The Pirate Bay May Actually Sue Anti-Piracy Group that "Stole" Its Website

The Stolen Website

A few days ago, there was some fuss over a Finnish anti-piracy group, CIAPC, "stealing" website code from the Pirate Bay and passing it as its own in a website dedicated to fighting piracy.

The group seems to think that doing the very thing they oppose the most somehow proves something.

All it proves is that they don't really care about piracy or laws, they care about getting the people that pay them, what they want.

The Pirate Bay wasn't very happy with the situation and even threatened to sue. It was probably more a joke than an actual threat, the irony of The Pirate Bay suing an anti-piracy group for copyright infringement is not hard to grasp.

Besides the moral argument, there were practical concerns, The Pirate Bay's owners would have to reveal themselves to be able to sue. The people currently running the site have taken great precautions in hiding their identities.

It seems though that there is another way, TorrentFreak reports that the Pirate Bay is working on suing CIAPC through a third party. It is working it at this very moment, in fact. It remains to be seen whether this actually happens or whether it's a good idea.

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Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS Officially Released, Features New Linux Kernel

Canonical has just announced that Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS (Precise Pangolin) has been made available for download and the users who already have the previous version installed can now update their operating system.

The new version of Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS has arrived just in time and coincides with another important launch, Steam for Linux.

As we can imagine, the sheer number of changes is overwhelming and almost every aspect of the distribution has been improved, which includes a new Linux kernel version, Software Center improvements, and more.

Highlights of Ubuntu 12.04.2:

• The "HUD" (Heads-Up Display) has been improved (Tap the Alt key and enter some letters and words, and it will show the corresponding entries, including some fuzzy matching; then press enter to execute the action);
• System Settings has several new "options" to customize Unity's look and behavior;
• Nautilus quicklist support has been added to Unity launcher;
• Network Manager now uses dnsmasq for improved DNS reliability and support for split-DNS on VPN links;
• IPv6 and IPv4 are now equally supported in Network Manager: an IPv4 address is no longer required for a connection to be considered as working;
• The default music player has been switched to Rhythmbox, which again includes the Ubuntu One music store;
• LibreOffice has been updated to 3.5.4;
• When installing new software through software-center, corresponding language support packages (translations, spell check modules particular to that software, help files, etc.) are now installed alongside automatically;
• The user can opt-in into personalized recommendations. This will show global, category and per-application recommendations to the user;
• The all-new Control Panel for Ubuntu One now provides an installer, setup wizard, ability to add/remove folders to sync, and more;
• Ubuntu One contacts sync in Evolution is not supported anymore and has been removed;
• A newer 3.5.0-23.35 Ubuntu kernel from Quantal, and a matching X.org stack have been implemented.

Users of previous version of Ubuntu, with the exception of 11.10 and 10.04 LTS, will have to first upgrade to these versions first.

More details about this release and about the updated process can be found in the official announcement.

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Now It’s the “iPhone Air”

Investment Bank Topeka Capital Markets has released a research note according to which Apple is pushing forward with its (rumored) plans to release a low-end version of the iPhone bearing an attractive price tag.

Analyst Brian White told clients in a research note today, “In late December, our research uncovered iPhones in different screen sizes for potential launch in May/June, allowing Apple to better bifurcate the market and pave the way for a lower-priced iPhone.”

The analyst said Apple would release the device in June, the earliest, adding that it might be called “iPhone Air,” or “iPhone mini.”

There’s no shortage of speculation when it comes to Apple’s future products. Half the time the hardware doesn’t even exist, but that’s not stopping analysts from pouring prediction after prediction (until they finally get it right).

Speaking on behalf of his firm, White noted that the “iPhone Air” is likely to have a $250 / €186 to $300 / €224 price point, which is “58% below the $649 price point for an unlocked 16GB iPhone 5,” White said.

“A $250-$300 price range would also be competitive with China-based Xiaomi that offers a high-end phone experience at a mid- range price of ~$320 in Chinas,” the analyst added.

Topeka elaborated on its theory, noting that Apple has been unable to address roughly 60% of the smartphone market last year, including the feature phone market, because of the iPhone’s high selling point.

White added in his research note that the “iPhone Air” will sport cheaper everything, from the enclosure, display, and camera, to the processor, memory, and wireless chips.

Editor’s note
This low-end "iPhone Air" sounds pretty surreal (although I'll admit the dubbing is more attractive than "mini" or "nano). It is also worth noting that Apple sells a “cheaper” version of the iPhone already. It’s called the iPhone 4, and it goes for $0 with a two-year carrier contract.

You can get it unlocked for what some may consider relatively expensive. But anything cheaper than that wouldn’t be an Apple product, now would it?

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Apple Is Making an “iWatch” [WSJ]

Two major media outlets this weekend issued almost identical stories regarding a potential iWatch product from Apple. The device is said to be in testing and Corning is reportedly supplying the bendable glass.

You know something’s cooking when both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times report the exact same rumor involving a new product from Apple.

WSJ for its part says Apple is “experimenting” with designs at the moment, but suggests that the company is determined to start mass production when testing ends.

The watch-like device would borrow functions from smartphones, according to people briefed on the matter.

Moreover, Apple has even opened up discussions with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., regarding mass production, one of these people said.

The Cupertino giant reportedly sees the iWatch as a big opportunity to expand its product categories beyond the smartphone and the tablet.

The NYT says pretty much the same thing – “...Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices” – adding that the company is using “curved glass,” according to people familiar with the company’s testing.

The watch is believed to run a variant of iOS, the company’s mobile operating system, with the ability to communicate wirelessly to existing iDevices, like the iPhone and the iPad, via Bluetooth.

Two people who were briefed on the matter said Apple’s iWatch will “stand apart from competitors based on the company’s understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body”

The watch could also be used to make payments via Passbook, the newspaper speculates.

The report brings up Corning, a company which designs and manufactures advanced types of glass. The iPhone already uses the company’s Gorilla Glass, a scratch-resistant durable material that looks no different than ordinary glass.

Corning has reportedly “solved the difficult engineering challenge” of creating Willow Glass, a bendable type of glass that Apple is said to be prototyping in the iWatch.

Corning Glass Technologies CTO, Pete Bocko said the company had been developing the flexible glass for more than a decade. In a telephone interview, he said the technology is finally usable in real products.

“You can certainly make it wrap around a cylindrical object and that could be someone’s wrist,” Mr. Bocko said, asked about a potential wearable product from Apple. “Right now, if I tried to make something that looked like a watch, that could be done using this flexible glass.”

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Native Microsoft Office Suite on Linux by 2014, Maybe

Microsoft is seriously considering the release of their Office suite on the Linux platform by 2014, or at least this is the rumor.

According to an unknown source cited by Michael Larabel on phoronix.com, Microsoft is seriously analyzing the possibility of launching their Office suite for the Linux platform.

This information was passed on to Larabel during the Free Open-Source Developers' European Meeting (FOSDEM), which took place in Brussels, Belgium.

With all the attention Linux is getting these days and with the rise of Steam for Linux, not to mention the fact the Ubuntu is now occupying a huge market share, Microsoft would be crazy not to recognize the potential.

The Linux platform can no longer be brushed aside. The open source operating systems are getting easier to install with each edition and the LibreOffice and OpenOffice alternatives are proving to be a serious contender.

This will not be considered good news by the majority of the Linux users, but the truth is that nothing drives innovation harder than competition.

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Siri Is Coming to OS X 10.9 According to Apple Job Listing

When Apple opens up a position for Siri UI Engineer that’s not for iOS, but OS X, you know something is up. It also helps to know that the company is actively testing OS X 10.9 builds, with a potential beta on its way to developers soon.

A job posting on Apple’s website revealed yesterday that the Cupertino giant was seeking a Siri UI Engineer with experience in Unix, “especially Mac OS X” and a “Passion for the Macintosh platform and writing simple, elegant software that is easy and fun to use.”

Sounds like Siri for OS X to us.

Apple also noted that the new recruit would be taking up “a broad-ranging task,” adding that the company “take[s] every application that Siri interacts with, distill it down to fundamentals, and implement that application's UI in a theme fitting with Siri.”

“Consider it an entire miniature OS within the OS, and you get a good idea of the scope!” Apple said, according to several reports covering the now-gone job description.

That’s right, Apple has already hired a man for the Siri UI Designer role, and we can’t help but be excited about the first OS X 10.9 beta, which should arrive as early as this month, if history is any indication.

The job description also said, “Of course, each of these little ‘snippets’ corresponds to an individual application, so you will have extensive cross-functional work with many other teams.”

Read “other Siri teams.” Since the software has its roots in mobile, it will help to collaborate with the iOS division to achieve a proper implementation of the digital assistant into desktop systems.

“You'll need to work with them to enable access to their data and behaviors, and wire them up to your implementations. As a result, strong API design is needed to keep communications ideal,” Apple added.

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Windows 8 Pro Available for Only $15 (€11) Due to Unpatched Bug

Microsoft officially increased Windows 8 pricing on February 1, so consumers who now want to buy the Pro upgrade edition have to pay no more, no less than $199.99 (€146) for a license.

But even if the discount campaign ended a couple of days ago, a loophole in the Windows Upgrade Program allowed users to purchase Windows 8 Pro for only $15 (€11) by simply… lying.

Basically, the Windows Upgrade Program allows Windows 7 PCs buyers to make the move to Windows 8 at a special price. The strange thing is that anyone could actually register for the program because the online registration form didn’t actually check when a Windows 7 computer was purchased.

TNW writes that this bug was first discovered in October, but Microsoft was yet to fix it on February 1 when the discount campaign for Windows 8 officially came to an end.

While we’ve heard that a lot of users had actually managed to exploit the loophole and buy a Windows 8 copy for only $15, Microsoft reacted very fast and patched the upgrade system to ask for a Windows 7 key.

What’s more, consumers who attempt to register for the program without a genuine key are provided with a message saying they’re not eligible for the discount.

“Unfortunately, based on the information you provided during the registration process you are not eligible for the upgrade offer,” the message reads according to the same source.

The upgrade offer expires on February 28, but those who want to purchase Windows 8 at the full price will have to pay $199.99 (€146) for the Pro upgrade version and $119.99 (€87) for the standard upgrade.

The Windows 8 Pro Pack comes with a new price as well, so you’ll need an extra $99.99 (€73) for this one too.

Last but not least, the Windows 8 Media Center Pack, previously available at absolutely no cost for those who already purchased the new operating system, is currently sold for $9.99 (€7.3).

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Evasi0n Untethered iOS 6.1 Jailbreak Rolling Out Today

The evasi0n jailbreak is almost ready! The evad3rs have posted 95% progress with the confirmation that the next step was the tool’s official release.

Evasi0n is now undergoing “final testing and preparation,” according to the team of hackers who is responsible for the software.

A jailbreak tool targeting all iDevices running iOS 6.0 through iOS 6.1, evasi0n will be released as soon as today, February 4, 2013. At least that’s what hacker @planetbeing says.

“Yes, tomorrow is a concrete release date. It's also the only release date we've ever given,” writes the jailbreak expert.

On the evasi0n.com site, the hackers have released an important “read me” note mentioning a few dos and don’ts.

Future users of the jailbreak tool are told to back up their device using iTunes or iCloud, as well as to disable the passcode lock – “it can cause issues,” according to the evad3rs.

As the jailbreak is running, users must be patient and wait for the process to end.

“Be patient while the jailbreaking process is running, don't start iTunes or Xcode in the meanwhile. The best is to not touch the computer until the end of the jailbreaking process,” according to the notice.

Some users might experience hangs or crashes. The team says not to worry. Simply restart the process and, if necessary, reboot the iPhone / iPad / iPod touch.

“If the process gets stuck somewhere, it's safe to restart the program, reboot the device (if necessary by holding down Hold and Home until it shuts down), and rerun the process,” according to the hackers.

Evasi0n will be a free download for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows users. In other words, pretty much anyone with a relatively new iDevice and a computer will be able to jailbreak iOS 6 today.

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Windows Apps Running on Android Currently in the Works

Running Windows applications on Android might be closer than you think as work on porting Wine compatibility layer to the mobile OS is being carried out.

Wine on Android has already been demoed by Alexandre Julliard, the developer behind the project, at the FOSDEM event that took place over the weekend in Brussels. However, according to Phoronix, Android was emulated during the presentation, which was cause for incredibly slow performance.

Even so, this is a step forward for Wine (originally an acronym for "Wine Is Not an Emulator") as it would extend its capability of running Windows applications on other operating systems. At the moment, it can load them on Linux, Mac OSX, & BSD. It achieves this by real-time translation of Windows API calls into POSIX calls.

Getting Android applications to run on Windows is no longer a coveted thing. BlueStacks can achieve this quite easily. WindowsAndroid pushes the envelope and allows running Android OS in Windows environment.

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Washington Post: Chinese Hackers Penetrated Our Systems

The Washington Post joins the ranks of other major US media organizations that have been targeted by cybercriminals. Similar to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, The Post also believes that the attackers are based in China.

Brian Krebs was the first to break the news on Friday. Krebs cited a former Post information technology employee who said the paper’s networks were attacked throughout 2012.

While it’s not clear what the hackers have stolen, it’s believed they’ve stolen usernames and passwords, including the ones of administrators, and gained access to the entire network.

According to a report published by The Washington Post, the cybercriminals first gained access to the company’s systems back in 2008 or 2009.

Then, in 2011, Mandiant – the security company contracted to secure The Post’s systems – neutralized a command and control server associated with a Chinese hacker collective.

The unnamed employee who talked to Krebs revealed that a computer was turned over to the National Security Agency and the Defense Department for forensic analysis, but The Post’s representatives say they’re “confident that did not happen.”

Krebs reports that The Washington Post also used antivirus software from Symantec. In the case of The New York Times, Symantec representatives argued that organizations which want to make sure that their systems are properly protected, can’t rely only on antivirus software.

Chinese officials failed to comment on the accusations. However, in the case of NYT and WSJ, they strongly denied having any involvement, arguing that the country’s laws strongly prohibit hacking.

In response to the numerous cyberattacks originating from China, the US government is seriously considering taking stronger action.

Unnamed officials have revealed that after the National Intelligence Estimate is released, the Obama administration might impose certain sanctions, such as the cancelation of some visas and even import restrictions.

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PlayStation 4 Hits North America and Japan in 2013, Europe in 2014, New Report Says

After Sony's practical confirmation that it's going to reveal the PlayStation 4 on February 20, new reports are coming in about the next-generation console, including one that mentions the device will be released on the market in North America and Japan in 2013, but will only hit Europe sometime in 2014.

While Sony has been adamant about the PlayStation 3's extremely long lifecycle, the Japanese company is now preparing to debut a successor, in the form of the oft-rumored PlayStation 4, on February 20 during a special meeting.

Now, Edge has posted a new report, saying that the PS4 will be released on the North American and European markets in late 2013 but, due to complexities in Europe, the console will arrive there in early 2014.

What's more, the website also claims that the PS4 will support an updated PlayStation Eye camera and that its controller will, in fact, boast a touchpad on its underside, alongside a Share button that can instantly transmit screenshots or even 15-minute videos online.

As of yet, Sony isn't commenting on such rumors.

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