Samsung heir sentenced to 5 years in prison for bribery

One of Samsung’s executives has been sentenced to five years in prison following a bribery scandal.

Lee Jae-yong, the heir to ownership of Samsung, has been sentenced to five years in prison following a bribery scandal involving Samsung and former South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

The New York Times reports that Lee and four other Samsung executives paid $6.4 million in bribes to the Park administration. The Samsung conglomerate controls one-fifth of the South Korean economy and a large portion of its gross domestic product, and the bribes were designed to secure political backing for a merger between Samsung C&T Corp and Cheil Industries Inc. The Samsung scandal contributed to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

Judge Kim Jin-dong, who sentenced Park, said:

The essence of this case is the unethical bond between politics and money. The people expect that the power of a president, the top authority under the Constitution, will be used to serve all people and that big businesses act with social responsibility, through legal economic activities. Through this case, the people have come to question the fairness and honesty of the president and have come to distrust the ethical values of Samsung, the largest conglomerate.

While we’re most familiar with Samsung’s electronics division, which is responsible for its smartphones and TV’s (and much of its profit), Samsung Group has a wide variety of companies in it, including those involved in construction, South Korean national defense, display production, processor production, storage production, medical services, and financial services. It is unclear at this time what the sentencing could mean for the future of the Samsung Group.

Another charge Lee was found guilty of was hiding assets overseas and falsely testifying during his hearing on the scandal.

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Amazon Echo is yours for only £99 this weekend!

Amazon is currently running a deal on the retail giant’s Echo and Echo Dot connected speakers.

Amazon has slashed the pricing of both the Echo and Echo Dot in the UK, dropping the two connected devices to £99 and £44.99, respectively. That’s a substantial saving on the Echo of around 35 percent. Should be one of those who has so far held off from making the purchase and bringing Alexa into your home, now is a solid time to take advantage of the #Shopthefuture promotion and save some pennies.

These discounts will last until August 30 so you have plenty of time to think about which one you’re going to pick up.

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As well as Echo products, there are a number of products on sale this bank holiday weekend. Hit the link below to see what else has been discounted!

• View all #Shopthefuture deals at Amazon

BlackBerry may begin licensing its Android software to other manufacturers

BlackBerry is devising a new way to make some much-needed cash.

BlackBerry has been on a bit of a resurgence, at least in mindshare, since releasing its first Android phone. It hasn’t exactly turned the company’s financials around, and it has since licensed its named to TCL in order to shed the cost of developing hardware. That arrangement has TCL design and build the hardware, while BlackBerry maintains the software. It’s a good arrangement.

Soon, BlackBerry may have that arrangement with other companies. The Economic Times reports that BlackBerry is in talks with various (unnamed) smartphone manufacturers to license its “BlackBerry Secure” OS — built on top of Android and including the Google Play Store. BlackBerry phones have consistently received monthly security updates at the beginning of each month, but they lag on feature updates for a long time. In addition to smartphones, BlackBerry is also looking towards building an operating system for televisions, wearables and medical devices, as well as Internet-of-Things (IOT) devices as a whole. The arrangement sounds similar to Cyanogen’s initial business plan, but hopefully, this would end with better results.

This arrangement makes a lot of sense for BlackBerry, which desperately needs the revenue.

On paper, an arrangement like this would make a lot of sense for BlackBerry. As Microsoft has proven, there is an awful lot of money in software licensing, with very few costs and risks compared to hardware development. BlackBerry already has a similar arrangement for its QNX-based software. QNX has low hardware requirements compared to other operating systems, making it suited for infotainment systems and other embedded systems that typically use older hardware. BlackBerry builds and manages the lower parts of the operating system, while vendors control the user interface. This gives vendors a distinct brand identity while also making sure the system is viable and secure. When we get robust theming control built-in to Android, it’s not hard to manage a similar arrangement could work for smartphones that use Blackberry Secure.

BlackBerry has talked about licensing its operating systems before, back when its hardware ran BlackBerry 10. Now that its phones run Android, the risks are much lower.

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How to use Miniverse for VR and AR Fun

Welcome to the Big VR Bang.

The merge Miniverse is a new website from the makers of the Merge Cube and Merge VR headset. Created to be a portal to all things VR/AR on the web, it can be a daunting place to be. Fear not fellow VR-ians we are here to help guide you around the Miniverse!

Read more at VRHeads!

UK snooping laws could sever EU data ties come Brexit

As it stands, the sharing of data between businesses, law enforcement agencies and such across EU countries is relatively straightforward. That’s because of various laws and agreements in place across the EU that set standards for data movement, protection and privacy. In other words, countries are all on the same page and know what is expected of them. But in the future, the UK won’t be part of the EU anymore, which is why the government has now published a set of proposals laying out how Britain hopes to keep data flowing between it and the continent post-Brexit.

Data sharing is important for the economy and the intelligence community, but EU-wide regulations are also the reason a social network or cloud storage provider can keep your data in a server room in another country. For the foreseeable future, the UK will be aligned with EU law. The government is currently in the process drafting a new Data Protection Bill which reflect the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — an updated, stricter set of data protection rules coming into force next May.

That’s all well and good, but we still need to establish a formal data-sharing arrangement with the EU before we leave. The proposals the UK government has now put forward is basically a checklist of what it wants to achieve from Brexit negotiations, which is more or less to maintain the current status quo. The document basically talks up how well-aligned we already are and will be with EU law once the Data Protection Bill is passed, how we played a leading role in drafting the new framework, yadda yadda yadda.

“On this basis, the government believes it would be in the interest of both the UK and EU to agree early in the process to mutually recognise each other’s data protection frameworks as a basis for the continued free flows of data between the EU (and other EU adequate countries) and the UK from the point of exit, until such time as new and more permanent arrangements come into force.” Not only does the UK want an initial thumbs-up from the EU to carry on as normal, but it effectively wants to keep its seat at the table.

“It is therefore the UK’s ambition to remain a global leader on data protection, by promoting both the flow of data internationally and appropriate high levels of data protection rules,” the paper reads. “The UK wants to continue to work closely with the EU, which has also been at the forefront of driving the improvement of global data protection standards, and our wider international partners, to work towards stronger global standards.”

Remember, this is something of a best-case scenario for the UK, and in no way a reflection of how Brexit negotiations may actually play out, especially considering the elephant in the room: The Investigatory Powers Act. You see, the EU has data-sharing agreements with other countries that fall outside of its regulatory umbrella. The data protection laws in these “third countries,” which include far-flung places like New Zealand, Argentina and Uruguay, are assessed on “adequacy” — the key question being: Even though they don’t share the same standardized laws as EU countries, are their data protection rules appropriate and generally up to par with ours? Are they “adequate?”

While the UK is still in the inner circle, it’s to some extent exempt from questions of adequacy. Post-Brexit, though, there is the potential we could fail the test if the EU decides to look at some of our local laws, particularly the Investigatory Powers Act, through objective eyes. The relatively new piece of legislation governs the UK’s digital surveillance regime, and introduces some new and far-reaching powers of questionable legality.

Not even getting into pending legal challenges from human rights groups, the EU Court of Justice ruled last year that “indiscriminate” data collection is incompatible with EU law. There are many powers in the complex Investigatory Powers Act, tantamount to mass surveillance, that could easily fall under that description. The adequacy of our laws in the realm of data protection, then, is not clear cut.

The EU has absolutely no problem rocking the boat when it comes to adequacy decisions, either. In 2015 the Court of Justice invalided the Safe Harbour agreement — the key legal framework that governed the movement of data between the EU and the US — on the very basis that it did not adequately protect data privacy. Needless to say, this had serious consequences and led to the hurried drafting of the Privacy Shield agreement to replace it, which itself has not fully been cleared as fit for purpose.

Source: UK government

Amazon opens up its ‘influencer’ program to YouTube stars

Back in the spring, Amazon launched an “influencer program” that let people with large internet followings set up their own storefront for their favorite products — and earn commission at the same time. Originally, the program was in beta and carefully vetted, but now Amazon has apparently opened things up a bit more, at least for YouTube stars. According to TechCrunch, YouTubers now have their own self-service sign-up page where they can connect their YouTube account and immediately get verified and set up their storefront.

Of course, not anyone with a YouTube account will be accepted to the program. Amazon has unspecified eligibility requirements, but they appear to focus around your following and engagement. If you don’t qualify, you’ll find out immediately, while those who do can get started making their Amazon Influencer page immediately.

This program isn’t wildly different than Amazon’s affiliate links program, which has existed for years now. But influencers get their own custom vanity URL on Amazon — something that’s particularly valuable if you’re on YouTube. That way, you can tell people how to get to your shop with a short, memorable URL. Since people watching video aren’t always easily able to click through on links, this makes it a little easier to get people to your shop.

For Amazon’s part, this follows the beta phase of the influencer program which launched in the spring. But this isn’t the only way the company is trying to use influential social media starts to sell more stuff — in fact, it created a show called Overhaul that basically puts influencers on the screen doing home makeovers with stuff you can buy on Amazon.

Right now, only YouTube users can sign up on Amazon’s self-service page, but it does note that other services will be supported in the future. So if you’re a big deal on Instagram and want to monetize that, just be patient. Of course, regardless of which platform you use, you’ll want to make sure you abide by the advertising rules for social media users.

Source: Amazon, TechCrunch

One week with Microsoft Cortana

“Never mind it. Never mind,” I cursed, looking down on the poorly formed monstrosity that gazed back at me with a singular pulsing eye. No, not at me — through me. This was not my trusty Google Assistant, with whom I shared a deep logistical and day-planning-based bond. This thing barely looked like the AI to which I was accustomed and — even then — only in passing. This alien program appears to have eaten my digital assistant and started wearing its skin — and I’m about to spend the next week having it organize my life.

“Cortana” came to reside in my Nexus 6P via a Google Play Store download, but it soon took over nearly all of the system’s support functions. It dug its tentacles into my alarms, contacts, calendars and camera, to name only a few. And, to my astonishment, I discovered that the lock screen now sports a shortcut button. It’s supposed to give me fast access to my most necessary functions, but more often feels like a pockmark in Edgar’s skin suit.

In fact, this thing’s (digital) skin immediately gives it away as an intruder on Android, fluidly switching among eight hues — from dark blues and blacks to garish pinks and oranges — at the swipe of a finger. While Cortana still leverages most of its predecessor’s associated apps (like Google Maps and Play Music,) the program appears to have replaced the existing Google search engine with “Bing.” Bing? What is this, spring of 2015?

It’s a wonder that Cortana managed to get this far though, given how it feels half-deaf and is more than a bit slow on the uptake. When I first tried to speak to it, to my surprise, it did not stir. Again and again I called out, “Hey Cortana”, increasingly raising my voice at the irritation at being ignored.

It was only after a number of sharp pokes and prods to its voice settings menu that Cortana eventually started responding to my summons. But even then, its attention was perpetually difficult to catch. Some days it would hang on my every word; on others, it would demand a nearly silent room and a more proper enunciation than I can muster.

Its Bing-based intelligence-gathering skills don’t seem to be anything to crow about, either. When engaged with the simple query “Who was the 17th president of the United States?” it swiftly replied, “Andrew Johnson.” But when I immediately followed that with “How old was he when he took office?” Cortana gave me an explanation of John F. Kennedy’s age when he first assumed the presidency.

Despite this, I attempted to build a rudimentary bond with Cortana over the course of the week. I found it possessed many of the same features as Google’s Assistant, but it lacked any knowledge of me or my tastes. It was only through an extensive reading of Cortana’s notebook on Wednesday that I found a way to quickly inform it of my preferences. Things like when I take lunch, which foods I enjoy or which academic journals and stocks I follow. Unlike my Google Assistant, which consistently provided me with transit-commute options first, I had to specifically inform Cortana that I did not own a car.

And though Cortana can speak three forms of English (American, UK and Aussie) as well as Simplified Chinese, it couldn’t communicate with my home’s Hue lights — or any other IoT devices within that domain. Thanks to a recent update to the Windows 10 Creators suite, though, any Windows 10 IoT Core device with a screen will be able to run Cortana. This means the infection — I mean, assistant — will soon spread to our toasters, refrigerators and thermostats. When I asked Cortana directly about the devices it might be capable of connecting with, I received only mutterings of “Harmon/Kardon … coming soon.”

Cortana is a bit better when it comes to third-party apps, though. There’s integration with TuneIn and iHeartRadio as well as pretty much anything in the Windows Store — unless the app’s developer has specifically prevented it. Importantly, Cortana is on good speaking terms with the likes of Uber, Netflix and LinkedIn. Now, instead of typing in the show or movie I want to watch, I could simply command “Hey, Cortana, Netflix find Orange is the New Black.”

Of course, that’s assuming I’m speaking to the Cortana installed in a Smart TV or on an Xbox. Speaking the command into my phone simply returns a bunch of Bing-sourced YouTube links. As for LinkedIn, Cortana will remind you of appointments or quickly view the LinkedIn profiles of those whom you’re meeting. Still, I would not like to add Cortana to my professional network.

It’s important to remember that Cortana is a survivor of a short-lived culture known as the “WindowsPhone.” While it is easily capable of communicating by “SMS” with other phones — the pitiful creature would sometimes ask to contact its friend, named “Windows 10.” Cortana would swear that this friend would always know if my phone missed a call. But a Windows PC? I haven’t used one of those in years.

When I did manage to track down one of these devices, Cortana was right at home. It leveraged its native Microsoft services rather than hijacking Google apps, its response time was faster and its response clarity was greatly improved. It was like I had been shouting calculus equations at it for hours before finally “glow-fingering” the alien into a cease-fire.

Back in the mobile domain, Cortana was just as handy at transcribing my spoken notes and dictating driving directions to me as Google’s own Assistant. I mean, if you take the time to slow down, enunciate and really spell out your request for Cortana, sure, the program is quite competent. Dictated text messages and spoken search strings are quite accurate as well, but great googly-moogly, it can be slow. Should you ever have to ask for driving directions in a rush or have a question that needs answering within 90 seconds, expect to have your patience tested.

By Thursday my own patience had begun running out. Cortana had tried hard to fulfill its role as my new digital assistant, but its hit-or-miss reaction times, scattershot search results and shoehorned integration with the rest of my apps left me searching for more competent help.

At this point, I can only hope that Cortana quickly outgrows its current skin and sheds it like a tarantula’s carapace in search of a more spacious host on another device. Only then may I quietly grieve for the Assistant I lost. Oh wait, you can just switch control back to the old one in the Assist and Voice Input settings on your Android device. Never mind it. Never mind.

This week Engadget is examining each of the five major virtual assistants, taking stock of how far they’ve come and how far they still have to go. Find all our coverage here.

‘Black Mirror’ season four looks as bleak as ever

Black Mirror is coming back to depress us all, and Netflix has revealed the cast and directors for season four’s episodes. If you thought the last season was perhaps a little too happy-go-lucky, the teaser below might reassure you that showrunner Charlie Booker hasn’t lost sight of what made the Twilight Zone-meets-modern-technology anthology series so compelling. Per Deadline, Jodie Foster is behind the camera for “Arkangel,” which looks to focus on a family’s new tablet.

In terms of star power on the other side of the lens, “USS Callister” features Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights) in the role of a very Star Trek-like starship commander. The other four episodes include “Crocodile,” “Hang the DJ,” “Metalhead” (which looks like it’s about a killer robot) and “Black Museum.” Unfortunately, the 50-second teaser clip is all we know about the next season and Netflix hasn’t given a release date just yet.

Source: Netflix (YouTube)

Cleveland residents take AT&T broadband complaint to the FCC

In March, two organizations — Connect Your Community and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance — alleged that AT&T had been practicing “digital redlining” in lower income Cleveland neighborhoods. The report released by the groups presented evidence showing that AT&T had not upgraded its broadband infrastructure in those neighborhoods though it had done so nearly everywhere else in the county. Now, a formal FCC complaint has been filed against AT&T.

The complaint, which was filed on behalf of three Cleveland residents who have been subject to the persistently low connection speeds, notes that the affected areas have poverty rates above 35 percent and for many of those residents, their download speeds were as low as 1.5 Mbps. “The analysis shows a clear and troubling pattern: A pattern of long-term, systematic failure to invest in the infrastructure required to provide equitable, mainstream Internet access to residents of the central city (compared to the suburbs) and to lower-income city neighborhoods,” said the complaint.

Since the initial report was released, the Cleveland complainants and AT&T did sit down to discuss a way to resolve the issue. But, according to the FCC complaint, the company only offered to deploy a 5G wireless pilot, not upgrade the wired internet infrastructure.

In a press release, the complainants said, “As a result of the ineffectual and substandard quality level of speed, the women’s children cannot access homework sites, their home security system that rely on broadband connectivity is rendered useless and they are essentially at risk of being left behind the high speed broadband access gap that leaves so many low income, underserved communities with residents that are persons of color.”

In a statement AT&T told Ars Technica, “We do not redline. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is unparalleled. Our investment decisions are based on the cost of deployment and demand for our services and are of course fully compliant with the requirements of the Communications Act. We will vigorously defend the complaint filed today.”

Following the complaint filing will be a hearing where both sides will present their arguments. The Cleveland residents are seeking damages and a permanent injunction “prohibiting AT&T from engaging in the discriminatory and anticompetitive conduct and practices.”

Via: DSL Reports

Source: FCC Complaint (1), (2)

Celebrities are vanishing from social media to make a statement

Platforms like Instagram and Twitter have taken the relationship between celebrities and fans to new heights. Those who follow famous people on social media feel closer to them than ever before, since these networks act as a window into the lavish personal lives of individuals they admire. Celebs can share anything from selfies and family pictures to random thoughts about topics they feel strongly about. But, as we’ve seen with Kanye West, Solange Knowles and Taylor Swift recently, that online presence doesn’t last forever. Some vanish for unknown reasons (West) while others do it because of the current political climate (Solange) or as a marketing scheme to promote a fresh music album (Swift). And if you’re Rob Kardashian, well, you just get banned for revenge porn.

Whatever the reason, when celebrities wipe or delete their social media accounts it causes a ripple effect across the internet that leads to plenty of gossip. Fans rush to find out why he or she did it, hoping to be the first to uncover any cryptic clues that may have been left behind. In the case of Solange, a former member of Destiny’s Child and sister to Beyonce, she made it quite clear that she was shutting down her Twitter page because she was outraged following a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month. Solange deleted her Twitter account on August 15th, three days after the event, saying, “deleting my twitter soon, but before I dip when are we gonna pull up ? & what we got to do to get my new hero Takiyah Thompson free?”

Takiyah Thompson, a 22-year-old student activist, became an internet sensation after a video of her climbing up and subsequently toppling a Confederate statue went viral. Thompson was arrested for her actions, leading people like Solange to speak out on the matter. The issue many people had with Thompson’s arrest is that while she was behind bars, the Neo-Nazis who were caught on video gruesomely beating a young black man during the rally were still roaming the streets free. Solange is still not back on Twitter, though she’s still sharing pictures on Instagram, where she has 3 million followers. One could argue this is likely because there’s less political content to see there.

Kanye West, meanwhile, vanished from Twitter and Instagram last May. Unlike Solange, however, West gave no warning before closing his accounts. At the time, it was rumored that the radio silence was a marketing plot around a kid’s clothing line he and his wife were about to launch, but that wasn’t the case since he’s still not back on either site. Instead, his decision could be tied to personal issues the rapper-turned-designer has been dealing with since last year, when he was hospitalized for what doctors referred to as “temporary psychosis.” And let’s be honest, tweeting and posting pictures on Instagram are probably the last things you want to be doing during a health recovery.

Of course, Kanye’s had some of the most iconic rants in Twitter history, including the time he said he hated “big ass striped scarves” and “khaki cargo shorts.”Or what about when he tweeted that he wouldn’t attend the Grammy Awards unless The Recording Academy promised him Album of the Year. That said, Kanye hasn’t always been a fan of Twitter or Instagram. In 2009, he wrote on his now-defunct blog, KanyeUniverseCity, that he didn’t have “a fucking Twitter” because he was too busy “being creative most of the time.” As far as Instagram, he (perhaps angrily?) tweeted in 2013: “I DO NOT HAVE AN INSTAGRAM.” He eventually created an account in September of 2016, only to delete it a few months later.

The most recent case is Taylor Swift, who last week wiped her Twitter and Instagram accounts without giving her nearly 200 million followers combined any sort of heads up. Although Swift didn’t disappear from social media completely, she did remove all of her tweets and Instagram pictures temporarily. For a few days, she was nothing but a verified egg stock twitter avatar. That changed this past Monday, August 21st, when Swift started posting mysterious videos of snakes on her Instagram and Twitter. There’s a subliminal meaning behind these messages, aside from the fact we now know they’re tied to the pop artist’s upcoming album, Reputation, scheduled to arrived on November 10th.

To understand the snake reference you have to go back to Swift’s rocky relationship with Kim Kardashian and her husband, Kanye West, which started after he released his latest record, The Life of Pablo. In the track Famous, he raps, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous (Goddamn). I made that bitch famous.” The drama between the three began after Kanye claimed he had called Swift to let her know about the lyrics, something she said wasn’t true. As it turns out, however, Kardashian had recorded the conversation between the two and ended up releasing a video of it on Snapchat.

(Let’s also not forget that classic moment at the 2009 MTV VMA Awards, when Kanye interrupted Swift’s Best Female Video acceptance speech to say Beyonce should’ve been the winner.)

Wait it’s legit National Snake Day?!?!?They have holidays for everybody, I mean everything these days! 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) July 17, 2016

Eventually, in the months that followed, that tweet led to Swift’s Twitter and Instagram posts being flooded with snake emojis. In the digital age, those have become an embodiment of anyone who’s lied or committed betrayal. Just ask NBA player Kevin Durant, who dealt with a similar situation after he chose to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors. Swift’s pages are back up and running again, but not before causing her fandom (and the media) to try to guess why she would do such thing. But hey, it got people talking right before an album release, so kudos to her label or whoever came up with the idea.

Solange, Kanye and Swift all had their own reasons to go dark on social media, and chances are they won’t be the last ones to do so. The question at this point isn’t if another celebrity wipe or delete their Twitter or Instagram account, but rather who is it going to be? We’re sure there’s a certain someone out there you’re probably wishing will.

pic.twitter.com/p2DyY0e2M3

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) August 21, 2017