Month: April 2024

Why a GameCube/Wii emulator may not be possible on the iOS App Store

DolphiniOS dev says barring just-in-time compilation prevents playable performance.

Don't expect to see this on the iOS App Store any time soon.

Enlarge / Don't expect to see this on the iOS App Store any time soon. (credit: OatmealDome)

Last week's release of the Delta emulation suite finally gave iOS users easy, no-sideloading-required access to classic Nintendo game emulation up through the Nintendo 64 era. When it comes to emulating Nintendo's subsequent home consoles on iOS, though, some technical restrictions imposed by Apple are making it difficult to get a functional emulator on the App Store.

In a recent blog post, DolphiniOS developer (and longtime Switch hacker) OatmealDome explains how a Dolphin code fork—which ports the popular GameCube and Wii emulator to Apple's smartphone OS—uses just-in-time (JIT) compilation to translate the PowerPC instructions from those retro consoles into ARM-compatible iOS code. But Apple's App Store regulations against apps that "install executable code" (Section 3.3.1B) generally prevent JIT recompilation on iOS, with very limited exceptions such as web browsers. That restriction may have some valid security reasoning behind it, but it can also get in the way for developers of tools like third-party browser engines (except recently in the EU).

While MacOS developers can make use of an explicit entitlement to allow JIT recompilation in an app, that exception doesn't apply to iOS developers. And while alternative App Stores and sideloaded apps (including DolphiniOS) have discovered various ways to enable JIT compilation on both jailbroken and stock iOS devices, these workarounds can get quite arcane and occasionally break with new iOS releases.

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MOONDROP MIAD01 will be a HiFi smartphone with 3.5mm and 4.4mm audio jacks

At a time when most smartphone makers are dropping headphone jacks altogether, HiFi audio company MOONDROP has announced that its upcoming smartphone will not only support headphones designed to plug into 3.5mm jacks, but also supports 4.4mm audio con…

At a time when most smartphone makers are dropping headphone jacks altogether, HiFi audio company MOONDROP has announced that its upcoming smartphone will not only support headphones designed to plug into 3.5mm jacks, but also supports 4.4mm audio connectors. The phone is called the MOONDROP MIAD01, and the company describes it as a “5G HiFi mobile […]

The post MOONDROP MIAD01 will be a HiFi smartphone with 3.5mm and 4.4mm audio jacks appeared first on Liliputing.

BIGTREETECH launches BIGTREETECH Pi 2 single-board PC and CB2 compute module with RK3566 processor

The BIGTREETECH Pi 2 is a single-board computer with a 1.8 GHz Rockchip RK3566 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor. While it looks a bit like a Raspberry Pi Model B, this little has a few things that Raspberry Pi’s computers lack including suppor…

The BIGTREETECH Pi 2 is a single-board computer with a 1.8 GHz Rockchip RK3566 quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor. While it looks a bit like a Raspberry Pi Model B, this little has a few things that Raspberry Pi’s computers lack including support for up to three storage devices (eMMC, SD card, and M.2 2242 PCIe […]

The post BIGTREETECH launches BIGTREETECH Pi 2 single-board PC and CB2 compute module with RK3566 processor appeared first on Liliputing.

Tesla cuts Full Self Driving cost by 1/3 ahead of earnings call

With the Model 2 cancelled, FSD is more important to Tesla than ever.

Tesla Model Y, equipped with FSD system. View of FSD system in action with Tesla dashboard display.

Enlarge / Tesla's "Full Self Driving" system just got a third cheaper. (credit: Edie Leong for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Tesla has dropped the price of its controversial "Full Self Driving" partially automated driver assist. Last week, getting access to FSD would cost you $12,000—today, it's a third cheaper at $8,000. Alternatively, customers can subscribe to the feature for $99 a month.

Tesla has bet heavily on FSD for the future of the company. It's one of two partially automated driving systems offered by Tesla—Autopilot is the older and less-capable system. FSD includes features such as auto lane changes, auto parking, the ability to summon the car from its parking space, and lane keeping (Autosteer in Tesla-speak) on surface streets.

Tesla claims that "[y]our car will be able to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal driver intervention and will continuously improve," but then also notes that "[t]he currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous."

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‘BestBuyIPTV’ Operator Sentenced in Vietnam’s First Ever Online Piracy Conviction

An operator of the widely popular piracy service ‘BestBuyIPTV’ has received a 30-month suspended prison sentence in Vietnam. The prosecution followed criminal referrals from the Premier League and ACE, who note that this is the country’s first-ever piracy conviction. While this is significant, the BestBuyIPTV brand isn’t gone.

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

bestbuyiptvIn recent years, copyright holders have paid close attention to a growing number of large piracy services with connections to Vietnam.

Popular brands including Fmovies, AniWave, 123movies, BestBuyIPTV, 2embed, and Y2mate are all linked to the Asian country, which was recently branded a ‘piracy haven’.

BestBuyIPTV Conviction

To curb this trend, western rightsholders have been working with local authorities to bring local investigations and enforcement efforts up to par. While this process takes time, there was a breakthrough last week.

The People’s Court of Hanoi handed BestBuyIPTV operator Le Hai Nam a 30-month suspended prison sentence. In addition, the man must pay the equivalent of $4,000 in local currency, after having paid $12,000 in restitution previously.

BestBuyIPTV is known as one of the most popular IPTV services. The subscription platform has been repeatedly called out as a notorious piracy market by the US Trade Representative, as recently as this year.

bestbuyiptv

The defendant reportedly pleaded guilty to his role in the BestBuyIPTV operation. While a copy of the verdict is not immediately available, a release shared by rightsholders attributed the following quote to the Hanoi court Judge.

“The defendant has violated the provisions of the law which protect the copyright and related rights of the Motion Picture Association’s members and the English Premier League,” Judge Le Hai Yen said.

According to the Judge, these types of crimes are a danger to society and should be strictly enforced and prosecuted, to send a deterrent to other operators of pirate sites and services.

First Ever Online Piracy Conviction

The prosecution follows referrals from the Premier League and Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), who note that this is the first-ever online piracy conviction in Vietnam.

The rightsholders see last week’s conviction as an important milestone that will set a precedent in Vietnam. It’s a clear signal that online pirate sites and services won’t be tolerated, they say.

“This result should serve as a stark warning to anyone involved in the illegal supply of Premier League streams in Vietnam. It is the result of a strong partnership between the Vietnamese authorities and local law enforcement, ACE and the Premier League,” says Kevin Plumb, Premier League’s General Counsel.

Karyn Temple, MPA’s Senior Executive Vice President, shares this view and hopes that the Vietnamese authorities will move onto other high profile targets next, which could include the popular streaming site Fmovies.

“We eagerly await similar action from Vietnamese law enforcement on other longstanding priority targets engaged in digital piracy on a global scale,” Temple notes, without explicitly naming any.

BestBuyIPTV is Online?

Interestingly, the BestBuyIPTV threat may not be completely dealt with yet. MPA previously called out the ‘Bestbuyiptv.biz’ domain in relation to the popular service, which remains online today.

“BestBuyIPTV is extremely popular in the United States & Europe,” MPA wrote at the time, adding that “the operators are located in Vietnam.”

mpa ustr

It’s possible that other operators of the service managed the service online, which would put the conviction’s deterrent effect in doubt. Or was the sentenced operator perhaps linked to another BestBuyIPTV service?

We have asked the MPA for clarification, as its press release makes no mention of this, and will update the article when an official response comes in.

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

The official Deadpool and Wolverine is finally here, and yes, it’s awesome

Can this film revive a flagging MCU? We’re gonna go with “yes.”

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman join forces in Deadpool and Wolverine.

We were already looking forward to the summer release of Deadpool and Wolverine, which will bring together Ryan Reynolds' R-rated antihero with Hugh Jackman's iconic X-Man. We're even more eager to see the film after Marvel dropped the official trailer, which is chock-full of off-color witticisms, meta-references, slo-mo action, and a generous sprinkling of F-bombs. (But no cocaine! Wade promised Feige! "They know all the slang terms. They have a list.")

"You’re talking about two massive movie stars in their most iconic roles,” Director Shawn Levy (Free Guy) told Screen Rant earlier this month. “It also gave me an opportunity. It’s the third Deadpool movie, but it’s not Deadpool 3. It’s a different thing that’s very much Deadpool and Wolverine. And it’s not trying to copycat anything from the first two movies. They were awesome, but this is a two-hander character adventure.”

(Spoilers for Deadpool 2 below.)

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