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AfterDawn: News

Windows 10 fall update slated for next month

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Oct 2015 10:37

Windows 10 fall update slated for next month According to Windows insider Paul Thurrott, the Windows 10 Fall Update is slated for release next month.

Windows 10 build 1511 will be available to all Windows 7, 8.1 and Windows 10 users, and you won't have to reactive your Windows after the update.

The update comes with an improved Media Creation Tool (for backing up Windows), new features for Cortana, improvements for Edge and a ton of bug fixes.

You can see some more changes at the source.




AfterDawn: News

BlackBerry Priv specs leaked, as well as bloated price

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Oct 2015 4:48

BlackBerry Priv specs leaked, as well as bloated price Thanks to a couple of retailer leaks, we have the specs and price for the upcoming Android-powered BlackBerry Priv.

BlackBerry has been releasing minimal information about the device, but leakers like Evan Blass have outed the design through full mock ups.

If true, the leaked specs claim a 5.4-inch WQHD AMOLED, a 1.8Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 with 3GB RAM, 32GB storage (expandable to 2TB), a 37mm x 77.2mm physical keyboard and a large 3,410mAh battery. The main camera is a f/2.2/OIS lens with an 18MP sensor and the selfie cam is a weak 2MP but it does offer panorama.

While the specs are pretty nice, the leaked price is shocking. The pages show a $749 price tag for North America and £580 for the UK, which makes the Priv more expensive than a few iPhones and the Galaxy S6 Edge. It is also hundreds of dollars more expensive than the newly launched Google Nexus 6P.

It is nice to see BlackBerry thinking outside of the box, and I'm sure there are plenty of consumers still willing to take a physical keyboard but at that price tag BlackBerry has once again shot themselves in the foot.

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AfterDawn: News

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' has demolished movie pre-order records

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Oct 2015 2:42

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' has demolished movie pre-order records Not even 48 hours after tickets went on sale, 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' has shattered records for pre-sales.

When the tickets went on sale, Fandango almost immediately crashed, and the company said its website traffic surged as high as 700 percent normal peak volumes.

'The Force Awakens' ended up beating the previous pre-sale record holder, The Hunger Games, by 800 percent, added Fandango.

AMC theaters said they sold out all 1000 shows in 12 hours, with 38 percent going to IMAX screens, netting $6.5 million in pre-sales, yet another record.

The latest installment of the Star Wars series is expected to be one of the biggest grossing films of all-time, although it has a long way to go to beat out Avatar at $2.78 billion.

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AfterDawn: News

Barnes & Noble is back with a new waterproof Nook

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Oct 2015 12:39

Barnes & Noble is back with a new waterproof Nook Barnes & Noble has surprisingly announced a new version of their once popular Nook GlowLight e-reader.

The new GlowLight Plus has a new slimmer design, offers double the pixels of its predecessor (300ppi) and is also waterproof. The device also promises a glare-free screen.

It is unclear how much internal storage there is, but B&N promises enough room for thousands of books at one time.

The GlowLight Plus is available now for $129.99.

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AfterDawn: News

It's official: Western Digital to acquire SanDisk for $19 billion

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Oct 2015 12:20

It's official: Western Digital to acquire SanDisk for $19 billion Hard drive maker Western Digital has announced their acquisition of memory card giant SanDisk for $19 billion in cash and stock.

There had been rumors for months that SanDisk was looking for a buyer and in the last week Western Digital was increasingly seen as a potential acquirer.

The move has synergies for both companies, including the merger of huge lines of SSDs, HDDs, and NAND storage.

"This transformational acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy to be an innovative leader in the storage industry by providing compelling, high-quality products with leading technology," said Steve Milligan, chief executive officer, Western Digital. "The combined company will be ideally positioned to capture the growth opportunities created by the rapidly evolving storage industry. I'm excited to welcome the SanDisk team as we look to create additional value for all of our stakeholders, including our customers, shareholders and employees."

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AfterDawn: News

Apple has pulled 250 apps from App Store that were stealing personal info

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Oct 2015 12:02

Apple has pulled 250 apps from App Store that were stealing personal info Apple has quietly removed 250 apps from the App Store after it was discovered that the Youmi ad network was actually stealing private information including email addresses.

Most of the apps came from Chinese-based devs, and all used the Youmi SDK to build in advertising. Unfortunately, Youmi was also secretly taking user info and uploading it to their servers.

The move follows a research report from SourceDNA that stated the apps were the first they had ever seen to bypass Apple's stringent app review process. Combined, the apps have seen over 1 million downloads around the globe.

"We've identified a group of apps that are using a third-party advertising SDK, developed by Youmi, a mobile advertising provider, that uses private APIs to gather private information, such as user email addresses and device identifiers, and route data to its company server. This is a violation of our security and privacy guidelines.

"The apps using Youmi's SDK will be removed from the App Store and any new apps submitted to the App Store using this SDK will be rejected. We are working closely with developers to help them get updated versions of their apps that are safe for customers and in compliance with our guidelines back in the App Store quickly,
" concluded Apple.

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AfterDawn: News

Yahoo takes large loss on original streaming content including Community

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Oct 2015 10:37

Yahoo takes large loss on original streaming content including Community Yahoo has confirmed this week that its plan to jump into the original streaming content business has not gone as planned.

During their recent earnings call, the company noted a $42 million write-down for its video division. "We thought long and hard about it," noted Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman. "What we concluded is [that] certain of our original video content, we couldn't see a way to make money over time. I'm thinking of Community, I'm thinking of Sin City Saints and so forth. So there, where we had spent money and had some assets on our balance sheet, we elected to write those off."

Community, which was a hit on NBC in its earlier seasons, was renewed for a final season on Yahoo, but Yahoo's service was not as easy to access compared to longstanding apps and services like Hulu and Netflix and it appears that Yahoo could not profit on the shows popularity.

Goldman agreed the streaming content did not go as planned but he did not rule out the company trying again in the future.

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AfterDawn: News

Sony drops price of PlayStation 4 in Europe, Australia

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Oct 2015 10:00

Sony drops price of PlayStation 4 in Europe, Australia Following a similar announcement in different regions, Sony has confirmed that Europe will also be receiving a price drop for the popular PlayStation 4 console.

"Since the launch of PS4 our aim has always been to provide players with the best gaming experiences at the best value, and we've been thrilled with the amount of players who have joined our world," added Sony.

For the UK, the 500GB model PS4 will set you back £299.99, while most of mainland Europe will get the console for €349.99.

Additionally, Sony says New Zealand will see a price cut to $569.95 and Australia will, as well, to $479.95.

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AfterDawn: News

MPAA shuts down web version of Popcorn Time but site moves to new domain

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Oct 2015 9:06

MPAA shuts down web version of Popcorn Time but site moves to new domain The newly released web version of Popcorn Time has already been taken down, but the site has quickly found a new domain.

Browser Popcorn was taken down by the MPAA, and its 15-year-old owner Milan Kragujevic posted a message to the old domain: "Browser Popcorn has been taken down by the E.V.I.L. money-grabbing s**tlords of America, The Motion Picture Association of Murica [sic]."

The site has now moved to browserpopcorn.gq after the MPAA made sure his original web host took the site down. "Basically, MPAA sent me a [cease and desist] letter and contacted my hosting provider and domain registrar and ordered them to take down the infringing content," Kragujeviche added. "I live in a country where copyright law is almost nonexistent, and simply I don't care. I will keep moving the website, changing domains and providers."

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AfterDawn: News

Chrome really is eating all your battery life

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Oct 2015 10:01

Chrome really is eating all your battery life Thanks to a new report, we have some more proof that Google's Chrome browser is killing your battery life, and in some cases, to a huge degree.

Testing different browsers with different Windows 10 notebooks/2-in-1s, Chrome actually killed overall battery life by as much as 28 percent compared to Microsoft Internet Explorer, a scary figure.

In the report, the tester used an Asus Zenbook UX305F, a Surface Pro 3 and a Toshiba Portege Z20t-B, while testing IE11, Chrome 46, Firefox 41 and Microsoft Edge 20. All browsers were on default configurations. They ran the Peacekeeper battery test twice and averaged the battery time.

Microsoft's browsers were unquestionably the top dogs, saving 30-59 minutes in battery life depending on the device.

Here were the full results:

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AfterDawn: News

Popcorn Time team reportedly breaks up

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Oct 2015 9:43

Popcorn Time team reportedly breaks up A few of the top developers for the Popcortime.io fork have reportedly left the project this weekend, following a number of internal disputes.

Popcorntime.io is the most popular of the Popcorn Time forks, and the software currently has millions of users and the blessing of the original creators.

Reportedly, there have been disagreements over how the project should move forward and those disputes have led to a few of the top developers leaving, practically breaking up the group. Allegedly, the disagreements started over the rumor of a Hollywood lawsuit due to the service's integration of VPN.ht. The software was created by two of the developers of Popcorn Time and has added a revenue stream, which in the past has led to lawsuits against otherwise free services.

Some of the team demanded getting away from VPN.ht, with plans to release a new Popcorn Time fork without the commercial VPN. The devs who created the VPN took that as a sort of "hostile takeover" and froze access to the software's code. At that point, a handful of devs decided it was time to move on. It is unclear what the next steps for the platform are.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple acknowledges 'Staingate' and will replace screens

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Oct 2015 9:16

Apple acknowledges 'Staingate' and will replace screens Apple has acknowledged the very valid concerns of Retina MacBook Pro users who are being affected by 'Staingate' and will replace the screens free of charge.

Staingate had been affecting thousands of Mac users, and within a few months the anti-reflecting layer had begun to wear off, leaving a hideous stain across the screen that could not be replaced without voiding the warranty.

Notably, if you already paid for a replacement, you may be eligible for a refund through AppleCare.

The new program will cover MacBooks and MacBook Pros from within three years of their original purchase date or for one year from October 16th, 2015.

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AfterDawn: News

Yahoo inks new search deal with Google

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Oct 2015 8:33

Yahoo inks new search deal with Google Yahoo has announced a new search deal with Google today in which the search giant will provide Yahoo with 'search ads, algorithmic search, and image search services' for mobile and desktop browsing.

The deal is in effect now and will last until 2018.

"In October, the Company reached an agreement with Google that provides Yahoo with additional flexibility to choose among suppliers of search results and ads," Yahoo wrote in its earnings release today. "Google's offerings complement the search services provided by Microsoft, which remains a strong partner, as well as Yahoo's own search technologies and ad products."

The deal makes perfect sense for Yahoo as it tries to profit from its search engine. Google has 64 percent of desktop queries in the U.S. compared to Yahoo at 12.7 percent.

Yahoo is in the middle of a 10-year deal with rival Microsoft in which Microsoft's search technology powers Yahoo's search engine in exchange for an 8 percent cut of search ad revenue.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple Music up to 6.5 million subscribers

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Oct 2015 8:14

Apple Music up to 6.5 million subscribers In a new interview today, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a milestone for the fledgling Apple Music service: 6.5 million paying subscribers.

Altogether, the service has 15 million total subscribers, a solid number for a service that has only been around since June. Keep in mind, Apple offers three free months to anybody who wants to try it, so the numbers are potentially inflated.

Cook said customers have been praising the human curation features of the platform and that he himself had been stuck listening to the same tracks over and over until he started using Apple Music.

The service launched with some issues, including a high-profile attack by the music industry over royalties but has since seemed to have settled into a groove.

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AfterDawn: News

Samsung plans to release Galaxy S7 earlier than anticipated

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 20 Oct 2015 7:56

Samsung plans to release Galaxy S7 earlier than anticipated According to Korean sources, Samsung plans to move the release of its flagship model, Samsung Galaxy S7 to happen couple of weeks before the MWC event where it has traditionally released its flagship models.

The move indicates that Samsung doesn't want to compete for the media attention during the MWC expo where several vendors release their products.

More interestingly, according to SamMobile, Samsung might be changing its flagship model tactic to have "super premium", "premium" and "sub-premium" flagship models in order to be able to compete against the iPhone (super premium) and against newcomers, like OnePlus and Xiaomi (premium & sub-premium).





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