 18, 2022.

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

FDA, Pfizer abandon 2-shot COVID vaccine in kids under 5, citing new data

The vaccine maker and regulator will wait for data on a third shot, expected in April.

A small person looks at the band-aid being applied to their arm.

Enlarge / A child getting a vaccination on February 19, 2021, in Bonn, Germany. (credit: Getty | Ute Grabowsky)

The Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer, and BioNTech announced on Friday that they are abandoning plans to pursue the authorization of a two-dose regimen of COVID-19 vaccines for children ages six months to four years. Instead, they will again put the possibility of an authorization on hold as they await data on the efficacy of a third dose for the youngest children. That data is now expected in early April.

In a press release this afternoon, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech reported that COVID-19 cases among children enrolled in the initial two-dose trial "continue to accumulate according to the study protocol, and more data are being generated because rates of infection and illness remain high in children of this age, especially due to the recent omicron surge."

"Given that the study is advancing at a rapid pace, the companies will wait for the three-dose data as Pfizer and BioNTech continue to believe it may provide a higher level of protection in this age group," the press release continued.

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Roundy is a slick, low-cost way for makers to experiment with round displays (crowdfunding)

The Roundy RP2040 devkit

If you’ve been looking for a simple inexpensive way to prototype a project that utilizes a circular display, a new Kickstarter thing may offer the solution. Roundy is a 1.28 inch round LCD display connected to a small board powered by a low-power microcontroller. A Kickstarter campaign for Roundy just went live, and you can […]

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The Roundy RP2040 devkit

If you’ve been looking for a simple inexpensive way to prototype a project that utilizes a circular display, a new Kickstarter thing may offer the solution.

Roundy is a 1.28 inch round LCD display connected to a small board powered by a low-power microcontroller. A Kickstarter campaign for Roundy just went live, and you can secure one by pledging around $30.

The Roundy RP2040 devkitThe project is a collaboration between London-based DIY enthusiast Om Singh and graphic designer Vinay Pandey. They’re working together to launch two different versions of Roundy.

The aptly-named RoundyPI is based on Raspberry Pi’s dual-core RP2040 which launched last year (and got a price cut this year), and which is now available to developers like Singh for just $1 per unit.

For the RoundyFI, Singh chose an ESP-12E MCU. It’s capable of running at 80 or 160MHz and features built-in support for 802.11b/g/n WiFi. The ESP-12E also gets high marks for its efficiency and ease of programming.

Both models feature a 1.28-inch, 240 x 240 pixel round IPS LCD display. Singh shows off a number of different potential uses for Roundy on the project page, including a smartwatch, heartrate monitor, digital scale display, and various gauges and monitors.

They’re also both excellent options for makers of all skill levels thanks to the simple and familiar programming these chips are designed to run. Pricing isn’t going to scare anyone away either.

A pledge of about $27 is all that’s required to secure a RoundyPI. The RoundyFI is a wee bit more expensive at about $34.

The project has already exceeded its modest £500 (about $676) funding goal and Singh is planning to kick off production next month. There’s still about a month left to go, so there’s plenty of time to become a backer and secure a Roundy of your own. Singh hopes to start shipping units in April.

The post Roundy is a slick, low-cost way for makers to experiment with round displays (crowdfunding) appeared first on Liliputing.