Posts by Terrence Obrien at Switched

Obama Carries a Zune?

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 5th 2008 at 6:04AM

Apparently when Obama talks about "change" he means absolutely everything. It's the only way that we can explain the fact that this confirmed Mac user is lugging a Microsoft Zune to the gym. We know that President Bush has an iPod, so the only reason we can figure that the President-elect is using a music player he can't even sync with his computer (Zunes are not yet Mac-compatible) is out of a desire to be different from Bush in every way possible.

To be fair, we don't know that it was his Zune, just that he was spotted with a Zune. But it's just another item we can add to the list of gadgets that Obama apparently keeps on hand. Thankfully, unlike his BlackBerry, we can see no reason why the president would be forced to give up his audio player.

Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden are admitted iPod fans, which leads us to believe that Obama really is trying to create a bipartisan administration. Leave it to Obama to prove Microsoft and Mac products can peacefully co-exist.

There has already been speculation that an Obama presidency will spell the end of comedy -- maybe he'll also put an end to the flame wars between Mac and Windows fans. That would be real change. [From: Gizmodo and City Paper]

Scottish Prisoners Getting Flat-Screens

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 4th 2008 at 10:09AM

We know that prison systems around the world are in desperate need of modernization, but did you really have to give them flat-screen TVs? Huh, Scotland? Some of our staff can't even afford LCD TVs, and (to our knowledge) they're not criminals.

A privately-run prison in West Lothian, Scotland is getting a makeover that makes it nicer than your average college dorm. Electronic kiosks have been installed for prisoners to check menus and order food, check account balances, and order supplies from the canteen.

The prison even has a computer room, library, a gym, and private showers in the cells. Audrey Park, the prison director, defended the availability of flat-screen TVs for the prisoners. She pointed out that the TVs must be purchased by the prisoners and were limited to 15 inches in size.

So in this prison, the real punishment is being forced to squint and hunch over a tiny television screen all day. [From: Telegraph]

New GPS Collar Lets You Track Your Lost or Stolen Pet

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 4th 2008 at 7:31AM

New Collar Will Track Your Lost or Stolen Dog

Strapping a GPS tracker to a dog is nothing new, but British start up company Retrieva is offering a smaller and much more feature-packed version that in better economic times might have become quite a hit.

Unlike earlier models, which were so large they needed to strapped to a dog's back, the new GPS collar is worn, well... as a collar around the neck. The collar is waterproof, made of cut-resistant webbing, and has a key-lock mechanism to make it all but indestructible and impossible to remove by anyone but the dogs owner.

The collar uses a built-in cellular radio to send text message alerts if your dog wanders beyond a programable distance from the base station. The unit then sends constant updates about its location, which can be viewed on either a mobile phone or on downloadable mapping software.

This is great for someone who has a dog that tends to wander off or escape on a regular basis. Unfortunately, at £250 (about $370) it's probably only going to make it on the shopping list of the most paranoid dog lovers. [From: Daily Mail]

Drive Folks of All Ages Away With High-Pitch-Emitting 'Mosquito' Device

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 5:14PM

Tool to Annoy the Youthful Turned on Adults

The Mosquito, a small box designed to irritate young people by emitting a high pitched whine only audible to those 25 years old or younger, is expanding its audience by lowering the pitch to annoy everyone. Great...

Until now, the high-frequency box has been used primarily to keep young hooligans from bothering shopkeepers by loitering. But now that it can be heard by everyone, the box can be used to keep anyone from entering a store. Why anyone would want that we're not exactly sure, but to each his own, right?

The devices may find their way into parking garages and secluded parts of parks where criminals or the homeless might hang around. Of course, we can see this becoming a favorite tool of pranksters everywhere, and it's only a matter of time before one these drives some poor stressed out person to violence. [From: Techdirt]

Santa's Gmail Inbox Revealed

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 3:48PM

In the vein of the fake Sarah Palin Facebook page, Holy Taco is celebrating the holiday season by poking fun at Santa and all things Christmas.

The Photoshop pranksters at Holy Taco have recreated Santa's Gmail inbox, replete with 419 scam messages and offers for cheap Viagra. Of course, Santa's inbox also has bratty kids asking for a PlayStation 3 and PETA complaining about his enslavement of reindeer.

We don't want to ruin all the fun, so follow the read link to check out the image for yourself. [From: Holy Taco via walyou]

Twitter-Competitor Pownce Closing Down

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 7:57AM

In case you've been waiting for it, the second Internet bubble might be on the verge of bursting. Banks and mortgages aren't the only things collapsing in the now official recession -- Web 2.0 startups are starting to drop like flies.

The most recent collapse is Twitter-competitor Pownce. The feature-packed micro-blogging service, backed by Digg founder Kevin Rose, was bought up by SixApart, the company that makes the MovableType blogging platform and runs the VOX social network. While Pownce never drew the near the numbers that Twitter attracts, it was still successful in its own right, and this might signal trouble for many smaller services with lesser-known talent behind them. The service will officially close on December 15th.

Pownce was very much a victim of its own hype, the subject of glowing write-ups in the New York Times and other places early on. Unfortunately, it may have been a bit too 'exclusive' for its own good. Besides never getting mass numbers of folks to join, the service didn't really play well with others. Though it packed in more features than Twitter and was, at least at first, more reliable, Pownce lacked the ability to let other applications interact with it. Unlike Twitter, which allows developers to write code that can add items to a to-do list and track packages, among other things.

Continue reading Twitter-Competitor Pownce Closing Down

Robots Pole-Dance for Art

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 2nd 2008 at 6:02PM

Leave it to a British artist to look at the USB pole dancer and see art instead of a cheap novelty piece of landfill fodder.

An art gallery in London is displaying a collection of works called MuTate that features robots, interactive video screens, and even replicas of Soviet-era MiG fighter jets. One piece on display features a pair of life-sized robots grinding suggestively on poles, while a DJ plays danceable tunes.

The whole concept is kinda cool, but the whole thrusting-robotic-hips-thing makes us quite uncomfortable. Check out the BBC for video of the cyborg dancers in full gyrating glory. We need to go wash our eyeballs now. [From: BBC News]

Give the Gift of a Subscription to Skype, Netflix, Other Services

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 2nd 2008 at 8:02AM

Trying to figure out something unique to give someone for the holidays, but not quite ready to go the arts and crafts route? You could give the gift of subscription services.

For the talkative, a Skype subscription might prove useful. $60 a year will get you a phone number for accepting calls. If you spring for unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada ($2.95 a month) the price of a SkypeIn number drops to $30, a 50% discount. You could also give the gift of a Web site: $10 a year will score a loved one their own dot-com, and if you're feeling generous, hosting for a Web site often costs less than $100 a year.

Just make sure these gifts are appropriate -- your friend that still uses a rotary phone (un-ironically) may not have much need for a Skype account. [From: Download Squad]

New E-Mail Scam Targets the Previously Scammed

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 1st 2008 at 5:21PM

As if you didn't feel bad enough about yourself after being taken in by that e-mail from the Nigerian prince enlisting your help to gain access to nonexistent millions, now you've got to worry about guarding yourself against a scam targeted at those who have already fallen victim to Internet con-men.

Those infinitely malleable 419 scams that harvest personal info from the less cautious among us are now targeting those who have already fallen for the scheme. E-mails are starting to land in in-boxes promising cash compensation to those who have been fleeced by a Nigerian based scam before.

Cory Doctorow from Boing Boing received one recently that read:

THIS IS TO OFFICIALLY INFORM YOU THAT YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED AMONG THE 40 LUCKY VICTIM OF SCAMMED TO BE COMPENSATED WITH $500,000.00.FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS,THIS WAS CONCLUDED BY THE SENATE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA,SENATOR wALLIS KELLY WITH DELEGATE FROM THE UNITED NATION AND WORLD BANK AT THE AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT WHICH TOOK PLACE IN ADDIS ABABA IN (ETHIOPIA) AIMED AT REDEEMING THE COUNTRY'S IMAGE AND ALSO TO TRY TO PUT ANEND TO THE INCESSANT SCAM REPORTS BY FOREIGNER ESPECIALLY FROM USA AND AROUND THE GLOBE.YOU HAVE BEEN LISTED AND APPROVED FOR THIS PAYMENT AS ONE OF THE SCAMMED VICTIMS TO BE PAID THIS AMOUNT.

As usual, you should never give out personal information via e-mail, but if you feel so inclined, you can save your fellow human some trouble and engage in a little scam baiting. Every minute spent replying to your e-mails is time the fraudsters aren't trying to prey on someone else. [From: Boing Boing]

German Scientists Try to Clean Up 'Naked Scanners'

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 1st 2008 at 3:57PM

Airports worldwide are starting to see new full-body scan machines that have the unfortunate side effect of revealing your goodies. Of course, the fact that security agents get an eye-full of your naughty bits has some privacy advocates concerned and has prevented them becoming common place in most countries.

Reuters reports that German scientists are looking to address some of these concerns. They've taken the scanners into the lab to see if they can produce an image with the private parts automatically blurred out. Critics of the highly detailed scanner dubbed it the "naked scanner," and are spearheading the effort to prove the scanner can effectively reveal weapons without producing an image of a passenger's naked body.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has previously defended the scanners, saying the images produced were family friendly enough to, "make the cover of Reader's Digest." After seeing the images, however, we can safely say that the only way 'Reader's Digest' would ever publish images from the scan is if they were purchased by 'Hustler.' [From: Reuters]

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