The mini-computer game has so far been dominated by upstarts such as FXI and Raspberry Pi, but a big name is getting ready to join the party, too. Intel first demoed its NUC (Next Unit of Computing) at PAX East in April, but details are just hitting the web now. One standout spec is the NUC’s 10 x 10-cm (4 x 4-in) form factor, which places it between the Raspberry Pi and Mini-ITX boards in terms of size. Moreover, the NUC packs a Core i3 / Core i5 Sandy Bridge chip with last-gen Intel HD 3000 graphics, and sports Thunderbolt, HDMI and USB 3.0 sockets on the back. There’s a heatsink and fan assembly on board, too, and the mini PCIe connectors leave the door open for added functionality. Because it runs an Intel Core i5 CPU instead of the ARM processors found in options such as the Cotton Candy and Raspberry Pi, the NUC promises to be a more powerful mini-desktop. But don’t get too excited: Intel envisions it as a component in digital signage instead. Look for Intel’s mini-PC at a kiosk near you in the second half of 2012, when it’s expected to drop.

Intel enters mini-computer fray with Core i5-powered NUC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 12:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel enters mini-computer fray with Core i5-powered NUC

With roughly 98 percent of the desktop and laptop market spoken for, you’d be forgiven for thinking your only choices for powering your computer were Windows or Mac OS X. There is another way, though. Linux may only run on a tiny sliver of consumer PCs, but the number is growing and one of the biggest players propelling its popularity is Ubuntu. Since bursting on the scene eight years ago, the distro has grown to dominate the desktop Linux market and made plenty of fans (and a few detractors) along the way. Truth is, Ubuntu is completely unique and, at least compared to other distros out there, very user-friendly. It also happens to have a very active community of developers and users willing to lend help to those in need, which makes it appealing to Linux vets, enterprise users and *nix n00bs alike.

Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin is part of the company’s LTS or Long Term Support series, and is guaranteed for five years of support through Canonical. That means the company is focusing less on cramming new features into this release and more on making it as stable as possible. So, if you’re familiar with Ubuntu, you won’t find much here that will blow your mind. Of course, the real question is whether or not the aubergine-loving open-source OS is for you, not whether there’s enough new tweaks to fill a book. So, without further ado, we present Ubuntu 12.04: the review. Join us after the break, won’t you?

Continue reading Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin review

Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin review

Two closely watched cases in the music industry are about to go to trial involving a motley crew of characters: Eminem’s producers, Rob Zombie, Rick James (his estate at least) and Steve Jobs.

Apple is claiming that a deposition of Steve Jobs from a 2010 trial involving F.B.T. Productions, producers of several hit Eminem tracks, could, if released, bring competitive harm to the company over “highly confidential and proprietary trade secrets.”

The main trial involves the aforementioned blonde rapper’s producers and Aftermath Records, a division of Universal Music Group, in a debate over whether digital music should be treated as “licenses” and not “sales.” As the Hollywood Reporter puts it, “The two sides are about to go to trial to figure out exactly how much that is worth.”

In a separate case — Rob Zombie and several other musicians have filed a class action lawsuit against UMG — the plaintiffs are asking for documents related to an earlier trial involving F.B.T. Productions and UMG.

So what’s the issue?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, when Jobs was being deposed in 2010 the judge sent nearly everyone out of the court room and again when the deposition was played back to the jury. The dispute stems from the plaintiff’s inability to prove to Apple why the requested documents — which includes information on Apple’s business dealings with record labels — are relevant to their case against UMG. Apple goes even further and blames the musician’s attorney’s for seeking documents that are “broad but indiscriminate.”

So what is Apple hiding? At this point, only Apple and the few folks directly involved with the 2010 trial know but that could soon change if Zombie and friends get their way.

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Apple Tries To Halt Release Of Steve Jobs Deposition In Lawsuit … What’s It Hiding?

CWmike writes “The internet is no stranger to crime, writes corporate investigator Brandon Gregg. From counterfeit and stolen products, to illegal drugs, stolen identities and weapons, nearly anything can be purchased online with a few clicks of the mouse. The online black market not only can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection, but the whole process of ordering illicit goods and services is alarmingly easy and anonymous, with multiple marketplaces to buy or sell anything you want. Gregg started with $1000 and a took journey into the darker side of the Internet using two tools: Bitcoin and the Tor Bundle.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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How Online Black Markets Work

Last month I did a rendering gig for a client that involved blending their design with elements from photos of a competitor’s design and dropping the whole thing into a photorealistic environment. Pretty standard stuff, and I always use Photoshop for these types of jobs. Depending on the objects’ complexity, the requested environment and the clients’ mood, these gigs range in length from the better part of an afternoon to several days, which all adds up to billable hours and me keeping the lights on over here.

I’ve just discovered Adobe’s new Photoshop CS6 has new “content-aware” move and patch tools that are going to greatly reduce the time needed for those types of jobs. Here’s how they work:

More on the content-aware move and extend tools after the click…

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New Photoshop CS6 “Content-Aware” Feature Will Destroy My Billable Hours

SalesVu, the maker of a mobile payments service designed for business customers, is launching a major update with SalesVu 2.0, live now in the iTunes App Store. The company is somewhat similar to Square, in that it also includes a dongle that plugs into an iPhone or iPad and works alongside an accompanying mobile application. However, the company is focused on providing tools that address more complex business needs than simply taking credit cards via a mobile device. For example, SalesVu currently offers real-time analytics reporting and the ability for businesses to post offers directly to Facebook through social sharing mechanisms.

With the release of SalesVu 2.0, a number of improvements have been added for business users, including things like receipt printing, barcode scanning, employee timekeeping, and online order processing, to name a just few.

While competing in the same general space as Square, Austin-based SalesVu is different in that it has never gone after the market of individuals users who had always relied on cash-based transactions. Instead, its focus has been the business customer processing at least $1,500/month who was looking for a mobile payments solution with a specific emphasis on integration with other backend systems like order management, deals and discount management, and social marketing.

With the release of SalesVu 2.0, the goal is to better improve on the feature set these customers need. For retailers, the company has now added receipt printing and barcode scanning functionality, which customers demanded. They also asked for the newly added employee clock-in/clock-out function, which is now tied to SalesVu’s online timekeeping solution. Plus, SalesVu 2.0 has improved the close-out process with new cash drawer functionality also new in this release.

For restaurants, the company has added features like the ability to split checks, print orders to the kitchen, adjust tips at the end of shifts, and receive orders from the web. The online orders are also displayed in the SalesVu POS app for immediate processing, as opposed to being sent out as emails, as is typical with some online ordering integrations targeted towards the SMB market. This feature now also makes SalesVu a competitor to traditional POS systems, says SalesVu CEO Pascal Nicolas.

“The online ordering feature is probably the most important one we’re adding in this release,” explains Nicolas, “because we’re going from a convenience app to a revenue-generating app. These are orders that they may not have received, if they had not received them online,” he says. The feature was heavily requested by restaurants, for obvious reasons, but the functionality is available to anyone, including retailers, Nicholas adds.

Finally, for service businesses (think salons, spas, plumbers, etc.), SalesVu 2.0 has added the ability to route appointments from a business website to the app on the iPhone or iPad, and now supports the ability for the business to take a deposit at the time of reservation. Invoicing and recurring billing have been added, too.

Despite these business-friendly features, SalesVu’s biggest challenge for now is brand recognition and awareness – even Square itself isn’t a household name yet. Plus, one of Square’s bigger draws is that free dongle it hands out to any who ask. SalesVu, meanwhile, only gives out the first dongle per location for free and then requires businesses to pay $99 for each additional one. However, it has now dropped the monthly subscription fee ($9.95/month) for use of its cloud system in order to be more competitive.

SalesVu is also competing heavily on pricing, in terms of processing fees. To combat Square’s low 2.75%, SalesVu negotiated with its partner Mercury Payment Systems to take the risk and go even lower to a flat 2.7% in the U.S. In Canada, rates vary from 1.73% to 3.26% depending on card type, which means it’s (sometimes) lower than Intuit’s GoPayment. The company has a profit-sharing arrangement with Mercury which allows it to generate revenue from those fees.

Currently, SalesVu’s mobile apps have been downloaded 15,000 times, and now nearly 6,000 businesses have signed up and are actively using the system. The company is iOS-only for now, but plans to release an Android version this summer.

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Square Competitor SalesVu Ups Its Game With New Features For Restaurants, Retailers & More

Coming soon: robotic prostitutes. A new scientific paper suggests that by 2050, many bordellos and brothels will have replaced human prostitutes with lifelike robots

Beyond being tireless and disease-free, researches hope that commercial sex robots would actually reduce the trafficking of real people. Human trafficking continues to plague every region of the globe, with conservative estimates putting the victim count at 2.5 million, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Keep reading

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Coming soon: robotic prostitutes. A new scientific paper…

The High Court has ruled that British ISPs must block web-browsing citizens from accessing the infamous Pirate Bay. The controversial ruling comes just six months after the European Court of Justice (a superior court) declared that companies like Sky and TalkTalk were protected against injunctions to block, filter or monitor internet traffic for that purpose. Virgin Media told the BBC that it would comply, before sensibly adding that censorship measures like this are ineffective in the long term.

UK High Court rules ISPs to block Pirate Bay, forgets it ain’t the boss anymore originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UK High Court rules ISPs to block Pirate Bay, forgets it ain’t the boss anymore

The heavy metal band All Shall Perish and the president of their label, Nuclear Blast, were horrified to discover that a copyright troll called World Digital Rights had filed a suit against 180 music fans accused of sharing an ASP album online. The band and the label’s president said that they had no knowledge a relationship with World Digital Rights and had not authorized the trolls to take legal action on their behalf. World Digital Rights is asking a Florida court to give it the names and addresses of 80 John Doe defendants. World Digital Rights, a Panama-based company, filed papers saying that the label signed over an “exclusive license” to the band’s album “This is Where it Ends.” They are seeking $150,000 from each of the fans named in the suit. More at TorrentFreak:

Downey, who told us that the band were totally blindsided by the revelations, describes this action against fans as “awful” and has promised to stay in touch with developments. Ideally these lawsuits will get withdrawn, not only for the sake of the Does but for the sake of the band. But if Nuclear Blast and World Digital Rights persist with this ridiculous project, All Shall Perish might have no choice but to personally intervene – their reputation could rely on it.

Copyright Troll Causes Chaos By Suing Fans Without Band’s Permission

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Band and label president had no idea copyright trolls were suing on their behalf

Kim Dotcom, the colorful head of the file-sharing website Megaupload, will now have some of his assets returned to him following a seizure of his personal and corporate assets in February. According to a report on the New Zealand-based website, Stuff.co.nz, a High Court lawyer ruled that a court-ordered seizure issued in January was not valid, despite the fact that an interim order has been in place for two months.

Dotcom is to receive NZ$750,000 ($614,000) in cash that had been confiscated from him, in addition to his Mercedes-Benz G55AMG worth NZ$250,000 ($204,000) with the license plate “POLICE.” Dotcom is also continuing to receive an NZ$20,000 ($16,000) monthly living allowance off of the interest of his NZ$10 million ($8.19 million) of government bonds. His wife, Mona, will also get her living expenses and medical bills paid (she recently gave birth), and she will have the use of her seized 2010 Toyota Vellfire, worth NZ$60,000 ($49,000).

Since early April, Dotcom has had the use of his mansion, including the use of his swimming pool for exercise. He is also able to use the Internet. He told Radio New Zealand (MP3) earlier this month that he was using his limited freedom to coordinate his legal defense—and record a “dance music” album as a way to raise money to pay his legal fees. Dotcom is also apparently required to take a photo of himself at the Auckland studio where he has been recording his album and send it to his bail officer to confirm his location.

The German-born entrepreneur has also been involved in a political row in New Zealand.

On Monday, the New Zealand Herald reported that Dotcom claims to have donated NZ$50,000 ($41,000) to John Banks, the head of the ACT New Zealand political party and the current minister for Small Business and Regulatory Reform, during his 2010 campaign for mayor of the city of Auckland.

Dotcom told the newspaper that Banks asked him to divide the payments into two installments of NZ$25,000 each so as to conceal their origin, and that the local politician called him personally to thank him. However, in a statement on his website, Banks denied calling Dotcom for the mayoral donations, adding: “I could not have, as any such contribution was anonymous.”

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, with whom Banks’ ACT New Zealand party is in political coalition, also stepped into the fray over the weekend, saying that he trusted Banks, and that the police should investigate any potential wrongdoing.

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Megaupload’s Dotcom gets money and Mercedes back, involved in political scandal