Month: October 2024

The legal saga over Martin Shkreli's infamous 5,000 percent price hike of a life-saving anti-parasitic drug has ended with a flat denial from the highest court in the land.

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected Shkreli's petition to appeal an order to return $64.6 million in profits from the pricing scheme of Daraprim, a decades-old drug used to treat toxoplasmosis. The condition is caused by a single-celled parasite that can be deadly for newborns and people with compromised immune systems, such as people who have HIV, cancer, or an organ transplant.

Federal prosecutors successfully argued in courts that Shkreli orchestrated an illegal anticompetitive scheme that allowed him to dramatically raise the price of Daraprim overnight. When Shkreli and his pharmaceutical company, Vyera (formerly Turing), bought the rights to the drug in 2015, the price of a single pill jumped to $750 after being priced between $13.50 and $17.50 earlier that year. And Shkreli quickly came to epitomize callous greed in the pharmaceutical industry.

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The Federal Communications Commission gave Starlink and T-Mobile emergency authority to provide satellite-to-phone coverage in areas hit by Hurricane Helene.

"SpaceX and T-Mobile have been given emergency special temporary authority by the FCC to enable Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capability to provide coverage for cell phones in the affected areas of Hurricane Helene," SpaceX said yesterday. "The satellites have already been enabled and started broadcasting emergency alerts to cell phones on all networks in North Carolina. In addition, we may test basic texting (SMS) capabilities for most cell phones on the T-Mobile network in North Carolina."

SpaceX warned of limits since the service isn't ready for a commercial rollout. "SpaceX's direct-to-cell constellation has not been fully deployed, so all services will be delivered on a best-effort basis," the company said.

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The companies behind the streaming industry, including smart TV and streaming stick manufacturers and streaming service providers, have developed a "surveillance system" that has "long undermined privacy and consumer protection," according to a report from the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) published today and sent to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Unprecedented tracking techniques aimed at pleasing advertisers have resulted in connected TVs (CTVs) being a "privacy nightmare," according to Jeffrey Chester, report co-author and CDD executive director, resulting in calls for stronger regulation.

The 48-page report, How TV Watches Us: Commercial Surveillance in the Streaming Era [PDF], cites Ars Technica, other news publications, trade publications, blog posts, and statements from big players in streaming—from Amazon to NBCUniversal and Tubi, to LG, Samsung, and Vizio. It provides a detailed overview of the various ways that streaming services and streaming hardware target viewers in newfound ways that the CDD argues pose severe privacy risks. The nonprofit composed the report as part of efforts to encourage regulation. Today, the CDD sent letters to the FTC [PDF], Federal Communications Commission (FCC), California attorney general [PDF], and California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) [PDF], regarding its concerns.

"Not only does CTV operate in ways that are unfair to consumers, it is also putting them and their families at risk as it gathers and uses sensitive data about health, children, race, and political interests,” Chester said in a statement.

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Not all USB Type-C cables are created equal. Some support higher data transfer speeds than others. Some support fast charging and others don’t. And it can be difficult to tell what a cable is capable of just by looking at it. So a few years ago developer Peter Traunmüller created the C2C caberQU, an open […]

The post BLE caberQU is a USB-C cable tester that displays data, charging, and cable health details (crowdfunding) appeared first on Liliputing.

On Monday, the Nobel Committee announced that two US researchers, Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, will receive the prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of a previously unknown mechanism for controlling the activity of genes. They discovered the first of what is now known to be a large collection of MicroRNAs, short (21-23 bases long) RNAs that bind to and alter the behavior of protein-coding RNAs. While first discovered in a roundworm, they've since been discovered to play key roles in the development of most complex life.

The story behind the discovery is typical of a lot of the progress in the biological sciences: genetics helps identify a gene important for the development of one species, and then evolutionary conservation reveals its widespread significance.

In the worm

Ambros and Ruvkun started on the path to discovery while post-doctoral fellows in the lab of earlier Nobel winner Robert Horvitz, who won for his role in developing the roundworm C. elegans as an experimental genetic organism. As part of the early genetic screens, people had identified a variety of mutations that caused developmental problems for specific lineages of cells. These lin mutations included lin-4, which Ambros was characterizing. It lacked a number of specialized cell types, as well as the physical structures that depended on them.

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Last month, Apple removed the popular music streaming app Musi from its App Store. The removal is rather significant because the app has millions of users.

Apple’s action didn’t come as a complete surprise, as music industry groups had been trying to take the app down for months. They branded Musi a ‘parasitic’ app that skirts the rules.

Why action is being taken now remains a mystery. None of the parties involved have commented in detail on the reason for the removal. Musi, in response to the takedown, acknowledged the problem and said that it hoped to resolve it.

However, with Apple seemingly unwilling to reverse its decision, Musi has now opted to pursue legal action.

Musi Sues Apple

In a complaint filed at a California federal court, Musi sues Apple for breach of contract, as well as a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The music app believes that the takedown was unjustified and wants Apple to reinstate it.

“This case arises from Apple’s abrupt removal of Musi’s mobile software application from the Apple App Store, based upon an unsubstantiated third-party complaint, and in violation of the parties’ contractual agreements,” the complaint begins.

“Despite its obligations to investigate complaints in good faith, Apple removed the Musi app based upon unsupported accusations from a third party who has failed to respond to Musi’s communications. Worse, Apple was fully aware that the third party had failed to substantiate its claims to Musi.”

Musi vs. Apple

Existing users who already installed Musi can continue to use Musi. However, the app can no longer be downloaded, effectively preventing new users from accessing the service. This puts the future of the software company in jeopardy, as Apple is the only platform where it’s available.

Complaint from ‘YouTube Legal’

In our initial coverage of the removal, we cited information which suggested that YouTube was involved in the matter. The complaint confirms that’s indeed the case. According to Musi, Apple’s action was triggered by a five-word complaint from ‘YouTube Legal’ which was sent to Apple late July.

The takedown notice from YouTube Legal merely states that Musi is “violating YouTube Terms of Service”, without any concrete allegations.

Apple email, YouTube complaint

While YouTube is known to take action against external software that abuses its API to offer competing services, Musi maintains that it doesn’t rely on YouTube’s API and is unaware of any TOS violations.

In response to the notice, Musi’s attorney tried to obtain more details from YouTube, but according to the complaint, the requests went unanswered.

‘Musi Remains Unheard’

In addition to reaching out to YouTube, Musi also tried to engage with Apple. Instead of more clarity, however, Musi’s calls went unanswered, and the matter remained unresolved.

According to an email YouTube sent to Apple on September 6, Musi didn’t reach out to its legal team. Citing continued Terms of Service violations, YouTube therefore requested Apple to remove the app.

YouTube’s email on September 6

Musi responded directly to YouTube’s email, noting that they had contacted YouTube and remained eager to resolve the issue. However, this had no effect on Apple’s decision, and on September 24th, the company informed Musi that the app would be removed.

The removal email specifically cites “intellectual property infringement” as the reason to remove the app.

“Apple informed you of the claim, and of your responsibility to resolve the matter directly with the Claimant, or risk removal of your app from the App Store. We regret that the dispute could not be resolved amicably. As a result, your app will be removed from the App Store on the basis of intellectual property infringement,” Apple wrote.

Removed

Unjustified Removal?

Despite Musi’s repeated attempts to obtain clarification, the specific YouTube terms violated remain unclear. According to the complaint, Apple was aware of this lack of clarity but proceeded to remove the app anyway.

“Apple nonetheless suddenly and unjustifiably removed the Musi app from the App Store on the basis of the July 2024 complaint. To date, the Musi app has not been restored,” Musi writes.

“The removal was all the more galling in light of the fact that Apple threatened to remove the app if Musi did not try to resolve the alleged complaint with the Complainant, and Apple was fully aware that the Complainant had elected not to communicate in any way directly with Musi.”

Email correspondence reveals that YouTube first complained to Apple in March 2023, and sent repeated notices after that. These notices didn’t result in any action, but Apple eventually removed Musi following the July 2024 notice.

Musi Demands Restoration and Damages

Musi ultimately claims that the removal was unjustified, as Apple removed the app based on an unsubstantiated third-party complaint without a thorough investigation. Musi says that it didn’t get a fair chance to explain the supposed misunderstanding of the app’s functionality.

As a result, the complaint accuses Apple of contract breach and violating the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Through the lawsuit, the company hopes to set the record straight.

The main goal is to obtain an injunction that requires Apple to restore Musi in the App store. In addition, the company also seeks compensation for all damages it suffered as a result of the ‘unjustified’ removal.

This case is likely to be closely watched by the tech and music industries, as it could set a precedent for future app takedown disputes, as well as potential disputes about the third-party use of YouTube content.

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A copy of Musi’s complaint against Apple, filed at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is available musi-apple

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

In less than a day, Hurricane Milton has rapidly intensified over the southern Gulf of Mexico, exploding from a small Category 1 hurricane into a Category 5 storm. Unfortunately, the hurricane is likely to strengthen further as it tracks eastward toward Florida.

The National Hurricane Center reported that Milton had reached sustained winds of 160 mph as of 11:44 pm ET on Monday, with a central pressure of 925 millibars. The storm is moving steadily eastward and is likely to reach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday evening as a major hurricane.

Based upon Atlantic basin records, Milton has tied Hurricane Maria (2017) for the second-fastest intensification from a Category 1 to Category 5 hurricane, taking just 18 hours. Only Hurricane Wilma (2005) did so more rapidly, in just 12 hours.

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Nach dem Scheitern der Übernahme von Atos' Security- und Computing-Sparte hofft man doch noch auf eine Einigung. (Atos, Politik)

Months ago, 13-year-old Willis "Blue Scuti" Gibson became the first person to "beat" NES Tetris, crashing the game after a 1,511-line, 57-level performance. Over the weekend, 16-year-old Michael "dopgplayingtetris" Artiaga became the first to reach an even more impressive plateau in the game, looping past Level 255 and instantly rolling the game all the way back to the ultra-slow Level 0.

It took Artiaga a bit over 80 minutes and a full 3,300 cleared lines to finally achieve the game's first near-mythical "rebirth" live in front of hundreds of Twitch viewers. And after a bit of celebration and recovery on the low levels, Artiaga managed to keep his rolled-over game going for another 40 minutes, finally topping out after a total of 4,216 lines and a record 29.4 million points.

Artiaga's record does come with a small asterisk since he used a version of the game that was modified to avoid the crashes that stopped Blue Scuti's historic run. Still, NES Tetris' first-ever level rollover is a monumental achievement and a testament to just how far competitive classic Tetris has come in a short time.

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Fast genau zehn Jahre nach dem ersten Actionspiel Alien Isolation kündigt Creative Assembly eine Fortsetzung an. (Alien Isolation, Spiele)