Netflix reportedly in talks with Luc Besson for multi-picture deal

Fans of Léon: The Professional, The Fifth Element, Lucy and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets have reason to get excited. According to Variety, French auteur Luc Besson is in talks with Netflix for a multi-picture deal. According to the site’s sources, the movies will be called Netflix Originals and will have $30 million budgets.

If the deal goes through, says Variety, then Netflix would also be able to purchase rights to the EuropaCorp film library, which includes Taken, Taxi and Transporter film franchises. Sources say that the talks were initiated by Netflix as a simple partnership, but the scope may have broadened to include purchasing a stake in the company, which is based in Paris.

Netflix has acquired one other company, Millarworld, which was founded by comic book maker Mark Millar, who created the Old Man Logan and Kingsman series, now successful films. Besson is not the first director to work directly for Netflix, either, as both Martin Scorsese and Damien Chazelle have deals with the streaming company.

As Variety notes, EuropaCorp has been having financial troubles, including significant debt esimated at $285 million this past September. The company’s market cap fell to $73 million as of Tuesday, a loss of more than 60% since Valerian was released last summer. A deal with Netflix, then, could help the company turn that around.

Source: Variety

Coincheck hackers are reportedly trying to unload stolen cryptocurrency

Last week, hackers stole around $534 million worth of cryptocurrency XEM from Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck, and now, Reuters reports, the hackers behind the heist are trying to sell the stolen cryptocurrency. Jeff McDonald, vice president of the NEM Foundation, the company behind XEM, told Reuters that he had tracked down an account holding the coins and those in possession of the stolen XEM were trying to sell them on six different cryptocurrency exchanges. “He is trying to spend them on multiple exchanges. We are contacting those exchanges,” said McDonald. He also told Reuters that he couldn’t yet determine how much of the stolen coins had already been spent.

According to reports from Japan Today, whoever was behind the Coincheck hack initially transferred the stolen coins to a single digital address and then further dispersed them to nine other addresses — a move believed to be an attempt to make the stolen currency harder to trace. After the hack, Coincheck said it would reimburse all of the 260,000 customers affected by the theft using its own capital.

Via: Reuters

Detailed image of red giant confirms theory about massive stars

The red giant π1 Gruis is 530 light-years away, and it’s reaching the end of its natural life. Soon, scientists think it will become a planetary nebula. But before it dies, astronomers are using π1 Gruis to shed light on some of the secrets of stellar phenomena. Now, using the most detailed images of a distant star ever captured, scientists have confirmed existing theories about giant stars in the late stages of their life. The results were published in Nature.

The image in question was captured in December by ESO’s Very Large Telescope, which is in fact an array of four different telescopes. Using the four telescopes in concert, astronomers were actually able to view granulation patterns on the surface of π1 Gruis. This, in turn, led to confirmation of existing theories about the surfaces of giant stars.

Stars use convection, which is the process through which heat is transferred due to the movement of molecules, to transfer energy. Scientists theorized that stars as large as π1 Gruis should have a low number of convective cells, but they should be much larger than those found on our sun. This is because the density of our sun is much greater than that of a large red giant.

Now, through direct observation of π1 Gruis’ surface, a group of scientists was able to determine that the granulation cells on the red giant are much, much larger than that of our sun — 2,000 km across on our host star, versus 120 million kilometers across (or 27 percent of the red giant’s diameter) on π1 Gruis. This confirms exactly what scientists predicted. It’s great to discover exciting new things about space, but it’s also affirming to discover you were on the right track all along.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Nature

VR runner ‘Sprint Vector’ launches on February 13th

Ever wanted to run in virtual reality without smacking into a real wall? You’ll have a chance shortly. Survios has revealed that its VR foot racing game Sprint Vector launches February 13th for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. The sci-fi runner stands out with a unique control scheme where you pump your arms to run, and your head to turn. In theory, you can get a feel for what it’s like to race at breakneck speed without having to actually, well, sprint.

The title includes both single-player and multiplayer play across 12 tracks, complete with Wipeout-style power-ups and eight players you can customize with skins (including a free Olympics-themed pack). Some of the gameplay will seem familiar, then. VR is definitely the hook — it just happens to be one helluva hook that fundamentally changes the experience.

Source: TriplePoint

Top 10 Hidden Force Touch Features on Apple Watch

Force Touch is one of those Apple Watch features that’s so discreet and unassuming it’s easy for users to forget it even exists. That’s a shame, because just like 3D Touch on iPhone, Apple has implemented the haptic feedback technology across the entire watchOS interface, putting additional hidden functionality right at your fingertips.

In this article, we’ve collected 10 of our favorite Force Touch features that work on Apple’s digital timepiece. Some are more well known than others, but hopefully you’ll learn at least one thing new about what a firm press on your Apple Watch screen can do.

1. Clear All Notifications

The Apple Watch’s notifications dropdown can get busy pretty quickly, especially if you often forget to dismiss an incoming alert after reading it. Rather than deleting notifications one by one, you can clear all of them with a Force Touch gesture. Simply press firmly on the Notifications panel and tap the Clear All option.

2. Create and Remove Watch Faces

To create a custom watch face with a background picture, open the Apple Watch Photos app and select a photo. Next, press firmly on the display, tap the Create Watch Face option that pops up, and then select the Photos Face. Alternatively, you can select Kaleidoscope Face to make the picture the basis of a new animating Kaleidoscope.

When you’re done, return to the current active watch face and swipe left or right to find your new creation. If you later decide you don’t like your new watch face, press down on it to enter Customize Mode, and swipe up on the offending item to delete.

3. Compose a New Message

Opening the Mail and Messages apps, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Apple Watch only supports replies. That’s because the option to compose a new message is revealed with a Force Touch gesture: Press firmly on the display and tap the New Message button that appears.

You’ll now be able to choose a recipient from your Contacts, input a subject if it’s an email you’re sending, and write your message using dictation, a scribble, or a short pre-defined phrase. Tap send when you’re done.

4. Change Move Goal and Get a Weekly Activity Summary

Press down on the Activity screen to reveal a Weekly Summary option that shows how many times you’ve beaten your daily move goal so far this week.

If you’re beating your move goal far too easily – or if you need a little help closing that long red ring on a daily basis – press down on the Activity screen again and tap the Change Move Goal button to adjust the amount of calories you’re aiming to burn.

5. Stream Music to an AirPlay Device

If you store music on your Apple Watch, you probably listen to it over connected Bluetooth headphones. But did you know it’s also possible to stream it to any audio device that supports AirPlay?

Next time you’re on the Music app’s Now Playing screen, press firmly on the display and tap the AirPlay button that appears. Choose a nearby AirPlay-supporting device from the list, and you’re good to go.

6. Share Your Location With a Contact

To quickly send your location to someone in an iMessage, open the Messages app on your Apple Watch, select an existing conversation, and activate Force Touch by pressing firmly on the screen. Then simply select the Share Location option from the menu options that appear.

If you haven’t enabled it already, you’ll be asked to let Messages access your location while using the app (allow it to, otherwise this feature won’t work).

7. Switch Map View and Search Local Amenities

Whenever you’re looking at a map in the stock Maps app, don’t forget that you can change to the Transit/Public Transport view at any time with a simple Force Touch. The same action will also bring up the Search Here option, which lets you dictate or scribble a search term or look up local amenities by selecting from the Food, Shopping, Fun, and Travel submenus.

8. Switch App Screen to List View

To re-arrange Apple Watch apps in the standard Grid layout, long press the app in question and drag it to where you want it. If you still can’t get on with the default Grid view, press down firmly on the screen and try the List view instead.

9. Hourly Temperature Forecast and Chance of Rain

The standard forecast display on the Apple Watch’s stock Weather app shows the general weather conditions for the day ahead. But there are two more forecasts available to you. A firm press on the same screen will let you check either the likelihood of rain or any changes in temperature over the next 12 hours.

10. Control Camera Settings Remotely

It’s not just the shutter of your iPhone’s camera that you can remotely control from your wrist. With the Apple Watch Camera app open, press firmly on the screen to reveal a hidden submenu offering access to your iPhone’s HDR, Flash, Live Photo, and Flip controls.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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HomePod Updates Will Be Installed Over-the-Air Using the Home App

When the HomePod launches, it will receive regular updates much like Apple’s iOS devices, Macs, Apple TVs, and Apple Watch models. Apple hasn’t shared details on how these updates will be installed, but some digging into the iOS code by 9to5Mac has revealed that updates will be available via Apple’s dedicated Home app for HomeKit devices.

As we learned before the launch of the HomePod, the speaker runs a version of iOS, and it’s actually a lot like an iPhone sans display. Because it’s running an iOS variant, we can expect the HomePod to receive updates right alongside iOS devices.

Apple employees have been testing the HomePod for months, and in that time, Apple has released several software updates for the device. The latest updates have indeed coincided with iOS releases, and the last HomePod software update came when iOS 11.2.5 was released. When it launches on February 9, the HomePod will likely be running its own dedicated version of iOS 11.2.5.

When a new software update is released for the HomePod, users will receive an alert and will likely be directed to the Home app to install it, similar to how Apple Watch updates are installed through the Watch app. HomePod will be listed as an available HomeKit device in the Home app.

HomePod update screenshot via 9to5Mac
As with the Apple TV, there will be a setting to enable automatic HomePod updates, and updates will be available for either a single HomePod or multiple HomePods if you have more than one.

The first update to the HomePod may be iOS 11.3, and that update is expected to introduce key features Apple wasn’t able to make available ahead of its launch. When the HomePod launch date was announced, Apple said multi-room audio and support for pairing two or more HomePods together for stereo sound, two features requiring the not-yet-implemented AirPlay 2 protocol, would come in an update set to be released later this year.

Apple implemented AirPlay 2 features in iOS 11.3, which suggests we won’t be waiting too long to see new functionality in the HomePod. iOS 11.3 is expected to see a spring launch, which means anytime between March 20 and June 21, if we’re going by the dates for spring 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere.

HomePod is available for purchase from Apple for $349, and the first HomePod orders will be in the hands of customers on February 9, the official launch date for the device.

Over the course of the last week, we’ve learned several new details about the HomePod from hands-on first impressions and additional information released by Apple, so make sure to check out our HomePod roundup for an updated overview of the speaker with everything you need to know about it.

Related Roundup: HomePod
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Microsoft’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint for iOS Gaining Real-Time Co-Authoring, Drag and Drop Support

Microsoft today announced a major update for its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps, which will see the introduction of real-time co-authoring, drag and drop support on the iPad, universal link support for shared files, and more.

With support for real-time co-authoring, multiple people can contribute to and edit documents in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iOS devices. Changes made by each user will sync within seconds, plus you’ll be able to see everyone that’s working on a document and what they’re working on.

Real-time co-authoring support on iOS devices follows the introduction of the feature in Microsoft’s Mac apps earlier this month.

Microsoft is also adding drag and drop support for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the iPad, which means you’ll be able to drag files between Microsoft apps and quickly add links, text, photos, graphs, and more.

The three apps will also support universal links, which means anytime you’re sent a shared Word, PowerPoint, or Excel file, it’ll open right in the app rather than requiring you to authenticate in a browser, and there are new Accessibility features like improved VoiceOver support for better navigation.

Microsoft today also announced major changes for the OneDrive app, which includes an overhauled interface, support for the Files app, drag and drop support, and several other new features.

Microsoft says the new functionality in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will be available “in the coming days” through updates available in the iOS App Store.

Microsoft Word [Direct Link], Microsoft Excel [Direct Link], and Microsoft PowerPoint [Direct Link] can all be downloaded from the App Store for free.

Tag: Microsoft
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Justice Dept and SEC are reportedly reviewing Apple’s iPhone slowdowns

In December, Apple admitted to slowing older models of iPhones, saying the practice kept older phones with aging batteries from suddenly rebooting. Apple is now facing multiple lawsuits in the US and abroad as well as an investigation in France. And now, Bloomberg reports, the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into whether the company’s handling of the slowdowns violated any securities laws.

Bloomberg’s sources said that government officials had asked Apple for information, but they also made it clear that the probe is in its early stages. What, if any, action will be taken by the agencies is still up in the air as of now.

After Apple’s slowdowns became public knowledge, the company apologized and reduced its battery replacement price. With an upcoming OS update — iOS 11.3 — Apple will let iPhone users monitor their batteries’ health and choose whether to activate reboot-preventing slowdowns.

Earlier this month, Senator John Thune sent Apple CEO Tim Cook a letter requesting answers to a slew of questions about the slowdowns and Apple’s handling of them. He had asked for a response by January 23rd.

Via: Bloomberg

U.S. Government Investigating Apple’s Power Management Features That Slow Older iPhones

Apple is continuing to face scrutiny over the power management features it introduced in older iPhones last year, with the U.S Department of Justice and the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission launching an investigation into the company, reports Bloomberg.

The DoJ and the SEC are aiming to determine whether Apple violated security laws “concerning its disclosures” when it launched an iOS 10.2.1 update that throttled some older iPhones with degraded batteries in order to prevent unexpected device shutdowns.

According to Bloomberg’s sources, the government recently requested information from Apple and the investigation is in the early stages.

Apple in iOS 10.2.1 introduced a new power management feature to address complaints of unexpected shutdowns in iPhone 6 and 6s iPhones. The shutdowns were caused by batteries below optimal health drawing too much power.

At the time, Apple did not make it clear that to solve the issue, it was throttling the iPhone’s processor at times of peak usage to limit power draw, and that lack of information has led to the company’s current predicament.

The full details behind the power management feature implemented in iOS 10.2.1 were not explained until benchmark testing revealed older iPhones with degraded batteries were being deliberately slowed down, and without an adequate explanation from Apple, customers were outraged and dozens of lawsuits were filed.

Apple has since apologized and made reparations in the form of a new no-questions-asked discounted battery replacement program available to customers who have an iPhone 6 and newer, and the company is planning to introduce much more detailed battery information in an upcoming iOS 11.3 update. iOS 11.3 will let customers know when their iPhones are being throttled due to battery degradation, and it will also allow them to opt out of the power management features.

Despite these efforts, Apple is still facing the aforementioned lawsuits and in addition to the U.S. investigation, the company will need to deal with inquiries in other countries including China, Italy, South Korea, France, Brazil, and more.

Related Roundups: iPhone 6s, iPhone 7Tag: iPhone SlowdownBuyer’s Guide: iPhone 8 (Neutral), iPhone 8 (Neutral)
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Court ruling will force UK to limit its surveillance powers

The UK government is definitely going to have to make some significant changes to its digital surveillance regime after the Court of Appeal today ruled various snooping powers unlawful. Specifically, the court said that communications data — the who, when, where and how of a conversation, but not the content — must only be accessed for the purposes of “fighting serious crime.” Furthermore, the state must not look at data before first receiving the approval of a court or independent body. Unfortunately for the government, the Investigatory Powers Act (IP Act) that became law in late 2016 doesn’t comply with these rules of thumb, so it looks like there’s no other option but to make some serious amendments.

The Court of Appeal judgment has been a very, very long time coming, and is actually relevant to a now-expired law, the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA). You see, the EU issued a directive way back in 2006 that compelled telecoms providers to store data for law enforcement to use in investigating serious crimes. Years later in 2014, though, a legal challenge resulted in the EU Court of Justice invalidating the directive on the grounds it was too broad in scope and didn’t contain safeguards compatible with privacy and data protection rights.

This meant the UK government had to throw together emergency legislation in the form of DRIPA to keep the wheels of surveillance turning. But that, too, ended up being deemed incompatible with privacy and data protection laws by the UK’s High Court. The government appealed that ruling, but before making a call, the Court of Appeal asked the EU Court of Justice to clarify whether the judgment it made back in 2014 — which spawned DRIPA in the first place — was specific to the EU directive, or set a precedent for future surveillance legislation.

The EU court basically said ‘yes,’ any future surveillance law must follow in the spirit of the 2014 ruling. While all this was going on, the government set about drafting new legislation that pulled all relevant laws into one bill, updated them to reflect technological advancements and expanded its surveillance powers. DRIPA was an emergency measure, after all, and as such had a built-in self-destruct timer.

The issue that the government now has is that although the Court of Appeal has ruled the out-of-date DRIPA unlawful, there’s no ignoring the fact that the IP Act is also at odds with the judgment. If anything, it’s even more contentious. Under the IP Act, the government can instruct telecoms providers to record the online activity (aka Internet Connection Records, or ICRS) of all their customers for 12 months. ICRs include the top-level domains you’ve visited (such as engadget.com) as well as data related to messaging apps and other online services.

These ICRs can be accessed by law enforcement and other government agencies with a warrant or similar approval, and for reasons not always specific to the investigation of serious crimes. In a roundabout way, the Court of Appeal today ruled these powers unlawful. Interestingly, the court didn’t pass any judgment the use of ‘bulk’ powers, which were challenged in the DRIPA case and remarked on by the EU Court of Justice.

Bulk powers are not targeted, but indiscriminate. They include the interception of communications content (emails, text conversations, phone taps, etc.) and the hacking of devices on a grand scale. The retention of ICRs fall under the definition of bulk data collection, too, and are likely incompatible with privacy laws since they involve the surveillance of innocent people. The counter-argument to this is: You can’t find the needle if there’s no haystack to search through.

Part of the reason the Court of Appeal didn’t pass judgment on bulk powers is because human rights group Liberty is challenging the IP Act directly in the High Court — a case that’s due to be heard at the end of February. At that point, the fact today’s ruling applies to DRIPA will become irrelevant, because the IP Act will have to be reviewed in light of this decision and the EU Court of Justice’s previous opinion. What’s more, in another ongoing case Privacy International is currently asking the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) to decide whether the intelligence services’ use of bulk powers complies with European law — the group has successfully proved otherwise before. As seems to be the done thing, the IPT has referred the case to the EU Court of Justice, asking specifically whether its opinions on DRIPA apply here too, and if there is any leeway “for the purposes of national security.”

The government was pretty sure the Court of Appeal would rule the way it did today. In reaction to the EU Court of Justice ruling, it announced last November it would begin consulting on amendments to the IP Act. These include adding a new authorisation process for accessing communications data, and clarifying they must only be used in the investigation of “serious crime.” The government is also preparing “additional safeguards” that must be considered before asking a provider to begin collecting ICRs.

Thus, the government appears to be one step ahead of the Court of Appeal ruling already. The Home Office has today released a statement from Security Minister Ben Wallace, some of which we’ve heard before.

“Communications data is used in the vast majority of serious and organised crime prosecutions and has been used in every major Security Service counter-terrorism investigation over the last decade. It is often the only way to identify paedophiles involved in online child abuse as it can be used to find where and when these horrendous crimes have taken place.

“This judgment relates to legislation which is no longer in force and, crucially, today’s judgement does not change the way in which law enforcement agencies can detect and disrupt crimes.

“We had already announced that we would be amending the Investigatory Powers Act to address the two areas in which the Court of Appeal has found against the previous data retention regime. We welcome the fact that the Court of Appeal ruling does not undermine the regime and we will continue to defend these vital powers, which Parliament agreed were necessary in 2016, in ongoing litigation.”

Tom Watson, one of the MPs that originally challenged DRIPA with Liberty’s help, said: “This legislation was flawed from the start. It was rushed through Parliament just before recess without proper parliamentary scrutiny.

“The Government must now bring forward changes to the Investigatory Powers Act to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are innocent victims or witnesses to crime, are protected by a system of independent approval for access to communications data. I’m proud to have played my part in safeguarding citizen’s fundamental rights.”

Attacks on the IP Act are far from over, meaning the government may have to make amendments beyond those it’s already proposing. It’s imperative the law’s in good order come Brexit, too. If our surveillance regime is incompatible with EU privacy and data protection laws by the time we leave, there’s a chance the sharing of data between businesses and law enforcement agencies across the continent could be seriously disrupted.

Inline images: Shutterstock (Reddit on iPad); Getty / Flying Colours Ltd (Man in control room)

Via: Liberty, The Guardian

Source: Court of Appeal (via Liberty)