If we told you that a man who was able to create a replica of the Star Trek Voyager starship in his apartment ended up being served divorce papers by his wife, you probably wouldn't be that surprised. But if we told you that same amazing apartment was going to be destroyed by said wife, you'd probably at least be disappointed. That is the story of a poor unfortunate nerd named Tony Alleyne.
Read The Full Story
- Join in on SlashGear’s WIMM Spring Developers Project!
- The PS Vita Will Be Sony’s Last Portable
- Why I Don’t Want to Imagine A World Without A DVR
- SlashGear 101: Windows 8 on ARM
- SlashGear 101: Android@Home
- Motorola DROID 4 Hands-On and Unboxing
- Nokia Lumia 800 White official: Hands-on
- Switching between Android 4.0 ICS and iPhone 4S
‘legal’ Stories
Star Trek apartment costs $150K, gets ruined in divorce
Carrier IQ controversy prompts new disclosure bill
Following the Carrier IQ controversy over its data tracking software on mobile devices, new legislation is being proposed that would require both wireless carriers and mobile device manufacturers to disclose of any monitoring software. Rep. Ed Markey drafted the new mobile privacy bill, which would place the Federal Trade Commission in charge of making sure mobile companies comply.
Read The Full Story
RapidShare under the microscope amid MegaUpload fallout
With MegaUpload facing irretrievable data loss later this week and rival services locking down their file sharing options, attention has turned to well-used but clandestine rival RapidShare AG and whether it will occupy the cloud storage vacuum or be next in line for the FBI's attentions. Worlds apart from the showy Kim Dotcom, MegaUpload's CEO, RapidShare founder Christian Schmid has focused his attentions on lobbying the US government, the WSJ reports, spending over $600,000 since 2010 to persuade them the site is a legitimate file repository and not a haven for copyright infringement.
Read The Full Story
MegaUpload data faces deletion from Thursday
Data stored on seized file-sharing site MegaUpload could be deleted from as early as Thursday this week, Federal prosecutors in the US have confirmed, after the company’s frozen assets stopped paying for the site’s hosting. MegaUpload’s attorney, Ira Rothken, has warned that the site has no way of continuing to maintain the data of around 50m users, The Guardian reports, while a US government letter regarding the case confirmed that data expected to be cited during the prosecution of Kim Dotcom, MegaUpload’s CEO, and his team was merely copied from the servers rather than the computers themselves being among the grabbed assets.
Samsung’s second 3G patent strike against Apple rejected
Samsung's second 3G/UMTS patent strike against Apple has been thrown out of court, with a German judge apparently deciding the Korean firm had no leg to stand on in its claims that the iPhone and other devices infringed its patented technology. Judge Andreas Voss did not explain his reasoning for rejecting the suit, FOSSPatents reports, though the justifications are expected to be in line with the last week's ruling.
Read The Full Story
Google fires back at Privacy critics as Congress demands answers
Google has struck back at outcry around its newly-combined privacy policy, insisting users “still have choice and control”, amid demands by the US Congress for answers on data use and collection. “You can use as much or as little of Google as you want” policy manager Betsy Masiello said on the search company’s Public Policy blog, reiterating that Google is “not collecting more data about you.” However, US lawmakers are already insisting on answers [pdf link] as to whether users can take advantage of Google services without leaving an unexpected data trail.
Poland’s politicians don Anonymous-style Guy Fawkes masks in anti-piracy protest
Polish politicians donned Guy Fawkes masks in parliament this week, in protest of a SOPA-style anti-piracy agreement signed by the government. Members of the leftwing Palikot's Movement produced apparently home-made masks - popularized by comic-turned-film V for Vendetta and now largely associated with hack-collective Anonymous - to show their disdain for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) the AP reports.
Read The Full Story
Intel buys RealNetworks patents and next-gen video codec
Intel has snapped up around 190 patents and 170 patent applications from RealNetworks, along with the company's next-gen video codec software, with the two firms pledging to work together on future multimedia codecs. The deal, worth around $120m, will see Intel acquire RealNetworks' "foundational streaming media patents" though the company will be licensed to use the patented technology moving forward.
Read The Full Story
Jailbreaking Is Not A Crime say hackers over DMCA changes
An incoming end to exemptions for jailbreaking in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has prompted protests from influential gadget-hack enthusiasts, asking the Library of Congress to make permanent the right to modify devices you own. Andrew "bunnie" Huang - who wrote Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering after identifying the encryption key on the original Microsoft console in 2002, and who currently leads the hardware development at chumby - has leant his weight to the Jailbreaking Is Not A Crime campaign, with over 4,000 signatures from users who believe it should be up to them to decide what's fair use of their tech toys.
Read The Full Story
MegaUpload’s Dotcom denied bail over flee fears
MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom has been denied bail by a New Zealand court, over concerns that the ostentatious exec could flee the company - and extradition to the US - using fake documentation. Dotcom, who was arrested last week as part of a huge raid on the file-sharing site, was described as a "real flight risk" by the court, the New Zealand Herald reports, with prosecutors claiming there was also a strong possibility that he could attempt to restart MegaUpload if released even temporarily.
Read The Full Story
Legal front launched by ex-Megaupload users
This month's complete and utter closure of the Megaupload file uploading and sharing site has created more than one ripple in the online world, the latest being with so-called "legitimate" users of the former file-sharing service launching a legal collective aiming to push the FBI into re-activating the site. What this front is basing its actions on are several laws in the Spanish Penal Code Articles 197 and 198 which protect user data inside the law's jurisdiction, this law saying that the FBI misappropriated personal data in a way that should not stand. Over 1000 ex-users of Megaupload have signed up on the first day of operation of this front, with more pouring in by the minute.
Read The Full Story
Apple loses Dutch Samsung tablet ban bid
Apple's bid to have sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 blocked in the Netherlands has failed today, with a Dutch appeals court dismissing Apple's claims of IP infringement by the Android tablet. The ruling - released in Dutch - found that while Apple's tablet design patent 000181607 is still valid, prior art including HP Compaq's tc1000 and the 1994 Knight Ridder concept meant the Cupertino company's design rights are very narrow.
Read The Full Story
REVIEWS
VIDEOS
- POPULAR STORIES THIS WEEK
- Temple Run for Android postponed, still coming this month
- iPad twin-tier pricing tipped to topple Android rivals
- iPad 3's biggest boost will be its massive resolution
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 pricing set for disaster
- Google "next-gen personal communication device" in testing
- Google: We want 2.25% of the iPhone sticker price
- Tesla Model X all-electric crossover unveiled and detailed
- Mattel Hover Board prepped for 2012 holiday release
- RECENT COMMENTS
