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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