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A popular video streaming site has disappeared leading to some speculation that it was shut down by authorities.

Icefilms is a very popular site that streams movies and TV shows. It has been down for about 24 hours with visits to its homepage only showing up an Icefilms logo, or perhaps nothing at all. The presence of the Icefilms logo on an Amazon server surprised some users of the site.

However, there's nothing to be concerned about for users of the portal, as the site is just experiencing some hosting issues and expects to be back online and fully operational in the news few days.

That's according to TorrentFreak, citing a source familiar with Icefilms.

Icefilms doesn't even show up in Google results anymore which probably led to more panic from its regular users, and some ISPs block access to the site at the request of the entertainment industry.

Apple has stopped online sales of its products in Russia today citing the "extreme" depreciation of the Russian national currency, the ruble.

Russia's currency has been decimated in the past few months, and fell as much as 19 percent today against the US Dollar, falling to as low as 80 ruble per USD, before settling at 67.

"Our online store in Russia is currently unavailable while we review pricing," said Apple in a curt statement. "We apologize to customers for any inconvenience."

The ruble had traded at about 20 ruble per dollar for the better part of the last five years.

Last month, as the collapse of the ruble was gaining steam, Apple raised the price of its iPhones by 25 percent to protect themselves, but the depreciation has gotten too steep now.

Source:
Bloomberg

NBCU has joined CBS, HBO and others in offering live streaming of their broadcast programming online and on mobile devices.

Unlike the aforementioned company's service, however, you will need to have a TV subscription to get access to the live streaming.

The online service will launch this week while mobile viewing will launch early next year. In addition to the broadcast live streams, there will also be additional video-on-demand content.

Just like with other services, to access the content you will have to login with your pay TV credentials (usually your email and password) and then authorize the device.

Massive photo sharing service Instagram has added two new filters this week, the first additions to the service since December 2012.

"Photography trends have evolved," said Instagram in a statement. "We've seen tremendous creativity within the community, not only in the moments they share, but in the time spent carefully composing and editing photos and videos to bring out emotions and make them beautiful."

Slumber, Crema, Ludwig, Perpetua, and Aden are the new filters, and each offers "less dramatic" changes to your photos.

Instagram has two dozen filters, but you have the option to re-arrange your favorites and hide ones you may never use to keep the list smaller and more manageable.

Back in September, Square Enix released a trailer for the upcoming Final Fantasy XV (aptly named because it is the 15th game in the series), but there was one problem for us in North America: The trailer wasn't in English.

Three months later the trailer is now available in English, and gamers can get pumped again (the last version did have subtitles, so you could follow it).

The trailer promises to be a "sneak preview" of the game which is still likely over a year away, but Square Enix has promised a demo will launch sometime in 2015. For now, enjoy the preview and the four protagonist's roadtrip through some fantasy sci-fi world.

Google has noted this week that Android or iOS smartphone users will now be able to control their Nest smart thermostat with voice controls via the Google widget or via Google Now.

For example, using the "OK Google" command will allow you to say additional phrases like "change the temperature to.." or "set Nest to..." and your device will adjust accordingly.

In addition, there will be a new Google Now card that will display when the system had adjusted itself.

As with most apps, you will need to opt-in to give Google access to your Nest account, and to enable the Nest Google Now card. Just like with many voice commands, the abilities are limited, at least for the time being, but it is still very cool to be able to change the temperature without having to get up.

After being in custody for almost a week, a man allegedly linked to the Pirate Bay website was released from custody in Sweden yesterday.

It is believed the man may have been a moderator on the Pirate Bay site but this hasn't been confirmed. In any case, prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad stated that the individual is suspected of copyright law violations.

"The suspicions relate to a violation of copyright law. Everything is being analyzed now and new hearings may possibly be held," he said.

The Pirate Bay was taken down in a raid last week in Sweden, and there was reportedly just one arrest in connection to the site so far. It has remained officially offline ever since, but there has been some efforts to keep its database alive and well until it may eventually return.

There appears to be a new investigation into the site and its operators, and TorrentFreak claims to have seen evidence that one of the original founders, Fredrik Neij, remains a suspect. Neij is currently in prison serving a ten month sentence after being arrested by Thai immigrations in November.


Sources and Recommended Reading:
Pirate Bay-misstänkt satt på fri fot: www.idg.se (SWE)
PIRATE BAY SUSPECT RELEASED AFTER RAID ARREST: torrentfreak.com

Grand Theft Auto 5 Online Heists have been known to be in the works for some time now, and today we finally have gotten a trailer to look at.

In Early 2015, players will be able to take part in four player heists online. The update will provide over 20 hours of additional gameplay and 20 total missions. The missions will require players of rank 12 or higher, and one will have to be a leader, according to GTA Online producer Imran Sarwar, who gave an interview about the update to IGN.

The leader will be required to have an apartment with enough room for a planning board, and will have to do a lot of prep work such as assembling a team and determining a plan and so on.

Alternatively, you can take on another role in the heist.

Read the IGN interview here, and view the trailer below.

The nightmare continues for Sony Pictures as it now faces a lawsuit from former employees alleging that it failed to protect their data, which was exposed in November's massive breach.

Two former employees sued the studio in a class action after a hacking group called Guardians of Peace broke into its network and stole enormous amounts of data in late November. Ever since the breach, the hackers have leaked over a terabyte of information online, including personal details of employees and movies stars.

Even unreleased films showed up on BitTorrent sites and other sources after the massive data breach at the studio.

A lawsuit was filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and it alleges that Sony failed to secure its network and protect employee data from hackers, making them liable to some extent.

It seeks compensation for any damages caused as a result of the exposure of sensitive information.

It's likely that Sony will face more legal complaints as a result of the breach, which could cost it over $100 million in the long run. This saga is likely to drag on for a while yet.


Sources and Recommended Reading:
Ex-Sony employees sue, claim company failed to protect data: www.reuters.com

HBO Go has finally arrived on Amazon's Fire TV set-top-box for subscribers of HBO.

It is available right now for Amazon's Fire TV with an HBO subscription through participating affiliates, with integration of its full catalog into Fire TV's voice search. For HBO subscribers with Fire TV Stick, HBO Go will be available for streaming in Spring 2015.

"We're thrilled to add HBO GO, the most requested service, to Fire TV in time for the holidays. HBO has produced some of the most groundbreaking and award-winning TV shows and movies, and we are excited to bring this amazing content to our customers, all of which is accessible via voice search on your Fire TV remote," wrote Peter Larsen, Vice President Amazon Devices.

Larsen was eager to point out that the number of services available through Fire TV has quadrupled since it was launched. Over 700 apps and games are now available for the device, which typically sells for $99, but is reduced to $79 at the present time and will stay that way until December 28.

According to a report, Samsung may launch a competing payment service to Apple Pay during 2015.

Re/code cites sources familiar with Samsung's plan to allow owners of some smartphone devices to use them to pay for goods and services at brick and mortar stores, much in the same way as the Apple Pay service operates.

The sources tell Re/code that Samsung is in talks with LoopPay, a payments firm based in Burlington, Massachusetts, but that talks are at such an early stage and could still collapse before an agreement is possible.

Using a smartphone to pay for goods offline is not a new idea but it has been rejuvenated by Apple sticking its toes into the water with Apple Pay. Users of Apple Pay can use the fingerprint scanner on its iPhones to authenticate payments at point of sale.

Samsung's system would also likely rely on fingerprint authorization.

Read more at Re/code.

Apple can breathe a sigh of relief after a jury sided with it in a decade-old case relating to the copy protection system it had in place on older iPods and iTunes.

The Cupertino giant could have been on the hook for as much as $1 billion in damages if the eight person jury found it had violated antitrust laws by using enhanced security mechanisms on its iTunes software and iPod hardware. The case specifically focused on iPods sold between late 2006 and early 2009.

Apple stood accused of using its digital rights management (DRM) technology to effectively block out content purchased from competing music services. In fact, it had even been accused of deleting songs purchased from sources other than iTunes from its customers' iPods.

Apple disagreed and maintained that its security measures were a response to attempts to hack its DRM system, and that such a breach would put it in violation of contracts signed with major record companies to sell music on iTunes.

Today the case, which stems back to 2005, finally came to a decision when a jury decided Apple hadn't violated any antitrust laws.

LG Electronics has announced that it will showcase Quantum Dot Ultra HD 4K TVs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month.

The South Korean consumer electronics firm already provides Ultra HD 4K displays using conventional LCD technology and the more coveted organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, providing a stunning colorful display and complimenting 4K resolution very well.

However, while the cost of OLED displays is dropping, it is still a bit away from becoming affordable to most buyers and so LG wants to bring forth Quantum Dot to significantly improve its LCD.

The technology works by harnessing nano crystals that range in size from 2 to 10 nanometers, with each "dot" emitting a different color based on its size. A film of these quantum dots is combined with LG's current In-Plane Switching (IPS) LCD displays to provide a wider color palette and improved color saturation.

"The color reproduction rate in LG's IPS panels, which offers high color accuracy and extra wide viewing angles, is increased with the addition of the quantum dot film by more than 30 percent compared with conventional LCD/LED TVs," claims LG.

Sony already uses Quantum Dot technology in several of its high-end TVs and Samsung are reportedly about to unveil their own QD products.

Microsoft executive responds to November's sales triumph over the PlayStation 4 in the United States and the United Kingdom.

November was the first month that Microsoft managed to sell more Xbox One consoles to customers than Sony managed with its PlayStation 4 (PS4) console in the United States. According to NPD data, the Redmond giant sold about 1.2 million Xbox One units in the U.S. during the month.

Additionally, Microsoft's console outsold the PS4 in the UK, although it isn't clear how the Xbox One fared globally against the PS4.

Nevertheless, Microsoft immediately touted the NPD data. The sales victory was helped by price cuts and also by a decent software line-up approaching the holiday season.

Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg, who is boss of Xbox games marketing, said that the Xbox One is just getting started. The firm is extremely confident about its game line-up as the New Year approaches that it says it may even need to delay some titles to make room.

During November, Xbox Live also saw a new record of players signing on to the service, and game sales for the Xbox One also surpassed those of PS4 and Wii U.

via: GameSpot

Google has been given until February to change its management of data from users or else face a fine of up to $18 million.

The threat comes from the Dutch data protection agency which admits it is running out of patience with Google at this point. It has threatened to fine Google up to a max of €15 million - $18.6 million - if it does not stop violating Dutch users' privacy.

This all stems from a 2012 change in Google's privacy policies across services, intended to unify them into a single policy. The pooling of data across services ruffled a lot of feathers, particularly in the European Union where regulators at the state and European levels have raised questions about the change's compatibility with data protection and privacy laws.

"This has been ongoing since 2012 and we hope our patience will no longer be tested," said Jacob Kohnstamm, chairman of the Dutch data protection authority.

The problem the regulator has with Google seems to boil down to the fact that users weren't properly informed in advance of the changes, and Google sought no consent to pool data from search, its email service, and other sites together.