Net neutrality, the idea that every bit and byte is created equally and given equal access to bandwidth, has taken a bit of a beating as of late. In the US we've seen legislation changes allow companies like Verizon to throttle Netflix and Amazon, which saw the former of the …
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FCC considering changes to mobile net neutrality
Net Neutrality is a bit of a hot topic right now and it could become even more so in the years to come. Already we've seen the effects of weakening enforcement in the US, with Netflix suffering under Verizon's throttling of its high definition traffic – to which Netfllix responded …
Read More »Big data: helping build better bras
Big data is one of those buzzwords that company executives like to throw around, like blue sky, or the cloud. They're vague terms that unless they come from a tech versed mouth, are unlikely to be related to their real world function. However that doesn't mean the mass collection of …
Read More »Swedish media pirate numbers nosedive – legal options to blame
The number of people illegally sharing media like songs, music and games in Sweden, the home of The Pirate Party and original host country for The Pirate Bay, have plummeted in recent years according to a new survey by the Cybernorms research group of Lund University. In a bold move, …
Read More »EU and US encrypted internet traffic booming
It was bound to happen in the wake of the Snowden revelations last year, that let us all know just how much our goverments and others were keeping tabs on us, but we're only starting to see the data for the trend shift now. In a report by Sandvine, encrypted …
Read More »Microsoft may be removing the Xbox Live Gold requirement for media
Microsoft might be planning to remove the Xbox Live Gold requirement for media apps, something Xbox users have been asking for since the launch of the 360. The change in policy is said to be directly linked to Don Mattrick leaving the company, who has since been replaced by Phil …
Read More »Microsoft, Google and Facebook join the fight for net neutrality
Back in January a US court struck down the FCC's rules on net neutrality and since then the Federal Commission has been working on a new set of rules that would allow ISP's to charge Americans extra for things like watching Netflix or Hulu. Obviously this is a completely immoral …
Read More »EA nearing game streaming deal with Comcast
EA is reportedly working out a game streaming deal with Comcast, the deal would allow EA to stream games on the American cable provider's X1 operating system. This move would also expand EA's customer base significantly as the publisher would be able to reach all of Comcast's 22 million customers. …
Read More »PS4 HDCP must be off to record gameplay but on to watch video apps
The PS4's first big update came yesterday, bringing with it one of the most requested features- an HDCP off option. Unfortunately though, the toggle applies to all apps, meaning that when HDCP is off for gameplay recording, you will have to remember to switch it back on to watch any …
Read More »Megashare to shut down over hosting issues
Megashare, one of the world's most prominent movie and TV streaming websites, has announced an end to its services in the near future, due to what is simply described as “problems with video hosting company.” The site currently uses third party services like Google, Putlocker and Sockshare to achieve its …
Read More »UK government wants permanent piracy watchdog
Last year the British government created a new organisation designed with tackling online piracy, called the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) and since then it's gone after file lockers and torrent sites, in an attempt to make it much harder to view copyright protected content without permission. While initially …
Read More »Game of Thrones Season 4 breaks piracy records
Game of Thrones is a wildly popular show and as with any such programme, it attracts impressive numbers of pirated downloads. However, the latest season has broken all previous records, with over a million illegitimate downloads in the half a day after release and over 300,000 people sharing the episode …
Read More »Amazon’s Fire TV isn’t guaranteed a UK release
Amazon's recently revealed set top box, the Fire TV, might not make it outside of the United States as the company currently has no plans to release in other countries. Selling a streaming device is never easy as licensing agreements need to be made with copyright holders in order to …
Read More »Amazon unveils Fire TV: easiest way to enjoy movies, games and music
Amazon on Wednesday introduced its first set-top-box, the Amazon Fire TV. The new STB combines powerful hardware with one of the world’s richest collections of digital content and video games. The STB supports an external gamepad controller to make it more appealing to gamers. The novelty will cost $99 in …
Read More »Dotcom: you can’t fix piracy with a slegehammer
Kim Dotcom made headlines again last week with the news that Popcorn Time, the real end game for online movie piracy, was taken down from his Mega file locker service. According to his own statements, he had no idea about it until after the fact and we still don't know …
Read More »Asus Transformer Book T100T (Windows 8) Tablet Review
Today we are going to take a look at a hybrid tablet from Asus – the Transformer Book T100T. Asus have been pushing the hybrid tablet concept for a while now and have released a handful of models to date … we looked at the impressive Android powered Transformer Book …
Read More »Popcorn Time makes streaming torrents possible
If the MPAA, FACT and other organisations thought they had their work cut out for them before, they're about to enter a whole new world of hurt, as Popcorn Time is offering to let users watch torrented movies in a stream, without downloading them in the traditional fashion. Produced by …
Read More »Say goodbye to Lovefilm
Lovefilm, one of Netflix's longest running competitors – though not on the same level – is set to disappear soon, as Amazon is going to rebrand the service to Amazon Instant Video and bundle it into the Amazon Prime Service, offering media and free shipping all in the same breath. …
Read More »Twitch beat out Facebook and Valve in US peak web traffic
The hugely popular game streaming platform, Twitch, has produced more peak network traffic in the US than a few of the most popular sites in the world only being beat out by Google, Netflix and Apple. Sites left in Twitch's dust include Hulu, Facebook, Valve/Steam, Amazon and Tumblr. This was …
Read More »Samsung to offer 4K starter pack
Since 4K is so new, there's not really much content available to show off the ultra high resolution and as a result, people aren't rushing out to buy capable TV's but Samsung is looking to change that this year by offering up a 4K starter pack for use with its …
Read More »Majority of consumers still prefer Blu-ray/DVD to streaming
Even though video streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix are growing rapidly these days, the majority of consumers still prefer movies on good-old optical media, such as Blu-ray disc (BD) and DVD. As a result, sales of Blu-ray movies hit another record last December in the USA. A recent …
Read More »Microsoft almost made the Xbox One discless
With the progress that services like Steam, Origin and Netflix are making these days, many think that packaged media is a thing of the past. Despite this, they continue to play an important role in the industry, but not so much that Microsoft didn't consider removing the optical disc drive …
Read More »Amazon sold 426 items per second leading up to Christmas
Christmas time is always incredibly busy for retailers but when it comes to online retailers, there's a lot more people in the shop at once. Amazon has just proven this as it revealed that in the weeks leading up to the 25th of December, it started to sell 426 items …
Read More »Amazon will shoot original programming in 4K
Amazon Studios has just announced that it plans to shoot all of its 2014 series in 4K and will eventually make the ultra high resolution available for customers to stream. Programming will include both comedies and drama's and will most likely be put on Amazon's instant video service which is …
Read More »Xbox One and 360 are getting original TV shows
Microsoft has announced that starting in early 2014, its Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles, will have access to their own unique, original content that won't be available anywhere else initially. What those shows will be at the moment remain somewhat of a mystery, though we do know some things. …
Read More »Virgin Media launches on-demand Android app
If you're a Virgin Media customer, then this will probably interest you. The cable provider has just launched its own Android app to rival Sky Go. The ‘TV Anywhere' app is now available across a range of Android tablets and phones as well as all IOS devices. help coursework Virgin's …
Read More »Sony is turning off some PSN features in preparation for European launch
Sony has announced that in order to keep the Playstation Network stable during the Playstation 4 launch in Europe, it will have to switch off a couple of features. This isn't surprising as day one PS4 users in North America did experience network issues due to the amount of traffic. …
Read More »MPAA spending increases along with its anti-piracy efforts
When your job is to fix something, you often have the dichotomy of ideals in your head. You want to fix the problems that occur, but if you do such a good job that it will make your job useless, then why would you continue to be paid to do …
Read More »Pointless site blocking continues in the UK
‘Quick, look like you're busy,' continues to be the unspoken rule over at media lobbyists like Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) which has continued alongside the BPI to have websites blocked in the UK, because of their links with pirated content – despite the fact that all evidence suggests that …
Read More »MSI Primo 81 (Snow White) 8in Tablet Review
Today we are going to take a look at the Primo 81 from MSI. Priced at only £138, it targets the large user base who can't afford a high end model from the likes of Samsung or Apple. The Primo 81 features a 7.8″ IPS display, the same LG panel …
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