gadgets – Page 9 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

40 years later, Sony finally kills Betamax

Betamax: the punchline for over a decades-worth of VHS-center comedy bits and most format wars . However, Sony’s Beta cassettes can still be bought in Japan. Just about. Sony’s announced that it’s finally, finally, finally stop selling the cassettes. No need to rush to Tokyo just yet, as you still have until next March to buy-up all the Betamax supplies you’ll never need — including a cleaning tape. It’s also dropping its MicroMV camcorder tapes In a bid to… make space in the warehouse, we guess. Image credit: SSPL via Getty Images Source: Sony (Japanese)

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40 years later, Sony finally kills Betamax

VW offers $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers to affected diesel owners

Volkwagen’s attempt to compensate vehicle owners who drive one of the models included in the company’s emissions scandal is now official. The initial reports were indeed correct, as the company will offer $1, 000 in gift cards and other incentives to VW customers. On top of a $500 dealership credit, the 482, 000 diesel owners will also receive a $500 Visa gift card that can be used anywhere and free roadside assistance for three years. Audi customers who drive affected vehicles will be privy to the same “goodwill package, ” too. Owners will have to visit a special website to request the items by entering their car’s VIN number and mileage alongside their name and address. Volkwagen says those customers should receive the package in a month. The company is already offering $2, 000 in trade-in credit, and with today’s announcement, the total compensation for owners of vehicles included in the on-going saga can be worth up to $3, 000. [Image credit: Getty Images] Via: Phys.org Source: USA Today

Facebook reportedly launching a standalone news app next week

According to Financial Times , Facebook will be releasing yet another standalone app. The yet-to-be-released Notify app will feature news from media partners like The Washington Post, CBS and Vogue . Users will receive alerts when one of the outlets publishes an article and it becomes available within the app. Unlike Instant Articles — which embed articles within the main Facebook app — Notify will be a one-trick pony. Both the app and in-app features are meant to reduce the load time of stories and give the social network the opportunity to become the go-to destination for news from multiple sources. If the app does emerge from the company next week, it’ll join a growing number of single-use apps the company has released over the years including, Messenger , Poke, Camera , Rooms , Slingshot , Groups and Pages . [Image credit: Shutterstock] Source: Financial Times

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Facebook reportedly launching a standalone news app next week

Facebook averaged over 1 billion daily users in September

Facebook’s growth shows no sign of stopping. Today is announced that it has over one billion users on average using it everyday . In August it announced it had passed a milestone of having one billion users on the site in a single day. By the next month that was the average. That’s a year-over-year increase of 17 percent. Monthly active users increased by 14 percent to 1.55 billion as of the end of September, an increase of 14-percent from the year before. Meanwhile the company continues to see a majority (78-percent) of its ad revenue come from mobile. In the earnings statement CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated, “we’re focused on innovating and investing for the long term to serve our community and connect the entire world.” Source: Facebook

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Facebook averaged over 1 billion daily users in September

YIFY: The rise and fall of the world’s most prolific movie pirate

It’s never been hard to pirate movies, but for a long time, one collective has made it easier to watch the latest blockbusters than any other: YIFY. By focusing on speed, better quality rips and small file sizes, the group quickly grew to become the number one source for illegal movies, catering for the needs of millions of content pirates around the world. However, the YIFY name may soon fade into obscurity after it was revealed that its leader had been traced and named in a New Zealand lawsuit following a joint operation between the MPAA and its “international affiliates.” While many believe that its releases won’t be missed, YIFY’s shutdown will leave a big hole in the piracy market and have a knock-on effect on streaming services like Popcorn Time — at least until another group steps up.

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YIFY: The rise and fall of the world’s most prolific movie pirate

The Czur Scanner Can Build A Digital Library Five Minutes At A Time

When the Visigoths burned Library Of Alexandria you can bet that old Ptolemy I Soter would have loved to have had a Czur (pronounced “Cesar”) scanner in his palatial marble-clad staterooms. The Czur is basically a book scanner on steroids that allows you to scan a 300-page book – or priceless scroll of ancient knowledge – in about five minutes. The Czur is a sort of… Read More

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The Czur Scanner Can Build A Digital Library Five Minutes At A Time

Hacking Team offers encryption breaking tools to law enforcement

Mere months after having more than 400 GB of confidential information stolen from its servers , spyware vendor Hacking Team has announced that it has resumed operations with a suite of digital tools to help law enforcement agencies get around pesky device encryption technology. In an email pitch sent to existing and potential new customers earlier this month, Hacking Team CEO David Vincenzetti, touted the company’s “brand new and totally unprecedented cyber investigation solutions.” The company has also been reportedly working on a revamped 10th edition of its proprietary Remote Control System, which constitutes the core of its software suite. There is no word, however, as to when RCS 10 will be made available. It also remains to be seen as to which, if any, law enforcement agencies will take Hacking Team up on its offer, given the company’s recent security debacle. [Image Credit: Moment Editorial/Getty Images] Source: Motherboard

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Hacking Team offers encryption breaking tools to law enforcement

Cassini gets cozy with Saturn’s moon, flies 30 miles above its surface

Cassini has just finished the second of three planned Enceladus flybys on October 28th, going as close at 30 miles above the surface of the icy moon’s south polar region. The photo above was taken after the flyby, showing both the moon and Saturn’s rings, but rest assured the probe took a lot of close-up photos. It even grabbed some of the gas and dust that erupted from one of Enceladus’ geysers that typically spew water and other materials up to 125 miles into the sky. NASA will analyze those samples within the next few weeks, which should gives us more details about the composition of the moon’s ocean floor, as well as about any underwater hydrothermal activity. Cassini made the first flyby this early October to take a closer look at Enceladus’ north pole region. It’s scheduled to make its last one on December 19th to measure the heat the moon gives of, after which it’ll move on to other things for the last two years of its life. Source: NASA

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Cassini gets cozy with Saturn’s moon, flies 30 miles above its surface

Facebook changes ‘Real Name’ policy rules after public outcry

Facebook announced Friday that it is modifying the terms of its oft-criticised “real name” policy which demands users go by their “authentic name” when on the social network rather than a pseudonym. The trans and Native American communities have repeatedly protested the policy , citing its use by trolls as a weapon of harassment . Today’s announcement comes in response to an open letter penned by advocacy groups including the EFF and ACLU. Via: Buzzfeed Source: Facebook (scribd)

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Facebook changes ‘Real Name’ policy rules after public outcry

Short story vending machine promises old-school distractions

In the French city of Grenoble, there are unusual vending machines that don’t dispense soda or snacks — they print out short stories that look like paper receipts instead. These machines were built by a publishing company called Short Édition , which placed eight of them in public locations (such as the city hall and libraries) as part of a pilot project. Each dispenser has 1-minute, 3-minute and 5-minute buttons, so readers can choose how long their stories are, all of which were written by members of the Short Édition community. Company co-founder Christophe Sibieude told Agence-France Presse that his team came up with the idea while in front of a chocolate candy machine: “We said to ourselves that we could do the same thing with good quality popular literature to occupy these little unproductive moments.” Best thing about these story dispensers is that they’re free, giving residents something to do if ever they get tired of poking on their phones or want to read the old school way. Via: PSFK Source: Short Edition , Konbini