Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Apparently, NSA will spy on us a little bit less, but Amazon will start to read our minds!
I'm Chiara, and this is Tech Break.
In the last days, U.S. President Obama has spoken publicly about the NSA, provoking mixed
reactions. While defending the actions of the American
agency, he confirmed its willingness to reform the way in which it taps and stores the collected
data, specifying that such data will be maintained by an external organization, which has not
been revealed yet. Obama declared that the American governance
system is based on the premise that our freedom can not depend on good intentions of those
who govern, but on specific limits that are imposed by law, and that measures will be
taken in this respect.
Apple will refund about 37,000 users, for a total of $32.5 million.
Indeed, the company reached a settlement, following a class action lawsuit related to
how virtual goods can be purchased from iPhone and iPad apps. It's easy, in fact, for a child
to spend too much when using an app, maybe downloaded for free by a parent, since within
a certain timespan after the app purchase the user password is not asked for.
However, the payment methods are bound to change, since the agreement also includes
a promise to avoid similar issues in the future, in terms of greater clarity and transparency
for the users.
Google has shown a smart contact lens prototype, which is able to monitor glucose levels, and
is designed for diabetics. Such lenses will read glucose levels from
tears, each and every second, and Google wants them to act as a warning device when such
levels are approaching a critical threshold.
This additional step by Google confirms its willingness to embrace hardware development,
in addition to software. The company is also said to be working with several partners "who
are experts in bringing products like this to market".
Amazon recently gained a patent related to the delivery of products to users before they
order them! Amazon in fact intends to box and send products
based on users' past purchases, the number of product page views ih the online store
and how long the mouse cursor hovers over a specific object.
Hey! That’s just what I wanted! Of course, such forecasts could lead to sending
many unrequested packages… On second thought… nope, that’s not it!
…that would be returned. However, the patent confirms Amazon's willingness to provide a
quicker service than its competitors, following Sunday deliveries and those using drones,
which we discussed in previous episodes.
Website TorrentFreak published the list of the most pirated movies in 2013. Despite illegal
downloads, they also are the highest-grossing movies.
The most pirated movie was "The Hobbit", followed by "Django Unchained," "Fast & Furious 6",
"Iron Man 3," "Silver Linings Playbook" "Star Trek Into Darkness", "Gangster Squad," "Now
You See Me", "The Hangover Part III" and finally "World War Z".
It appears that - at least in the US - these movies were illegally downloaded more often
during the timespan in which they are no longer played in theaters and not yet available on
disc or as a paid download, confirming that people generally prefer watching movies legitimately
when they are able to do so.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, James Cameron's Avatar movie will have as many as
3 sequels, and the main actors already signed on for them.
Sam Worthington is going to reappear in the role of soldier Jake Sully, and Zoe Saldana,
who was also seen in the two recent Star Trek movies by JJ Abrams, will reprise her role
as Na'vi Neytiri. The cast will also include Stephen Lang, who was also seen in the Terra
Nova TV series produced by Spielberg. He will reprise his role as Colonel Quaritch, which
seems a bit strange, given his death in the movie ending!
The first sequel is planned for December 2016, while the others will be released on an annual
basis.
That's all for today. For more information, follow us on
www.techbreak.it, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Greetings from Chiara.