The Morning After: Thursday, December 14th 2017

Hey, good morning!

In cased you missed it, we got driven down an actual highway while wearing a VR headset, did cartwheels in a next-generation VR device and heard all about T-Mobile launching a TV service. That last one has nothing to do with VR. Yet.

Its “world-scale” tracking is surprisingly solid.
Cartwheels in VR are possible now, with HTC’s Vive Focus

After fully unveiling the Vive Focus, HTC finally allowed lucky folks like Richard Lai to properly test out the six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) standalone VR headset. For the first time, you can actually walk around in VR without being tethered to a PC or confined to a fixed space. It’s a truly mobile virtual reality solution — more so than smartphone-based VR headsets, which only let you look around on the spot (3DoF). We had a play.

The ‘mind off’ Symbioz car sells us the future of commuting.
Renault’s concept EV drove me at 80MPH while I wore a VR headset

With fully autonomous vehicles just around the corner, Renault is trying to imagine how we can spend our free time once we surrender the wheel to robots. That involved Steve Dent being plugged into a VR headset while still at the wheel of Renault’s prototype EV. While it was still zooming down a French highway.

Who owns the work of an artificial intelligence?
Modern copyright law can’t keep pace with thinking machines

This past April, engineer Alex Reben developed and posted to YouTube, “Deeply Artificial Trees”, an art piece powered by machine learning, which leveraged old Joy of Painting videos. It generated gibberish audio in the speaking style and tone of Bob Ross, the show’s host. Bob Ross’ estate was not amused, subsequently issuing a DMCA takedown request and having the video knocked offline until very recently. Much like Naruto, the famous selfie-snapping black crested macaque, the Trees debacle raises a number of questions of how the Copyright Act of 1976 and DMCA’s Fair Use doctrine should be applied to a rapidly evolving technological culture, especially as AI and machine learning techniques approach ubiquity.

One more reason to cut the cord.
T-Mobile is bringing its ‘Un-carrier’ ways to TV

AT&T and Verizon have multiplatform video efforts and soon T-Mobile will join them. CEO John Legere announced that his company has acquired video streamer Layer3 TV and plans to launch a TV service in 2018 that offers “real choice.” The magenta folks have been able to shake up mobile packaging several times over the years, so it will be interesting to see how they compete with cable, Netflix and all the other streaming options like Sling TV, Vue and Hulu — but we don’t really have any details yet.

Cut through the spin.
Net neutrality is a double-edged sword for small ISPs

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai claims that repealing Title II net neutrality rules will benefit small ISPs, so we talked to someone who runs one. Stephouse Networks serves about 1,000 people in the Pacific Northwest, and its president Tyler Booth says he has a “love-hate relationship” with the regulations.

But wait, there’s more…

• Trump signs defense spending bill that includes a Kaspersky ban
• Apple invests $390 million into Face ID and AirPod tech
• Pepsi wants a 100 Tesla Semi trucks

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Disney buys Fox’s studios and cable TV channels for $52 billion

After weeks of rumors, the deal is done — Disney will buy up large chunks of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox media empire for $52 billion. The list of what it won’t take is shorter: the Fox News cable channel, broadcast networks and Fox Sports, which are expected to spin off as their own business. The Disney conglomerate adds the Fox movie and TV studios (including big-name franchises like X-Men, Avatar, Alien and The Simpsons), majority control of Hulu, FX cable networks and $13.7 billion in debt. On top of that, Fox is attempting to acquire the parts of UK’s Sky that it doesn’t already own, and if that’s successful then Disney will get it too.

While possible implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe will come to any comic book movie fan’s mind first — yes, Deadpool and the Fantastic Four are included, not to mention distribution for Star Wars Episode IV — this purchase is all about Disney’s place in a changing TV landscape. As cord-cutting has increased and subscribers have shifted away from mainstays like ESPN, Disney is bulking up and preparing to launch its own streaming service in 2019 — which now has a much larger library to pull from.

As Disney moves into its BAMTech-powered internet video future, the plan is apparently to own as much contnet as possible. What’s unclear is whether regulators will allow this deal to proceed. Even though Comcast has already acquired NBCUniversal, AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner is undergoing intense scrutiny and this pairing will likely get a similar response.

Developing…

Source: Disney

Disney could soon own Sky

Today, Disney announced its intention to buy 21st Century Fox for $52 billion. It’s a colossal deal that gives the House of Mouse control over the X-Men, a number of TV channels and a majority stake in Hulu. For Brits, the acquisition has another implication: Disney could soon own Sky. That’s because 21st Century Fox is trying to buy the TV provider for roughly £18.5 billion at the moment. The deal is in limbo, however, as the UK’s Culture Secretary Karen Bradley mulls its potential impact on the media industry. Back in September, she referred the case to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is expected to give a report in mid-2018.

21st Century Fox already has a 39 percent stake in Sky. Should the deal be approved, that figure will go up to 100 percent. It’s a big if, but were that to happen, Sky would join the multitude of assets that are currently in Disney’s crosshairs. Of course, the Disney deal needs to be approved too — and it’s not clear how long that will take (the consolidation of rights and media properties will likely raise some competition concerns.) But theoretically, if everything is green-lit, Disney will take ownership of Sky. What would that mean for the two businesses? For now, it’s hard to say.

Here’s how Disney described the possible team-up today:

“Sky is one of Europe’s most successful pay television and creative enterprises with innovative and high-quality direct-to-consumer platforms, resonant brands and a strong and respected leadership team. 21st Century Fox remains fully committed to completing the current Sky offer and anticipates that, subject to the necessary regulatory consents, the transaction will close by June 30, 2018. Assuming 21st Century Fox completes its acquisition of Sky prior to closing of the transaction, The Walt Disney Company would assume full ownership of Sky, including the assumption of its outstanding debt, upon closing.”

Would this mean a merging of Now TV and DisneyLife? Or a wealth of exclusive Disney content on Sky? For now, we can only speculate.

Source: The Walt Disney Company (Press Release)

Three men plead guilty to links with 2016 botnet that crashed the web

If you were using sites like Netflix, Spotify, Twitter, Reddit, and Amazon in October 2016, you may recall the service going down for a while in the middle of the month.

The cause was one of those pesky distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and this week a U.S.-based man admitted to creating the hugely disruptive botnet that made it happen.

Paras Jha, 21, of Fanwood, New Jersey, this week pleaded guilty in a New Jersey court to violating the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act when he created the Mirai malware. Mirai infected more than 300,000 connected devices globally and was used in multiple DDoS attacks on various online services carried out by Jha and others.

As we mentioned at the start, the most significant attack using Mirai struck popular online services in October, 2016. The botnet targeted data centers operated by Dyn, a company providing internet traffic management and optimization services for many high-profile sites. When the DDoS attack was in full swing, internet users were unable to access web addresses assigned to sites serviced by Dyn, causing huge disruption and frustration in the process.

Jha isn’t accused of any direct involvement in the Dyn attack, which could have been carried out by others after he posted the Mirai code on online forums in September or October, 2017, apparently in a bid to make it harder for law enforcement to trace the botnet’s origin back to him.

But Jha did carry out his own DDoS attacks using Mirai, including on Rutger University where he had been a computer science student.

The website of well-known cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs was also knocked offline for several days by Mirai, prompting Krebs to undertake a meticulous investigation that led him to identify Jha as the possible perpetrator behind the damaging botnet.

More guilty pleas

Two other men, Josiah White and Dalton Norman, also entered guilty pleas for using the botnet for criminal gain.

White told the authorities he modified Mirai’s code so it could more effectively identify vulnerable connected devices, among them webcams and baby monitors, before infecting them to increase the power of the botnet. Norman also used his knowledge to help further increase Mirai’s reach and effectiveness.

Jha’s plea agreement reveals that he created Mirai’s code some time around July 2016. He also rented Mirai to others, and even set up a company with White to help rescue businesses affected by the botnet, “like firemen getting paid to put out the fires they started,” as Krebs put it.

Jha could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when he’s sentenced in March, 2018.

Commenting on the case in a release, the FBI’s Timothy Gallagher described Jha’s guilty plea as “a testament to the countless hours of hard work and dedication by law enforcement in the fight against cyber criminals.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• CCleaner downloads are found to be infected with malware, affecting millions
• Insomniac’s ‘Spider-Man’: Everything you need to know
• Canadian man charged in 2014 Yahoo breach expected to plead guilty in the U.S.
• Laugh, cry, or just relax with the best shows streaming on HBO
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Three men plead guilty to links with 2016 botnet that crashed the web

If you were using sites like Netflix, Spotify, Twitter, Reddit, and Amazon in October 2016, you may recall the service going down for a while in the middle of the month.

The cause was one of those pesky distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and this week a U.S.-based man admitted to creating the hugely disruptive botnet that made it happen.

Paras Jha, 21, of Fanwood, New Jersey, this week pleaded guilty in a New Jersey court to violating the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act when he created the Mirai malware. Mirai infected more than 300,000 connected devices globally and was used in multiple DDoS attacks on various online services carried out by Jha and others.

As we mentioned at the start, the most significant attack using Mirai struck popular online services in October, 2016. The botnet targeted data centers operated by Dyn, a company providing internet traffic management and optimization services for many high-profile sites. When the DDoS attack was in full swing, internet users were unable to access web addresses assigned to sites serviced by Dyn, causing huge disruption and frustration in the process.

Jha isn’t accused of any direct involvement in the Dyn attack, which could have been carried out by others after he posted the Mirai code on online forums in September or October, 2017, apparently in a bid to make it harder for law enforcement to trace the botnet’s origin back to him.

But Jha did carry out his own DDoS attacks using Mirai, including on Rutger University where he had been a computer science student.

The website of well-known cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs was also knocked offline for several days by Mirai, prompting Krebs to undertake a meticulous investigation that led him to identify Jha as the possible perpetrator behind the damaging botnet.

More guilty pleas

Two other men, Josiah White and Dalton Norman, also entered guilty pleas for using the botnet for criminal gain.

White told the authorities he modified Mirai’s code so it could more effectively identify vulnerable connected devices, among them webcams and baby monitors, before infecting them to increase the power of the botnet. Norman also used his knowledge to help further increase Mirai’s reach and effectiveness.

Jha’s plea agreement reveals that he created Mirai’s code some time around July 2016. He also rented Mirai to others, and even set up a company with White to help rescue businesses affected by the botnet, “like firemen getting paid to put out the fires they started,” as Krebs put it.

Jha could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when he’s sentenced in March, 2018.

Commenting on the case in a release, the FBI’s Timothy Gallagher described Jha’s guilty plea as “a testament to the countless hours of hard work and dedication by law enforcement in the fight against cyber criminals.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• CCleaner downloads are found to be infected with malware, affecting millions
• Insomniac’s ‘Spider-Man’: Everything you need to know
• Canadian man charged in 2014 Yahoo breach expected to plead guilty in the U.S.
• Laugh, cry, or just relax with the best shows streaming on HBO
• A library at your fingertips: The best free Kindle books

Microsoft’s Seeing AI app for the blind now reads handwriting

Artificial intelligence took center stage at Microsoft’s AI Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday. Aside from announcing AI smarts for a range of software — from Bing to Office 365 — the tech titan is also ramping up its Seeing AI app for iOS, which uses computer vision to audibly help blind and visually impaired people to see the world around them. According to Microsoft, it’s nabbed 100,000 downloads since its launch in the US earlier this year, which convinced the tech titan to bring it to 35 countries in total, including the EU.

It’s also getting a bunch of new features. The app now boasts more currency recognition, adding British pounds, US dollars, Canadian dollars, and Euros to its tally. Going beyond the color in a scene, it can also spot the color of specific objects, like clothes. Plus, it’s no longer restricted to just short printed text, with handwriting recognition now part of its skill set. You can also customize the voice that it uses to speak its observations out loud, and set how fast it talks.

Playing with the new toy – I know it’s technically not new but #SeeingAI feels new with all the cool sassy features today 🙂 And before you ask, yes, it gets the new British notes as well as the old ones (and US, Euro & Canadian). Download and enjoy! #accessibility pic.twitter.com/XYr8VBO7Io

— Jenny Lay-Flurrie (@jennylayfluffy) December 14, 2017

Finally, a musical light detector alerts you to the light in an environment with an audible tone — Microsoft claims the tool will save users from having to touch a hot bulb or LED battery to check if it’s on. Despite the big update, there’s still no word on an Android launch.

Source: Microsoft

Spotify and Deezer urge EU to lean on Apple

Streaming is single-handedly boosting music sales and Spotify doesn’t want any one behemoth (see Apple) gaining a stranglehold over the booming market. It got its wish when the EU promised “legislative instruments” to help out the little guy, specifically smaller firms that fear bigger corporations could stifle them by imposing strict rules on their apps. Seven months later, there’s no new laws in sight, so Spotify (along with its original ally Deezer) is knocking on the EU’s door once more, reports the Financial Times.

In a letter to the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek and Deezer chief executive Hans-Holger Albrecht urge the ratification of methods to ensure a “level playing field” by curtailing firms that are “regularly abusing their advantaged position.”

Spotify and Deezer are reportedly unhappy that Apple takes a 30 percent cut from the subscription fee when a user signs up for their respective services via the App Store. And, it seems Apple’s decision to change that to a 15 percent slice after the first year wasn’t good enough. Spotify is also clearly still upset over Apple’s decision to hold back one of its app updates last year, for which it accused the tech titan of trying to squash competition.

This time round, the companies have a new partner in the form of UK shopping comparison site Foundem, which is likely more concerned about Amazon, along with a bunch of European game developers and digital publishers. They all agree that the new regulations should “go beyond mere transparency requirements, which alone will not ensure platforms act as gateways rather than become gatekeepers to the digital economy.”

In June, the EU imposed a record $2.7 billion fine on Google for unfairly directing users to its own products over those of its rivals. Although the penalty caused no real dent in the big G’s profits, the two music services are evidently hoping that regulators will follow up with legislative measures that make for a fairer playing field.

Source: Financial Times

Twitterrific 5.18 for iOS Gains New Black Theme Made for iPhone X, Tweet Poll Detection, and More

Third-party Twitter app Twitterrific reached version 5.18 on Thursday, bringing several improvements including an additional dark visual theme and tweet poll detection.

In what should come as good news to heavy users on iPhone X, Twitterrific has added a new energy-saving “true black” theme, which now appears as an option alongside the existing dark theme.

The Theme panel has also been expanded in other ways, including support for avatar shapes – rounded rectangle, squircle, circle and square – improved font size selections, and bonus app icons that can be unlocked by using Twitterrific for Mac or the Tip Jar.

Building on a recently introduced feature in the latest version of the Mac app, Twitterrific for iOS now recognizes polls in feeds, indicated by a button at the bottom of a tweet.

Clicking the button opens the poll in an integrated mini-browser that users can then use to submit their vote. Users can also now tag their own tweets with #poll or use a graph or ballot box Emoji at the beginning or end, and the app will recognize them as such.

Elsewhere, a number of improvements to the app have been made across the board. Highlights include: Muffle rules that can now be deactivated without having to delete them, automatically deactivating themselves after 60 days of inactivity; unread tweet indicator dots; support for Dynamic Type; and timestamps for quoted tweets that now also respect the hidden thumbnail mode.

Twitterrific for iOS v5.18 is a free download on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link] while Twitterrific 5.2 for Mac is $19.99 on the Mac App Store [Direct Link].

Tag: Twitteriffic
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A gang’s illegal drone delivery service just landed them in jail

Drone delivery services have been up and running in the U.K. for some time now. The only problem is they’re illegal because they involve flying contraband into prisons.

A criminal trial in the U.K. this week highlights how the humble quadcopter is causing a real headache for prison operators across the country. The trial ended with eight people heading to jail after they were found guilty of using the diminutive flying machine to smuggle items such as drugs, weapons, and phones into at least five different prisons over a period of nearly two years.

The carefully orchestrated operation involved the drone gang, contacts inside prisons, and contraband worth up to one million pounds (about $1.34 million).

Police had evidence of at least 49 illegal drone flights, with some using fishing lines and hooks to fly the items close to prison cell windows. Inmates who were expecting deliveries used items such as broom handles to grab the goods from the drones as they hovered outside.

The gang came to the attention of police purely by chance after cameras set up in a field to record wildlife caught the perpetrators in action, the BBC reported.

The footage showed several members of the gang in the field a short distance from one of the prisons as they prepared to send the drone, apparently a Phantom model made by leading drone firm DJI, on its mission over the prison walls.

Other security footage from inside the prisons showed prisoners entering cells and before leaving with items that were believed to have been delivered by the drone.

Birmingham Crown Court handed out the heaviest prison sentence — seven years and two months — to Craig Hickinbottom, 35, who organized the illegal drone delivery scheme from behind bars where he was already serving time for other crimes. The key player on the outside was drone pilot Mervyn Foster, 36, who was given six years and eight months of jail time. Six others were given shorter sentences for their parts in the crime.

Judge Roderick Henderson, who oversaw the trial, told the court: “Prisons are difficult enough places to run. They contain people who are dangerous and vulnerable. Supplying things into prison that should not be there — drugs, phones, tools and the like — threatens proper management and creates real risks of violence and loss of control and discipline. To do that is desperately serious.”

As in the U.S., whose prison operators face the same challenge, the U.K. authorities are looking at solutions to prevent remotely controlled copters from carrying contraband over prison walls. Earlier this year, for example, a prison started testing a 600-meter-high (about 2,000 feet) “drone shield” designed to jam the signal and thereby disable any drone that flies close to its perimeter. Les Nicolles prison on the British island of Guernsey is thought to be the first jail in the world to use such a shield.

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Autonomous helicopter completes Marine resupply simulation

Drones have become a part of the modern battlefield, but what about autonomous full-size aircraft? Aurora Flight Sciences just successfully demonstrated its self-flying setup, the Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS), enabling an older helicopter to fly itself at soldiers’ requests. In the future, troops in the field could use this tech to order autonomous supply deliveries with nothing more complicated than a tablet.

Officials at ONR and their industry partners @AuroraFlightSci announced today a successful, final flight demonstration of an AACUS-enabled helicopter. #AACUS can be installed on any helicopter to increase its capability to full autonomy. https://t.co/qtEkrVpVSd pic.twitter.com/gHPUFMiTsW

— ONR (@USNavyResearch) December 13, 2017

For the company’s live test before Navy officials, Aurora installed AACUS an existing UH-1H helicopter, which had been outfitted with LiDAR and cameras to avoid obstacles. Earlier demonstrations had proven its autonomous flight capability, according to a press release, but this test had the aircraft simulating cargo and utility missions. Soldiers loaded supplies on the aircraft and it successfully took off autonomously, taking one more step toward a self-flying delivery system that doesn’t require complex training for troops to use.

While this test featured the AACUS-Enabled UH-1H, a setup that the FAA specially certified in October, the technology could theoretically be integrated into other rotary-wing aircraft. This demonstration was the final phase in its five-year testing program; Now the Marine Corps will experiment with the system and figure out whether to buy it. If so, it would be another feather in Boeing’s cap: The aerospace giant bought Aurora back in October.

We think it’s pretty cool! https://t.co/6nDmudblum

— AuroraFlightSciences (@AuroraFlightSci) December 13, 2017

Source: Office of Naval Reserch