April 21, 2017 - The WAN Show Document

[LinusTech]

 

https://soundcloud.com/thewanshow/is-google-really-building-an-ad-blocker-wan-show-april-21-2017

 

Main News Topics

Twitch opens up its money-making tools to non-Partnered channels

Source 1: https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/21/twitch-opens-up-its-money-making-tools-to-tens-of-thousands-of-non-partnered-channels/

Source 2: http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/21/15385190/twitch-affiliate-program-ad-revenue-game-streaming-youtube

 

• today Twitch announced another way for its creator community to generate revenue, with the launch of an Affiliate program

• ‘Affiliates’ are lower tier of creator accounts than Twitch ‘Partners’

• the program will allow non-partnered video creators to gain access to a variety of tools that will allow them to make money from their channels, even if they’re not large enough to gain “Partner” status.

• The first of these tools is ‘Cheering with Bits’: a form of virtual tipping which involves purchasing “Bits” and then using them in chat messages as a way to support your favorite streamer. As you cheer, you’ll also earn Chat Badges for the channel to have that support recognized more broadly.

• Partners, meanwhile, will have specific tools for managing their larger communities that won’t be available to Affiliates

• Partners will also receive a new Verified Chat Badge that will further designate their Partner status on the platform.

• creators will be invited to the Affiliate program based on a number of criteria, including time spent streaming, viewership numbers, and follower count.

• The company will also eventually roll out access to other features, like Subscriptions, Game Commerce, and Advertising to Affiliates.

Rumour: Google planning native ad-blocker in Chrome

Source 1: posted by DeadEyePsycho https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/768938-report-google-allegedly-planning-native-ad-blocker-in-chrome/

Source 2: http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/report-google-chrome-could-soon-get-native-ad-blocker

 

• Google is planning to introduce an ad-blocking feature in the mobile and desktop versions of its Chrome browser, which could be switched on by default.

• It would filter out certain online ad types deemed to provide bad experiences for users as they move around the web.

• Unacceptable ad types would be those recently defined by the Coalition for Better Ads, ad formats such as pop-ups, auto-playing video ads with sound and “prestitial” ads with countdown timers are all deemed to be “beneath a threshold of consumer acceptability.”

• Google may choose to block all advertising that appears on sites with offending ads, instead of the individual offending ads themselves.

• 26% of U.S. users now employ ad blocking tools on their desktop devices, according to some estimates.

• By switching on its own ad-filter, Google is hoping to quell further growth of blocking tools offered by third-party companies

 

Flash your Radeon RX 470 to a 570

Source 1: posted by Cela1 https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/768692-rx-480-cards-can-be-flashed-to-rx-580/

Source 2: http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/wanna-flash-your-rx-470-towards-a-570-it%E2%80%99s-possible.html

 

• Using only ATIFlash and firmware, 400 series cards are getting 500 series performance

• This can be achieved nearly regardless of CPU

• The New GPUs very similar to the old ones, just binned for higher clocks.

• Most board partners use the very same PCB design for the 500 series that they used for the 400 series.

• The Device ID on the new cards remains the same as the 400 series, just the Subsystem Id was changed. That opens up the possibility to flash the graphics card.

 

Valve asks for phone numbers to confirm Dota 2 player identities

Source 1: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/04/valve-asks-for-phone-numbers-to-confirm-dota-2-player-identities/

Source 2: http://za.ign.com/dota-2/106170/news/valve-adds-phone-number-requirement-for-dota-2-ranked-matchm

 

• Valve is taking serious action to cut down on the prevalence of smurfing

• Starting next month, Dota 2 players will need to have a unique, valid phone number associated with their account to take part in the game's ranked matchmaking pool.

• Online services that provide phone numbers are not allowed

• Valve : "Players using multiple accounts create a negative matchmaking experience at all skill brackets, so our goal is to add just enough friction to this process that the number of players doing this will be noticeably reduced. Having more players using their primary accounts will have a positive effect on both Ranked and Unranked Matchmaking."

• Phone numbers can't be passed between accounts without a three-month waiting period.

• Players who are frequently reported or detected griefing or abandoning matches early will now be banned from ranked matchmaking entirely for anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

• Accounts that use bots will be permanently banned, a punishment that should become more meaningful with the new phone number requirement.

• Unranked play will be unaffected by the change

 

Rapid Fire

Rumour: Nintendo to launch SNES mini this year

Source 1: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-04-19-sources-nintendo-to-launch-snes-mini-this-year

Source 2: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/20/nintendo-snes-mini-release.html

 

• Nintendo will follow up the NES microconsole with a mini version of the Super NES

• currently scheduled to launch in time for Christmas this year

• Nintendo's plans for SNES mini are also a major reason why last year's NES mini was discontinued

• From Nintendo's perspective, the NES microconsole was planned as a cool novelty item perfect for Christmas 2016,

• The new SNES will likely also have a plug-and-play setup, and an array of games which come preinstalled and ready to play.

 

Cosplay goes bad for gamer in Grande Prairie Alberta

Source 1: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/grande-prairie-cosplay-1.4070387

Source 2: http://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-new-vegas-cosplayer-gets-mistaken-for-terrorist-in-canadian-city/

 

• Police received calls from citizens concerned that a man walking down the street was wearing what looked like a bomb on his back.

• He was dressed as a character from Fallout, wearing a gas mask, helmet, armour, and bullet belt, and carrying a flag that said "New California Republic" — one of the factions from the game.

• At least eight officers responded with their long guns drawn. Photos show them crouched behind vehicles and bushes.

• He was observed going into a Lynn's Alterations because he wanted some alterations to the costume

• Through conversation with the man, police were able to determine that he was wearing a costume and there was no threat to the public

• What had looked like a bomb turned out to be several Pringles potato chips cans that were painted silver.

• The man was taken into custody but later released without any charges.

 

Rumour: Apple to slash royalty payments to GPU designer Imagination by two-thirds

Source 1: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2017/04/19/apple-cut-royalty-payments-imagination/

 

• Imagination is currently in talks with Apple on a new shorter-term licensing deal.

• A new report alleges that Apple is about to slash the royalty rate it currently pays to Imagination of around $0.30 per iPhone unit to around $0.10

• Imagination depends on Apple for more than half of their revenues

  • They made ~$150 million in the year leading up to April 2016.

  • Licensing cost related to Imagination’s PowerVR GPU blueprints used in Apple’s A-series chips is less than $100 million annually

• without any Apple royalty contributions, Imagination could become a loss-making company by fiscal 2019.

• Imagine may even have to axe jobs and consider other potential cost-cutting moves in order to weather the storm ahead.

 

Google Home can now tell users apart just by their voice

Source 1: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/04/google-home-gets-support-for-multiple-users/

Source 2:

 

• Google has launched a major update for Google Home: multi-user support.

• Up to six people will be able to connect their account to Google's voice appliance, which will then be able to identify each person just by listening to them speak.

• if you ask "What's my day like?" Google Home will respond with "Good Morning Linus," and then rattle off the weather and calendar appointments.

• The voice profiles and saved only on your device

• This is not an identifying security feature, but should prevent Burger King style hijacks.

 

Man claims his Bose headphones intercept what he’s listening to

Source 1: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/04/man-claims-his-bose-headphones-capture-what-hes-listening-to/

Source 2: http://mashable.com/2017/04/20/bose-headphones-wiretapping-lawsuit/#AHdinoFNqiqE

 

• An Illinois man has accused Bose of illegally wiretapping him via his Bose headphones which use an app called Bose Connect.

• The civil complaint alleges that Bose collects "the names of any music and audio tracks" played through the headphones, along with the customer's personally identifiable serial number. It also says the information gets sent to third parties, including "data miner Segment.io."

• Bose lawyers likely will argue that while it may be sending out copies of the metadata (artist, song title, etc.), its actions do not constitute "contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication" as defined under the relevant wiretap law. Therefore, it could argue, the company isn’t liable.

• The counterpoint is that the Bose products interact with consumer smartphones, which transmit "operational instructions regarding skipping and rewinding audio tracks” which would be content.

 

Microsoft is working on its own Chromebook

Source 1: https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/21/of-course-microsoft-is-working-on-its-own-version-of-the-chromebook/

Source 2: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3191195/computers/leaked-microsoft-document-confirms-windows-10-cloud-and-a-chromebook-competitor.html

 

• An internal document highlighting the minimum hardware specs required by Windows 10 Cloud, has been leaked.

• Chromebooks have utterly dominated the education space, through a combination of cheap hardware and control by the IT departments that make many of the purchasing decisions for schools and districts.

• The “Edu Cloud device” will have:

  • all-day battery life,

  • a quick boot and resume cycle,

  • and at least a quad-core Intel Celeron processor

• Windows 10 Cloud reportedly will restrict apps to the Windows Store, forbidding the use of non-Store apps like Google Chrome

• expected to be unveiled at next month’s big education event in New York

 

Ambient noise could be your next multi-factor authentication token

Source 1: https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/20/ambient-noise-could-be-your-next-multi-factor-authentication-token/

Source 2: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ambient-noise-could-be-used-authentication-key-digital-logins-1617949

 

• Futurae uses the environment itself as an authentication token in a piece of software it calls Sound-Proof.

• When a service wants to do an authentication check,

  • it queries the device attempting to log in and the user’s personal device, probably a smartphone.

  • Then it records 3 seconds of audio on each and compares them;

  • if the two are substantially similar, the conclusion is that the user is in the same place as the device logging in, and therefore it must be legitimate, and the login proceeds.

• The company claims it works if your phone is in your pocket, your bag or even an adjoining room.

• If it’s totally quiet, ultrasound can be used in place of background noise, with the login-requesting device firing off a series of chirps inaudible to the human ear

 

Apple hopes to start making everything from recycled materials but won't allow salvaging

Source 1: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks

Source 2: https://arstechnica.com/apple/2017/04/apple-aims-to-make-all-its-gadgets-from-recycled-material-but-doesnt-know-how-yet/

 

• Yesterday Apple released its Environmental Responsibility Report for the 2016 fiscal year, detailing the progress of the company's environmental initiatives and laying out some of its goals for the future

• The most interesting of Apple's goals is a stated desire to manufacture 100% of its devices out of recycled materials rather than mining new materials and throwing out used materials. Apple calls this a "closed loop supply chain."

• Apple has started some pilot projects:

  • using aluminum reclaimed from old iPhone 6 models to make Mac Minis for iPhone assembly lines,

  • using 100% recycled tin in logic boards for the iPhone 6S.

• But documents obtained using Freedom of Information requests show that Apple's current practices prevent recyclers from doing the most environmentally friendly thing they could do: salvage phones and computers from the scrap heap.

• Apple rejects current industry best practices by forcing the recyclers it works with to shred iPhones and MacBooks into commodity-sized fractions of metals, plastics, and glass so they cannot be repaired or reused

• "All the manufacturers talk about sustainability but when it comes down to it, their security and their brand is way more important than how the material is recycled"

 

Apple will return heat generated by data center to warm up homes

Source 1: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3191487/data-center/apple-will-return-heat-generated-by-data-center-to-warm-up-homes.html

Source 2: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2017/04/21/apple-data-center-denmark-environemnt/

 

• Apple is building a new data center in Denmark that will capture and return excess heat to the local district's heating system, warming up homes in the community.

• The data center will be.

• The data center in Denmark will be fully powered by renewable energy (part of that coming from recycling waste products from farms) and won't put stress on the local grid, Apple said.

• Apple's making a major push to be one of the greenest companies on the planet. It's new corporate headquarters in Cupertino, called Apple Park, will run on renewable energy. The company has cut its use of toxic materials and is also using more recycled materials in its products and packaging.

 

Galax 1080TI HOF is Coming

Source 1: Posted by Rune https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/769409-galax-1080ti-hof-is-coming-3-8-pins-and-163-power-design/

Source 2: http://wccftech.com/galax-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-hof-unveiled/

 

• Three 8-pins and 16+3 Power Design

• features a dual slot, triple fan design that comes with the extended PCB layout, allowing for premium components to be used on the PCB

• the card would ship with a factory overclock which would be faster than the reference design

  

Researchers build a microprocessor from flexible materials

Source 1: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3191320/components-processors/researchers-build-a-microprocessor-from-flexible-materials.html

Source 2:

 

• Researchers have built a primitive microprocessor out of a two-dimensional material similar to graphene

• The 115 transistor processor is "a first step towards the development of microprocessors based on 2D semiconductors,"

• The processor is built from transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) , a two-dimensional material made with crystals just one layer of atoms thick, allowing them to flex.

• unlike graphene which conducts electricity like a metal, TMD is a semiconductor

• Two-dimensional materials have the benefit of flexibility, meaning that they can be incorporated more easily into wearable devices or connected sensors, and potentially making them less breakable

 

Intel Discontinues the Intel Developer Forum; IDF17 Cancelled

Source 1: http://www.anandtech.com/show/11279/intel-discontinues-the-intel-developer-forum-idf17-cancelled

Source 2: https://www.cnet.com/news/intel-pulls-the-plug-on-its-annual-intel-developer-forum/

 

• Intel has decided to cancel their Intel Developer Forum trade show going forward, including this summer’s expected IDF17.

• Previously, Intel had stated that there would not be an IDF in China this year. However an IDF was still expected in the US, albeit with a “new format.

• WHY?: Intel has been changing rapidly over the last two-to-three years, and are moving from a PC-centric company to a data-centric company.

• With the rise of AI, FPGAs, Optane, IoT, wireless comms, automotive, and the other new areas that Intel is moving into, Intel no longer felt that IDF could effectively address Intel’s entire community

• Instead, Intel will communicate with media, developers and companies with targeted events. These will be like the recent AI Day or Manufacturing Day, or be connected to partner events, or involve separate geocentric events   

[Daniel644]

kinda late/early?

[NTDaws]

fallout, lol.

[cTurtle98]

for floatplane club are you going to allow tie ins to other contribution sites such as patreon? like lets say if you donate $30 a month to channelsuperfun on patreon you connect your floatplane account to your patreon and it activates your subscription as a perk of your patreon

[Daniel644]

FloatPlane question, once you get other Content Providers on Floatplane would people need to pay individual subscription fees for each content creator they subscribe to, like say we pay the 3 bucks to get your videos, would we have to pay another 3 bucks for like NCIX (as an example or whoever ends up being another video provider) or would it be like Youtube Red and the payment is for the platform access and you have access to all content regardless of creator?

[manikyath]

so.. that MS laptop with a "quadcore celeron", am i the only one sniffing J1900 here?

[AxelRantila]

About your discussion about Floatplane club. There is a couple of reasons why I did not sign up for Vessel

 

* No Android support was the big dealbreaker for me. Yes it came eventually but before that time, the platform where I consumed most of my YouTube videos at the time was Android. So no Android meant that it was DOA for me

* Vessel more or less made other means of support irrelevant in my opinion. For example, even if you were to support the CSF Patreon, buy merch, crowdfund the move to the office and whatnot, I did not see the point in doing any of that when I did not also subscribe to Vessel. This also ties into my previous point

* There was so many times during WAN shows when you teased things but then went like "Can't talk about it in more detail because it was on Vessel". It was so annoying

[TheEndIsNear]

I support the comment that Microsoft cloud service is the worst. The OneDrive is absolutely trash when compared to Google Drive.

 

So.... when are you guys going to do the outtro by reversing the intro??? i'm looking forward to that.

[Keg Ops]

So basically, Google could monopolize the ad industry if they wanted to by deeming all of their competitors ads "intrusive," making everyone turn to Google Adsense.

 

I know it's not too likely but it's an amusing thought.

[Razor512]

On the topic of anonymity when linking your phone number to the game studio, then we have to consider their practices of storing the data. For example, if they have poor security, and get hacked, then it could be an issue for someone who is a youtuber.

 

For example, a random person with little online presence will at most, probably get a few extra telemarketers. But if it happens to someone like Linus, then the phone will probably ring 24/7.

 

What is needed are better penalties for abuse. If someone gets caught cheating beyond a reasonable doubt, then ban them from every multiplayer game linked to the hardware IDs on their PC.

[xnamkcor]

Did he just say Chrome could block a whole website? So, they they determine it to have ads it doesn't like, it could prevent me from ever viewing it?

[brytrickgaming]

So is Float Plane Club going to be a mixture of Tumbler, Vessel, and You Tube in terms of page customization? 

[2FA]

Oh my gosh my topic is the title of the WAN show!

[2FA]

1 hour ago, xnamkcor said:

Did he just say Chrome could block a whole website? So, they they determine it to have ads it doesn't like, it could prevent me from ever viewing it?

It will supposedly block all of the ads on the website, not the website itself.

[ParadineZero]

Got a link for the mini laptop and $1000 build mentioned in the show???

[SansVarnic]

Same thing as being mention Huh? Lol. 

[UncleBill Drouin]

A fire-cooled PC?
I've thought for years that any passive air cooling scheme needs to add the equivalent of a chimney or cupola above to "draft" more cool air below. Adding fire (or any other heat) to the base of the chimney could absolutely work.
But who would use such a machine except as a wintertime space heater? Oh yeah, Linus would - because fire is cool