Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Microsoft Ordered To Pay $388M For Pirating Windows Activation Technology [Lawsuits]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4XxFz5tXTJo/microsoft-ordered-to-pay-388m-for-pirating-windows-activation-technology

A jury has ordered Microsoft to pay $388M to security software firm Uniloc, who alleged back in 2003 that Microsoft infringed on the firm's patents for Windows Activation, one of the most horrible features ever.

One way to look at this—the hasty, vindictive, techno-populist way—is to see this whole thing as some kind of cosmic rebalancing, in which Microsoft is finally paying a huge, literal price for years of subjecting us to broken product activation runarounds in virtually every major piece of software they've released in the last eight years. Their 30 days is up, their trial period (ha!) over, etc etc etc.

Another way: A gigantic company, who has produced loads of useful products despite succumbing to the temptations of overbearing antipiracy measures, has been forced to shovel an ungodly sum of money to a company that only produces overbearing antipiracy measures. So, hurray. [WSJ]

Intel Promises Two-Second Boot Times With Their Moblin Netbook Linux OS [NetBooks]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/mSt1dNcS7FY/intel-promises-two+second-boot-times-with-their-moblin-netbook-linux-os

Imagine if your netbook went from completely powered off to fully booted and ready in two seconds. It would be an entirely different gadget in your life, wouldn't it? That's what Intel hopes.

We've already seen promising early builds of Moblin, their open-source project to create an Atom-optimized OS for netbooks on the platform. But speaking at a Linux summit in San Francisco recently, Intel's Imhad Sousou spelled out plans to make a two-second boot a reality.

It's ambitious, and it will require significant and deep fiddling, but that's the goal. I don't know about you guys, but I'm really excited for the next generation of netbooks that moves beyond traditional desktop operating systems. Again, it's software that counts. [Ars Technica via Gadget Mix]

Vandals Cut AT&T Fiber Optic Lines In San Jose Affecting Thousands [Crime]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/BL6ECnltz28/vandals-cut-att-fiber-optic-lines-in-san-jose-affecting-thousands

Police in San Jose are investigating two incidents involving severed AT&T and Sprint fiber optic cable that knocked out landline, cellular and internet service to thousands of Silicon Valley residents.

"We're treating this as a crime scene," Lopez said.

Four AT&T fiber-optic cables were severed shortly before 1:30 a.m. along Monterey Highway north of Blossom Hill Road in south San Jose, police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said. Sprint's cable in San Carlos was cut about two hours later, a company official said. The exact location was not immediately known.

With all of the economic turmoil going on, who would be surprised to find out that this was the work of some disgruntled employee? I, for one, would not be. Hit up SFGate to check out video of the scene. [SFGate]

Nokia working on new MID for this year, wild QWERTY tech for next?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/nokia-working-on-new-mid-for-this-year-wild-qwerty-tech-for-nex/

Let's start this out with a word of warning: TheStreet.com's latest report allegedly from deep within Espoo's most secretive labs contradicts itself on a couple occasions -- and Nokia has a decent (though not stellar) track record of keeping most prized secrets under wraps -- so we're bringing this up with a good deal of caution, healthy skepticism, and cold, hard reality on our minds. That being said, some aspects of the report seem totally plausible, particularly a new bit about a fresh MID (likely to replace the aging N810) in the works with a sliding keyboard and 4.2-inch display targeted for release before the holidays this year; Maemo 5 development is well underway, so we'd actually be kinda surprised if this didn't happen. Odds are it wouldn't be that rumored Sparrow-powered device, though, since we'd heard 2011 for that one.

Here's where it starts to get a little strange -- next up, the report mentions a "Nautilus project" intending to create an ultra-thin touchscreen phone of some sort that uses a "sensor" (you know, a "sensor") to motorize the keyboard in and out of the body; what's more, the keys would rise up when deployed for better feel. This sounds unlikely at best, considering the added weight, complexity, bulk, and reliability concerns around that kind of a mechanism, not to mention the fact that it'd serve almost no practical purpose whatsoever. At first, TheStreet says this is a device, then later changes it! s mind a nd says "the first Nautilus phone isn't due out for another year" -- but whether it's a phone or an entire range of phones, we're just not seeing it; it'd be fun to play with, yes, but we think this is the kind of thing where the engineers would putz with it for a while and realize that it's a really, really bad idea.

[Via Unwired View]

Filed under: Handhelds

Nokia working on new MID for this year, wild QWERTY tech for next? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visa rolls out its first commercial NFC payment system

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/visa-rolls-out-its-first-commercial-nfc-payment-system/

Nokia fulfilled its part of the bargain by rolling out its NFC-enabled 6212 cellphone last year, and it looks like Visa is now finally making the phone a good deal more useful -- in Malaysia, at least. That's where the company has launched its first commercial NFC (or Near Field Communications) payment service for point-of-sale transactions, which will let folks simply wave the phone in front of a reader to make a purchase instead of going to the hassle of swiping a card. What's more, it doesn't look like this is simply a limited trial, with 1,800 stores in the country ready to accept the magical payments out of the gate, and Maxis and Maybank on board to let folks easily access their credit account. Better still, Visa has also said that this move finally signals the shift from pilot programs to actual roll-outs, although it's unfortunately not being all that specific about the next few markets on tap just yet.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Visa rolls out its first commercial NFC payment system originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peapod the friendly Neighborhood Electric Vehicle in the flesh

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/peapod-the-friendly-neighborhood-electric-vehicle-in-the-flesh/

We just got an exclusive first look at the Peapod from Chrysler's Global Eco Mobility unit. Like its cousin the GEM, Peapod is a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, which means it's limited by law to 25 mph and can't go on the highways. Peapod gets about 30 miles on a charge, and adds in all the "car" goodies that GEM was lacking. The vehicle seats four in lightweight Arion-inspired seats, has suicide doors for easy entry, a windowed roof that can be removed for some open-air driving, and even a nice amount of trunk space. On the dash there's an iPod dock and the instruments panel is a colorful collection of informations. We couldn't drive it around just yet -- it was stuck in a building lobby -- but we'll get a shot at taking this onto the city streets shortly. The Peapod should hit the streets in October, for the quite dramatic estimated pricetag of around $12,000. That's a pretty penny for something that can't top 25 mph, but at least this thing is a lot more likely than the P.U.M.A. to land in your driveway in the near future.

Gallery: Peapod the friendly Neighborhood Electric Vehicle in the flesh

Filed under: Transportation

Peapod the friendly Neighborhood Electric Vehicle in the flesh originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eye-Fi's 4GB WiFi SDHC cards start to ship out

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/eye-fis-4gb-wifi-sdhc-cards-start-to-ship-out/

Nah, Eye-Fi's latest Secure Digital cards still aren't nearly as capacious (nor as cheap) as other alternatives on the market, but good luck getting that free-after-rebate 8GB SDHC card from IAWANNA Corp. to upload images via a wireless hotspot. We pinged the company today to see if the company's 4GB Explore Video and Share Video SDHC models were shipping out, and we were informed that orders placed over the web were indeed leaving the docks. If you're not kosher with handing $99.99 or $79.99 (respectively) over through the intertubes, both devices will splash down in stores starting on April 19th.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Wireless, Storage

Eye-Fi's 4GB WiFi SDHC cards start to ship out originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hitachi unveils 11 latest Wooo plasmas and LCDs: Greener, better looking & network connected

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/hitachi-unveils-11-latest-wooo-plasmas-and-lcds-greener-better-l/

This year's edition of the Hitachi Wooo line of flat panels look a lot like their predecessors on the outside (120Hz IPS LCDs, 250GB HDD equipped models with iVDR slots for additional hard drives and Wooonet DLNA network support) but it's what's inside that counts. The four new XP plasma models range from 42- to 50-inches and promise even better contrast ratios, as high as 40,000:1, with better color reproduction and the promise of greater energy efficiency. The ultra-thin 35mm / 1.4-inch thick LCDs are back in four new models, with UWB wirelessly connected tuners, auto sensing/adjusting brightness and aforementioned "eco" power sipping improvements. The relatively fat XP line of LCDs consists of just three displays, but just like all the rest, buyers can still hook up to the 'net and pull down video on-demand or Yahoo! Japan's web TV portal -- features unlikely to make the jump when we see U.S. versions of these later this year. The XP plasmas and LCDs go on sale in Japan later this month or next, while the ultra-thins will be crash dieting until October.

Read - Hitachi, recording double-35mm-thin LCD TV "Wooo UT800"
Read - Hitachi, 7 new plasma / LCD

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Hitachi unveils 11 latest Wooo plasmas and LCDs: Greener, better looking & network connected originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. electrical grid penetrated by spies, hackers, or something unfathomably more terrible

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/u-s-electrical-grid-penetrated-by-spies-hackers-or-something/

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the electricity grid in the United States has been infiltrated by "cyperspies," in an attempt to map the infrastructure, leaving behind software that could pose potential threats in times of crisis. Quoting anonymous "current and former" national security officials, the report claims that the spies, hailing from China, Russia, and "other countries" have not attempted to do any damage, but that they could, and that these types of intrusions are on the rise. Officials are of course worried about the potential implications of such penetrations, noting that much of our infrastructure, including nuclear power plants and financial institutions, are at risk. Unfortunately for the WSJ and its Cold War-era headline, the article goes on to state that it's not really possible to know whether a particular attack is "government sponsored," or just the work of regular old hackers from those regions running amok in cyberspace. Additionally, spokespeople from the Russian and Chinese Embassies vehemently deny their respective governments involvement in any such work. The Wall Street Journal, of course, fails to point out the most obvious of explanations: it's aliens.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

U.S. electrical grid penetrated by spies, hackers, or something unfathomably more terrible originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use! of feed s.

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BYD's "Mars" MID clamshell has a phone on the back, runs full Windows XP

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/09/byds-mars-mid-clamshell-has-a-phone-on-the-back-runs-full-wi/

Intel isn't just showing off its new Atom hotness at IDF Beijing, they also pulled out a previously unseen MID from previous non-player BYD. Codenamed Mars, the MID runs an Atom processor in a clamshell form factor, with a full Windows XP install and QWERTY keyboard. On the back of the lid there's a regular phone keypad and secondary screen. It's not going to beat the RAZR at a weigh-in, and we'd feel pretty dumb holding something this large up to our head, but it's a pretty wild concept all the same, and a nice teaser of the sort of MID / phone "synergy" we might come to expect when Moorestown rolls around. No word on the timeline for commercialization, but there's supposed to be a working unit floating around IDF so we'll keep our eyes peeled. Video is after the break, with the BYD unveiling a bit after the 3 minute mark.

Continue reading BYD's "Mars" MID clamshell has a phone on the back, runs full Windows XP

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

BYD's "Mars" MID clamshell has a phone on the back, runs full Windows XP originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ROI for Social Media Is Zero? - http://ping.fm/P0TE1 - what about social marketing done right?

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

The Fuego Element Grill Is Awesome Until It's Swiped Off Your Back Porch [Grilling]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Bp_CJBHQzBo/the-fuego-element-grill-is-awesome-until-its-swiped-off-your-back-porch

I have a cheap hibachi on my porch—who the hell cares about stealing that? The Element grill from Fuego is another story though—this thing is a work of art.

The Element comes in a variety of colors, it has a 24,000 btu dual-burner with different zones for either direct or indirect heating, and it's small enough to fit just about anywhere (like in the arms of a thief in the night). I'm not sure how much one of these beauties will cost, but if you decide to drop some cash on one I would consider chaining it up. [Swipelife via NotCot via DVICE]

Mitsubishi introduces 16-speaker Unisen LCD HDTV line

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/mitsubishi-introduces-16-speaker-unisen-lcd-hdtv-line/

With Mitsubishi's LaserVue lines humming along once more, it's time for the company to bust out a few more big announcements in the HDTV space. First up is the new Unisen line, comprised of the 151 Series (40-, 46- and 52-inches), the 153 Series (40-, 46- and 52-inches) and the high-end Diamond 259 Series (46- and 52-inches). Each set in the line comes with a built-in "5.1-channel" 16-speaker audio bar, much like the iSP LT-52149 that we reviewed last fall. Each model also incorporates a new UltraThin Frame design, Smooth 120Hz Film Motion technology, four HDMI 1.3a inputs and a USB media port. The top end crew also includes an iSP calibration microphone, Plush1080p 5G 18-bit digital video processing, a wired IR input and a few swank blue accents to really woo the ladies. The whole family should ship to the United States next month and range from $1,799 to $3,299. Exact pricing is just after the break.

Continue reading Mitsubishi introduces 16-speaker Unisen LCD HDTV line

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Mitsubishi introduces 16-speaker Unisen LCD HDTV line originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitsubishi debuts 3D-ready Home Theater TV line, 82-incher included

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/mitsubishi-debuts-3d-ready-home-theater-tv-line-82-incher-inclu/

No need for 16 speakers built right into your next HDTV? How's about the ability to watch 3D content whenever it infiltrates the home? Mitsubishi's other big introduction today comes in the form of its 2009 Home Theater TV line, a family that includes the 737 Series (60-, 65-, 73- and 82-inch), 837 Series (65-, 73- and 82-inch) and the standalone 82-inch WD-82737. The big screen crew is completely 3D ready and the whole lot features 120Hz dejudder technology, the firm's exclusive 6-color processor, four HDMI 1.3a sockets and a JADE Activity-based user interface. For those badly in need of a new set after suffering through March Madness on that 22-inch CRT, you'll be elated to know that every set mentioned here is shipping now from $1,499 to $4,999, with the full gamut of details waiting just past the break.

Continue reading Mitsubishi debuts 3D-ready Home Theater TV line, 82-incher included

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Mitsubishi debuts 3D-ready Home Theater TV line, 82-incher included originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Corsair's ultra speedy 256GB SSD sneaks out, hits the bench

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/08/corsairs-ultra-speedy-256gb-ssd-sneaks-out-hits-the-bench/

My, how fast the cutting edge becomes dull. Nary four months ago, we were introduced to Corsair's first SSD: a 2.5-inch 128GB slab of MLC NAND goodness that promised 90MB/sec read and 70MB/sec write speeds. Needless to say, those numbers weren't about to shatter any records, so the company went out and produced something that just might. The benchmarking fiends over at HotHardware managed to scoop up a 256GB S256 from the company and put it through the first of many tests. As for results? Early reports show average read speeds nailing the 200MB/sec mark, while average write rates hovered just under 170MB/sec. The only issue is the breathtaking $749 price tag (expected, anyway), but at least you've apparently got a few months to save up.

Filed under: Storage

Corsair's ultra speedy 256GB SSD sneaks out, hits the bench originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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