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Watch Now: The first trailer for 'Sense8,' the sci-fi Netflix exclusive from the Wachowskis

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 07 May 2015 12:46

Watch Now: The first trailer for 'Sense8,' the sci-fi Netflix exclusive from the Wachowskis The Wachowski siblings, best known for creating 'The Matrix' and more recently 'Jupiter Ascending,' are back with a new sci-fi series exclusively on Netflix: Sense8.

The show follows the story of eight people around the world that can now tap into the minds of each other, including the ability to use their skills and physical abilities. As Netflix says: "One moment links 8 minds in disparate parts of the world, putting 8 strangers in each other's lives, each other's secrets, and in terrible danger."

All 12 episodes will be available on June 5th, and available in 4K for those that have the hardware for it.

Check out the very interesting trailer here:

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AfterDawn: News

OnePlus 2 will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 07 May 2015 12:35

OnePlus 2 will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor According to OnePlus' CEO Pete Lau, the upcoming OnePlus 2 smartphone will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor.

The executive was discussing the phone with fans on Weibo (basically, the Twitter of China), and let some nice tidbits of info out.

In addition to confirming the device will launch in the third quarter and will have the 810 processor, Lau also suggested that 2500 yuan seemed like a "reasonable" price for the device when it launches. At current rates, the phone would sell for $400 in the U.S., much more expensive than its current OnePlus One cost when it launched.

The Snapdragon 810 will be an 'older' chip by the Q3, but the device maker is still expected to have high-end specs across the board for everything else. As rumored, the phone is expected to have a 5.5-inch QHD display, 3GB RAM and a fingerprint scanner that can outperform offerings from LG, HTC and market leader Apple.

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AfterDawn: News

Remember Snake for your old Nokia phone? Well, the sequel for smartphones is here

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 07 May 2015 12:22

Remember Snake for your old Nokia phone? Well, the sequel for smartphones is here If you owned a Nokia phone in the past two decades (let's face it, almost everyone did), then you have definitely played 'Snake' before.

Now, original creator Taneli Armanto is launching the inevitable smartphone sequel, set for release on May 14th for Windows Phone, Android and iOS.

The original game, first released for Nokia phones in 1997, had you controlling a snake and eating objects that made the snake longer, thus making it progressively harder to not hit your own tail or the sides of the screen, in which case you die.

'Snake Rewind' will have the same basic principles and will have 10 separate levels, new types of objects to eat and full high score and rankings leaderboards. The game is free, with in-app purchases.

Check out the trailer below:




AfterDawn: News

Don't forget to get 3 months of Spotify Premium for just 99 cents

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 07 May 2015 11:42

Don't forget to get 3 months of Spotify Premium for just 99 cents Spotify has brought back their popular introductory trial offer for Spotify Premium: 99 cents for three months of the service.

Spotify Premium normally costs $9.99 per month and offers higher bitrate tracks, no ads, and the ability to play music offline and on mobile devices.

There is some small print, however, as anybody who has ever used a trial offer before or are already subscribed to Premium or Unlimited (no ads, no mobile for $4.99) you are ineligible.

Check out the offer here: Spotify Premium




AfterDawn: News

Lenovo computers once again had massive security vulnerabilities

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 07 May 2015 11:23

Lenovo computers once again had massive security vulnerabilities Three months ago, Lenovo was found to have pre-installed the 'Superfish' malware onto PCs, making the computers highly vulnerable to attacks. This week, security researchers have unveiled yet another 'massive security risk' in Lenovo PCs.

Security researcher firm IOActive found major exploits in Lenovo's own update system that could have allowed attackers to completely bypass any validation check and then replace legitimate Lenovo programs with malware, including software to gain remote access to your PC or run commands.

All of the security exploits are found in Lenovo System Update 5.6.0.27 and earlier and were first discovered in February. IOActive worked directly with Lenovo on a fix before going public with the exploits. "Lenovo's development and security teams worked directly with IOActive regarding their Lenovo System Update vulnerability findings," Lenovo said in a statement, "and we value their expertise in identifying and responsibly reporting them."

If you haven't already, make sure to update your system with the patches.

Check out more information on the vulnerabilities and the patches here: IOActive




AfterDawn: News

Comcast wants to shed reputation of having the worst customer service in the U.S.

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 07 May 2015 11:02

Comcast wants to shed reputation of having the worst customer service in the U.S. Year after year, cable and Internet giant Comcast is ranked as having the worst customer service in the U.S., and it appears that the company is looking to shed that horrible reputation finally.

As part of a new "multi-year customer experience transformation" plan, the company is creating 5500 customer service jobs.

Starting in the Q3 of this year, the company has set a goal to always be on time for customer appointments (wow, just wow) and to make sure techs are trained properly so they actually know what to do when they get to your home (sigh). If the tech is late or doesn't show up, customers will be credited with $20 off their monthly bill for that month.

On the back end, the company is rolling out new customer service tools to "simplify billing and create better policies to provide greater consistency and transparency to customers." Additionally, the company says phone calls to the company should be less painful now, and in-store visits shouldn't be like pulling teeth thanks to new software.

Comcast has been so bad, that a few phone calls with Comcast reps have even gone viral for how abusive they are and Comcast didn't even seem to care that they did. Hopefully, this really is a change for the better.

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AfterDawn: News

New Sharp LED TVs launch with Roku TV OS

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 07 May 2015 10:44

New Sharp LED TVs launch with Roku TV OS Roku and Sharp have announced this week that Best Buy will soon be selling Sharp Roku TV models, smart LED TVs that are built on the Roku OS.

"We are pleased to offer Sharp smart TVs that run the Roku OS and provide consumers with an easy and elegant way to enjoy their entertainment,"
said Vishnu Rao, director of technology planning for Sharp Electronics. "We believe the benefits of the Roku platform combined with the superiority of the Sharp brand makes an appealing combination for consumers looking for a great smart TV experience."

"Roku TV has garnered high praise. People love how easy it is to access all their TV entertainment sources from one simple home screen, including access to the biggest streaming channel line up in the industry," added Chas Smith, general manager of OEM for Roku. "Sharp is an exceptional brand, and these new Sharp Roku TV models offer consumers a fantastic smart TV experience we know they'll love."

The main page of a Roku TV allows you to personalize your favorite streaming apps and other entertainment choices including attached Blu-ray players, live TV and game consoles. The Roku TV streamlines multiple inputs into one interface. Additionally, you can find the availability of your favorite movies and TV shows on hundreds of different streaming channels, and you can also search for actors, directors and filmographies.

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AfterDawn: News

Xbox One to get DVR feature this year?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 May 2015 8:42

Xbox One to get DVR feature this year? According to Windows insider Paul Thurrott, the Xbox One should be getting a DVR feature later this year.

Currently, Xbox owners have TV tuner capabilities, but you can only pause live TV, not record it.

While DVR makes 100 percent sense given the Xbox's media center tech and its HDMI-in support for cable boxes, there is a major logistic issue. The Xbox One has a standard 500GB hard drive, which may not be enough to record your favorite episodes and hold games that can be as large as 40GB each.

Of course, Microsoft could allow for recording to external hard drives or flash storage, but we won't know until later this year.

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AfterDawn: News

Microsoft seen as suitor for Salesforce

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 May 2015 7:59

Microsoft seen as suitor for Salesforce CRM king Salesforce apparently has a major suitor: Microsoft.

Salesforce has already hired two investment banks to help it respond to offers, and is open to being sold.

The company's suitor will have to pay a pretty penny to get into the customer relationship management business. Salesforce helps companies interact with customers including tech to organize marketing, sales, customer service, tech support and more.

Microsoft has a partnership with Salesforce to ensure their software integrates easily, and each company's CEO has said great things about the other company.

As of writing, Salesforce has jumped over 15 percent in the past few weeks and is now valued at near $47 billion.

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AfterDawn: News

Nvidia discontinues their LTE modems

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 May 2015 3:39

Nvidia discontinues their LTE modems Nvidia has announced they are winding down their Icera division, the team responsible for developing LTE modems.

The company purchased Icera in 2011 but was never able to compete with market leader Qualcomm, and more recently even with MediaTek or Intel.

Initially, Nvidia had a goal of integrating their own Icera modems into the popular and powerful Nvidia Tegra processors, but only one such hybrid exists - the Nvidia Tegra 4i - and it never made it to any device worth mentioning.

Noted Nvidia:

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AfterDawn: News

Android Lollipop movin' on up as it nears 10 percent share

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 May 2015 10:58

Android Lollipop movin' on up as it nears 10 percent share It took quite some time for Android 5.0 Lollipop to gain some traction but the latest Google operating system is finally reaching a significant milestone.

As of the period ended May 4th, Lollipop 5.0 is on 9 percent of Android devices and the latest Android 5.1 is on 0.7 percent of devices.

At the end of March, that figure was still floating around 5 percent so the growth has been significant in the last thirty days or so.

Android 4.4 KitKat fell a few percentage points to 39.8 percent but remains the dominant Android OS for the time being.




AfterDawn: News

PlayStation Now subscriptions headed to PS3 next week

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 May 2015 10:10

PlayStation Now subscriptions headed to PS3 next week Sony has announced today that PlayStation Now subscriptions are headed to the PS3 on May 12th.

Gamers will have access to over 100 of the most popular PS3 games on their PS3, PS4 and some Sony TVs.

PlayStation Now allows for unlimited streaming of games for as low as $15 per month.

Additionally, Sony has added four new titles to the service including 'Fat Princess.'

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AfterDawn: News

Microsoft sues IP address that allegedly activated hundreds of pirated Windows products

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 May 2015 11:25

Microsoft sues IP address that allegedly activated hundreds of pirated Windows products Microsoft has filed lawsuit this week against a Verizon IP address that allegedly activated hundreds of pirated Microsoft products like Windows.

The Verizon IP address, 74.111.202.30, is said to have activated mainly copies of Windows 7 using "stolen" product keys, or keys that have been used more times than their license allows.

"As part of its cyberforensic methods, Microsoft analyzes product key activation data voluntarily provided by users when they activate Microsoft software, including the IP address from which a given product key is activated,"
the lawsuit reads. "Microsoft's cyberforensics have identified hundreds of product key activations originating from IP address 74.111.202.3...which is presently assigned to Verizon Online LLC. These activations have characteristics that on information and belief, establish that Defendants are using the IP address to activate pirated software."

Microsoft is seeking to impound all the infringing materials, statutory damages and attorney fees.

Check out a PDF of the lawsuit here.




AfterDawn: News

Comcast and Time Warner spent over half a billion on failed merger

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 May 2015 10:00

Comcast and Time Warner spent over half a billion on failed merger According to Comcast's most recent earnings report, the cable giant has spent over $330 million in 'transaction-related costs' in its attempt to acquire Time Warner Cable, and Time Warner has spent over $220 million.

Comcast proposed to buy TWC in February 2014 for $45.2 billion and just canceled the proposed merger last month after it became clear it would never make it through Federal regulators.

In the Q1 alone, ended March 31st, Comcast had $99 million in costs related to the acquisition, and Time Warner Cable had $24 million in costs.

"The costs are mainly for legal fees and outside consulting firms--everything from Human Resources and IT consulting to banks and management consulting services," said Comcast VP of Government Communications Sena Fitzmaurice. "Communications and lobbying fees would be included--however, what is included has to be direct and incremental--so only those fees that are directly and incrementally associated with the deal."

At least there was one positive for Comcast shareholders: no break-up fee. The company says the deal was structured without an expensive break-up fee involved, which can sometimes reach into the billions. One recent example is AT&T's failed purchase of rival carrier T-Mobile in 2011. When the DOJ killed the merger, AT&T had to pay T-Mobile $4 billion in cash and spectrum, effectively reviving the carrier and allowing it to go on the offensive with pricing.

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AfterDawn: News

Report: Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 and Tab S2 9.7 coming next month

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 May 2015 9:43

Report: Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 and Tab S2 9.7 coming next month According to new reports, Samsung's Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 and Tab S2 9.7 tablets are coming next month, high-end successors to the Galaxy Tab S.

The tablets will be thinner than the standard bearer iPad Air, and both will be available as Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi/LTE models. Just like their predecessor, the tablets will launch around the globe including the US, Canada, Europe, China, Latin America, Hong Kong, Korea, and India.

Powering the tablets are a 64-bit Samsung Exynos processor, 3GB RAM and Android 5.0.2 out of the box. The S2 8.0 has an 8-inch SuperAMOLED display at 2048 x 1536 while its larger brother has a 9.7-inch model and the same resolution. The smaller device is just 260 grams and the larger model is 407 grams. Although there will be few that can actually use it to its full potential, the S2 has a Cat. 6 LTE modem allowing transfers up to 300Mbps.

Design-wise, it is expected to look just like the predecessor Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (pictured) but with the aforementioned 4:3 ratio.

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