AfterDawn: Tech news

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AfterDawn: News

Lenovo unveils ThinkPad 10

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2014 9:50

Lenovo unveils ThinkPad 10 Lenovo has a new addition to their ThinkPad line of tablets, a 10-inch device aptly named the ThinkPad 10.

Under the hood is a 1.6GHz quad-core Atom processor with 2GB RAM, and the display has a nice 1,920 x 1,200 resolution. The device will have 64GB internal storage and dual 2MP/8MP cameras. The tablet has a 33Whr battery with 10 hours claimed life. An active digitizer is native and there is support for digital pens. Connectivity includes Bluetooth 4.0, a mini HDMI port, 4G LTE, NFC and Wi-Fi 802.11n.

When it launches, only a Windows 8.1 32-bit model will be available, but a Pro 64-bit model will be available later in the year. Additionally, a 128GB model with 4GB will also be available later in the year.

As with most Windows tablets, Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 will come pre-loaded.

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AfterDawn: News

Chinese government orders web sites to stop streaming 'Big Bang Theory,' others

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2014 9:26

Chinese government orders web sites to stop streaming 'Big Bang Theory,' others The Chinese government has demanded large streaming sites in the nation stop streaming popular American TV shows including "The Big Bang Theory."

Among the other shows are "The Good Wife," "NCIS" and "The Practice."

A spokesperson for major video site Youku confirmed the demands, although the Chinese State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television did not give a reason for the order.

Sites like Youku, Sohu, Tencent and others started with roots in piracy and YouTube-esque clips, but have expanded to include domestic and international licensed movies and TV.

Many are free to watch with ads, but it appears the government may not necessarily approve of the content.

Source:
Yahoo




AfterDawn: News

Here is the awesome interactive trailer for the upcoming Evolve video game

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2014 9:07

Here is the awesome interactive trailer for the upcoming Evolve video game Turtle Rock Studios has released an awesome interactive trailer for their upcoming cooperative shooter, Evolve, using YouTube.

Making the clip interesting is that it follows four players in their quest to defeat a massive monster, and you can switch between the player's perspectives using YouTube's annotations feature.

The video isn't short at 52 minutes, but certainly worth trying out.

Check it here:

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AfterDawn: News

Sorry Apple: ComiXology updates iOS app removing in-app purchases

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2014 8:37

Sorry Apple: ComiXology updates iOS app removing in-app purchases Comixology, the popular comic book reader and store app recently purchased by Amazon, has updated the iOS app to remove the ability for in-app purchases.

The app will serve only as a reader now, and you will have to head to the company's website to purchase new ones. Free comics and the ability to browse within the app are still functional, as well. You can add books you want to a watch list to make purchases at home easier.

Says the company: "As we move to complete the acquisition with Amazon, we are shifting to the web-based purchasing model they've successfully used with the Kindle, which we expect will allow us to strike the best balance between prices, selection and customer experience.

There are many advantages to shopping at comiXology.com. Because of the content restrictions our mobile partners have, shopping on the web provides even greater selection of comic books and graphic novels. iOS customers will now be able to save money with comiXology's exclusive web-only Bundles, take advantage of Subscription features and enjoy eGift Cards. We also made our website more tablet/mobile friendly on all devices to make the purchasing process that much easier. And in Safari on iOS, customers can easily save a shortcut to our webstore with the "Add to Home Screen" feature.

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AfterDawn: News

RadiumOne CEO fired after conviction for battery, domestic violence

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2014 7:56

RadiumOne CEO fired after conviction for battery, domestic violence One of the top stories of the week has been the story of RadiumOne founder and CEO Gurbasksh Chahal, who was accused of hitting his girlfriend 117 times, with a security video seemingly proving that case.

This weekend, the board of directors has fired the longtime executive, replacing him with current COO Bill Lonergan. The board did not cite a reason for the termination, but it is most likely due to Chahal's conviction for battery and domestic violence.

The move comes at a perilous time for the advertising tech company which is planning to raise $100 million and go public this year. RadiumOne builds software that automates media buying, making big data actionable for digital marketers.

Sources claim the board took so long to make a decision due to Chahal's massive stake, control and power within the company and the legal complexity of the move. It was even unclear if the board could fire Chahal.

Chahal wrote an aggressive blog post defending himself earlier in the weekend. You can read that here.




AfterDawn: News

Microsoft confirms massive Internet Explorer vulnerability, hundreds of millions at risk

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2014 7:27

Microsoft confirms massive Internet Explorer vulnerability, hundreds of millions at risk Microsoft has confirmed a zero-day vulnerability that has put a large portion of the world's computer users at risk.

The exploit affects Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

Microsoft explains that "the vulnerability is a remote code execution vulnerability. The vulnerability exists in the way that Internet Explorer accesses an object in memory that has been deleted or has not been properly allocated. The vulnerability may corrupt memory in a way that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user within Internet Explorer. An attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability through Internet Explorer and then convince a user to view the website."

The software giant is preparing a patch and it is so critical that it could be provided out-of-cycle.

Internet Explorer is used by about 55 percent of the world as their preferred browser, leavings hundreds of millions vulnerable.

Read more here: Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution




AfterDawn: News

Spotify adding users at brisk pace in UK

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Apr 2014 12:52

Spotify adding users at brisk pace in UK Streaming music giant Spotify has announced it is adding users in the UK at a very brisk pace.

In the UK alone, the company added 1 million active users since the beginning of the year, and executives believe they can surpass iTunes as the largest digital music service in Europe before the year is out.

"Some of our partners are saying Spotify is now generating more revenue each month across Continental Europe than iTunes," Spotify's head of label relations in Europe, Kevin Brown, said. "Given that download sales are declining and Spotify is growing rapidly, particularly in the UK, it is only a matter of time before Spotify is bigger than iTunes across Europe as a whole."

As far as revenue is concerned, Brown says a "significant" portion of the 1 million users in the UK are paying subscribers, either to the unlimited ad-free premium Web service or the full premier account that offers mobile access, as well. A lot of the growth came via a marketing partnerships with Vodafone and the Sunday Times.

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AfterDawn: News

Chart of the Day: A great look into how Apple and Google became a smartphone duopoly

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Apr 2014 5:36

Chart of the Day: A great look into how Apple and Google became a smartphone duopoly PayPal president David Marcus posted a great chart today via his Twitter feed that we feel deserved a little more attention.

Via comScore MobiLens, the chart shows off the market share for the top mobile operating systems in the U.S. beginning in 2005 and ending at the end of last year. The chart effectively shows how a fragmented and diverse market slowly but surely became a duopoly entirely populated by Apple and Google.

Additionally, the chart shows the rise and fall of BlackBerry, the once immensely popular Canadian smartphone maker that has now all but left the consumer handset market. The now defunct Palm is also prominently displayed, as is Nokia's one-time hit Symbian operating system. Nokia killed off the OS a few years ago and their hardware fate is now in the hands of new owner Microsoft.

By the end 2005, Palm was the proud owner of 30 percent market share of the fledgling smartphone market, followed by BlackBerry and Symbian each at 25 percent and Microsoft's original mobile OS Windows Mobile controlling the remaining 20 percent.

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AfterDawn: News

Sony makes Xperia Z2 available in U.S., but only through their own online store

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Apr 2014 5:13

Sony makes Xperia Z2 available in U.S., but only through their own online store Sony's latest flagship still does not have any carrier support.

The Xperia Z2, Sony's new and powerful smartphone, is headed to the U.S., but you will have to get it unlocked and directly through the company. In fact, there isn't expected to be carrier support "in the near future," confirms the company.

Compared to their Z1, the display of the flagship has been increased to 5.2 inches, with the same 1080p resolution. The new IPS Triluminos X-Reality display has Sony's new Live Color LEDs, which the company says offers the widest color gamut on the market.

Internals have been improved significantly, as well, to a quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon processor, 3GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, a microSD slot, Android 4.4.2, IPX5 and IPX8 waterproof/dustproof certification and new stereo speakers.

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AfterDawn: News

Google's hotel and restaurant search integrated to Android

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Apr 2014 4:37

Google's hotel and restaurant search integrated to Android Google has updated its search engine for Android, better integrating the company's hotel and restaurant search features.

For example, typing or using voice to ask questions like "show me restaurants in New York City" should lead to a list of restaurants near you.

The move follows Google's integration of flight search into its voice search for PCs and Android.

So far, the search features work reasonably well, and will place higher rated hotels and restaurants up near the top of results.

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AfterDawn: News

Urban legend confirmed as E.T. Atari games are exhumed

Written by James Delahunty @ 26 Apr 2014 3:53

Urban legend confirmed as E.T. Atari games are exhumed After lying buried for 30 years, a documentary film crew has dug up copies of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial for Atari 2600 from an Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill.

The 1982 E.T. title was developed for the Atari 2600 games console and is considered to be one of the biggest commercial failures ever in the video games industry, and one of the worst video games of all time. The game itself was developed in only a matter of weeks after the rights were secured in order to be available for sale during the busy holiday season.

Atari suffered massive financial losses during the next two years and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial has been cited as a major source of those losses, and for contributing to an industry slump throughout 1983.

For the past 30 years, it was understood throughout the industry that millions of copies of the failed game were buried in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and later covered over with concrete. In 2013, plans were revealed to dig up this piece of video games history.

Today, those copies of that terrible video game have finally seen light again. Fuel Entertainment (the documentary crew), Xbox Entertainment Studios and LightBox Entertainment were given permission to excavate the site several weeks ago, and that digging is currently underway.

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AfterDawn: News

Microsoft to distribute AOL videos

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Apr 2014 3:26

Microsoft to distribute AOL videos Microsoft and AOL have announced a new pact in which the software giant will distribute many of AOL's videos via some of their Web properties.

All videos in AOL's library are included, including home grown clips from Huffington Post and TechCrunch, as well as videos being distributed through other content makers, such as clips from TMZ and ESPN.

Among the properties making the videos available are the MSN Web portal, and the Bing apps on Windows Phone devices. Microsoft gets to keep 50 percent of ad revenue, and will sell the ads for the videos.

The MSN portal has a large reach, with over 450 million users accessing it. Microsoft continues to reach for premium content to engage its audience better, and the deal for AOL is a no-brainer following their similar deal with YouTube.

Source:
re/code




AfterDawn: News

Netflix now available directly via cable box from a few small cable companies

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Apr 2014 1:49

Netflix now available directly via cable box from a few small cable companies Netflix has announced that its streaming service will be available via the cable boxes of Atlantic Broadband, Grande Communications and RCN subscribers.

If you have a TiVo DVR from one of those companies, starting on Monday you will be able to access the streaming service through your TV without the need for an extra device or downloaded app. Of course, you will need a Netflix subscription, as well, which is $7.99 per month currently and eventually will increase to $8.99.

The cable companies are small, but the deals mirror similar pacts Netflix has in Europe.

"Now, watching Netflix is as easy as changing the channel," said David Isenberg, chief marketing and strategy officer, Atlantic Broadband. "The ever-expanding selection of titles on Netflix is a tremendous complement to Atlantic Broadband's existing portfolio of Live TV, HD channels and On Demand programming. Integrating the world's leading Internet TV network with the world's best DVR platform underscores our commitment to delivering customers what they want – instantly."

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AfterDawn: News

Mandatory PlayStation 4 update 1.70 coming April 30th

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Apr 2014 1:09

Mandatory PlayStation 4 update 1.70 coming April 30th Sony has confirmed that mandatory PlayStation 4 firmware update 1.70 will be released on April 30th.

1.70 will add the ShareFactory video editing app and also will give gamers the ability to disable HDCP video signal copyright protection, a highly anticipated move.

ShareFactory allows gamers to add audio, filters and more to their gaming and other videos.

In addition, the update will let users save screenshots, photos and videos to USB drives.

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AfterDawn: News

Microsoft to unveil at least two new original shows for Xbox next week

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Apr 2014 12:43

Microsoft to unveil at least two new original shows for Xbox next week According to sources, Microsoft will unveil at least two new original programs that will be exclusive to the Xbox.

Besides the previously announced Halo series, the company is working on a reality series about soccer players and a documentary about the alleged landfill that holds millions of discarded E.T. games for the Atari 2600.

Microsoft needs original programming if it hopes to differentiate its streaming services from major rivals. Netflix has spent hundreds of millions on hit original shows like 'Orange is the New Black' and 'House of Cards' and Amazon recently launched their first original program 'Alpha House' along with an exclusive deal for older HBO content. Hulu Plus has a number of exclusive original shows, as well, although of a less splashier variety.

The software giant first announced its own content 19 months ago, but so far has nothing to show for it. There is not even a true business model or strategy in place, say the sources, and it is unclear whether the content will be packaged as part of the Xbox Live subscription or if it will be separate.

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