AfterDawn: Tech news

Latest news

AfterDawn: News

WikiLeaks makes it easier to search through all of the documents stolen in Sony Pictures cyber attack

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Apr 2015 9:54

WikiLeaks makes it easier to search through all of the documents stolen in Sony Pictures cyber attack WikiLeaks has released "The Sony Archives" today, a fully searchable database that contains 173,132 emails and 30,287 other documents that were stolen and released following the cyber attack on Sony Pictures last year.

The site appears to have added the exchanges due to the fact that there are thousands of emails between Sony and politicians with "almost 100 US government email addresses" found in the database. Some of the emails show that Sony employees attended campaign dinners to help get current NY governor Andrew Cuomo elected.

"This archive shows the inner workings of an influential multinational corporation,"
WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange said in the press release. "It is newsworthy and at the centre of a geo-political conflict. It belongs in the public domain. WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there."

The leaked emails were a huge embarrassment for the company, as many of its high level executives were found to be speaking crassly of actors and celebrities that Sony often worked with.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Microsoft and Yahoo amend their long-standing search agreement

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Apr 2015 6:53

Microsoft and Yahoo amend their long-standing search agreement Microsoft and Yahoo have announced today the amendment of their search agreement first signed in 2009 in a deal that will "improve the search experience, create value for advertisers and establish ongoing stability for partners."

"Our global partnership with Yahoo has benefited our shared customers over the past five years and I look forward to building on what we've already accomplished together," noted Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft Corp. "Our partnership with Yahoo is one example of the diverse partnerships we'll continue to cultivate in order to have the greatest impact for our customers."

"Over the past few months, Satya and I have worked closely together to establish a revised search agreement that allows us to enhance our user experience and innovate more in our search business," added Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. "This renewed agreement opens up significant opportunities in our partnership that I'm very excited to explore."

According to the press release, the new deal will give Yahoo more flexibility on mobile devices, but will continue to serve Bing ads and search results for most desktop searches.

Read more about the amended deal here.




AfterDawn: News

New Halo games now available for iOS, Windows, Windows Phone

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Apr 2015 6:24

New Halo games now available for iOS, Windows, Windows Phone As of writing, Microsoft's 'Halo' series spinoffs are now available for purchase on iPhone, iPad, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

The new 'Halo: Spartan Strike' sells for each respective platform for $5.99.

Microsoft says the new "Halo: Spartan Strike tells a compelling new story in the Halo universe set during the events of Halo 2 on New Mombasa in 2552. As a Spartan supersoldier in a classified ONI simulation, delve into 30 challenging missions while leading UNSC troops through cities and jungles with an all new arsenal of weapons, abilities and vehicles."

The game is also available as a bundle with the existing "Halo: Spartan Assault" game for $9.99.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Bing is headed to Cyanogen operating system following strategic partnership with Microsoft

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Apr 2015 12:08

Bing is headed to Cyanogen operating system following strategic partnership with Microsoft After months of rumors, it's finally happening: Mobile operating system maker Cyanogen has announced a strategic partnership with rival operating system maker Microsoft.

"People around the world use Cyanogen's operating system and popular Microsoft services to engage with what matters most to them on their mobile devices," said Kirt McMaster, CEO of Cyanogen Inc. "This exciting partnership with Microsoft will enable us to bring new kinds of integrated services to mobile users in markets around the world."

Cyanogen says that under the deal "Cyanogen will integrate and distribute Microsoft's consumer apps and services across core categories, including productivity, messaging, utilities, and cloud-based services." Each of the apps and services will be natively integrated.

Among the services listed are Bing, Bing Maps, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, and Microsoft Office.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Apple's 2015 WWDC scheduled for June 8-12th

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Apr 2015 11:37

Apple's 2015 WWDC scheduled for June 8-12th Apple has announced that their annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be held from June 8-12 this year at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Anyone developer looking to get tickets can register until April 17th, and there will be a random drawing to give out the limited tickets. Winners will be notified by April 20th.

Keep in mind, to be eligible for an invite you have to be enrolled in the iOS Developer Program, the iOS Enterprise Developer Program or the Mac Developer Program and if you are offered an invite you have to pay $1,599 to attend.

Apple is expected to preview updates to iOS and OS X, show off their updated Beats Music streaming service and potentially unveil a sequel to the aging Apple TV set-top box.




AfterDawn: News

WhatsApp for Android updated with Material Design

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Apr 2015 12:12

WhatsApp for Android updated with Material Design WhatsApp has updated their Android app with Material Design, putting the app's language and code in line with Lollipop counterparts.

As with most updates from the company, WhatsApp is rolling out the update globally but in waves so you may not have it yet.

The new app will have a dark green Material Design color, visual improvements and tweaks, faster animations and a new profiles feature.

If you don't have the update through the Play Store, you can get it directly from WhatsApp here.




AfterDawn: News

BitTorrent removes Bitcoin miner from its latest uTorrent update

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Apr 2015 11:34

BitTorrent removes Bitcoin miner from its latest uTorrent update Torrent client provider BitTorrent was hit by user uproar earlier this year when it was found that their most recent uTorrent versions included a bundled software that mined for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Starting with version 3.4.1, uTorrent came bundled with Epic Scale, a mining software that used your PC's idle CPU time to "solve complex problems" and mine for currencies.

Many complained that their PC's performance was significantly decreased after installing 3.4.1, and others complained that the software was extremely hard to remove. Yet more users complained that they never gave permission to install Epic Scale.

Version 3.4.2 removes Epic Scale but otherwise is identical to 3.4.1, which should make plenty of users happy.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Xiaomi says over 15 million counterfeit Mi Power Banks were sold last year

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Apr 2015 11:03

Xiaomi says over 15 million counterfeit Mi Power Banks were sold last year Chinese startup giant Xiaomi says counterfeiters and taking a major chunk out of their revenue, especially for one specific accessory: The Mi Power Bank battery pack.

CEO Lei Jun says the battery pack hit 14.6 million units sold last year but that an additional 15 million counterfeit devices were sold as well, taking nearly $115 million of potential revenue for the company.

"What is the biggest problem? There are many fakes," Lei said. "If there were no counterfeits, our sales would be double or triple. The product has been recognized by everyone."

Xiaomi shipped 61.1 million smartphones last year, quickly becoming the third biggest smartphone maker in the world behind Samsung and Apple and that figure is expected to jump over 30 percent this year.

The Mi Power Bank, which comes in multiple varieties depending on how much "juice" you need, retails from $8 to $21.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

More design details leak for upcoming LG G4 flagship

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Apr 2015 9:21

More design details leak for upcoming LG G4 flagship Last week, LG revealed that its G4 flagship is ready for unveiling on April 28th and today we have some more design details thanks to a major leak.

The leak comes via LG themselves, who temporarily launched an "LG micro site" before removing it.

On the front of the device, there's a single LG logo and a single speaker grille, while the back houses the camera, volume rocker and power button. The device has been updated to a 5.5-inch QHD display, and the camera has been redesigned to a 13MP F/1.8 lens.

The back continues to have a removable battery, and LG showed off leather casing in addition to the standard plastic. Because its removable you can switch out different leather cases with plastic and vice versa.

LG's latest will likely launch with Android 5.0 if not 5.1, and will include wireless charging capability, NFC, and even HDMI-out via the SlimPort-enabled USB port.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Amazon rolls out Prime Stations Internet radio service to all mobile users with Prime memberships

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Apr 2015 7:58

Amazon rolls out Prime Stations Internet radio service to all mobile users with Prime memberships A few lucky Amazon Prime users have been using the Prime Stations service for some time but now all mobile users with a membership have the ability (that means you, Android).

If you have a Prime membership ($99 per year) for Amazon, and have downloaded the Amazon Music App for your respective device (iOS, Android, Kindle Fire) you now have access to Prime Stations, "an ad-free, internet radio service you can enjoy at no additional cost to your Prime membership."

Amazon continues: "With Prime Stations, you can find a genre or artist you like and hit play to hear a continuous stream of music that you can pause, replay, or skip as many times as you'd like. As you listen and give songs a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, each station will adapt to your music tastes."

Basically, the service is similar to Pandora One, where you can listen to millions of tracks based on a track or artist or song you like in playlists.




AfterDawn: News

Data confirms: Black Sport the most popular Apple Watch

Written by Matti Robinson @ 13 Apr 2015 9:25

Data confirms: Black Sport the most popular Apple Watch A reserach company specializing in digital commerce, Slice Intelligence, has revealed their first date for Apple Watch purchases. The data is an estimate based on around nine thousands online customers and suggests that the Sport version of Apple Watch was the most popular as expected.

According to the data 957 000 Americans ordered an average of 1.3 Apple Watch products. 62 percent of the over one million Apple Watches were the cheaper Sport version. The average cost of the Apple Watch Sport was $382.83 and the stainless steel Apple Watch $707.04. The all around average spending was $503.83.

As much as 71 percept opted for the larger 42 mm version and the smaller 38mm case was more popular amongst the Sport byuers. The Black Sports Band was the most popular choice amongst both Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sports buyers. Just over a half of the Apple Watches were bought with the Black Sports Band.

Slice also reported that approximately 48 000 of the recently announced new Macbooks were sold. A whopping 42 percent of whom also pre-ordered an Apple Watch.




AfterDawn: News

Apple wants Taylor Swift, others to exclusively stream their music on Beats

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Apr 2015 11:23

Apple wants Taylor Swift, others to exclusively stream their music on Beats Apple has unleashed their hefty checkbook in an effort to bring exclusive music to their new Beats Music streaming service.

Among the hit makers approached by Apple are Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Florence and the Machine, each of which have reportedly been offered millions to partner with the service.

Jay-Z's new rival high quality FLAC streaming service Tidal has been making similar bids, with reports circulating that it is offering up to 3 percent of the company and $3 million in exchange for exclusivity.

Gaining Taylor Swift could be a game changer as the artist recently, and very publicly, shunned Spotify and streaming services in general claiming they did not respect musician's value.

For Apple, a company that has $180 billion in cash, paying to gain marketing for a service that is dying to differentiate itself seems like a small price to pay.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Square Enix launches cloud-based streaming 'Final Fantasy XIII' for iOS, Android

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Apr 2015 9:48

Square Enix launches cloud-based streaming 'Final Fantasy XIII' for iOS, Android Publisher Square Enix has made an interesting announcement this weekend; launching a cloud-based 'Final Fantasy XIII' for iOS and Android, as long as you live in Japan.

You must have a connection better than 3MB/s to play the game, which is a tiny 20MB download and then streamed from G-Cluster servers.

Since the game was built for console, the screen has touch targets that will match the PS3/Xbox 360 controller scheme the game was intended for.

The game costs 2000 yen, about $15 USD.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Just in time for tonight's premiere, pirates leak the first four episodes of the upcoming season of 'Game of Thrones'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Apr 2015 8:53

Just in time for tonight's premiere, pirates leak the first four episodes of the upcoming season of 'Game of Thrones' Last night, HBO got hit pretty hard by leakers as the first four episodes of the upcoming 'Game of Thrones' season hit the Internet in full (non-1080p) glory.

Season 5 of the blockbuster series is set to premier tonight on HBO at 9PM but now 40 percent of the season has been leaked.

HBO should be particularly upset by the leak as the show's launch coincided with the launch of their standalone streaming service - HBO Now - which is available without a cable subscription.

If you are a GoT fan, it's best to stay away from social media for a while until the spoilers die down. The first episode is said to have already been downloaded over 500,000 times.




AfterDawn: News

First four episodes of Game of Thrones' new season leaked

Written by Matti Robinson @ 12 Apr 2015 8:24

First four episodes of Game of Thrones' new season leaked HBO's smash hit Game of Thrones returns today with season five but quite a few have already acquired the first four episodes. The first four episodes of the new season are already out on BitTorrent sites – and therefore for millions to grab.

According to TorrentFreak the episodes were downloaded over 100 000 times in the first three hours and they quickly spread to all popular BitTorrent sites. The video and the sources suggest that it was leaked from review copies sent to the press.

If there's a silver lining to this it might be that the videos are relatively low quality and the first episode will officially air in approximately 12 hours in all the 170 countries it is shown.





  Newer entries Older entries  

News archive