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Submission + - Microsoft U-turn on Xbox One (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: Microsoft has made a dramatic U-turn over its decision to impose restrictions on pre-owned titles on its new Xbox One console.


The company had said it would restrict the free trade of pre-owned games, and that an internet connection was required to play all titles.


But following gamers' anger, Microsoft said it would drop the policies. Microsoft interactive president Don Mattrick said the company had "heard loud and clear" from its customers.


The statement, which was for some time inaccessible due to heavy traffic, went on to backtrack fully on the controversial aspects of their DRM — digital rights management — plans:


"An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games — after a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24-hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.


"Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today — there will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360."

Submission + - Apple files patent for digital wallet and virtual currency (venturebeat.com)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: Apple has applied for a patent on a combined virtual currency and digital wallet technology that would allow you to store money in the cloud, make payments with your iPhone, and maybe communicate with point-of-sale terminals via NFC.


The patent application, published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Organization, details how iPhone users could walk into a store, pay for goods with their phone, and walk out with their merchandise.


Though Apple is late to the virtual wallet game, that doesn't seem to stop them trying to patent the process. There does not appear to be anything in the patent application which describes something that can't already be done.

Submission + - Saudi Arabia blocks Viber messaging service (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: The head of the messaging application Viber has said people in Saudi Arabia have had basic freedoms taken away, after his service was blocked there.


Talmon Marco told the BBC he did not know the reason for the move, but that Viber would be restored soon.


In March Saudi authorities warned Viber and other encrypted messaging services that they would be blocked unless they provided a means to to be monitored. Mr Marco said he had refused to provide data requested by Saudi officials.


The fact that Viber's free phone and text messaging service is no longer working in the country is not entirely unexpected. The Saudi telecoms regulator had warned the firm — along with Skype and Whatsapp — that they would be blocked if they did not agree to be monitored.

Submission + - Apple loses US trade panel ruling in Samsung dispute (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: Apple has lost a ruling by a US trade panel in a patent dispute with its rival Samsung.


The International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple infringed on a Samsung patent, which could mean some older models of the iPad and iPhone are banned from sale in the US.


The patent relates to 3G wireless technology and the ability to transmit multiple services correctly and at the same time. Apple said it plans to appeal.


The ruling could also be reversed by a US presidential order within 60 days.


The ruling overturned an earlier decision by ITC Judge James Gildea, who said in September that Apple did not violate the patents at issue in the case, which was filed nearly three years ago.


"We believe the ITC's final determination has confirmed Apple's history of free-riding on Samsung's technological innovations," a Samsung statement said.

Comment Re:What is the point of this? (Score 1) 217

The polls are obviously crucial market research being conducted by Dice.com in order to formulate their next marketing campaign.

Guess they should read their own disclaimers at the bottom of the survey, like

This whole thing is wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, ballot stuffers, dynamic IPs, firewalls. If you're using these numbers to do anything important, you're insane.

Submission + - Facebook to introduce video ads (techradar.com)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: Facebook is reportedly introducing video advertisements to News Feeds this summer.


Reports in the Financial Times (registration required) say that the clips will last for around 15 seconds, and the first one users see each day will play automatically.


The first video will apparently play without audio, and restart if the account holder chooses to activate sound. Facebook is yet to officially confirm the move, but the report claims that the social network will gradually introduce video advertising to minimise user disruption.


The company's most lucrative marketing partners, including American Express, Coca Cola, Ford, Diageo and Nestle, are expected to be the first brands to make use of the feature. Facebook is said to have implemented the strategy in a bid to take a slice out of TV ad revenue by undercutting the sector.

Submission + - 'Urgent need' to remove space debris (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: There is now so much debris in orbit that the space environment is close to a cascade of collisions that would make space extremely hazardous, a major international meeting has concluded.

Its summary position stated there was an "urgent need" to start pulling redundant objects out of the sky.

Scientists estimate there are nearly 30,000 items circling the Earth larger than 10cm in size. Some are whole satellites and rocket bodies, but many are just fragments.

These have resulted from explosions in fuel tanks and batteries, and from the high-velocity impacts between objects.

Submission + - Super-powered battery breakthrough claimed by US team (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: A new type of battery has been developed which its creators say could revolutionise the way we power consumer electronics and vehicles.

The University of Illinois team says its use of 3D-electrodes allows it to build "microbatteries" that are many times smaller than commercially available options, or the same size and many times more powerful.

It adds they can be recharged 1,000 times faster than competing tech.

The researchers said their innovation should help address the issue that while smartphones and other gadgets have benefited from miniaturised electronics, battery advances have failed to pace.

Submission + - Film studios send takedown notices about takedown notices (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: Two film studios have asked Google to take down links to messages sent by them requesting the removal of links connected to film piracy.

Google receives 20 million "takedown" requests, officially known as DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) notices, a month. They are all published online.

Recent submissions by Fox and Universal Studios include requests for the removal of previous takedown notices.

Submission + - Takedown Notices Inadvertantly Guide Users Towards "Pirated" Films (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The BBC reports that "Two film studios have asked Google to take down links to [DMCA takedown requests] sent by them requesting the removal of links connected to film piracy. [..] The notices are requests for individual web addresses to be removed from Google's search engine results because they contain material uploaded without the permission of the copyright holders.

By making the notices available, Google is unintentionally highlighting the location of allegedly pirated material, say some experts.

"It would only take one skilled coder to index the URLs from the DMCA notices in order to create one of the largest pirate search engines available," wrote Torrent Freak editor Ernesto Van Der Sar on the site."
GUI

Submission + - TED 2013: SpaceTop 3D see-through desktop (bbc.co.uk) 1

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: TED fellow Jinha Lee has been working on the SpaceTop 3D desktop in collaboration with Microsoft.

Allowing people to interact with machines in the same way they do with solid objects could make computing much more intuitive, he told the BBC. He can see the system coming into general use within a decade.

The system consists of a transparent LED display with built-in cameras, which track the user's gestures and eye movements. The design was inspired by what he sees as a human need to interact with things.

"Spatial memory, where the body intuitively remembers where things are, is a very human skill," he said. Translating this to the digital world will enable people to use computers more easily as well as complete more complex tasks.

Submission + - Ticketmaster dumps 'hated' Captcha verification system (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: The world's largest online ticket retailer is to stop requiring users to enter hard-to-read words in order to prove they are human.

Captcha — which asks users to type in words to prove they are not robots trying to cheat the system — is used on many sites. But Ticketmaster has moved to ditch it in favour of a simpler system.

Ticketmaster is now using software created by New York start-up Solve Media, a similar service that asks for well-known phrases, or simple multiple choice questions.
Piracy

Submission + - Antigua applies to WTO for permission to run 'pirate' website (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: Antigua is seeking permission to run a website that sells music, movies and software — but ignores copyright law. The Caribbean island is due to appear before the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 28 January seeking permission to run the site.

The decision to set up the site is the end point of a long-running dispute with the US over gambling. The US has objected to Antigua's plan saying it amounted to official "piracy" of intellectual property.

Antigua went to the WTO after the US moved to stop American citizens using gambling services, including web-based betting shops and casinos, run from the Caribbean country. Antigua claims that action deprived it of billions of dollars in revenue.

The WTO agreed with Antigua and dismissed a US appeal against its ruling. However, because the US took no action to lift the controls on cross-border gambling Antigua filed an application to recoup its lost cash by other means.

It sought permission to sell movies, music, games and software via a store that would be able to ignore global agreements on copyright and trademark controls, reports filesharing news site TorrentFreak. It wanted to be able to sell up to $3.4bn of those goods before having to make copyright payments.

The WTO rejected that figure, but said Antigua could sell $21m annually via the store before it had to consider paying copyright fees. The US is believed to have offered to pay Antigua $500,000 annually as compensation for the lost revenue.
Cellphones

Submission + - Nokia to release Lumia case design files for 3D printers (nokia.com)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: Nokia is releasing design files that will let owners use 3D printers to make their own cases for its Lumia phones.

Files containing mechanical drawings, case measurements and recommended materials have already been released by the phone maker.

Those using the files will be able to create a custom-designed case for the flagship Lumia 820 handset.

The project makes Nokia one of the first big electronics firms to seriously back 3D printing

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