Elon Musk tries to get out of settlement with SEC, says he was “forced” into it

Musk also wants a subpoena quashed, tells judge SEC “micro-manages” his tweets.

Elon Musk standing and gesturing with his hands while he speaks at a press conference.

Enlarge / Elon Musk at a press conference at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas on February 10, 2022. (credit: Getty Images | Jim Watson)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk today asked a federal judge to terminate a 2018 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying he's tired of the SEC using the consent decree to "micro-manage" his Twitter activity and that he was "forced" into signing the deal. Musk also wants the court to quash an SEC subpoena that seeks documents related to whether he got pre-approval before posting a recent tweet about Tesla stock sales.

"Unlike other consent decrees, the SEC interprets the agreement in this case to permit it to micro-manage Mr. Musk's Twitter activity," according to Musk's memorandum of law supporting his motion to quash the subpoena and terminate the consent decree. "Indeed, the SEC believes it may police speech that falls outside the bounds of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which prohibits fraud in the purchase or sale of securities and statements or omissions of material fact."

The 2018 settlement required Tesla to impose controls on Musk's social media statements. The settlement was reached to resolve the SEC's complaint that "Musk's misleading tweets" about taking Tesla private caused the stock price to jump "and led to significant market disruption." Musk and Tesla also each agreed to pay $20 million in penalties.

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Lilbits: Archiving Android apps, postmarketOS for the F(x)tec Pro1, and the Dirty Pipe Linux vulnerability

A serious vulnerability has been found in recent builds of the Linux kernel, allowing any local user to gain root access on an unpatched device… which could include a number of Android phones running Linux kernel 5.8 or later. In other recent tech news from around the web Google is building an Android feature that […]

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A serious vulnerability has been found in recent builds of the Linux kernel, allowing any local user to gain root access on an unpatched device… which could include a number of Android phones running Linux kernel 5.8 or later.

In other recent tech news from around the web Google is building an Android feature that will let users save space on their devices by “archiving” infrequently used apps rather than uninstalling them, but it’s up to app developers to support the feature. Amazon has launched its Clubhouse competitors… except it’s really not. Microsoft is bringing support for hardware-accelerated H.264 video playback to Android apps running on Windows 11. And now you can run the Linux-based postmarketOS operating system on the F(x)tec Pro1 smartphone with a slide-out keyboard… assuming you have an older model of the phone.


stuff

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UK archaeologist suggests Stonehenge may have been an ancient solar calendar

Bournemouth University’s Timothy Darvill says layout represents 365.25-day solar year

A new theory holds that Stonehenge served as an ancient solar calendar.

Enlarge / A new theory holds that Stonehenge served as an ancient solar calendar. (credit: Timothy Darvill/Bournemouth University)

Scholars have long speculated that the famed prehistoric monument Stonehenge might have served as some kind of calendar that helped local people predict eclipses, summer and winter solstices, the equinox, and other relevant celestial events. Now, a British archaeologist has concluded that the site was designed as a solar calendar, and he describes his system in a recent paper published in the journal Antiquity.

"Finding a solar calendar represented in the architecture of Stonehenge opens up a whole new way of seeing the monument as a place for the living—a place where the timing of ceremonies and festivals was connected to the very fabric of the universe and celestial movements in the heavens," Bournemouth University archaeologist Timothy Darvill said.

Stonehenge is located on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. It consists of an outer circle of vertical sandstone slabs (sarsen stones), connected on top by horizontal lintel stones. There is also an inner ring of smaller bluestones and, within that ring, several free-standing trilithons (larger sarsens joined by one lintel). Radiocarbon dating indicates that the inner ring of bluestones was set in place between 2400 and 2200 BCE. But the standing arrangement of sarsen stones wasn't erected until around 500 years after the bluestones.

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Apple’s 2022 iPhone SE has a 4.7 inch screen, A15 Bionic chip, and $429 starting price

The iPhone SE is cheapest member of Apple’s iPhone lineup. But it’s no longer the least powerful. Apple has introduced a new model that sports the same Apple A15 Bionic processor used in the company’s iPhone 13. Apple begins taking pre-orders for the 2022 iPhone SE on March 11 for $429 and up, and the phone […]

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The iPhone SE is cheapest member of Apple’s iPhone lineup. But it’s no longer the least powerful. Apple has introduced a new model that sports the same Apple A15 Bionic processor used in the company’s iPhone 13.

Apple begins taking pre-orders for the 2022 iPhone SE on March 11 for $429 and up, and the phone will be available starting March 18.

But with a 4.7 inch display and a case that measures 5.45″ x 2.65″ x 0.29″, the iPhone SE is pretty compact by modern smartphone standards. The price tag also puts the iPhone SE in competition with mid-range Android phones rather than flagships, despite the fact that this phone has one of the most powerful smartphone processors to date.

Interestingly the iPhone SE is not Apple’s smallest iPhone. That would be the iPhone 13 mini which, despite having a larger 5.4 inch screen, has a smaller body thanks to slimmer bezels. It measures just 5.18″ x 2.53″ x 0.3″, but has a higher starting price of $699.

That said, the phone has just a single 12MP wide-angle rear camera at a time when multi-camera phones have become commonplace. It does use computational photography for features including Portrait mode with bokeh-style depth effects, HDR, and photographic styles.

The 7MP front-facing camera supports features like Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting, but it’s a lower-resolution camera than you get with the iPhone 13 and it tops out at 1080p/30 fps video recording rather than 4K/60 fps.

One thing the iPhone SE does have that some of its pricier siblings lack? A home button with a built-in fingerprint sensor. This phone supports Touch ID, but lacks support for Face ID.

Other features include a 4.7 inch, 1334 x 750 pixel (326 ppi) display, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options, red, starlight, and midnight color options, and an IP67 rating for water resistance. The phone has stereo speakers and it uses a Lightning connector for charging and accessories, but no headphone jack. Not all of the phone’s features are a throwback to the days before bezels and home buttons went away.

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Apple’s new iPad Air is (almost) a cheaper iPad Pro for $599 and up

The lines between Apple’s iPad Pro and iPad Air are getting blurrier. The new 2022 iPad Air is a thin and light tablet that’s almost exactly the same size as the 11 inch iPad Pro and which has the same processor, the same 12MP front-facing camera, and the same support for a 2nd-gen Apple Pencil […]

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The lines between Apple’s iPad Pro and iPad Air are getting blurrier. The new 2022 iPad Air is a thin and light tablet that’s almost exactly the same size as the 11 inch iPad Pro and which has the same processor, the same 12MP front-facing camera, and the same support for a 2nd-gen Apple Pencil processor.

But with a $599 starting price, the iPad Air is $200 cheaper than the entry-level iPad Pro 11. So what’s the difference between the two tablets?

iPad Air (2022)

The new iPad Air is powered by Apple M1 processor, features a 10.9 inch Retina display, 8GB of RAM, and a number of other features that make it a significant upgrade over the previous-gen model.

Despite having a slightly smaller display than the 11 inch iPad Pro, the two tablets are almost exactly the same size and weight (the iPad pro weighs 5 grams more and measures 0.2mm thinner).

iPad Air (2022)

But the iPad Pro has quad speakers a 5 studio-quality mics, while the new iPad Air has just two mics and two speakers. The iPad Pro also has dual rear cameras (the iPad Air has just one). The iPad Pro has Face ID, while the iPad Air has Touch ID. And the iPad Pro has a 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 port, while the iPad Air has a 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port. The Pro also has a brighter display

But perhaps the biggest differences are the memory and storage options. The iPad Air comes with 64GB or 256GB of storage, while the iPad Pro starts at 128GB and supports up to 2TB. All models of the iPad Pro with 1GB of storage or more also have 16GB of RAM, twice as much as is available for the iPad Air.

iPad Pro 12.4″ and 11″ tablets

There is one area where the iPad Air shines though: it comes in five color options. The iPad Pro supports just two.

Here’s a comparison of key specs for Apple’s current-gen iPad Air and iPad Pro tablets:

iPad Air iPad Pro (11″) iPad Pro (12.4″)
Display 10.9 inches
LED-backlit IPS LCD
2360 x 1640 pixels
264 ppi
P3 wide color display
True Tone
500 nits
Apple Pencil (2nd-gen) support
11 inches
LED-backlit IPS LCD
2388 x 1668 pixels
264 ppi
P3 wide color display
True Tone
600 nits
Apple Pencil (2nd-gen) support
12.9 inches
mini LED
2732 x 2048 pixels
264 ppi
ProMotion technology
P3 wide color display
True Tone
600 nits SDR
1000 nits XDR
Apple Pencil (2nd-gen) support
Processor Apple M1
8-core CPU
8-core GPU
Apple Neural Engine
Apple M1
8-core CPU
8-core GPU
16-core Apple Neural Engine
Apple M1
8-core CPU
8-core GPU
16-core Apple Neural Engine
RAM & Storage 8GB RAM
64GB or 256GB storage
8GB + 128GB
8GB + 256GB
8GB + 512GB
16GB + 1TB
16GB + 2TB
8GB + 128GB
8GB + 256GB
8GB + 512GB
16GB + 1TB
16GB + 2TB
Camera (rear) 12MP wide-angle 12MP wide-angle
10MP ultra-wide
2 x optical zoom
12MP wide-angle
10MP ultra-wide
2 x optical zoom
Facetime Camera (front) 12MP ultra-wide (122 degrees) 12MP ultra-wide (122 degrees) 12MP ultra-wide (122 degrees)
Speakers Stereo Quad Quad
Microphones 2 5 studio-quality 5 studio-quality
Wireless WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.0
5G optional
WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.0
5G optional
WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.0
5G optional
Sensors Touch ID
3-axis gyro
Accelerometer
Barometer
Ambient light sensor
Face ID
LiDAR
3-axis gyro
Accelerometer
Barometer
Ambient Light sensor
Face ID
LiDAR
3-axis gyro
Accelerometer
Barometer
Ambient Light sensor
Battery  28.6 Wh 28.65 Wh 40.88 Wh
Charging 20W USB-C power adapter 20W USB-C power adapter 20W USB-C power adapter
Ports 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps)
Dimensions 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1mm
9.74″ x 7.02″ x 0.24″
247.6 x 178.5 x 5.9mm
9.74″ x 7.02″ x 0.23″
280.6 x 214.9 x 6.4mm
11.04″ x 8.46″ x 0.25″
Weight 461 grams
1.02 pounds
466 grams
1.03 pounds
682 grams
1.5 pounds
Colors Space Grey
Pink
Purple
Blue
Starlight
Space Gray
Silver
Space Gray
Silver
Starting price $599 $799 $1099

iPad Air press release

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Apple’s 27-inch iMac disappears from its store with no fanfare or replacement

Rumors suggest a big Apple Silicon iMac is coming, but it’s not here yet.

A large-screen computer sits atop a desk cluttered with pop-culture tchotchkes.

Enlarge / Where has the 27-inch iMac gone? (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

For years, Apple's 27-inch iMac was the company's best desktop. The device was updated frequently with new processors and GPUs, unlike either the Mac mini or the Mac Pro, and its 5K Retina display was an excellent high-resolution screen. Its design was even the basis of the iMac Pro, an even-more-powerful desktop that Apple released to prove that it was still committed to its high-end pro users.

But the future of the big-screened iMac is currently in doubt. Following the announcement of the screen-less Mac Studio desktop today, the 27-inch Intel iMac disappeared from Apple's online store. The 24-inch iMac is currently the only iMac referenced in the navigation bar, and all existing direct links to its 27-inch counterpart now redirect to the Mac page. Even more mystifying, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that there was only "one more" Mac that had yet to make the transition to Apple Silicon—and the system he named was the Mac Pro, not the larger iMac.

Don't hold a funeral for the big iMac just yet. Persistent rumors from multiple sources have suggested for months that a new big-screened Mac all-in-one is in the works. According to those rumors, the device would combine a large Mini LED screen with the higher-end versions of Apple's processors. The best information we currently have suggests that the all-in-one could be unveiled sometime in the summer, possibly at Apple's yearly developer conference. The Apple Silicon Mac lineup has been full of surprises, from the company re-embracing chunky notebooks to the existence of the tiny Mac Studio workstation. Maybe the new large-screened iMac is the Mac Pro, or maybe Apple plans to announce some other kind of branding for it entirely.

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Pirate IPTV ‘Nitro TV’ Fails to Pay Own Lawyer, ACE & MPA Move In For The Kill

The ruination of those behind pirate IPTV service Nitro TV now seems almost inevitable. A lawsuit filed by DISH Network could result in a $100m judgment and in another, filed by members of the Alliance for Creativity, the only defendant to appear has now failed to pay his lawyer. That leaves the possibility of another judgment, potentially in excess of $250 million.

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

IPTVRunning a pirate IPTV service can be extremely profitable. One only has to look at the extraordinary wealth accumulated by Bill Omar Carrasquillo, aka Omi in a Hellcat, to see that tens of millions of dollars can be generated by a successful operation.

Hanging on to that wealth is another matter, however.

After being raided in 2019, Carrasquillo not only faces losing every penny he made, but also the prospect of a significant custodial sentence. Quite how long is currently unknown. The details of his guilty plea are currently under seal but at least in financial terms, the prospects for other IPTV operators could be even more significant.

Nitro TV Attacked on Two Fronts

Pirate IPTV service Nitro TV is currently facing two massive lawsuits. One, filed in August 2021 by DISH Network, Sling and NagraStar, could be close to a conclusion. Despite the plaintiffs only claiming a fraction of the damages available to them under the law, Nitro’s operators still face a potential $100m judgment.

The second, filed by members of the Alliance for Creativity in April 2020, seems to be heading towards an even worse outcome for defendants Alejandro “Alex” Galindo, Anna Galindo, Martha Galindo, Osvaldo Galindo, Richard Horsten, Raul Orellana (better known as YouTuber ‘Touchtone’), and business entity Firestream LLC.

Only Alejandro Galindo Attempted to Defend

In the face of massive copyright infringement allegations relating to movies and TV shows including The Office, SpiderMan: Homecoming, Toy Story 3, Star Trek Beyond, Homecoming, and Joker, Nitro shut down after being served with an injunction.

Only Alejandro Galindo appeared to defend himself against claims of direct and contributory infringement of 1,897 copyrighted works, for which the plaintiffs demand $150,000 maximum statutory damages for each work. What followed were allegations of discovery abuses and the production of zero responsive documents.

As a result, the plaintiffs (including Universal, Paramount, Columbia, Disney and Amazon) were advised by the court that it would be issuing sanctions but according to a recently filed joint case management statement, that is yet to happen. Nevertheless, the quagmire only appears to be getting deeper.

After hiring an experienced attorney, Galindo pleaded the Fifth Amendment which, along with other strategies, were swiftly countered by the plaintiffs.

“Defendant has asserted his 5th amendment right against self-incrimination. Plaintiff has failed to prosecute this matter in a timely manner, and the case continues to drag on with no new progress.

“The case should be dismissed for a failure to timely prosecute,” the studios now inform the court, noting that the clerk of the court has already entered default against all defendants.

The movie and TV show companies say that they are waiting for the court to issue findings on their motion for sanctions before moving for default judgment against all of the defendants. Meanwhile, Alejandro Galindo – the only person to defend – now finds himself without an attorney.

Nitro Boss Hired An Attorney, Didn’t Pay Him

From the beginning, Galindo was represented in the lawsuit by attorney Steven Vondran, who has a specialty in IP-related matters, as evidenced by his informative YouTube channel. Vondran is also active in other cases involving alleged pirates so was a good option if Galindo and Nitro were to at least try to manage their losses. That option now appears to be well and truly off the table.

“I have been counsel of record for Defendant Alejandro Galindo since the inception of this case. A written retainer agreement was signed between the parties calling for certain fees to be paid in a timely manner,” Vondran now informs the court.

“At this time, fees have not been paid as agreed, moreover, despite several requests, no communication or other responses have been received from Defendant and he has simply gone quiet.”

As a result, Vondran now needs permission from the court to withdraw from the lawsuit.

The attorney says that good cause exists to show that there has been a “complete breakdown” of the attorney-client relationship. Galindo is no longer communicating and has failed to provide instructions to his attorney that are necessary to represent him. Furthermore, he has “plenty” of time to obtain new counsel – if one is prepared to take him on, of course.

Does Galindo Have The Means to Pay?

The question of what funds are left following the Nitro shutdown remains a question but according to the movie and TV studios, Nitro and partners certainly received a lot of money.

Third-party subpoenas allowed them to discover that over $7 million in sales of Nitro TV subscriptions and reseller credits were made through accounts held in Martha Galindo’s name. Defendant Firestream LLC, reportedly operated by Veronica Orellana, the wife of Raul Orellana (Touchtone), received more than half a million dollars to market Nitro online.

However, even if every penny was squirreled away somewhere, that is unlikely to make even a small dent when the lawsuit inevitably goes to a default judgment. Whether the plaintiffs will ultimately seek maximum damages and have that amount approved by the court in respect of all 1,897 works remains to be seen but if so, there’s the potential for a judgment in excess of $250 million.

That’s on top of the $100 million demanded in the DISH Network lawsuit.

Supporting documents can be found here and here (pdf)

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

Apple Mac Studio is a mini PC that punches above its weight class with up to an M1 Ultra processor

Apple is launching a new line of Mac Studio computers that deliver better performance than an Intel-powered Mac Pro while taking up far less space on your desk. The Mac Studio measure 7.7″ x 7.7″ x 3.7″, but supports up to an Apple M1 Ultra processor with 20 CPU cores, 64 GPU cores, and a […]

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Apple is launching a new line of Mac Studio computers that deliver better performance than an Intel-powered Mac Pro while taking up far less space on your desk.

The Mac Studio measure 7.7″ x 7.7″ x 3.7″, but supports up to an Apple M1 Ultra processor with 20 CPU cores, 64 GPU cores, and a 32-core neural engine. The Mac Studio now and will be available starting March 18, 2022.

They ain’t cheap though. Prices start at $1,999 for a model with an Apple M1 Max processor, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB of solid state storage or $3,799 for an M1 Ultra/64GB/512GB model.

If those prices are surprising though, it may be because they’re actually lower than the $5,999 starting price for a current-gen Mac Pro desktop computer, even though Apple says the new Mac Studio with an M1 Ultra processor is up to 60% faster than a Mac-Pro with a 28-core Intel Xeon W processor.

During the company’s March 8th, Peek Performance event, Apple hinted that a new Mac Pro is on the way soon, but the company hasn’t provided any details yet.

Apple says it was able to put that much horsepower into a small package thanks to the energy efficiency of the M1 Ultra processor. While it’s more power hungry than the company’s M1, M1 Pro, or M1 Max chips, it still offers significantly more performance-per-watt than the latest Intel desktop chips.

The company also designed a cooling system that includes a double-sided blower that draws air up through the bottom of the chassis, circulates it, and blows it out the back thanks to 4,000 holes in the bottom and rear of the case. Apple says the fan stays “incredibly quiet, even under the heaviest workloads).

For now, the Mac Studio seems poised to take the top spot in Apple’s lineup in terms of performance for the time being, and Apple is positioning the Mac Studio as a computer for creative professionals.

In addition to a high-performance, energy-efficient processor, it has:

  • SSDs with up to 7.4 GB/s storage speed
  • Up to 800GB/s memory bandwidth
  • Support for up to 128GB unified memory (for M1 Ultra models, or 64GB for M1 Max)
  • 10 Gbps Ethernet
  • HDMI
  • 4 x Thunderbolt ports (rear)
  • SD card reader
  • WiFi 6
  • Bluetooth 5
  • 3.5mm pro audio jack

There are also two more ports on the front of the computer. They’re Thunderbolt ports on models with M1 Ultra chips and USB-C ports on versions with M1 Max processors.

Apple says the computer can drive up to four Pro Display XDR screens plus a 4K display simultaneously.

One thing to keep in mind is that Apple has a way of segmenting its M1 chips: the $1999 starting price gets you a Mac Studio with an M1 Max chip featuring 10 CPU cores and 24-core graphics. you’ll have to pay $200 more for a version with 32-core graphics.

The price difference is even greater for the Mac Studio with an M1 Ultra: the base model has a 20-core CPU with 48-core graphics. Want the full 64-core GPU? You’ll need to pay an extra $1000.

A maxed-out configuration with the most powerful M1 Ultra processor, 128GB of memory, and 8TB of storage will set you back $7,999.

press release

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