entertainment – Page 204 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Uber surpasses a billion rides

Despite the taxi industry’s protests against its presence and all the legal issues it’s had to face, Uber continues to thrive. In fact, it says it’s given its billionth — yes, that’s billion with a “b” — ride in London on Christmas Eve. Since the company launched in June 2010, that’s an average of over 15 million trips a month. The bigger portion of that billion probably took place more recently though, while the service was spreading to more locations around the globe. Add the knowledge of that expansion to this new info on how many rides Uber drives, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it hits its second billion much faster than five years. In addition to taking its billionth trip, the company has a valuation of almost $65 billion, thanks to its ever-growing list of investors. No wonder it’s given the lucky passengers a year’s worth of free rides ( £10, 000 worth ) and a trip to a city of their choice where the ride-sharing service is operational — the company can certainly afford it. [Image credit: Justin Chin/Bloomberg via Getty Images] Source: Uber

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Uber surpasses a billion rides

Hackers get Linux running on a PlayStation 4

In the two years since the PlayStation 4 first went on sale, hackers have enjoyed limited success in their efforts to open up the console. In June, a Brazilian team claimed the first PS4 “jailbreak, ” which involved the cumbersome process of copying the entire hard drive of a hacked machine using a Raspberry Pi, but it took until this month for a tinkerer to fully circumvent Sony’s content protections . With a proper exploit in the wild, homebrew group fail0verflow took on the challenge of installing a full version of Linux on the system. It achieved its goal this week, giving the homebrew community hope that the PlayStation 4 will soon become a worthy tool in their arsenal. Although exact details of the exploit have yet to be disclosed, it appears that the fail0verflow team took a WebKit bug recently documented by GitHub user CTurt and then turned things up a notch. CTurt’s workaround focuses on the PlayStation 4’s Webkit browser, which is tricked into freeing processes from the core of the console’s operating system by an improvised webpage. The PS4 is powered by Sony’s Orbis OS, which is based on a Unix-like software called FreeBSD and is therefore susceptible to common exploits. With a route into the console’s system, fail0verflow then identified weaknesses in the PlayStation 4’s GPU. Engineers from semiconductor company Marvell were called out specifically and accused of “smoking some real good stuff” when they built the PlayStation 4’s southbridge chip. Before you start dreaming up your next DIY computing project, you should know that this proof-of-concept relies on PS4 firmware 1.76. Sony recently issued firmware 3.11 to consoles. While the bug has now been patched, it’s believed the jailbreak could be altered to achieve the same outcome on more recent firmwares. Incidentally, the WebKit bug identified here is the exact same one that affected Apple’s Safari browser, which put iOS 6.0 and OS X 10.7 and 10.8 at risk in 2013. It shows just how common WebKit-based software now is. While PS4 owners won’t be able to install pirated games anytime soon, fail0verflow’s achievement shouldn’t be dismissed. Sony went to a lot of trouble to ensure that unsigned code could not be run on the console. The company requires that the machine runs on the very latest software, meaning hacker groups still have a long way to go before the PlayStation 4 is made truly open to hobbyists — just like the PlayStation 3 officially was when it first hit shelves almost a decade ago. Via: VentureBeat

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Hackers get Linux running on a PlayStation 4

House looks into claims the NSA spied on Congress

You’re not the only one concerned that the National Security Agency might be spying on Congress … Congress is, too. The House Intelligence Committee says it’s investigating claims that the NSA monitored communications between members of Congress and Israeli leadership as they discussed the Iran nuclear agreement. The Committee not only wants a point-by-point verification of the Wall Street Journal ‘s original report, but to find out whether or not the NSA was following the rules. There’s potential for trouble. While the White House reportedly didn’t order the eavesdropping, it also didn’t stop the activity when it found out. Moreover, this came after officials claimed that the US no longer snoops on NATO members’ heads of state — apparently, that courtesy doesn’t extend to allies outside of the region. Even if any surveillance was completely above-board, it’ll still raise questions about where and when the NSA is allowed to operate. [Image credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite] Source: The Hill

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House looks into claims the NSA spied on Congress

AT&T to ditch most two-year phone contracts on January 8th

AT&T’s long affair with the two-year contract continues to wind down, Engadget has learned. According to an internal document sent to employees this morning, new and existing customers will only be able to get new phones by paying the full price upfront or in installments over time . The move is set to take effect on January 8th, so you’d better act fast if you (for some reason) really want to lock yourself down for a few more years. Just to be perfectly clear, this move applies to all of AT&T’s phones. Once the new year rolls around, even flip phones and non-smartphones with keyboards (what AT&T likes to call “Quick Messaging Devices”) must be bought outright or with an installment plan. What’s less clear is the status of wearables like the Samsung Gear S2 and tablets, which are currently sold (and promoted heavily ) with two-year contracts. It’s also possible (if not likely) that AT&T will keep multi-year contracts around for large corporate accounts, and we’re looking into both situations. AT&T’s vague, highly vetted statement says the change is being made for the sake of “aligning… service offerings with customer and industry trends”. Well, we can’t argue with that. While smaller, scrappier carriers like T-Mobile have already bailed on the multi-year contract model, AT&T has been slower to act. This June, the company stopped offering contracts for smartphones to customers through local dealers and partner retailers like Best Buy and Apple. The option to ink a contract remained for people who bought basic phones or went straight to an AT&T store and asked specifically for a contract extension. The message? Payment plans like AT&T Next were the future. That sentiment was echoed when Verizon stopped pushing two-year contracts a few months later . The thing is, people who had those contracts could keep them and still get subsidized phones if they wanted — an option that won’t be available to AT&T customers. Still have questions? Feel free to refer to the FAQ our tipster friend also provided:

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AT&T to ditch most two-year phone contracts on January 8th

List of Major Linux Desktop Problems Updated For 2016

An anonymous reader writes: Phoronix reports that Artem S. Tashkinov’s Major Linux Problems on the Desktop has been updated for 2016. It is a comprehensive list of various papercut issues and other inconveniences of Linux on the PC desktop. Among the issues cited for Linux not being ready for the desktop include graphics driver issues, audio problems, hardware compatibility problems, X11 troubles, a few issues with Wayland, and font problems. At the project management side, there is also cited a lack of cooperation among open source developers and fragmentation of desktops. Let’s discuss. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google will strip Oracle’s Java code out of Android

Google has confirmed that it will no longer use Java application programming interfaces (APIs) from Oracle in future versions of Android, according to VentureBeat . Instead, it will switch to OpenJDK, an open-source version of Oracle’s own Java Development Kit. While you might ask, “Who actually cares?”, Google says the change will simplify app development by creating a common codebase for Java. It’s hard to imagine that such a huge change (8, 902 files are supposedly affected) isn’t related to Google’s ongoing legal dispute with Oracle, though. That dispute, depending on how it’s resolved, could adversely affect Android development and app coding in general. The epic dispute started when Oracle sued Google for copyright back in 2010, claiming that Google improperly used its Java APIs. Google argued that the APIs in question were essential for to software innovation, and therefore couldn’t be copyrighted. In 2012, a jury found that Google didn’t infringe Oracle’s copyright, but a Federal court mostly reversed the decision in 2014. The US Supreme court didn’t want to touch the case and sent it back to a lower court, where it currently sits. Users on Y Combinator’s Hacker News who first spotted the code have theorized that it may mean that Google and Oracle have settled the lawsuit out of court. However, Google told VentureBeat that the legal dispute is still ongoing, so it couldn’t comment on whether the code change is related. As for how this affects you or me, the new code should make it a touch simpler for Android N developers, possibly resulting in better apps and quicker updates. However, the court’s upcoming decision could have much wider ramifications. If they decide that API’s from the likes of Java can be copyrighted, it could turn the patent wars into even more of a cluster-you-know-what. Source: VentureBeat

Using the new Apple TV to emulate classic game consoles

Enlarge / The Apple TV and the Horipad Ultimate MFI controller. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) For those of us fortunate enough to have the privilege, late December and early January bring two things: new toys and a bit of vacation time. That makes it a great time to tinker with little tech projects, things that are inessential and maybe a bit time-consuming but fun enough and useful enough to be worth doing. One of my projects was to experiment with classic console emulators on the new Apple TV . There aren’t many of them yet, and installation takes a little work (Apple doesn’t allow emulators in the App Store), but new capabilities introduced in iOS 9 and the iOS-based tvOS make it possible to install them. Emulation and the Apple TV Right now there are two notable emulation projects targeting tvOS. One is a distant relative of the MAME arcade emulator , though it doesn’t seem as though it’s being maintained. Another, Provenance , is the one we’ll be spending the most time with. It’s a multi-system emulator that supports most major 8- and 16-bit consoles, including the NES, SNES, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance. Read 17 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Using the new Apple TV to emulate classic game consoles

Botched database leaks records for 191 million voters

Did you vote in a US election sometime this century? If so, your personal info may be out in the open. Researcher Chris Vickery has discovered that a badly configured database exposed the voter registration info for 191 million Americans, including addresses, party affiliations and state voter IDs. It’s not clear who originally managed the data, but Vickery and Databreaches.net are reaching out to everyone from online services to Congressional political action committees. The two are also contacting law enforcement in hopes of shutting down the leak, although it’s not certain that officials are taking action. The consequences of this database falling into the wrong hands could be severe, as you might have guessed. Less-than-scrupulous marketers and political campaigns could exploit the data, and criminals could combine it with other info to commit fraud or theft. It’s a particularly big problem for people who need to keep their details secret, such as stalking victims and police. Beyond this, the leak illustrates the need for stricter, consistent security standards around voter data — while states like California and South Dakota have sharp limits on where records go and what they’re used for, other states (including Alaska, Arkansas and Colorado) have no real restrictions. There’s a real possibility that this kind of incident could happen again. [Image credit: Getty Images] Via: CSO , Forbes Source: Databreaches.net

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Botched database leaks records for 191 million voters

HAMR Hard Disk Drives Postponed To 2018

An anonymous reader writes: Unfortunately the hard disk drive industry is not ready to go live with Heat-assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR). The technology is yet not reliable enough for mass production. Over the years, producers of hard drives, platters and recording heads have revealed various possible timeframes for commercial availability of drives with HAMR technology. Their predictions were not accurate. The current goalpost is set to year 2018. While solid state disks based on Flash memory keep seeing rapid improvements as well, HDDs still kick butt in scenarios where high areal density is more important than ripping transfer speeds. The areal density of HAMR products is predicted to exceed 1.5 Tb per square inch. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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HAMR Hard Disk Drives Postponed To 2018

North Korea’s Operating System Analyzed

Bruce66423 points out an analysis at The Guardian of North Korea’s Red Star Linux-based OS, based on a presentation Sunday to the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin : The features of their Fedora based OS include a watermarking system to enable tracking of files — even if unopened. The operating system is not just the pale copy of western ones that many have assumed, said Florian Grunow and Niklaus Schiess of the German IT security company ERNW, who downloaded the software from a website outside North Korea and explored the code in detail. … This latest version, written around 2013, is based on a version of Linux called Fedora and has eschewed the previous version’s Windows XP feel for Apple’s OS X – perhaps a nod to the country’s leader Kim Jong-un who, like his father, has been photographed near Macs. The OS, unsurprisingly, allowed only tightly fettered access to web sites, using a whitelist approach that gives access to government-controlled or approved sites. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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North Korea’s Operating System Analyzed