The most pirated movies are the hardest to buy online

[The most pirated movies are the hardest to buy online]

Hollywood likes to paint movie pirates as freeloaders without morals, but maybe those so-called dastardly downloaders are simply under-served.

 

 

A new website called PiracyData.org tracks the most pirated movies of the week, as reported by TorrentFreak, and taps into Can I Stream It? to show whether file sharers could have bought or rented the movie online instead.

As Piracy Data's chart below shows, four out of the 10 most pirated movies cannot be purchased legally online. Out of the remaining six movies, three are available for full-priced purchase, but not for rent. None of the top 10 movies can be watched through subscription streaming services such as Netflix.

 

 

On its face, it looks like a missed opportunity for the movie industry. Viewers may feel pushed toward piracy when they can't purchase or at least rent the movies they want to watch.

But it's also worth noting the release timing of these movies. Every single movie on the list came out this year, but is no longer showing in major theaters. With the exception of three films, most of these movies are now in an awkward stage where you can buy them on DVD, but cannot rent them online.

DVD sales are plummeting. People are growing accustomed to pressing a button and streaming a movie instantly. The idea of withholding new movies from digital rental just to juice DVD sales looks increasingly antiquated as people move beyond the optical disc. For disposable films that people only want to watch once, a mandatory $15 or $20 purchase is undesirable as well.

 

 

Of course, there are exceptions. People do have rental options for The Lone Ranger, After Earth and This is the End, yet they remain popular to download on BitTorrent. Unscrupulous freeloaders do exist, and are not going away. But when the only legal options are DVD or mandatory purchase, it's no surprise that potential paying customers will turn to piracy instead.

[Bitdrop app beats NSA surveillance with anonymous encrypted file transfers]

A small Swiss app developer has invented what it claims is a way to securely and anonymously transfer files between a browser and a mobile device without having to leave any traces of the user's identity, device ID or location.
 

 

Marketed by creators Bitdrop as a way of defeating surveillance by the NSA and others - "zero knowledge privacy" - users simply initiate transfers from the firm's upload portal after scanning a QR Code using a dedicated app running on their mobile device.
This code creates a unique and time-limited window for files to be transferred to the user's mobile (or shared with a third party that has a download code), secured using what the company calls 256-bit "variable encryption," essentially a way to randomise conventional symmetric keys for each transfer.

BitdropBitdrop: Big on security, not so much on design.
 

The keys themselves are sucked onto the sender's own mobile device during a temporary connection. Files can't be accessed by Bitdrop itself or any other authority because the encryption key is stored only on the sender's mobile device. In the event the files are not moved from the firm's servers to the mobile by a third party receiver within 24 hours they are destroyed.
The location of the encryption key is critical. They keys are never retained on the sending computer, never sit on Bitdrop's servers and are never moved to third-parties receiving the files. Only the sender has these keys.

The firm heralds the concept as a way of moving encrypted data around without it being tied to any identity; Bitdrop does not require users to register or reveal their email address. Neither the sender nor receiver can be identified.
 

"Bitdrop does not require users to register or reveal their email address. Neither the sender nor receiver can be identified."

 

What about the security of the mobile app itself? According to Bitdrop, the identity of all contacts using the service is accessible only after entering an access code.

It sounds like complex 'down the rabbit hole' security but it should be simple to use with an interesting extra advantage that although the sender needs to install the app to scan the QR code, the receiver does not, making it free of the friction of many secure file transfer systems that require both ends to use identical software.
This is the kind of app that not long ago would have sounded like overkill but that was before the NSA and Edward Snowden alerted the security-conscious to the reality of state surveillance. This might or not bother US or UK users who trust their Governments but what about business users using their mobiles in other parts of the world; do they trust the Russian or Chinese Governments too? Undoubtedly these already have or will soon have systems similar to Prism.
 

 
Explaining its architecture, founder 'Markus Kristian Kangas had this to say when contacted by Techworld:

"Bitdrop is a Swiss company with engineering offices in Zurich, Switzerland which gives us more freedom toward US legislation - we are not an American company or affiliated to any American company. We use a flexible server architecture that is not tied to any specific location."

One slight issue is that the launch app is iPhone-only although an Android app is promised, as is a version for web-to-web transfers. The company is also a total unknown so issues such as longevity, support and security must be taken on trust. The app costs $4.99 (£3.20).

[Skully fits heads-up display into motorcycle helmet]

Ask a hundred entrepreneurs where they draw inspiration and you’ll probably get a hundred different answers, but few are likely to be as unusual as that of Marcus Weller. The CEO of Skully Helmets came up with his idea for a high-tech motorcycle helmet after smashing into a car on a street in Barcelona.

“I was looking at a street sign when the car in front slammed on its brakes and I hit it,”

he said.

Weller thinks the accident wouldn’t have happened if he’d kept his eyes on the road, so he came up with a way to get navigation information projected onto a heads-up display in the rider’s helmet. With good directions, the rider wouldn’t need to spend as much time looking at road signs.

 

The helmet’s other differentiating feature is a rear-facing camera that collects a 180-degree image of what’s behind the bike and feeds it to the same display. There’s also a voice control interface.
SkullySkully Facebook.Helmets 2.0.

Weller is due to unveil the helmet Thursday at the Demo conference in Silicon Valley, where attendees will be able to try it on. It will be the first time the helmet has been demonstrated in public.

 

Information isn’t projected on the visor but onto a display that appears to the rider as if it’s about 6 meters ahead of them. It doesn’t interfere with the rider’s primary field of view and allows riders to lift the helmet visor without losing the display, Weller said.

The display and associated electronics are powered by a built-in battery that lasts about nine hours. The helmet pairs over Bluetooth with a smartphone for the Internet connection needed for the GPS navigation and mapping service.

 

The company plans to begin limited beta testing in the spring of 2014 and says it has yet to decide on a price for the helmet but that it will be a “premium product.”

[HTC rumored to be making the Amazon phone]

It's that time of year again: The weather's getting colder, the leaves are changing colors, and rumors of an Amazon phone are emerging from their summer homes to terrorize the world once more.

 

Both the Financial Times and Jessica Lessin are reporting that HTC and Amazon are pairing up to build the long-rumored Amazon smartphone. If the report holds any ounce of truth, the device is close to completion so it's only a matter of time before an Amazon employee leaves a prototype of the phone in a bar somewhere.

If Amazon is building a phone with HTC then it's a definite win-win for both parties: Amazon's Kindle Fires are some of the most successful Android tablets out there and it would only make sense for the company to move into the phone space with its own flavor of Android. HTC has long been struggling and recently posted significant losses, but the partnership would almost guarantee that a boat-load of HTC devices make their way to the hands of consumers—especially if earlier rumors hold true and Amazon offers the phone for free.

 

HTC declined to comment about the report, and both companies declined to comment to the Financial Times or Jessica Lessin, so right now we can only speculate on what sorts of deals are happening behind the scenes. An Amazon phone running the company's own version of Android could just be the fastest way to customer's wallets but the big question remains: Would it come with a free year of Amazon Prime?

[All cool kids' phones run ALTERNATIVE alternative custom Android ROM]

Android users who want a custom ROM*, but are turned off by Cyanogenmod's attempts to go commercial, now have another option in the form of newly launched OmniROM.

OmniROM comes from several of those involved in CyanogenMod, who lost interest when those in charge of the most popular replacement firmware committed the cardinal sin of trying to turn a buck, so now we have competing ROMs for Android devices – offering more choice than ever.

 

Users place their supplied ROM (strictly speaking a ROM-Image) to enable additional features, or remove things their manufacturer has decided to include, or get a new version of Android working on old hardware which isn't officially supported any more.

Both OmniROM and CyanogenMod are descended from the Android Open Source Project. Before the community congealed around Cyanogenmod there were a handful of alternatives, but most died off or at least shrunk as Cyanogenmod answered the needs of the niche community.

At least until last month, when the team in charge of the project set up Cyanogen Inc with $7m in VC capital and a deal with handset-manufacturer Oppo to preload the OS into its handsets. That upset some of the community, who seemed to feel the new company was profiting from their volunteered efforts.

 

Most notable was the camera application, Focal, which had proved a popular feature of Cyanogen but disappeared when the author was asked to license the app for commercial use. Focal's developer is now on the OmniROM team.

OmniROM will be hoping to gather deserters from CyanogenMod, even if their first version only works on the Google Nexus range and a few Sony devices. The team over at Cyanogen Inc (and those VC backers who stumped up the $7m) are hoping that broad device support will make it viable as a commercial operation.

 

 

Both are currently competing for a niche market at best, as most Android users are quite happy with the Google-backed ROM which comes pre-installed. Making money from a handful of hobbyists and hackers was always going to be tough for Cyanogen Inc, and OmniROM just made it a whole lot tougher.

[When Snapchats become mugshots: Cops can see your ‘private’ pics]

Sending a Snapchat, at this point, is like sending a photo over regular text message. People you don’t want viewing your private pics are still going to see them — even the cops.

 

For those unfamiliar, Snapchat lets users send photos called Snaps that expire after 30 seconds (once you’ve opened them), so you can share your private or embarrassing photos without leaving them out in the ether indefinitely.

The company “revealed” — I put this in quotations because, to me, this is obvious — that unopened Snaps can and have been handed over to law enforcement as part of criminal investigations (as long as the cops have a warrant). This includes your photos, videos, and the company’s new feature – “Stories.” Stories can be pulled from a server even after they have been opened given that they expire after 24-hours.

 

How can this be when Snaps are designed to disappear forever?

Snapchat runs all your photos and videos through its servers before delivering them to the recipient. While waiting to be opened and viewed, Snaps sit on that server, accessible by a special tool only chief technology officer Bobby Murphy and Micah Schaffer, who runs Snapchat’s trust and safety department, have access to.

There are over 350 million Snaps that run through the system daily, according to Snapchat, and a dozen requests for Snaps have been fulfilled since May 2013.

 

 

That you can read below

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/717257-snapchat-law-enforcement-guide-12112-1.html

It’s apparent that you can’t truly believe your Snaps will remain under lock and key. First off, the people you send your Snaps to can take screenshots of the photos, so they may not disappear at all. Beyond that there are even products made to save this content. Snaphack is one of these, as noted by NBC.

That said, I doubt this kind of news will make even the smallest dent in the app’s usage. People sending pics of criminal activities may think twice, but otherwise Snapchat seems to have one thing really going for it: a strong community. A good number of my peers — mid-twenties young professionals — who use Snapchat say it legitimately keeps them in touch with friends and family.

 

It’s a form of novel entertainment. None of them trust the service for its “privacy” merits; it’s just another social network that connects people through a funny premise: Send me a picture with your eyelids inverted and I’ll send you one of my double-chin.

And hey, as long as they don’t mind those photos ending up just about anywhere — including the courtroom — then more power to them.

[Ancient bug's last supper of blood still in fossil]

In a steamy tropical forest 46 million years ago, a prehistoric mosquito bit a critter, drew blood and was blown into a lake in what is now the northwestern state of Montana. Belly full, she died and sank.

Flash forward to the present. Researchers found the minuscule female insect fossilized in a paper-thin piece of shale—which had sat in someone's basement for 25 to 30 years with other rocks— and concluded it still contains its last supper. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science reports a first for biology: a blood meal found intact in a fossil.

 

This image provided by the Smithsonian Institution shows a fossilized female mosquito in a paper-thin piece of shale. The 46 million year-old insect drew blood in its last meal, was blown into a lake in what is now northwestern Montana and sank, belly still full. It's a first for biology, a blood meal found intact in a fossil.

 

While the scenario sounds eerily similar to the Michael Crichton book and movie "Jurassic Park," no new T. rexes will result.
Unfortunately for would-be dinosaur cloners, the mosquito flew long after dinosaurs went extinct, and its meal was probably blood from a dino descendant, a bird. And an even bigger blow to the "Jurassic Park" scenario is that scientists have long known that DNA from other critters couldn't survive in insect fossils, said study lead author Dale Greenwalt, a retired biochemist who collects and analyzes insect fossils from Montana for the Smithsonian Institution.

 

 

So this is more a scientific curiosity, a look-what-we-found, that starts out like early chapters of the sci-fi thriller.
 

"It's following Crichton's script in that we're using a blood engorged fossil mosquito and in this case we're using the direct descendent of the dinosaurs, given that we're 20 million years late,"

Greenwalt said.

Using two different types of light-refracting x-rays that determine what chemicals are present, Greenwalt and colleagues determined that the female mosquito's belly was full of iron, a major feature of blood that gets oxygen to the rest of the body. Iron levels were higher than elsewhere in her body and anywhere on a non-biting male used as a control subject. Then the team found evidence of porphyrins, which are bound to iron in blood. Putting the two together makes "a definitive case" for blood, Greenwalt said.

 

 

Outside expert Mary Schweitzer of North Carolina State University said while the study is exciting and significant, it is preliminary and she thinks Greenwalt's team didn't prove their conclusion that it is blood by ruling out all other possibilities.

[Scientists Figured Out a Way to Cheat Newton's Third Law]

Ever since the late 17th century, it's been understood that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That's Newton's Third Law of Motion. But a group of German scientists recently came up with a trick that appears to break that law, one that lets light accelerate all by itself. And it could bring us faster electronics in the process.

 

Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727)

 

This is not a simple trick. It involves fiddling with the mass of photons, particles that are believed not to have a mass at all, and requires a form of negative mass, a state that scientists believe does not exist. That's the trick part. And that's also why it merely appears to break Newton's third law. All that said, it's pretty impressive.

 

Newton Third Law: A force is a push or a pull upon an object that results from its interaction with another object.

What these German scientists basically did is create an optical diametric drive. The basic principle behind a diametric drive calls for an object with positive mass to collide with an object with negative mass causing both to accelerate forever in the same direction. In the 1990s NASA tried and failed to build one, because it would make an awesome spaceship engine. However—and that's a big however—diametric drives are difficult to build because there's no such thing as an object with negative mass, at least not one that scientists have observed.

 

 

Bear with me here. To get around these basic rules of physics and quantum mechanics, our friends the German scientists used photons to create something called effective mass. This is what a particle seems to have when it's responding to forces, and there is such a thing as negative effective mass. So the scientists sent a series of laser pulses through a two loops of fiber-optic cable—one bigger than the other—that connect at a contact point. As the pulses are traveling through the different-sized loops at slightly different times, they share photons creating an interference that gives them effective mass, some positive and some negative. In this so-called optical diametric drive, the pulses accelerate in the same direction. Cool, huh? Complicated, but cool.

 

This is an illustration of the "super-photon."

Needless to say, the idea of laser pulses that accelerate continuously bears big implications for anything that uses fiber optic cables. This method could make computers, communications networks, and so forth to get faster and more powerful. Just remember that it's a highly experimental new technology; it's going to take a while before this makes your iPhone better.

[Everything You Need to Know About the Grid, CERN's Global Supercomputer]

Before the word wide web was a twinkle in Tim Berners Lee's eye, CERN had developed the Grid—a world-spanning network of computing power to help drive the progress of physics.

In fact, the Grid is still very much in existence, and does rather more than just help share the reams of data the Large Hadron Collider collects. This video tells you everything you need to know about it.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cj8ZNgnzSSU

[Android 4.4 KitKat: What we expect about the announcement, specs, and release date of Google's next OS]

The next version of Google's platform, Android 4.4 KitKat, is set to arrive any day now. After three helpings of Jelly Bean, we would hope that the Nestle-inspired build should prove to be a larger update, but so far signs point to minor enhancements.
 

Until recently, Google has done a great job keeping KitKat under wraps. Officially, Google has only said that its goal with KitKat is to "make an amazing Android experience available for everybody." Some posit this to mean we could see new Android-powered devices such as game consoles, smartwatches, smart TV, and laptops. Others look for a kinder, gentler platform that plays nice with older hardware.

This past weekend proved to be the biggest break in regards to what Android 4.4 looks like as well as some of its potential features. Some changes and details may include tweaks to the app launcher, notification bar, and dialer. Nothing too crazy, of course, but rather a color adjustment here or a transparency there.
 

When it might be announced
Some rumors suggest that Google has lined up the KitKat introduction for as soon as October 15, but I suspect an invitation for an official event instead. At the least, I expect that Google would dish the new feature set in a live YouTube broadcast. Assuming it plans to introduce new Nexus 5 hardware, which it should, then we might look for at least one day's notice before the big announcement.

Other dates tossed around of late indicate that the end of October might also be in order. Should that be the case, there's still time to send out a few "save the date" e-mails and blog posts.

The software we could get
So far, leaked images like those in the gallery above point to minor, cosmetic changes, rather than a massive overhaul.

The application drawer could move away from the all-black background in favor of a transparent bar. The pervasive notification area also appears to get the same treatment; a few screenshots show the top bar as having the see-through effect. In a related note, a 9to5Google report shows the notification bar with colors that match or complement various apps. The dialer app, for instance, brings up a blue bar, while the Hangouts app has a green one. It's possible that these particular apps were designed with their own colors and that the transparency is otherwise still present.

According to Italian Android blog TuttoAndroid, the lock screen will include shortcut to the camera application. The move would make sense as most custom launchers and lock screens have moved to integrate the oft-used feature.
 

The Android 4.4 lock screen could include quick access to the camera.

 
A slightly more meaty addition, TuttoAndroid site also claims the "always listening" functionality employed in the Motorola Moto X can be found in the Android 4.4 experience. Should this prove true, users can expect quick access to Google Now and searching without having to touch the phone.

An Android Police report from this weekend suggests other changes could come in the area of app folders and widgets. According to their findings, folders are no longer limited to 16 shortcuts and will simply scroll if there are more. Widget placement moves out from the app drawer and back to the more traditional long-press method on the home screen. Speaking of which, users may soon find that the stock Android 4.4 experience allows for more than five home screen panels.

The stock camera experience should see a number of adjustments as well, including options to apply filters, borders, and effects. While Google+ already allows for photo editing and manipulation, it asks that a user have already uploaded the image to the cloud. Other tweaks to the shooter could yield straightening, mirroring, and color balance. If the final product resembles the leaked images we saw, then the app itself could get a makeover. Tweaks could come in the form of streamlined UI with quicker access to flash settings, timers, and image size.

As we discovered in a recent leak, other changes may include the option to save images locally in PDF format, export images in a variety of sizes and quality, and apply built-in filters and effects.

Native printing could be built into Android and may allow for options such as paper size, number of copies, orientation, and choosing between color or black and white.
 

From the sound of it, Google might simply include Cloud Print at an OS level instead of relying on its standalone application. We might also see wireless display support (via Miracast) in this next version of Android.

One area where Google has struggled to gain traction, mobile payments, could be rolled into the Android 4.4 platform. Screengrabs show a "Payments" option, but it's unclear what its role could mean for people. Presumably this is simply the place where one manages their Google Wallet account. Perhaps the thought is that by including it in the standard Android experience, it gains a larger awareness. The more you know it exists, the more likely you might be to use it.

An updated app suite
As far as the Pure Google app experience is concerned, we may see Drive, Keep, and Quickoffice come preloaded by default (right now they're optional downloads or bundled with one carrier or manufacturer experience). As many of you know, this trio of products and services work seamlessly with other Google properties and adds a layer of productivity.

To get a sense for how Android 4.4 KitKat might look in action, be sure to check out the video below. Again, the details are not all that obvious and easy to overlook. However, the experience seems to be one that is smooth and fluid. This is to be expected; Google will continue pushing for performance optimizations across the board.

You might miss it the first time around, but the messaging app is nowhere to be found in the video. As the standard app for sending and receiving SMS and MMS, it's possible that Google is transitioning to Hangouts for its communications. We have long expected to see a unified chat and messaging service from Google; this could be the sign of such an animal.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2ksOJl0PDDg

When KitKat could land
KitKat is expected to ship with the Google Nexus 5 smartphone first, and then later come to other Nexus devices via over-the-air updates.

If history is an indicator, the most recent Nexus 4, Nexus 7 2013, and Nexus 10 devices, as well the previous generation Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 2012 to pick up the release first, maybe a few weeks after the launch.

In terms of all other devices, I suspect the same rules still apply; newer and more popular models will get priority seating aboard the S.S. KitKat, like the LG G2 and HTC One. Note that phones that use custom interfaces (that's most of them) will take longer to get the update.

Handset makers are becoming ever more vocal over social media so look for OEMs to detail specific devices in blog posts and status updates. Realistically, if you are running 4.1 or 4.2, you might expect some Nestle love this winter.
 

What's missing?
Taken as a whole, the 4.4 KitKat version of Android looks like it's a minor, not massive, step forward. But, given this is still a version-point update and not a full 5.0 release, we should keep our expectations in check.

Is there something in Android that you see as lacking at the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean platform level? Which features in other smartphones that you would like to see come to Android? I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Yep, the NSA is grabbing your address book, contact lists too]

Millions of Americans, non-Americans have been swept up in this digital dragnet.

 

According to a new report from the Washington Post, the National Security Agency is

“harvesting hundreds of millions of contact lists from personal e-mail and instant messaging accounts around the world, many of them belonging to Americans.”

 

This new revelation, not surprisingly, comes from the top secret documents entrusted to the Post and other media outlets by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. This new unnamed program, which the Post says “has not been disclosed before,

” is designed to pull address books and buddy lists from unencrypted connections “as they move across global data links.”

The paper added:

   During a single day last year, the NSA’s Special Source Operations branch collected 444,743 e-mail address books from Yahoo, 105,068 from Hotmail, 82,857 from Facebook, 33,697 from Gmail, and 22,881 from unspecified other providers, according to an internal NSA PowerPoint presentation. Those figures, described as a typical daily intake in the document, correspond to a rate of more than 250 million per year. Each day, the presentation said, the NSA collects contacts from an estimated 500,000 buddy lists on live-chat services as well as from the “in-box” displays of Web-based e-mail accounts.

    The collection depends on secret arrangements with foreign telecommunications companies or allied intelligence services in control of facilities that direct traffic along the Internet’s main data routes.

    Although the collection takes place overseas, two senior US intelligence officials acknowledged that it sweeps in the contacts of many Americans. They declined to offer an estimate but did not dispute that the number is likely to be in the millions or tens of millions.

Based on the Post’s reporting, which includes a byline from independent security researcher Ashkan Soltani, the program appears to be related to X-Keyscore, which snags nearly all short-term unencrypted traffic from various points around the globe. As Ars previously described, it would be nearly impossible for the NSA to store all that data for an extended period of time. One slide published in June 2013 says that for a single 30-day period in 2012, this amounted to “at least 41 billion total records.”

 

 

According to an unnamed intelligence official, the Post noted that “because of the method employed, the agency is not legally required or technically able to restrict its intake to contact lists belonging to specified foreign intelligence targets,” adding that “when information passes through 'the overseas collection apparatus... the assumption is you’re not a US person.'"

A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence also told the Post that the agency is focused on "terrorists, human traffickers, and drug smugglers," not the contacts of ordinary Americans.

[Need a textbook in a hurry? Startup will send it by drone]

Australian textbook rental company launches hexacopter delivery in Sydney.

 

A textbook-rental startup in Australia has found a new way to shave costs from its business model: delivery by drone. Zookal, which sells and rents textbooks to Australian university students, has launched a pilot program (pilotless program?) at the University of Sydney to deliver textbooks by autonomous hexacopter.

The drone, from a University of Sydney supported startup called Flirtey, will fly to a customer at a designated GPS location based on data sent from an app on the customer's cell phone. Hamish McKenzie of PandoDaily reports that Zookal is partnering with another startup, social media company Vimbra, to build a joint drone delivery service. The companies say that the service will dramatically reduce the cost of local shipping of textbooks and cut delivery time. The drone is not equipped with a camera, but it does have collision avoidance systems to prevent collisions with birds, trees, buildings, and overhead wires.

 

http://vimeo.com/76606906

Zookal's textbook delivery drone in tests near Sydney Harbor.
 

The delivery system, the companies claim, will fly to the GPS waypoint assigned for the delivery, hover above it, and then lower the book package to the waiting customer. The two companies claim that Zookal's delivery trial is the first commercial use of drones in the world (though other companies have used drones in trials and as part of promotional stunts, such as a pizza delivery drone used in a viral campaign by a UK Domino's franchise holder).

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=on4DRTUvst0

The Domino's delivery drone.

 

Australia currently allows commercial drone operations, but expansion of the service beyond the Sydney trial—and to other countries—will have to leap multiple regulatory hurdles. In the US, commercial drone operations are still not legal while the Federal Aviation Administration considers rules for integrating drones into the national airspace.

[Apple Announces October 22 Event: “We Still Have a Lot to Cover”]

Apple this morning distributed invitations to a special event at which it’s expected to unveil the next iterations of the iPad and iPad mini. And it’s to be held on October 22, just as AllThingsD said it would. Location: the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, one of Apple’s preferred location for big announcements like this.

 

“We still have a lot to cover,” reads the text of the invite. And indeed, Apple does. As I noted last week, the focal point of Apple’s gathering next week will be the latest updates to the company’s iPad line, but the new Mac Pro and OS X Mavericks will likely get some stage time as well.

The next version of the iPad, Apple’s fifth, is expected to feature a thinner, lighter design akin to the iPad mini’s, and an improved camera. It will run Apple’s new 64-bit A7 chip, source say. The second-generation iPad mini will be upgraded with a retina display and also likely see the A7 incorporated into its innards.

[9 Heinous Things Players Have Done in GTA V]

There's a moment that every player of the Grand Theft Auto series has experienced. You've done the missions, you've driven inside the lines, but you've gotten bored. You stop and think to yourself: "Just how crazy can I get in this thing?"

GTA V is now nearly a month old, and its online mode has been accessible since the beginning of October. That means that millions of players have now had ample time to get a little creative with their exploits in Los Santos.

Luckily, some of these inventive players have recorded their exploits. They've poked and prodded at GTA V's underlying systems, breaking the physics systems, exposing the game's goofiest design flaws and busting up a whole lot of cars.

I've assembled nine of the most over-the-top videos and GIFs of players' adventures in GTA V.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2dGl39r4eQU

 
ABOVE:

This clip raises some interesting questions about the way momentum works in GTA V. Apparently this train's momentum is so great that it's become a totally unstoppable force of destruction. It refuses to slow down even after a collision with two building-sized dump trucks.

Also, hopping feet-first into the jagged metal side of a speeding train is apparently safe, so long as you do it with enough speed. Finally, we can conclusively say that GTA V doesn't feature limb-amputation physics, because if it did Trevor would have had a bit of a rougher time climbing aboard that speeding behemoth.
 

 
This is by far the most crass and unimaginative clip of the bunch, but it's also the one I've re-watched the most.

Look at the details: how he distributes his weight just so before hauling around and wasting that mime. It looks like he's going to use his right arm first, but then that leftie hook curves up out of nowhere.

The mime even manages to stop his fall with an outstretched hand. This is surprisingly good collision detection and animation, especially for a game that allows you to run full speed into trains with no consequences.
 
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sSmrXJbPeeA

 

LOUD LANGUAGE WARNING

No need to comment on this one. This Youtuber sums up things well enough.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0YLRy42tO2c

 
Normally, in GTA, cars that have taken too much damage explode.

Almost any vehicle, if shot or crashed just right, will go up with a good boom eventually. Come to think of it, that's actually a pretty common trope in all video games. You can make warthogs in Halo 4 blow just by punching them.

But apparently GTA cars can totally handle getting pancaked underneath a train. Add this to the quickly growing list of mysteries surrounding trains in this game.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WinS7YITQyw

LANGUAGE WARNING

This video is titled "best death ever," but it's actually the most pathetic. You'll feel especially bad for this player once you see the what the guy in the next clip manages to survive.
 

 
Again, there are some serious questions raised about how momentum works in GTA V. Trains have unstoppable momentum (but they won't blow up cars), and parachutes instantly reduce falling objects to a safe speed, even when they're deployed 10 feet above the ground.
The moment that makes this clip is the character's reaction right after he lands safely: "I'm just going to lay down for one second because that was nuts. Alright, yeah, I'm good, back to business."
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QMPhvo03aeU

 
This clip originally got popular in GIF form on Reddit, but the horrific destruction of all the other players is made so much sweeter by the sound of that one guy screaming. He sounds like he's actually dying in a plane crash. Awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UXrJCE64OZA

Remember what I said about exploding cars earlier? Yeah, this guy gets it.

Assuming he's a cool guy, he's breaking the one rule about explosions: You don't look at them. He earns back those cool points by standing rooted to one spot while half a dozen flaming cars surge past him, though.
 

 
You know how we learned that dumptrucks aren't good at stopping trains?
I don't want to take you by surprise, but bullets aren't super great at it either.
 
Sorry for the last video guys, for unknown reasons, seems that I cannot embed it... anyway, you've got the link so...
 

[Romania Makes the Ultimate 4-Wheeled Superhero Vehicle]

The world needs a four-wheeled hero. Superman with a diesel heart, the ability to ford rivers in a single bound, and more ground clearance than an elephant on stilts. It’s here and it’s simply called the Rescue, and we desperately — desperately — need one in our fleet.

A cross between the original Hummer and Batman’s Tumbler, the Rescue hails from Romania, where Ghe-O Motors has set out to create the ultimate machine to serve humanity in the toughest conditions and most inaccessible places.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VNwWf1r0HbA

Depending on the build, the Rescue can be customized for fire-fighting, medical support, or simply transporting 11 people across whatever hellish terrain you throw at it. To combat fires, the 3.2-ton Rescue can hold hold nearly 200 gallons of water, along with all the assorted pumps and hoses. If it needs to cross a small lake on the way, it can be fitted with pneumatic pillows at each wheel to power-float its way into the action, while tank-style tracks can be mounted in place of the rear tires for blasting through snow.

Naturally, it’s all-wheel-drive and comes with a choice of abnormally large engines, including gasoline mills putting out 500 horsepower or an oil burner churning out 300 hp. Beyond being about three feet longer and two feet wider than an Hummer, details are scant, but Ghe-O just showed off the production version at the Bucharest Auto Show and is taking orders from commercial, rescue, and military outfits now. Put us down for two.

[These High-End Headphones Are the First With a Built-In 24-Bit DAC]

Audio Technica makes a wide range of high-end headphones that plenty of audiophiles subsequently plug directly into a standalone digital-to-analog converter. Perhaps that’s why one of their new sets of cans comes with a DAC built into the ear cup.

 

The Audio Technica ATH-D900USB uses the same 53mm drivers and components as the analog, open-back ATH-D900. But what makes it special is the 24-bit DAC built into the left ear cup. Powered by Burr-Brown amplifiers and taking a Mini USB input, the ATH-D900USB is the first pair of cans with a built-in 24-bit DAC included in the actual headset. Most of the time, these headphones will be playing music through USB, so the built-in DAC can do the usual digital-to-analog dance as well as normalize volume. But if you wanted to use these cans as a traditional pair of analog headphones, it does accept a 3.5mm jack.

 

 

 

Not much else is known about the ATH-D900USB at the moment, including how they sound. But they should be available for purchase in late 2014 for ¥37,800, or about $385.

[Vodafone UK Gets Launch Exclusive on HTC One Max]

It looks like the UK is going to get the phone ahead of the United States.

HTC yesterday morning announced the HTC One Max, which is scheduled for availability on Verizon and Sprint in the United States this coming holiday season. As far as the UK market is concerned, if you want the phone right away, you'll have to be willing to go to Vodafone to get it. The carrier today confirmed it will have the launch exclusive on the HTC One Max for the first few weeks of availability.

 

 

The HTC One Max packs a huge 5.9-inch 1080 x 1920 super LCD display, making it more of a phablet than a phone, and the same chassis we've seen in HTC's other 'One' handsets. Under the pod, you're looking at the same Snapdragon 600 CPU that we saw in the HTC One: 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, a large 3,300 mAh battery, a 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera (again, the same as the HTC One), 4G LTE support, Android 4.3, and HTC's own Sense 5.5. It should be noted that while the back is removable (to allow for storage expansion), the battery itself doesn't come out, so that 3,300 mAh battery is not designed to be user replaceable.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7GVz8owzbwY

Vodafone will be getting the HTC One Max later this week. It will be available for £49 up front on a two-year contract at £47 per month. This pricing puts the phone in direct competition with Samsung's phablet, the Galaxy Note 3. Our friends at LAPTOP have already gone hands on with the HTC One Max. Check out the video below and be sure to click through for first impressions!

[Woojer Is A Wearable Audio Accessory For Bass Junkies Who Want To Feel The Noise]

Woojer is a wearable mobile accessory designed to allow its wearer to feel what they’re listening to on their mobile device — via the medium of haptic feedback — rather than simply having banging tunes inserted into their earholes. It’s also being aimed at gamers who want a more immersive in-game experience, or for watching movies or other audiovisual content on a mobile device.

The Israel-based startup behind Woojer, which closed a $600,000 angel round earlier this year, has been developing the product since the start of 2011. It currently has a working prototype — and plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign next month to raise funding for an initial production run. If that’s successful, they hope to ship to backers in early Spring 2014.

 

How exactly does Woojer work? Its creators describe it as a “tactile transducer” that reproduces sound as a polyphonic vibration, allowing a haptic, noiseless element to augment the standard stereo audio the user hears via their own headphones (which plug into the Woojer box via a 3.5mm headphone jack).

Unlike some of the rival offerings in this space, such as subpac and bassAware Holster, Woojer doesn’t require the user to strap on some form of backpack or wear a special headset. (Or look like they buy all their clothes at Cyberdog.) Instead, the roughly matchbox-sized box is clipped to clothing so it rests against the body. Its low frequency vibrations then create a physical bass sensation — similar to hearing live music at a concert or cinema surround sound. Or that’s the theory.

Here’s how Woojer explains the tech — which it will be showing off next week at Pepcom in San Francisco:

The key Woojer know-how lies in the novel tactile transducer that reproduces sound as a polyphonic vibration. The device has accurate frequency response throughout the sonic and subsonic ranges. Clipped to the clothing along strategic meridian bodylines, the signal synergy convinces the brain that the whole body is exposed to high acoustic energy by the principle of “Perceptual Inference”. The device is compact, low cost, energy efficient and scalable. We have demonstrated both corded and wireless configurations.

 

 

“When playing games on smartphones or tablets with headsets the audio experience is two dimensional. With our device you ‘feel the sound’ in a similar manner when in the presence of strong speakers. Users claim it feels like being at a club or in a cinema with surround sound,”

 

adds Woojer founder Neal Naimer.

“The Woojer device can be used in many ways — to give some simple examples: simulators, in games to provide subsonic sensation — unaudible feelings of people walking behind you, earthquakes [etc].”

Advantages over rival offerings in this space include its small size and portability; lower price (final retail price is still being decided but Naimer suggests a ballpark figure of $70 for two devices vs $300 for some rival offerings); polyphonic sound; improved latency over rivals’ so that the tactile sensation doesn’t lag the audiovisuals; and a longer play time (Woojer will be good for more than four hours of use), according to Naimer.
The startup is taking to Kickstarter to push production forward rather than attempting to partner with games or headset makers as a faster way to get to market.
 

“We can partner with any of the OEMs (both games and headsets) and are in touch with a number, but their decision cycle is proving to be too long for us,” Naimer told TechCrunch earlier this year, adding: “There is no real need for a formal relationship at the outset as we are backwardly compatible with all headsets and all consoles that have a standard audio jack.”

Here’s a video of Woojer’s Naimer pitching the concept earlier this year:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=30QFmhbf0o0

[Nike Introduces New Nike+ FuelBand SE, An Activity Tracker That’s Harder To Trick]

Nike is revealing a new version of its FuelBand today at an event in New York City. Dubbed the FuelBand SE, the new fitness tracker sports a variety of color accents and represents the sporting goods maker’s first non-cosmetic update to its activity tracking wearable since the gadget’s introduction.

 

 

 

The FuelBand, for those who aren’t familiar, is a wearable wristband that provides users with a visual readout of their steps taken during the course of a day, and also offers up a ‘Fuel’ tally, which is a metric made up by Nike that calculates based on your activity level through things like walking, running, paying basketball and more. They don’t share much about how they come up with that number, but it’s likely not terribly scientific and meant primarily as a motivation device to get people moving more frequently.

This new second-generation product has a similar design to the original version (but with red, pink or yellow accents), with a rubberized band that fits snugly around the wrist available in different sizes. This edition is intended to be better at encouraging users to move, and harder to cheat with. Nike reports that doing things like punching your fist in the air to game your score won’t up your Fuel score, according to CNET. It also looks to offer up better ability to differentiate between different types of activity, like cycling, spinning and rowing.

 

 

Nike’s new hardware is sealed and waterproofed, making it usable in the shower, and it’s got a highly refined motion detection algorithm. There are regular reminders (once hourly) to prompt you to get up and stop being so lazy, and there’s a new shortcut to let you double tap the button to access time. It uses Bluetooth 4.0, too, which should make it easier to sync data and provide a bit of a battery boost. There’s also a brand new app redesign to do along with it, with more granular and informative charts and graphs related to activity data. A new Fuel-per-minute metric offers a look at your average intensity, rather than just cumulative activity totals.

Finally, there’s sleep tracking, which the first generation device lacked entirely. Sleep tracking is available to users of the Fitbit Flex, and the Jawbone Up, so that’s a huge addition in terms of playing catchup with the competition. The FuelBand SE is still iOS only, however, so don’t be expecting an Android app anytime soon. Users not in the Apple flock can still use the website, however

[Google developing 'Mobile Meter' to track mobile usage and offer rewards]

The 'Mobile Meter' app is expected to collect app usage statistics and browsing behaviour patterns among users. It is understood that Google will anonymize the data of the participants but users will need more reassurance from the company in wake of the PRISM expose and general distrust in data collection among users.

 

The real problem is the fact that this 'browsing behaviour" is a footprint for each user. So, even if the data will be anonymized, linking ads and stuff to this behavior means to directly link it to the user. And this is the real direction of this kind of studies.

 

So, they are still trying to scam ppls that still don't understand anything about those new techs. And they cannot, as those are "NEW' technologies. This is a really strange and weird situation, where ppls must protect their privacy from 'unknown' threats... like in the anti-malware industries... IS GOOGLE A NEW KIND OF MALWARE?

[U.S. Cellular introduces shared data plans, eliminates unlimited data for new subscribers]

Like AT&T and Verizon Wireless, U.S. Cellular is making the move to shared data plans. Its prices are similar to those carriers, and this is a good move for getting multiple family members to sign up and start using additional devices. But on the other hand, this means new users will no longer be eligible to sign up for a plan with unlimited data.

U.S. Cellular’s shared data plans included unlimited text messages and voice minutes, like AT&T and Verizon. Consumer plans support up to 10 devices, and business plans will connect up to 25. Each smartphone line costs $40 per month. Feature phones cost $30, modems cost $20 and tablets cost $10. From there, all users share data from a single bucket, which starts at 300MB per month for $40 and goes as high as 75GB for $560 per month. The table below shows a sample of shared data plan prices you can choose from:
 

In addition to the new shared plans, U.S. Cellular offers data-only plans for tablets, modems and hotspots starting at $10 per month for 1GB of data. And the carrier is offering talk-and-text-only plans that include 450 minutes and unlimited messaging for $50 for individual users. A family plans gets you 1,000 minutes and unlimited messaging for 2 lines for $100 and each additional line costs $20.

These rates are fairly similar to what you’ll find at AT&T or Verizon. Also like those carriers, this means that U.S. Cellular is doing away with unlimited data. The carrier says that all existing users can keep their grandfathered unlimited plans, but that option won’t be available to new subscribers. This leaves Sprint and T-Mobile as the only major U.S. wireless U.S. to offer unlimited data.

[How Science Can Teach You to Easily Spot a Liar]

I've mentioned a few ways to detect liars, but Pamela Meyer has discovered just about all of them. She's taken a look at the most common behaviors of liars, scientifically, and shares her expertise on how to detect them.

 

 

Meyer believes that lying is often a cooperative act. We willingly let others deceive us because we want to avoid conflict. We may tell each other an email didn't receive a response because it ended up in the spam folder or that dinner was delicious (or at least tolerable). This is okay to some extent because we're all okay with it, but studies show that you may be lied to anywhere from 10 to 200 times per day. Many of those are white lies, but studies have also discovered that strangers lie three times within the first ten minutes of meeting each other. Meyer sees lying as what we do to bridge the gap between fantasy and reality. When we want something to be true, we lie so that it at least appears to be true in the hopes that we may be able to make it that way before any truth is uncovered. We hope it will be true, and so our lies are essentially loans of a desired future.

We all do this on occasion, but some lies are worse than others. Fortunately, science points to plenty of indicators to help us detect when we're being told a lie, many of which are contrary to what most people believe:

•     Liars like to distance themselves from the subject. Taking Bill Clinton as an example, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," has the two giveaways of "did not" and "that woman" help point out that it's a lie.
•     Liars use qualifying language, like "to tell you the truth."
•     Repeating the question before answering it dishonestly is a common indicator of a lie.
•     Liars look you in the eyes too much. They don't fidget, but rather freeze their upper body.
•     Liars will fake smiles. Here's how to tell the difference.
•     Liars like to offer details.
•     When liars are the culprits and trying to avoid punishment for what they did, they're more likely to suggest strict punishments for the "real culprit."
•     Liars are terrible at telling their stories backwards.
•     Liars will often point their feet towards an exit.
•     Liars will often put barrier objects between themselves and the person asking them about their lie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P_6vDLq64gE

Meyer's talk demonstrates several other lie detection methods, such as head shakes and asymmetrical expressions, that you really need to watch the video to understand. It's fascinating and worth the 15 minutes it'll take to watch—especially because, with a little practice, you should be able to point out lies in your everyday life pretty easily.

[Why Liars Tend to Say "I" Less Often]

When someone is lying about something, they're usually unconsciously trying to distance themselves from the situation to make the lie more tolerable to tell. As The Wall Street Journal points out, this means that when people lie they tend to use the word "I" a lot less.

 

A lot of people generally avoid using the word "I," including high-powered people and bosses, but it's also a pretty good indicator that someone is hiding the truth. The Wall Street Journal explains:

 

Researchers analyzed the language on Twitter of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Mr. Tsarnaev used "I" words (I, me, my, I'll, I'm, etc.) less and less in his tweets as he got closer to the bombing, according to not-yet-published research by Brittany Norman at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, and Dr. Pennebaker.
    The researchers analyzed all 856 of Mr. Tsarnaev's original tweets between October 2011 and April 15, 2013, the day of the bombing. They found that Mr. Tsarnaev's use of "I" words dropped significantly as the bombing approached, with the biggest drop appearing in October 2012 (to 4.81% of his words from 9.57% the month before).
    "The data suggest that Mr. Tsarnaev made the decision to do something that he had to hide at that time," Ms. Norman says.

 

Of course, the lack of pronoun usage isn't a definitive way to spot a liar, but it's something you can add to your lie-spotting toolkit.

[Yup, that looks like a Nexus: Nexus 5 makes its video debut]

You’re probably sick and tired of Nexus 5 leaks by now, but this next one is a doozy of a spill. Over the weekend, a surprisingly clear video of a phone that looks very much like the rumored Nexus 5 made its rounds online.
The7-minute video (with no sound) is the first good look we’ve had at the phone since that Google employee “ accidentally” showed his off during the unveiling of the Kit Kat Android statue.

Although the front of the phone doesn’t look all that different than last year’s Nexus 4, the device is bigger and features a giant camera lens like the one on the new Nexus 7. The glass on the camera lens looks raised, so our fingers are crossed that whoever built this thing knew that they were doing and built it to last.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2ksOJl0PDDg

 

It’s rumored that this new Nexus will have optical image stabilization like Nokia’s Lumia line, but we might have to wait for the next big video leak to see that feature in action.
Unfortunately the video doesn’t go into much detail about the phone’s software. The operating system is still labeled “KeyLimePie,” so it’s possible that this is an early build from before the Google-Nestle partnership, and the launcher doesn’t look like the one we’ve been seeing in other leaks.

The video spends a considerable amount of time poking around the Google Earth, Chrome, and YouTube apps, none of which are particularly exciting. You can see an icon for the new Google Experience Launcher when the open app drawer is opened, and you can practically hear Android fans everywhere screaming for the video maker to tap the icon.
Google is still expected to announce the Nexus 5 and Kit Kat on Tuesday but, at this point, it doesn’t seem like there is much else to say unless the big G has a surprise up its sleeve.

[Apple Is Working On A 12-Inch MacBook That Will 'Redefine Laptop Computing']

Over the weekend, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities revealed that Apple has plans for a new laptop in 2014.
In a note picked up at 9 to 5 Mac, Kuo says Apple is planning a high-resolution 12-inch laptop that will be as portable as the 11-inch MacBook Air, but as productive as the 13-inch MacBook Air.

 

 

This new MacBook will "redefine laptop computing" according to Kuo, just like the current MacBook Air redefined laptop computers when it was introduced in 2010. (The original MacBook Air was out in 2008, but was flawed. The 2010 version fixed the flaws and became the industry standard.)

This new laptop will be thinner and lighter than the current MacBook Airs, per Kuo.
For Apple, the Mac business is a small portion of the company's overall earnings, and it's in decline like the rest of the consumer PC industry. Still, lots of people use laptops, so it's not like Apple is just going to give up on it.

 

 

What's interesting here, is that it doesn't sound like Apple wants to go the Microsoft route and make a Surface — a tablet with a keyboard. Instead, it looks like it's just trying to make its laptops more mobile, keeping the distinction between the two categories.
Kuo has a very good track record when it comes to Apple product announcements. He's not great on timing, though. We don't know when Apple might reveal this new laptop, but we expect it at some point next year.