Ars Technica

Tech entrepreneurs attack SOPA on the eve of markup

Published December 14, 2011 7:00 PM - by Timothy B. Lee | Posted in: Law & Disorder

With the House Judiciary Committee scheduled to meet on Thursday to consider changes to the Stop Online Piracy Act, the co-founders of some of the nation's leading Internet companies have signed a letter condemning the proposal.

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Sonic CD remains fun, fast, and now includes the Japanese soundtrack

<em>Sonic CD</em> remains fun, fast, and now includes the Japanese soundtrack

Published December 14, 2011 4:11 PM - by Ben Kuchera | Posted in: Opposable Thumbs

Sonic CD is out now on the Xbox Live Arcade for $5. We'll describe how it looks and plays, but it's a classic, it's $5, and it's coming to a variety of platforms. This one is a no-brainer.

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Stolen iPhone? Your iMessages may still be going to the wrong place

Published December 14, 2011 3:50 PM - by Jacqui Cheng | Posted in: Infinite Loop

iPhone owners shouldn't have to worry that a thief might receive their messages after they remote wipe and deactivate the account, right? Maybe not. For some users, iMessages seem to go through to their stolen devices even after taking the right precautionary measures.

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The Milky Way's black hole may spring to life in 2013

Published December 14, 2011 1:59 PM - by John Timmer | Posted in: Nobel Intent

Astronomers have spotted a cloud of gas with three times the mass of the Earth on a near-collision course with the Milky Way's central black hole.

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"Retina" MacBook Pros shipping next year? It's possible

Published December 14, 2011 11:42 AM - by Chris Foresman | Posted in: Infinite Loop

Apple might release a super high resolution "retina" MacBook Pro beginning in 2012, which would be a perfect fit for Lion's HiDPI display technology.

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The NTSB wants you to shut up and drive

Published December 14, 2011 11:35 AM - by Sean Gallagher | Posted in: Law & Disorder

After studying crash statistics and the causes of a fatal Missouri accident last year, the NTSB has recommended banning the use of all electronic devices while driving.

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Scientists shrink a Stirling heat engine to single microscopic particle

Published December 14, 2011 10:23 AM - by Kyle Niemeyer | Posted in: Nobel Intent

Researchers created a microscopic version of the Stirling engine using a single particle. At such small scales, the random fluctuations of Brownian motion affect the position of the particle and the work output of the engine.

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The latest Humble Bundle offers amazing games, promotes multiplatform releases

Published December 14, 2011 9:55 AM - by Ben Kuchera | Posted in: Opposable Thumbs

The latest Humble Bundle may offer the best series of games yet, including both Super Meat Boy, and Shank, and the "Bundle Advocate" hints at what's coming in the future for the Humble team.

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Devonian-era lungfish may have faked us out, left tetrapod-like tracks

Published December 14, 2011 8:57 AM - by John Timmer | Posted in: Nobel Intent

The modern relatives of the fish that gave rise to vertebrates with four limbs can also go for a walk, using their fins to propel themselves across river floors.

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Leadership change could herald Windows 8-powered phones; what's the hurry?

Published December 14, 2011 8:14 AM - by Peter Bright | Posted in: One Microsoft Way

Andy Lees, president of Windows Phone at Microsoft has been moved into a new role that bridges Windows Phone and Windows 8. It's hard to tell if this is a promotion or a demotion; this could be a first step towards a unified Windows platform that runs everywhere from the phone to the PC to the living room, or it could be a move to sideline a man whose major product, Windows Phone, hasn't been overwhelmingly successful.

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Facebook looks to fix PHP performance with HipHop virtual machine

Published December 13, 2011 2:50 PM - by Sean Gallagher | Posted in: Uptime

Based on the open-source PHP-to-C++ translator used to create nearly all of Facebook's production websites, the HipHop virtual machine turns script into bytecode, boosting performance.

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Microsoft squashes Duqu threat with Windows patch

Published December 13, 2011 2:12 PM - by Jon Brodkin | Posted in: Uptime

A month after releasing a temporary workaround to block malware exploiting a Windows kernel vulnerability, Microsoft today issued a patch for all supported releases of Windows aimed at putting an end to attacks based on the Duqu worm.

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Google pulls 22 apps from Android Market to prevent fraudulent charges

Published December 13, 2011 1:40 PM - by Jon Brodkin | Posted in: Uptime

Google has reportedly removed 22 malicious applications from the Android Market after security vendors pointed out that the apps had been downloaded 14,000 times and were attempting to trick users into accepting fraudulent charges via SMS.

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RAAM's Shadow DLC adds context, richness to world of Gears of Wars

<em>RAAM's Shadow</em> DLC adds context, richness to world of <em>Gears of Wars</em>

Published December 13, 2011 1:20 PM - by Ben Kuchera | Posted in: Opposable Thumbs

RAAM's Shadow, a $15 content pack for Gears of War 3, shows what Sera looked like before the war destroyed much of the planet's elegance, and it puts you in control of one of the most powerful characters in the series.

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Apple aiming to improve iOS notifications further with fresh talent

Published December 13, 2011 12:45 PM - by Chris Foresman | Posted in: Infinite Loop

iOS 5's Notification Center is a vast improvement over what was previously available, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. To improve the situation, Apple has been hiring on some fresh eyes.

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Possible Higgs boson signals, but we won't know for sure until next year

Published December 13, 2011 11:28 AM - by John Timmer | Posted in: Nobel Intent

If the Higgs exists at anywhere near the energies that we think it must, then it's probably somewhere right around 125GeV. Both of the LHC's detectors see a signal there, but it doesn't yet rise to the level that constitutes evidence for the Higgs.

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Apple reportedly tweaking iAd terms to better appeal to advertisers

Published December 13, 2011 11:08 AM - by Jacqui Cheng | Posted in: Infinite Loop

Apple's mobile advertising service has seen some success since its launch in 2010, but nowhere near what Steve Jobs initially projected. Now, the company is reportedly changing some of its requirements in order to attract more advertisers.

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FBI using Carrier IQ info for "law enforcement purposes," refuses to release records

Published December 13, 2011 10:40 AM - by Jon Brodkin | Posted in: Law & Disorder

The FBI refuses to release information related to Carrier IQ, the tracking software installed on millions of smartphones. The FBI is using the information in a law enforcement case, but whether it is investigating Carrier IQ for privacy violations or using the information for other investigations is unknown.

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Sponsor waters down online blacklisting bill, but STOP still has issues

Published December 13, 2011 10:25 AM - by David Kravets, wired.com | Posted in: Law & Disorder

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced amendments late Monday to the Stop Online Piracy Act—changes that dramatically water down the measure's scope. Among the amendments is a clarification that "rogue" sites must be foreign, and that rights holders now do not have the power to demand financial institutions and ad networks to stop doing business with infringing sites.

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Judge dismisses "Other OS" class-action suit against Sony

Published December 13, 2011 9:33 AM - by Ben Kuchera | Posted in: Opposable Thumbs

A class-action lawsuit against Sony for removing the "Other OS" features of the PlayStation 3 has been dismissed. The Judge noted that while the move may not have been the best thing for customers, there was no legal argument against Sony's actions in the current suit.

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Creative Commons ponders ports and database rights for license update

Published December 13, 2011 7:45 AM - by Ryan Paul | Posted in: Uptime

Creative Commons is planning to issue a major update to its suite of licenses next year. Some topics of discussion include harmonizing with database rights and ending regional ports in favor of improving the international applicability of unported licenses.

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Domain seizure oversight lax and broken, targets out of luck

Published December 13, 2011 7:15 AM - by Timothy B. Lee | Posted in: Law & Disorder

Can the government really hold a domain for a year and then return it without so much as an apology? A legal expert tells Ars the courts have have done a poor job overseeing the domain seizure program, but the victims are unlikely to receive significant compensation.

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Azure price cuts, bigger databases, now with node.js and MongoDB support, Hadoop on its way

Published December 12, 2011 8:22 PM - by Peter Bright | Posted in: One Microsoft Way

Microsoft has released a set of updates to its Azure cloud computing platform to make it cheaper, more scalable, and easier to manage. On top of that, the company has shipped a new SDK for node.js, new guidance for MongoDB, and has started to offer support for Apache Hadoop.

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Apple extending AirPlay to low-power, low-latency Bluetooth 4.0

Published December 12, 2011 8:10 PM - by Chris Foresman | Posted in: Infinite Loop

Apple will be enabling future iOS devices to connect to accessories using Bluetooth 4.0 instead of WiFi.

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Microsoft expands presence on iOS and Android with OneNote and Lync apps

Published December 12, 2011 5:37 PM - by Jon Brodkin | Posted in: Uptime

Microsoft is boosting Office's presence on mobile devices with a new OneNote app designed for Apple's iPad and a Lync application for the major mobile platforms.

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