A U. S. appeals court will not reconsider its groundbreaking decision denying Department of Justice efforts to force Microsoft to turn over customer emails stored outside the country.
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a 4-4 decision Tuesday, declined to rehear its July decision that denied the DOJ access to the email of a drug trafficking suspect stored on a Microsoft server in Ireland. Microsoft has been fighting DOJ requests for the email since 2013.
The DOJ has argued that tech companies can avoid valid warrants by storing customer data outside the U. S.
Judges “readily acknowledge the gravity of this concern,” but the 31-year-old U. S. Stored Communications Act (SCA) doesn’t allow worldwide search under a U. S. warrant, wrote Judge Susan Carney.
“We recognize at the same time that in many ways the SCA has been left behind by technology,” Carney wrote in Tuesday’s decision. “It is overdue for a congressional revision that would continue to protect privacy but would more effectively balance concerns of international comity with law enforcement needs and service provider obligations in the global context in which this case arose. “
Back in December 2013, Magistrate Judge James Francis in the Southern District of New York authorized a search warrant for all emails and other information belonging to the Microsoft user under investigation. Microsoft filed to quash the warrant for customer data held in Dublin. It argued that U. S. courts are not authorized to issue extraterritorial warrants.
Neither Microsoft nor the DOJ was immediately available for comment.

© Source: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3161165/security/court-denies-us-government-appeal-in-microsoft-overseas-email-case.html
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Peter Dinklage, best known for “Game of Thrones,” steals a memory-recording machine in “Rememory,” premiering this week at Sundance.
Do Peter Dinklage a favor: Please don’t film him eating out with your iPhone .
For his latest film, Dinklage switched from the pseudo-medieval setting of ” Game of Thrones ” to a not-so-distant future with groundbreaking technology. “Rememory,” premiering this week at the Sundance Film Festival, imagines current-day era with a machine that can record and replay anyone’s unfiltered memories.
It’s a cautionary take on how technology can … well, ruin our lives. Even with such a bleak take on tech, playing the film’s main character didn’t sway Dinklage’s personal affinity with technology — mostly because he’s already pretty skeeved out by it to begin with.
“I just got an iPhone about six months ago, friends made fun of me,” he said in an interview. “I’m afraid of it. ”
Part of his aversion is generational. At 47, the actor said he’s lived most of his life without digital appendages and is at “that strange age of being nostalgic” for a time when constant connection didn’t exist.
Part of his distance from tech stems from worries about how it can degrade our ability to relate.
Fans approach him to ask to take a picture, he said, but end the interaction there. “We’re not even allowing a memory to sink in,” he said. “They’ll have proof of meeting me, but… there wasn’t anything to remember, because all you did was just take a picture. ”
Tech can also make fame a bit like a science experiment, where Dinklage is the lab rat.
“Because I’m in the public eye, people use it on me all the time, I feel paranoid about it,” he said. “People are videotaping me in restaurants, it’s really weird. ”
But he’s not a total Luddite.
“At the end of the day, just the ability to watch a movie that I want on a teeny screen in my hotel, that’s joyous to me,” he said.

© Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/peter-dinklage-sundance-first-iphone-six-months/
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OK, let’s get this out of the way. The name for latest Kingdom Hearts remaster package is ridiculous.
Released Tuesday for the PS4, it’s called Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue. It includes the freaky-named Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage and a HD version of 3DS game Dream Drop Distance. Plus, a movie called “Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover. ” What are those names even?
But hidden in that chaos is a reason for Kingdom Hearts fans to be excited. Really, truly excited.
0.2: Birth By Sleep is the first Kingdom Hearts game specifically developed for a home console since 2006. In essence, it’s a two-and-a-half hour preview of the elusive Kingdom Hearts III.
And it’s so, so good.
Kingdom Hearts III was officially announced in 2013. 0.2 Birth By Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage is our best reminder that the game actually exists.
So when you dive into 0.2 and see Kingdom Hearts rendered with current-gen gaming power, when you see the Kingdom Hearts we’ve been dreaming of since the PS3 was announced, you’ll get your first wave of excitement for the franchise’s future.
The original Kingdom Hearts came out back in 2002, and in that time the franchise’s story has become impossible to encapsulate with any precision in one sentence. It follows Sora, Riku and Kairi as they battle the dark Master Xehanort, who shows up in a few different forms. Thankfully, Disney’s Donald, Goofy and Mickey Mouse have your back. Later, three new friends, Terra, Aqua and Ven were introduced in a prequel , and they’re really important too.
0.2, a sequel to that prequel, follows Keyblade master Aqua as she wanders through the world of darkness. I’ve felt the plot of the franchise, despite being complex, was followable up until Dream Drop Distance, was a bit of a mess. I won’t reveal any details, but 0.2 succeeds at simplifying everything and giving Kingdom Hearts III a clear direction.
0.2 has the best combat in the franchise. It’s the traditional real-time Kingdom Hearts combat you know, but improved by a nice variety of attack types and a series-first system where you’re rewarded with clothing for completing combat goals (“Defeat 50 enemies with Lightning magic,” for instance). This gives you some direction during combat, and the new element of character customisation is a fresh touch.
Despite the strong praise I have for the game, the question of “Should I buy 2.8? ” is a little complicated. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, for my money, is the weakest “main” game in the franchise. “χ Back Cover,” the movie that comes with the package, isn’t exactly captivating. The star of 2.8 is undoubtedly 0.2, which clocks in at just over two hours.
If you’ve played every Kingdom Hearts game, it’ll be worth the $60, AU$80 or £40 to experience 0.2. For more casual Keyblade wielders, 0.2 isn’t a must-play — but just know, when the time comes, Kingdom Hearts III is worth getting excited over.

© Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/kingdom-hearts-2-8-hd-0-2-birth-by-sleep-unchained-iii/
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Johnny Manziel, presidential Twitter adviser.
To whom should 0ur president turn for advice?
So many want to give it. So few, though can offer enough insight without the president suspecting they have a nefarious agenda.
But what if someone who’s been famous and now hit harder times freely offers wisdom and expects nothing in return?
Former college great and troubled NFL not-so-great Johnny Manziel took to Twitter on Monday to help ease Donald Trump’s worries.
He wrote : “Yo @POTUS even I know to stay away from the notifications section on twitter. Shit will drive you crazy, lead the country and let them hate. ” Almost immediately, the tweet enjoyed more than 5,000 retweets and 10,000 likes.
The use of @POTUS, rather than @RealDonaldTrump shows that this was clearly not a personal tip but an official communication from a famous quarterback to the very famous president of the United States.
In his tweet, Manziel, currently a free agent, has a point. If you’re president, why trouble yourself with the heckling from the cheap seats? Why respond to those who, well, aren’t president, aren’t famous and never will be? Why bother rapping at the riff-raff?
Indeed, former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer was moved to tweet : “When you’re right, you’re right. Johnny Manziel is right. (I can’t believe i said that.)”
Trump does occasionally seem to react to perceived slights of one kind or another. Which is sad, as he says he doesn’t like tweeting at all.
Oddly, having freely offered the advice, Manziel deleted not only this tweet, but his whole Twitter account.
Neither Manziel’s representatives nor the presidential transition team immediately responded to a request for comment.
In the past, Manziel was something of an aficionado of Twitter-handling. He once tweeted out a phone number that most people thought was his. What emerged was that Manziel was apparently pranking a friend who was annoying him.
Now all that remains is speculation. Has Manziel had second thoughts about being a presidential adviser? Or was his account, um, hacked?
A helpful tweet?

© Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/johnny-manziel-offers-trump-wise-advice-about-twitter-nfl/
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“Just look at that trapeze artist, Bill. ”
Can you ever have access to too much data? Will you store up so much that you run the risk of not using it all between now and the end of time? (Which, I’m told, is around 2021.)
Verizon would like you to believe that you really don’t need so much data at all.
A new ad confidently declares: “When you’re on your phone 24/7, you probably think you need an unlimited data plan. ”
Well, yes. I probably do. How else can I watch all those fine NFL games and YouTube videos featuring trapeze artists eating celery while dangling over the Kariba Dam?
“Actually,” counters the ad, “the majority of people pay for data they never use. ” Two out of three use less than 5GB, claims Verizon.
Now why could this be? Is it because carriers are so astonishingly generous that their customers simply have no idea what to do with all that lovely data they’ve been given?
Or could it be that too many people are so worried about their data plans running out that they behave in an unnaturally conservative manner?
As far as Verizon’s concerned, its new 5GB for $55 plan is exactly what you need. Presumably, the “you” referred to here is one of the 66 percent, rather than the other greedy, ungrateful 33-percenters.
Still, the ad brought an instant, prolonged reaction on Twitter from T-Mobile CEO John Legere.
“I can’t stop laughing!! I knew @Verizon was going through a mid-life crisis but I didn’t know it was this bad! ” he tweeted .
A midlife crisis? Is that when older men grow their hair long, dress in brighter colors and swear a lot?
Legere couldn’t restrain his analogy. “#ProTip @verizon, Stop trying to convince people that you’re cool! You’re so deep in mid-life crisis, your Miata needs an oil change! ” he tweeted.
Yes, he went for the Miata joke. That really is below the fan belt.
Legere, whose company bathes in its unlimited data plans , mocked the purchases of AOL and Yahoo as typical midlife dance moves.
Then, about the ad he offered : “And can we talk about that ad?! Don’t try to convince people they want something lesser, just because your network can’t handle it! ”
Then he asked those reading to fill out a Verizon Midlife Crisis Intervention Checklist.
Verizon declined to comment about its alleged Miata-driving.
Of course some might wonder why, if most people don’t use even 5GB, Verizon doesn’t just carry on offering unlimited plans?
Or is that a little too logical?

© Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/verizon-says-you-dont-need-an-unlimited-data-plan-t-mobile-laughs/
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FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai has been tapped to be the commission’s next chairman.
Net neutrality may be enjoying its final days after President Donald Trump ‘s latest appointment.
The president on Monday named FCC commissioner Ajit Pai to head the agency, which in 2015 adopted rules to preserve net neutrality. Pai, who replaces outgoing Chairman Tom Wheeler, a staunch defender of net neutrality , has already expressed a desire to dismantle those rules.
“During the Trump Administration, we will shift from playing defense at the FCC to going on offense,” he said during a public appearance at a luncheon last month ( PDF ). “We need to fire up the weed whacker and remove those rules that are holding back investment, innovation, and job creation. ”
Net neutrality is the principle that all traffic on the internet should be treated equally, regardless of whether you’re checking Facebook, posting pictures to Instagram or streaming movies from Netflix or Amazon. Even though most people agree with the basic premise of net neutrality, the FCC’s rules have become a lightning rod for controversy because they placed broadband providers under the same strict regulations that govern telephone networks.
Pai, a telecom law expert who was appointed by President Barack Obama and has served the FCC for more than three years, doesn’t need Senate confirmation as chairman, but his current term expires at the end of the year, at which time he will need to be reconfirmed to continue serving on the commission.

© Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/donald-trump-net-neutrality-foe-ajit-pai-head-fcc/
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D. J. Koh, head of Samsung’s mobile business, explains Sunday during a press conference in Korea what caused the Note 7 to overheat.
For Samsung, it’s not all about the Galaxy Note 7 — at least not when it comes to financial results.
Even as it faces a hit of more than $5 billion (spread across several quarters) from the death of its flawed phone , Samsung managed to post its best operating profit in three years. What it’s benefiting from is strong demand for components that go inside mobile phones, TVs and other devices.
Still, Samsung warned its overall earnings should slide in the first quarter as its mobile business faces higher marketing costs and as it sells fewer TVs. Its components businesses should continue to grow, though.
Samsung may be best known as the world’s biggest maker of phones and TVs, but it’s also a major player in the semiconductor industry. It’s the world’s largest vendor of memory chips and the second biggest processor maker overall after Intel. Along with designing processors for some of its own devices, Samsung manufactures processors created by other companies, like wireless chip giant Qualcomm.
“For 2016, Samsung achieved solid results despite the Note 7 discontinuation in the second half as a result of continuous efforts during past two to three years to strengthen its component business competitiveness by focusing on value-added products” and advancing its DRAM and V-NAND memory businesses, as well as its OLED display operations, the company said.
The operating income for Samsung’s semiconductor business soared 77 percent in the fourth quarter. Samsung said that in the mid- to long-term it expects the shift in the tech industry to focus on the internet of things, artificial intelligence and automotive to boost its components business.
The company on Monday reported its overall fourth-quarter profit jumped 50 percent to 9.22 trillion won ($7.9 billion) as customers scooped up its memory chips and display panels. Sales were essentially flat at 53.3 trillion won ($45.8 billion).
The profit in Samsung’s mobile business also increased as customers sought out its nearly year-old Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, as well as its mid- to low-end phones.
The Galaxy Note 7 , one of Samsung’s most high-profile phones, blew up in its face last fall, suffering multiple recalls and bans by airlines before flickering out with a final ” death update ” that essentially bricks the remaining units in the wild. Thousands of diehard Note 7 fans continue to hold onto their devices, but the vast majority — 96 percent globally — have been exchanged.
The company on Sunday finally revealed what caused the Note 7 to overheat. The culprit proved to be two separate flaws with two separate batteries. One was a design flaw that led to the first recall. The second was a manufacturing error introduced after Samsung’s second supplier ramped up production to meet demand as the sole Note 7 battery supplier.
Bridget Carey finds a sweet way to illustrate Samsung’s findings on why the Galaxy Note 7 overheated, and what the company is doing to prevent future battery failures.
Fourth-quarter operating profit in Samsung’s IT & mobile business rose 12 percent to 2.5 trillion won ($2.1 billion). Sales for the business slid 5.6 percent to 23.6 trillion won ($20.3 billion).
By comparison, Samsung reported its worst operating profit in two years in the third quarter, the period when it recalled and then killed off its Note 7. Samsung’s mobile division, the division responsible for the Note 7, reported an operating profit of 100 billion won ($87.8 million) in that quarter, a decline of about 96 percent and its lowest in nearly eight years.
For its mobile business in 2017, Samsung expects slow growth in smartphone demand but said it will “continue to innovate both in software and hardware across its entire line-up and prioritize consumer safety.
“Although the growth of the global smartphone market is expected to slow this year, new services such as artificial intelligence (AI) will be a differentiating factor,” the company said in a press release. “The mobile business will seek to strengthen its leadership in the premium market and boost competitiveness of mid-to-low end smartphones by adding innovative features available in high-end models. ”
That includes adding water resistance and fingerprint recognition to its cheaper phones. It also plans to expand Samsung Pay, Samsung Cloud and bring AI-based services to its premium smartphones.
Overall, Samsung’s net income more than doubled to 7.09 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in the fourth quarter.

© Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/samsungs-chips-make-up-for-galaxy-note-7-financial-woes-q4-2016/
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