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Submission + - Kickstarter's problem: You have to make the game before you ask for money (redbull.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Interesting piece about Digital Knights, the studio behind the Kickstarter campaign project Sienna Storm, which was cancelled this week after the team raised only 10% of their $180,000 target, despite a compelling concept (a card based espionage game) and a reputable team including the writer of the original Deus Ex, Sheldon Pacotti.

The team is now seeking alternative funding before reaching out to publishers, but in an interview given this week, Knights CEO Sergei Filipov highlights what he sees as a recent and growing problem with crowdfunding games: an expectation to see a working prototype. "It seems at least 50 or 60 percent of the game needs to be completed before one launches a campaign on Kickstarter,” he says. It's a chicken and egg cycle some indie developers will struggle to break out of, and shows just how far we've come since Tim Schafer's Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter burst the doors open two years ago.

Submission + - Advice on building a firewall with VPN capabilities 1

An anonymous reader writes: I currently connect to the internet via a standard router, but am looking at bulking up security. Could people provide their experiences with setting up a dedicated firewall machine with VPN capabilities. I am a novice at Linux/BSD, so would appreciate pointers at solutions that require relatively little tweaking. Hardware-wise I have built PC's, so am comfortable with sourcing components and assembling into a case. The setup would reside in my living room, so a quiet solution is required. The firewall would handle home browsing and torrenting traffic. Some of the questions knocking around in my head:
1. Pro's and con's of buying an off-the-shelf solution versus building a quiet PC-based solution.
2. Software versus hardware based encryption — pro's and con's
3. What are minimum requirements to run a VPN?
4. Which OS to go for?
5. What other security software should I include for maximum protection? I am thinking of anti-virus solutions.

Submission + - Windows tax shot down in Italy (fsfe.org)

An anonymous reader writes: Italy's High Court has struck a blow to the practice of forcing non-free software on buyers of PCs and laptops. According to La Repubblica, the court ruled on Thursday that a laptop buyer was entitled to receive a refund for the price of the Microsoft Windows license on his computer.

The judges sharply criticised the practice of selling PCs only together with a non-free operating system as "a commercial policy of forced distribution". The court slammed this practice as "monopolistic in tendency". It also highlighted that the practice of bundling means that end users are forced into using additional non-free applications due to compatibility and interoperability issues, whether they wanted these programs or not.

"This decision is both welcome and long overdue", said Karsten Gerloff, President of the Free Software Foundation Europe. "No vendor should be allowed to cram non-free software down the throats of users."

Businesses

Direct Sales OK Baked Into Nevada's $1.3 Billion Incentive Deal With Tesla 149

The new battery factory that Tesla has announced it will build in Nevada comes with some nice perks: specifically, with a package of tax incentives, road construction, and legislative protection from the kind of dealer cartels that have hindered Tesla's ability to sell cars in some other states. A Bloomberg wire story gives some details about the size of the deal that Nevada made to attract the company: The biggest chunk of the deal, Tesla's sales tax exemptions, is worth an estimated at $725 million. In addition, the company would save more than an estimated $300 million in payroll and other taxes through 2024. ... Among the bills approved in both houses was a provision phasing out and eliminating 1970s-era tax credits for insurance companies, which backers said would free up about $125 million over five years beginning in 2016 for transferable tax credits to Tesla. The package would also gut a pilot program approved just last year giving tax credits to the film industry, freeing up about $70 million for Tesla. ... Lawmakers also agreed to buy right of way to build a road connecting I-80 and U.S. 50, a project estimated to cost $43 million that will improve access to the industrial park from other regions of the state.

Submission + - Amazon Is Killing Off Its Free P2P Money-Transfer Service WebPay On October 13

An anonymous reader writes: Amazon WebPay, a free online money-transfer service, is shutting down October 13, 2014. This means you’ll no longer be able to send, receive, or request money using just your email address and the Amazon Payments webpage. There were hints back in June that the service would be going away soon. Amazon sent out an email this week to active Amazon Payments account users notifying them it is pulling the plug.
Wireless Networking

L.A. TV Stations Free Up Some Spectrum For Wireless Broadband 80

alphadogg (971356) writes An effort to free up some of the airwaves used by TV broadcasts and make them available for wireless broadband took a big step forward this week in the U.S. Two TV stations in Los Angeles, KLCS and KCET, have agreed to share a single frequency to deliver their programming freeing up a channel that can be auctioned off to wireless carriers next year. The change, which the Federal Communications Commission calls "repackaging," is possible because digital TV broadcasts don't need the full 6MHz of broadcast spectrum that was used for analog TV.

Submission + - LA TV stations free up airwaves for wireless broadband

alphadogg writes: An effort to free up some of the airwaves used by TV broadcasts and make them available for wireless broadband took a big step forward this week in the U.S. Two TV stations in Los Angeles, KLCS and KCET, have agreed to share a single frequency to deliver their programming, http://www.kcet.org/about/pres... freeing up a channel that can be auctioned off to wireless carriers next year. The change, which the Federal Communications Commission calls “repackaging,” is possible because digital TV broadcasts don’t need the full 6MHz of broadcast spectrum that was used for analog TV.

Feed Google News Sci Tech: iPhone 6 sales begin -- with US Apple Store caught napping - CNET (google.com)


Telegraph.co.uk

iPhone 6 sales begin -- with US Apple Store caught napping
CNET
The launch of the new iPhone 6 models is supposed to be Apple's biggest. But the company's online store wasn't up to the task at the start. by Shara Tibken @sharatibken; September 12, 2014 3:15 AM PDT. comments. 0. facebook. twitter. linkedin.
Where to Preorder the New Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 PlusABC News
T-Mobile was the 'Noncarrier' for the Apple iPhone 6 pre-order launchZDNet
Tech Five: Apple's new iPhones open to pre-ordersUSA TODAY
Telegraph.co.uk-Apple Insider-Firstpost
all 322 news articles

Feed Google News Sci Tech: Mars rover reaches mountain destination - Columbus Dispatch (google.com)


Reuters

Mars rover reaches mountain destination
Columbus Dispatch
Sign up for home delivery of The Columbus Dispatch and find out What's In It for You. Subscribe. Already a subscriber? Enroll in EZPay and get a free gift! Enroll now. Friday September 12, 2014 6:47 AM. Comments: 0. Enlarge Image Request to buy this...
Curiosity reaches Martian peakiAfrica.com
Mars Curiosity rover to begin new exploration chapterTimes of India
NASA Mars rover Curiosity reaches base of target mountainReuters
Yahoo News-Colorado Springs Gazette
all 240 news articles

Crime

Turning the Tables On "Phone Tech Support" Scammers 210

mask.of.sanity writes A security pro has released a Metasploit module that can take over computers running the Ammyy Admin remote control software popular among "Hi this is Microsoft, there's a problem with your computer" tech support scammers. The hack detailed in Matthew Weeks' technical post works from the end-user, meaning victims can send scammers the hijacking exploit when they request access to their machines. Victims should provide scammers with their external IP addresses rather than their Ammyy identity numbers as the exploit was not yet built to run over the Ammyy cloud, according to the exploit readme. This is much more efficient than just playing along but "accidentally" being unable to follow their instructions.

Feed Google News Sci Tech: Curiosity rover finally reaches target on Mars two years after landing - Daily M (google.com)


CNN

Curiosity rover finally reaches target on Mars two years after landing
Daily Mail
It was a moment that gripped a global audience: Nasa's dramatic landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars on 6 August 2012 remains one of mankind's greatest space achievements. Recently, however, the rover came under criticism for coming last in a review of...
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover starts a “scientific sequel” by rovering the Martian ... The Westside Story
NASA's Curiosity Rover to Begin 'Scientific Sequel'610kvnu
Curiosity reaches Martian peakiAfrica.com
Los Angeles Times-Independent Online-New York Times
all 235 news articles

Submission + - 3.8 Gbps LTE speed achieved (mybroadband.co.za)

slash-sa writes: Nokia and SK Telecom have set a new world record for LTE with a throughput of 3.8Gbps, a speed that would allow mobile broadband users to download a full-length 5GB high-definition movie in 11 seconds. This was achieved by converging the TDD and FDD LTE spectrum, aggregating 10 frequencies allocated for both LTE variants to provide 200MHz of bandwidth. The demonstration was made during the Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai, China, in June.

Feed Google News Sci Tech: Hit for 6: iPhone 6 pre-order demand crashes networks - CNET (google.com)


Telegraph.co.uk

Hit for 6: iPhone 6 pre-order demand crashes networks
CNET
The UK's phone networks -- and even Apple itself -- have struggled under the demand for pre-orders of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. by Rich Trenholm @rich_trenholm; 12 September 2014 12:27 pm BST. comments. 0. facebook. twitter. linkedin. googleplus.
iPhone 6 tariff comparison tableTelegraph.co.uk
iPhone 6 pricing revealed as sites crumble and delays pile up in the face of pre ... ZDNet
Apple website struggles with flood of iPhone 6 pre-ordersFirstpost
TIME-Daily Mail-Irish Examiner
all 339 news articles

Businesses

Hewlett-Packard Pleads Guilty To Bribing Officials in Russia, Poland, and Mexico 110

Charliemopps writes Hewlett-Packard and three subsidiaries pleaded guilty Thursday to paying bribes to foreign officials in Russia, Mexico and Poland and agreed to pay $108 million in criminal and regulatory penalties. For over 10 years Hewlett-Packard kept 2 sets of books to track slush-funds they used to bribe government officials for favorable contracts. From the article: According to the Justice Department, HP Poland paid more than $600,000 in cash bribes and gifts, travel and entertainment to the the police agency's director of information and communications technology. HP Poland gave the government official bags filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash, provided the official with HP desktop and laptop computers, mobile devices and other products and took the official on a leisure trip to Las Vegas, which included a private tour flight over the Grand Canyon, the Justice Department said. The foreign officials probably weren't reporting the income on their taxes, either.

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