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Klasse Display, kantiges Gehäuse: Die Sportuhr T-Rex 2 von Amazfit liefert zum günstigen Preis gute Hardware und lange Akkulaufzeiten. Von Peter Steinlechner (Wearable, Test)
Immer mehr älteren Menschen wird in Deutschland die Würde genommen. Covid-19-Pandemie, Energiepreisexplosion und Inflation besonders verheerend. Doch Altersarmut ist keine Naturkatastrophe.
In einem Monat soll der Preisdeckel für russisches Erdöl greifen. Nun haben die USA und ihre Alliierten neue Details für die Preisobergrenze beschlossen. Zahlreiche Fragen sind weiterhin offen.
Der Ukraine-Krieg ist in eine neue Phase eingetreten. Nach den weitreichenden ukrainischen Offensiven im September prägt nun Stillstand und Zermürbung das Geschehen. Angriffe auf zivile Infrastruktur sollen Luftabwehr binden.
The fully electric version of the new 7 Series is the best of the bunch.
Enlarge / BMW is now confident enough in its EV powertrains that it's made a fully electric 7 Series alongside the gasoline-powered versions. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)
PALMS SPRINGS, Calif.—For decades, automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have fought each other in group tests for the title of "world's best car," an honor awarded by various magazines. The battle has usually been between the 7 Series and the S-Class, with occasional challenges from Lexus. Jaguar and Cadillac often trail behind.
Today, there's a serious new contender for the crown as BMW's newest generation 7 Series goes on sale.
I got hooked on cars-as-technology during the early '90s, and what a way the cars have come since, as powertrains have pushed new limits and energy sources, and interiors have become more cosseting and protective of their occupants.
A long drive to nowhere remains a good use for an outmoded powertrain.
Enlarge / The launch of the new i7 and 7 Series was a two-day affair, and we couldn't drive only the electric version.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif.—"You want it to be one way... But it's the other way." I thought of Marlo Stanfield's words from The Wire that morning. Much as I might like, I couldn't just come to Palm Springs and drive the new BMW i7 without at least acknowledging that, for many, its time has not yet come. As much as I—or you—might want everyone to go electric, now, that isn't happening, and won't; not straight away.
Elsewhere on Ars, you can read our first take on that electric i7. Spoiler alert: pretty darn great. But most new 7 Series won't be i7s; plenty will still be ICE sevens. And recognizing the world as it is, and not the world as I might want it to be, meant going for a drive in one of the gas burners.
Since the chief attraction of internal combustion in 2023 is going for very long drives that don't involve charging stops, I decided to go for a long drive in a $113,600 760i xDrive. As luck would have it, BMW secured permits to film and take photographs within Joshua Tree National Park. Chances to do that don't come along that often, and I hadn't yet visited that park, so the plan seemed clear.
Russia’s premium broadcasters use conditional access systems to restrict viewing to paying customers and prevent piracy. These systems are reportedly very good but that’s making Russia nervous. Western anti-piracy companies dominate the market and at least in theory, could black out TV sets all over the country. A second scenario has Russia equally worried – free premium TV for all.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, French satellite broadcaster Eutelsat refused to stop Russia from using its satellites.
Russia relies on state-run TV channels to spread propaganda, and since 50% of homes have access to a satellite dish, keeping this one-way communication mechanism open is a priority. Last month Eutelsat reported that two of its satellites were being jammed by interference, in this case, a likely attempt by Iranian authorities to silence the opposition there.
But what if there was a much simpler way to black out millions of TV sets, across an entire country, without firing a shot? These are big questions for Russia right now, and according to reports, Moscow has no intention of letting that happen.
Russians have access to a number of free-to-air channels but an estimated 30% of the population also pay to access subscription packages. To ensure that only those who pay get to watch, premium TV is protected by so-called conditional access systems and when Russian providers placed their orders, anti-piracy companies in the U.S. and EU scooped up the business.
This puts Russia in a bit of a spot, to put it mildly. On the one hand, these effective systems help to protect broadcasters from piracy. On the other, companies based in countries now seen as the enemy have the power to effectively disconnect millions of people, using systems that were designed for precisely that job.
Whether this type of blackout would ever happen is another matter, but Russia doesn’t like what it sees.
Alexey Volin, Director General of state-backed satellite operator Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC), told Izvestia that his company is already developing a domestic system to help replace anti-piracy solutions operated by foreign companies.
Telecommunications company GS Labs develops similar anti-piracy systems as an affiliate of Russia’s largest pay TV operator, Tricolor TV. According to GS Labs’ director of sales, Alexey Goylo, the risk of overseas companies controlling access to broadcasts isn’t limited to locking consumers out. They also have the means to turn off anti-piracy measures altogether.
“The operator would then have to broadcast an unencrypted signal, which would destroy his business model,” Goylo told Izvestia.
Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) says it hopes to have its solution ready by the end of the year and GS Labs says it would like to be involved. State-controlled telecoms company Rostelecom welcomed RSCC’s efforts to counter what one expert described as a foreign “trojan horse” inside Russia’s pay TV market.
“We are ready to consider the use of a domestic solution, subject to its integration with existing subscriber devices and competitiveness in price with existing conditional access systems,” Rostelecom said.
The names of the Western anti-piracy companies are absent from media reports but familiar names have been protecting Russian content from piracy for many years.
In 2013, Irdeto announced that it had been selected by the Russian Satellite Communications Company to secure content distributed by RSCC satellites. Four years later, Irdeto reported that its technology had been deployed across two million Russian subscribers to protect content owned by broadcaster MTS.
Then, after sealing another deal in 2021, this year Irdeto employees enjoyed a short break from the fight against piracy as they volunteered to help out Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.
Image credits: Pixabay/geralt
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
Mythen über Russland. Zivilisation und Frauenwahlrecht in Syrien. Und der Konflikt zwischen Landeskunde und Drogenkonsum. Ein Essay in Wunsch- und Echt-Deutsche.
Die US-amerikanische Science-Fiction-Western-Fernsehserie Westworld von HBO wird eingestellt, obwohl sie noch nicht zu Ende erzählt ist. (HBO)
Die US-amerikanische Science-Fiction-Western-Fernsehserie Westworld von HBO wird eingestellt, obwohl sie noch nicht zu Ende erzählt ist. (HBO) Wer seinen Tesla noch 2022 bestellt, aber erst 2023 bekommt, soll keinen finanziellen Nachteil wegen der reduzierten Förderung haben. (Tesla, Elektroauto)
Wer seinen Tesla noch 2022 bestellt, aber erst 2023 bekommt, soll keinen finanziellen Nachteil wegen der reduzierten Förderung haben. (Tesla, Elektroauto) 
Klasse Display, kantiges Gehäuse: Die Sportuhr T-Rex 2 von Amazfit liefert zum günstigen Preis gute Hardware und lange Akkulaufzeiten. Von Peter Steinlechner (
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