Popular live video streaming site Twitch confirms hack

Amazon's popular live video streaming platform Twitch said Wednesday hackers had broken into its network after reports of exposed confidential company data surfaced online.

The service, where users often stream live video game play, confirmed the break-in on Twitter.

"We can confirm a breach has taken place," Twitch said in post from its verified Twitter account.

"Our teams are working with urgency to understand the extent of this."

The statement came after reports emerged that a massive dump of Twitch data had been posted on fringe anonymous message board 4Chan. 

A post at 4Chan served up 125 gigabytes of data reported to include Twitch source code, records of payouts to streamers, and a digital video game distribution service being built by Amazon Game Studios.

It did not appear that personal Twitch user data was in the dump, but the extent of the hack was still being investigated.

Google searches for "how to delete Twitch" rocketed eightfold as news of the hack spread, according to marketing analysts firm N. Rich.

"With such a concerning data breach from a platform as widespread and global as Twitch, users are naturally wanting to protect themselves and their data as soon as possible," an N.Rich spokesperson said.

The person who posted the trove of stolen data left a message claiming the break-in was performed to foster competition in video streaming, and because the Twitch community "is a disgusting toxic cesspool," according to media reports.

Users of Twitch, the world's biggest video game streaming site, staged a virtual walkout last month to voice outrage over barrages of racist, sexist and homophobic abuse on the platform.

The phenomenon of "hate raids" -- torrents of abuse -- has seen the platform become increasingly unpleasant many for Twitch streamers who are not white or straight.

A Twitter hashtag, #TwitchDoBetter, has become a magnet for complaints over the past month, largely from female, non-white and LGBTQ players saying that Twitch is failing to stop internet trolls running amok -- all while taking 50 percent of streamers' earnings.

Twitch has maintained that it is working to improve tools for protecting accounts from abuses.

The service is suing two users in US federal court, accusing them of orchestrating the so-called "hate raids."

Agence France-Presse

Australia's Nine Entertainment signs content deal with Facebook, Google

Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday it had signed multi-year content-supply deals with Google and Facebook under Australia's news media bargaining code.

The agreement, terms of which were not disclosed, comes after rival Seven West Media Ltd and News Corp signed similar deals following the enactment of tough laws to make US tech giants pay for displaying news on their platforms.

The multi-media firm said it would supply content for Google's News Showcase platform for five years and to a similar Facebook product for three.

Google would also expand its marketing ventures across Nine's platforms, the publisher of the Australian Financial Review, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald newspapers added.

After considering these new deals and ongoing subscription revenue for Nine's mastheads, the Sydney-based company said it expected growth of A$30 million to A$40 million ($23.2 million to $31 million) in its publishing unit's fiscal 2022 core earnings.

-reuters-

Amazon smart cart lets grocery shoppers skip checkout

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Amazon on Tuesday introduced a smart grocery cart that will let shoppers skip checkout queues.

Amazon's latest cashierless shopping innovation comes as merchants and customers strive to do business while reducing risk of exposure to coronavirus.

Dash Carts that use discretely embedded sensors and cameras to tally prices of items placed inside will debut in an Amazon grocery store to open in Southern California later this year.

"It's a new smart shopping cart that makes a quick grocery trip even quicker by allowing you to skip the checkout line," the technology titan, which owns the Whole Foods market chain, said in a post.

"When you're done shopping, you'll simply exit through the store's Amazon Dash Cart lane, and your receipt will be emailed to you."

Each cart uses computer vision software and sensor data to identify what is put inside, showing a running total along with item descriptions and prices on a display, according to Amazon.

Using a Dash cart requires a smartphone loaded with the Amazon application, which synchs by scanning a QR code and then charges the purchase to the credit card on file, the US based company explained.

Amazon early this year began offering its "just walk out" technology to other retailers in a move aimed at boosting the use of the cashierless store system.

"Just Walk Out technology enables shoppers to simply enter a store, grab what they want, and just go," the website said.

The move came shortly after Amazon launched its first full-size grocery store in Seattle using the cashierless model.

Amazon has already opened more than 20 smaller Amazon Go stores using the same system, including in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

The Go stores allow pre-registered customers to skip the cashier and allow their credit cards to be billed for their purchases, with the technology detecting what they take and return to the shelves.

Agence France-Presse

Australia to force Google, Facebook to pay for news content

BRISBANE - Australia said Monday it would begin forcing Google and Facebook to pay news companies for content, in a landmark move aimed at shielding traditional media from the tech giants' digital dominance.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said a mandatory code of conduct to be unveiled by July would require the firms to reimburse Australian media companies for using their news and other content.

"What we want to see is a level playing field. What we want to see here is a fair go for the companies and for the journalistic content that is prepared," he told Channel 7.

It comes just weeks after France's competition authority ordered Google to negotiate with publishers over payments to reuse snippets of content in its news aggregator and Google Search.

Google and Facebook have had a huge impact on Australia's news industry, with the number of newspaper and online journalists falling more than 20 percent since 2014 as digital advertising revenues were overwhelmingly captured by the two titans.

The new regulations follow an 18-month inquiry into the power of digital platforms by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which recommended an overhaul of existing regulations.

Frydenberg said the government was imposing the measures after discussions on a voluntary code failed to make headway, with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on advertising revenues hastening the need for action.

"That hasn't made meaningful progress so now we are taking the decisive decision to create a mandatory code, seeking to be the first country in the world to ensure that these social media giants pay for content," he said.

A similar move by Spain saw Google shut down its News service there in 2014, while the company has threatened to do the same in response to the new French laws.

Australia's new regulations will also cover the sharing of data, and the ranking and display of news content, to be enforced by binding dispute resolution mechanisms and penalties.

An estimated 17 million Australians use Facebook each month and spend an average of 30 minutes on the platform a day, while 98 percent of Australian mobile searches use Google.

Agence France-Presse

How to get CDs, tapes, records on your smartphone

A huge amount of the world’s audio has been digitized, but many veterans of the Analog Age still have out-of-print albums, lectures and other content locked on vinyl records, cassettes and CDs. Converting the audio to digital formats for personal use is much simpler than it used to be, though, thanks in part to gadgets that connect to a computer’s USB port.

In addition to making files that play on your smartphone or media server, digitizing your analog audio creates an electronic archive you can store online for safekeeping. The steps for converting your old recordings vary on the formats and equipment you have, but here’s a general outline of the process and the equipment you may need.

GET AUDIO-EDITING SOFTWARE

No matter what type of analog media you’re converting, you need software to digitize it. Capturing the audio to a computer has been a common approach for decades, and free programs to do the job include Apple’s GarageBand for Mac and the open-source Audacity (for Windows, Mac and Linux), which has its own guide for converting records and tapes. Commercial software is also available, like Roxio’s $50 Easy LP to MP3 or the $40 Golden Records from NCH Software.

Choose a digital format for recording. Uncompressed or lossless formats like WAV, FLAC and AIFF preserve more of the original audio for higher-quality sound, but compressed formats like MP3 create smaller files.

Follow the software’s instructions for importing audio. After you capture the whole album, you can use the program to slice up the recording into individual tracks, label the songs, and clean up hiss, pops and other noise.

DIGITZE VINYL

If your stereo equipment is long gone but you held on to your old records for sentimental reasons, using a compact USB-based “conversion” turntable that connects directly to the computer is one approach. You may not have ultimate control over the recording quality, but it’s usually the easiest process to convert the vinyl yourself.

For the less technically inclined, ION Audio makes several conversion turntables, including the $110 Premier LP, which connects to the computer with a USB cable and includes its own conversion software. Audio Technica, Crosley and Sony also make USB turntables.

If you still have a turntable with a headphone jack or a port labeled “line” (or a stereo receiver with a “phono” input for the record player), a device called a USB phono pre-amplifier links your hardware together with audio and USB cables to pump the sound into the computer for recording. ART Pro Audio USB Phono Plus ($100) and Reloop iPhono 2 USB Recording Interface (about $100 in the United States) are two options.

For USB-based recording using older turntable systems without the headphone jack or line output, you’ll most likely need to include a separate phono pre-amplifier box to boost the audio signal as well. The $50 Rolls VP29 and the $66 ART Pro Audio DJPRE II are two models to consider.

DIGITIZE AUDIOTAPE

No tape deck? Tape players with USB connections for the computer or flash drives can be found online starting at around $20. These devices can be quite efficient for digitizing old lectures, family history and other recordings.

If you still have a tape deck, check its jacks. A cable with a 3.5-millimeter plug on both ends or an RCA-to-3.5mm cable are common for connecting to a computer’s line-in port (if it has one), or you may be able to use a USB interface box like those used for digitizing vinyl.

CONVERT COMPACT DISCS

Still have CDs you want to transfer but no CD player or computer disk drive? External USB-based CD players sell for as little as $20 online. Once you connect one, spin up those discs and import the tracks with Apple’s Music app for Mac, Microsoft’s Windows Media Player or another free CD-ripper app.

OUTSOURCE THE JOB

The do-it-yourself approach is not for everyone, but audio conversion services will happily digitize your old analog media for you — for a price. This can range from $15 to $35 for each record or tape converted, but some companies include restoration and sound-cleanup services as well. Memories Renewed, Ever Present and DiJiFi area among the many conversion companies to check out.

KEEP LOOKING

While not a surefire solution for a fully digitized library, some unreleased and obscure recordings turn up online eventually, as did tracks from Jeff Buckley and Prince this year.

The Internet Archive can also be a treasure trove for old 78 rpm recordings from the early 20th century, as well as early hip-hop mixtapes, live concerts and other bits of audio history. But no matter if you’re converting your analog audio yourself or scouring the internet, patience has its rewards.


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