TECHY TECH WORLD

The alleged founder and operator of the most popular torrenting site in the world, KickassTorrents (KAT), has been apprehend by the US authorities and the site's domains seized. However, as we learned with the campaign to stop The Pirate Bay, you just can't keep a good pirate site down. We've already spotted at least two clones of KAT, including one created by IsoHunt (KickassTorrents.website — a fairly limited mirror), and a second located at KAT.am. A statement emailed to The Verge from the creators of KAT.am claims the site is "hosted on multiple cloud servers to prevent blockade, and the hosting information is well hidden behind Cloudflare." The anonymous contact said they'd improved on the original KickassTorrents site by adding a mobile version, and noted (with the original, ambiguous, wording retained here) that the site "will has the complete torrent database of KAT, including the comments, user information intact." We're not sure whe

Apple is criticised for many things, but design is rarely one of them. At least until the iPhone 7… In recent months a series of leaks have revealed Apple’s new iPhone will look almost identical to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S, but that isn’t the big problem. What the iPhone 7 surprisingly does worse than its predecessors is what will anger users… Lighting up social media is the ever reliable Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka OnLeaks) after the leaker who famously nailed the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 designs prior to release, revealed the first iPhone 7 real world photos as well as a new schematic. And, surprisingly, it was not the photo which had everyone talking. While the photo showed what we have been expecting: an iPhone 6S lookalike with revised antenna lines and a slightly larger camera (believed to increase aperture not megapixels), the schematic gave a more unsettling viewing angle showing the extent to which the new rear camera protrudes.

If you have used Nokia, you will remember the rugged Nokia 3310 and other smartphones that could break a wall and still survive. Nokia is back to making smartphones but Android operating system.  Nokia in late May had issued a press release announcing that not only would it be returning to the smartphone arena, but also its new line of devices would have Android running on it. The Finland-based company will license its brand to its Asian partners, which will then create Nokia handsets. Since the announcement, rumors about the new Nokia smartphone have been doing the rounds. In early July, leaked images of a device bearing Nokia branding, deemed to be the Nokia P1 , appeared online creating a lot of buzz. However, these images turned out to be that of Sharp Aquos P1, which is designed by engineers at InFocus and Sharp, a Foxconn subsidiary. In its bid to return to smartphone production, Nokia has leased its name to Foxconn, which was announced earlier this year.

  Snapchat’s new Memories feature in action    Snapchat is growing up. Well, sort of. The ephemeral messaging app has added a new feature, Memories, that allows you to save your snaps and stories for posterity. Available via an update for both Android and iOS versions of the app , Memories will let you swipe up from the bottom of the screen to see your saved snaps and stories, which you can then share with others. If you’ve got a snap or story in Memories that’s a little too, shall we say, “adult,” you can mark it as My Eyes Only. To see those, you’ll have to enter a passcode. Memories live on Snapchat’s own servers, and the company specifically goes out of its way to state that it doesn’t save every image from your phone’s camera roll — only those used in Memories.   snapchat memories save The new feature is a big change for Snapchat, which gained popularity by allowing users to share photos and short videos that self-destruct without leaving a tr

  The HP Spectre 13 Whether you’re a fan of Apple’s MacBooks or not, there’s no denying the brand’s aesthetic appeal. They’re easily the most attractive notebooks you can buy. Well, I should say they were the most attractive notebooks until HP released its new Spectre 13. Yes, that beauty of a laptop you see above is an HP. I know — I had a few coworkers who didn’t believe it, either. But the 13-inch Spectre 13 has more than just good looks. It’s got a powerful processor and plenty of memory for all of your multitasking needs, and a fantastic display. And did I mention it’s the thinnest laptop in the world? But all of that power and beauty comes at a hefty price tag; the Spectre starts at $1,170. That’s $30 less than Apple’s MacBook and $170 more than Samsung’s Notebook 9 . Still, this laptop is worth the cost of admission. Here’s why. Did I mention it’s really pretty? “That’s an HP? No. Really!?” That’s the exact reaction I got from my coworker when I asked

Inspired by childhood readings of The Little Engine that Could, BlackBerry has summoned the gusto to develop three new Android smartphones. Godspeed, BlackBerry. Godspeed. Blackberry Mercury Yes, in the face of terrifying sales results after their first foray into the Android market with the Priv, the Canadian company has elected not to hedge their bets, but rather to double down. Nay, triple down. This trio of new smartphones attempts to hit a variety of target audiences with their varied price points and specs, and their current codenames are Neon, Argon, and Mercury. Take the following details with a grain of salt, as they come a “briefed individual,” not an official BlackBerry source. Neon Neon will be the first of these devices to hit the public. It’s a 5.2-inch midranger that lacks BlackBerry’s signature physical keyboard. This aluminum-frame device is said to have a soft-coated plastic back and will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 SoC. Reportedly, Neon will h

Apple is being sued by a subsidiary of China's broadcasting regulator over a propaganda film more than 20 years old, in the latest legal wrangling for the tech giant in China in recent weeks. A Beijing court says the case has been brought by a production center that alleges that Apple has infringed its exclusive online rights to broadcast a film that depicts Chinese fighting against Japanese soldiers in northern China in the early 1930s. The plaintiff is also suing the developer and operator of the Youku HD app available on Apple's App Store that it says enabled users to watch the film and caused it "huge economic losses," according to the Beijing Haidian District People's Court. The court says it has accepted the case brought by Movie Satellite Channel Program Production Center that comes under the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. The plaintiff alleges that Apple has infringed its exclusive online rights

Xiaomi’s sequel to its successful  Mi Note , the Mi Note 2, is expected for release later this year, but leaked specs and images of the device have been relatively sparse. But yesterday,  GizChina   released information on the device that would suggest it’s a followup worth waiting for. Coming this summer, the company’s newest flagship will feature three variants — a standard version with a 1080p display and a premium version with a 2K curved display, the latter coming with 64GB or 128GB options. The higher end models will feature a 5.7-inch curved display and a rear dual-camera at 12 megapixels each. The lower end version with 4GB RAM will have one 16MP camera on the back — that means no dual-camera, but the resolution will be a bit higher. Here’s a better breakdown of the varying specs on the three device options: 4GB RAM with 32GB storage, 1080p display6GB RAM with 64GB storage, 2K curved display6GB RAM with 128GB storage, 2K curved display The top model is rumored to come with

 Can't wait for Samsung's next entry into the plus-sized phone category? A tweet from Evan Blass aka evleaks reveals three colors of what will apparently be called the Galaxy Note7 (no space?), in Black Onyx, Silver Titanium and Blue Coral. There have been rumors about the phone and its number-skipping name floating around, but the clear images confirm this is what we'll see announced this summer. Naturally, there's a stylus and curved edges, while the specs cited by Blass on Android Police include a 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display, 12MP/5MP front/rear camera setup, 64MB of storage and IP68-rated water resistance.

An American woman was arrested this week for flooding Stephen Hawking’s email with death threats, then stalking him at an astronomy festival in the Canary Islands. The woman, a US citizen who lives in Norway, sent emails to Hawking telling him she would kill him at the Starmus Festival, a legendary astronomy conference that’s happening this week in Tenerife. According to El Pais, there were over 100 emails and tweets which threatened things like “I am very close to you. I am going to kill you.” The tweets appear to have been deleted, and it’s unclear how the messages were directed at Hawking since he doesn’t have an account. Hawking’s daughter alerted Spanish police, who provided extra security during the festival, including escorting him onstage. Police arrested the woman on Wednesday at a hotel in Tenerife not far from where Hawking was speaking. She had an itinerary showing where Hawking would be each day, as well as detailed notes on his home and office and how she planned to