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Evleaks shows off possible image of the huge Nexus 6

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Oct 2014 11:49

Evleaks shows off possible image of the huge Nexus 6 Evan Blass, of the now retired @Evleaks Twitter account, has posted a supposed image of the upcoming Google Nexus 6.

The Motorola built Android reference device is expected to have a giant 5.92-inch QHD display and the image shows off much of what we have heard in the past few days about the device.

In the image, we see a slate metal band and the volume rocker and power buttons have been moved to midway down the device to make sure that people can actually use one hand to turn off their screen. The device is also running Android L, which is expected to launch the same day as the new phone.

Although there have been zero official confirmations for a release date, the Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet are expected to launch as soon as next Tuesday.

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AfterDawn: News

T-Mobile CEO: Apple's recent 'Bendgate' is "horse sh**"

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Oct 2014 10:43

T-Mobile CEO: Apple's recent 'Bendgate' is "horse sh**" Not known for his subtlety, T-Mobile U.S. CEO John Legere has weighed in on Apple's recent 'Bendgate' scandal in which a handful of consumers complained that the new iPhone 6/6+ could be bent rather easily.

The scandal went viral although many had a hard time replicating the "bending" with normal use. Legere did not mince words, claiming that "bendgate" is utter "horse sh**."

He then went on to add: "The video of the guy that's [intentionally bending the iPhone 6 Plus]--and if you could have seen his face, he probably would have been purple. The thing moves a little bit? Are you s---ting me? I mean, when was the last time you took any other...this is an amazing supercomputer in your hand. What the f--- are you putting it in your pants and sitting on it for?"

Here is Legere's full video from his speech at GeekWire Summit 2014:




AfterDawn: News

Iliad Group ends their strange takeover plans for T-Mobile US

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Oct 2014 9:54

Iliad Group ends their strange takeover plans for T-Mobile US French startup carrier Iliad Group has ended their plans to try to acquire T-Mobile US.

In July, the carrier submitted an offer to become majority shareholder of the U.S.' fourth-largest wireless carrier, but was rejected outright by T-Mobile's board. Besides having a relatively inexperienced team, there were also questions about how Iliad could raise the funds necessary to acquire the stake.

Iliad says T-Mobile would not even entertain any new offers:

At the end of July 2014, Iliad confirmed its interest in the US market and that it had submitted to the T-Mobile US board of directors an indicative offer to purchase a 56.6% stake in the company. This offer was rejected by the T-Mobile US board despite the significant premium offered.

Following this offer rejection, Iliad put in place a consortium with two leading private equity funds and Tier-1 international banks allowing it to improve significantly the terms of its offer by enhancing the cash amount and increasing the share of T-Mobile US' capital to be acquired from 56.6% to 67%.

This new offer, at about USD 36 per share (cash + share of value creation), would have fitted into Iliad Group's strict financial policy in terms of indebtedness and dilution. Iliad had the ambition to accelerate T-Mobile US' transformation, notably by saving more than USD 2 billion of cost annually. This transaction would have created significant value for both Iliad's and T-Mobile US' shareholders.

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AfterDawn: News

Dropbox hacked? Rumors claim over 6M Dropbox accounts hacked

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 14 Oct 2014 12:47

Dropbox hacked? Rumors claim over 6M Dropbox accounts hacked Rumors started circulating an hour ago that well over 6 million Dropbox accounts have been hacked.

Hackers apparently have stated they'll release the hacked account info for the person who first pays them a specific amount of Bitcoins.




Dropbox has denied the claim and stated that yes, list of insecure accounts is circulating, but that those accounts have been lifted from previous leaks from other sites and tested to work to their respective Dropbox account too (essentially, people using the same username/password combo in multiple services).


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AfterDawn: News

Here's Sony's first original TV series: 'Powers'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Oct 2014 10:27

Here's Sony's first original TV series: 'Powers' Sony has released the first trailer for the PlayStation Plus's exclusive original series, entitled "Powers."

Powers "tells the story of homicide detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, who are ordinary detectives working on cases that just so happen to involve people with extraordinary powers. As we speak, the show is filming in Atlanta under the showrunning genius of Charlie Huston, the critically acclaimed crime novelist" reads the PS blog.

The drama is based on a graphic novel of the same name.

Netflix has been incredibly successful with their original programming while Microsoft has failed to create a memorable show for the Xbox. It will be interesting to see how Sony fairs, but given their fanbase there seems to be an above average chance of success.

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AfterDawn: News

Microsoft: Over 1 million sign up to test Windows 10 Technical Preview

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Oct 2014 9:18

Microsoft: Over 1 million sign up to test Windows 10 Technical Preview Microsoft has announced that over 1 million consumers have registered to be part of the Windows Insider program that allows for earlier beta testing of the upcoming Windows 10 operating system.

Says the software giant: "Over the weekend, we hit 1 million registrants for the Windows Insider Program. That equates to a lot of people using the Windows 10 Technical Preview and sending us feedback. How much feedback? Over 200,000 pieces of user-initiated feedback have been submitted to us via the Windows Feedback app from Windows Insiders like you."

Of course, this doesn't necessarily equate to 1 million users actually downloading the OS to test, but Microsoft's Joe Belfiore says a significant portion have. Of note, 36 percent of users have tried the OS's Technical Preview in a virtual machine, while the rest have actually installed it on a hard drive.

Many of the testers are using the OS for more than just a simple test here and there, with 68 percent launching at least 7 apps per day and 25 percent launching at least 26 apps per day.

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AfterDawn: News

Popcorn Time returns with new domain, vows to live forever

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Oct 2014 7:59

Popcorn Time returns with new domain, vows to live forever The team behind the popular Popcorn Time software has returned with a vengeance, just days after their domain was taken down.

According to the team, the domain was taken down due to a legal investigation in Belgium, without any prior notice.

Reads the email from the team:

THIS WILL NOT BRING POPCORN TIME DOWN!! We are writing you this to tell you that we are back with a new domain:

http://popcorn-time.se/

And to send a message to those who are trying to take us down, that not only will Popcorn Time live forever (!!!) but it will, as we promised all along, change the world of online movie watching and will make anonymity an inseparable part of this world.

This is our vision, and our fulfilling this vision after this attack, will be the sweetest revenge of all.

This is only the beginning for us. It's not over till the fat lady sings and there are no fat ladies around here!!!


The team was quick to note that the Windows, Mac, Android and iOS versions of the software are available again via the new domain.




AfterDawn: News

Raspberry Pi nears 4 million units sold

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Oct 2014 12:07

Raspberry Pi nears 4 million units sold The Raspberry Pi continues its success, selling scale that was never expected by its founding team when the computer board went on sale in 2012.

Sales are now in excess of 3.8 million, with the microcomputer expected to hit 4 million sales before the end of the year. The Pi Foundation said in 2012 that they did not expect to sell over 10,000 boards during the lifetime of the microcomputer, so the sales are incredible and ongoing.

Over the summer, the company upgraded the board for the first time in years, releasing the B+, adding more USB ports and expanding the amount of GPIO pins. The RAM was also increased.

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AfterDawn: News

Netflix customers will have to pay more for 4K content

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Oct 2014 10:25

Netflix customers will have to pay more for 4K content Netflix has confirmed that subscribers that want access to 4K streaming content will have to pay $11.99 per month for their subscription, a large increase from the standard pricing.

Subscribers who signed up before May 9th, 2014 pay $7.99 per month for access to the streaming catalog including HD, while those who signed up after pay $8.99. If you were already signed up for 4K, you will be grandfathered in until August 12th, 2016.

Netflix has the most 4K content available to consumers, and recently just added the hit show The Blacklist and the kid-friendly Smurfs 2 to the list. What else is great about the plan is it allows 4 devices to play simultaneously, compared to just 2 for the standard plan.

Currently, the company requires you to have a minimum of 25 Mbps download speed, and a 4K TV from a limited list from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio. The content may not be worth the extra $4 to some, as the only content available now are Breaking Bad, the latest season of original series House of Cards, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2, a nature documentary and the aforementioned Blacklist and The Smurfs 2.

(Pic via FPHD)




AfterDawn: News

Good deal alert: Sony PlayStation 4 on sale for $360

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Oct 2014 7:40

Good deal alert: Sony PlayStation 4 on sale for $360 As always, if we see a decent deal we like to post it here for our readers, and once again it looks like the Sony PlayStation 4 is on sale ahead of the holidays.

Available through BuyDig via eBay (meaning possibly no sales tax for some states), the console is available for $360, discounted off its standard $399 price tag.

The console remains the most popular of the current-gen, beating out rival Microsoft Xbox One on a monthly basis.

Check out the deal here: eBay




AfterDawn: News

Google unveils Chromebooks for Work subscriptions at just $50 per year

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Oct 2014 7:27

Google unveils Chromebooks for Work subscriptions at just $50 per year Google has launched a new Chromebooks for Work subscription service for enterprises that want to use the Chrome OS-based Internet-connected notebooks and also receive access to Google's Chrome OS management features and technical support.

There are a couple of different options for businesses looking for the management features. You can either pay $150 upfront for access, or you can choose to subscribe for $50 per year per device. If a business has a longer-term (3-5 years) replacement cycle, the upfront payment option could work best, although you cannot transfer licenses to any other Chrome OS device except one of the same model. The subscription allows you to transfer the license to any Chrome OS device.

As expected, the annual licensing is only available for Chrome for Work customers, and not schools or other educational institutions.

Crunch also explained some of the new features of the enterprise support. "The most important new feature for many of the businesses that want to adopt Chromebooks is likely support for single sign-on. With this, enterprises can use their existing sign-on service like CA SiteMinder, Microsoft AD FS, Okta, Ping Identity, SecureAuth, and SimpleSAMLphp (basically, services that use the SAML standard) to allow their employees to log in to their Chromebooks now. With this update, businesses can now also easily provision their devices with client certificates for accessing 802.1X EAP-TLS wireless networks and mutual TLS-protected web resources. Admins can use Google's management console to manage these certificates and distribute them to their users. Aruba Networks, Cloudpath Networks and Aerohive Networks have already implemented these features."

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AfterDawn: News

Google+ is here to stay, says new social media boss

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Oct 2014 6:40

Google+ is here to stay, says new social media boss New Google head of social media Dave Besbris has denounced rumors that Google+ could be getting downsized in light of the abrupt departure of former boss Vic Gundotra.

"We're the largest we've ever been," Besbris said. "We're actually very happy with the progress of Google+, [Larry Page] said this at the time that Vic transitioned that he's going to continue working on building this stuff, that he's very happy with it. The company is behind it."

The interview is longer and has some nice tidbits, but mainly, Besbris has made it clear that there are "pre-conceived notions" about the social network that Google is fighting to remove. In the past, Google forced users to sign up for Google+ just to be able to access more important services (like Gmail, Drive, etc) but now "I only want people to use the software when they want to use the software," added Besbris.

Google+ remains a requirement for commenting on YouTube videos, but you no longer need to have your real name attached to the account. Using Hangouts also does not require Google+ anymore.

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AfterDawn: News

PSA: Sony PlayStation Network down for scheduled maintenance on October 13th

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Oct 2014 5:47

PSA: Sony PlayStation Network down for scheduled maintenance on October 13th As is standard every few months, Sony has scheduled PlayStation Network maintenance in which many services will be unavailable.

In North America, the maintenance is scheduled from 10 AM to 5 PM PST on October 13 and in Europe from 6 PM BST until 1 AM BST on Tuesday, October 14.

Sony listed all the services that will be down during the maintenance time:

PlayStation Store on all devices
PlayStation Network Account Management
PlayStation Network Account Registration
Entertainment services
Online gameplay


Gamers will have to find something else to do for a few hours, it appears.




AfterDawn: News

WSJ: Google's 5.9-inch Moto-built Nexus 6 is real, ready for launch this month

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Oct 2014 10:47

WSJ: Google's 5.9-inch Moto-built Nexus 6 is real, ready for launch this month Google will unveil their massive Nexus 6 in the coming weeks, says the WSJ, seemingly confirming weeks of rumors and leaks from Android-based media.

Built by Motorola, the Nexus 6 (codename Shamu for the giant killer whale) will have a 5.9-inch QHD screen, larger than even the iPhone 6 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Design-wise the device will be similar to the newly released Moto X, and it will include a large 3200 mAh battery, dual 2MP/13MP cameras and will work with Motorola's turbo charging. Moto says just 15 minutes of charging will give you "8 hours" of life, although it is unclear if that means standby time.

There is little else known about the phone's specs except that it will launch with Android 5.0 Lemon Meringue Pie.

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AfterDawn: News

Minecraft for Xbox One coming November 18th

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Oct 2014 10:23

Minecraft for Xbox One coming November 18th Xbox One owners who don't want the digital download - your wait is over: Minecraft is almost ready for retail shelves.

The physical disc will be available for $19.99 in stores starting November 18th, and just like with the downloadable copy, you can transfer your Xbox 360 data over to the current-gen console.

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