PayPal shoots self in foot while ‘white knighting’ for Netflix
With the recent rollout of Netflix Everywhere, the company has been on a tear trying to track down and lock out users who rely on VPNs to bypass its regional restrictions and access the US programming list. Doing so hasn’t been as easy as Netflix initially anticipated so it called in PayPal for backup.
See, VPN servers allow users to spoof their geographical location so even if they live in, say Germany, the Netflix system will think they’re in located somewhere here in the states. What’s more, many VPN services specifically advertise that they can help you get around the Netflix geo-barrier, and it’s precisely those services that PayPal is going after.
According to a report from TorrentFreak, PayPal recently sent Canadian VPN service UnoTelly notice that it would no longer offer them payment processing services on “copyright infringement” grounds.
Specifically, the PayPal notice read:
Under the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for items that infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy, or any other proprietary right under the laws of any jurisdiction. This includes transactions for any device or technological measure that descrambles a scrambled work, decrypts an encrypted work or otherwise avoids, bypasses, removes, deactivates or impairs a technological measure without the authority of the copyright owner.
UnoTelly, in response, simply told its customers to use credit cards instead. So really the only company economically hurt by PayPal’s white knighting is PayPal itself. Good work there, guys.
Via: Ubergizmo
Source: Torrent Freak
Google backs away from banning dedicated Android ad blockers
Google’s tough stance on dedicated Android ad blockers might be softening a bit. The company has reversed its decision to yank Adblock Fast from the Play Store following an appeal from the app’s developer, Rocketship. Google hasn’t officially said what prompted the change of heart (we’ll let you know if it has a comment), but TechCrunch understands that Google had originally wanted to limit ad blocking to browsers where it’s an option — any stand-alone apps were against the rules for interfering with other software. Our understanding is that Google is now concerned solely with banning those apps that interfere without permission. Given that Rocketship was working with Samsung, that shouldn’t be a problem.
One thing’s for sure: the decision ends the murkiness over Google’s approach to ad blockers. Besides letting through web browsers with ad blocking built-in, Google was also lighter on competing dedicated apps like Crystal, which had an update rejected but otherwise stayed put on the Play Store. This isn’t carte blanche for every ad blocker, but you won’t have a shortage of choices.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Rocketship
‘The Division’ is getting an open beta next week
If you didn’t participate in The Division’s recent closed beta, don’t worry — you’re going to have another chance to play the game soon. Ubisoft has announced open beta dates for its new Tom Clancy title, which will be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Interestingly enough, gamers with a Microsoft console can start playing February 18th, with PS4 and PC support to come the following day. The open beta runs through February 21st, so you better enjoy it while it lasts. As a refresher, The Division launches March 18th, assuming there aren’t any more unexpected delays.
Source: Ubisoft
Prep for the debates and primaries with Engadget’s election guide
Last week Iowa voted and there were surprises all around. Ted Cruz became the front runner in the Republican race and Marco Rubio made an excellent showing by coming in a close third. Plus Hillary Clinton only narrowly avoided an upset from Larry David impersonator Bernie Sanders. Add to that the rather contentious (and meme-inspiring) debate between the Republicans on Saturday and this week is looking to be a decisive one for the Candidates.
Continued contents …
Final Fantasy IX arrives to Google Play
Square Enix has been chugging through its Final Fantasy back-catalogue pretty quickly over the last few years, and while it still hasn’t brought us the much-anticipated mobile port of Final Fantasy VII, today Square brings us the very first Playstation Final Fantasy port, Final Fantasy IX. (For the record, Tactics was also a PS game, but the port was based off the PSP version.)
Originally released back in 2000, the latest FF port takes place in a world called Gaia, though no, not the same world as the Gaia in FF7. For those that never experienced it, not going to spoil the story for you, though I will tell you the story features a unique cast to say the least including Zidane (a mischievous thief of sorts), a princess, and six other characters. While not nearly as dear to my heart as FF7 or the NES/SNES era Final Fantasy entries, I admit this is still one of my own personal favorites and look forward to giving it a go.
As for changes made to the mobile version? The port sticks mostly to the original, though there are some changes to let you get through the story quicker (like we’ve seen in other FF ports), an auto-save feature, and some of the video and character models have been altered slightly for today’s higher-resolution displays. Obviously, the port also features touchscreen integration, though the ability to use a more traditional controller remains.
Final Fantasy IX is available right now through the Play Store, and in usual Square Enix fashion, is priced for a pretty penny at $16.99 – which is supposedly a 20% sale price, so expect it to go up even further a bit later.
It’s also worth mentioning that you better have a bunch of room at the ready, as this port takes up 4GB free space. It also requires Android 4.1 or higher.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge 3600 mAh battery confirmed, thanks to FCC
While the Galaxy S6 family got a lot of things right for Samsung, there were at least a few small missteps too. First, there was the lack of microSD, and the lack of a removable battery. The GS6 family also removed waterproofing from the mix, and had relatively unimpressive battery life compared to many other phones of the time. With the Galaxy S7, Samsung is set to follow the same design philosophy as it did last year while also addressing some of these shortcomings.
The rumor mill already has suggested that microSD, waterproofing, and bigger batteries are all par for the course with the new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Now thanks to a FCC filing for the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, we can confirm that small battery size is one issue that the GS7 family won’t have to contend with.
The rumors already pointed to a 3000 mAh and a 5.1-inch display for the Galaxy S7, with a 3600 mAh battery and 5.5-inch display for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Now an FCC label document confirms the 3600 mAh size, though no similar documentation exists for the Galaxy S7 as far as we can tell. That said, it’s probably a safe bet that if the 3600 mAh rumor was right, so is the 3000 mAh claim for the standard Galaxy S7.
See also: Samsung Galaxy S7 rumor roundup: release date, price, specs, features
The big question now is if a 3600 mAh battery means that the Galaxy S7 Edge will have monster battery life, or if the power demands from its hardware are so great that this is merely a means of keeping up. For what it’s worth, the Nexus 6P has one of the best battery lives out there (the Mate 8 beats it easily, though) in the Android world and manages to get about a day and half battery life for the typical user. Considering the Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 are supposedly optimized to further improve battery life, we’d expect similar, if not better, battery performance here. Of course, it’s really too early to say for sure.
What do you think, excited by the Galaxy S7 Edge? Disappointed by the jump in screen size, or do you think it will prove to be a wise move?
Expect a 5.2-inch display on the HTC One M10
It’s nice to see companies out there still releasing phones with 5-inch displays in a world where 5.5 inches and 5.7 inches is considered a norm. Among those remaining are HTC and Samsung, but the latter utilizes the Galaxy Note to serve an audience that demands large displays. HTC, however, really sticks to an end of the spectrum closer to 5 inches. Last year’s One M9 had a 5-inch display despite much of the competition going well beyond that. And the One A9 from HTC also stuck with a 5-inch display to remain comfortable in any consumer’s hands. But, in 2016, there was concern around the web that HTC would choose to raise the display size of the company’s next flagship, which is known internally Perfume.
Late in January, Evan Blass shared a ton of information about the upcoming HTC One M10. The display, according to him, will measure 5.1 inches and have Quad HD (2560×1440) resolution; however, a new source is claiming that HTC will actually be using a 5.2 inch panel.
LlabTooFeR, who’s very familiar with all things HTC, revealed on Twitter that the One M10’s display will measure 5.2 inches and have Quad HD resolution rather than the slightly smaller 5.1 inches mentioned by Blass. Still, regardless of the larger display, it seems HTC will have one of the most compact flagships on the market. A recent leak of the phone’s front shows an iPhone-like appearance for the One M10.
Remember, HTC will not be holding a launch event for its One M10 at MWC 2016. The company will be opting to host a solo event in the coming months to ensure all attention is on the One M10 and the One M10 only.
Source: LlabTooFeR (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: Expect a 5.2-inch display on the HTC One M10
Twitter’s ‘First View’ ads put videos at the top of your feed
For Twitter, a lot can happen in a week. After it was reported to be readying a change that would shift the placement of tweets, the company has pushed forward with a new feature that changes what you’ll see in your feed. It’s called “First View” and it allows brands to pay more to position a video ad at the top of every timeline.
Twitter markets the feature as an “engaging and highly visible way to share your brand story with compelling video creative across Twitter’s massive audience.” It operates in a similar way to Facebook’s Suggested Videos or Suggested Posts, in that it will sit between legitimate content on Twitter.com or the official apps and will attempt to catch your eye every time you visit.
It’s no surprise that the company calls the spot its “most valuable advertising real estate.” When brands buy the placement, which sits between the first and third tweets, they’ll own it for 24 hours and you won’t be able to escape it (like you would a Promoted Tweet). Twitter says the feature is already rolling out to a number of selected partners in the US and will expand globally “in the coming months.”
Source: Twitter
The best beard trimmer
By Seamus Bellamy
This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a buyer’s guide to the best things for your home. Read the full article here.
After 46 hours of research and a week of testing tools with a pair of professional barbers, plus an additional two months spent testing five new devices this year, we concluded that the Wahl Lithium Ion all-in-one trimmer is the best beard trimmer for most people. It has the sharpest blades, the most reliable beard guides, the longest run time, and the strongest overall stubble-cutting power of any cordless tool we tested.
How we tested
The Wahl Lithium Ion’s blade is near professional quality, according to our expert barbers.
In three years of reporting on this category and updating this guide, we’ve considered about 70 beard trimmers and tested 37 of them. While none of them are perfect, they are the best we’ve found. The two Wahl products in particular are standouts; both rose to the top after a week of scrutiny and testing against 10 devices by the employees at Victory Barber & Brand in Victoria, British Columbia. This year, thanks to what we learned from the experts, we felt comfortable testing five new devices on our own, adhering to the barbers’ exacting test standards.
We spent nearly two months using our test group of trimmers to see how well they dealt with balding or patchier beards, how they trimmed with beard guides on and off, and how they did quick touch-ups in easy-to-screw-up areas like along the lip and jawline. We also looked at construction, blade quality, ergonomics, how long the device could go between charges, and how easy it was to clean and maintain.
Our pick
The cordless Wahl Lithium Ion all-in-one trimmer cut more hair in a single pass, and cut it shorter, than all the other rechargeable trimmers we tested.
We think the Wahl Lithium Ion all-in-one trimmer is the best beard trimmer for most people. While not as powerful as the Wahl Peanut (which we’ll get to in a minute), it proved more than capable of cutting through coarse beard hair, no matter whether we trimmed around an upper lip or took a full beard off. Among the battery-powered trimmers we tested, the Wahl Lithium Ion had the most power overall. No other rechargeable trimmer we tested cut more hair in one stroke than the Wahl. Working without a cord is convenient, and this tool’s battery offers the best balance of charge times and run times in our test group: With a roughly two-hour run time from a one-hour charge or the option to use it for five minutes after plugging it in for one minute, it’s almost always ready to go.
A more powerful, corded pick
The Wahl Peanut’s powerful motor and sharp blades make it a great choice for men with thick, coarse beards.
Cordless trimmers aren’t for everyone. If you want a reliable corded tool that can cut a thick beard and moustache down to nothing but stubble, we recommend the Wahl Peanut. It beat everything we tested it against in overall cutting power and closeness of the trim. You see it in hair salons everywhere; professionals dig its powerful motor, easy-to-maintain blades, solid ergonomics, and rugged durability. But unlike some pro tools, the Peanut is easy to clean and maintain without breaking out the screwdriver. It’s also lighter, smaller, and more maneuverable than other tank-like pro trimmers, yet because it’s so well built, the Wahl Peanut is bound to last home users for years.
A pick for fine length control
If you want incremental control over your facial-hair length, the Panasonic’s guides give you 39 different settings.
If you prefer a trimmer with incremental length controls, we suggest the Panasonic ER-GB60-K, which comes with two trimmer guards that add up to 39 length settings, far more than the competition provides (even our main pick offers only 12 settings). The Panasonic’s cutting power is mediocre compared against that of the high-quality blades and motors in the two Wahl trimmers we feature in this guide, but it has better cutting power than the competition. The ER-GB60-K is best suited for people with thinner beards who want to have as much control as they can over the length.
Wrapping it up
After 46 hours spent researching and testing tools with a pair of professional barbers, plus a new round of testing this year, we found that the Wahl Lithium Ion all-in-one trimmer is the best beard trimmer for most people. It has the sharpest blades, the longest run time, and the strongest overall stubble-cutting power of any cordless tool we tested.
This guide may have been updated by The Sweethome. To see the current recommendation, please go here.
Pre-order Oculus Rift-ready PCs starting on February 16th
If you want an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset but realize that your existing PC just won’t cut it, don’t panic — you can get a guaranteed-ready system very shortly. Oculus has announced that pre-orders for both Oculus Ready PCs and those with Rift bundles will start on February 16th at 11AM Eastern, or 8AM Pacific. Amazon, Best Buy and the Microsoft Store will offer a handful of certified systems from Alienware, its parent company Dell and ASUS. Should you pull the trigger, you should get your rig sometime in April.
For the most part, these are standard gaming desktops that happen to meet Oculus’ recommended specs for a good VR experience. The big deal is that you’ll typically get a discount if you’ve already pre-ordered a Rift (between $100 to $200 off) — important when the cheapest system starts at $949 after you factor the Rift discount into the equation. This won’t matter much if you already have a speedy system, of course, but it’s a big deal for newcomers who want to get into VR without either a lot of knowledge or the time to track down an ideal PC on their own.
Source: Oculus
AIVAnet 