BTjunkie has just voluntarily shut down its website yesterday. The site was one of the largest BitTorrent sites on the web, with dozens of millions of users flocking to the site daily. While never embroiled in the same legal troubles as fellow BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay, BTjunkie was listed by the RIAA and MPAA as a rouge site that facilitated mass copyright infringement. The shutdown comes in the wake of the high-profile take down of Megaupload last month, which possibly added to the decision of the founders of the site to shutdown voluntarily. This is message that currently greets people coming to the site: “This is the end of the line my friends. The decision does not come easy, but we’ve decided to voluntarily shut down. We’ve been fighting for years for your right to communicate, but it’s time to move on. It’s been an experience of a lifetime, we wish you all the best!”
Buffalo’s CloudStation makes it easier for you to take your files to the cloud
We all want to be able to access our files anywhere, but the hassle of actually configuring a NAS or a home server to do just that is a daunting task for most people. Enter Buffalo and their new CloudStation storage solution. This handy little storage device has been specifically designed for people who want to access their data from their tablets or smartphones without needing to learn an entirely new (computer) language. Installation is pretty easy – just plug this baby into your router then register the device on Buffalo’s website, and that’s it. The CloudStation comes with a 3 year limited warranty and is available in two models: CloudStation (Single Bay) 1 TB at Php 9,270 and 2 TB at Php 11, 160.
Rumored Olympus OM-D camera continues to leak online
It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but pictures of the upcoming OM-D Micro Four Thirds shooter have been appearing on the internet thanks to an Amazon Japan listing that has already been rescinded. The camera sports a very 70’s style look and is scheduled to be launched next month with an alleged price tag of USD $1,460 (approximately Php 61,300).
As seen in the photos, it comes with an optional battery grip but no built-in flash. Some of its specs have also been leaked, and we now know that the unit is capable of shooting at 4 fps with a 16.1 megapixel EDR CMOS sensor. It has an ISO range of 200-25,600, a shutter speed of 60-1/4000 seconds, and full HD video recording up to 29 minutes. At 122mm x 89mm x 43mm in size and 454 grams in weight with its kit lens attached, the camera is pretty compact and light compared to other digital SLRs. It also has a tilt-able 3-inch OLED touch screen and a 1.44-megapixel electronic viewfinder that enables photographers to check the Art Filter effect, color temperature, and exposure levels all in real-time. Its body is weather sealed and the unit comes in silver and black.
A bunch of new accessories have also been announced for the Olympus OM-D E-M5, and camera enthusiasts demanding top-notch quality who dig the retro look of this forthcoming issue from Olympus will certainly be very pleased once it’s released.
Use your book to charge your phone with Book Chargers
If there’s one thing I feel I’m buying tragically less of, it’s books. I suppose they no longer seem as alluring as the latest tablet or phone where you can store everything you’ve ever wanted to read inside some internal or external storage space. But now Rich Neeley Designs has come up with Book Chargers, which are actual books (not just a dummy book charger made to look like a book) that keeps the charging cord snugly inside the book and is compatible with your iPhone or iPod.
Not only do they make an impressive piece to add to your book collection, you can keep them right on your bedside table and charge your favorite gadgets to get you on your day the moment you wake up.
The selection of books include Shakespeare’s Sonnets, CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, and even Harry Potter.
The Pirate Bay now hosts 3D printer files, ushers in a new era of content sharing
Notorious torrent site The Pirate Bay has always been in the crosshairs of multiple government agencies and media corporations because of their core business practice. Now the torrent site has a new trick up its sleeve: users can now download Physibles, which are basically plans that allow a 3D printer to make real, tangible objects. To promote the new section of the site, The Pirate Bay crew put up a 3D model of the Pirate Bay ship for users to download and print in a 3D printer. Since then, there have been several people who have downloaded and printed the ship for their use.
While 3D printing is still an expensive affair (users can expect to pay anywhere from 70$-80$ for a piece like the Pirate Bay ship), it’s a category that’s set to take off once 3D printers drop in price and increase in complexity in the coming years, just like how mobile phones evolved from simple devices to mini-computers that they are today. Maybe in 5 or 10 years we’ll all be able to buy a 3D printer for our homes, and instead of going to the store to buy sneakers, we’ll just have to download the plans for the Kobe 10.
Source: Torrent Freak
Akai EIE Pro USB audio interface
Akai Professional, whose credibility comes from its legendary MPC and wealth of top-quality music production gear used on most successful records in the past couple of decades, has released an affordable audio interface for portable recording.
Introducing the Akai EIE Pro, a desktop space-friendly USB audio interface that comes with four 48v phantom power inputs, 4 outputs, a 3-port USB hub, Midi I/O, and a headphone out. Offering 48kHz recording at 16-bit resolution, each input includes an Akai preamplifier to get your signal to the right level during recording, and if its sound shares anything in common with the renowned analog warmth and texture delivered by Akai’s top-end gear, then you can be rest-assured that your audio recordings will have that coloration you’re looking for.
The box’s front panel comes with 2 classy-looking VU meters in addition to the necessary volume and gain knobs. This interface was really built for the road as seen with its ultra-durable cast-aluminum chassis. Whether for travel or as the main audio interface in your home or project studio, this unit is certain to give you great audio recordings at an affordable price of $249 (approximately Php 10,500).
SOPA: nonsense from the era of the dinosaurs
Remaining true to his position against any form of piracy, Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab, said in his blog that there should be other forms of regulating content distribution without having to enforce laws that would otherwise protect only a few.
Kaspersky argued that the SOPA is only protecting the rights of Americans while distancing itself from non-US artists’ rights. Kaspersky warned that putting SOPA into law is essentially an “Americanization” the Internet whereby the US can prosecute anyone regardless of location.
“Under this law, the interests of non-American authors/creators are not protected at all, while the nationality of the perpetrators is of no importance…. If we accept this law, hundreds of thousands of lawyers will suddenly appear out of the woodwork because almost any website can be accused of copyright infringement! This law will lead to major legalized extortion,” Kaspersky said.
The outspoken internet security software developer also likened the SOPA to the time of the dinosaurs wherein “Jurassic” old world laws are being forced down on a new world thus preventing progress. “The Internet age has no place for the rudiments of the bygone age of vinyl, which is a far cry from today’s technologies, customer demands and reality in general. Just because this old style of business can’t or won’t change, it is trying to lead the Internet marketplace to any early grave with the help of SOPA and the like.”
“This is complete and utter nonsense from the era of the dinosaurs – and we know their brains were the size of a pea,” he added.
Nevertheless, Kaspersky insisted that he is completely against any form of piracy noting that artists and developers are commercially obligated to earn as this would provide them the financial incentive to develop more and better products. “Not only do the authors have to eat, they need money to create their products, this intellectual property, which is sometimes a rather cost-based thing.”
Instead, Kaspersky said that distribution processes have changed and consumers are now able to acquire songs, movies, and applications using different methods. He cited iTunes as one such distribution method, which allows users to purchase whatever songs and videos they want for a certain cost. He said iTunes also protects the rights of copyright holders.
“Content should be distributed in newways, that is, low quality content is free –you can take as much as you can eat. Medium quality content should be quick and cheap while high/professional quality should be expensive,” he summed up.
Why Ubisoft’s always online DRM solution is a bad idea: legitimate players will be denied access while Ubisoft changes servers, pirates play hassle free
We’ve blasted Ubisoft’s draconian always online DRM policy before, and for good reason – it basically limited your access to a game that you legally bought when your internet goes down. Here’s another reason why the whole technology is laughable and should be abolished: some players that legally bought Ubisoft titles won’t be able to play their games starting Feb. 7, as the company moves “transitions the hosting of many of its online services from a third-party data center to a new facility”. Meanwhile, the people who pirated the game aka people who did not pay a single penny will STILL be able to play the titles without interruption. How exactly is that fair Ubisoft? If you’ve bought any of the games below legally, you can expect not to be able to play them as the company completes its move:
Assassin’s Creed–Mac
Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2–PC
Might & Magic: Heroes VI–PC
Splinter Cell Conviction–Mac
The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom–PC
The Settlers–Mac
Source: Gamespot.com
Apple battles with Motorola for the right to sell iPhones, iPads in Germany
It’s no secret that Apple is waging an expensive legal war with multiple companies over patent claims around the world. Last Friday, the company tussled with another competitor in a familiar battleground. Motorola Mobility managed to force Apple to withdraw their 3G iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 from the online German Apple store, with Motorola Mobility citing that Apple infringes on one of their patents essential to the GPRS standard. If you remember, the firm managed to win the suit it leveraged against Apple, which means if Apple wants to sell its products on German soil that uses the technology in Motorola’s patents, it’ll have to pony up dough for the privilege. Apple rejected the injunction, and said that Motorola Mobility refused to license the patent on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) basis. While Apple managed to suspend the enforcement of the injunction, the company is in for a bit of a fight, as the company is now beset on all sides with lawsuits from other tech giants like Samsung.
Source: The Verge
Samsung Mobile Unveils Galaxy Tab 7.7
Samsung Mobile held an open event this afternoon at Eastwood Mall, showcasing the company’s release of its new Galaxy Tab 7.7. Sporting a ton of features and running on the Android Honeycomb 3.2 OS with a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor, the new tab boasting a Super AMOLED™ Plus touchscreen display aims to provide a possible laptop replacement for the most on-the-go people.
The metallic black gadget allows easy access to YouTube™, Google Talk™, Google Maps™and more than 400,000 apps on the Android Market™. Measuring a mere 7.9 millimeters thickness and weighing only 340 grams, the Galaxy tab packs a lot of punch and performance for a unit that can be grasped single-handedly. Its brilliant display enables its users to watch movies and play games at high-definition 720p resolution, while the included QuickOffice® Pro HD is a powerful office suite for advanced Microsoft® Office functions. A plethora of other applications and functions ensure that even your most demanding everyday activities, whether for work or play, are carried out.
Hosted by Gabe Mercado, the event was packed with a pretty solid program. Speakers Jim Paredes, Aids Tecson and Carlo Ople shared with everyone just why they love the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and how it has improved their style of living. Attendees were given a chance to win Samsung goodies and treated to great music from local bands such as Radio Active Sago Project as a welcoming celebration for this new product that marks a growth in tech-lifestyle.
Google’s keeping the riff-raff out of Android with Bouncer
Google’s open approach to things is a double-edged sword when it comes to apps. On one hand, there isn’t a huge barrier to entry to try and make a app and make it available to the marketplace but on the other hand the lack of policing or app review makes it extremely easy to slip malicious code through the store to wreak havoc on individual users. Google hasn’t been sleeping though, and have created a service named bouncer that takes care of the malicious apps that try to get into club Android. Though only detailed a few days ago, the service has already been in place for quite some time now, which basically scans and analyzes apps being submitted to the marketplace and runs it against a background check of known virus signatures and behaviors. Since the appearance of the service in the first and second half of 2011, Google says that there’s been a 40% drop in the number of potentially dangerous downloads from the Android market.
This doesn’t mean you should download everything in sight however. Android users should always be wary of potentially malicious apps in the marketplace, and should always use a hefty does of common sense when downloading anything.
Source: Google Mobile Blog
Smartphones outsold PCs for the first time in Q4 2011
Perhaps hinting what is to come in the following years, research firm Canalys has reported that there smartphones have outsold PCs for the first time, with the firm estimating that the former has sold 158.5 million units in Q4 of 2011 as opposed to the former’s 120.2 million units. It’s worth noting that Canalys also considers tablets as PCs, though if you took out tablets from the count, PCs sales would be a lot lower, clocking in at 93.7 units sold. While this is welcome news for both Apple and Google, it’s possibly dire news for Microsoft – who for years have depended on PCs to power its business forward. With PCs sales declining, the pressure on the firm from Redmond is at an all time high, and if they can’t make good on the promise of Windows 8 (or make Phone 7 perform better) then the company might be heading towards a slow decline into irrelevance.
Source: Business Insider
Meet an Android smartphone made out of Bamboo: the ADzero
We’re no stranger to exotic materials in our smartphones but who would’ve thought that Bamboo would be a suitable material to build an Android smartphone out of. A student in the UK, that’s who. The majority of ADZero’s components are made out of Bamboo and is supposedly ultra-lightweight because of the weight savings involved. We gather that because of how wood grains work, each ADZero will be unique, which certainly adds to the appeal of owning one. The device is supposedly getting backers in China and is pushing for a 2012 launch, though aside from the curious choice in material, there isn’t really a lot of information available for the device. Here’s to hoping that this little project pulls through.
Source: Droid Life
IDC: Nokia top handset maker, followed by Samsung and Apple
The latest numbers from research firm IDC are in, and wouldn’t you know it, Nokia is right on the top of the heap followed closely by Samsung and Apple. The latest figures have been culled globally as part of the firm’s fourth quarter analysis. The firm from Espoo shouldn’t drop their guard however, as the report cites Nokia actually 8.2% of its market share from last year. In sharp contrast, Apple has been growing like crazy, and has experienced massive 128.4% growth compared to last year’s numbers. Samsung also posted 20.9% growth this year compared to last year. The biggest loser for this year? That other phone manufacturer from Korea, LG. IDC reports that they lost a a massive 42.2% of their market share compared to last year.
Top Five Mobile Phone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q4 2011 (Units in Millions)
Vendor |
4Q11 Unit Shipments |
4Q11 Market Share |
4Q10 Unit Shipments |
4Q10 Market Share |
Year-over-year Change |
Nokia |
113.5 |
26.6% |
123.7 |
30.7% |
-8.2% |
Samsung |
97.6 |
22.8% |
80.7 |
20.0% |
20.9% |
Apple |
37.0 |
8.7% |
16.2 |
4.0% |
128.4% |
LG Electronics |
17.7 |
4.1% |
30.6 |
7.6% |
-42.2% |
ZTE |
17.1 |
4.0% |
15.7 |
3.9% |
8.9% |
Others |
144.5 |
33.8% |
135.9 |
33.7% |
6.3% |
Total |
427.4 |
100.0% |
402.8 |
100.0% |
6.1% |
Source: IDC