Apparently Ubuntu is infringing Paramounts Copyrights over Transformers movie!

Apparently Ubuntu is infringing Paramounts Copyrights over Transformers movie!

For some unknown reason, Paramount Pictures has decided that the freely distributed Ubuntu OS torrents are "infringing" their copyrights on Transformers movie! Paramount Pictures recently sent a DMCA takedown notice to Google, accusing Ubuntu OS of infringing their copyrights.

Paramount Pictures Sends Takedown Notices to "Infringing" Ubuntu Torrents

Just when you thought the copyright infringement drama cant get any sillier, Paramount Pictures decides to send takedown notice to Google, accusing Ubuntu OS torrents of "infringing" their copyrights over Transformers: Age of Extinction movie. According to torrentfreak, copyright holders sent millions of takedown requests to Google every week and "it�s no surprise that errors are made". But their latest "error" seems rather odd. 

As you can see, the torrent URL or the destination doesnt contain any references of this particular movie. Yet, a notice sent out by the movie studios anti-piracy partner a few days ago, and Google was asked to remove the Ubuntu torrent download page on ExtraTorrent, a popular torrent download website.

Whats even more interesting is the fact that, instead of any fact-checking, Google went ahead and took down the "infringing" URL. May be its just the standard practice given the sheer volume of takedown requests Google receives every other day (some three million requests per day, as per some reports). But here is the thing.

"Paramounts mistake may be relatively harmless, but it shows once again how much can go wrong with these automated DMCA notices. Whether these errors can be rooted out is doubtful as there is very little incentive for copyright holders to improve their accuracy."

Read the detailed report and discussions at TorrentFreak

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Apple is making more money than ever but uncertainty over Watch sales has Wall St worried

Apple is making more money than ever but uncertainty over Watch sales has Wall St worried

Not on enough wrists. Source: AP

ANALYSTS have been led to believe that Apple�s smartwatch was a sales flop after the company left details out of its financial figures.

While not releasing specific figures for the Apple Watch, Apple reported total results for several products, including the watch, that suggest sales were lower than many Wall St analysts expected. The company also issued a revenue forecast for the current quarter that suggested sales could fall below analysts� prior estimates.

Apple�s latest financial report shows the iPhone is still the key engine of the company�s success. The California tech giant said it sold more than 47.5 million iPhones during the three months ending in June, or 35 per cent more than a year ago.

But top executives stood by their decision not to disclose results for the Apple Watch, saying the information could be used by competitors. Many analysts and investors see the watch as an important indicator of the company�s ability to produce successful new products.

In one tantalising clue, Apple reported $2.6 billion in revenue from the segment that includes the watch and several other products, or about $952 million more than the previous quarter, when the watch had not yet gone on sale.

If we were to guess that the $952 million was from Watch sales, it would mean that Apple sold � at most � roughly 3 million of its latest device, assuming all sold were the cheapest model. Significantly less than the iPhone.

It�s also half the $1.8 billion in watch sales that analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.

Apple�s stock fell nearly 6 per cent, indicating investors weren�t satisfied with the report.

Malcolm Turnbull is one of the 3 million with an Apple Watch. Source: News Corp Australia

Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri told the Associated Pressthat revenue from the watch amounted to �well over� that $952 million increase. He said the category also includes revenue from iPods and accessories, whose sales fell in the quarter.

�We beat our internal expectations� for the watch, Maestri said, adding that the number of watches sold in the first nine weeks was greater than the number of iPhones or iPads that the company sold in a comparable period after those products launched.

Apple has previously said it sold 1 million iPhones in the first 74 days, or more than 10 weeks, after sales began in 2007, however that was only in the USA. Apple has said it sold 2 million iPads in the first 60 days, with iPad sales hitting 3 million in 80 days after the iPad was launched in 2010.

Meanwhile, analysts and investors were eager to learn more about the Apple Watch, which went on sale in April. While not expected to be an important revenue source now, the watch has symbolic importance as the first new product category that Apple has launched since the 2011 death of founder and iconic chief executive officer Steve Jobs.

�When you look at the next big wave of innovation, in coming years, it�s not going to come from smartphones,� said analyst Angelo Zino of S&P Capital Markets, who said phones were already becoming �commodity� items, even with Apple dominating the high end of that market. �So a lot of people want to see if Apple can roll out a new product that�s very successful and innovative.�

Apple�s next software update will be easier for app makers to develop for. Source: AFP

While Apple executives say demand for the watch has been strong, the absence of official numbers has left analysts to offer estimates ranging from rosy to lacklustre. Maestri acknowledged that Apple has released detailed sales figures for other products, but he said the company wanted �to be careful� with information about the watch, to avoid tipping competitors as Apple learns more about consumer demand for a new product.

One of the big problems at the moment facing the Apple Watch is a classic catch-22 case. Big app developers like Facebook are being increasingly cautious in developing apps for the new platform, leaving big Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp holes in the Watch ecosystem. Similarly, Google has shown a lack of support for its big apps like Gmail and Maps due to a lack of users on the platform.

But the problem here is, people aren�t buying the Watch because it doesn�t have any big features or killer apps that consumers think are worth dropping big dollars for.

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Apple is smart to enlist hackers and iPhone 7 jailbreakers to secure iOS and macOS

Apple is smart to enlist hackers and iPhone 7 jailbreakers to secure iOS and macOS

 

Apple has historically been very guarded and secretive. While this is still true today, the company has definitely become more open after Steve Jobs death. Quite frankly, the fact that there are now public betas for both iOS and macOS is mind-blowing for the Apple faithful. Last month, the company even launched its first bug bounty program! Why did Apple soften its guarded position? It had to. As the technology market advances, and security becomes a bigger focus, it is not possible to catch all bugs and vulnerabilities in house.
 
While the bug bounty and public betas were very wise moves, the company is apparently taking things a step further. According to Forbes, Apple is enlisting iPhone jailbreakers and other hackers (such as Luca Todesco, Nicholas Allegra and Patrick Wardle) to bolster the security of its products using the aforementioned bug bounty program. In fact, it is rumored to be happening at a secret meeting. If true, is the company smart to trust these people?
 
Many iPhone users like jailbreaking their devices, and yeah, I can understand the appeal. You can make your phone do things that Apple did not intend, including fun customizations. The problem? It makes your iPhone or iPad less secure. Every time an exploit is discovered that allows jailbreaking, or a vulnerability is discovered in macOS, it highlights a bug that Apple missed -- it is embarrassing for the company.
 
Some bugs and vulnerabilities can be exploited by malware, as we saw last month. While the iPhone is viewed by many as secure, hackers were found to be spying on people. It was quickly patched with iOS 9.3.5, but there is no telling how long the vulnerability had been in the wild. This malware in particular highlights why Apple must do whatever it can to secure its products -- including working with known hackers.
 
Unfortunately, selling these bugs and exploits to nefarious groups and governments can be quite lucrative -- it is big business. In order for Apple to recruit these people into its program, it has to do one of two things -- outbid other entities that purchase them, or build a relationship with the hackers. If Apple has really invited these people as Forbes claims, they may be trying to do the latter.
 
Besides the previously mentioned invitees, who else is attending? Forbes says the following.

Forbes believes others who made the cut include noted iPhone and Mac hackers Francisco Alonso, Stefan Esser, Braden Thomas, Pedro Vilaca and Jonathan Zdziarski. Former Apple engineer Alex Ionescu, Steven De Franco (better known in the jailbreak community as ih8sn0w), and a member of the famous Pangu jailbreak crew, Hao Xu, are also amongst the invitees.

Whether or not this secret meeting pays off for Apple remains to be seen. If the maximum the iPhone-maker will pay is $200,000, and other groups (such as Cellebrite) will offer them more, these hackers and jailbreakers may be tempted to cut Apple out. Cash is king, right?
 
Tim Cook and company may want to consider higher bounty payments, or to take things further, hire these people full time. Yes, I am actually suggesting making these people official Apple employees. With that said, they will need to be vetted, of course. These folks are undoubtedly smart, but their trustworthiness and ability to adapt to the corporate world will need to be proven.
 
Do you think Apple is wise to work with jailbreakers and hackers or is it playing with fire? Tell me in the comments.
 
Photo Credit: Goncharenya Tanya/Shutterstock
 
~ Brian Fagioli

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Apples MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is absolutely incredible

Apples MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is absolutely incredible

 

The star of Apples event today was always going to be the new MacBook Pro. Other announcements may have been made, but they faded into insignificance compared to the latest addition to Apples notebook range. This time around we see a 13- or 15-inch device with an all-aluminum design. In Tim Cooks words, it is "absolutely incredible".
 
Both models are available in Silver and Space Gray, and its the thinnest and lightest MacBook Pro ever made. Things have shrunk, things have grown. The new MacBook Pro is thinner and lighter than ever, but the trackpad is now twice as large -- it is huge. But the real show-stealer is Touch Bar.
 
We thought this
 
new killer feature may have been called the Magic Toolbar, but apart from the name change, its very much what we expected. This is a Retina Display multi-touch panel that replaces the traditional row of function keys. That said, the function keys and Esc key remain, albeit in soft form.
 

 

Touch Bar is touch and gesture sensitive and includes Touch ID so you can log into your MacBook Pro with a fingerprint. Touch Bar has built in system functions such as screen brightness, and its context sensitive, so it shows buttons that relate to the current app. Quick type suggestions blends the autosuggest feature of iOS with the features of a regular keyboard, but whether this allows for faster typing remains to be seen. Just as Cortana has a dedicated button in Windows 10, so Siri now has a dedicated button.
 
The 13inch MacBook Pro is just 14.9mm thick (17 percent thinner than before), features 23 percent less volume, and weighs just 3lbs -- almost 0.5lbs less than before. For the 15-inch model the 15.5mm thickness means it is 14 percent thinner than before, there 20 percent less volume, and the weight is just 4lbs. Both feature an all-new keyboard design with second generation butterfly switch mechanism.
 
The screen is 67 percent brighter and offers a 25 percent wider color gamut. The 15-inch MacBook Pro features an Intel Core i7 Quad-core with 2133MHz memory, supports up to 4GB of VRAM, and includes an SSD operating at up to 3.1GB/s. The 13-inch model comes in i5 or i7 versions. Both models offer up to 10 hours of battery life.
 

 

There is also a 13-inch MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar for those looking to make a bit of a financial saving -- essentially replacing the MacBook Air. In all, there are three new models which have the following base specs:

• 13-inch MacBook Pro
• 2.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
• Intel Iris Graphics 540
• 8GB memory
• 256GB SSD
• 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports
• Available for $1,499; ships today

• 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
• Touch Bar and Touch ID
• 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
• Intel Iris Graphics 550
• 8GB memory
• 256GB memory
• 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
• Available to pre-order todayfor $1,799; ships in 2-3 weeks

15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

• Touch Bar and Touch ID
• 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
• Radeon Pro 450 graphics
• 16GB memory
• 256GB memory
• 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
• Available to pre-order today for $2,399; ships in 2-3 weeks

Find out more at the MacBook Pro website.
 
~ Mark Wilson

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Überwachung Big Brother is watching you

Überwachung Big Brother is watching you

"Sei auf der Hut - Denn in diesen Tagen k�nnen Stra�en sehen und Leitungen h�ren!"

Mag f�r manchen paranoid klingen, aber ich bin der Meinung dass man jede Chance nutzen sollte um die eigene Privatsph�re zu sch�tzen.

Email: Sofern der Empf�nger mitmacht, wird diese konsequent verschl�sselt.

Telefon: F�r vertrauliche Gespr�che nutze ich ein Schnurtelefon. 

Internet: Ins World-Wide-Web gehe ich nur �ber Kabel. 

Computer: Ist komplett verschl�sselt, was nat�rlich nur ein Schutz bei einem physischem Zugriff ist.

Betriebssystem: Linux. Somit ein sehr guter Schutz vor Viren und Trojanern.

Was ist eure Meinung zum Thema �berwachung und Privatsph�re: Trefft ihr auch Ma�nahmen um euch und eure Daten zu sch�tzen oder habt ihr, wie viele andere meinen, nichts zu verbergen? :-) Postet eure Gedanken als Kommentar.

Folgend habe ich f�r euch interessante Videos zum Thema �berwachung:

Big Brother is watching you

Jeder kann uns �berwachen � ganz besonders der Staat. Mein Laptop spioniert mich aus, mein Drucker verr�t mich an die Polizei und meine SMS liefern dem Verfassungsschutz wichtige Infos. Reine Verschw�rungsphantasie? Galileo kl�rt auf, was dran ist am Big Brother-Staat.

? Video ansehen


�berwachungsstaat - Was ist das?

Was ist ein �berwachungsstaat? Seit den Enth�llungen von Prism und Tempora, den �berwachungs-Programmen der USA und Gro�britannien, h�rt man die Warnung vor einem �berwachungsstaat. Doch was hat es damit auf sich?

Diese Animation zeigt die Gefahren von �berwachung auf, und erkl�rt, warum der oft geh�rte Spruch "Wer nichts zu verbergen hat, hat auch nichts zu bef�rchten" ein gro�er Irrtum ist.

? Video ansehen

Abh�ren leicht gemacht

Forscher der Technischen Universit�t Darmstadt haben zusammen mit der Bauhaus-Universit�t Weimar, der Universit�t Luxemburg und dem Chaos Computer Club nachgewiesen, dass viele Schnurlos-Telefone mit einfachen Mitteln abgeh�rt werden k�nnen. Der Gesetzgeber sieht derzeit keinen Handlungsbedarf. Dabei gibt es in Deutschland rund 30 Millionen Schnurlos-Telefone.

? Video ansehen

Webcam Spionage im Kinderzimmer und am Arbeitsplatz

Eine Webcam ohne Schutz ist wie ein Haus ohne T�r. Immer h�ufiger werden integrierte Webcams angezapft und ausspioniert. Die Hacker verschaffen sich aber nicht nur Zugang zu privaten Webcams auch gesch�ftlich genutzte Computer und Laptops werden immer �fter ausspioniert.

Das ist einer der Gr�nde weshalb sich immer mehr Firmen f�r den Spionage Stop entscheiden. Geben Sie Viren und Trojaner keine Chance Webcam-Aufnahmen ins Internet zu senden!

? Video ansehen

Wie man sein Mobiltelefon vor dem Abh�ren sch�tzt

Wolfgang Rudolf vom Computer:Club� erkl�rt, welche Gefahren von Mobiltelefonen ausgeht und was man konkret dagegen tun kann.

? Video ansehen


Anleitungen zum Verschl�sseln:

? Ubuntu 14.04 LTS verschl�sseln - Anleitung der Installation

? Debian - Gesamte Platte mit verschl�sseltem LVM - Anleitung der Installation

? TrueCrypt - Anleitung der Installation f�r Ubuntu

? Emails verschl�sseln - Anleitung

Bild-Quelle: vorratsdatenspeicherung.de

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Apple Me is BlackBerry Enterprise Server for the Rest of Us

Apple Me is BlackBerry Enterprise Server for the Rest of Us

The new Apple .me application has been dubbed by Apple "Exchange for the rest of us" as in Microsoft Exchange. Launching in mid July, it is aimed at users who have a Mac at home, use an iPhone and have a PC at work and want to sync calendar and contacts between those three platforms. But really its also "Enterprise Server for the rest of us" as in BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Enterprise Server, if you dont know, is a piece of software that sits on top of an Exchange Server and manages BlackBerrys within the enterprise. It is the only way that you can get wireless sync of calendar and contacts between desktop machines and your BlackBerry.

But with .Me, finally without the use of either Exchange or Blackberry Enterprise Server, youre able to sync your calendar and contacts wirelessly. Not being able to do this with the previous iPhone seemed to me a painful omission. To be able to now accomplish this through a simple web-based system as the link between Macs, PCs and iPhones is a nail in the BlackBerry coffin.

BlackBerry has made a minimal attempt to create a small business (as in really small business) or home version of its Enterprise Server with a product called BlackBerry Unite! (LINK) but it still requires the use of a dedicated, always on desktop machine. And theyve only launched it in Spain and Canada (though if youre really tricky you can download the software and apparently it does work on other carriers, outside those two countries). The idea that BlackBerry is requiring small business or home users to set up their own server for the cloud is crazy!

I love my BlackBerry and want to get a BlackBerry Bold but this wireless .Me option sorely tempts me. It should tempt any small business user as well.

"Apple will continue to penetrate the small and medium business market much more heavily and aggressively than it has been able to do so previously with this Exchange integration, but as far as larger enterprise, we still see RIM as the standard,� said Mike Abramsky, an analyst with RBC Dominion Securities." Globeinvestor.com LINK

Sure RIM is the standard for now, but iPhone is going to be a highly effective wedge that will, I suspect, rapidly penetrate upwards, from the sole proprieter and small business user on up.

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Apple is leaving the iOS 10 kernel unencrypted to increase security

Apple is leaving the iOS 10 kernel unencrypted to increase security

 

Each new version of iOS is eagerly awaited, and at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) Apple unveiled a preview of iOS 10. Much has been made of the new features, but developers probing the operating system are making a surprising discovery. The kernel of iOS 10 is unencrypted.
 
In the current climate of security-awareness, this might seem like something of an unusual decision. But Apple says that the change has been made to improve performance, and it could even help to increase security.
 
In a statement to TechCrunch Apple sought to calm fears about the privacy implications of leaving the kernel unencrypted. A spokesperson said: "The kernel cache doesn�t contain any user info, and by unencrypting it were able to optimize the operating system�s performance without compromising security".
 
While the previous decision to encrypt this section of the operating system would seem sensible, developers and security researchers have been left working in the dark. It has made security issues harder to unearth and this is potentially dangerous. The hope is that by leaving the kernel unencrypted, security flaws could be identified and fixed faster than ever before.
 
As well as the possibility of increasing security, laying bare the kernel also gives developers a rare insight into the inner working of iOS. The new level of transparency will also enable Apple to honestly answer any questions that people might have about government backdoors into its products -- or developers can just look for themselves.
 
Photo credit: Maen Zayyad / Shutterstock
 
~ Mark Wilson

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Apples new MacBook Air is definitely two times faster

Apples new MacBook Air is definitely two times faster

Apple boldly claimed early this week that its refreshed 13-inch MacBook Air was "up to two times faster" than the previous generation of laptops and a teardown has revealed that it wasnt telling porkies when it made the claim.

iFixits teardown of the new 13-inch and 11-inch MacBook Air models included a speed test that revealed the respective read and write speeds of the two new machines as well as minute details on the memory inside each one.

Using Black Magics Disk Speed Test, iFixit was able to ascertain that the 11-inch model has average read speeds of 315Mb/s and write speeds of 668Mb/s, whereas the 13-inch model has average write speeds of 629.9Mb/s and average read speeds of 1285.3Mb/s - almost exactly double.

Samsung behind increase

The uplift in speed is thanks to the new PCIe-based flash storage inside the 13-inch MacBook Air and the subsequent teardown revealed it has used Samsung flash memory with a Samsung controller to achieve the speeds. The 11-inch model, which has the slower memory, has SanDisk flash memory with a Marvell controller.

Apple refreshed the line earlier on this week when it also released its smallest laptop ever in the shape of the MacBook, which controversially did away with all ports except a USB-C and headphone socket and has set tongues wagging throughout the tech space.

Via: MacRumors

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Apple is out of touch

Apple is out of touch

 

I am not an Apple fanboy, but I have defended the companys decisions and philosophy more times than I can remember. And for good reason. But, looking at the new MacBook Pro line, I am finding it hard to see where that "touch of genius" is. What exactly makes its latest laptops anything more than glorified MacBooks?
 
Apple has never been afraid to take risks and innovate. But with the new MacBook Pros it has failed to improve upon their "Pro" status. It wrongfully applied the same approach it has used over and over again in the consumer space without considering that prosumers, the folks who MacBook Pros used to be designed for, have a different set of needs than the average Joe who buys a MacBook Air to go on Facebook at Starbucks. As a result, the new MacBook Pros, while different than before, are not evolved enough for this day and age. The so-called "touch of genius" tagline is proof that Apple has lost touch with the real world.
 
Now, before going any further I will admit that Apple will probably sell a ton of the new MacBook Pros. It usually does, and there is no reason to suggest sales will drop, taking into account the fact that the last major update to the Retina display-toting MacBook Pros came aeons ago. People who are looking to replace their aging rMBPs will look at what Apple has to offer first and will probably decide to move to a new model.
 
In the short run, that will work out fine, but in the long run Apple risks having to do the same thing it did with the iPad line, which is to Pro-ify it. Remember, we are talking about PCs here, regardless of the fact that they run macOS and have an Apple logo on the back. And PCs arent selling all that well these days, because, among other things, people do not have good-enough reasons to pull the trigger on a new one, because, well, the improvements are not all that compelling.
 
But, lets get back on to the topic at hand.
 
Looking at the new MacBook Pro line, it feels like Apple wants to unify its MacBook range a bit too much. The MacBook shipped with a USB Type-C port, and so does the new MacBook Pros. Except they dont have only one, they have four. Except if you get the base new MacBook Pro in 13-inch trim, which only has two. And of the two, only one is usable if you are charging it. But the trouble is that, in order to use any of them, you either have to buy devices with USB Type-C ports or get dongles.
 
The USB Type-C device market is basically irrelevant at this stage in the grand scheme of things. Even Apple believes so, because it did not bother to introduce a compatible iPhone charger. You can get a USB Type-C to Lightning cable to transfer files, but you cant use it with the charger -- so you also have to carry the standard cable around. Or you can get, you guessed it, a dongle.
 
To be frank, thats stupid. I may be harsh, but Apple prides itself on its attention to detail. So how could it have missed that if you buy one of its new products you will not be able to use it seamlessly with another one -- that is also new, and arguably more important? Remember, the iPhone 7 launched last month, not five years ago. Its not a legacy product.
 
I am sure that lots of iPhone users would have been fine with buying a new cable and charger with USB Type-C connectors. This would be a more elegant solution, rather than having to carry a dongle to charge your iPhone and transfer some files quickly -- or a second cable.
 
Apple also seems to be torn between two technologies. On the latest MacBook Pros you get USB Type-C, with Thunderbolt 3 support, while on the iPhone 7 you have Lightning. The iPhone carries more weight, and so you cant change from Lightning to USB Type-C as easily as you can switch from standard USB connectors to the new reversible one -- because it would affect far more customers at once and relatively soon after ditching the old connector -- but I am sure that Apple is probably thinking of it.
 
But that is not the biggest problem. The USB Type-C adoption is, and it is time to address it. If you buy a new MacBook Pro today, for each USB device that you buy you will have to get a $19 dongle to be able to use it with your new laptop. And you will have to carry as many as you need with you, otherwise you will not be able to stick something as basic as a USB drive in your cutting-edge device. Connectivity-wise, without dongles, the new MacBook Pros are crippled.
 
Apple likes to take risks, and someone will surely point out that things will change and that USB Type-C is better and that the company is simply ahead of the curve. And that may very well be true, but fact of the matter is no one is fully prepared for the new MacBook Pros, not even companies making products that should work with it.
 
Something else that I find to dumb down the new MacBook Pro line is the fact that there is no MagSafe connector anymore. And that is not a change forward, because MagSafe is cleverly designed to protect your laptop from being damaged if you trip on the chargers cable. The USB Type-C cable thats provided to charge the new laptops doesnt have a similar functionality.
 
So that is a clear step backwards. Luckily, you still have the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is good because I would have hated to talk about yet another dongle. Unfortunately, I cant -- because you will need one to connect an SD card.
 
Yes, Apple dropped the SD card reader, even though it is basically as slim as a USB Type-C connector, and, arguably, incredibly useful to the vast majority of photographers. Most professional-grade cameras use SD cards, and now you will have to (I hate to say it one more time, but here goes) get a dongle to transfer photos and videos to a new MacBook Pro.
 
Two cool new things that you do get -- again, unless you opt for the base model, which only gets the latter -- are the Touch Bar and larger trackpad. The former is the real party trick, but I suspect that the bigger surface area of the trackpad will be more appreciated, more of the time.
 
I have not used a Touch Bar, so I cannot really share my experience with it, but from everything Apple has said it does not look like a revolutionary addition. Whats more, it is unlikely to be extremely useful soon, because Mac developers typically need a bit of time before they embrace such features. And, really, I do not use as many apps where it could be extremely useful.
 
However, the TouchID support is a fantastic addition. However, I do not live in an environment where the risk of someone else using or stealing my laptop is worth thinking about. And Apple Pay is not in the equation either. So, lets just say Im skeptical of the benefits it provides in return for the premium it involves.
 
But the elephant in the room is not what Apple has removed. It is what Apple has not added. And that is anything that can move the game forward in terms of laptop technology. Everything that you see on the new MacBooks has be done before -- in some form or another, if not better -- and it is not like Apple just had an iPhone moment where it managed to combine all those things in a way others have not.
 
With the exception of the Touch Bar, most of what you see on the new MacBook Pros represents an evolutionary move from the previous generation: a bit smaller, a bit lighter, a bit thinner, a bit faster, a bit more color variety, and thats pretty much it.
 
For the kind of money that Apple is asking for a new MacBook Pro, I honestly expect more. And I do not expect more for the sake of it. No. I expect more because Microsoft is doing more. Have you seen the recent Surface announcements? Barring the Surface Pro 4, which hasnt received an update yet, the software giants PC line looks incredibly innovative and refreshing next to Apples.
 
And Microsoft is not even trying to compete on price, because some of its stuff is hugely expensive. No, Microsoft is competing with Apple by doing what Apple should have done, which is to change the status quo. The new MacBook Pros are not all that different to the old ones or other laptops for that matter, but the Surface Pro 4, Surface Book and Surface Studio are. Microsoft is the bolder of the two, and it shows. Apple looks complacent by comparison.
 
The magic is gone.
 
Photo Credit: Lisa F. Young/Shutterstock
 
~ Mih?i?? Bamburic

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Apple’s New TV App is Live Now

Apple’s New TV App is Live Now

Apple’s New TV App is Live Now

Apple’s New TV App for its iPhone, TVs, and iPads has made it easier to find the TV shows and the desired movies among various apps. It shows the content from all of your subscribed supported apps, the content which you have purchased from your iTunes, and the new apps which offer video.
This app has been introduced this fall while offering you to help in keeping track of your favorite shows which were searched through different apps and iTunes. The idea of centralizing this app came at the time when there are an increased number of apps are available for streaming video on tablets, mobile phones, and other devices.
Since you have to authenticate the app with the pay TV provider, it is difficult to remember that which application shows your favorite films or programs.
Apple’s New TV App has been introduced to simplify the process of watching the videos on Apple’s iPhone, TV, and on the iPads with the experience which gives the feeling of Netflix front-end to the broad range of content which is available across all the applications.
Apple’s New TV App has a number of features which help you to find the videos easily. You can simply tell Siri about the game which you want to watch with Live Tune-in with Siri. You can also ask about the on games, or the names of the shows which you want to watch.it will launch the stream, without the requirement of navigating to the live streams from the option of TV app self.
If you are indecisive that what should you watch, you can get help from Siri by asking things such as show me the holiday movies or what should be the best program to watch tonight?
The various sections of Apple’s New TV App help you find that what you might like. A section “Watch Now” has all the movies and shows from your apps and iTunes, however, “Up Next” indicates you to choose those shows which you are currently watching or new purchases which you have made.
Apple’s New TV App works on all the 4 generation Apple TV, and it will also come in the latest version of the smartphone software.
Stay tuned to ProRant to get More exciting Tech updates!

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AOE 3 Warchiefs Eror Age Of Empire 3 is not installed This Setup Will Exit

AOE 3 Warchiefs Eror Age Of Empire 3 is not installed This Setup Will Exit

Penyebab AOE 3 Warchiefs,Asian Dynasties Eros Saat Instal saya punya solusi kalau sobat mengalami hal seperti ini caranya cukup mudah sekali kalo sobat sudah mendownload kedua game tersebut jangan di hapus dulu karena game aoe 3 warchiefs dan aoe 3 asian dynasti merupakan tambahan dari game AOE 3 Saja cara agar bisa kembali di istal game AOE 3 WARCHIEFS dan AOE 3 ASIAN DYNASTIES download dulu game AOE 3 yang basics kalo sudah di download tinggal instal AOE 3 kalo sudah terinstal tinggal instal yang versi AOE 3 WARCHIEFS dan AOE 3 ASIAN DYNASTIES nah begitu caranya agar AOE 3 WARCHIEFS dan AOE 3 ASIAN DYNASTIES bisa di instal tinggal download AOE 3 Ukuran File hingga 1.6 GB Kalau mau silahkan download DISINI

Minimum System Requirements:
CPU: 1.4 GHz equivalent or higher processor
RAM: 256 MB of system RAM
VGA: 64 MB video card with support for hardware transformation and lighting required
DX: DirectX 9.0 or later
OS: Microsoft� Windows� XP or higher
http://gamesystemrequirements.com/
HDD: 2 GB available hard disk space
Sound: Sound card, speakers or headphones required for audio
ODD: 32x speed or faster CD-ROM drive
Network: 56K dial-up Internet Access or LAN required for online/multiplayer
Recommended peripheral: Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
Note: Requires Age of Empires III to play

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Match 3 Game algorithm Part 3 How to determine whether there is no more match

From the previous post, we learnt that to detect if there is a match in the match 3 game matrix, we could scan the nodes 1 by 1, each with the vertical and the horizontal direction.

Then, it must be natural to think that, if to do the opposite: "How to determine whether there is no more match?", we could simply apply the same concept, couldnt we?

To some extent, it is true that we could perform the similar technique. However, we havent really defined the problem yet. Precisely, the puzzle to be solved is: "How to check whether there is no match, EVEN THOUGH after the players have made all the possible moves?" In other word, a match 3 game deadlock, in which the game couldnt proceed due to no more possible match.

There we go, with the condition added, the problem is way more troublesome than expected, and thats the reason i separated this topic.

Before the start of the algorithm, it would be better to have a look at some scenarios:

The picture shows a matrix with an extreme case such that, if the node of 35^th and 36^th (horizontal exchange) is exchanged, it could lead to the most matches (Here, lets just consider a match of 3 nodes only):
a) node 19^th - vertical black
b) node 20^th - vertical red
c) node 27^th - vertical black
d) node 28^th - vertical red
e) node 33^rd - horizontal black
f) node 35^th - vertical black
g) node 36^th - vertical red, and horizontal red

With this understanding, it enlightens us on another statement:

Statement 2:
- For a horizontal exchange node of (n^th) and (n+1)^th, a matching detection algorithm is necessarily to be executed on the nodes:
a)  (n-2*8)^th vertical
b)  (n+1 - 2*8)^th vertical
c)  (n-8)^th vertical
d) (n+1 - 8)^th vertical
e) (n-2)^th horizontal
f) (n)^th vertical
g) (n+1)^th vertical, horizontal

Similarly, this applies to the vertical nodes exchange as well:

 The picture shows that, if the node 35^th is exchanged with the node 43^th, it will trigger the matches:
a) node 19^th - vertical black
b) node 33^rd - horizontal black
c) node 34^th - horizontal black
d) node 35^th - horizontal black
e) node 41^st - horizontal red
f) node 42^nd - horizontal red
g) node 43^rd - horizontal red, vertical red

Hence, not surprisingly, we have our 3^rd statement:

Statement 3:
- For a vertical exchange node of (n^th) and (n+8)^th, a matching detection algorithm is necessarily to be executed on the nodes:
a)  (n-2*8)^th vertical
b)  (n-2)^th horizontal
c)  (n-1)^th horizontal
d) (n)^th horizontal
e) (n-2 + 8)^th horizontal
f) (n-1 + 8)^th vertical
g) (n + 8)^th vertical, horizontal

Cool. Now we can apply the algorithm based on the statements. Heres the pseudo-code:

- foreach node n^th
 manually exchange the node with (n+1)^th, perform matching detection algorithm, 
 manually exchange the node with (n+8)^th, perform matching detection algorithm.
 

 The pseudo code is as brief as possible. The thing to point out is that, although each could be exchanged in 4 directions (up, down, left, right), we only consider "right", and "down" while scanning each node. Again, this systematic checking avoids redundancy effectively.

There are several situations in which you could deploy the algorithm:
a) At the initial stage - when the game starts, you could check if the matrix encounters a deadlock or not
b) After the player have made a move - to check if the interaction is effective or not
c) After the items regenerated and have fallen down - to check if the fallen items would form some matches or not.

Coming up next: How to enable the user interaction?

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