Companies plan to make you pay for sleep

A new report explains the sleep market, calls mattresses a “content platform.”

High tech companies have disrupted the way we get our food, transit, and friends—and now they want to disrupt the way we sleep. To help them along, branding group K-Hole has released a report designed to help corporations cash in on the public's new obsession with getting rest. K-Hole is a gang of coolhunters, just like something out of a William Gibson or Jim Munroe novel, who are paid to spot trends. A couple of years ago, they got famous for popularizing the idea of "normcore," a clean-cut hipster style that emphasized simplicity and unobtrusiveness.

In this new report, Slowave: An Exploration on Sleep and Society, K-Hole member Sean Monahan makes a series of interesting observations about the sleep market, paid for mattress-maker Casper. On its website, Casper bills itself as a company trying to "innovate sleep research" with "engineering." In reality, it sells mattresses, pillows, and sheets to people online. Monahan told Ars by phone that Casper commissioned this report so it would "know what the future of sleep is." Of course, he conceded, that's "inherently hard to answer because sleep hasn’t changed all that much over past couple thousand years." But that didn't stop him from trying, and the result is a tour of sleep-related products, plus recommendations about how to market to consumers who are not currently "leaning into the pleasure of sleep."

Though written in a language that is a mashup of marketing speak and academic critical theory, the Slowave report does identify some intriguing trends. Monahan argues that sleep has been a commodity for a long time, though often in a negative sense. Starting in the 1950s, companies started marketing drugs to prevent people from sleeping. As we moved into the modern era, apps and self-help books tutored people in lifehacks like "polyphasic sleep" designed to help people do more on less sleep.

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Ars Technica UK is one year old today: Here’s what’s coming next

Our first year has been a huge success. If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it.

Editor in chief Ken Fisher seemingly molesting a giant Ars sign.

19 more images in gallery

Ars Technica UK launched exactly a year ago today. (I originally wanted to launch the site on May 4th, so that we could make all sorts of bad Star Wars jokes, but unfortunately that was a national holiday.) It has been a busy, exciting, and stressful year for everyone at Ars Technica UK. It turns out that launching a new division of an 18-year-old website is a lot of hard work! Who would've thought it?

But, I'm happy to announce, the first year has been a resounding success. Case in point: look at the awesome community meetup we had in London last week! About 120 of you turned up and spent five hours talking about such wondrously diverse topics as TTIP, cars, GPU overclocking, and the incoming Snooper's Charter. I talked so much, and so emphatically about the full gamut of nerdy topics that I lost my voice!

Editor in chief Ken Fisher at the inaugural Ars Technica UK community meetup. Look how much larger our events have become! (credit: Sebastian Anthony / Aurich Lawson)

We've had three meetups over the past year, each a bit larger than the last. The first question I always ask attendees is, "Do you like Ars UK?" followed swiftly by "Is there anything we're doing wrong?"

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Australian Government’s Advisors: Copyright Laws Favor Rights-holders Too Much

The Australian’s government’s independent Productivity Commission has given advice to the government that calls for the introduction of fair use rights, formally legalize geo-dodging and calls on more limits to copyright protection.The Productivity Com…



The Australian's government's independent Productivity Commission has given advice to the government that calls for the introduction of fair use rights, formally legalize geo-dodging and calls on more limits to copyright protection.

The Productivity Commission is tasked with providing the government with independent advice, advice that isn't always in line with the current conservative (and pro copyright) government's policy directions.

A draft report on copyright by the commission was released this week, providing guidance in several key areas - advice that some rights-holders have already criticized.

The report has once again highlighted the lack of fair use rights in Australia, and urged the government to take action in this area. Fair use rights would reduce uncertainty, and would benefit consumers, educational institution and would help to foster innovation by enabling follow-on creators to innovate without being constrained by copyright law.

The report goes into detail how such an exemption can be implemented based on existing case law, both here in Australia and overseas, and goes to length to dispel some of the arguments against fair use, arguments that right-holders often like to make in public.

The commission also calls for copyright protection to be terminated for works that are no longer being actively supplied to the marketplace, the so called "use it or lose it" clause.

"The lack of any requirement for rights holders to actively supply the Australian market reduces the efficiency of Australia’s copyright regime. Demand for works that have been created, but are not being supplied, reduces consumer welfare and the profits of intermediaries and original rights holders. Where a rights holder has made a choice not to supply their works to the market (or refuses to supply a market), granting consumers access to that work, such as through a fair use exception, improves consumer wellbeing without reducing incentives to create copyright works," the report read.

Most controversially, the report clearly states that not only should the government not take action against geo-unblocking, the government should take action in stopping the practice of geoblocking in a bid to increase competition and make sure Australians are paying a fair price for services.

"The use of geoblocking technology is pervasive, and frequently results in Australian consumers being offered a lower level of digital service (such as a more limited music or TV streaming catalogue) at a higher price than in overseas markets. Studies show Australian consumers systematically pay higher prices for professional software, music, games and e-books than consumers in comparable overseas markets. While some digital savvy consumers are able to avoid these costs (such as through the use of proxy servers and virtual private networks), many are relegated to paying inflated prices for lower standard services," the report explains.

"The Australian Government should make clear that it is not an infringement of Australia’s copyright system for consumers to circumvent geoblocking technology and should seek to avoid international obligations that would preclude such practices," the commission recommends.

Local pay TV operator Foxtel are among the first of the influential right-holders that have come out against the report. Specifically on the issue of geo-unblocking, a Foxtel spokesperson was at pains to point out the potential economic damage caused by a ban on geoblocking.

On geo-unblocking, according to Foxtel, "Economic and cultural activity would be curtailed in Australia and money would flow offshore to companies which would have no reason to make a contribution to Australia."

A final inquiry report by the Productivity Commission is due out in August. You can read the draft report here.

Triby review: A speaker, message-board device is an obvious home for Amazon’s Alexa

Alexa-enabled devices have potential, but they also have some flaws to overcome.

(credit: Valentina Palladino)

Amazon's Alexa has made its way into many homes, but now she's branching out. The voice assistant has always been an open platform, and we've seen a number of companies add support for Alexa to their services over the past year. Now, we're starting to see Alexa in products other than Amazon's Echo devices—the first one is a cute little speaker named Triby. The $199 multitasking device is a message board, radio, speaker, and an Alexa vessel all in one, and with its magnetic back, it's being billed as a perfect kitchen companion.

Triby will give us some idea of how well other companies will be able to integrate Alexa into their products. But also, and arguably more interestingly, it shows how companies are thinking about third-party hardware for Alexa and what these devices could and should be.

Design: Little refrigerator bot

Triby doesn't resemble the sleek, modern devices we're used to seeing today. It's got a square, bumper-encased body and a handle on top, and it resembles a flattened lunch box. The bumper helps protect Triby from unexpected falls, and that plus the rounded corners make it safe for kids to manhandle. The rest of its surface is covered in holes, since it's mostly a portable speaker, and it has a couple of physical buttons on its face for making calls, switching between radio stations, and playing or pausing music. Its rectangular e-ink display shows the date, time, and temperature by default. Since it's supposed to be a kitchen companion, it has two large magnets on the back so you can stick it to your refrigerator.

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USA: Furcht vor Popcorn Time auf Set-Top-Boxen

Die US-Filmindustrie will verhindern, dass der Zwang zur Nutzung bestimmter Set-Top-Boxen im TV-Kabelnetz aufgehoben wird. Denn das führe zum Einsatz von Popcorn Time auf künftigen Geräten, glaubt Bob Goodlatte, Chairman eines Ausschusses des US-Repräsentantenhauses. (Streaming, Bittorrent)

Die US-Filmindustrie will verhindern, dass der Zwang zur Nutzung bestimmter Set-Top-Boxen im TV-Kabelnetz aufgehoben wird. Denn das führe zum Einsatz von Popcorn Time auf künftigen Geräten, glaubt Bob Goodlatte, Chairman eines Ausschusses des US-Repräsentantenhauses. (Streaming, Bittorrent)

In Captain America: Civil War, Marvel’s cinematic empire strikes back

Review: Everything Batman V Superman got wrong, “Avengers 2.5” gets right.

Marvel

Captain America, to the rescue!

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Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is not long for this cinematic world. That is not a spoiler for anybody who's familiar with how Hollywood works—and comic book Hollywood in particular. Actors only get so many shots at a superstar superhero before a reboot or a contract dispute gets in the way, and according to modern precedent, Downey's running on borrowed time. Up until this week, Marvel's films have been careful not to even hint at that inevitability. That changes with Captain America: Civil War. Tony Stark's character doesn't necessarily die or have his superhero status suspended by film's end, but it is​ the first film in the Marvel universe renaissance to admit that no, Virginia, there may not be a goatee-sporting, generator-enhanced Santa Claus for much longer.

The latest Captain America film succeeds for many reasons, including incredible action sequences, nimble juggling of a giant cast, and remarkable action-mystery pacing. But what makes this the Marvel Universe's equivalent of The Empire Strikes Back is how its believable (and enjoyable) character development sells the film's slow burn tale of in-fighting and existential anxiety. Downey Jr. isn't alone in pulling it off, but watching the beginning of his end is why you'll remember this film for a long time.

Political flip-flop, superhero-style

Collateral damage attached to the Avengers' heroics has been piling up for the past few years, and Civil War opens with a superhero squad pulling a significant "my bad" while once more saving the world. Chris Evans' Captain America (also known as Steve Rogers), with assists from Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), kicks the film off with an incredible martial-arts sequence, full of superhero leaps, drone-powered trickery, and all kinds of hero-specific badassery.

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Cumulus is your new favorite surveillance-fueled dystopian novel

Review: You’ll soon understand how “absolute data corrupts absolutely.”

(credit: Eliot Peper)

OAKLAND, Calif.—I’ve lived in this gritty but proud city by the Bay for essentially the last decade. While I didn’t grow up here (I was raised in Southern California), I have family roots: My grandfather went to an Oakland high school that no longer exists, and my mother grew up in adjacent Berkeley.

Oakland has seen a rapid transformation in recent years, at least in the greater downtown area. It feels like every month, some new cocktail bar or bookstore opens up. (Personally, I’m stoked about the new bike lanes.) Consequently, the word 'gentrification' comes up pretty frequently, and the city is endlessly compared to Brooklyn. In September 2015, Uber bought a historic Sears building downtown and is set to open a "major office" in 2017. About a month later, Mayor Libby Schaaf invented a new word to express her hope for equitable prosperity for the city: "techquity."

But Oakland also has significant issues with crime and poverty—18 people have been murdered this year alone. It’s become the fourth-most expensive rental market in the country, thanks to spillover from nearby San Francisco. It’s no secret Oakland remains very segregated: a significant portion of the city’s minorities and lower economic classes live south of the 580 freeway, which bisects the city. (Thanks, redlining!) This week, a poll claimed that more than one-third of those surveyed were "prepared to leave the Bay Area" entirely in coming years, citing rising expenses and worsening traffic.

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Unplugged: Youtube will Fernsehprogramm anbieten

Youtube verhandelt mit großen US-Fernsehsendern über ein eigenes Fernsehangebot als Streamingdienst. Unplugged könnte über VPN auch aus Deutschland abrufbar sein. (Streaming, Google)

Youtube verhandelt mit großen US-Fernsehsendern über ein eigenes Fernsehangebot als Streamingdienst. Unplugged könnte über VPN auch aus Deutschland abrufbar sein. (Streaming, Google)

Pirate Bay & KickassTorrents Uploader Stung For €7,500

Another uploader to torrent sites including The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents has agreed to pay a cash settlement to Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN. After other members of his group were identified the man apparently stopped uploading torrents and lay low, but that didn’t stop BREIN from catching up with him.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

After many years of targeting the operators of pirate sites, Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN is now turning up the pressure on some of the more prolific online file-sharers.

Naturally those individuals frequent some of the largest torrent sites and BREIN hopes that by tracking them down and holding them to account, others engaged in similar activities will reconsider their options, thus removing pirate content from the Internet.

As part of this project BREIN previously targeted 2Lions-Team, a release group that reportedly uploaded thousands of files to popular torrent sites including The Pirate Bay, KickassTorrents and ExtraTorrent.

The group was involved in the spread of a wide range of content including popular TV show The Walking Dead and recent hit movie The Revenant. According to BREIN, 2Lions-Team were responsible for almost half a million pirate downloads.

Back in March BREIN announced that it had obtained ex-parte injunctions against three members of the torrent release group. As a result they faced fines of €2,000 per day fine if they infringed BREIN members’ copyrights in the future.

BREIN also reached out-of-court settlements of around €15,000 with five members of 2Lions-Team members, to a total of €67,500. But BREIN still wasn’t done. According to a new announcement from the anti-piracy group it has just caught up with a uploader and moderator for the group.

“The uploader posted frequent torrents for illegal English subtitled movies and TV series on illegal websites such as The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents,” BREIN announced.

“[After the other members were identified] the uploader in question stopped uploading and hoped in vain that he would be spared. He was still identified by BREIN.”

Just like his former colleagues in 2Lions-Team, the unnamed individual is now required to settle with the anti-piracy group. That amount has apparently been set at €7500 which is an uncomfortable amount for most people and could be devastating to others.

Furthermore, the individual will also have to remove all the torrents he uploaded to various sites, something other team members were also required to do. In some cases that will be possible but torrents tend to have a life of their own and can’t be stopped simply by the removal of a file.

BREIN says that in total it will now receive €75,000 in settlements from 2Lions-Team members, a not insignificant amount for people engaged in what was probably an oversized hobby project. And for those wondering about the future, these kinds of actions look set to increase.

Back in March the anti-piracy group was granted special permission from the national data protection authority to monitor torrent users on a large scale.

“I advise notorious uploaders to think twice, after all, forewarned is forearmed,” said BREIN chief Tim Kuik, who noted that VPN users might get even tougher treatment.

“VPN services can see what you do, you run a security risk and it is possible that you can still be identified, which will result in a higher ‘fine’,” Kuik said.

This week the anti-piracy group is reiterating its threats that important uploaders run the risk of significant punishments.

“BREIN again warns that the monitoring of initial and/or large-scale illegal uploaders is extensive and that settlement amounts could reach thousands of euros per case,” the outfit concludes

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Festnetz: Telekom-Chef verspricht 500 MBit/s im Kupfernetz

Telekom-Chef Timotheus Höttges kündigt für 2018 mit Super-Vectoring Bandbreiten bis zu 250 MBit/s im Kupfernetz an. Mit der nächsten Technologie, G.fast, seien bis zu 500 MBit/s möglich. (G.fast, Telekom)

Telekom-Chef Timotheus Höttges kündigt für 2018 mit Super-Vectoring Bandbreiten bis zu 250 MBit/s im Kupfernetz an. Mit der nächsten Technologie, G.fast, seien bis zu 500 MBit/s möglich. (G.fast, Telekom)