Items tagged with Digital
California has just landed itself a landmark victory in the fight for better protections of people's rights, and given what it entails, all we can do is hope that the state becomes an example that all others will want to follow. In the past, law enforcement hasn't had much of a stumbling block when it's come to demanding someone's digital information. In our ever-expanding mobile world, this problem has become notable; if you're pulled over, and an officer wants to see data on your phone, you haven't have a legal right to refuse it. This new law changes that. With this law, law enforcement will be unable to obtain digital information from someone without a warrant. This is sure to dramatically...
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The Olympic games officially begin tonight in Sochi, but if you're one of several million US citizens who don't pay for cable access, you're not going to be watching much of that content online. While NBC is officially streaming the entire games, those streams are reserved for paying cable customers. In 2011, NBC cut a deal with the International Olympics Committee to hold exclusive rights to the Olympic Games through 2020. That means NBC gets to decide who sees the feed -- and who doesn't. Those broadcast fees are now a huge percentage of total Olympic Games revenue, according to the Washington Post, which explains why locking them up in a monopoly deal was more attractive than selling competing...
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Instagram has sent out mysterious invitations for a December 12th event in New York City. Although the message to “share a moment” with Kevin Systrom and the rest of the Instagram team is veiled enough, there’s another layer of intrigue: the invitations are physical, printed on paper, and came through snail mail. Other versions of the invite were apparently actually printed on pieces of wood that were specifically cut to be ready to hang on a wall. Image credit: TechCrunch Instagram is a haven for hipsters, but it’s unlikely that Instagram went to the expense of printing up and mailing these items just because it’s ironically cool. However, it is entirely likely...
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What's that sound? It might just be the millions of people uttering "hipster" after reading the title of this post. With a new infographic published by Amazon, it's become strikingly clear that vinyl is hot, even though physical media as a whole is on the decline, and has been for quite some time. Clearly - vinyl can't offer the overall fidelity and clarity of a CD, so why has it suddenly become all the rage? Amazon hasn't divulged any thoughts into the matter outside of giving us stats to toy with, but it does seem likely that there are many different factors contributing to people's interest in vinyl. Personally, and as ridiculous as it might be, I consider vinyl to be artwork that I can hang...
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Who could have ever guessed that a digital currency would cause so much commotion, and for so long? Well beyond the "fad" stage is Bitcoin -- a digital currency that suddenly has the investing world's attention, and even high-stakes players are investing in what amounts to nothing in hopes of it paying off. While it's a bit more legitimate than materials in World of Warcraft, it's not very far from that notion. Still, a popular U.S. Bitcoin exchange (Tradehill) has had to suspend trading of the currency as financial regulators continue to grapple with the legalities involved. The currency has seen its trading start, stop, peak, drop, start, and stop again, all in the last couple of months. It's...
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Fancy yourself a collector of memorabilia? If so, be sure to grab the current August issue of PCWorld, as it will be the last ever in print format. After three decades in print, publisher IDG decided it was time to go all-in with digital, which is the only format PCWorld will be available in from this point forward. PCWorld currently has 339,000 print subscribers, all of which are welcome to register online to receive the digital version of the title. In addition, IDG said that no staff will be impacted by the transition to digital, which is only for the U.S. edition of the magazine. "Both technology users and marketers have led the way in the shift from print to online and our decision to end...
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Back in the day, cinemas would receive major motion pictures in the back of a truck, on reels. Kind of archaic, when you think about it. And while digital streaming has become something of an understood commodity in the consumer world, it still hasn't taken the theater industry by storm -- but that may be changing soon. Reportedly, the Digital Cinema Distribution Coalition has inked deals with Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Lionsgate and Paramount Pictures to "provide each with theatrical digital-delivery services across North America." The DCDC was formed by AMC Theatres, Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark Theatres, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., and it has crafted a "satellite and...
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Much like it's possible to sue for anything these days, it's apparently not all that difficult to patent anything. While that's something of a stretch, Amazon has just nailed a surprisingly broad patent that could have an impact on the consumer electronics economy as a whole. At its most basic level, the patent -- which was awarded in the United States -- details a "secondary market for digital objects." Specifically, the verbiage makes reference to an "electronic marketplace for used digital objects," which would include things like e-books, audio, video, computer applications, etc. Here's a quote from the patent: "When the user no longer desires to retain the right to access the now-used digital...
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Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to learn of music stores closing shop nowadays, but when a major retailer with stores across the UK, Ireland and Canada goes into administration - the situation almost seems dire. HMV isn't just some regular music store - its seeds were planted in the late 1890s alongside the disc gramophone. In 1907, the company established a record-producing factory and then in 1921, a retail store was opened. Today, the company has hundreds of stores around its supported regions. To handle its situation, HMV called in administrator Deloitte. Last week, it failed to secure a £300 million loan that would have allowed it to pay off its debts and change how certain things...
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Years ago, 3D printing may have seemed like little more than a cool toy, but as we've seen things progress leading up to today, we can now see otherwise. Look no further than our recent roundup of three different consumer-level printer models. Sure - building miniature models is one thing, but others have even found even more important uses - such as building an exoskeleton for a little girl. I think it's safe to say that things are only going to be getting better. For music lovers, the lingering question has been what can be accomplished here. I'm sure we'll learn of some musical instruments created with 3D printing in the future, but for now, we have a story of someone who created an entire...
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Corsair is one of the few companies in the PC enthusiast space that has been able to expand their product offerings, while also maintaining or even bolstering their solid reputation in the community. All too often, a company will attempt to build upon some initial success by entering a new market with a “me too” or re-badged product and end up losing credibility with enthusiasts along the way. Corsair seems to take a different approach, however. Instead of simply re-branding a product just to quickly gain a presence in a new or fledgling market, Corsair, more often than not, seems to bide their time to customize or design a product (or product family) to specifically cater to...
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Corsair’s attention to detail and understanding of the enthusiast community has allowed the company to evolve from a memory manufacturer into a well-regarded supplier of cases, cooling hardware, input devices, PC audio, power supplies, gaming accessories and storage devices. Their latest product, the Corsair AX1200i Digital ATX Power Supply, takes things a step further and blazes a trail by adding some innovative and useful features not found in any competing products. The Corsair AX1200i Digital ATX Power Supply’s name hints at this PSU’s 1200 watt rating, but beyond its monstrous power output, the AX1200i is also highly efficient and sports a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)...
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The replacement of the MP3 has been coming forever, or so we've heard, but the ubiquitous file format has yet to really be toppled by anything else. Apple's AAC format is highly popular amongst iPod and iPhone users, but by and large, the de facto music format when it comes to digital is MP3. One has to assume that the format's run will end at some point, though, just as VHS and DVD runs ended when newer, larger and more clear formats were developed. Is this the end for MP3? Only time will tell, but a leading tech company is hoping to launch a new digital music file format that will add several features currently unavailable to MP3. Things like embedded lyrics/artwork would be included, but the...
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It was only a matter of time, right? With digital becoming the new black, we knew that those hugely thick, underutilized user guides that shipped with automobiles would one day fade from existence, and it looks as if the fading has begun. Chrysler has just announced that it will become the first automaker to ditch the paperback and go digital with the guides that accompany its fleet of vehicles.The paperless approach is designed to save over 930 tons of paper, or around 20,000 trees annually, and we can imagine that it'll also save the company some serious dough. The deal covers Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles, all of which will have much more room in their glove box starting with the 2010...
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