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The Guardian says ransomware attack compromised staff's personal data
The Guardian has confirmed that it was the victim of ransomware, and that the attackers accessed staff personal data.
German researchers built a molecule-splitting artificial sun
Scientists from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are testing a novel way to generate hydrogen, a potential green energy source, by using a massive array of lights normally found in movie theaters.
Amazon's 'Grand Tour' is the most pirated show ever (update)
Amazon's The Grand Tour, a reboot of the BBC's hit show Top Gear, has been an unmitigated success, with fans with its first episode alone garnering "millions" of views. It's also a hit with pirates who, instead of paying the annual $100 fee for Amazon Prime, have downloaded the first three episodes at unprecedented rates.
UK bookstores found selling banned US bomb-making handbooks
Three major online retailers in the UK have been listing a number of bomb-making manuals on their websites, according to The Guardian.
Laptop destroyed over Snowden leaks is now an art exhibit
Remember how, after the initial Snowden revelations, the Guardian newspaper was forced to destroy all of its computers that held the whistleblower's leaked documents? It was a strange moment; a small group of editors, under the watchful eye of two GCHQ officials, laying waste to hard drives and other internal components with industrial angle grinders and drills. Now, some of the remains -- a busted MacBook Air and a Western Digital hard drive, to be precise -- are on display at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London. It forms part of a new exhibition called "All of This Belongs to You," which runs from now until July 19th. The hardware itself isn't particularly old or unusual, but its role in cybersecurity journalism and the Snowden leaks should make it a provocative exhibit nonetheless.
Hold the presses! Amazon UK selling more e-books than printed ones
It's becoming a habit of Amazon's to report on the rise of the e-book at the expense of physical texts, and their latest announcement is no different. Sales figures show that in the UK, 114 Kindle purchases have been made for every 100 printed copies so far in 2012. A similar statistic was achieved in the US last year, but whether these are true indications of e-book supremacy is up for discussion. Free downloads were excluded from the tally, but those released via Kindle Direct Publishing without a paper twin were counted. The Guardian also notes that these are unaudited figures, so there may be a digit awry here or there. And with a few physical stores still around, there's no need to panic-buy that Kindle just yet.
Dan Chung photographs the Olympics using an iPhone, Snapseed and some binoculars
When you think of professional photographers shooting sporting events, you usually visualize huge Canon or Nikon lenses mounted on expensive camera bodies on top of massive tripods. But as The Guardian's photographer Dan Chung proves, sometimes you can do just as much with a lot less. Throughout the Olympics Chung is photographing the games using only an iPhone, an app, and (occasionally) an add-on iPhone lens or some binoculars. The stunning image of Michael Phelps shown here was captured by Chung using only the iPhone 4S with its 8 megapixel camera and the excellent iOS photo editor Snapseed (US$4.99 in the App Store). To get other images from the Games using his iPhone, Chung also sometimes chooses to shoot through the Schneider lens iPro Wide Duo Kit or with a pair of Canon binoculars in front of the phone's camera. Chung is obviously a photographer with a lot of talent, but it's still amazing that these photographs were captured through a smartphone. For those interested in photography (or the Olympics) click on over to The Guardian where they are running a photoblog of all Dan Chung's images throughout the Games. Special thanks to Dan Chung and The Guardian for permission to reprint the image above. [Image credit and © Dan Chung/The Guardian.]
Condition One immerses iPads and iPhones in 180-degree video, shakes up dreary apps (video)
Video in tablet magazines and similar apps sometimes -- okay, often -- comes across as a grafted-on extra. Condition One, a startup by war photographer Danfung Dennis, wants to make video an intrinsic part of the experience by taking advantage of the motion sensors in smartphones and tablets. Video shot from a DSLR or similar camera is converted into a 180-degree format that you can swipe or tilt through on an iOS device to get a more involving look. It's a lot more lively than plain movies, and Dennis sees the technique being used for documentaries and tours where it would help to put viewers directly in the action. Producers only need off-the-shelf hardware and software, too. There's a show-off app at the source link to get an overall sense of what the footage is like, but if you're looking for the first official projects, a pilot project has just started that's bringing apps from Discovery, Mercedes-Benz, Popular Science (below), The Guardian and XL Recordings.
Apple reportedly working on "adaptive streaming" for iCloud music
The Guardian is reporting that Apple is working on a new method of "adaptive streaming" for music stored in iCloud that will "adjust itself to the bandwidth and storage available on the receiving device." The UK paper is less clear on exactly how that new format will be implemented, saying that it could offer high-definition audio to users of iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch or alternatively offer a streaming service. The latter makes sense when the Apple acquisition of streaming service Lala.com in 2009 is considered. The service will apparently be available at some unspecified date to upgrade iTunes Match. According to a source for The Guardian, a London-based studio has been asked to prepare audio files for a new adaptive streaming format. The source was quoted as saying "All of a sudden, all your audio from iTunes is in HD rather than AAC. Users wouldn't have to touch a thing – their library will improve in an instant." Adaptive streaming could allow mobile users to access their music in a less bandwidth-intensive manner, while those on a fast network at home or work would hear the music in studio quality. It's unknown whether the files are converted to smaller, lower-quality types in real time, or if Apple will store a master file in a number of different formats. Whatever Apple will unveil in terms of adaptive streaming, the curtain could be opened to music fans as soon as the announcement of the next-generation iPad next Wednesday, March 7.
Berg's Little Printer churns out RSS feeds with a receipt and a smile
It's hard to think of a device more aptly named than BergCloud's Little Printer. It's little. It prints. It even smiles at you. And why wouldn't it? It's adorable. Equally notable is what it produces -- RSS feeds printed out on grocery store-style receipts. All you have to do is hook it up to your router, configure your RSS subscriptions from your smartphone and press a button to print them out. The Little Printer connects wirelessly to a small box that's plugged into your router. This box, in turn, interfaces with the Berg Cloud (also unveiled this week), providing constant updates and pulling down any web content you've selected. If, for instance, you want to print out Foursquare updates, you can use the app to add them to your queue and print them out for later reading. It's basically like InstaPaper... with more paper. BergCloud has already struck partnerships with ARUP, Foursquare, The Guardian, Nike and Google, though more are on the way. No word yet on pricing, but the device is slated to go up for pre-order sometime next year. Check it out in action, after the break. [Thanks, Dave]
The Guardian comes to the iPad
The British national daily newspaper The Guardian has come to the iPad. The 190 year-old newspaper is celebrating its iPad launch by allowing users access to their first 86 issues (starting on the day you launch the app) for free when they start using the app. After that time, a monthly subscription charge will only be $13.99 for US subscribers or £9.99 for UK subscribers. Six issues will be "printed" a week. Existing subscribers to The Guardian's six or seven day print subscriptions will get the iPad edition for free. Though the Internet edition of The Guardian has an audience of over 50 million readers, the newspaper wanted to make the iPad edition align more closely with the print edition. For that reason the iPad edition will be a once-a-day edition, without the live updating of and blogging on the website. The app itself is laid out quite nicely, with articles arranged into thirteen different sections. The app was designed so that on the front page of each section users only have to swipe a maximum of two times to see all the articles available – a welcome feature since many news apps require so much swiping you forget where in them you are. And since it is part of Newsstand, The Guardian for iPad will automatically download once a day so it's ready for you when you wake up. You can download The Guardian for iPad for free from the US and UK App Stores.
HP thinks the TouchPad will be 'better than number one,' if that's even possible
HP's expectations for its new TouchPad tablet are running pretty high -- so high, in fact, that they can only be expressed with a make-believe number. During a recent press conference in Cannes, HP's Eric Cador boldly declared that his company's new slate won't just be the best on the market, it'll be the bestest. Cador explained: "In the PC world, with fewer ways of differentiating HP's products from our competitors, we became number one; in the tablet world we're going to become better than number one. We call it number one plus." A spokesman later confirmed that the device will launch in the UK with apps from the Guardian, Sky and Last.fm, but promised that "thousands" of other apps are on the way. The metrics might sound a bit optimistic, but the message is clear: HP thinks the TouchPad will annihilate the iPad and blow our minds to smithereens. We'll just have to wait and see whether it's as explosive as advertised.
Guardian iPhone app debuts, subscription available to UK customers
The Guardian has released a brand new version of its iPhone app on the App Store, this time featuring a subscription model for UK customers. Lots of publications have been trying to get Apple to approve a subscription model for apps, but The Guardian went ahead and did it themselves, offering up a six-month subscription to the content for £3, or a full year subscription for £4. The full app will still have content even without the subscription, but the subscription offers features like offline browsing and search, as well as some extra audio and video content. Americans can still download and use the app for free, and while it has all of the subscription features unlocked, the app is populated with ads. Interesting model for The Guardian, but theirs is a big organization, and the app is probably just a line item somewhere in a gigantic budget. If the subscription model works well for them, it could influence both Apple and other publications in terms of how they appear on the App Store.
The Guardian announces subscription-based news app, is rumored Newsstand looming?
AppleInsider reports that, on Thursday, The Guardian announced it will be replacing its current app with an all new version "soon." Although the current version of the app will continue to work (but eventually be discontinued), the new app is to introduce The Guardian's award-winning video, reader comments on articles, improved live blogs and landscape reading. Jonathon Moore, the mobile product manager for The Guardian wrote, "We'll be launching the new app globally for the first time and although we can't confirm exactly when it will be available, we're working towards a pre-Christmas release." However, the more interesting side of this story is that the new app will be subscription-based, costing £2.99 for six months and £3.99 for a year. Although Moore didn't indicate that the new app's pricing structure had anything to do with any changes in the way the App Store delivers news content, it certainly does coincide with the rumored December 9th (or thereabouts) press event -- supposedly announcing an App Store news subscription service (featuring Steve Jobs as well as News Corp's Rupert Murdoch introducing The Daily -- unless it has in fact been delayed). Publishers have been seeking a better way to deliver their content on the App Store for some time now. Is the much-speculated App Store Newsstand (perhaps similar to the iBookstore) about to be introduced in time for the holiday season? We're holding out for December the 9th!
Report: Console life cycles grow as big three share the market
We've heard from a few non-Microsoft sources that the Xbox 360 is heading for an extremely long console cycle, but last week's CES found Microsoft saying exactly that. David Hufford of Xbox product management mentioned during a briefing that the 360 is "the console of the long future for us," and that he doesn't yet know "if we're at the midpoint" of the console's timeline. Which sounds pretty amazing, since the console actually released in 2005, but the numbers support that theory, with adoption only recently passing the rates of the last generation. In other words, the mad dash from 8- to 16- to 32- to 64-bit and beyond gaming has apparently relaxed for the moment, and Jack Schofield of The Guardian says it's because all three major companies at the moment (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) have all achieved a viable place in the market. Without feeling constant pressure to outdo each other, the major console companies can settle into their own niches and expand their own markets. Which, as Hufford said at CES, is exactly what Microsoft is planning to do in the coming "Natal era."
Spielberg talks future of gaming, believes in virtual reality
We would never dare think of crossing Steven Spielberg. The man is made of pure magic, and has the power to erase firearms from existence, cause you undeniable fear of the water, and create currency out of toy planes and paper. When he talks, we listen. And recently, he did just that with The Guardian's podcast, Tech Weekly.Spielberg had some insight as to where the gaming business is headed, with his hopes for the immediate future residing in 3D gaming, much like his colleague James Cameron. Spielberg says the reemergence of 3D in film -- something Hollywood tried and failed at back in the 1950s -- is a prime example of how we'll see the technology make its way into games. Spielberg envisions "3D games developed where with a good pair of glasses we get a real three-dimensional experience in front of an appropriate monitor that is designed just for 3D." Also, he thinks we're not too far off from a future void of console platforms altogether, where we'll soon be playing games directly from our TV sets.As for the long-term future, Spielberg sees the technology going toward virtual reality, and sees it as the industry's inevitable future. "I really think virtual reality -- which experimentally came and went in the eighties -- is going to be redeveloped, just like 3D is being redeveloped today," he said, further adding, "and that's going to be the new platform for our gaming future."That's all well and good, Mr. Spielberg, but these virtual reality games better be more enjoyable than that Grid Busters game we played down at the Jersey shore back in the '90s.
'We simply have to suffer a little,' says Sony Europe's Reeves
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's president, David Reeves, has spoken frankly in an interview with UK newspaper The Guardian regarding the current state of the industry and Sony's place within it. Commenting on Sony's third-quarter losses, Reeves says that "we simply have to suffer a little, go down in market share and mind-share. We're still standing, we're still profitable and there's a lot of fight in us." Reeves' humility makes a refreshing change from other Sony representatives. Reeves goes on to say that the company's PS3 sales forecast is still 10 million by March and clarifies why there was no PS3 price cut this year. "My objective is financial - to make a profit in our territory by the end of March, and we will. If we'd cut the price, lost another billion dollars, we might have had a huge Christmas but it would have been followed by a huge loss." Claiming that Sony has learned things from both Nintendo and Microsoft this generation, he feels "we should celebrate the industry and how we've collectively grown it beyond all recognition." There's not a hint of any "console war" mentality to be found.Reeves also confirms that 45nm Cell chips will replace the 65nm versions currently inside the PS3, "probably in middle of year," and that downloadable movies will be available in PAL territories later this year. Both will increase profits for Sony and the former may even pave the way for a price cut later in the year. Here's hoping.[Thanks, Josh]
Economic crisis may force CCP Games to leave Iceland
The global financial crisis is hitting many companies and individuals very hard. This is especially prevalent in Iceland, home of CCP Games -- the developers of the sci-fi massively multiplayer online game EVE Online. The collapse of Iceland's banking system and currency has been devastating to the nation. "Icelanders are reeling from the shock of having everything they knew virtually disappear overnight," Valur Gunnarsson reports from Reykjavik for The Guardian.Despite these economic woes, Hilmar V. Pétursson, the CEO of CCP Games, gave assurances all is well with the company back in October. He's stated that CCP is "well isolated" from the banking crisis, that their holdings and assets were diversified enough (due to partner relationships in different parts of the world) to stave off the ruin that many other Icelandic companies are facing. But there's a potential downside to that diversification: restrictions on access to foreign currencies have gone into effect in Iceland. Specifically -- as it relates to CCP Games -- on foreign investment coming into the country. Are these restrictions enough of a hassle that CCP Games would ever need to leave Iceland?
Minsky vs Linden Lab: The Vezina incident
One of the parties named in the Richard Minsky's trademark lawsuit is Victor Vezina, whom we haven't heard much about, and whose identity has been a bit mysterious. As it turns out, Victor Vezina is Victor Keegan, a technology writer for the Guardian. Keegan started up an art gallery in in Second Life called 'SLart' in early 2007, prior to the establishment of Minsky's trademark -- however, legally it matters less who is first and more who gets the blessing of the US Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO). Juris Amat, Minsky's legal representative wrote to Linden Lab on Minsky's behalf instructing them to notify Vezina to cease and desist from use of the SLART trademark in Second Life. Well, Linden Lab has now sort of complied. Sideways.
The revolution in the news
Unlike Second Life's 2003 Tax Revolt, which (at the time) went unnoticed by the mainstream media, the current revolt over void/openspace simulator server pricing is drawing attention in places where a lot of potential customers are being exposed to it -- and it's early yet. More words are doubtless being drafted over the weekend to run on mainstream Web-sites and newspapers. By mainstream (a word that has an awfully slippery definition), we mean widespread. There are at least three other effective and correct definitions of the word at least one of which conflicts with that, but let's just go with what we have and leave those other definitions for another time. You know what we mean.
