This morning we told you about Meerkat, the video streaming service that blew up last week. The app is a dead-simple way to broadcast from a mobile device that piggybacked on Twitter's social graph to help users find an audience. It seems like Twitter had a similar idea. Business Insider is reporting that last month, Twitter acquired Periscope, a yet-to-launch streaming video service with a nearly identical use case.
Well, this is new. Today, Google quietly announced a new version of Android in a small blog post. The new version, Android 5.1, is still called Lollipop, but it will come with a few new features including Device Protection, and HD voice, where your device supports it.
Android 5.1 will also support multiple SIMs on devices that contain multiple SIM slots (presumably carriers and manufacturers have had to add this support where applicable on top of Android until now).
Device Protection will allow a user to remotely lock their device if it gets lost or stolen. This will prevent your phone from being used until you log in with your Google account. This protection even remains in place if the person who takes your phone performs a factory reset. These are just a few of the new features that will come in Android 5.1, though Google hasn't released a full changelog. The update is rolling out to certain Nexus devices today, though presumably it will still take a few weeks or months to get to most other devices.
Android 5.1: Unwrapping a new Lollipop update | Official Android Blog
Apple has finally revealed all regarding the Apple Watch, the wrist-based wearable it first introduced last September. Many of the Apple Watch’s particulars were already known, but here, for the first time, is a comprehensive look at what will no doubt become the world’s most popular smartwatch. Read More
At its event in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center, Apple today confirmed a long-running rumor that re-surfaced back in January: the next major iteration of the MacBook will be a 12-inch Air that’s thinner and lighter than Apple’s previous trend-setting design. Read More
Late last week OnePlus announced expansion across Europe but the specifics of the launch were still unknown at the time. As of today OnePlus will begin sales in 16 new countries across Europe, allowing the purchase of the Silk White 16GB or Sandstone Black 64GB variants of the device.
Entertainment companies all around the globe bemoan the fact that their creations cost millions to create and often require years of preparation, but all that can be undone in an instant by pirates.
It’s certainly true that any media – whether movies, music or software – can be instantly cloned and distributed to a potential audience of hundreds of millions. According to the industry the doomsday scenario of this position is that filmmakers, musicians, authors and coders will eventually give up the game and go do something else more profitable instead.
Of course, this hasn’t happened yet, largely due to the fact that the public is still digging deep. Hollywood, for example, is having its best year on record. But what if all content suddenly stopped appearing on physical and digital shelves. What would the pirates do then?
Well, if the threats of India’s Tamil Film Producer’s Council (TFPC) come to fruition, we won’t have long to find out. Plagued by the menace of persistent and large scale piracy of their movies, the Council is close to making the most radical stand against copyright infringement ever seen.
Yesterday the TFPC held their general meeting and of course piracy was high on the agenda. Several solutions were reportedly discussed but one came to the forefront – a complete boycott on releasing films for the foreseeable future.
“Some groups wanted a six-month ban, while others wanted a three-month ban,” said council president Kalaipuli S Thanu.
The producer and distributor, who regained control of TFPC in January following allegations of corruption against his rivals, said that something drastic needs to be done.
“The basic fact is that all producers are suffering losses and we have to look into that. We have asked them for some time to call in all the parties concerned and try to reach a resolution that is beneficial to everybody.”
In addition to promising the establishment of a dedicated anti-piracy unit compromised of ex-police officers, Thanu says that not releasing movies at all will be the best way to hit pirates.
“Piracy will automatically stop when there’s no content. When we stop film releases, say for three months, the movie pirates will go out of business. We are looking into this option because film producers have suffered heavily in the last 24 months,” Thanu said.
“We haven’t finalized on the decision yet. A resolution has been passed but we’d like to discuss the idea with all the parties involved and only when found beneficial for everybody, will we implement it. It’s going to take some time.”
But speaking against the proposed ban, a leading producer told IAS that release suspension will only make matters worse.
“Piracy has become a menace, but stopping the release of films is not a solution. Filmmakers are already struggling to find a suitable window to release their films, and now this step to halt release of films will make it worse,” he said.
“Each Friday, a minimum of three Tamil films are releasing in cinemas. If you stop release of films for three months, we are holding back about 36 films. Post the ban, these 36 films have to battle it out with more films for release, which looks impossible.”
At this stage it appears that support for a three-month ban is gaining momentum but there are others that see a much better response to the problem. Filmmaker ‘Cheran’ said that releasing via DVD and VOD at a fair price is by far the best option.
“If an original DVD of a new film is available for Rs.50 ($0.80), why would anyone think of buying a pirated copy? We all know the quality of pirated prints. I’ve sold nearly Rs.10 lakh ($16,800) DVDs of my film in the first two days,” he said.
This ban, if it comes to pass, should be fascinating to watch. But whatever happens the pirates will still exist – that’s 100% guaranteed.
Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.
Following news reports last summer of Arctic craters, a February 23 report in the Siberian Times documents several more depressions as shown in photos and satellite images.
Read the rest
With the recent release of the free version of the Unreal Engine and the announcement of the free Source 2 Engine, you now have even more options for making your own games. But picking out the best engine for you and your skillset is a little tough. Let's take a look at some of the best free software for a variety of skillsets.
Before you can really dig into most of these tools, you'll need at least a foundation in programming. But whether you're a child or an adult, we've got you covered. As far as making your first game, our friends over at Kotaku have you covered. That said, not all of these tools even require coding skills, so you might be able to jump right in.
If you're just starting out making games and you don't have any experience with programming, you might want to start with some of the easier to use tools. Two of the most popular and well-received are Stencyl and GameMaker. Both are very easy to use for beginners and have churned out some quality titles.
Stencyl is a tool to create games without code. It's an entirely drag-and-drop interface and you can publish your games to Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and Flash. If you've ever used something like Scratch, you'll be immediately familiar with Stencyl's LEGO-like approach to building code by arranging blocks. Stencyl aims to make creating sprite-based games very easy, so it tends to be most used for puzzle and side-scroller games. It's tough to do anything very complex with Stencyl, so if you're looking to do something like an RPG or strategy game, you'll likely want to look elsewhere. Some popular games built with Stencyl include Impossible Pixel and Zuki's Quest. Stencyl also has a built-in tutorial that'll teach you just about everything you need to know.
GameMaker is another free, easy to use tool made for beginners where you can create games for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Like Stencyl, it's all drag-and-drop, but also includes hooks for creating multiplayer games, linking external SDKs, and more. The free version of GameMaker exports with a watermark, but it's still a decent place to start and comes packed with a tutorial for learning the basics. GameMaker's a little more versatile than Stencyl in the style of games it can handle, and they have a bunch of guides for different types of games to teach you the basics. Popular games made with GameMaker include the original version of Spelunky and Hotline Miami.
Of course, there are a lot of other options for similar tools. Buildbox is a newer tool that gives you a trial period and training program to learn how to use it, and GameSalad's a long-running and popular platform as well, though it's often reported as being buggy and unstable. Construct is also worth a look if you want to make HTML5 games. The problem with all of these options is that you end up being pretty restricted in your design. Since they're made for beginners, you end up breaking the tool when you try to do anything particularly complicated. This means they end up producing buggy, unplayable games if you try working too far outside of their system. Still, they're a great place to start and are good for people who don't have a lot of coding experience.
Cocos2D is an open source tool for creating 2D games. Your finished game can be published on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, or the web.
The bulk of what you'll be doing in Cocos2D is in C++ (and also supports Lua and JavaScript), so you'll need to wrap your head around that programming language before you can start making anything with Cocos2D. However, once you're settled into those languages, Cocos2D is pretty easy to use, comes packed with a full IDE for building games, and is completely free, no strings attached. As the name suggests, Cocos2D is made specifically for 2D games, so it tends to work best with simple, sprite-based games that don't need any 3D. You can also make 2D games with Unity (more on that in a second), but Cocos2D is a bit easier to get into if you're just starting out (and you already know C++, obviously).
Cocos2D has been used to make all kinds of successful games, including the award winning Badland. If you're not sure where to start with Cocos2D, Ray Wenderlich has a fantastic tutorial, as does Udemy.
If you're interested in making more complex, 3D games, Unreal Engine and Unity are two of the most popular free tools available. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and both have different licensing deals worth looking into to before you decide on which one's best for you.
With Unity, you can make 3D and 2D games for just about everything, including Windows, Mac, Xbox, Playstation, Android, iOS, and more. It also supports assets from the likes of 3ds Max, Maya, Softimage, Cinema 4D, Blender, and more. Unity uses C# alongside its own custom programming language, so you'll want to be pretty well-versed in that before you dive in. That said, between Unity and Unreal, Unity is probably the easier to learn of the two. It has a lot of pre-built behaviours and the built-in asset library makes tracking down assets easy. A few of the developers I talked with while writing this suggest Unity as the best starting tool because it's conceptually easier to understand and learn than Unreal. If you've made a game with something like GameMaker, you'll be able to wrap your head around how Unity works right away. Unity also supports some alternative payment models right in the engine, including a number of free-to-play monetization models.
The free, personal version lacks some features of the professional version, but there's plenty there to get you started. If you make a game with the free version, you don't have to pay licensing fees or royalties, though there are some caveats. Namely, you can't receive more than $100,000 worth of funding/revenue for your games if you're using the free edition. To help you get started with Unity, there are a ton of great tutorials out there. Popular games made with Unity include Alto's Adventure, Gone Home, and the upcoming Firewatch.
Unreal Engine 4 uses C++ for scripting, so if that's the programming language you know, Unreal Engine 4 is probably the software to use. You can release games you make with Unreal Engine on PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Xbox One, and Playstation 4. Unreal has pretty much everything you need to build a game is built into the engine, including 3D modeling tools, landscape systems, and more. Because it's packed with so much stuff, Unreal Engine 4 tends to have a higher learning curve than other tools, so even if you're well versed in C++, expect to run into some walls as you're learning. That said, you'll be able to build incredibly professional looking games with Unreal. You can also reverse engineer Unreal's nodes to learn more about how it works, but even still, it's difficult to jump into Unreal Engine 4 without any prior knowledge. Unreal Engine 4 is still relatively new, but a few games have been released that use the engine, including Daylight and Tekken 7.
To use Unreal Engine 4, you'll have to agree to a royalty fee if your game sells. When you ship a game or application, you pay a 5% royalty to Unreal after your first $3,000/quarter. It sounds like a lot of money, but depending on how much revenue your game brings in it's not as much as it sounds. To get started, check all the tutorials available for Unreal Engine 4.
It's also worth considering Valve's Source 2 Engine, which should be available for free later this year, but we don't know much about it beyond that.
Not everyone out there is an expert coder, and while tools like Stencyl are great for those types, they're still a little too complicated for many. If you fancy yourself more of a narrative storyteller, you have two excellent options in Twine and RPG Maker.
Twine is a very simple system that allows you to create interactive, nonlinear stories. Basically, you can make your own choose your adventure. It is incredibly easy to use. You connect your stories through various nodes, like you would a mindmap. Each choice the player can make gets a new note. Then, when you're finished, you can easily publish that to a web site. It's pretty straightforward to use, but if you're struggling or want to add some extra elements, Twine's starter guide features everything you need to know. Popular games made with Twine include A Kiss and Cry$tal Warrior Ke$ha.
If Twine's a little too old fashioned for you, RPG Maker might do the trick. The free version's not as powerful as the paid alternatives, but you can do a lot with it regardless. The system's easy to learn too, you can drag and drop graphics, insert dialogue in a click, and more. You'll have to really think outside the box to make more than a simple RPG, but well-received titles like To the Moon and LISA show that it's possible. Plus, you can get started with a pack of free music and art assets so you don't even need to learn how to draw. The built-in tutorials are also useful for making your first game. Popular games made with RPGMaker include Clock of Atonement and One Night.
Of course, a game's a lot more complex than just an engine. You'll need all kinds of other assets, including artwork, sound, and more. I asked a few indie developers for a rundown of some of their favorites:
With that, you should be well on your way to making games on the cheap. Obviously you'll still need to invest time, blood, sweat, and tears, but at least your pocketbook doesn't have to take a hit as well.
Photo by OpenClips.
Vodafone has just announced that the UK mobile operator is offering the HTC One M9 for pre-order. Following on the heels of EE, the company has the smartphone listed on plans that start from £26.50 a month. Unfortunately, the gold variant is not available through Vodafone, thanks to an exclusivity deal with EE.
Dear readers: I have a confession to make. I completely forgot about our monthly best-of games series, because when the event came up on the calendar I was busy drooling over the new SHIELD set-top box and other Game Developers Conference-related stuff in San Francisco. Here, belated but hopefully still appreciated, are my picks for the top seven Android games of last month and a few honorable mentions.
Android Police coverage: Creepy Platformer And Steam Favorite LIMBO Crawls Into The Play Store For $5
LIMBO is a platformer and puzzler favorite among the Steam and console download crowd.
Read More[Game Roundup] Our Top Seven Picks For The Best New Games Of February 2015 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
February saw some considerable new apps, both in terms of new services like YouTube Kids and Sling TV, and in expanded tools like PhotoMath and Microsoft's first custom keyboard for Android. If you find it hard to see the tiny type on your new ultra-high-res phone, check out BIG Notifications. Below are our top seven picks from last month, along with some honorable mentions.
Android Police coverage: [APK Download] YouTube Kids Is Official, Adorable, And Now Available On Google Play [Hands-On]
YouTube is great.
Read More[App Roundup] Our Top Seven Picks For The Best New Apps Of February 2015 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
There's an old saying about there being no such thing as a bad camera, only a bad photographer. While we aren't going to go that far, we can say that most any Android phone has a camera that can take great pictures — once you learn how things work and take a little time to do them.
Getting a good action-shot as it happens is an art to itself, but for those times when you want to take a few minutes and get the best picture possible we've got a handful of tips that can help.
If you're looking for a space-saving, powerful PC, and you either don't want to build or you're buying for someone else, an all-in-one computer is a decent bet. They come with everything you need to get to work, are easy to set up, and can be just as good as traditional desktops. This week, we're looking at five of the best, based on your nominations.
Earlier in the week we asked you to tell us which all-in-ones you thought were the best—either because of features, the quality of the included display, bang for your buck, ease of use and setup, or just sleek design and usability. You offered up tons of great nominations, but we only have room for your five favorites. Here they are, in no particular order:
When many people think of all-in-one PCs, they immediately think of Apple's iMac line of computers. At the top of that line right now however is the iMac with Retina Display, starting at $2500 and packing a 27" IPS display at 5120px x 2880px native resolution, your choice of an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, 8GB of RAM (upgradable to 16GB or 32GB), a 1TB "Fusion" Drive (Apple's hybrid SSD/HDD, upgradable to larger capacities or a 1TB SSD), an AMD R9 290X/295X graphics card, and just about everything else you would expect in an iMac (built-in camera, included peripherals, USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 2 ports, wireless AC and Gigabit Ethernet, and more.) All of the hardware options are configurable and upgradeable (for more money, of course) so you can either buy off the shelf or build the model you want. The Retina iMac is stunning if you've seen one in person, and of course, comes with OS X Yosemite and Apple's suite of productivity apps for work and home use.
Those of you who nominated the Retina iMac praised it for being a high-resolution, "5K" display that just "happens to have a computer attached," since most displays with similar resolutions are close to this price on their own, no computer attached, or a desktop with the same specs will run you a similar price, no monitor attached. Some of you offered proof of the fact in the nominations thread, while others of you pointed out that the resolution is probably a bit excessive for most users at this stage. Either way, the thread is full of first-hand experiences and worth checking out. You can read the whole thread here.
Lenovo's flagship All-In-One PC starts at $1600, has a 27" TFT full HD multitouch display at 1920px x 1080px native resolution, an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB 5400 RPM HDD and an 8GB SSD, an NVIDIA GeForce GT840A graphics card, built-in webcam, audio, wireless AC, USB 3.0, and more. The hardware option are, like any custom system, upgradable and customizable, so you can add more memory or a different hard drive if you choose, for additional cost. The A740 ships with Windows 8.1, and because it has a touch screen, you can actually make use of Windows 8's Modern UI features. The display arm is also jointed in multiple places, so you can stand it up like a traditional monitor and use the included keyboard and mouse, or you can angle it closer to you to use the touch screen, or you can bend it down like a tablet or a drawing tablet so you can interact with it up close or with a stylus.
The nomination thread for the A740 was a little contentious, with a few people saying they loved this system, especially once some of the base components (like RAM and storage) were upgraded to better, speedier parts, while others of you noted that while the system looks great on paper, you had some issues with reliability and customer service—one of you even had quite the horror story to tell. You can read more—and the details—in its nomination thread here.
The Dell XPS 27 Touch is Dell's flagship all-in-one, starts at $1600, and is available in a number of different pre-configured builds. All of them feature a 27" IPS touch screen display that runs at 2560px by 1440px natively. Each model comes with an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, between 8GB or 16GB of RAM depending on what you prefer, and your choice of a 1TB 7200 RPM HDD, or a 2TB 7200 RPM HDD and a 32GB SSD. Graphics-wise you get your choice of Intel HD graphics (in the bottom model) or an NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M. Like most PC all-in-ones, the XPS 27 ships with Windows 8.1, and can make use of the Modern UI thanks to its touch-sensitive display. Keyboard and mouse are included, as are wireless N and Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, and more. Like the Lenovo, the XPS 27's monitor arm can be adjusted so you can use the computer in multiple positions, up close and hands-on with its multi touch display, bent down like a drawing tablet, or just standing up like a standard PC display.
The nomination thread for the XPS 27 remarked at the build quality of the system, noting that it's at the top of the lineup for a reason, and that Dell put a lot of care and attention into making sure the PC is a solid build that's still flexible for different types of users. As with almost every desktop PC in the roundup, you can start with any of Dell's base models, then configure it to your tastes accordingly (for additional cost, of course.) You can read more in its nomination thread here.
System76 is a manufacturer of pre-built Ubuntu laptops and desktops, and the Sable Touch is their Ubuntu-powered multitouch all-in-one desktop. Starting at $1000, the Sable Touch is available in both 21.5" and 23.6" models, each TFT panels with a native resolution of 1920px x 1080px. You have your choice of Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, 4GB to 16GB of RAM, your choice of 250GB-750GB 7200RPM HDD or 128GB-1TB SSD, external displays, peripherals, and more. Unlike many AIOs in the roundup, you don't get a keyboard, mouse, or other peripherals with the system—you have to add them at extra cost when you configure your build—but that also helps keep costs down. Almost every part of the build can be customized to some degree, including the version of Ubuntu you get pre-loaded on the system. The Sable Touch also comes with other things you'd expect from an all-in-one, like a built-in webcam, Wi-Fi (AC) and Gigabit Ethernet, and more. It's a good-looking system to boot.
Those of you who nominated it praised the Sable Touch for being a true multitouch Linux desktop that brings all of the great looks to the party that any all-in-one PC can offer. It's reasonably priced, looks great, is customizable in multiple sizes and with your choice of internal components. You even noted that System76's customer service and support are both great, with regular updates via email when a new version of Ubuntu is available and tips on how to upgrade your computer. You can read more in the nomination thread here.
The Dell XPS 18 All-In-One is a bit of a combination of desktop and tablet, although it's certainly more desktop. It starts at $700 and goes up to $1300 depending on whether you want a stand (or you want to make do with the built-in kickstand.) Each model packs an 18" IPS touch screen at 1920px x 1080px resolution, your choice of Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processor, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, the option of 500GB or 1TB 5400 RPM HDDs or a 256GB SSD, all models come with Intel HD 4400 Graphics, Windows 8.1 pre-installed, and an included keyboard and mouse. Each model also includes wireless AC, USB 3.0, a built-in camera, speakers, and more. Perhaps best of all, the system doesn't have to stay mounted on its stand, or even plugged in—you can take it with you and use it on the couch as long as the internal battery holds out, or pack it up and work on the go. It's a remarkably versatile all-in-one that's still running Windows 8.1, so you can work with it like a tablet, use it like a desktop, or switch on the fly depending on what you need to do.
Those of you who nominated it said it was a bit like an "iMac for the Windows crowd," offering sleek design and good looks on your desk, but that also comes with the flexibility of a tablet or a hybrid tablet/laptop. Many of you also mentioned that it comes with a digitizer pen, so it's even more flexible. As with every model in the roundup, you can start with any of the base systems, and then add or tweak the build to your heart's content before it ships to you. Check out the full nomination thread here.
Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to put them to an all out vote to determine the community favorite:
This week's honorable mention goes out to the Lenovo Horizon 2, which made a strong showing in the call for contenders thread despite being essentially a "table PC." It's still definitely an all-in-one, though, with room to put four people around the edges of the massive 27" multi-user multitouch display, and tons of apps and media already on the system that allow multiple people to interact with it at the same time. It'll set you back $1400 retail. That said, you could definitely stand this puppy up and use it as an all-in-one, although that's definitely not its strength. You can read more—and some first hand experiences—in its nomination thread here.
We should also give a shoutout to the LG Chromebase, another all-in-one that made a good showing in the nominations round. The Chromebase, as the name implies, runs Google's Chrome OS in a slim and trim package with a 21" display, starting at a mere $350. It's a simple system, but a great introduction to Chrome OS if you want something other than a Chromebook or a Chromebox, and you can install Linux on it if you'd prefer. You can read more in its nomination thread here.
Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don't just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.
The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!
Title photo by Kārlis Dambrāns.
The browser wars have always been cyclical, moving from periods of monoculture dominated by one or two browsers to periods of comparative competition characterized by multiple, strong, second-tier browsers and a growing list of niche browsers. We’re midway through the latter, as is evident by the release of several new browsers, including Microsoft’s Project Spartan and Vivaldi,… Read More
I don't know about you but I'm not used to Paypal offering stuff for free. Actually the company's policy always seems to be about nickeling and diming at every opportunity it gets, so today is your chance (maybe?) to redeem some of the monies you lost to Paypal in a currency exchange or transaction fee.
A £3 Coupon code is being offered by the company for purchases on Google Play.
Read More[Deal Alert] Paypal Is Giving Away £3 To Spend On Google Play In The UK was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Patrick Ball and the Human Rights Data Analysis Group applied the same statistical rigor that he uses in estimating the scale of atrocities and genocides for Truth and Reconciliation panels in countries like Syria and Guatemala to the problem of estimating killing by US cops, and came up with horrific conclusions.
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A new study commissioned by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) examines whether the criminal sanctions for copyright infringement available under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) are currently proportionate and correct, or whether they should be amended.
While the Digital Economy Act 2010 increased financial penalties up to a maximum of £50,000, in broad terms the main ‘offline’ copyright offenses carry sentences of up to 10 years in jail while those carried out online carry a maximum of ‘just’ two.
In 2014, Mike Weatherley MP, then IP advisor to the Prime Minister, said that this disparity “sends all the wrong messages”, a position that was supported by many major rightsholders. The current report examines data from 2006 to 2013 alongside stakeholder submissions, both for and against a change in the law.
“Many industry bodies argue that higher penalties are necessary and
desirable and that there is no justification for treating physical and online crime differently. Other stakeholders suggest that these offenses are in fact different, and raise concerns about a possible ‘chilling effect’ on innovation,” the report reads.
One key finding is that court data from 2006-2013 reveals that prosecutions under the CDPA have actually been going down and that online offenses actually constitute “a small, and apparently decreasing, fraction of copyright prosecution activity as a whole.” In fact, the Crown Prosecution Service didn’t bring a single case under the online provisions of the CDPA 1988 during the period examined.
“While there have been prosecutions during recent years, these have either used alternative legislation (such as common law conspiracy to defraud) or been directed at clarifying the civil law position in the European Court,” the report notes.
“It is not clear that alternative legislation provides a satisfactory solution. By definition it does nothing to improve case law or understanding of the copyright issues.”
This lack of case law is seen as problematic by the Federation Against Copyright Theft. In recent years FACT has stepped away from public prosecutions under copyright law in order to pursue private prosecutions under other legislation such as the Fraud Act.
“Public prosecutors have been reluctant for years to take online cases, not wishing to be the first to attempt what might end in failure I guess. As a result there is no case law,” says FACT Director-General Kieron Sharp.
“We need to still prosecute these cases so we often take them forward as private criminal prosecutions. However, these are serious cases and the two-year maximum sentence available downgrades the case in the eyes of the court who in any event cannot impose a sentence reflective of the crime.
“We therefore follow other legislation and thus ourselves do not establish case law, which leads the prosecutor in the next case to again dismiss the chances of success.”
For its part the Open Rights Group’s submission cautions against overly aggressive punishments that not only have the potential to affect those operating on the boundaries, but also those seeking to innovate.
“The proposals could have a larger effect on specific groups that operate at the limits of current copyright legislation, but are not mass infringers and would not be prosecuted under fraud,” ORG explains.
“Many internet innovators, prosumers, online creative communities that
create non-profit derivative works, fandom producers, etc. All these people – many of whom technically breach copyright in their activities – could find themselves facing prison sentences if making available carried a maximum sentence of ten years.”
So should the law be changed? As usual, the answer is far from straightforward.
“The argument put forward by the Open Rights Group and others, that physical and online offenses are not the same, is persuasive. However, the fact remains that these two offenses end up having a very similar detrimental effect on the rights holders, and the question remains whether the maximum penalties are set at an appropriate level,” the report notes.
“Whilst it is true to say that a consumer (or ‘prosumer’) can rapidly distribute content internationally without any criminal intent, it is also true that the logistical barriers to criminal activity are much lower online; the amount of investment a criminally-minded person needs to make in order to generate a serious level of disruption and harm is far lower.
“The absence of a suitable penalty for serious cases of online infringement (which are likely to be very much in the minority) is currently creating a distortion because it results in alternative legislation being used. Alternatives may be justifiable under the circumstances, but appear less well suited to the crime.”
Another question addressed by the report is whether a 10 year sentence would act as a deterrent. Awkwardly for the government it points out that following the increase to a maximum 10 year sentence for physical piracy in 2002, prosecutions actually rose before falling away in 2008.
“[The] data available on recent online offending is at such a low level that there is no deterrent case that can be made from it,” the report adds.
But while a change in the law is certainly preferred by some, there are alternatives. The report points to the takedown initiatives currently being employed by major rightsholders, including website blockades via local ISPs. Also upcoming is the Creative Content UK program which will see the public warned and educated when they’re spotted infringing copyright online.
Only time will tell whether a 10 year sentence will be seen as appropriate, but safeguards that only the most serious of crimes are viewed as worthy of a maximum sentence will have to be put in place, and that will certainly be more easily said than done.
Penalty Fair? Study of criminal sanctions for copyright infringement available under the CDPA 1988 – is available here (pdf). It’s a long read but definitely worth the effort.
Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.
The latest update for Google Drive for Android adds a small but crucial feature for those who manage their documents through Google. Now, users can drag and drop files into folders on mobile. By long-pressing on a document, you can now select any number of files and move them back and forth between folders with relative ease. In addition, the selected files can be starred, pinned, or downloaded with just a series of taps.
Along with small design tweaks here and there, other new features for the app are an improved PDF viewer and better search, which now lets you jump to the location of a file after searching for it. The update is available now via the Google Play Store.
“Bow-Z remains patient as Jasper gives him hugs aplenty.” (more…)
Har-har-fuck-you, said Albequerque's murderous, lawless police department, as they fulfilled a records request from Gail Martin, whose husband was killed by them, by sending her encrypted CDs with the relevant videos, then refusing to give her the passwords.
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Judge Ronald J Brockmeyer -- who filled Ferguson's coffers by fining its poorest residents and sent them to inhumane, overcrowded prisons when they couldn't pay a few hundred dollars -- stands accused of fixing fines for his cronies, and owes $170K in unpaid taxes.
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Denver-based Photobucket, one of the web’s older brands which offers a photo and video-sharing service online and on mobile, has closed on $3.6 million in new funding, an SEC filing reveals and the company confirms. The additional capital is part of a larger, still-in-progress round, which sees the photo sharing service seeking around $8.1 million in new funding. Read More
Your connected home just got smarter.
If you're looking to get started in the connected home space (or you already have but aren't quite sure where to go next), SmartThings should be one of your top options. There are a ton solutions for getting connected at home, but none as easy to work with as SmartThings. Unlike other closed systems, SmartThings has an open environment, meaning you can do all kinds of crazy things to make the system do what you need it to, and it works with an extensive list of third-party devices.
Over at Vantage, Manuel Plantin’s strange street photography of life reflected in puddles of water. Read the rest
Not all books are equal, said the European Union this week, ruling that ebooks sold in Europe constitute an "electronically supplied service" and so are subject to a higher rate of value-added tax (VAT) than physical books. This means that buying ebooks is likely to become more expensive in some countries, as booksellers raise their prices to pass the cost of increased VAT rates onto customers.
Some countries — like the UK — will not be affected
This change will primarily affect France and Luxembourg — the two countries that prompted the ruling after petitioning the EU's Court of Justice (ECJ) to be allowed to sell ebooks at the VAT rate of paper books. In France, this means the VAT rate will increase from 5.5 percent to 20 percent,...
With some major acquisitions and multiple big games in the works, Amazon clearly has some big ambitions for its in-house gaming division. However, up until now those ambitions have been restricted to Amazon hardware like the Fire TV and Kindle Fire line of tablets. But that's about change: today the company announced that it's bringing its games to Apple devices, as well.
"We wanted these games to be the best."
No release date has been set, but four different Amazon Game Studios titles have been announced as coming to iOS. Those include the horror game Lost Within, colorful sci-fi adventure Tales From Deep Space, and the haunted adventure game Til Morning's Light. All three of those games were created in collaboration between Amazon...
In only a few short months, the idea of a Google-owned cell carrier has gone from Android fan fiction to impending reality. Since catching first wind of it, we have honed in on more detail and confirmation. Sundar Pichai's talk at Mobile World Congress left us thinking Nova would be rather small in scale, and now it's starting to become clearer how it will shape up. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Nova will launch with a product lineup of one device: the Nexus 6.
Read MoreReport: Google's 'Nova' Carrier Will Only Offer Service On Nexus 6 At Launch was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
When I think of spring some of these words come to mind:
It’s my favorite time of year. I love how it smells after the rain comes. I love to see the grass turn green and flowers pop up. So here are some fresh images to get you thinking about spring.
The post Fresh Images to Put Spring Visions in Your Head by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Scientists have two hypotheses about why dolphins leap out of the water and spin. One is that they are getting rid of parasites. The other is that they making an emotional "exclamation point" about something that just happened. Read the rest
