Tag: throw-new

Pakistan orders cellphone users to provide their fingerprints

Pakistan is determined to prevent terrorists from using untraceable cellphone accounts to coordinate attacks like that in Peshawar , even if it means eroding civil liberties in the process. The country has ordered cellphone users to have their SIM cards verified through fingerprints, theoretically discouraging extremists from relying on local carriers to communicate or trigger bombs. People have until April 13th (carriers have to comply by April 15th) to get their digits on the record if they want to keep their cell service intact. It’s questionable as to whether or not the sacrifices will be worthwhile. Terrorists may simply turn to SIM cards from other countries and roam on Pakistani networks when necessary; in fact, people living near the Afghanistan border are already more likely to have foreign service. Also, the sheer scale of the fingerprint program could leave many upstanding people in the lurch. There are roughly 50 million SIM cards that haven’t been registered so far, many of them in rural areas where participation is difficult. And even if Pakistan makes the deadline, that’s not exactly a resounding victory — it still means that tens of millions of residents are losing some of the freedom that comes with anonymity. [Image credit: AP Photo/B.K. Bangash] Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile Comments Source: Washington Post , BBC

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Pakistan orders cellphone users to provide their fingerprints

DC airport tries using face recognition to catch imposters

If you come to the US through Washington DC’s Dulles airport in the near future, don’t be surprised if Customs and Border Protection takes your snapshot before letting you through. The agency has confirmed to Motherboard that it will be testing a facial recognition system which captures a photo and compares it against your passport picture to see if you’re an imposter. The relatively short (2 to 3 months) trial won’t rely solely on face detection to flag suspicious travelers, but it could give customs agents a way to double-check identities without relying so heavily on keen eyes and intuition. As you might guess, this government-backed face detection is raising a lot of privacy concerns. CBP won’t directly link photos to people and promises to delete the images once the experiment is over, but critics are worried that the timestamps would make it possible to link a person to a given portrait. Also, there’s no guarantee that a full-fledged program would be as respectful of your privacy as officials attest — the TSA misrepresented what its millimeter wave scanners could do, for example. While there’s no certainty this trial will prove successful, let alone lead to an Orwellian future for air travel, it’s easy to understand why you’d feel anxious. [Image credit: Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images] Filed under: Transportation Comments Source: Motherboard

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DC airport tries using face recognition to catch imposters

Movie piracy app Popcorn Time thinks it can thwart a shutdown

About a year after Popcorn Time’s death and resurrection show , comes news that app is taking even more of the legwork out of watching pirated movies online. To further stretch the meaning of “legal, ” the service is moving to a peer-to-peer streaming system so that its userbase (which is apparently growing by 100, 000 downloads per day) hosts the requisite data, according to Wired . “Making all our data available via P2P will mean that Popcorn Time will no longer rely on domains and centralized servers, but only on its user base, ” an anonymous software engineer said. “After everything we went through, this will be our sweetest revenge and our biggest victory.” So there’s that. Wired says the application will use the same P2P protocol for streaming that BitTorrent does , so if the central servers are knocked offline the service itself should remain operational. Another forthcoming addition will issue software updates for the app via P2P downloads that take advantage of “cryptographic signatures” to ensure that no malicious code proliferates the community. The interview is a really interesting, but the engineer seems incredibly cavalier about what the app is doing and how long it can outrun the law. Reading through it reminded me a lot of the attitude the original Pirate Bay crew had before the shutdowns and litigation ensued. We all know how that turned out. Filed under: Home Entertainment , Internet , HD Comments Source: Wired

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Movie piracy app Popcorn Time thinks it can thwart a shutdown

Watch Nissan’s glowing Leaf tear down a glowing stretch of highway

Daan Roosegaarde’s Smart Highway concept saw a third of a mile of asphalt in the Dutch town of Oss festooned with phosphorescent stripes — they spend the day soaking up sunlight and convert it into a slightly eerie blue/green glow to guide drivers for eight hours once night falls. Seeing the road is trippy in and of itself, so (naturally?) watching Nissan’s glow-in-the-dark Leaf tear down it is a whole other story. Friendly reminder: You might want to have the Tron or Starlight Express soundtracks cued up before you press play. If you’re asking yourself why this exists, just stop — there’s really no meaning to this little artistic exercise other than to demonstrate an understanding that glowing thing plus glowing equals cool. You won’t be recreating this with the same sort of gear soon either, since the relatively exotic strontium aluminate paint that makes the Leaf shine in the dark is Nissan’s and it won’t share. You’re better off just buying a Tron bike of your own for the same effect, but for now just enjoy the light show as you wait for the weekend to engulf you. Comments Via: Autoblog

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Watch Nissan’s glowing Leaf tear down a glowing stretch of highway

Streaming music sales in the US beat CDs for the first time

Sorry, Taylor Swift , but streaming music isn’t going anywhere. In fact, revenues from streaming services like Spotify and Rdio overtook CD sales last year — a first for the music industry — according to data from the RIAA . Streaming sales hit $1.87 billion last year, a 29 percent jump from 2013, while CD revenues fell 12.7 percent reaching $1.85 billion. Naturally, digital downloads still rule the music realm — accounting for 37 percent of the total market and $2.57 billion in sales — but it’s also worth noting they dipped a bit last year. At this point, it’s not a matter of if streaming music will overtake digital downloads, it’s simply a matter of when . The big problem for artists, though, is that they don’t make as much from streaming services as they do from downloads or CDs (that’s basically Swift’s entire beef). Don’t be surprised if you end up paying more for your Spotify subscription at some point soon, as those services rush to ramp up their pay outs. Filed under: Internet Comments Via: CNET Source: RIAA

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Streaming music sales in the US beat CDs for the first time

Microsoft clarifies Windows 10 upgrade process for pirated copies

Yesterday, we heard that Microsoft planned to give people with pirated copies of its software a free way to upgrade to Windows 10. According to Reuters , Microsoft’s goal with this plan was to combat piracy in China, though the idea was to expand said offer beyond that country. Well, as it turns out, it won’t be that simple — and, frankly, is anyone really surprised? Microsoft tells The Verge that it will provide “a mechanism” for pirates to upgrade to the latest version of its OS , but they will have to go through the Windows Store in order to get a genuine (read: officially supported) upgrade. In other words, those with a non-genuine copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8 will have a way to get Windows 10, but there’s no confirmation that it will be at no cost. “We will provide a mechanism for non-genuine Windows 10 PC devices to ‘get genuine’ via the new Windows Store, whether they are upgraded versions of Windows or purchased.” Although Microsoft isn’t making the situation any easier to understand, a company spokesperson did tell The Verge that the upgrade practice described above “will be consistent globally.” Exactly what the process will be like is yet to be determined, but we’re sure the Redmond-based company is going to have more details to share on that front as we get closer to the launch of Windows 10 . Filed under: Desktops , Laptops , Software , Microsoft Comments Source: The Verge

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Microsoft clarifies Windows 10 upgrade process for pirated copies

OneDrive link to Xbox Music puts your MP3s in the cloud for free

A few months ago info leaked out that OneDrive was getting ready for music storage, and now it’s here . Xbox Music and OneDrive are connected, so any music files (MP3, M4A, or WMA) you drop in your “Music” folder on Microsoft’s cloud storage are immediately playable via the web or Xbox Music apps on Windows 8, Windows Phone 8.1, Xbox 360 and Xbox One — for free. The initial leak suggested there would be 20GB of storage, but Xbox Music’s paying Music Pass subscribers will get an additional 100GB of space. Filed under: Gaming , HD , Microsoft Comments Source: Xbox Music Blog , OneDrive

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OneDrive link to Xbox Music puts your MP3s in the cloud for free

Researchers can now 3D-print nose cartilage in 16 minutes

Doctors have been employing 3D-printed tissue for years now. But even though the hype around 3D bioprinting has raised expectations that it will save lives and shorten donor wait lists, fully functional printed organs are not feasible yet. While we won’t be seeing blood pumping printed hearts any time soon, getting a new nose could become easier. Professor Marcy Zenobi-Wong’s team of researchers, led by Matti Kesti, at ETH Zurich’s Cartilage Engineering and Regeneration laboratory, has found a way to bioprint a joint or nose cartilage that is designed to grow with the body over time. Current cartilage transplant procedures rely on two-dimensional cell generation that doesn’t evolve as the patient’s joint regains function in the future. 3D bioprinted cartilages, on the other hand, are expected to reproduce and become a part of the body’s mechanism. In the case of reconstructive surgery on a smashed nose, a digital 3D model is created while a biopsy removes cartilage cells from the patient’s body — knee, ear or even pieces of the busted nose. The cells are then spawned with suitable biopolymers, either extracted from seaweed or generated by the human body, to create a hydrogel consistent with the suspension of the printer. The biopolymers act as a shaping mold for the cells until the cartilage cells in the body break them down. Over time, according to the research team, it would become virtually impossible to differentiate between the transplant and the original cartilage in the body. “We hope that in the future our technology could be used to overcome the need for cartilage donor tissue, ” Kesti told us. “The bioprinted cartilage piece could be printed based on the patient defect and need so that the personalized shape and size is regained.” Even though this technology has the potential to personalize medicine and create body-replicating magic, bioprinting and research is an expensive and exhaustive process that prevents cellular 3D printer cartridges from being widely available in hospitals just yet. “The potential of 3D bioprinting in future is that it is the ultimate technology to regenerate patient specific shape of tissue or even organs, ” says Kesti. “There is no better way to make the shape than 3D printing so it is worth investigating the technology.” His lab, equipped with a majestic bioprinter that can create a cartilage in roughly 16 minutes, is now ready for pre-clinical trials. If the cellular concoction becomes a viable option for human trials, it could make bioprinted cartilage implants far more successful than their silicone counterparts. [Image credit: Cartilage Engineering & Regeneration Group , ETH Zurich] Comments Source: ETH Zurich

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Researchers can now 3D-print nose cartilage in 16 minutes

Uber cars now outnumber yellow cabs in New York City

You may see yellow taxis as virtually synonymous with New York City transportation, but you might have to reconsider that image before too long. New Taxi and Limousine Commission data shows that Uber cars now outnumber cabs on NYC streets, with 14, 088 black and luxury vehicles versus 13, 587 taxis. It’s not hard to see why the ridesharing service has grown so quickly since its arrival in 2011, mind you. Uber drivers can earn much more in the right circumstances, and they don’t have to worry about fixed schedules, complicated licensing or cheapskates who don’t pay. This milestone probably won’t thrill city officials, who are worried that Uber is both depriving them of tax revenue (since drivers don’t need medallion licenses) and playing fast and loose with regulations. However, it’s doubtful that there’s any going back now — Uber is huge enough in New York that commuters would notice if it went away. [Image credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images] Filed under: Transportation , Internet Comments Source: New York Post

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Uber cars now outnumber yellow cabs in New York City

The Pirate Bay’s new network is making ISP blocks useless

Despite global efforts to put the kibosh on infamous torrent site The Pirate Bay (TPB), the lair of internet swashbucklers is proving almost impossible to sack. Swedish police succeeded in taking the site down late last year, only for it to reappear the following month. And stronger than ever it seems, thanks to a new distribution partner that inadvertently circumvents most ISP-level blocks. When TPB rose from the ashes, it drafted in middleman CloudFlare to help deal with the colossal amount of traffic coming to the site. CloudFlare’s service manages the dialogue between users and website hosting servers, reducing bandwidth burden and protecting against DDoS attacks and other threats. A convenient side effect of the service, however, is that its routing magic effectively hides information from ISPs, making it much more difficult for them to block access to TPB’s main portal (thepiratebay.se). This has meant that where ISP-level blocks have existed previously, many of them no longer work, making TPB even easier to find than, well, it already is. With CloudFlare, websites can afford extra security to users with Full SSL (Strict) encryption. Long story short, this strips certain identifiers from the traffic data ISPs use to block websites like TPB; since the information is routed through CloudFlare, website IP addresses are also hidden behind the delivery network. In the UK, where all major ISPs were strong-armed into blocking TPB in 2012, this has all but turned back time, with thepiratebay.se now accessible for Virgin, EE, BT and TalkTalk customers. Sky is the only popular provider still managing to block the site; you aren’t notified, as such, but the page won’t load anyhow. The UK isn’t the only country that blocks TPB at an ISP level, of course, so it’s likely the loophole exists in the European, Asian and Middle Eastern countries that employ the same piracy-squashing tactics. Realistically, this doesn’t change the status quo much, but highlights the futility of the ongoing campaign against TPB and internet piracy as a whole. Proxy sites already render ISP-level blocks ineffective, and though they themselves are now being targeted , they are restricted and reborn in equal measure. Not that they’re currently needed when the main page itself is open for business, of course. The loophole may not remain open indefinitely, however, since CloudFlare is only said to be a temporary partner. Some users are troubled by the thought of their data passing through US-based CloudFlare’s networks, and in response, TPB has said the company’s assistance is only being used to handle traffic volumes for the time being. Then there’s the potential for legal action against CloudFlare, or additional accountability being placed on ISPs in places like the UK, forcing them to improve their blocking tactics. We’ll have to see how it plays out, but there’s little doubt TPB’s enemies are currently scrambling to figure out their next move. [Image credit: Getty Images/Flickr RF] Filed under: Internet Comments Via: ITPro , TorrentFreak

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The Pirate Bay’s new network is making ISP blocks useless