Australian man fined for illegal drone flight thanks to YouTube upload

Chris Smith | Drones | Jan 26, 2015 2:29 AM CST

A man from Queensland, Australia has just received a harsh reminder of the drone flight regulations after receiving an $850 fine thanks to uploading drone flight videos to YouTube - in which he displayed illegal activities.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) rang up the Queensland resident, notifying him of multiple breaches he had conducted. He's gotten off lightly as according to CASA, with the investigator stating that "while each individual breach was not major in itself, the number of breaches has caused me concern," as seen on EFTM.

As a quick recap of the basic rules, CASA states that non-commercial drone flight must not be conducted:

Continue reading: Australian man fined for illegal drone flight thanks to YouTube upload (full post)

COD: World at War II rumor could be false, Black Ops III instead?

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 26, 2015 1:30 AM CST

We only just reported on the first rumor of Call of Duty: World at War II, but it looks like this could be wrong. Instead, Activision will reportedly announce Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Whichever one gets announced, we know a new COD is on the way.

When the news first broke, we were teased that Activision would reveal a new Call of Duty title on May 4. Soon after this happened, Xbox Canada's Community Manager, Ray Patel, tweeted a teaser image which had a hidden message inside. When translated, it matched up with what the leaked poster had to say about the May 4 reveal. Industry insider "shinobi602" has now chimed in, tweeting: "This should be real entertaining since it's not happening," adding "More info regarding Call of Duty: World at War 2 coming soon".

This is where it gets confusing, as shinobi602 replied to a fans tweet, where he said: "Bookmark this reply. Come May, and watch when World at War 2 doesn't happen". After that, he replied to a tweet that asked which era the new Call of Duty would be based in, to which he replied "Just remember what Treyarch's big games are". Something that could hint toward Black Ops III. It's all a big whirlwind of mess right now, but I'm sure the picture will become much clearer in the coming months.

Continue reading: COD: World at War II rumor could be false, Black Ops III instead? (full post)

256GB SSDs will cost less than $70 in 2H 2015, according to Apacer

Anthony Garreffa | RAM | Jan 26, 2015 12:34 AM CST

SSDs are already ridiculously cheap compared to what they used to be a few years ago, but Apacer is predicting that 256GB SSDs will be priced at under $70 by the second half of the year.

According to CK Chang, the General Manager of Apacer Technology, 256GB SSDs will cost under $70 while 128GB drives will be priced at around $40. Chang revealed the news during an interview with DigiTimes, adding that SSD are becoming much more reasonably priced, and that shrinking manufacturing technologies and the falling cost of NAND flash memory chips will continue to push the price of SSDs down.

The top NAND flash makers are moving over to 14nm, 15nm and 16nm fabrication processes, as well as the push toward triple-level cell (TLC) NAND and vertically-stacked NAND will only help further the reduction of cost to SSDs. We should expect to see mainstream laptops with 256GB SSDs in the near future, as their price is reduced as we moved into the second half of 2015. With the 256GB SSDs reducing in price, we can expect the 512GB drives to drop, which will hopefully see 512GB become the new 256GB, and 1TB become the new 512GB. Or am I reaching too high, too fast?

Continue reading: 256GB SSDs will cost less than $70 in 2H 2015, according to Apacer (full post)

Here's the first look at the purported PS4 Slim console

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jan 25, 2015 9:31 PM CST

The images of the purported PS4 Slim are coming from Italian site Multiplayer.it, but they didn't state who was behind the original image. What we are seeing are press images for the PS4 Slim, which is going under the codename of "Monolith". The PS4 Slim looks to be around half the size of the current PlayStation 4, with a slight change to its shape, too.

We should hopefully see Sony showing off the new smaller, thinner PS4 Slim at either E3 or Gamescom later in the year. As for when we should expect it, we should expect it in 2016-2017 going by previous Slim iterations of the PlayStation consoles. Let's hope its sooner, rather than later.

Continue reading: Here's the first look at the purported PS4 Slim console (full post)

SK Hynix launches KLEVV DDR RAM lineup, targeted at high-end gamers

Anthony Garreffa | RAM | Jan 25, 2015 7:26 PM CST

Update: SK Hynix has reached out to us to clarify that it does not own or run the new KLEVV brand. The SK Hynix rep said: "KLEVV has NO relationship with SK Hynix Inc and is NEVER owned or launched by SK Hynix Inc.. KLEVV is a brand name under the company ESSENCORE (which is a subsidiary of SK C&C)".

The high-end DRAM market has been dominated by a few players in the last couple of years, with the likes of Corsair, G.SKILL, Crucial and a few others. But it looks like this could all change with the introduction of a new company, KLEVV, which was showing off its new DDR3 and DDR4 modules at PAX South this weekend. The KLEVV website has only opened up in the last 24 hours, which you can check out here.

KLEVV is a partner of SK Hynix, who sell their DRAM IC to companies like Corsair or G.SKILL, but now it could be providing its top binned (best chips) to KLEVV, giving it a serious edge against the competition. This means that KLEVV will be a force to be reckoned with within the DRAM market rather quickly, without having to worry about securing the best IC and paying through the nose for it, as it will be cherry picking the very best thanks to its strong connection with its parent company; Essencore, which falls under the SK Hynix umbrella.

Continue reading: SK Hynix launches KLEVV DDR RAM lineup, targeted at high-end gamers (full post)

Israeli cybersecurity expert says business leaders need more knowledge

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jan 25, 2015 5:25 PM CST

Business leaders need to become more computer literate so they are better able to understand evolving threats posed by cybercriminals. Criminals are using the digital equivalent of an F-16 fighter jet to launch attacks against governments and corporations, finding surprising levels of success, according to an Israeli cybersecurity expert.

"The breakers in cyber are one step ahead of the makers... we're out of equilibrium," said Nadav Zafrir, former Israel Defense Force tech commander and founder of Team8 Cyber Security Venture Creation, during a recent meeting with corporate leaders. "You have to redefine control. You have to let go, and it's scary. It's too important to leave it to the cyber experts. You [the CEO] have to become cyber literate."

Business leaders are confused in their efforts to defend against cyberattacks, often unsure how to prevent data breaches - and what to do if one occurs. However, analysts and experts recommend companies focus on preventing insider attacks, try to clamp down on outside threats, and have a recovery plan in case a breach does take place.

Continue reading: Israeli cybersecurity expert says business leaders need more knowledge (full post)

Dennis Rodman doesn't believe his friends in Pyongyang hacked Sony

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jan 25, 2015 3:50 PM CST

Dennis Rodman doesn't believe North Korea is responsible for attacking Sony Pictures, with the former NBA champion thinking Pyongyang wouldn't lash out against Sony Pictures just for making "The Interview."

"If the North wanted to hack anything in the world, anything in the world, really, they are going to go hack a movie? Really?!" Rodman recently said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "How many movies have there been attacking North Korea? And they never hacked those. North Korea is going to hack a comedy, a movie that is really nothing? I can't see that happening. Of all the companies... really? Over a movie?

It's worth noting, however, North Korea has been blamed for attacking South Korean infrastructure, including financial institutions - and has a budding cybercriminal unit that is well-trained and financed by Pyongyang. Furthermore, if North Korea actually is responsible for breaching SPE, it was likely done to further develop its cyberespionage abilities that could be used against future targets.

Continue reading: Dennis Rodman doesn't believe his friends in Pyongyang hacked Sony (full post)

Fable creator ponders HoloLens, and whether a killer app is available

Microsoft's recent unveiling of its HoloLens has generated a lot of interest from consumers, but developers understand it will be up to them to create appealing apps for the new platform. Microsoft is promoting HoloLens as something different than Oculus Rift or Sony Morpheus, and will likely try to build its success piggybacked on Windows OS and Xbox One integration in the future.

"I think [HoloLens], for me, more exciting than even VR but it shares a similar problem as VR does and that is: what is the application going to be?" said Peter Molyneux, creator of Fable, in an interview with Gamesindustry.biz. "This is the problem with VR - the applications that we think are going to be great on it quite often are exhausting or very challenging. My hope is that their concept video doesn't over promise what the technology can deliver."

Molyneux is basing his opinion on a HoloLens prototype that was tested more than two years ago, however.

Continue reading: Fable creator ponders HoloLens, and whether a killer app is available (full post)

Researchers developing wearable brain scanner able to measure activity

Researchers are working on a portable positron emission tomography (PET) scanner that can be worn to show brain activity throughout the day. Normal PET scanners used in hospitals are large and unable to provide a better understanding of brain function and neurological disorders - but the new device could change that.

Using a helmet that has PET detectors located in a ring, the helmet can help monitor stroke patients while they do rehab, or study when someone with autism has to interact in social environments. If released to hospitals and other researchers, there are a number of different uses for the portable PET scanner.

Tested using a brain slice tagged with a radiotracer chemical, the scanner successfully worked, despite capturing images that were a bit fuzzy - which researchers will work to improve.

Continue reading: Researchers developing wearable brain scanner able to measure activity (full post)

Mojang: Minecraft passwords compromised by phishing, not hacking

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Jan 25, 2015 1:40 PM CST

Reports were published within the past week that more than 1,800 Minecraft accounts were hacked, with passwords leaked online - but the company has defended itself, and it looks like phishing attacks are to blame.

"No! We haven't been hacked," said Owen Hill, Chief World Officer at Mojang, in a published blog post. " No one has gained access to the Mojang mainframe. Even if they did, we store your passwords in a super encrypted format. Honestly, you don't need to panic."

Affected Minecraft players have been emailed and will now need to reset their passwords. If you want to change your password just in case, head to Minecraft.net/resetpassword.

Continue reading: Mojang: Minecraft passwords compromised by phishing, not hacking (full post)