Thursday, March 25, 2010

This High Tech Criminal Wunderkind Puts Any Bond Villain To Shame [Masterminds]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5501343/this-high-tech-criminal-wunderkind-puts-any-bond-villain-to-shame

This High Tech Criminal Wunderkind Puts Any Bond Villain To ShameWired has an incredible article on Gerald Blanchard, a young criminal mastermind with a "savantlike ability to assess security flaws." The story opens with him parachuting onto a Viennese castle to steal a $2 million diamond jewel. Yeah.

In addition to his unique ability to find security holes, Blanchard used every type of surveillance gadget available as he meticulously planned his heists. Before stealing money from one bank, the article explains:

He had put a transmitter behind an electrical outlet, a pinhole video camera in a thermostat, and a cheap baby monitor behind the wall. He had even mounted handles on the drywall panels so he could remove them to enter and exit the ATM room.

In this case, it's hard not to root for the bad guy. [Wired via BoingBoing]

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Verizon to blanket 'one third' of America with LTE this year, double coverage in 15 months

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/verizon-to-blanket-one-third-of-america-with-lte-this-year-do/

Remember when we heard that Verizon Wireless just might be able to bump its commercial LTE rollout to the first quarter of 2010? Man, talk about having our hopes and dreams dashed. Here at CTIA, we heard a few details on the company's most up-to-date deployment plans, and it sounds like things are pretty well locked into place at this point. Tony Melone, the company's Senior Vice President and CTO, seemed remarkably enthused that a bona fide LTE network would be launching "in the not too distant future," and when pressed for specifics, he stated that they would launch "25 to 30 networks this year, covering one third of America by the end of 2010." Beyond that, we're looking at a footprint twice that size "15 months" after the initial rollout, and by the end of 2013, the company's 4G coverage map will be the same size, "if not larger," than its existing 3G map. Of course, the carrier insisted that they wouldn't be abandoning 3G advancement while being fixated on 4G, noting that it was moving "fast and aggressively" on both fronts, with hopes that its LTE network would eventually eclipse even the 3G networks (in terms of coverage size) of competitors. Them's bold words, VZW, and we'll be carefully watching to see if that really does come to fruition.

Verizon to blanket 'one third' of America with LTE this year, double coverage in 15 months originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survey finds people eager to 'work on the go' with iPad, we wonder what line of 'work' they're in

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/survey-finds-people-eager-to-work-on-the-go-with-ipad-we-wond/

So, give this a listen -- a survey from the lairs of Sybase has found that among smartphone-owning respondents, some 52.3 percent of them "would use a tablet device such as the Apple iPad is for working on the go." We fully understand that this phrase leaves open the possibility of using tablets not Designed in Cupertino, but the mere fact that it's highlighted gave us pause. We're still trying to figure out how exactly Apple's forthcoming tablet is going to fit between our daily laptop and workhorse-of-a-smartphone, and without a major overhaul of the iPhone OS, we definitely can't visualize ourselves using it for "work." 'Course, maybe they're into something that doesn't require the use of multiple applications at once, and maybe the dearth of a real keyboard isn't much of a productivity killer, but we're just not sold on the iPad being a bona fide work machine as-is. So, what say you? Are you one of those 52.3 percenters? Or do you relate more with the vocal minority?

Survey finds people eager to 'work on the go' with iPad, we wonder what line of 'work' they're in originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Re universal remote dongle for iPhone now available

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/re-universal-remote-dongle-for-iphone-now-available/

Most of prefer to keep our eyes on the TV when in couch potato mode -- which kind of makes the smooth glass interface of a touchscreen remote out of the question. But who knows? Maybe you're some sort of Alpha control freak who needs to be able control damn near every A/V and/or home automation devices in your stifling McMansion. In that case, you're in luck -- the Re IR dongle for iPhone / iPod touch is now available -- officially and internationally. The App is free but the hardware will cost you a cool $70 -- hit the source link to get started. PR after the break.

Continue reading Re universal remote dongle for iPhone now available

Re universal remote dongle for iPhone now available originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNew Kinetix  | Email this | Comments

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Samsung's ST5000 and WiFi-infused ST5500 digicams emerge in Korea

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/samsungs-st5000-and-wifi-infused-st5500-digicams-emerge-in-kore/

How's a company to follow-up on a point-and-shoot camera with two LCDs? Why, by tossing out a new one with integrated WiFi, of course! Originally teased last month, Samsung has gone ahead and rightfully introduced its new ST5000 and ST5500 over in South Korea, both of which tout 14.2 megapixel sensors, a 7x optical zoom and your choice of black or orange color schemes. The ST5000 gets gifted with a 3.5-inch rear touchscreen, while the ST5500 steps it up ever-so-slightly with a 3.7-inch AMOLED panel. The both of 'em can handle 720p movies at 30fps (H.264 format), and the HDMI output ensures that these will easily pipe footage to your nearby television. If you're looking for built-in wireless for uploading or emailing pictures sans a PC, you'll need to focus on the ST5500, but most every other internal feature on the big boy is also on the lesser guy. These seem to be headed out to South Korean shops as we speak, and we know that they'll be landing within the next month over in Britain for £279.99 ($417) and £349.99 ($521), respectively. As for you Yanks? Be patient, we guess.

Samsung's ST5000 and WiFi-infused ST5500 digicams emerge in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Engadget Korea  |  sourceSamsung, ePhotoZine  | Email this | Comments

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NVIDIA to get official with Fermi GPUs, will 'more than double the performance' of existing cards

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/nvidia-to-get-official-with-fermi-gpus-will-more-than-double-t/

It's sure taken 'em long enough, but the Wall Street Journal is reporting that NVIDIA will finally allow the long-awaited Fermi design to reveal itself to the world. We're guessing that the GeForce GTX 470 and GTX 480 that we've been hearing (and hearing) about will be the flagship GPUs to get launched, but whatever the case, the WSJ assures us that the new line will "more than double the performance of its current products." As you'd expect, the Fermi cards -- which will ship with 512 480 or 446 cores (depending on model), three billion transistors and a whole heap of expectations -- will support 3D titles along with the latest video processing software, but they'll also be aimed at more unconventional markets like "medical research and oil-field exploration." Sounds gnarly, NVIDIA, but we're just interested in seeing our frame rates hit triple digits in Crysis 2 -- got it?

NVIDIA to get official with Fermi GPUs, will 'more than double the performance' of existing cards originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

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TiVo Premiere review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/tivo-premiere-review/

When we first heard rumors of new TiVo hardware back in April of 2009, our imaginations started racing. The current TiVo HD and HD XL have been the best DVRs on the market for their entire three-year run, and while they've received significant feature updates in that time, the overall experience of using a TiVo simply hasn't kept up with the explosion of online content and the revised viewing habits of consumers -- in fact, the interface has remained largely unchanged for nearly a decade. So while the actual TiVo hardware has actually gotten smaller and simpler, it's the software that's received a substantial makeover this time around -- it's migrated to Flash, and the main elements have been totally redesigned for HD displays and the invisible integration of online video services. Is it enough to keep TiVo afloat in a sea of cheap cableco DVRS? It is worth upgrading from an existing TiVo HD? There's only one way to find out -- read on for our full review.

Continue reading TiVo Premiere review

TiVo Premiere review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pegatron showing off miniature Tegra 2-powered home theater PC

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/pegatron-showing-off-miniature-tegra-2-powered-home-theater-pc/

If all these tablet and smartbook shenanigans haven't won you over, but you still feel the call of Tegra 2, Pegatron might have your number. We spotted this details-scarce nettop-ish home theater PC lurking around the NVIDIA booth today, just looking to be loved. The thin plastic box is topped by what looks to be bamboo, with HDMI, Ethernet, microphone and speaker plugs around back. We're very much in the dark as to supposed capabilities or software, but Tegra 2 gives us a good hint: the chip can decode 1080p and Flash video, runs Android or Windows CE, and is the same thing under the hood of the Boxee Box. We imagine something like this going for $100 (though no price or release date has been mentioned) or so and acting as a great little home theater PC for the right sort of user if and when it hits the market.

Pegatron showing off miniature Tegra 2-powered home theater PC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hulavision sues NBC Universal, Hulu stuck in the middle with gloom

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/hulavision-sues-nbc-universal-hulu-stuck-in-the-middle-with-glo/

Ask Hulavision founder Errol Hula, and he'll tell you Hulu is a stolen idea, from concept to even the similarities in name. He's so confident, in fact, that he and his company have filed a lawsuit against NBC Universal, claiming a series of meetings (all under the umbrella of a nondisclosure agreement) with the media conglomerate and business development exec Raymond Vergel de Dios laid the foundation for its eventual web portal. The suit runs the gamut of brokenhearted business fellows: misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract (both implied and the NDA), breach of a confidential relationship, unfair competition, unjust enrichment, and stolen ice cream on the playground. The suit seeks unspecified damages. Given the nature of these things, we doubt the two will ever get the point of actual courtroom entanglement, but if it does... can we get it streamed?

Hulavision sues NBC Universal, Hulu stuck in the middle with gloom originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceYahoo!  | Email this | Comments

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Samsung's R30 and R80 Touch of Color laptops now on sale

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/samsungs-r30-and-r80-touch-of-color-laptops-now-on-sale/

Plain they are not, and Samsung's Touch of Color laptops that were launched at the tail-end of CES this year have finally begun to ship. As of now, the Core 2 Duo-equipped R430, Core i3-packin' R480, and Core i5-based R580 / R780 are all on sale at Best Buy, with prices ranging from $629.99 to $829.99. The whole lot seems to be available for shipping or direct pickup, so give that source link a look to figure out which configuration fits you best. Or don't -- no pressure.

Samsung's R30 and R80 Touch of Color laptops now on sale originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Laptoping  |  sourceBest Buy  | Email this | Comments

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Sanyo Xacti GH2, CG102, CG20 preview: full-HD cams for less than $230

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/25/sanyo-xacti-gh2-cg102-cg20-preview-full-hd-cams-for-less-than/

We caught up with Sanyo and its recently announced, sub-$230 GH2, CG102 and CG20 high-def camcorders this morning, and have to say the company has done it again. While we didn't have enough time to test the video quality, for less than 300 bucks you sure can get a compact and solid feeling cam, regardless of which model your big heart desires. We're especially taken with the CG102 and GH2, which are virtually the same, only housed in two different form factors. Both record full HD 1080i60 videos, have 14 megapixel still cams and Sanyo's 12x "double-range zoom," which lets you switch between a wide-angle and telephoto zoom when shooting vids. Cleverly, the horizontally-built GH2 -- which can be ordered with an expansion lens -- now has two sets of record / stop controls for those that tend to hold the cam in different ways; one set is on the top and the other on the inside of the LCD pane. Those that don't want to shell out the extra $30 for the vertical CG102 can grab the $199 CG20, but keep in mind that it drops you down to 10 megapixels and nixes the dual zoom function. We're looking forward to thoroughly testing one of the $229 units in due time, but for now you can check out their sleek bods and buttons in the hands-on gallery below.

Sanyo Xacti GH2, CG102, CG20 preview: full-HD cams for less than $230 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSanyo  | Email this | Comments

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Lenovo adds Sprint 3G, 4G support across ThinkPad line

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/25/lenovo-adds-sprint-3g-4g-support-across-thinkpad-line/

Lenovo's ThinkPads are already all available with 3G support, but the company has just announced a deal with Sprint that will not only add another 3G option, but 4G (as in WiMAX) support as well. That will be available across Lenovo's entire line of ThinkPads and, like other mobile broadband options, will come in the form a SIM card pre-installed in the device. You'll also be able to use Lenovo's Access Connection tool to manage both 3G and 4G connections, which Lenovo claims is the only such tool that can do so.

Lenovo adds Sprint 3G, 4G support across ThinkPad line originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceLenovo  | Email this | Comments

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iPhone SMS database hacked in 20 seconds, news at 11

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/25/iphone-sms-database-hacked-in-20-seconds-news-at-11/

It's a story tailor-made for the fear-mongering subset of news media. This week, a pair of gentlemen lured an unsuspecting virgin iPhone to a malicious website and -- with no other input from the user -- stole the phone's entire database of sent, received and even deleted text messages in under 20 seconds, boasting that they could easily lift personal contacts, emails and your naughty, naughty photos as well. Thankfully for us level-headed souls, those gentlemen were Vincenzo Iozzo and Ralf-Philipp Weinmann, security researchers performing for the 2010 Pwn2Own hacking contest, and their $15,000 first prize ensures that the winning formula will go to Apple (and only Apple) for further study. Last year, smartphones emerged from Pwn2Own unscathed even as their desktop counterparts took a beating, but this makes the third year in a row that Safari's gotten its host machines pwned. That said, there's no need for fear -- just a healthy reminder that the Apple logo doesn't give you free license to click links in those oh-so-tempting "beta-test the new iPad!" emails.

iPhone SMS database hacked in 20 seconds, news at 11 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

< /h6>Permalink TUAW  |  sourceZDNet  | Email this | Comments

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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Printable Nanocircuits Promise to Make RFID Tags More Ubiquitous Than Bar Codes

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-03/cheap-plastic-rfid-tags-promise-replace-bar-codes

The product would also be the first to use printed nanotube transistors

Bar codes in the supermarket might face extinction sooner rather than later, if radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags can cost just a penny apiece, rather than the dime or more they currently run. Now South Korean researchers say they have the technology to print RFID circuits on plastic film, courtesy of nanotube-containing inks, Technology Review reports.

A version of the RFID tags slated to hit the market later this year would be the first product to use printed transistors based on carbon nanotubes. Printing means the application of different layers of antenna coils, nanotube inks, and capacitors and diodes.

The researchers at Sunchon National University in South Korea successfully printed out the plastic RFID tags using common industrial methods such as roll-to-roll printing, ink-jet printing, and silicone rubber-stamping.

These processes churn out tags for just three cents per piece, but the group ultimately hopes to pass the one-cent milestone by figuring out how to lay down all the nanotube ink layers in one go during the roll-to-roll printing. Many RFID tags today cost anywhere from 7 cents to 15 cents, if not more.

But some hurdles remain before you'll see these newer tags at checkout lines. The current prototypes are three times the size of a typical barcode, and can only store one bit of information -- just enough to either give a yes or no response to an RFID reader. Such tags also only work with readers up to 10 centimeters away, because of their weak power signals.

That should change with the 64-bit tag set to come out next year, and then ultimately a 96-bit tag, a real barcode-killer.

Even the pricier RFID tags today have already found use in EZPass highway tolls and as anti-counterfeiting devices.

[via Technology Review]

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Ultra vague accelerometer patent filed in 2006 seems to cover every touchphone on the market, granted last week

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/ultra-vague-accelerometer-patent-filed-in-2006-seems-to-cover-ev/

We're going to try and avoid the hysterics: patents are a complicated business, and the fact that they're business usually means that in the worst case scenario, an appropriate amount of money can make problems like this go away -- nobody's going to take our phones away from us. Still, in what we have to chalk up to regular United States Patent and Trademark Office hijinks, or perhaps just a very forward-looking innovator, Durham Logistics (some secretive LLC based in Vegas) has been granted the patent to pretty much any use of an accelerometer in any computing device ever. Its "Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system" describes basically any use of a motion detection sensor in changing the state or implementing functionality in a device, which would obviously apply to most every smartphone on the market, along with a good number of laptops that use accelerometers as free fall sensors to know when to park the hard drive. The patent was applied for back in 2006, and is based on earlier patents from 2004 and 2001 to give it some extra cred (Apple's own motion control patents, for instance, weren't filed until late 2007). Still, it's rather general, vague, and obvious, and all the examples given seem to be about scrolling, selecting icons, and swiping through pages (not popular uses from accelerometers currently) so time will tell if it will hold up in court if Durham decides to go after any one of the multi-billion dollar companies that are currently "infringing."

Ultra vague accelerometer patent filed in 2006 seems to cover every touchphone on the market, granted last week originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashdot, AllThingsD  |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments

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