Goodbye, Nexus 9—you will not be missed

The worst Nexus device is no longer for sale on the Google Store.

The Nexus 9.

Yesterday we got news of two new Nexus devices, and today we're losing a Nexus device. It looks like the Nexus 9 is dead. The tablet has been unceremoniously removed from the Google Store—the product page now just redirects to the generic Nexus listing page, and the "tablets" link in the navigation bar now points to the Pixel C only. RIP, Nexus 9.

The HTC-built Nexus 9 had a rough life. The Nvidia Tegra-powered tablet launched in November 2014 to a very poor reception. The supposedly "premium" tablet had a squishy back, the backlight leaked, sometimes the buttons didn't work, and the device was generally not worth its $400 price tag. It hit the bargain bin almost immediately, with HTC selling it for half price a day after launch. As an Android tablet, its apps were neglected by developers and Google, and it was resigned to a life of running stretched-out phone apps forever. It even failed as a Nexus device, taking a whopping two months to be updated to Android 5.1.

The Nexus 9 was replaced by the better-but-still-not-good Pixel C, which improved on the N9 with a metal body and removable keyboard, but it was still a tough sell at $499 with unfinished software. Now Google's troubled tablet can be laid to rest.

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Forza Motorsport 6 Apex: Beta des Direct3D-12-Rennspiels startet im Mai

Ein weiterer Direct3D-12-Titel für Windows-PCs: Das kostenlose Forza Motorsport 6 Apex geht demnächst in die offene Beta. Für die 1080p-Auflösung bei 60 Bildern pro Sekunde braucht es flotte Hardware. (Forza, Microsoft)

Ein weiterer Direct3D-12-Titel für Windows-PCs: Das kostenlose Forza Motorsport 6 Apex geht demnächst in die offene Beta. Für die 1080p-Auflösung bei 60 Bildern pro Sekunde braucht es flotte Hardware. (Forza, Microsoft)

Language Creation Society Backs Star Trek Spin-off in Klingon Copyright Battle

The lawsuit between Paramount Pictures and the crowdfunded Star Trek spin-off “Prelude to Axanar” is turning into a copyright battle over the Klingon language. This week the Language Creation Society submitted an amicus brief in support of the filmmakers, arguing that the use of the Klingon language shouldn’t be restricted in any way.

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

klingonEarlier this year Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios filed a lawsuit against the makers of a Star Trek inspired fan film, accusing them of copyright infringement.

The dispute centers around the well-received short film Star Trek: Prelude to Axanar and the planned follow-up feature film Anaxar.

Among other things, the Star Trek rightsholders claim ownership over various Star Trek related settings, characters, species, clothing, colors, shapes, words, short phrases and even the Klingon language.

The makers of the fan-spinoff responded to several of the allegations last month. Among other things, they argued that the Klingon language is not copyrightable because it’s not more than an idea or a system. They therefore asked the court to dismiss or strike the copyright claims in question.

Paramount and CBS disagreed. In their reply the rightsholders called the argument absurd and among other things, they pointed out that the language system is not very useful if there are no real Klingons to communicate with.

Considering the stakes, the lawsuit has drawn the attention of the Language Creation Society (LCS), a non-profit that aims to promote the art and craft of language creation. The group submitted their opinion to the court yesterday, siding with the makers of the fan-film.

In their amicus brief, which actually uses Klingon language, the LCS points out that it’s understandable that Paramount Pictures feels that they own the language. After all, they commissioned Linguistics professor Marc Okrand to create some of the language thirty years ago.

However, this doesn’t mean that the copyright claims hold ground.

“Feeling ownership and having ownership are not the same thing. The language has taken on a life of its own. Thousands of people began studying it, building upon it, and using it to communicate among themselves,” the LCS notes.

“As the Klingon proverb says, we succeed together in a greater whole,” the brief adds, with pro-bono attorney Marc Randazza writing in Klingon.

The brief, partially in Klingon

klingamic

The Language Creation Society lists many examples of how Klingon has evolved, and it specifically disputes Paramount’s earlier claims that there are no human beings who communicate using the Klingon language.

“In fact, there are groups of people for whom Klingon is their only common language. There are friends who only speak Klingon to each other. In fact, at least one child was initially raised as a native speaker of Klingon,” LCS writes.

“Now that Klingon has become an actual living language, Paramount seeks to reach out and stake its ownership by using copyright law. But, as ‘Klingons do not surrender’, neither do those who speak Klingon,” they add.

As such, Paramount should not be allowed to claim copyright over the entire Klingon language, both in written and spoken form. The language is a tool for people to communicate and express ideas, something people should be allowed to do freely under U.S. law, LCS argues.

Klingon alphabet (image: wiki)

klingonalpha

If Paramount is allowed to claim copyright over the language, they would be able to silence the free expression of thousands of people, many of which helped it to evolve in recent years.

“Klingon gave Star Trek characters convincing dialogue. But, it broke its chains and took on a life of its own – a life that the Copyright Act has no power to control. Klingon, like any other spoken language, provides tools and a system for expressing ideas,” LCS writes.

“No one has a monopoly over these things, effectively prohibiting anyone from communicating in a language without the creator’s permission. This is not permitted by the law, and it is not why the Constitution allows Congress to provide copyright protection,” they add.

Summing up, the Language Creation Society sides with the makers of the Star Trek spin-off, asking the court to dismiss the copyright claims over the Klingon language, so it can be used freely and continue to evolve.

It is not up to the California federal court to decide whether the ‘Klingons’ can prevail or not.

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

Rainbow Six: Siege reportedly reveals your IP address to potential attackers

P2P VoIP hole still seems somewhat open, despite Ubisoft’s patching efforts.

Artist's rendition of the horde of DDoS requests coming at your router.

Rainbow Six: Siege players are complaining that the game continues to make their global IP address available to other players, putting those players at risk for DDoS attacks from bitter opponents.

The problem seems to stem from the way the game implements voice chat between players. Back in September, Ubisoft confirmed that while the game uses dedicated servers to host matches, it still uses direct, peer-to-peer connections "strictly to support voice and chat comms for a team." Beta players began noticing almost immediately that this infrastructure decision presents a pretty big security hole when playing with strangers on the Internet. This netcode analysis from January shows how a simple packet sniffer like NetLimiter could easily reveal the IP addresses of all other players in the match, even though voice chat is only available between teammates during a match.

Armed with these IP addresses, unscrupulous players could easily use any number of services to initiate a DDoS attack to remove opposing players from the game. There's a decent amount of evidence that many players were doing just that to gain a leg up in ranked matches, with some managing to climb the in-game ranking ladder despite awful play statistics.

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Dealmaster: Get a Dell Optiplex compact desktop with Core i7 for just $725

And other deals on laptops, gaming consoles, and more.

Greetings, Arsians! Courtesy of our partners at TechBargains, we have a number of deals to share today. The highlight is a great deal on the Dell Optiplex 5040 compact desktop—save big on this tiny PC and get it now for just $725 instead of the usual $1,270. This compact desktop has been recently redesigned to be even more space-efficient, measuring 3.6-inches wide and 11.4-inches high, and it supports Core i7 Skylake processors. It's ideal for anyone who wants to save on space but doesn't want to compromise on computing power.

Don't forget to check out the rest of our deals below.

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Enterprise-IT: Hunderte Huawei-Ingenieure haben an Telekom Cloud gearbeitet

Die Open Telekom Cloud ist für Huawei ein sehr wichtiges Prestige-Objekt in Europa. Es steht im Mittelpunkt des Huawei Cloud Congress, der heute in Prag begonnen hat. (Cloud Computing, Server)

Die Open Telekom Cloud ist für Huawei ein sehr wichtiges Prestige-Objekt in Europa. Es steht im Mittelpunkt des Huawei Cloud Congress, der heute in Prag begonnen hat. (Cloud Computing, Server)

Deals of the Day (4-28-2016)

Deals of the Day (4-28-2016)

Amazon is running a sale on Fire TV Stick media streamers today, which means you can pick one up for as little as $35.

That’s $5 off the list price, and while a $5 discount isn’t usually anything to write home about… but when it’s $5 off a $40 product, that’s actually a 12.5 percent discount.

The Fire TV Stick with voice remote is also $5 off today, bringing the price down to $45.

Continue reading Deals of the Day (4-28-2016) at Liliputing.

Deals of the Day (4-28-2016)

Amazon is running a sale on Fire TV Stick media streamers today, which means you can pick one up for as little as $35.

That’s $5 off the list price, and while a $5 discount isn’t usually anything to write home about… but when it’s $5 off a $40 product, that’s actually a 12.5 percent discount.

The Fire TV Stick with voice remote is also $5 off today, bringing the price down to $45.

Continue reading Deals of the Day (4-28-2016) at Liliputing.

Datenspeicherung: Microsoft kauft zehn Millionen Stränge synthetischer DNA

Weniger ist manchmal mehr: Microsoft und Twist Bioscience haben sich zusammengetan, um digitale Informationen auf künstlicher DNA zu speichern. Vor allem die extreme Datendichte beeindruckt. (Speichermedien, Microsoft)

Weniger ist manchmal mehr: Microsoft und Twist Bioscience haben sich zusammengetan, um digitale Informationen auf künstlicher DNA zu speichern. Vor allem die extreme Datendichte beeindruckt. (Speichermedien, Microsoft)

BlackBerry’s next two Android phones leaked (allegedly)

BlackBerry’s next two Android phones leaked (allegedly)

BlackBerry has no short-term plans to launch any new phones running BlackBerry OS. But the company is expected to launch a new Android phone or two this year, and now we may have an idea of what they’ll look like.

Leaked photos of two phones, allegedly code-named Hamburg and Rome, are making the rounds. The Rome has a physical keyboard beneath the screen, and looks a lot like the BlackBerry Passport… if that phone had a widescreen display instead of a square one.

Continue reading BlackBerry’s next two Android phones leaked (allegedly) at Liliputing.

BlackBerry’s next two Android phones leaked (allegedly)

BlackBerry has no short-term plans to launch any new phones running BlackBerry OS. But the company is expected to launch a new Android phone or two this year, and now we may have an idea of what they’ll look like.

Leaked photos of two phones, allegedly code-named Hamburg and Rome, are making the rounds. The Rome has a physical keyboard beneath the screen, and looks a lot like the BlackBerry Passport… if that phone had a widescreen display instead of a square one.

Continue reading BlackBerry’s next two Android phones leaked (allegedly) at Liliputing.

CEO tests “crazy” genetic therapy on herself, claims it added 20 years of life

Though the treatment had promising results in mice, scientists are skeptical.

Elizabeth Parrish (credit: YouTube)

Elizabeth Parrish, CEO of the biotech company BioViva, claims that her body's cells are 20 years younger after testing her company’s age-reversing gene therapy on herself.

The 45-year old Seattle-area woman, who has no scientific or medical training, underwent the experimental treatment last September in an undisclosed clinic in Colombia. The unorthodox, overseas trial, which was designed to skirt US federal regulations, prompted the resignation of one of the company’s scientific advisors. George Martin of the University of Washington quit after telling MIT Technology Review, "This is a big problem. I am very upset by what is happening. I would urge lots of preclinical studies.”

Though details of the fast-tracked trial are unpublished, Parrish says it involved intravenous infusions of an engineered virus. That infectious germ carried the genetic blueprints for an enzyme called telomerase, which is found in humans. When spread to the body’s cells, the enzyme generally extends the length of DNA caps on the ends of chromosomes, which naturally wear down with cellular aging. In a 2012 mouse study, Spanish researchers found that similar treatment could extend the lifespan of the rodents by as much as 20 percent.

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