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Top 10 Gadget Clones

by Tom Conlon, posted Aug 20th 2008 at 12:01AMFeatured Story

For every product out there in the marketplace, a similar product stands by its side jockeying for the same consumer dollars. Coke has its Pepsi, McDonald's has its Burger King and the United States has its Canada. Yes, good-natured competition is what makes our economy go 'round. But, in the world of consumer electronics, some companies fight dirty, plagiarizing the designs and ideas of direct competitors. In some cases, the copying is outright theft -- particularly in China, where American patent lawsuits are largely unsuccessful. For your entertainment pleasure, Switched presents this list of the 10 greatest copycat gadgets.
Attack of the Clones
Meizu miniOne
No sooner than two weeks after Steve Jobs officially put the cell phone world on notice with the unveiling of the iPhone did this doppelganger on the left creep out of China. If the Meizu miniOne somehow slips past Apple's stable of lawyers, it's said to be on track to launch at the end of 2007 in China. It'll be stacked with a 720 x 480 display, a three-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. And unlike the iPhone, the miniOne will run on ultra-fast 3G cellular data networks.

The phone's maker, Meizu -- guilty of ripping off Apple designs in the past -- claims to have announced its own touchscreen super-phone days before the iPhone announcement. But as Engadget reported, the miniOne -- originally known as the M8 -- was a very different looking phone at the time of the announcement, and was subsequently given a quick nip/tuck to transform it into this flagrant iPhone clone.

Spotted at Engadget
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Wearable Art: Put Your Photos On A Pair Of Shoes

by Will Safer, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 7:20PM



Kids have been drawing on their Keds sneakers for years. In fact, some artists use them as their canvas – but what if you don't have an artist's eye? Fret not (we know that's what you do), for customizable photo sneaks are here.

The folks at Zazzle.com have added Keds sneaks to their catalog of customizable products, and you can upload images and place them on the different panels of the shoes.

Some ideas:
  • photos of your toes.
  • photos of someone else's toes.
  • photos of your cat's toes.
  • perhaps a photo of one large toe.

You get the idea. Basically, if you've got the digital image then you've got a shoe design element. To test it out, we uploaded some pleasing nature shots. It's a pretty simple process, with preview screens and the ability to see the shoe from all angles. (See our handiwork above.)

The fancy footwear will run you $50 or more depending on style choices. [From Photojojo.]
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HDTV Listings for August 19, 2008

by Richard Lawler, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 6:59PM

What we're watching tonight:
  • NBC (1080i) continues Olympics coverage at 8 p.m.
  • ABC Family (720p) has 'Secret Life of the American Teenager' at 8 p.m.
  • A&E (720p) has 'The First 48' at 9 p.m. followed by 'The Cleaner' at 10 p.m.
  • Sci Fi (1080i) lines up 'Eureka' at 9 p.m. and 'ECW' at 10 p.m.
  • History (1080i) has 'Evolve 'at 10 p.m.
  • ESPN2 HD (720p) has Little League World Series at 8 p.m.
  • ESPN HD (720p) has 2008 WSOP at 8 & 9 p.m.
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Student Builds Wind Generator for Developing World from Scraps

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 6:19PM

Wind Generator for Developing World Built from Scraps
A design student from the University of Portsmouth has built a wind turbine capable of providing light for a home in the developing world for only £20 ($37).

The generator is built primarily out of scraps and could be easily assembled in a day. The generator design uses easily-found materials like an old bike frame and wheel bearings, the magneto from a Vespa scooter, a car battery, and bits of wood -- it is possible that the innovative power source could be assembled for even cheaper in the developing world.

Max Robson, the designer, was inspired by his father, Ashley, who had talked of building such a device. "My dad wanted to do something like this but I beat him to it," Max said.

The ultra cheap turbine, once fully-charged, can provide light for up to 63 hours and radio for 30. The nearest competitor to the scrap heap wind generator, according to Robinson, costs about £2,000, or a little over $3,700, which means this is a truly game-changing innovation. [From: Daily Mail]
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Got Back Problems? iPosture Reminds You to Stop Slouching

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 5:40PM

Mama always said you'd regret slouching one day, and while you've still got a few decades left before ultimately determining whether the sage-like advice was right or wrong, why take chances? The iPosture does the same thing as wearable posture reminders that we've seen in the past, but this one does so in a much more discrete fashion. The diminutive nano-sensor detects when your angle deviates just three degrees from the optimal position for greater than a minute, after which it emits a warning to straighten you out. Users insistent on keeping it crooked can turn the device off by powering it down, removing it or flinging it furiously into a wall. Life's next big nuisance will be shipping soon for $99.95. [From: iPosture]

[Thanks, Eric]
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Princeton Review Accidentally Exposed Test Scores, Personal Information

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 5:01PMBreaking News

Princeton Review is to Web Security as Krispy Kreme is to Healthy LivingWhere there are standardized tests there are always companies making a killing on exam preparation books and classes. Princeton Review is one of those, specializing in training for exams ranging from the ACT to the USMLE. However, the company itself apparently needs a lesson when it comes to Web security -- it accidentally posted over 100,000 records of private information about students online for anyone to access.

The company exposed information on 34,000 students in Florida, including birth-dates, ethnicities, and scores on standardized tests. Information on a further 74,000 students in Virginia was also exposed and made public on the company's website apparently due to a massive security oversight when it switched Web hosting providers. If that weren't bad enough, the site also exposed confidential company documentation describing how to write mock tests based on the real exams while dodging copyright violations.

So, at least the students aren't the only ones left with their dirty laundry hung out to dry by this debacle, and we can't wait for all the well written legal briefs to come flying in from this one. Don't forget those semicolons, lawyers! [From: The New York Times]
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Blu-ray Releases on August 19th, 2008

by Ben Drawbaugh, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 4:30PM

Street Kings - Blu-rayAnother slow August Tuesday for Blu-ray releases this week, as there are only a few day-and-date titles. Of those, the best we can think of is 'Street Kings', but it isn't a hard decision when a title like 'Prom Knight' has a IMDB score of 3.1. We have another TV series on Blu-ray this week though, with Fox's Terminator show which oddly enough is distributed by Warner -- those TV rights are always much more complicated then they should be. Next week looks to be better though, as Universal has a whole slew of catch up titles, including Season 1 and 2 of 'Heroes', and Fox's new fun comedy 'What Happens in Vegas'.

Blu-ray 728

Blu-ray
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Online Mixtape Site Muxtape Closed Down, For Now

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 3:57PMBreaking News

Muxtape Closed Down, For Now
Millions of Internet music lovers are probably shedding tears right now. Hot on the heels of being told that their beloved Pandora radio may have to close up shop in 2010, now the digital mixtape (we still prefer old school cassette mix tapes) service Muxtape has shut down, at least temporarily.

There is little explanation from the site or its owners, simply a message saying "Muxtape will be unavailable for a brief period while we sort out a problem with the RIAA." Muxtape is notoriously easy to download songs from, despite measures instituted to prevent such violations of copyright law, which may have something to do with this most recent development.

Of course in the meantime, if you really need to get your Internet mixtape on, you can check out 8Tracks, which provides a similar service, and has yet to be closed down. [From: Valleywag]
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Jaeger LeCoultre Watch Unlocks Your Aston Martin

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 3:10PM


You know that Aston Martin DBS not sitting in your driveway? Here's the watch to not go with it, the €27,500 (more than $40,000) Jaeger LeCoultre AMVOX2 DBS Transponder. First spotted last year, the Swiss timepiece capable of locking and unlocking the DBS from a distance of 10-meters has had a rough time making the transponder reliable due to the mechanical watch's impact on electrical fields -- a Faraday Cage of sorts. The solution was to craft a 128-mm sapphire and metal antenna inserted into the curve of the inner bezel ring. Man servants and gold diggers will find the watch at fine retail shops sometime around December. [From: Jaeger-LeCoultre]
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Sleepy, Gadget-Crazed Teens May Be at Risk for Heart Attacks

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 2:20PM

Sleepy, Gadget-Crazed Teens At Risk for Heart Attacks
It's been said that today's teenagers are getting "junk sleep" thanks to their gadgets, with 30-percent of students indicating they only get four to seven hours' worth on an average night. Now, some researchers have examined the health implications of such limited sleep in a new study showing that sleepless teens were three-times more likely to have high blood pressure than those dozing for a full eight hours.

Teens are said to be staying up all night texting instead of getting some good Z's, with the net result being a higher incidence of heart attacks down the road. The study was recently published in 'Circulation,' the journal of the American Heart Association, and conducted by Susan Redline from a Cleveland sleep disorder clinic. It followed the habits of 238 teens and is the first such study to have been performed linking kids' lack of sleep to blood pressure. Despite a limited test group, it's no shocker that missing sleep is a bad thing. However, as usual we're not so quick to blame technology for all of the woes of today's kids. We weren't always particularly well rested when we were young, and most of us predate texting by quite a few years -- even decades. [From: textually.org]
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A Window Treatment for Windows Fans

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 1:35PM

A Window Treatment for Windows Fans
If you're old enough to remember Microsoft's Windows 3.1, which was a massive improvement in the PC interface in its day but now looks rather quaint, you'll get a kick out of this concept window treatment from geek artist John Nouanesing. Called Fenetres 3.1 (fenetre means "window" in French), it's a set of small curtains that add title bars to the individual windows, plus a window blind painted to look like a blue screen of death, which can be deployed by pressing down on a scroll button mounted to the right of the window. It's a clever visual tweak to a boring window, to say the least, though sadly, like Nouanesing, it doesn't look like we'll ever see it available for purchase. [Source: Apartment Therapy Unplugged]
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Angry Father Nails Xbox To Tree

by Will Safer, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 12:46PMBreaking News



What do you do when your kids get out of hand while playing with their Xbox? Your options are:
  1. A time out.
  2. No dessert.
  3. Nail that Xbox to a tree, dammit!
Yes, option number three was in order for a Mechanicsville, Va., father, who apparently had enough of his kids' shenanigans/back talk/zombie-like addiction to Halo. Out into the backyard and up onto the tree the Xbox went.

Lest you think this punishment too harsh, the kids' mother -- who by the way posted this story on CNN's ireport Web site -- says the action was appropriate and that the kids don't hate their dad.

The shattered unit is available now on Ebay, with half the proceeds from the sale going toward the Hanover County School system and the other half to the kids' college fund. In return, you get a pile of junk, since we're pretty sure nailing a gaming system to a tree trunk invalidates the warranty. [From: Joystiq.com]



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12 Legal Sites That Could Save Your College Career

by Dan Reilly, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 12:01PMFeatured Story



During those days of the week that college students aren't partying – somewhere between two and five, probably – they're expected to be somewhat responsible adults. Juggling assignments, schedules, finances, and the prospect of life out of school isn't easy, so we scoured the Internet for the best Web sites that make a student's life easier. The fall semester will be here before you know it, so read up now.
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Japan Investigates Exploding iPod Nanos, Again

by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 11:01AM


Look, it's pretty clear that the lithium-ion battery in the first generation iPod nano has the potential to burst into flames. Seriously, how many more cases do we have to see? Even after giving Apple a stern talking-to and ferocious wag of the finger back in March, Japan's government is once again investigating possible battery defects that caused a pair of Tokyo nanos to burn: nano model MA099 recently singed a piece of nearby paper while a model MA005 nano burned a traditional tatami mat in January (no injuries were reported).

Presumably Apple is calculating the Tyler Durden cost-of-recall at this very moment. In other words, take the number of 1st gen nanos in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, they don't do one.

Update: Japan has issued a warning to iPod nano users saying, "Users need to be careful about overheating of the machines," particularly when charging the players. Japan's government has reported a total of 14 similar incidents to Apple related to models MA004J/A, MA005J/A, MA099J/A and MA107J/A all sold between September '05 and September '06 -- two of which resulted in minor burns. NHK claims that Apple does not plan a recall but is ready to exchange defective parts.
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'Librarian' for Global Internet Child Abuse Ring Jailed

by Evan Shamoon, posted Aug 19th 2008 at 10:00AMBreaking News



While we generally try to avoid putting the words "pedophile" and "librarian" in the same sentence, sometimes it cannot be avoided. In the UK, Reuters is reporting that after one of the biggest undercover police investigations into online abuse in Britain. A pedophile who acted as a "librarian" for a global Internet child abuse ring was jailed Monday. Police say they have identified 360 suspects around the globe.

Philip Thompson, who is 27 and unemployed (pictured above), had apparently collected nearly a quarter of a million indecent pictures of children. He is in prison for a minimum of 45 months, after pleading guilty to 27 child abuse charges.

The operation was assisted by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), a police agency in the UK. The case began more than a year ago, when London's Metropolitan Police pedophile unit started monitoring an Internet forum, where users posted barely legal images of children and let others comment on them. They would then make direct email contact with one another, and exchange their own explicit material.

"He was a senior administrator for a pedophile Web site and was effectively a librarian for the storing and distribution of indecent images of children," Detective Sergeant Rebecca Driscoll told the press.

That's twice with the librarians. Sorry. [From: Reuters]
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