Ian Rowan
Key West - http://www.notthemotorcyclediaries.com
Customers Find Rocks, Bricks Instead of Nintendo DS, MacBook Pro
According to the report, Wal-Mart told her to take it up with Nintendo, which told her to take it up with Wal-Mart, of course. Turns out that the same item had already been returned by another customer for the same reason. Once this surprising fact was brought to its attention by 10 Connects, Wal-Mart begrudgingly gave Wykle a refund and $20 gift card.
Dutch Artist Gives New, or Old, Meaning to 'Notebook' With Video
Earlier today, we stumbled upon Evelien Lohbeck's animations via PSFK.com and found them to be right up our alley. Shunning the whole netbook craze, the recent Academy of Arts, St. Joost graduate has turned to her trusty artist's notebook to sketch her own Windows XP interface, YouTube channel, and Xerox machine -- all in one. Something tells us that her version of XP doesn't crash.
With a degree in animation, Lohbeck blurs the boundaries between drawing, the digital, and the real; her notebook can make toast and cheese, show her reflection, produce candle light, and play the opening refrain of the White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' on a drawn guitar. If only our drawings of stick-figure ninjas could come to life. [From: EvelienLohbeck.com, Via: PSFK.com]
New Alarm Clock Recalls Rubik's Cube
A truly puzzling alarm clock, the Cube Clock (which is available for $24) resembles a mixed-up Rubik's Cube, with an LED screen smack-dab in the middle. When it starts emitting a robotic, electronic alarm, all you have to do is twist the top of the cube to snooze. You can also set the display to show the current temperature (shown), current time, alarm time, or the day's date.
Just don't confuse the Cube Clock with your original Rubik's Cube. Then you'd have to tell your boss that it was your Rubik's fault you didn't wake up. She's not going to believe you. [From: Chocosho, Via: Dvice.com]
Just don't confuse the Cube Clock with your original Rubik's Cube. Then you'd have to tell your boss that it was your Rubik's fault you didn't wake up. She's not going to believe you. [From: Chocosho, Via: Dvice.com]
Taser Sues 'Second Life' for Trademark Infringement
'Second Life' has reached another virtual milestone -- it's being sued by Taser, the world's largest manufacturer of stun guns, for trademark infringement. 'Second Life,' run by Linden Research Inc., is a virtual online community of users that use avatars to 'live' and 'work' within a user-generated world. According to Bloomberg, Taser is claiming trademark infringement, since users can buy 'Tasers' from virtual vendors within 'Second Life' and use them on other avatars (or on their own, if they're so inclined).
Since 'Taser' is a brand name, and the virtual product is being bought and sold with real currency in virtual shops that also sell pornographic material, the company contends that its brand is being tarnished and diminished. Lodged in Phoenix, Arizona, the complaint states, "All of the defendants that sell virtual weaponry like plaintiff's real ones, under the mark Taser for use in the Second Life programs and grids, also sell adult-only explicit images and scenes."
According to the Second Life first quarter economic report, its online economy is booming with user-to-user monetary transactions projected to be $450 million this year (a $100 million increase from last year). Seems like Taser wants its cut, since the 'Don't tase me bro' fiasco probably hurt sales. [From: Bloomberg]
Since 'Taser' is a brand name, and the virtual product is being bought and sold with real currency in virtual shops that also sell pornographic material, the company contends that its brand is being tarnished and diminished. Lodged in Phoenix, Arizona, the complaint states, "All of the defendants that sell virtual weaponry like plaintiff's real ones, under the mark Taser for use in the Second Life programs and grids, also sell adult-only explicit images and scenes."
According to the Second Life first quarter economic report, its online economy is booming with user-to-user monetary transactions projected to be $450 million this year (a $100 million increase from last year). Seems like Taser wants its cut, since the 'Don't tase me bro' fiasco probably hurt sales. [From: Bloomberg]
FBI Spyware Used to Gain Access to Suspects' Computers
A recent Wired.com story reports that the FBI has been using a proprietary spyware program to snoop on alleged ne'er-do-wells since at least 2004. According to heavily redacted documents that Wired obtained by invoking the Freedom of Information Act, the FBI has developed a sophisticated program it calls 'computer and Internet protocol address verifier,' or CIPAV, that can infiltrate target computers and report information back to an FBI server in Virginia. The software has been crucial in the investigations of many cases that include extortion schemes, terrorist threats, illegal hacking, bomb threats, and electronic bank robbing.
The documents describe how the software is delivered to the target user -- via MySpace Chat messages containing links to an FBI-run Web site loaded with CIPAV. Apparently, the software gains access via the user's system vulnerabilities and runs 'silently' in the background. After logging the computer's IP Address, MAC address, open ports, a list of running programs, the operating system, internet browser and version, and the last-visited Web address, CIPAV sends the information back to the FBI database and switches to a stealth "pen register" mode, with which CIPAV can continually monitor the computer's Internet use.
Stalk Your Family With AT&T's FamilyMaps
Attention worry-prone parents: AT&T is now offering location-tracking for their subscribers with FamilyMap. The service is similar to Sprint Nextel's Family Locator and Boost Mobile's Loopt. FamilyMap utilizes built-in GPS and cell-tower triangulation to locate users. AT&T's offering is limited to those within a family plan and allows members to track one another online or on their phones. ...Text-Message Commentary Coming to the Movies?
Thought movie hecklers were annoying? Well, if a new project takes off nationwide, prepare to be uber-annoyed by heckling via texting/Twittering projected directly onto the movie screen. MuVChat creator Rien Heald describes his Frankenstein-like creation to the Chicago Tribune as "a mash-up of 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' and Twitter." At MuVChat screenings (currently only in St. Charles, ...Increasingly, Police and Fire Departments Turning to Twitter
Twitter has not yet ceased to amaze us. A growing number of law enforcement agencies have taken to the 140-character tweet to aid in serving and protecting their citizens, according to an AP report. The Milwaukee Police Department has been tweeting about homicide suspects, community improvements, robbery surveillance footage on their YouTube channel, gang arrests, missing persons, Milwaukee's ...Computer Consultant Allegedly Siphoned $1M From Utah Bank
When consultant jobs are few and far between, you have to make the most out of the ones you can get. Take, for instance, Zeldon Morris. When the Family First Credit Union in Orem, Utah hired the Provo man to fix some bugs in a recent computer upgrade, Morris decided to take some liberties with a few of the accounts, according to Provo's Daily Herald. According to recently submitted court ...Half of Microsoft Staff Uses Google Rather Than Live Search
About half of Microsoft's full-time stateside employees use Google search instead of Microsoft's own Live Search, reports CNET. Although that seems like a laughable percentage, it's actually a vast improvement from a year earlier, when about 80-percent of employees used Google exclusively. According to Microsoft senior vice president Yusuf Mehdi, the software giant is still struggling to get ...
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