The Category5.TV Newsroom

Here are the stories we're following for the week of Wednesday March 27, 2019

A taskforce led by Spanish cops has dealt TV piracy a heavy blow after shuttering a network of illegal sports streaming sites operating across Spain, the UK, Denmark, Latvia, the Netherlands and Cyprus.

A taskforce led by Spanish cops has dealt TV piracy a heavy blow after shuttering a network of illegal sports streaming sites operating across Spain, the UK, Denmark, Latvia, the Netherlands and Cyprus.

Police arrested five suspects and identified 11 ramshackle data centres that were used to provide access to more than 800 channels – in the largest operation of its kind in Europe.

Illegal streaming is big business: a quick online search will find hundreds of websites that promise access to big sports events for cheaper than sports packages from authorised sources.

Policía Nacional said that the investigation into this particular piracy ring started in late 2015 after England's Premier League made a formal complaint against a streaming website based in Malaga.

The cops soon found out that the criminals were running a highly organised setup, offering services on subscription, with packages priced between €40 and €460 per month. Subscribers have been identified in more than 30 countries.

Spanish police said in the statement that the strategy used by the suspects was to use a multitude of servers and change them periodically, gradually creating new web pages to form a framework that, in principle, had no relationship. In this way they tried not to be detected by the National Police and continue profiting from the crime.

It is estimated that the criminal empire earned at least €8m. During the arrests, the police confiscated no fewer than 12 "high-end vehicles".

Source: www.theregister.co.uk

Sent to us by: Roy W. Nash

Stadia, a brand new game streaming service from Google, has been revealed — and it’s powered by open source technology.

Stadia, a brand new game streaming service from Google, has been revealed — and it’s powered by open source technology.

Long rumoured, but only formally announced at Games Developer Conference last week, the cloud gaming service promises to let gamers game from pretty much anywhere they want.

There’s no Stadia console; no box you buy and hook up to your TV. Instead, games run from a datacenter and are streamed to you via the internet. Games can be streamed at up to 4k at 60fps, depending on your connection, of course.

The dream of playing AAA games on Stadia on your crummy downstairs TV; your mid-range Android; or a laptop running Linux and Google Chrome, is now real.

Google designed a custom controller to accompany the service. The pad has built-in Wi-Fi and microphone, plus dedicated buttons for streaming games to YouTube and opening Google Assistant.

In all, it’s kind of like a more varied and more fancy and more accessible version of Playstation Now, which is itself based on the short-lived OnLive service.

Google has yet to reveal details on pricing and availability, but has said Stadia will launch this year in the US, Canada, UK and “most of” Europe.

Source: www.omgubuntu.co.uk

Sent to us by: Roy W. Nash

Apple has unveiled its new TV streaming platform, Apple TV+, at a star-studded event in California.

Apple has unveiled its new TV streaming platform, Apple TV+, at a star-studded event in California.

Jennifer Aniston, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey were among those who took to the stage at Apple's headquarters to reveal their involvement in TV projects commissioned by the tech giant.

The platform will include shows from existing services like Hulu and HBO.

Apple also announced that it would be launching a credit card, gaming portal and enhanced news app.

The event was held in California and Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook was clear from the start that the announcements would be about new services, not new devices.

It is a change of direction for the 42-year-old company.

There's been a lot of anticipation about Apple's predicted foray into the TV streaming market, dominated by the likes of Amazon and Netflix.

The Apple TV+ app was unveiled by Steven Spielberg and will launch in the autumn.

Spielberg will himself be creating some material for the new platform, he said.

Other stars who took to the stage included Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, Jason Momoa, Alfre Woodard, comedian Kumail Nanjiani and Big Bird from Sesame Street.

The app will be made available on rival devices for the first time, coming to Samsung, LG, Sony and Vizio smart TVs as well as Amazon's Firestick and Roku.

The subscription fee was not announced, and notably absent from the launch line-up was Netflix, which had already ruled itself out of being part of the bundle.

As far as the "Apple Card" credit card goes, it will launch in the US this summer.

There will be both an iPhone and physical version of the card, with a cashback incentive on every purchase.

The credit card will have no late fees, annual fees or international fees, said Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey.

It has been created with the help of Goldman Sachs and MasterCard.

Source: www.bbc.com

Sent to us by: Roy W. Nash

A self-driving shuttle service is to be deployed in New York City by the middle of the year.

A self-driving shuttle service is to be deployed in New York City by the middle of the year.

Boston start-up Optimus Ride will run vehicles on private roads at the Brooklyn Navy Yard site located on New York's East River.

The shuttle will help workers get around the large site.

Self-driving vehicles are being widely trialed around the world, but vehicles sometimes crash and some regulators have halted tests.

The cars are designed to operate in "environments of 25mph."

Source: www.bbc.com

Sent to us by: Roy W. Nash