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Malaysia's updated copyright law imprisons streaming pirates for up to 20 years
Malaysia has updated its copyright law to punish streaming pirates, who face up to 20 years in prison.
Recommended Reading: The real cost of the global chip shortage
Recommended Reading highlights the week's best long-form writing on technology and more.
Malaysian authorities crush 1,069 crypto mining rigs with a steamroller
In a city in Sarawak, Malaysia, authorities got rid of 1,069 rigs at once by crushing them with a steamroller.
Sonos hikes prices on the Amp and Port as it moves production out of China
Sonos is moving production of some of its products from China to Malaysia, and at the same time the company is increasing the price of the Sonos Amp and Sonos Port by $50. Sonos told The Verge that its decision to move production is less of a response to tariffs, which it reportedly called a "one-time hit," and more about diversifying production for the future.
Netflix launches its cheaper mobile-only subscription in Malaysia
While Netflix continues to grow, the company sees an opportunity to secure new users by adapting its offerings to meet customers' differing needs. It has recently begun offering more affordable services in international markets, and now it has a new option available in Malaysia for a cheaper, mobile-only subscription to the streaming service.
Netflix is testing a cheaper mobile-only plan in Malaysia
Earlier this week, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told Bloomberg that the company was planning to test a cheaper version of its streaming service, and now we're beginning to see what those lower cost options will be. Malaysian news outlet The Star reports that Netflix is now offering a new tier in the country -- a mobile-only plan priced at RM17 ($4). The tier limits users to watching shows on either a phone or a tablet and content is only available in SD. The next most expensive plan in the country is Netflix's Basic option, which costs approximately $8 (RM33).
Malaysia’s fake news law has already led to a one-month jail sentence
The Malaysian law criminalizing the spread of fake news was enacted less than three weeks ago and the country has already charged an individual for violating it. Danish citizen Salah Salem Saleh Sulaiman was arrested and charged with spreading false news, the Guardian reports, and fined 10,000 ringgit (approximately $2,550). Sulaiman reportedly couldn't pay the fine and opted for a one-month jail sentence instead.
Malaysia is one step closer to outlawing fake news
Last week, the Malaysian government proposed a law that would criminalize the spread of fake news and today, the country's parliament pushed the bill one step closer to enaction. The lower house of parliament voted to approve the bill today and it now heads to the senate for debate. The bill is wildly controversial and many believe it's just the government's latest attempt to stifle reports that Prime Minister Najib Razak mishandled billions of dollars held in a state investment fund. The prime minister is currently up for reelection, the vote for which has to take place by August.
Malaysia proposes law that would make spreading fake news illegal
The Malaysian government has proposed a law that would criminalize the spread of fake news, and those found to be in violation could face up to 10 years in prison and a 500,000 ringgit (approximately $128,165) fine, the Wall Street Journal reports. The proposed law says, "'Fake news' includes any news, information, data and reports, which is or are wholly or partly false, whether in the form of features, visuals or audio recordings or in any other form capable of suggesting words or ideas." And it would also apply to publications outside of Malaysia if the country or its citizens are affected by the reports.
Uber launches internal probe on Asia bribery allegations
Among its many other problems, Uber is facing a federal probe to look into allegations that it broke foreign bribery laws. To figure out what happened exactly and to cooperate with the DOJ, the ride-hailing firm recently launched its own investigation focusing on the activities of local offices in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. According to Bloomberg, Uber at least knew what happened in Jakarta from the start, but one of its senior members decided not to disclose it to authorities.
Why has Malaysia blocked Medium?
Medium is a popular platform, offering amateurs and professionals alike a simple way to publish their articles. This week, it was blocked in Malaysia. Over a single article posted by Sarawak Report.
Ubisoft is building a tiny indoor theme park in Malaysia
If you were excited about Nintendo's deal to put its characters in Universal theme parks, chew on this: the publisher behind games like Assassin's Creed, Just Dance and the Raving Rabbids games is building it's own amusement park. No kidding -- Ubisoft has partnered with RSG, a Malaysian park developer, to create a 100,000+ square foot indoor facility in Kuala Lumpur featuring Ubisoft-themed rides, attractions and shows.
Malaysia will use RFID stickers to track vehicles
If you're planning to drive in Malaysia in the next few years, don't expect to maintain a lot of privacy. The country plans to implement RFID-equipped road tax stickers that will help authorities track all vehicles, whether they're local or foreign. It'll start with a pilot program at a border checkpoint this October, but it should expand to cover the whole of Malaysia by 2018. And don't think of trying to take the sticker off -- it'll shatter and transmit a warning if you try to tamper with it.
Uber's next PR stunt is delivering Xiaomi phones
Lyft users might get free Starbucks coffee, but certain Uber users can get a high-end Xiaomi smartphone delivered to their door, at least for a day. If you're in Singapore and Malaysia, you can order the 5.7-inch QuadHD Xiaomi Mi Note directly from the Uber app and get it delivered like some kind of high-tech pizza. Your Uber credit card will be charged for the phone and you'll be able to follow the special orange-colored vehicle as it heads your way. The deal is only good for one day, July 27th, but that's a day ahead of the official launch, briefly giving you bragging rights.
Hackers take down Google's Malaysian homepage
What if, one day, you woke up your computer only to find that Google wasn't there? It's the nightmare that greeted some Malaysians after hackers managed to redirect users toward a malicious page. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, company reps said that they were aware that some users were having trouble connecting to the site, and are working to resolve the problem.
Ragnarok Online 2 shutting down in Southeast Asia
Ragnarok Online 2 isn't exactly taking the world by storm as of late. Following the title's closure in Korea last year, Ragnarok Online 2 is closing its doors in Singapore and Malaysia on October 9th. There is a pretty bright spot to this story, however, as Asiasoft's version of the game will accept account transfers from affected players. "Following the opening of Ragnarok 2's Odin Server to Philippine players last month, we are thrilled to be continuing the global expansion of Warpportal's Ragnarok Online 2 by welcoming all players from Southeast Asia regions!" Asiasoft posted. Southeast Asian players will not be able to access their characters until October 9th, and none of their Kafra Points will make the leap over to the new server.
Heroes of the Storm heads to Southeast Asia
We already knew Heroes of the Storm was heading to China, but now Blizzard has inked a deal to bring Heroes -- and possibly other games -- to more of Southeast Asia. Expanding on Blizzard's existing agreement with Asiasoft -- which currently distributes Diablo 3, StarCraft 2, and World of Warcraft in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore -- the deal now includes Heroes of the Storm and features distribution to the Philippines as well. Marketing and operation for the game in the Philippines will be handled by Asiasoft subsidiary Level Up! Inc. No launch date has been set for Heroes of the Storm -- currently in technical alpha -- domestically or internationally, but we assume it will arrive on the traditional Blizzard schedule of "when it's ready."
Japan waits for greatness, much of Asia gets PS4 in December
If you early adopters thought waiting until November 15 for the PlayStation 4 was rough, consider our friends on other continents. The PS4 will reach the Malaysian market on December 20 for 1,799 RM ($561), PlayStation Asia has announced. 23 games will be available at its launch, including Call of Duty: Ghosts, Sound Shapes, and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. Those interested in carrying only one box out of a store have three options in the form of bundles - one with the PlayStation Camera for 1,899 RM ($593), another with Battlefield 4 for 1,969 RM ($614), or one with Killzone: Shadow Fall 1,939 RM ($604). The vanilla PS4 and Camera bundles will both come with one month of PlayStation Plus, while the game bundles will include two month subscriptions to PS+ and a 20 RM ($6) voucher for the PlayStation Network. To view this from a global perspective, Hong Kong will beat Malaysia to the goods by three days, Europe will get theirs on November 29, and Japan is stuck waiting for greatness until February 22. Meanwhile, North Americans that just got their consoles are stressing the PSN, while a small percentage of them are having bad days.
Mac mini prices climb in several countries
The iMac refresh earlier this week apparently wasn't the only change to the Apple lineup. 9to5Mac is reporting that all Mac mini configurations are now more expensive in a number of countries, including Australia, Brazil, Portugal and Malaysia. As an example of the price bumps, the prices of the Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz, Intel Core i7 2.3 GHz and Mac mini with OS X Server models are currently A$749, A$999 and A$1,249, respectively. Previously, the same three models sold for A$699, A$899 and A$1,099. Some accessories are also a bit more expensive in certain countries, with MacRumors reporting that UK customers are now paying £2 more for an Apple Wireless Keyboard, £8 more for replacement MacBook and MacBook Pro batteries and £15 more for a Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter. The Mac mini hasn't been updated recently, and still uses the last-generation Intel Ivy Bridge processors instead of the newer Haswell processors. Whether the mini will receive a refresh during next month's expected Apple event is unknown, or it could just suddenly end up with new specifications like the iMac did this week.
Malaysia's Yes 4G adds WiMAX to Samsung Chromebook, aims to transform local education
Samsung's Exynos 5-based Chromebook may have been available since last October, but how about one equipped with WiMAX radio? Graced with the presence of Google and Samsung reps in Kuala Lumpur (including a video message from Google SVP Sundar Pichai), today Malaysian carrier Yes 4G unveiled this rather special laptop for the local consumers. In fact, we should have seen this coming as Google's official blog did hint this last month, but we failed to catch that blurred "Yes 4G" logo on the laptop in the blog's photo. As Google mentioned, the ultimate goal here is to help transform Malaysia's education using the Chromebook. And now we know that this ambition will be backed by Yes 4G's rapidly growing WiMAX network -- from the initial 1,200 base stations in 2010 to today's 4,000, covering 85 percent of the peninsula; and the carrier will expand into the eastern side with 700 more sites by the end of this year. This is especially important for the rural areas, where many schools still lack access to water and electricity. As a partner of the Malaysian Ministry of Education's 1BestariNet project, Yes 4G's parent company YTL Communications has so far ensured that 7,000 local state schools are covered by its WiMAX network, with the remaining 3,000 to be connected over the next six months. %Gallery-189082%
