Tag: facebook

Comcast Launches Streaming Service and Unveils Pricing For 2G Fiber

An anonymous reader writes: Comcast has announced the release of its Gigabit Pro service which offers speeds up to 2 gigabits per second. The service is $300 a month (agree to a two year contract and get the early promotional price of $159 per month) with a $500 installation and activation fee. The new service is only available in the Jacksonville, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Florida area. This announcement comes on the heels of the $15-per-month “Comcast Stream” launch. The live TV and streaming video service does not require a cable TV subscription, but live TV channels can only be watched on customer’s home internet connections. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

More:
Comcast Launches Streaming Service and Unveils Pricing For 2G Fiber

Boeing Patents an Engine Run By Laser-Generated Fusion Explosions

MarkWhittington writes: Boeing has had a patent approved for an aircraft engine that uses laser-generated nuclear fusion as a power source, according to a story in Business Insider. The idea is already generating a great deal of controversy, according to the website Counter Punch. The patent has generated fears of what might happen if an aircraft containing radioactive material as fuel were to crash, spreading such fuel across the crash site. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Excerpt from:
Boeing Patents an Engine Run By Laser-Generated Fusion Explosions

SpaceX Rocket Failure Cost NASA $110 Million

An anonymous reader writes: On June 28th, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded just over two minutes into its attempt to reach the International Space Station. It was a contracted mission from NASA to resupply the astronauts living there. Today, NASA associate administrator William Gerstenmaier said the price tag to taxpayers for that failed launch is $110 million. SpaceX is leading the investigation into the cause of the failure, and NASA officials faced tough questions about whether private companies should be allowed to direct investigations into their own failed launches. A similar inquiry is underway at Orbital ATK. NASA inspector general Paul Martin said his office is looking into the matter. Gerstenmaier added that NASA is thinking about making these companies take out insurance policies that would cover the cost to taxpayers in the event of another failure. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Follow this link:
SpaceX Rocket Failure Cost NASA $110 Million

Adblock Plus Reduces University’s Network Traffic By 25 Percent

Mickeycaskill writes: Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada claims it cut 25% of its network traffic (40% of video traffic) by deploying Adblock Plus across its internal network. The study tested the ability of the Adblock Plus browser extension (PDF) in reducing IP traffic when installed in a large enterprise network environment, and found that huge amounts of data transfer were saved by blocking web-based advertisements and video trailers. The experiment was carried out over a period of six weeks. Disclaimer: the study was funded by Adblock Plus. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Continue Reading:
Adblock Plus Reduces University’s Network Traffic By 25 Percent

Spotify tells iOS users how to avoid iTunes charges and pay less

Spotify isn’t happy that its iOS customers have to pay an additional $3 for a premium subscription if they make the purchase through the App Store. That’s why it’s planning to send them instructions on how to apply for a subscription straight from the company’s website. The Verge got its hands on a copy of the letter, wherein Spotify made clear that “the normal Premium price is only $9.99, but Apple charges 30 percent on all payments made through iTunes.” That ups the total to $12.99, which is only $2 away from Apple Music’s six-person family plan. That email, if you haven’t gotten it yet, contains links that make it easy to cancel Spotify’s auto-renew on iTunes and redirect you to the service’s website. You’ll have to wait until your current month ends before you can subscribe again, but after you do, you won’t have to pay $12.99 again. As Bloomberg notes, Apple doesn’t allow links within apps that allow people to make purchases from external websites. That’s likely what prompted the streaming service to decide on sending an email blast instead of adding a PSA inside the app. The publication also points out that Apple only adds $$$ on top of goods or services if it doesn’t have a competing product. For instance, you apparently don’t have to pay extra if you buy a plane ticket through United Airlines’ iPhone app . Since Cupertino’s new Music streaming service has a lot of competitors in addition to Spotify, it’s facing antitrust investigations in a couple of states. [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images] Filed under: Misc , Mobile , Apple Comments Via: Bloomberg Source: The Verge

Link:
Spotify tells iOS users how to avoid iTunes charges and pay less

iPhone encryption has locked out Manhattan cops just 74 times

You’ll frequently hear law enforcement complain that it can’t break the full-drive encryption in newer smartphone operating systems, but how often does the police run into that problem, really? Thanks to a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, you now have a better idea. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has revealed that, out of the 92 cases where an iPhone with iOS 8 has been involved so far, the cops have been locked out 74 times. District Attorney Cyrus Vance portrays this as proof that officers need backdoors or other forms of guaranteed access, noting that there’s at least one case (in Illinois) where evidence from a victim’s iPhone led to a conviction. Police shouldn’t simply be told that there’s “nothing [they] can do, ” he says. Context is everything, however, and this isn’t quite as dire a situation as Vance made it out to be. The Manhattan DA typically handles 100, 000 cases a year — 0.0007 percent is a drop in the bucket. Moreover, there’s no records showing whether or not the encryption actually stopped the investigation cold. It’s possible that the security merely forced officers to rely on other forms of evidence. While there’s still a concern that clever criminals will take advantage of encryption, there’s also no data showing that there would be enough arrests to justify the reduced privacy. [Image credit: Shutterstock] Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile , Apple Comments Source: Wired

Link:
iPhone encryption has locked out Manhattan cops just 74 times

Scientists Turn To Seahorses For Nearly Unbreakable Limbs

 Researchers at Clemson University have created a new sort of robotic design based on the long, curled tail of the seahorse. The seahorse is unique because it consists of “square prisms surrounded by bony plates that are connected by joints.” Other animal tails are cylindrical and therefore easily crushed. The researchers write: Researchers found that the square prototype was… Read More

Follow this link:
Scientists Turn To Seahorses For Nearly Unbreakable Limbs

8 Yelp Reviewers Hit With $1.2 Million Defamation Suits

New submitter goodboi writes: A Silicon Valley building contractor is suing 8 of its critics over the reviews they posted on Yelp. The negative reviews were filtered out by Yelp’s secretive ranking system, but in court documents filed earlier this month, Link Corporation claims that the bad publicity cost over $165, 000 in lost business. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Continued here:
8 Yelp Reviewers Hit With $1.2 Million Defamation Suits

iPhone 6S New Feature: Force Touch

New submitter WarJolt writes: Apple is adding Force Touch to their iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. I’m not sure if Force Touch enough to convince an Android user like myself to switch, but there are definitely some interesting possibilities for app developers. A challenge for App developers will be to make apps compatible with both Force Touch iPhones and non-force touch iPhones. (Here’s the Bloomberg report Forbes draws from.) Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Continued here:
iPhone 6S New Feature: Force Touch