Netflix-Serie The Silent Sea: Im Weltall hört dich niemand gähnen

In der neuen Sci-Fi-Serie aus Südkorea suchen Astronauten auf dem Mond nach etwas, das der sterbenden Erde helfen soll. Leider ist das sterbenslangweilig. Eine Rezension von Peter Osteried (Science-Fiction, Netflix)

In der neuen Sci-Fi-Serie aus Südkorea suchen Astronauten auf dem Mond nach etwas, das der sterbenden Erde helfen soll. Leider ist das sterbenslangweilig. Eine Rezension von Peter Osteried (Science-Fiction, Netflix)

Jahresendspurt in China

Die Volksrepublik hat inzwischen auch bei der Offshore-Windenergie die Nase vorn und stellt den Rest der Welt in den Schatten

Die Volksrepublik hat inzwischen auch bei der Offshore-Windenergie die Nase vorn und stellt den Rest der Welt in den Schatten

Sparks fly between Caped Crusader and Catwoman in latest The Batman trailer

Also: the Riddler wants Batman to “unmask the truth about this cesspool we call a city.”

Robert Pattinson stars in the dual role of Gotham City’s vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne, in The Batman.

Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson), aka Batman, must grapple with a taunting serial killer and his family's potential links to long-standing corruption in Gotham City in the latest trailer for The Batman. But he's still got time for some heavily flirtatious fisticuffs with Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), which should delight "Bat/Cat" shippers everywhere. The studio has helpfully titled the trailer "The Bat and the Cat," lest anyone miss the intended focus.

As I've written previously, the original plan was to set the film within the DCEU, after the events of Justice League. But as Warner Bros. was rethinking the shared-universe model for its superhero films in favor of standalone films and franchises, Ben Affleck announced he was stepping down as director, and the studio replaced him with Matt Reeves. Affleck would eventually withdraw from the project altogether, following his divorce from Jennifer Garner and a stint in rehab for alcohol abuse.

Reeves said that the plot would follow a series of murders, revealing the history of corruption in Gotham and how Bruce’s family is linked to that corruption. The classic bad guys—the Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman—are also in the early stages of their development into full-fledged villains. Reeves has cited Alfred Hitchcock as a major influence on the overall look and feel of his film, as well as Chinatown, The French Connection, and Taxi Driver.

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Scientists draw inspiration from catchweed to create biodegradable Velcro

Artificial micro-hook structure enables the creation of microdevices for monitoring plants.

Artist's representation of the microstructure of Velcro. Scientists at the Italian Institute of Technology have created a soft, biodegradable and soluble Velcro inspired by the micro-hook structure of leaves on the “catchweed” plant (<em>Galium aparine</em>).

Enlarge / Artist's representation of the microstructure of Velcro. Scientists at the Italian Institute of Technology have created a soft, biodegradable and soluble Velcro inspired by the micro-hook structure of leaves on the “catchweed” plant (Galium aparine). (credit: Clouds Hill Imaging Ltd./Getty Images)

There's rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we're once again running a special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, highlighting one story that fell through the cracks each day, from December 25 through January 5. Today: biodegradable Velcro draws inspiration from nature to give back to nature.

Velcro is an ingenious hook-and-loop fastener inspired by nature—specifically, cockleburs. Now scientists at the Italian Institute of Technology are returning the favor. They have created the first biodegradable Velcro—inspired by climbing plants—and used it to build small devices to help monitor the health of crop plants and deliver pesticides and medicines as needed, according to a November paper published in the journal Communications Materials.

Velcro’s creator was a Swiss engineer named George de Mestral, who combined his love of invention with a passion for the great outdoors. After finishing school, he took a job in the machine shop of a Swiss engineering company. In 1948, de Mestral took a two-week holiday from work to go game bird hunting. While out hiking with his Irish pointer in the Jura Mountains, he was plagued by cockleburs (burdock seeds), which clung relentlessly to both his clothing and his dog’s fur.

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Judge Throws Out Triller Lawsuit Against ‘Jake Paul’ Pirate Streaming Site

Triller’s legal campaign against sites that allegedly streamed the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing match last April has suffered another setback. Alleged pirate streaming site Online2LiveStream has been sued twice by the promotor but in common with the first dismissal, a court has thrown the second case out after Triller failed to comply with the court’s orders.

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

TrillerAfter eight months, Triller’s legal campaign against sites that allegedly streamed the Jake Paul vs Ben Askren boxing match on April 17 is still ongoing.

Named in its initial $100m lawsuit and described as “cyber-criminals”, one of Triller’s early targets were the operators of Online2LiveStreams.us. The platform was accused of diverting a share of 2,000,000 streams away from Triller’s legal services.

The case didn’t go well with all but one of the defendants (FilmDaily.co – a case that is still pending) later dismissed by a judge who found the lawsuit to be overbroad. A month later, Triller responded by filing individual lawsuits against some of the previously-dismissed defendants. Among them was alleged Online2LiveStreams.us operator Robiul Awal and ten doe defendants.

Triller’s lawsuit alleged copyright infringement, vicarious copyright infringement, violations of the Federal Communications Act, conversion, and a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The suit also included a claim of false advertising after Online2LiveStream transformed itself into a scam site, offering events in exchange for credit card details but failing to deliver.

Court Warns Case Could Be Dismissed

On August 30, 2021, three months after the latest case was filed, a California district court ordered Triller to explain why the case should not be dismissed based on the failure of the plaintiff to properly serve the defendant.

“[F]ailure to timely or adequately respond to this Order may result in the dismissal of the action without further warning,” the order read.

Triller informed the court that it had experienced problems serving the defendant as they believe he resides in Bangladesh. As a result, Triller had contacted a third-party vendor to assist and was otherwise “making a good faith effort” to effect service.

On September 17, the court issued a minute order directing Triller to file either a proof of service or a status report by December 17, 2021. That date came and went but Triller remained silent.

Insufficent Due Diligence – Court Dismisses Case

In an order dated December 21, 2021, United States District Judge Otis D. Wright, II explained that despite his instructions, Triller had failed to comply with the requirements of the court.

“As of today’s date, and despite having been granted four months to do so, Plaintiff has not filed a Proof of Service or any other response to the Court’s September 17, 2021 Minute Order. Thus, although the case has been open for over six months, the Court remains without any indication that Plaintiff served Defendant or that Plaintiff has made timely, substantial efforts to serve Defendant,” the order reads.

“Plaintiff was warned that failure to effect service and to respond to the Court’s orders would result in dismissal of the case, and Plaintiff failed to provide the Court with an update regarding service as ordered.”

Noting that the due diligence standard and dismissal factors support dismissal of the case, the Judge did just that.

“Resolution on the merits is not possible due to Plaintiff’s failure to serve Defendant, and the seven-month passage of time without service of process increases the risk of prejudice to Defendant,” Judge Otis Wright notes.

“Under these circumstances, the Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to exercise sufficient due diligence, and dismissal of the action without prejudice is warranted.”

Since the case was dismissed without prejudice, it can be refiled, albeit for a third time. But, given the difficulties serving the defendant the first time around, it seems reasonable to conclude that the job won’t have become any easier with the passing of time and is unlikely to come back from the dead.

The order can be found here (pdf)

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