News written by James Delahunty (August, 2018)

A Tesla Model 3 owner has uploaded dashcam footage to YouTube showing the moment where he claims the car's autopilot system saved his life.

YouTube user 'Tesla Canuck' was driving home when he was almost involved in an incident due to the behavior of another driver on the road. He explains that he was driving in the right lane when another car a much higher rate of speed tried to squeeze in between his car, and the car in the left lane.

Tesla's Autopilot system detected the imminment collision and took evasive action to avoid the other car, while it was driving along at around 102km/h.

The all-electric carmaker has been the subject of headlines for many reasons in recent times. Some of those reasons have been negative as unfortunate incidents of the autopilot being involved in accidents or failing to prevent them have been reported. Typically, when the autopilot system prevents an accident, it doesn't make news.

In this case, the YouTuber was recording with a dashcam at the time and posted the video to show the close call. He claims that the Autopilot system saved his life, and given how quickly the car's automatic system reacted, he could absolutely be correct.

A new version of CCleaner has been released that rolls back some of the changes in the controversial v5.45 update while addressing some data collection concerns.

On the privacy side of things, the new CCleaner v5.46.6652 now allows for the Monitoring feature and reporting of anonymous usage data can now be controlled separately (previously both were controlled by the 'Active Monitoring' checkbox). A separate control is also added for the reporting of anonymous usage data.

Additionally, there is now a Data Factsheet on what exactly is reported back to the developer and why. You can read it at the CCleaner website.

In the previous version, users also noted that trying to close the program minimized it to the system tray and the option to exit the app had been removed. This meant that to exit the previous version, you would need to use Task Manager or a similar tool to manually kill the process.

In the new update, the prior minimize behavior has been restored to the application, while the Exit option has also be added to the Tray menu again.

Apple has announced a keynote address for September 12 where it is expected to unveil three new iPhones, but images have already leaked.

The iPhone-maker announced on Thursday that it will hold an event at the Steve Jobs Theater at its Cupertino, California campus on September 12. Not long after this was reported, 9to5Mac published a leaked image of two of the devices that Apple is expected to unveil.

Rumors had suggested that Apple would launch two new iPhones with OLED displays, respectively with a 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch display. A third low cost iPhone would measure 6.1-inch and pack an LCD display instead. The OLED-packing iPhones are considered a followup to the iPhone X.

An invitation sent out to the media by Apple used the color Gold heavily, fueling speculation that the firm was prepping a gold-colored iPhone for launch. The leak reported by 9to5Mac seems to confirm this suspicion:

An appeals court in the United States has determined that an IP address is not sufficient evidence that the subscriber is responsible for copyright infringement.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholds a previous ruling made by District Judge Michael Simon. Judge Simon previously dismissed the plaintiff's claim against the accused and found that the plaintiff should pay his legal fees amounting to $17,222.

In 2016, the man at the center of the case was accused of downloading and distributing the Adam Sandler movie The Cobbler. Typically these kind of claims are settled out of court with the alleged pirate agreeing to pay some damages. However, the accused in this case did not settle because he runs an adult foster care home which has an open WiFi network connected to Comcast.

The decision was appealed and this week and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Margaret McKeown made it clear that the plaintiff - Cobbler Nevada LLC - didn't have an infringement claim against the accused.

"In this copyright action, we consider whether a bare allegation that a defendant is the registered subscriber of an Internet Protocol ('IP') address associated with infringing activity is sufficient to state a claim for direct or contributory infringement," the Judge wrote.

LG Electronics is displaying the world's first 8K organic light-emitting diode (OLED) television at its booth at IFA 2018 in Berlin.

The monster 88-inch class 8K LG OLED TV features over 33 million self-emitting pixels to produce the unmatched contrast ratio and true blacks that you can expect from OLED. The 8K (7680 x 4320) OLED TV is the world's first of its kind according to LG.

OLED produces much sharper images than LCD but production of OLED has been more difficult over the years. Nevertheless, shipments of OLED TVs is expected to double to nine million units by 2022. The 8K television market is obviously still in its infancy, but LG expects it to hit 5 million units overall by 2022.

One advantage of OLED is that the displays emit their own light without the need for a backlight. A backlight produces waste heat and uses more energy than an OLED display, and also produces far less sharp image with a noticeable difference particularly with dark scenes.

Samsung has unveiled its new 8K resolution QLED televisions at IFA in Berlin and will begin selling them in select markets from September.

The new Q900R QLED 8K sets are quite large, with 65-, 75-, 82- and 85-inch models soon to be available. 8K resolution displays four times more pixels than a 4K UHD TV and 16 times more pixels than a full HD TV at 1080p. The Q900R displays are capable of 4,000 nit peak brightness.

In addition, the Q900R features Direct Full Array Elite for enhanced contrast and precise backlighting control, and also 100% Color Volume, enabling users to witness billions of shades of color for the purest color accuracy to-date.

Support for the HDR10+ format is also included from day one, while other Samsung 4K TVs are currently receiving HDR10+ support through firmware updates.

HDR10+ advances the High Dynamic Range (HDR) and HDR10 TV formats. It adds dynamic metadata to each video frame which enables advanced chipsets to create true-to-life picture across a wider range of displays. It is essentially a competitor to Dolby Vision which also seeks to improve HDR.

  
  

Microsoft has revealed it will release an Xbox One X console and Xbox Elite Wireless Controller in white.

The Xbox One X console in white will be part of the Xbox One X Robot White Special Edition Fallout 76 Bundle. As suggested, the bundle comes with a white Xbox One X, a white Xbox Wireless Controller and full game download of Fallout 76.

The bundle will set interested consumers back $500, and will be available from November 14 from Microsoft stores and Gamestop stores around the world. You can pre-order the bundle now.

A new special edition Xbox Elite Wireless Controller will be sold separately and costs $150. It can be preordered before its October 16 release from Microsoft Store or Gamestop outlets. With it you can swap between a variety of metal thumbsticks and D-pads for personalized control that can improve accuracy and speed. Hair Trigger Locks are ideal for rapid fire gameplay environments.

Additionally, it's easy to attach and remove additional paddles on the back of the controller.

Also announced by Microsoft is the improved Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 + SuperAmp Pro Performance Gaming Audio System for Xbox One. The new headset will be released on September 16 in the United States and on October 8 in Europe.

A very rare prototype model of the first Apple iPhone is up for auction on eBay, quickly hitting bits in the five figures and drawing media interest.

While prototype Apple gear is seen now and then on auction websites, this model is definitely different. According to the listing and other materials, it is a 2006-era prototype model. It runs a very early version of Apple's iOS (or iPhone OS then) to test the prototype hardware.

In addition to the special software, each radio signal bands are etched into the device's rear housing. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and each of the original iPhone's four supported GSM bands are accounted for.

• Rare Apple engineer sticker which says Ver 1.1.1
• Running multiple testing software, including OS X and Earthbound (not the normal OS 1)
• Used by Apple for testing to make the original iPhone
• Circa 2006. Before the original iPhone release date (mid 2007)
• Different weight. Much heavier at 144.5 grams (normal iphone 2g is 135 gram)
• No FCC etchings at the back
• Bell icon for the mute button
• Complete different internals, including different battery, different wifi etc
• Excellent investment
• Early prototype
• Hand made in Cupertino, California. (not mass produced in China like normal iPhones)
• Secretly code named Project Purple (at this stage of development, the "iPhone" name was unknown)
• EXTREMLY RARE. Only a few are known to exist
• Highly sought after

Toyota is to make a $500 million investment in Uber as the pair seek to catch up to competition in the self-driving car space.

The Japanese firm said that the investment would involve the mass production of a fleet of autonomous vehicles. Uber would then deploy these self-driving vehicles as part of its ride hailing service. Toyota's Sienna Minivan model will inspire the autonomous vehicles' design.

Toyota's investment in Uber values the company at $72 billion.

"This agreement and investment marks an important milestone in our transformation to a mobility company as we help provide a path for safe and secure expansion of mobility services like ride-sharing," said Shigeki Tomoyama, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corporation.

Source: BBC News

Some of Samsung and Panasonic's 4K TVs will soon support the HDR10+ format through a firmware update.

Additionally, 20th Century Fox has committed to incorporating HDR10+ in its upcoming new release slate. The studio is currently exploring several titles for release in the marketplace and plans to announce availability in the coming weeks.

HDR10+ advances the High Dynamic Range (HDR) and HDR10 TV formats. It adds dynamic metadata to each video frame which enables advanced chipsets to create true-to-life picture across a wider range of displays. It is essentially a competitor to Dolby Vision which also seeks to improve HDR.

The issue with Dolby Vision is TV manufacturers filmmakers have to pay significant royalties in order to use the technology. With HDR10+, there is a nominal administrative fee and no royalties. Panasonic, Samsung, 20th Century Fox, Amazon and others are involved with the development of HDR10+.

"Panasonic is happy to announce that through the deployment of a firmware update, the majority of our 2018 4K models are now HDR10+ certified meaning that our viewers will be able to enjoy content even closer to the intentions of the filmmakers," said Toshiharu Tsutsui, Director of Panasonic's TV Business Division.

A US federal judge has extended the ban on the publication of designs for 3D printed gun parts.

US District Judge Robert Lasnik extended a ban on the publication of 3D printed gun part designs by Distributed Defense that was put in place in early August. The ban was set to expire today, but Judge Lasnik cited "irreparable harm" in his decision to extend the ban.

In July, the US Justice Department ruled that blueprints for 3D printed gun parts could be published by Distributed Defense, citing no threat to national security since the types of guns featured in the design could be purchased in stores.

There are also first and second amendment concerns related to the distribution of the files.

Defense Distributed had initially said it would put the designs online for download on August 1, but released them several days earlier. They were downloaded thousands of times before they were removed due to the order of the judge, and are still available to download in other places.

If you need a dose of nostalgia from the history of gaming today you could do no better than watching the new reveal trailer for Streets of Rage 4.

Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games and Dotemu have teamed up to bring a sequel to the legendary Streets of Rage series that ate way too many hours of your childhood. Streets of Rage 4 builds upon the classic trilogy's gameplay with new mechanics, a fresh story and a gauntlet of dangerous stages with a serious crime problem.

It features hand-drawn visuals following on from Lizardcube's Wonder Boy update released in 2017.

There are precious few details available other than you can play two-player co-op as either Axel Stone or Blaze Fielding. Old head Streets of Rage players will be begging for Yuzo Koshiro undoubtedly. We have no idea what consoles it will appear on but Switch is extremely likely given the success of Wonder Boy.

Give it a look:

According to some reports, more people watched pirated streams of KSI vs. Logan Paul online that paid to watch the official stream.

The official pay-to-view stream on YouTube peaked at about 800,000 live viewers during the fight. On top of that, 15,000 people paid to go watch the fight at the Manchester Arena at the weekend. However, pirate streams of the fight reportedly clocked up over one million viewers on Twitch alone.

Twitch responded to criticisms of its handling of pirate streams by stating that it had been responsible to complaints made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Some users reported problems with the official YouTube stream, which cost $10 to view. On Twitch, many pirate streams were hidden under fake titles such as "Free Fortnite Skins" in an attempt to avoid detection and being shut down.

Twitter's Periscope also reportedly had illegal livestreams of the match being broadcast on the platform, though reportedly not as many as Twitch.

The anticipated bout between the two YouTube personalities ended in a draw and will go to a rematch in the United States at a later date.

Microsoft has announced Xbox All Access, a two-year financing deal that gets customers an Xbox One console, access to Xbox Game Pass and an Xbox Live Gold subscription.

Rumors of such a financing deal had been doing the rounds and have now manifested in a 24 month contract offer. Starting at $21.99 per month, a customer will receive an Xbox One S console, access to Xbox Game Pass which provides over 100 game titles and an Xbox Live Gold subscription.

To kick to a more powerful Xbox One X console, the monthly fee rises to at least $34.99 for the 24 month period. At the end of the 24 months, the console will belong to the customer. Prices of course vary depending on bundles.

For the time being the offer is limited to the United States and only from Microsoft's stores. It is also being presented as a time-limited offer by Microsoft. In order to avail of the offer you need to apply for, and be granted, a Dell Preferred Account.

More information: Microsoft

Nintendo is targeting websites that distribute ROM copies of its classic video games from legacy platforms with lawsuits.

The Japanese gamemaker filed legal action recently in Arizona, targeting LoveRetro and LoveRoms, which offered ROMs of classic games from Sega, Sony, and Atari. It is seeking $150,000 for each Nintendo game offered, and up to $2 million for each trademark infringement.

Responding to the legal action elsewhere, EmuParadise voluntarily removed ROMs from its website. It said that it will continue to operate but will take the website in a different direction.

"We run EmuParadise for the love of retro games and for you to be able to revisit those good times. Unfortunately, it's not possible right now to do so in a way that makes everyone happy and keeps us out of trouble," wrote MasJ, founder of EmuParadise.

Nintendo will be launching a subscription service for its Switch console later this year, and will be offering access to some retro titles.

Tesla and founder Elon Musk are the targets of lawsuits from short sellers over comments made by Musk on Twitter.

Tweets made by Elon Musk on August 7 stunned the market as he openly stated his desire to take Tesla private at $420 per share. The proposed $72 billion transaction, for which Musk claimed he had 'secured' funding, pushed Tesla shares up initially by around 13 percent. While much of the gain was lost afterwards, short sellers were hit and are now targeting the firm and its CEO in two lawsuits.

In one lawsuit, Kalman Isaacs claimed that Musk's tweets were false and misleading, and amounted to a nuclear attack designed to completely decimate short sellers. Among with another lawsuit from William Chamberlain, Isaacs alleges that Musk's conduct artificially inflated Tesla's stock price and violated federal securities laws.

Both lawsuits were filed in San Francisco, three days after Musk's original tweets. Isaacs alleges that Musk's conduct cost short sellers hundreds of millions of dollars from having to cover their short positions.

Rockstar Games is teasing us again ahead of the release of the eagerly-anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2, dropping an official gameplay trailer that shows off the gorgeous world within.

We had already been treated to some shorts of the gorgeous landscapes and environments that will be present in Red Dead Redemption 2, and now Rockstar has given us a taste of the gameplay we can expect. It shows us life in the gritty but stunning American Old West in 1899, during the decline of the age of gunslingers and outlaws.

From outlaw Arthur Morgan's point of view, the player will roam this open world environment with seemingly endless possibilities for interaction and activity. Retained, though improved, from the 2010 original is the Honor system which will allow you to determine Auther's moral compass as you interact with NPCs and come across unseemly situations. You will have a choice of how to react to events you witness and this will determine much about your character.

Combat has been greatly improved since the original game to be more immersive and realistic. Firearm usage is made to feel more accurate right down to the recoil and kickback. The deadeye targeting system which allows the protagonist to aim at multiple individuals in a slow-motion sequence has been improved.

Samsung has revealed the new Galaxy Watch with LTE connectivity, long-lasting battery life and a bunch of Health and Productivity focused elements.

The new Galaxy Watch is LTE connected, supported across 30+ carriers and 15+ countries, meaning it can be untethered from a smartphone and deliver messaging, mapping, music and calls. Two separate sizes are available; 42mm and 46mm. The former is available in Midnight Black or Rose Gold, while the latter is available only in Silver.

Another key difference between the options is the battery. The smaller 42mm option packs a 270mAh battery delivering approximately 45 hours on a full charge with typical use or up to 120 hours with low usage. Meanwhile, the 46mm option has a larger 472mAh battery for up to 80 hours per charge with typical usage, or as much as 168 hours with low usage.

Samsung's Galaxy Watch sports a 1.3-inch, Circular Super AMOLED (360 x 360), Full Color Always On Display, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. There will be over 60,000 faces available for the Galaxy Watch. A daily briefing feature will sync your Calendar and show your appointments on the home screen.

There is a strong focus on Health tracking with the Galaxy Watch too. A new stress management tracker, which automatically detects high levels of stress and offers breathing exercises to help keep users centered and focused. Additionally, a new advanced sleep tracker monitors all levels of sleep, including REM cycles, to help users adjust sleeping habits.

Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 beefs up the specs, improves camera performance and adds a smarter, connected S Pen.

The new Galaxy Note 9 delivers what Samsung says is "all-day performance" starting with the 4,000mAh battery (fast wireless charging supported), the largest ever on a flagship Galaxy phone. Under the hood is a 10nm processor (Snapdragon 845 or a Samsung Exynos, depending on location) and a Water Carbon Cooling system and on-device AI-based performance adjusting algorithm to deliver powerful yet stable performance.

It comes with two internal storage options; 128GB or 512GB. Taking into account the microSD slot, the Note 9 can offer up to a terabyte of storage if you include a 512GB card. The Note 9 sports a 6.4-inch end-to-end screen (2960x1440). When it comes to memory, the 128GB option comes with 6GB of RAM, while the 512GB kicks it up to 8GB.

Incorporated from the Galaxy S9 family are new stereo speakers a variable aperture f/1.5-2.4 12-megapixel primary camera, with an additional 12Mpxl camera on the back. New software AI features improve the quality of your photos too. The software can identify elements of a photo, such as scene and subject, to automatically classify it into one of 20 categories and instantly optimize it based on the category. It can also prompt the user to retake a photo if it detects blurry elements, or if a subject blinked, for example.

In a seemingly coordinated manner, multiple platforms have removed content from Alex Jones' Infowars outlet, citing violations of terms of service.

Podcasts and channels from the Infowars outlet disappeared from services run by Apple and Spotify, whilst Alex Jones' personal YouTube account was closed down for "violating community guidelines". Jones' personal Facebook page was also taken down.

According to Facebook, the page was removed for, "glorifying violence, which violates our graphic violence policy, and using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies."

Spotify explained the removal of podcasts from the Infowars outlet as punishment for, "repeated violations of Spotify's prohibited content policies."

Responding to the coordinated removal of Jones' and Infowars' content, Paul Joseph Watson claimed that the timing of the removal was intended to affect the upcoming midterm elections in the United States.

Facebook bans Infowars. Permanently.

Infowars was widely credited with playing a key role in getting Trump elected.

This is a co-ordinated move ahead of the mid-terms to help Democrats.

This is political censorship.

This is culture war.https://t.co/HkGOdjxhhk

-- Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) August 6, 2018

SpaceX has successfully reused a previously landed Falcon 9 booster based on its final 'Block 5' design.

This is not the first time that SpaceX successfully relaunched a previously flown and landed (or as SpaceX describes them: flight proven) booster, but it is the first time that it landed a Block 5 booster. SpaceX is hoping to reuse Block 5 boosters up to 100 times, and to fly no less than 10 times without the need for maintenance.

Last night, SpaceX launched a commercial satellite to geostationary orbit for Telecom Indonesia. The booster / first stage of the rocket was previously used back in May when SpaceX launched the Bangabandhu Satellite-1 into orbit.

The promise of reflying boosters is to cut launch costs significantly, though initially SpaceX may opt to keep launch costs higher to recoup the significant financial investment into the development of reusable rockets, the development of the Falcon Heavy and the ongoing development of the BFR.

NASA has also announced the first astronauts that will fly to space on a human-rated Dragon capsule from SpaceX. The Crew Dragon will have to pass a couple of test flights before the company will be able to fly humans.

A recent update to the mega-popular CCleaner tool prompted backlash from long-term users as privacy options disappeared and other problems arose.

Recently acquired by Avast, CCleaner was updated to v5.45.6611 with some noticeable changes. In the free version of the app, Privacy settings were removed from the options meaning users could no longer opt-out of sending usage information. Another noted issue is that it seems impossible to close the application through normal means.

When you click the X in the top right hand corner of the app, CCleaner minimizes to the system tray on the taskbar, which is not unusual behavior. What is unusual is that right-clicking on the CCleaner icon in the system tray no longer provided the option to exit CCleaner.

This could be because of a shift in the way the developers want CCleaner to be used. In the new version, it seems much more difficult to disable Active Monitoring. Many CCleaner users may only use it to clear out browser history and temporary files every now and then. Active Monitoring will keep an eye on the accumulation of junk and other data and prompt users to run the cleaner routinely.

In order to disable it in the latest version, users apparently need to toggle off "Enable system monitoring," and then turn off Active Monitoring later. The problem users are having is that it toggles itself back on after restarting the app or rebooting.

According to a report by The Intercept, Google has been working on a version of its search engine that would comply with Chinese censorship laws.

It cited internal Google documents and inside sources in reporting on Dragonfly, a project that would omit results from websites including terms like "human rights" and "religion." The Reuters News Agency and Agence France-Presse both confirmed the initial report from their own separate sources.

A Google spokesperson provided a brief statement on the report without confirmation of denial.

"We provide a number of mobile apps in China, such as Google Translate and Files Go, help Chinese developers, and have made significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com," the statement said. "But we don't comment on speculation about future plans."

The report cites Android apps called Maotai and Longfei that have been developed and could be launched within months if approved by the Chinese government.

Securities Daily, with is a state-owned outlet, dismissed the report citing "relevant departments" in reporting that Google is not preparing a return to the Chinese market.

Plex has taken Podcasts out of beta with the addition of several new requested features to improve the podcast experience.

You can now easily download your favorite podcasts so you will be able to listen to them when you don't have connectivity, such as during a long commute. You can download single episodes with a single tap or set up a smart rule to make sure you have enough episodes of podcasts that you'll need. You can with a couple of taps download the latest 5 episodes, or you could just opt to download all.

If you are migrating to Plex for your podcast needs, you can also now import your podcast subscriptions using an OPML import feature. The OPML format is supported by most podcast apps (e.g. Apple Podcasts), so this makes it much easier to migrate all of your subscriptions at once with a few steps on iOS, Android or on the web.

Additionally, Plex lets you listen to your podcasts on Sonos speakers, through Android Auto or on Chromecast-connected devices.

More info: www.plex.tv

A Seattle judge has halted the planned release of designs for 3D printed guns that were due to go on sale to consumers on Wednesday.

Defense Distributed was to start selling 3D gun designs to customers based on a prior settlement reached with the federal government. However, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik has granted a temporary restraining order at he request of eight state attorneys general and D.C.

President Donald Trump had addressed the issue in a tweet on Tuesday, writing: "I am looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public. Already spoke to NRA, doesn't seem to make much sense!"

At the center of the controversy is uncertainty over the implications of the First and Second Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said that the President "will continue to look at all options available to us to do what is necessary to protect Americans while also supporting the First and Second amendments."

In response to statements made by Democrats about the settlement between the federal government and Defense Distributed, Gidley noted that it is illegal to own or to produce a wholly plastic gun under the law, and that the President supports the law as it stands.