Hasta La Gadget!

One of the greatest benefits of 3D printing technology – the ability to make replacements or parts for household objects like toys, utensils and gadgets – may be denied to US citizens thanks to the granting of a sweeping patent that prevents the printing of unauthorised 3D designs. It has all the makings of the much-maligned digital rights management (DRM) system that prevented copying of Apple iTunes tracks – until it was abandoned as a no-hoper in 2009. More »

As far as music piracy is concerned, the common perception is that people who download don’t buy music. After all, if you can get it for free, why fork out money for essentially the same product, right? Well as it turns out in a public policy study recently conducted by the American Assembly, it seems that they have arrived at the conclusion that on average, file-sharers actually buy 30% more music than their non-file sharing counterparts which we guess pretty much invalidates quite a few arguments against file sharing. This survey was conducted based on thousands on in-depth phone interviews held all over the US, and it seems that while online piracy could be thought of as a problem for record labels, the survey has also revealed that offline copying of music takes place more often compared to online music piracy.

While the survey could be thought of as rather comprehensive, it is far from conclusive as there is probably still room for a margin of error, but it is still a pretty interesting revelation nonetheless. For those interested, you can head on over to the American Assembly website for a more in-depth look into the survey, but in the meantime what do you guys make of this? Are you, or do you know of someone who actually downloads music sometimes illegally, but only for sampling before buying the legal copy?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Survey reveals that most people accidentally damage their iPhones in the kitchen, Survey reveals that half of US adults now own a smartphone or tablet,

Welcome back to Monday everyone – we’ve got a heaping helping of news to recap, so let’s dive right in. Today we found out that Apple’s manufacturing partnership with Samsung may not last much longer, and that the Google Nexus 7 might just be the best-selling Android tablet ever (which, given its immense popularity, doesn’t surprise us in the least). One Walmart store has its shelves fully stocked with copies of Windows 8, and this afternoon, we have reason to believe that a new, slimmer iMac may be in the pipeline.

By now, you’ve probably heard plenty of iPad Mini rumors, but today we found out that Apple may reveal a new Mac Mini alongside the bite-sized tablet. Today we saw some pictures that appear to have been snapped by the camera on the yet-unannounced Nexus 4, and Apple has managed to bring former Amazon executive William Stasior on to oversee the continuing development of Siri. Android 4.1.2 was sent out to eager Galaxy Nexus owners today, and just in case you missed Felix Baumgartner’s death-defying jump over the weekend, you can see the highlights again today – complete with terrifying shots from his helmet cam.

LG delivered its Jelly Bean update schedule for a few of its devices today, and speaking of LG, AT&T announced that the Optimus G goes up for pre-order tomorrow with a price tag of $200. We heard that Windows 8 is getting an underwhelming response from vendors today, and Nintendo dropped the price of the original Wii down to just $130 in anticipation of the holiday rush. A new study is claiming that file sharers actually buy more music than people who don’t partake in that rather controversial activity, and Microsoft released a brand new Windows 8 ad today.

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition players found out that they’re in for a treat tomorrow, while Notch was busy showing off new footage from his upcoming game 0x10c and Microsoft was handing out Xbox Live bans to Halo 4 pirates. Activision announced today that Call of Duty Elite will be free with Black Ops II, and we were told that the Wii U gamepad boasts a latency of only 1/60 of a second. Google is in trouble in Europe over privacy concerns again, and we got to take a look at a new robotic wheelchair that can actually walk up stairs. How cool is that?

Finally tonight, we have quite a few original articles for you to have a look at. Chris Burns puts the Optimus G through its gaming paces with Wild Blood, and we pit Xbox Music, Spotify, iTunes, and Google Music against one another to see the strengths and weaknesses of all four. We’ve got a new review of the Huawei Ascend D1 quad XL by Chris Burns, and a review of the Motorola Electrify 2 by your humble wrapper-upper. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: October 15, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Halo 4 will definitely be one of the biggest games of the year, so it really isn’t much of a surprise that some Xbox 360 owners are eager to download a pirated version of the game that popped up on torrent sites over the weekend. Microsoft isn’t taking this leak lightly though, as MCV reports that the company is handing out permanent Xbox Live bans to anyone caught playing the game with their console connected to the Internet. In other words, you might want to think twice before taking advantage of those Halo 4 torrents.

Of course, pirated versions of Halo 4 will only work on modded Xbox 360s, and why anyone would take their modded console onto Xbox Live is entirely beyond us. Some particularly dumb 360 owners are doing just that, though, as evidenced by the email MCV posted. The email is from the Live Enforcement Team, and lets the user know that they’ve violated the Xbox Live Code of Conduct. The punishment? Permaban, baby.

Though the email states that users won’t be able to log into Xbox Live during their suspension (which is never-ending in this case), it’s a little unclear at the moment if Microsoft is banning consoles or just gamertags – two very different things. If Microsoft is banning consoles, that means the console will never be able to access Xbox Live again, effectively bricking it as far as multiplayer and Xbox Live Arcade are concerned. If Microsoft is only banning gamertags, then the infringing gamer could just create a new tag and go online with that, which is a far less severe punishment.

In any case, you’re in for some headaches if you’re caught playing Halo 4 ahead of release while your 360 is connected to Live. Microsoft has launched an investigation to find out who leaked Halo 4 ahead of release, but in the meantime, the company is showing us that it has no problem at all with dropping the banhammer left and right. We’re going to go ahead and suggest that you just wait for Halo 4‘s official release on November 6 – yes, its release is still a few weeks off, but we’re thinking that waiting three weeks is much better than having your Xbox Live privileges taken away.

Halo 4 pirates feel the wrath of Microsoft’s banhammer is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The fact that ISPs are working with the RIAA in a bid to squash piracy is far from new. A leaked document claiming to be AT&T training materials, however, suggests that the operator is about to stop talking, and start doing. According to TorrentFreak notifications will be sent out to customers on November 28th about the change in policy, with those suspected of illicit downloads receiving an email alerting them of the possible copyright infringement. We’d previously heard of a six-stage notification system, and this, too, is mentioned here with repeat offenders facing access to “many of the most frequently visited websites” restricted. Even stranger, is the talk of having to complete an online tutorial about copyright to get the restrictions lifted. As AT&T is part of the MPAA and RIAA-backed Center for Copyright Information, it’s likely that the other members (Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision), will be prepping similar plans. We’ve asked AT&T for confirmation directly, but for now keep an eye on the mail.

Filed under: Internet, AT&T

AT&T training document suggests ISPs are gearing up to beat piracy with internet restrictions originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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