Court orders Pirate Bay blockade, users defeat it within minutes

Ever since the Pirate Bay, the online repository of free (and not always legal) movies, music, games, and other media, sprung back to life two months ago, things have been running pretty much as normal. But the popular torrent site still faces varying challenges on a regular basis, including one in Sweden, where an ISP has refused to block the site and is heading to trial to October.

At issue, as always, is whether ISPs are responsible for the traffic that goes across their lines; media companies like Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, and various movie and television distributors say yes, while ISPs often say no.

How to boost your WiFi speed by choosing the right channel

wireless networking have come a long way in the past 15 years. And yet, sustained WiFi speeds are still a vexing problem in a lot of situations. A number of things can come into play, such as the way your router is set up, whether there’s nearby interference, if you live in an apartment building or a separate house, and how far apart your devices are from the router. Fortunately, there’s always a way to fix slow transfer speeds.

If you’ve ever messed around with your WiFi router’s settings, you’ve probably seen the word channel. Most routers have the channel set to Auto, but I’m sure many of us have looked through that list of a dozen or so channels and wondered what they are, and more importantly, which of the channels are faster than the others. Well, it turns out some channels are indeed much faster — but that doesn’t mean you should go ahead and change them just yet. Read on to find out more about 802.11 channels, interference, and the massive difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi.

BitWhisper: Stealing data from non-networked computers using heat

Researchers call this technique of harvesting sensitive data “BitWhisper.” It was developed and tested in a standard office environment with two systems sitting side-by-side on a desk. One computer was connected to the Internet, while the other had no connectivity. This setup is common in office environments where employees are required to carry out sensitive tasks on the air-gapped computer while using the connected one for online activities.No matter how secure you think a computer is, there’s always a vulnerability somewhere that a remote attacker can utilize if they’re determined enough. To reduce the chance of sensitive material being stolen, many government and industrial computer systems are not connected to outside networks. This practice is called air-gapping, but even that might not be enough. The Stuxnet worm from several years ago spread to isolated networks via USB flash drives, and now researchers at Ben Gurion University in Israel have shown that it’s possible to rig up two-way communication with an air-gapped computer via heat exchange.

Vuze speeds up torrent downloads with swarm merging

Virtually every torrent client on the Internet operates in the same fashion, but Azureus Software is trying something a little different with the popular Vuze app. In the newest v5.6 build of Vuze, users have the option to merge two swarms sharing the same file in order to boost the overall speed of a download. Is the era of the unified swarm at hand?

Torrent clients come in all shapes and sizes — some offer loads of features and others are simply a UI for monitoring downloads. Vuze leans toward the former with support for RSS subscriptions, Web control, torrent search, video playback, and device conversion/sync. It tries to do it all, which not everyone is a fan of, but the new swarm merging feature might have you taking a second look at Vuze.

The uncertain future of the Xbox One

Two years later, many of these initial failings have been fixed. But rumors that Microsoft would like out of the Xbox business continue to swirl, prompted partly by stealthy executive departures and ongoing legal issues surrounding the Xbox 360’s disc-scratching problems.It’s difficult to know what to make of the Xbox One. When Microsoft first debuted the console nearly two years ago, its vision of the future of gaming slammed face first into therock wall of consumer expectations. Microsoft offered a second-generation motion tracker with voice commands and an “always on” capability — but consumers didn’t want it. The company declared that online and retail disc purchases would be treated the same, only to find that customers valued the ability to trade in games at a local store. It promised a future in which families and friends could share games out of a common library — but at the cost of offline play.

Do stars make sound? Researchers say yes

Yet the above hasn’t stopped scientists from scanning the heavens looking for potential sounds. For example, NASA found that sound can exist in the form of electromagnetic vibrations that pulsate in similar wavelengths. When Voyager 1 finally crossed into interstellar space in 2013, NASA was able to put together and play the sound of plasma wave data, which functioned as a kind of proof that the crossing occurred. A report last year from Scientific American showed that you can convert the hail of cosmic radiation into audible ‘music’ tracks, in an effort to better understand phenomena like the solar wind. It’s even believed that ancient sound waves may have sculpted the way galaxies formed, and that black holes may produce sound waves (pictured right).For centuries, mankind has been fascinated with the possible sounds of the heavens. We know that sound doesn’t travel in the vacuum of space — by definition, and unlike light, sound needs a medium through which to travel. Sound results from the disturbance (or vibration) of the particles in that medium. That’s why you hear those stories about how space battles in movies have impossible sound effects, because you wouldn’t hear any of it if it were real.

Google discovers new security holes in SSL — is the entire system fundamentally flawed?

The reason it’s critical that companies not mint certificates for websites they don’t operate themselves is because doing so breaks the function of SSL itself. Here’s how the system is supposed to operate:Google has discovered that an intermediate certificate authority had issued unauthorized certificates for multiple Google domains. The problem arose because the intermediate authority, MCS Holdings, had issued certificates for the Google domains, despite not holding those domains itself.

Virgin may build electric vehicle to compete with Tesla

The genesis of the Virgin-builds-EVs story is based on Virgin’s think-different, think-outside-the-box interests. Once it got into Formula E, hints were dropped, and amplified perhaps to the point where signal and noise match up, that Branson might consider building passenger EVs. At the Miami Grand Prix Formula E race, Bloomberg TV popped the passenger-cars question. Branson’s response: “We have teams of people working on electric cars,” Branson said. “So you never know—you may find Virgin competing with Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business. We will see what happens.” If it’s not a yes, it’s not a no.Virgin and Richard Branson may enter the electric vehicle business, Branson hints. The Virgin name is already on airplanes, spaceships, and cruise ships, as well as music and health clubs. The company also competes in the Formula E racing series for electric-only vehicles. Recently Branson said “you never know” when asked about the odds of Virgin’s entry into EV passenger cars.

Do-it-yourself healthcare is closer than you think

AUSTIN–Healthcare-related innovation was everywhere at South by Southwest Interactive this year. There were sessions on healthcare IT, big data, wearables, and innovative startups that are using technology to upend the status quo. For example, Tim O’Reilly gave a talk about adapting the same experience-focused approach used by companies such as Apple, Google, and Uber to reimagine health care delivery.

And if there is any industry ripe for disruption, it is healthcare. According to federal government statistics, healthcare expenditures in the U.S now exceed $3 trillion and represent 17% of the nation’s GDP. Yet despite consisting of such a huge slice of the economy, and incorporating large amounts of new technology for diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the past 30 years, the industry has failed at delivering cost-effective care. Compare that with the computing industry, where the million-dollar supercomputer of 20 years ago now fits in your pocket and costs $600 unsubsidized. Thanks to smartphones,cloud computing, sensors, and other technology, today’s health tech entrepreneurs see plenty of opportunities.

MRI scans of the brain show why we ignore security warnings

The process by which you get used to these messages and stop paying attention is called habituation. Researchers have known this to be a component of how people respond to computer interfaces for years. But it was always observed indirectly, such as one study that found only 14% of participants noticed changes to the content of the warning messages. Having actual fMRI data to connect to various warning UIs gave researchers a chance to evaluate solutions to this problem.By the third or fourth time your computer pops up a warning box while you’re trying to get something done, you probably just dismiss it without paying it much attention. It turns out this is an almost universal truth of how we use computers, and there’s a neurological aspect. In an attempt to build a better warning message, a team of researchers from Brigham Young University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Google employed a functional MRI (fMRI) to study how the brain reacts to these popups.

Muon scans confirm complete reactor meltdown at Fukushima Reactor #1

Thus far, the muon tomography scans haven’t revealed anything that scientists and cleanup crews working at Fukushima didn’t expect. But that doesn’t make the work any less important. The only way to safely clean the site and dispose of the highly radioactive slag that’s now believed to fill the bottom of the Pressure Containment Vessel, or PCV, is to first map out what melted within the core and where the flow went afterwards.The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has announced that its muon tomography scanning efforts at Fukushima have borne fruit, and confirmed that nuclear plant’s Reactor #1 suffered a complete meltdown following the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011.

Nvidia announces ultra-high-end GTX Titan X, leaves out almost all details

Companies often play coy with announcements at major press events, but Nvidia’s latest tactic with its new GTX Titan X may take some kind of reward. The company’s CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, made a surprise appearance at an Unreal Engine conference and handed Unreal chief developer Tim Sweeney an autographed GPU. This new Titan X will carry an estimated eight billion transistors and a massive 12GB of RAM. But Nvidia isn’t saying more until its own GTC event.

According to Sweeney, Titan X was developed partly in response to the VR headsets and technology that are widely on display. In more plausible reality, it’s a chip in the same vein as the original GTX Titan and GTX 780 — an HPC and scientific computing GPU that Nvidia is bringing over to the consumer business.

Nvidia’s Grid moves out of beta with premium tier, free games

Streaming gaming has been the Next Big Thing for a few years now, even as hype built for the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Nvidia has been at the forefront of bringing streaming titles to the PC business, and the company announced last night that it intends to take its Nvidia Grid service out of beta and formally launch it later this year, alongside its new console.

In theory, streaming games makes a great deal of sense. Players have access to vast title libraries without the need to keep track of local disks or risk broken consoles. The living room space and power consumption costs are all outsourced to a remote server, and all the player has to maintain is a fast Internet connection and pay a monthly service fee.

Are Valve and HTC’s VR goggles really the future of PC gaming?

This head-mounted display sports two 1200×1080 screens with a refresh rate of 90Hz. The high pixel density will reduce the screen-door effect seen with earlier headsets, and the high refresh rate will hopefully work against the lag-related nausea some people experience with VR. In addition, your PC must be able to render 2400×1080 at 90fps to get the full benefit of the Re Vive, so your mileage will certainly vary. When I think about how much you’ll need to spend for the goggles and a suitable gaming PC, I start to feel the nausea before the goggles even reach my face.Over the weekend, HTC announced that it’s partnering with Valve to release a new virtual reality headset dubbed the “Re Vive.” Powered by SteamVR technology and manufactured by HTC, this seems mutually beneficial for the time being. But what about five or ten years down the road? Is the Re Vive good for the burgeoning VR market, or is it doomed to failure like so many other high-profile partnerships?

Pornhub's Wankband Lets You Masturbate To Charge Your Smartphone

The newest company to enter the wearable market is...Pornhub. I bet you didn't see that coming! Pornhub's wearable is appropriately called Wankband. What do you do with this Wankband? Well, you wear it on your good hand's wrist, and you wank hard of course!

The Pornhub Wankband lets you masturbate to charge your Smartphone. This one sentence alone sums up the entire product. Wankband works by harnessing the energy from moving your hand, and hence the Wankband, up and down (or whatever motion you prefer). Kinectic energy stored by a valve inside the Wankband is then used to charge your Smartphone.

Google confirms it will offer carrier services, may operate Google brand across pre-existing network

Google has confirmed it intends to operate some type of phone service, likely in partnership with an existing carrier. Previous reports have floated the idea that Google might become a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), which would give it the ability to launch a comprehensive service over a partner’s wires without taking on the infrastructure expense or difficulty of building its own network.

Google’s senior VP, Sundar Pichai,has now confirmed that the search giant has a mobile service in the works, but has on been vague on its details or capabilities. In his discussion with journalists, Pichai likened Google’s experiments as a carrier with its work on the Nexus family or its various other products and testbeds.

SanDisk stuffs 200GB into a microSD card for your phone

If a 128GB microSD card just isn't big enough to put your media collection on your phone, don't worry -- SanDisk is coming to your rescue. It just unveiled a whopping200GB card (the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card Premium Edition, to be exact) that makes just about anything else seem puny. You won't even have to give up performance, as it should still transfer about 90MB per second, or roughly 1,200 photos every minute. The price could easily be a showstopper, though. SanDisk will ask an eye-watering $400 for the 200GB card when it ships in the second quarter, so it may only make sense if you insist on gobs of room for 4K videos or a gigantic music library.

Can birds navigate by magnetic field?

At a meeting of the American Physical Society this Wednesday in Texas, Peter Hore will be describing new experimental results that help explain how avian magnetoreception might actually work. Like many other organisms, birds have many special adaptions to help them navigate. In addition to the ability to detect things like polarized light, they have any number of ways they might use to sense magnetic fields. The idea that they use magnetic particles within the neurites coursing through their beaks, while conceivable, is no longer the best explanation for their abilities.It’s difficult to prove that a device said to be a quantum computer actually is one. While entanglement is a requirement for the quantum performance of machines like D-Wave, it is not a proof. But the remarkable abilities of birds to navigate using Earth’s minute magnetic field are now similarly believed to depend on a biological quantum compass — although proving it is another story.

Amazon wants to curb warehouse clutter by installing 3D printers on trucks

Recently, a patent application surfaced showing how Amazon could implement 3D-printing on demand. Roughly, the idea is this: a consumer orders an item on Amazon, the printing instructions are sent to the closest 3D-printing device, and then shipped out to the consumer when it’s complete. Most interestingly, the 3D printer itself could be “in a warehouse or on a truck.” If Amazon moves forward with these plans, your widgets and thing-a-majigs could theoretically be produced in the same truck that delivers it to your home.More than anything, logistics are the biggest hurdle for retailers like Amazon. Managing stock, maintaining warehouses, and shipping orders is a constant juggling act. What if you could cut out all of the hassle, make an item on demand, and deliver it directly to the consumer? A recent patent application from Amazon has that future in mind, but is this doable? Can 3D printing replace the old warehouse model?

There are 60,000 people testing Windows 10 for phones

Not long ago, Microsoft released Windows 10 for phones to participants of the Windows Insider program, but the hardware selection was limited. In fact, all of the former flagship phones like the Lumia Icon, 1020 and 1520 were left out of the initial batch of devices.

According to an internal source who has had a good track record in the past, there are roughly 60,000 devices currently testing Windows 10 for phones. That figure includes Microsoft employees too, which means that the testing base, as of right now for the OS, is quite small.