Has AACS 2.0 encryption used to protect UHD Blu-ray discs been cracked? While the details are scarce, a cracked copy of a UHD Blu-ray disc surfaced on the HD-focused BitTorrent tracker UltraHDclub. TorrentFreak reports: The torrent in question is a copy of the Smurfs 2 film and is tagged “The Smurfs 2 (2013) 2160p UHD Blu-ray HEVC Atmos 7.1-THRONE.” This suggests that AACS 2.0 may have been “cracked” although there are no further technical details provided at this point. UltraHDclub is proud of the release, though, and boasts of having the “First Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc in the NET!” Those who want to get their hands on a copy of the file have to be patient though. Provided that they have access to the private tracker, it will take a while to download the entire 53.30 GB disk. TorrentFreak reached out to both the uploader of the torrent and an admin at the site hoping to find out more, but thus far we have yet to hear back. From the details provided, the copy appears to be the real deal although not everyone agrees. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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‘First Pirated Ultra HD Blu-Ray Disk’ Appears Online
An anonymous reader shares a report: For years, Apple’s App Store, the place where people download apps for games and social networking services on their iPhones, has generated far more revenue worldwide than its Android competitors. This year, things are changing: The App Store will fall second to the amount of revenue generated by Android app distributors, predicts analytics firm App Annie. In 2017, the App Store will generate $40 billion in revenue, while Android app stores run by Google and other parties will generate $41 billion, App Annie said. That gap is expected to widen in 2021, with Android app stores generating $78 billion in revenue and Apple’s App Store at $60 billion in revenue, according to App Annie’s report released on Wednesday. The surge in revenue for Android comes from a growing number of consumers in China who are buying Android phones and are willing to pay for apps. In 2021, App Annie expects there to be eight Android smartphone users to every single iPhone user in China. Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
On the fifth birthday of the original Raspberry Pi, the foundation has announced the Raspberry Pi Zero W, a slightly more capable variant of the miniature computer. From a report on BetaNews: It’s essentially a Pi Zero with the addition of the two features many people have been requesting — wireless LAN and Bluetooth. Priced at $10, the Pi Zero W uses the same Cypress CYW43438 wireless chip as Raspberry Pi 3 Model B to deliver 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. The full list of features is as follows: 1GHz, single-core CPU, 512MB RAM, mini-HDMI port, micro-USB On-The-Go port, micro-USB power, HAT-compatible 40-pin header, composite video and reset headers, CSI camera connector, 11n wireless LAN, and Bluetooth 4.0. Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
In 1993 a Stratus server was booted up by an IT application architect — and it’s still running. An anonymous reader writes: “It never shut down on its own because of a fault it couldn’t handle, ” says Phil Hogan, who’s maintained the server for 24 years. That’s what happens when you include redundant components. “Over the years, disk drives, power supplies and some other components have been replaced but Hogan estimates that close to 80% of the system is original, ” according to Computerworld. There’s no service contract — he maintains the server with third-party vendors rather than going back to the manufacturer, who says they “probably” still have the parts in stock. And while he believes the server’s proprietary operating system hasn’t been updated in 15 years, Hogan says “It’s been extremely stable.” The server will finally be retired in April, and while the manufacturer says there’s some more Stratus servers that have been running for at least 20 years — this one seems to be the oldest. Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
MojoKid writes from a report via HotHardware: If you’ve had any doubts of Intel’s upcoming Kaby Lake processor’s capabilities with respect to overclocking, don’t fret. It’s looking like even the most dedicated overclockers are going to have a blast with this series. Someone recently got a hold of an Intel Core i7-7700K chip and decided to take it for an overclocking spin. Interestingly, the motherboard used is not one of the upcoming series designed for Kaby Lake, but the chip was instead overclocked on a Z170 motherboard from ASRock (Z170M OC Formula). That bodes well for those planning to snag a Kaby Lake CPU and would rather not have to upgrade their motherboard as well. With liquid nitrogen cooling the processor, this particular chip peaked at just over 7GHz, which helped deliver a SuperPi 32M time of 4m 20s, and a wPrime 1024M time of 1m 33s. It’s encouraging to see the chip breaking this clock speed, even with extreme methods, since it’s a potential relative indicator of how much headroom will be available for overclocking with more standard cooling solutions. Read more of this story at Slashdot.