OAKLAND, Calif.—As I stand along the shores of Lake Merritt on a breezy summer day, I try to imagine I’m someone with either enough fame or money to worry about over-zealous paparazzi and over-curious neighbors. And because it’s 2016, when anyone can buy an inexpensive drone and fly it over my wall, I need some sort of countermeasure, like Dedrone’s DroneTracker.
I peer into a video feed and see an approaching object, marked as a green dot. It’s unclear based on the distance whether it’s a bird, a plane, Superman, or, indeed, a drone. As this drone approaches my DroneTracker, the green dot morphs into a red dot and then a red square.
The outfit behind an illicit streaming device is taking ‘pirate’ advertising to new levels. Claiming endorsements from Christina Millian and YouTube star Jordyn Jones, ‘Z Stream Box’ has commissioned a full infomercial in which the company promises buyers free TV and a free luxury cruise.
Advertising and marketing efforts are all around us. Every waking hour of every day, someone somewhere tries to get us interested in their latest product or service.
While TV and radio have dominated over the years, increasingly the Internet is the go-to platform for companies determined to portray their product as the next big thing.
The Internet has many great qualities and for those looking to do something a bit different or wild, its unregulated nature means you can do whatever the hell you want. Or at the least shoot first, worry about the consequences later.
That appears to be the philosophy of the company behind the Z Stream Box, the next ‘big’ thing in audio-visual consumption. Promoted via a glossy website and numerous online videos, the set-top Z Stream Box aims to fulfil the dreams of every movie, TV show, sports and music junkie.
“Get the Biggest Shows, the Latest Movies, Stream the biggest blockbusters here first. Watch every episode of your favorite shows, past and present, Live and on demand. Enjoy the latest series and specials as they premiere without waiting,” the advertising reads.
“Break free of annual contracts, surprise fees and TV that ties you down. With Z Stream Box® get the TV you love over 100 of your favorite channels, Hit movies, Documentaries, Sports and more! NO contracts and NO monthly payments ever.”
While these kinds of claims are usually the sole preserve of pirate devices, there are various indicators on the Z Stream site suggesting that this must be a legitimate offer. Firstly, it has celebrity endorsements. Here’s a nice image of singer, songwriter and actress Christina Millian enjoying the device.
And to make sure that the cord-cutting phenomenon resonates with the younger generation, here’s YouTube star Jordyn Jones holding a Z Stream Box and looking surprised at how much it can do.
For those who haven’t already guessed, the basic premise of the Z Stream Box is that people can stop paying their expensive cable bills and get all their content online. It’s an Internet sensation!
Actually, let’s cut the nonsense. Z Stream Box is nothing more than a Kodi-enabled Android box with all the best pirate addons such as Genesis and Icefilms fully installed.
While that probably isn’t much of a shock by now, the way this device is being marketed is nothing short of remarkable.
Claimed celebrity endorsements aside, the people at Z Stream have commissioned a full-blown 18-minute infomercial for their device which must have cost a small fortune and would be at home on any shopping channel.
Seriously, this gig has absolutely everything – several glossy presenters, many actors, a perfect family, potential and existing ‘customers’ who can’t quite believe how good the device is, and much much more.
Of course, you’re probably wondering how much all this costs. Well, it’s the equivalent of just a few months cable, apparently. Admittedly that’s quite a lot of cash, but it’s the savings that are important, Z Stream say.
In the end it’s revealed the unit costs ‘just’ $295.95. That’s almost $300 for a box that would cost less than $100 if people looked around for something similar on eBay or Amazon. But do those products come with a free five-day cruise for two around the Bahamas, including all onboard meals and entertainment? Thought not. (18 minutes into the video below)
The full and quite unbelievable infomercial is embedded below and for those interested in just how far pirate advertising can go, the Z Stream Box website can be found here. Facebook here, YouTube account here.
Shaun Bridges tried to quietly change his name to “Calogero Esposito.”
Shaun Bridges was captured by CCTV security cameras, leaving a Secret Service field office with a large bag. The government said the bag may have contained hard drives with keys needed to access his Bitstamp wallet.
Newly unsealed court documents have revealed that one of the corrupt federal agents investigating Silk Road, the online drug marketplace, is suspected of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin—after he pleaded guilty last year.
Shaun Bridges is one of two agents who pled guilty to stealing from the Darknet market. Bridges stole about $800,000 worth of bitcoins from Silk Road drug dealers after he and a partner arrested a Silk Road admin and learned how to reset passwords. That led to Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted of running Silk Road in February 2015, attempting to order the murder of the admin, Curtis Green. Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison last year.
Bridges' scam was later discovered, though. The former Secret Service agent, who served on a Baltimore-based task force investigating Silk Road, was arrested in March 2015 and pled guilty a few months later. In January, Bridges was arrested again just one day before he was scheduled to turn himself in. The documents unsealed Thursday shed light on why the second arrest took place.
If you're a kid, few things are better than homemade cookies. Unlike store-bought sweets, you get to gobble up any bits of cookie dough stuck to the bowl and beaters, which can be more exciting than the cookies themselves.
Of course, most adults know you’re not supposed to eat raw dough because the raw eggs in it may contain Salmonella. But now there’s something else to worry about: E. coli in the flour.
On May 31, General Mills recalled 10 million pounds of flour, sold under three brands after an investigation linked the grain to an outbreak of E. coli O121 (you can see the recall information here). On Friday, the company expanded the recall as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallied new cases. So far, the tainted flour has sickened 42 and sent 11 to the hospital. Although many strains of E. coli are harmless, the O121 serotype can lead to symptoms that typically include abdominal pain and diarrhea, often bloody. This E. coli can also even cause severe illness that leads to kidney failure. Young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are the most at risk of these severe cases.
From Walgreens pick-ups to hand-hacked super-cans, we share our preferred ear candy.
Happy Fourth from everyone at Ars! While the American half of the staff takes a much-need vacation over the next two days, we thought this would be a good time to share our personal picks for a very important piece of everyday tech: our headphones. Ars' staff is never lacking in opinions, and our preferences range from earbuds (to keep us tethered to our smartphones and subscription-music apps) to giant cans (because we want the right combination of sound and comfort while rocking out or getting our online-gaming frag on).
This isn't a scientific "best headphones of all time" list by any stretch. This is the gear we each use in our day-to-day lives, and we look forward to hearing your own picks as well. Without further ado: let's get canned!
In France, 35 countries invest time, cash, and effort in commercial energy’s future.
Foreground buildings: Contractors Canteen, Changing Rooms, Showers, etc. || Green, Yellow, and Red buildings: Contractors’ Offices || White Building: Canteen and Infirmary for Contractors || Tall building: Assembly Hall || To the right of the Assembly Hall and behind the other buildings: Cryostat Assembly Site (credit: Dave Loschiavo)
ST. PAUL-lez DURANCE, France—Rolling hills and oak woodlands dominate rural Southern France. However, about 35km north of Aix-en-Provence, nature has given way to a team of 1,000 construction workers who are laboring around the clock to build the largest physics experiment that’s never been discussed by Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard.
Known as ITER, this experimental Tokamak fusion reactor is intended to be the last necessary step to prove the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as a commercial energy source. It is a collaborative effort of China, the European Union (through Euratom), India, Japan, Korea, Russia, Switzerland (also through Euratom), and the United States. In total, it will include 35 countries.
The scale of this project, in so many dimensions, is nothing short of awe inspiring and humbling. Physically, the main buildings used to assemble and house the Tokamak reactor stand 60m (~200ft) tall and sit in a leveled area of 40 hectares (~100 acres). The entire site, adding the open space and office buildings, measures 180 hectares. Logistically, as a construction project, the ITER team is tracking over 200,000 actions necessary to bring the effort to fruition.
Farm Heroes Super Saga hits app stores, but how long can the match-three boom last?
You know what a King game looks like by now. Despite the broad array of fantastical names and exotic themes, each one is, at its core, a match-three game in which blocks are switched to create lines of uniform colours. It's not a new concept and King certainly didn't invent it, but the young Swedish company has undoubtedly acquired more success from the formula than anyone else on mobile devices.
Through the first quarter of 2016, King has had three titles in the top 15 grossing games on the Apple App Store and Google Play in the US. Candy Crush Saga is arguably the most famous and most played mobile game ever released, and that orange and yellow logo is synonymous with gaming on the go. It's this success that resulted in the studio recently being acquired by Activision-Blizzard for a rather princely sum, despite concerns that it's nothing more than a flash-in-the-pan, one trick pony. Its IPO back in 2014 was a disaster, after all.
Indeed, the company has struggled to bestow the enormous success of Candy Crush upon its other products. With so many people still swiping digital blocks of sugar to pass the time, and with King's line-up being so mechanically uniform, why would players deviate towards another IP? The likes of Pet Rescue Saga, Diamond Digger Saga, and Alpha Betty Saga have been but mere farts in the wind compared to the freemium, money-ranking behemoth that is Candy Crush.
The Scene is generally known as a network of ‘pirate’ release groups mostly interested in sharing content among each other. In these circles money is rarely discussed, but one relatively new group has broken this taboo with a call for Bitcoin donations. Thus far the result is rather disappointing.
While ‘pirates’ don’t always come across as well-coordinated, the groups that make up the top of the piracy pyramid abide by strict rules and traditions.
This is particularly true for the more traditional release groups that belong to The Scene. These groups are highly organized and only share content among themselves through topsites. At least, that’s what they are supposed to.
Scene groups “race” against each other and their ultimate goal is to be the first to release a certain title. The more races they win, the more credit they earn, simple as that.
For most release groups it’s their reputation that counts. Money doesn’t play a major role in this game. Of course, some cash is needed to buy equipment and other gear, but the topic is generally not discussed, neither are calls for donations.
Breaking with what may be described as a taboo, one Scene group has decided to cross the bridge.
Starting recently, TV Scene group “spamTV” is including a call for support in their release notes, as the screenshot below clearly shows.
spamTV NFO calling for donations
“SUPPORT OUR CAUSE! BTC = 13mSLHHhmK5MUdtdcVVkmuJW9997EZpfM4,” a note in their NFO file reads.
This is the first time we’ve seen a Scene group publicly asking for Bitcoin donations through one of their releases. Given that Scene releases are supposed to stay private, we also wonder who the call is for.
While it may be unique for a Scene group, donations are more common among other pirate sources. P2P groups, distribution groups, and torrent site owners generally cater to a much wider audience, and many ask their users to chip in.
Unfortunately for them, pirates are not known as the most generous bunch, so the income from donations is usually minimal, to say the least.
This isn’t very different for spamTV. After listing their request for Bitcoin donations in several releases, they have yet to earn their first penny.
Drei Android-Smartphones sollen von Blackberry in Kürze auf den Markt kommen. Die ersten Modelle werden allerdings alle ohne physische Tastatur erscheinen. Blackberry verzichtet damit auf einen Wettbewerbsvorteil. (Blackberry, Smartphone)
Drei Android-Smartphones sollen von Blackberry in Kürze auf den Markt kommen. Die ersten Modelle werden allerdings alle ohne physische Tastatur erscheinen. Blackberry verzichtet damit auf einen Wettbewerbsvorteil. (Blackberry, Smartphone)
Kurz bevor das Gratis-Upgrade von Windows 10 ausläuft, steigt der Marktanteil von Windows 7 sogar. Das hat sich Microsoft wohl anders vorgestellt und steuert dagegen – mit einem verzweifelt wirkenden Versuch. (Windows 7, Microsoft)
Kurz bevor das Gratis-Upgrade von Windows 10 ausläuft, steigt der Marktanteil von Windows 7 sogar. Das hat sich Microsoft wohl anders vorgestellt und steuert dagegen - mit einem verzweifelt wirkenden Versuch. (Windows 7, Microsoft)
While ‘pirates’ don’t always come across as well-coordinated, the groups that make up the top of the piracy pyramid abide by strict rules and traditions.
Drei Android-Smartphones sollen von Blackberry in Kürze auf den Markt kommen. Die ersten Modelle werden allerdings alle ohne physische Tastatur erscheinen. Blackberry verzichtet damit auf einen Wettbewerbsvorteil. (
Kurz bevor das Gratis-Upgrade von Windows 10 ausläuft, steigt der Marktanteil von Windows 7 sogar. Das hat sich Microsoft wohl anders vorgestellt und steuert dagegen - mit einem verzweifelt wirkenden Versuch. (