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A U.S. start-up claims it has developed software that can accurately answer Captcha prompts 90 percent of the time.

Captchas are a security measure that almost every Internet user has encountered: a graphic or sound that give a human a word to enter in order to fight spam bots. The software is modelled on how the human brain functions to recognise patterns according to its developer, Vicarious.

The Recursive Cortical Network software can operate and even "learn" to a degree by mimicking processes in the brain. The goal of the start-up is to develop the technology for robotics, medical image analysis and world domination - OK I made that last part up.

"The Vicarious algorithms achieve a level of effectiveness and efficiency much closer to actual human brains," Vicarious co-founder D Scott Phoenix said in a statement.

Luis von Ahn, a computer scientist who was part of the team that developed the Captcha system at Carnegie Mellon University, said it was difficult to verify the claims made by Vicarious, but said if necessary Captchas can always be make stronger by increasing distortion.

Video-streaming startup PLAiR, which last year released an HDMI-dongle very similar to what Google released this year, has now scrambled to release a sequel to take on the giant's entry to the market.

Last year, the fish fin-shaped dongle plugged directly into the TV and allowed for streaming video. It was priced at $99 and was originally marketed to rival Apple TV, including the ability to find local content on your notebook, smartphone, tablet and then send it to the TV.

Chromecast, which does the exact same thing, is sold by Google for $39 and even included a free 90-day subscription to Netflix. So far, Hulu, Netflix and Pandora have created native apps for Chromecast with HBO Go expected later in the year.

The new PLAiR 2, which will sell for $49, is powered by a 1GHz ARM Processor, 1 GB DDR3 RAM, has 802.11n wireless, and a built-in GPU/VPU for full 1080p streaming.

As of this weekend, JetBlue and Delta airlines will no longer stop fliers from using their electronics during takeoff and landing.

The recent FAA announcement now allows for electronics to remain on during the flight, but phone calls and using cell data is still not allowed (aka airplane mode). Laptops are still not allowed, but only smaller devices like e-readers, smartphones and tablets. While the FAA decision is broad-based, each airline must ask for approval and it is not required for them to follow the new decision.

"We have worked very closely with the FAA to achieve this new policy, which will be a significant improvement in customers' onboard experience," Robin Hayes, JetBlue's chief commercial officer, noted. "JetBlue now allows all customers gate-to-gate use of personal electronic devices, which means customers can now use their devices at any time during their time onboard."

Delta noted that it recently completed the "carrier-defined PED tolerance testing" required to see if electronic device frequencies would interfere with the aircraft's machinery.

As of Friday, popular photo and video-sharing site Instagram is no longer ad-free.

The first official ad (sponsored photo) is from Michael Kors brand, and the picture of a watch saw over 250,000 likes in its first day.

Facebook (owners of Instagram) had an extended preview period allowing the 150 million users of the service to acclimate to seeing occasional ads in their feeds.

All future ads will include the label "sponsored" so users can differentiate and users can hide the ads if they don't care for the content. Eventually that will lead to better product targeting.

Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion last year, and the company has been careful in their efforts to begin monetizing the service.

According to new figures from NetMarketshare, Microsoft saw their new Windows 8.1 operating system take 1.72 percent global market share, following its first few weeks of general availability.

Overall, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 took 9.25 percent share, a tiny 0.36 percentage point gain from the month before. Windows 8 itself fell 0.49 percentage points month-over-month, due to upgrades. Windows 8, as a standalone, likely peaked in September.

Windows 7 remained the champ, at 46.42 percent, although the OS was flat month-over-month.

Moving to Mac, OS X 10.9 was released late in the month, as well, and jumped to 0.84 percent share.

Windows Vista and Windows XP also remained relatively flat, but within major downtrends.

IMAX has formed a joint venture with Shenzhen's TCL Multimedia to offer expensive home cinema systems to the wealthiest people in China.

A pioneer in immersive 3D cinema experiences, IMAX will market expensive home cinema systems to China's wealthy elite. The home theater systems are expected to sell for up to $250,000 in the country, while it also is eyeing Russia, Hong Kong and the middle east for further expansion.

"China now is our second largest market in the world, and our fastest growing market," Imax chief executive Richard Gelfond said.

TCL estimates that the home theater market in China will grow 20 percent per year, as the growing rich in China look to buy more luxury goods.

IMAX has 131 screens installed in China, accounting for 16 percent of its total revenue.

Netflix has confirmed they have begun testing 4K streaming, hoping to become a major provider by the end of 2014.

The company has added a handful of 4K UltraHD videos to its streaming library this week, with a much wider rollout expected in the next few months. Additionally, the company says it "hopes to launch Ultra HD next year."

For now, the titles are really just reference footage, including one title called "El Fuente: 24 MP," with a description that bluntly reads, "an example of 4K at 24 frames per second." The footage is kids playing in a fountain and people riding on bicycles, showing the streaming in different conditions.

Netflix is expected to make its own original content offerings in UltraHD next year, along with some other major content from licensing partners.

A Microsoft document details how Xbox One Kinect users' data is protected under the new system.

Questions had been raised about privacy issues with the new Kinect, which can recognize and automatically sign in different players based on information it stores about them. The system measures distance between facial features and converts it into numerical data.

According to Microsoft, nobody would be able to look at this data and determine that it represents the person in question. Nevertheless, the information stays on the Xbox One console and is not shared with third parties or backed up to Microsoft servers.

Users are also in complete control over photos captured by the Kinect device during use, and can determine the sharing of data with titles like Kinect Fitness which track skeletal data.

An "Expressions" feature lets users control the Xbox One in ways using facial expressions, but this information cannot identify an individual user and is destroyed when a session ends.

The GameDVR feature on Xbox One can capture gameplay. In the case of multiplayer games, GameDVR will not capture audio chat. Footage captured with GameDVR can be set to "Blocked", "Friends Only" or everybody - determining its level of visibility.

Sprint has begun taking pre-orders for the Google Nexus 5, offering the flagship device for $50 with two-year contract (for new customers).

The unlocked model starts at $349 for 16GB and works for AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile.

Sprint's new deal is for new customers only, as it requires you to port your number from an existing carrier. Additionally, the company says the deal has a mail-in-rebate, as well, for $50.

If you are an existing customer, the carrier is charging $150 after rebate, for the 16GB model.

Read more about the new flagship here: Google Nexus 5 on Afterdawn

Time Warner Cable lost more subscribers in the third-quarter than any other quarter in its history, and the CBS dispute is being blamed.

The cable co lost more than 306,000 subscribers between July and September, compared to a drop of 29,000 subscribers during the same quarter of last year. The company blames the CBS dispute which resulted in a CBS blackout on the network.

TWC had to provide over $15 million worth of credit to Showtime subscribers for losing service during the dispute too.

Its net income during the quarter dropped to $532 million, compared to $808 for the same period of 2012, while its average cost of programming per subscriber rose 8.4 percent to $34.10 per month.

U.S. technology and web giants have written a letter to the U.S. Congress asking it to do more to reign in NSA surveillance and make such programs more transparent.

Since the NSA revelations began there has been considerable confusion among Internet users - in America and worldwide - about exactly what is happening to their data. Some of the earliest reports suggested that the NSA has direct access to servers at companies like Google and could come and go as they pleased for users' information.

Google, and others, almost immediately denied that allegation outright and petitioned the U.S. administration to loosen rules on disclosing the types of government requests it gets. While they eventually were permitted to issue figures in transparency reports, they were not allowed to differentiate between them, which means that they could not separate national security requests from, for example, law enforcement requests for data related to missing persons.

This only continued the confusion and led to the misreporting that the NSA was behind 100% of all the data requests revealed by the tech companies.

Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, Apple and AOL have written a letter to Congress asking it to do more to make surveillance and government requests more transparent, as well as protecting the privacy of Internet users.

Netflix has added another useful deal with a European cable TV provider, marking its third in the market.

While there is continued speculation and reports about Netflix tapping Comcast in a similar deal in the United States, it has just added its third deal with a European cable TV provider. Denmark's Waoo service will now provide Netflix functionality to its pay TV customers. It has around 270,000 subscribers.

Previously, Netflix struck its first such deal with Virgin Media in the UK and followed it up with a deal with Sweden's Com Hem. Perhaps Netflix is seeking such a deal with a cable provider in all European states.

In the United States, Netflix is likely to sign a deal that will bring its app to set-top-box subscribers of a cable TV provider, and reports suggest Comcast is the most likely.

While seen as one of the major factors for declining subscriber tallies for cable companies in recent years, Netflix is also seen as a possible solution to stop or slow down subscriber loss, and may also entice cable customers to opt for more expensive, faster Internet packages.

A California driver was given a ticket when pulled over by a police officer for speeding and for wearing Google Glass while driving.

Cecilia Abadie posted a picture of the ticket given by the police officer on her Google+ page, seeking legal advice. Abadie claims the Google gear was not even switched on when the cop pulled her over.

On the ticket the officer described her infraction as: "Driving with Monitor visible to Driver (Google Glass)".

Cecilia used her Google+ page to ask if there are any other Google Glass wearers who have been ticketed for having them on while driving.

Commenting on her page, some users pointed out that Google Glass might be covered by exceptions in the state vehicle code 27602 that permits drivers to view displays that show maps, GPS and similar information.


More Info & Pic Source: Cecilia Abadie (Google+)

Eminem's latest studio album 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2' is available for streaming on iTunes Radio for U.S. users ahead of its November 5 launch day.

This marks the first time that an entire album is being given early access to exclusively through Apple's iTunes Radio service. The official Twitter account for Eminem announced its availability on iTunes Radio on Friday.

It is available through the First Play station on iTunes Radio for U.S. users only at the moment.

The decision to provide the iTunes Radio route may be in response to a leak of the album this week ahead of its release on Tuesday.

#MMLP2 full album stream now on iTunes for the US! Pre-order available worldwide: http://t.co/T3mVokwKGV

-- Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) November 1, 2013

Sony's PS3 PlayStation Store now supports adding funds through PayPal.

In January, Sony made it possible to add funds to a Sony Entertainment Network wallet using the PayPal service on the web. Now it has announced that you can use PayPal to add funds to your Sony Entertainment Network wallet via PayPal directly through the PlayStation Store on PS3.

When checking out from the cart on PlayStation Store, click "Add Funds", then click "PayPal" and transfer any amount from $5 to $150 (the maximum wallet balance amount).