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The pressure is piling on Uber overseas, and now it is facing more domestic opposition as the City of Portland, Oregon has filed a lawsuit against the app-driven car service.

The lawsuit alleges that Uber has started operating private-for hire transportation services in the city, and it wants the court to declare that the San Franciso firm is subject to and in violation of the Private for Hire Transportation Regulations and Administrative Rules of the city.

It seeks an injunction to force Uber to stop operating the service in the city until it complies with the safety, health and consumer protection rules that apply to it.

"I am hereby directing that Uber Technologies Inc.... or any other Uber affiliate entity immediately cease and desist operating within the City of Portland until such time as appropriate permits are obtained and Uber is in full compliance with the requirements of Portland City Code Chapter 16.40," Transportation Director Leah Treat wrote in a cease and desist letter sent to Uber.

"Please alert all Uber-affiliated drivers that they are to cease and desist."

Source: Portland Bureau of Transportation

After two years, VLC for Android is out of beta and it comes with bug fixes but not with Chromecast support just yet.

VLC for Android 1.0 is now available and officially puts the project out of beta. Specifically, it fixes known bugs with devices with ARMv8 processors and also some bugs when running under Android 5.0.

Unfortunately, it would appear that Chromecast support that was announced earlier this year still evades this release, but hopefully it will be coming along soon.

VLC is one of the most popular multimedia players for Desktops because it supports a very wide range of multimedia content natively, and doesn't rely on external codecs for playback. When it was announced for Android in 2012 it excited a lot of Android tablet and smartphone owners, but its journey out of beta has been longer then anticipated.

Other apps, such as MXPlayer, have gained a lot of support on Android. VLC for Android is available for free of course to download from Google Play and supported by Android 2.1 and newer.

NOTE: It has just been updated so the latest update might not be visible for everyone yet.

Download VLC for Android from Google Play

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon will trial one-hour delivery of goods via bike messengers starting in New York City.

"Amazon Prime Now" aims to cut delivery time of products to customers in order to cut more into the benefits of shopping at physical stores, according to sources cited by the WSJ.

They also revealed that Amazon has been experimenting with three separate courier services to determine the fastest and most careful option for the trial.

Amazon will use its West 34th Street location as a base for bike messengers, who will earn around $15 an hour and work eight hour shifts.


Sources and Recommended Reading:
Amazon Tests Bike Messengers for One-Hour Delivery in New York City: www.wsj.com

You can now get your hands on an 'innovator edition' of Samsung's Galaxy VR headset for $199.99 in the United States.

However, you should remember that you need a Galaxy Note 4 in order to use the device, and no other smartphone or devices will work with it. In fact, at this current time, even the Verizon version of the Note 4 will not work, but Samsung has promised support is coming soon.

Some high-quality gaming apps may require the use of an Android game controller to offer control capabilities in addition to the Gear VR's integrated touchpad and tracking sensors.

"The Galaxy Note 4's amazing screen and processor makes it all possible. Samsung's industry leading Super AMOLED display technology and cutting-edge Oculus-driven software fuse to create an experience that you have to see to believe," Samsung's Gear V4 product page reads.

"With the Gear VR Innovator Edition, users can explore new worlds, be on-stage at a performance with full 360 degree video, and can enjoy gaming in a way that's never been done before – all with just your Galaxy Note 4 and Gear VR Innovator's Edition."

This device is targeted at developers and early adopters who typically just want to be ahead of the rest when it comes to newer technology, so most people will want to wait a while to see where this goes.

Under copyright law reform proposals in Australia, access to piracy websites could be blocked by Internet users, but downloaders would escape further punishment.

The proposals are the latest part in an ongoing debate in Australia over how to tackle Internet piracy in the region. Internet providers and content owners already attempted to come to terms face to face, but issues such as who pays the cost of enforcement led to talks largely going nowhere.

Now Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull have come up with a minimalist set of reforms for debate, and it means that downloaders will avoid harsh penalties, such as the throttling of speeds by the ISP.

The copyright lobby is likely to be unhappy with the proposals, despite opening the door to blocking access to websites overseas that provide access to illegal downloads.

"We have a very high rate of internet piracy in Australia, particular in film and TV product. At the same time – and Malcolm Turnbull himself has commented on this – I think we need to see more being done to make content more readily and more cheaply available," said Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus, reports The Age.

According to new reports, Vimeo Pro users can now upload their content in 4K and make it available for others to download.

For the time being, streaming in 4K is being blocked by Vimeo but it is not out of the cards for the future. Vimeo CTO Andrew Pile noted that "It's pretty early for streaming but the new iMac is gonna be a turning point." Apple's latest device has the capability of streaming 5K content, which is way beyond what any mainstream service currently offers.

Vimeo On Demand is where you will find the most content in the future, as users have been able to upload 4K videos to the service, but Vimeo was transcoding it to lower resolutions.

With the move, Vimeo joins Amazon, Netflix and YouTube in offering limited 4K content.

Source:
Gigaom

Grooveshark, the music streaming service that has been almost completely destroyed by copyright lawsuits, is looking to reinvent itself next year with a legal radio service.

If accurate, the reports claim the radio service will launch as soon as next month, and cost just 99 cents per month for streaming without ads.

Grooveshark will call the service "Broadcasts" and it will be a direct rival to Pandora, the $4 billion public company with strong ties to the music industry. Grooveshark has 30 million users and Pandora has 80 million.

Broadcasts will get to use the government-mandated royalty rates for Internet radio stations, and will not require direct negotiations with the labels that have been trying to shut them down.

Source:
Nasdaq

Sony has announced an interesting new concept to sell its PlayStation 4 console: a bundle where you get to pick which game you want.

Starting today, Sony is offering a 500GB PS4 with a digital download voucher that can be used for either Destiny, Far Cry 4, LittleBigPlanet 3, or NBA2K15.

Called the "Four Games. One Pick. PlayStation 4 Bundle," Sony is making the bundle available for $399.99, the normal price of the console without a game included.

Here are Sony's description of the games:

Destiny – The ultimate Destiny experience is on PS4, with exclusive content including an additional multiplayer map, Strike mission, an expanded repository of exotic weapons and gear, and player ships. Don't forget, the first Destiny expansion, The Dark Below, is coming out on Dec 9, and it includes exclusive content for PlayStation gamers: a new Strike, The Undying Mind, and an exotic shotgun, The 4th Horseman. Destiny Expansion I: The Dark Below will be available for $19.99.

Far Cry 4 – A game many are calling a contender for game of the year, Far Cry 4 will take you on a breathtaking adventure through the perilous and wild region of the Himalayas struggling under the regime of a despotic self-appointed king. PS4's exclusive "Keys to Kyrat" feature allows you to send up to 10 keys to your PSN friends, so they can join you in Kyrat for a two-hour online co-op session, even if they don't own a copy of the game.

Analysts seems to believe Nintendo has turned a corner and will return to strong profitability this year on the back of popular first-party titles.

The most recent bullish analysts believe Nintendo can see its profits reach $305 million for the year, a huge improvement over last year's $193 million loss.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has stuck by his guns for the last couple of years, as the industry begged the company to start releasing their most popular IP for mobile devices and for other consoles. New hits like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart have boosted Wii U sales significantly this year, and the latest hit - Amiibo - has seen sales of over $1 billion in the U.S. alone.

Shockingly, despite being on the market for two years, the Wii U only has 53 games available and the small catalog is a big reason why the company has only moved 7 million units over its lifetime.

Source:
BBG

Last week, we reported that the new Capcom Street Fighter V would be a PC and PlayStation 4 exclusive, leaving Xbox One gamers in the dark.

This week, Microsoft's Phil Spencer responded via Twitter to the news, simply stating that Microsoft cannot be a part of every business deal for exclusive games, and that the company would rather invest in its own "Killer Instinct" title.

Reads the tweet: "Business deals happen. We won't do all of them. When we have a 1st party franchise in a genre I'd rather invest in ours."

Of course, Microsoft does invest in third-party games, as well, recently making "Rise of the Tomb Raider" a timed exclusive when it launches next year.

Apple has a new commercial for the iPad Air 2 that shows multiple owners using an iPad Air to assist with all kinds of projects.

The ad is titled "Change" presumably because of how it shows the iPad Air as a tool that can be used to change the way you do things. For example, one user is using it to help build a new surfboard, another is sketching a fish mask and another actually builds an iPad into his motorcycle.

Sales of iPads were down 13 percent last quarter when compared to the same period of 2013, and the Cupertino giant will be hoping for a strong holiday performance from the product to make up for it.

Watch the ad:

YouTube is reportedly offering some of its best and most famous video makers bonuses to commit to the platform as rivals have been attempting to lure them away with tempting incentives.

The Wall Street Journal reports that YouTube is offering some of its biggest names bonuses if they sign multiyear deals that gives YouTube timed exclusivity on content before it can be uploaded to rival's websites. YouTube's move comes as other web firms have reportedly been trying to lure YouTube videomakers away. Facebook and Vessel are among those trying to bleed YouTube of good and popular video makers.

YouTube has already been offering to fund some of its video makers content for months now, according to the WSJ's sources.

They say that YouTube is particularly concerned with Vessel, a video start-up that has raised $75 million in venture capital and was founded by Jason Kilar, the former chief executive of Hulu. Vessel has reportedly already offered to pay some users an advance based on how well their content is doling on YouTube and has been pushing the benefits from a subscription model from the content creator's point of view.


Source: WSJ

The teaser trailer for the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens has been out for a week, but the creator of the enormous franchise still hasn't watched it.

George Lucas was asked for his reaction on the teaser trailer during an interview with Page Six, when he admitted he still hasn't sat down to watch it yet. "I don't know anything about it, I haven't seen it yet," he reportedly said.

Lucas went on to explain that he avoids early footage because he enjoys going to the theater and seeing the entire movie without seeing parts of it beforehand. Lucas is credited as a creative consultant on the film, so it is unlikely he will be able to keep in the dark that much.

I wonder if Lucas will be pleased with JJ Abrams new direction for the Star Wars franchise when he does go to see it in December 2015.

Here's the teaser trailer if, like Lucas, you haven't taken the time to watch it yet.

Having not even shipped yet, Sony's limited 20th anniversary grey PS4 consoles are being resold for thousands of dollars on eBay.

Sony sold 12,300 of the limited edition units for $499. Needless to say, they were sold out very quickly when they became available. Now the only way to get one in the United States is to attempt to buy it online, but you'll be shocked at just how much you are expected to pay.

There are many active listings for the limited consoles on eBay and they are finishing for quite a markup of ~300%. One particular listing from a seller in Bellflower closed at $21,100. Another from a New Jersey seller finished at $15,000, and the seller has since confirmed that the buyer paid in full.

The other listings are going for significantly less on eBay but there does appear to be quite a lot of sellers looking to make a very quick and juicy profit from the limited console.

Those who managed to pre-order the consoles from Sony can expect them to be shipped out on December 21 in the United States. Sony will also be selling the limited units in Europe and in Japan.

Indian's Capital City has reacted to news of an alleged sexual assault on a woman by an Uber driver by banning the service from operating in the city.

Uber India has been operating illegally in New Delhi, according to Special Commissioner of Delhi Transport Department, Satish Mathur. He told the Economic Times that the victim in this case was provided an All India Permit Taxi which is not allowed to ferry customers from point to point in the city.

"We will also be issuing a public notice saying Uber is not authorised to provide any taxi services in the capital so that customers are aware which are the authorised radio Cab services," he said.

"Uber is not a authorised radio cab service and has been operating illegally."

The service is now active in more than 250 cities in 50 countries, and has aggressive expansion plans for the coming year. It recently raised $1.2 billion in a financing round, valuing the firm at a whopping $41 billion. The extra resources will be used partially toward investing in the Asia Pacific region.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is so confident in Uber's ability to grow that he predicts it will generate more than 1 million jobs in cities all over the world in 2015.