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it was the Dells that caught fire and did the most damage

I say they are about equal in destruction.

HDCP, the content-protection mechanism used for HD-DVD *and* Blu-ray, has been thoroughly cryptanalysed already by multiple groups (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP#Cryptanalysis or do a google search).

And working devices to "erase" HDCP from a video stream have already been produced and sold, e.g. this one: http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/21/the-clicker-hdc ps-shiny-red-button/

The "smart" part about HDCP is that it allows content manufacturers to revoke keys, so that new discs won't play on hardware whose key has been compromised. However, it seems fairly unlikely that manufacturers will actually do this, given that they'll break the hardware of thousands or millions of users every time a key actually gets revoked! Furthermore, as the cryptanalysis shows, it'll be fairly easy to create new working keys, so it's an ineffective defense anyway.

Conclusion: HDCP is leaky as a sieve. My bet is that it won't be long before there's a hassle-free open-source program that will simply remove it from content transparently, just as libdvdcss does for DVDs right now.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/23/diesel-powered- car-edges-on-half-the-speed-of-sound/ Apparently Slashdot isn't as fast as it used to be. That car has already hit 360+ mph. 320+ mph is now old hat. As an aside, all these smaller blogs seem to be able to keep up with the news much better than slashdot these days. I often find myself with a feeling of deja vu when I'm on Slashdot, as I've no doubt read the clippings elsewhere a few days prior. Ah, the problems inherent in scale.

Hi, Let me tell you a little story - I am based in the Phyiscs Dept of a UK Uni (nameless as there are Non Disclosure Agreements in place), but we were asked to test this Steorn system - Now I wasnt working myself on this but was asked to look at the results - Simlpy put there was an "anomaly" in the results that we were at a lost to explain - this "anomaly" was that the design of the test system, (where we were given Steorn designs but purchased all components ourselves, biult it, tested, etc,) was that there appears to be a net energy gain when you move through the magnetics fields... We stated to Steorn that this "anomaly" required further examination. this was 6 months ago and we cannot find where this excess energy in the system is coming from... We are at a lost to explain it... But magnetics is admittently a bit of a grey area, we know the capabilities of electromagnetism but this is an area that hasnt had the same level of academic research as for example DNA sequencing, astrophysics, etc... the scientific community and industry knew how to create electricity and we left it at that - magnetics is a neglected part of our natural world and the Steorn "anomaly" has left our Dept quite baffled as we are left at a loss to explain it in Classical terms... I await what the rest of our community says when they have an opportunity to see this Steon system... S

Could be Astroturfing, but then again...you never know...

Hi, Let me tell you a little story - I am based in the Phyiscs Dept of a UK Uni (nameless as there are Non Disclosure Agreements in place), but we were asked to test this Steorn system - Now I wasnt working myself on this but was asked to look at the results - Simlpy put there was an "anomaly" in the results that we were at a lost to explain - this "anomaly" was that the design of the test system, (where we were given Steorn designs but purchased all components ourselves, biult it, tested, etc,) was that there appears to be a net energy gain when you move through the magnetics fields... We stated to Steorn that this "anomaly" required further examination. this was 6 months ago and we cannot find where this excess energy in the system is coming from... We are at a lost to explain it... But magnetics is admittently a bit of a grey area, we know the capabilities of electromagnetism but this is an area that hasnt had the same level of academic research as for example DNA sequencing, astrophysics, etc... the scientific community and industry knew how to create electricity and we left it at that - magnetics is a neglected part of our natural world and the Steorn "anomaly" has left our Dept quite baffled as we are left at a loss to explain it in Classical terms... I await what the rest of our community says when they have an opportunity to see this Steon system... S

Could be Astroturfing, but then again...you never know...

Anyway, my LCD is actually "silent", and I love it. Unless DLPs become fan-less I'll never buy one again.

Funny you should say that... Samsung finally shipped their LED-based DLP a few weeks ago.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/06/samsung-hl-s567 9w-dlp-with-led-backlight/

I don't know if they have removed the fan altogether, but they have removed the color wheel (one less thing spinning at 10k+ RPM...) and the LEDs generate a LOT less heat than the traditional bulb, so I'd imagine it's effectively silent.

Going a bit off topic (well, not really, we're talking TVs!) Sony was showing off a prototype SXRD (ie LCoS) TV at CES 2006 that was about a foot deep (they had it hanging on a wall). Combine these innovations in projection TVs (true 1080p DMD/LCoS chips, LED lamps, thin cabinets, etc) and amazingly they may start taking some of the plasma/LCD market segment, ie low footprint HDTVs - especially in the 50"+ range, where there is a huge price advantage for projection TVs.

Pioneer releases 50-inch, 1080p PRO-FHD1 plasma

http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/13/pioneer-release s-50-inch-1080p-pro-fhd1-plasma/

"Alibaba, the Hangzhou-based B2B e-commerce company that took control of Yahoo China in August 2005, announced that the company and its subsidiaries would "henceforth and for all time cease to make use of the services provided by companies invested in or related to Zhou Hongyi."

Alibaba's subsidiaries include Yahoo China, payment solution provider Alipay, and leading Chinese auction site Taobao.com."

(It was also the completely unserious site who allowed Apple Mac G6 (!) to be listed on their pages)

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/11/mac-g6-now-avai lable-for-499/

"Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), the Red PCs web site seems to be down, though the machine is still listed on the Alibaba.com site as available for purchase with free global shipping and a one-year warranty."

Yes, but it could cause a few distros not to even officially support it anymore. I could easily see Ubuntu dropping it b/c of this...

Plus it's really gonna screw over guys like this.

"Afterall, there's a company called Pods that owns www.pods.com that rents pods for people to move their stuff in and that was established in 1998. I'm sure they've trademarked 'pod.' It's so funny how Apple is sending to cease and desist letters to companies when they should send themselves one."

They can't sue them because PODS (Portable On-Demand Storage) isn't in the same realm of consumer goods as the iPod. RTFA: Apple has issued warnings to makers of other electronic devices containing the word 'pod.'

Call it a crazy double-standard, but I think its really more a problem with trademark law.

What I do think is ridiculous about this is that these companies, despite developing electronic devices, aren't even trying to rip off Apple. It looks like Jobs & company just want to flex their muscles to try to intimidate others.

There are all sorts of knock-off electronic devices (like the Super Shuffle) that play mp3s that Apple is steamed up about but cannot stop. Sure they develop a nearly identical product, but they slip through the cracks because they don't actually violate any trademarks.

This doesn't just happen with iPods. I remember a few years ago when I was in Europe at a Russian flea market, they had knock-offs of EVERYTHING: Milson leather jackets, PlanStation games, Adadis shoes, Pamasomic TVs... and I'm sure they now have their iPod knock-offs. And while I'm sure anyone caught doing this got in some sort of trouble, I think they butcher the names just enough to slip by on any trademark violation suit. I also think it ends up being a waste of time and money for large corporations to chase down these small-time bootleggers.

Meanwhile, an honest company like TightPod is getting reamed because of a three letter word.

--
"A man is asked if he is wise or not. He replies that he is otherwise" ~Mao Zedong

I really hope that no one confuses the maker of the Profit Pod with Apple. There is a slight difference in the websites. I know that there are music related products out there that have tried to use the suffix "pod" in order to score some points from Apple, just like a Korean company started marketing the Super Shuffle. These products are questionable, but there is no way that a data collection device for arcade machines infringes on Apple or the iPod product family. Microsoft isn't attacking OpenOffice and WordPerfect Office. I think Apple is really out on a limb on some of their cease-and-desist operations.

I think homebrew stuff is kewl. I love it. However, I don't like how you have 10 things hanging off a DS for it to work :)

With that said, I saw this on engadget last week. It looks promising for a simple *UNOBTRUSIVE* homebrew experience. Which is what I want :) I could use it like a regulary old DS cartridge and not have weird things dangle off my DS for homebrew fun.

I'm getting 404s on the links above so I can not see the pictures, but I have a HTC Wizard, it has tiny keys but it is fine for typing on. I've written a couple of fair sized documents with out any major issues.

http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/27/htc-wizard-qtek -9100-caught-naked/

make that TurboGrafx-16.

There is a little bit about it on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii

and a link about the Virtual Console pricing: http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/08/nintendo-announ ces-wii-virtual-console-pricing/

Any explosive can be disguised as anything. All a potential terrorist has to do now is to disguise a explosive in something that isn't currently banned. Let's say that a terrorist is able to place a hard drive-sized bomb in a laptop. Do we ban laptops now?

When you can do stuff with your PSP like this: http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/09/psp-controlled- honda-civic/ or http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/09/use-your-psp-as -a-pc-joystick/ why is everybody complaining about it?

When you can do stuff with your PSP like this: http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/09/psp-controlled- honda-civic/ or http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/09/use-your-psp-as -a-pc-joystick/ why is everybody complaining about it?

Come on guys, the PSP is clearly a computer joystick!

There is a good full write-up of the WWDC here: http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/07/live-from-wwdc- 2006-steve-jobs-keynote/

Blu-ray is going to top out at 200GB, not 50GB link: http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/28/tdk-ok-were-don e-with-the-200gb-recordable-blu-ray/

and its the same size as a traditional CD :)

GM committed to putting line-in jacks on all their affordable cars standard. Some high end ones too.

http://www.engadget.com/2005/03/18/gm-adds-line-in -aux-in-jack-to-their-cars/

They started this a couple years ago, so the Cobalt, Sky, Vue, Ion, Solstice, HHR, G6, Impala, Monte Carlo and many others already have it.

It baffles me why it took so long and why other companies like VW who claim they are in touch with America's youth still don't have them.

First, it looks as tho CNET's not been following the news lately. They're asking for trouble there with the white guy winning...

Second, what's all this about the United Mining Companies Police in an article about PDAs?

Wait... I get it. Angus sported a portable computing device...

DN

DLP technology, as others have mentioned, is really cool and has a lot of potential. It is also less expensive than LCD/Plasma, but it is not without problems. (For anyone interested in really researching this, go to AVS Forum, the bible on this sort of thing.) If going DLP, I highly recommend looking into waiting for LED light based models. The first one is coming out right about now. Lots of DLP owners are having trouble with lamps breaking within 1 year at costs of >$200 -- sometimes as high as $400. Other complain about fan noise, rainbow effects, or breaking color wheels. LED based models, in theory, should solve all of these problems, and finally create a large 1080p wide screen tv technology that doesn't lose significant picture quality over time.

http://www.engadget.com/2004/08/05/who-you-gonna-c all-the-bluesniper/ http://www.tomsnetworking.com/2005/03/08/how_to_bl uesniper_pt1/

Given what happened to this BMW owner, I would suggest that no one with any sense should use biometric security to protect anything that is valuable to thieves.

Hyperbole time:
If you walk through the toughest part of town sporting a prominent gold watch, wearing an fine suit, talking on a diamond encrusted cellphone, and fanning yourself with a filled money clip, then perhaps you could be said to have been "asking for it." It's not like you forced the mugger to come after you, but it IS your fault for walking around saying, "Look at me! I've got MONEY! In easily portable and transferrable form!"

You can worry about "blame" all you want. Meanwhile, I'll be lowering my profile and quietly be thankful for obstinate idiots for drawing all the attention. You don't get mugged if you don't look like you're worth the effort.

A little common sense is in order here. Hide your $300 toy.

Hey, if you can use a normal optical mouse as a scanner, there's no reason why it might not be possible to use the CCD in the Wii remote as a camera. It just depends on whether Nintendo have put the facility for transfer of the raw data from the CCD to the Wii via bluetooth. It'll might show some strange images though, depending on what light bandwidths it picks up in addition to IR.

Just look at the combination lock, it can be cracked open with a bic pen top.

But yes, the point about things like locks and encrypted source only providing only limited protection is well taken.

Along those lines, the next version of Robosapian will be compatable with Lego Mindstorms.
          http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/08/robosapien-rs-m edia-gets-new-lego-mindstorm-nxt-brain/

So thats a cheap option for colleges looking to sex up the CS major.

What would interest me more is how they would put bittorrent to use with DRM?

It might work the same way, iTunes does: distribute the files without DRM and add the DRM in the client. The was even a story on slashdot about this. Quote:

Jon Johansen ("DVD Jon") has published a small program which allows the acquisition of DRM-free file from Apple's iTunes Music Store. He explains that his program works by bypassing iTunes which adds the DRM itself at the end of the transfer. His program, pymusique, is Windows-only compliant but it'd be easy to port it to other platforms."

This method has some advantages for apple, mainly the cheap distribution costs about inverese web proxies. But there is also a big disadvantage: in principle everyone can just grab the music and skip the DRM-step in the client. Apple's responded to this thread by obfuscating the protocol. Until now, this scheme seems to work at least for JHmyn, a program that removes DRM after the ITunes client has added it. Quote:

It appears that if you make any purchases using iTunes 6.0 (or, even without making any purchases use iTunes 6.0 for other Music Store activity which authorizes against your account, such as authorizing a new computer to play your music), from that point on you must use 6.0 -- and then JHymn won't work for you either. JHymn will have to learn how to perform the iTunes 6.0 protocol before this problem is likely to be fixed -- so hang on, it could be a bit of a wait.

Unlike DRM systems using hardware support, adding the DRM in the client is not a perfect solution. But with an obfuscated protocol it seems to be good enough -- and in the end DRM is always about obfuscation. BitTorrent (the protocol) fits very well in this scheme, because it helps to minimize distribution costs. In some distant future one could even use Palladium/TCPA/NGSCB/... to ensure that only certified clients can participate on the swarm. Of course, certified clients would always add the DRM. And of course the client can add any kind of DRM, be it FairPlay or some subscription service like Napster or anything else. So the media industrie gets both: DRMed music and movies and the clients pay for distribution. Nice.

The Euro-peons are thinking about using the Galileo system as part of an electronic road tolling scheme... So, bearing in mind the surveillance potential of such a scheme, I'd think the best way to "crack" one of the Galileo satellites would be an ASAT missile...

Ohh, those silly Europeans... that kind of thing would never happen in the US!

No offense bud, but you're a tiny sliver of a very tiny segment.

Oh, and the Wii probably will have an emulator for the old games. You may have heard of it...

I like how they threw in witches and devil worshippers. They could have just as easily said drug cartels or mobs but chose two peaceful subcultures. Sure every bunch has their bad apples but over all you never hear of witches or devil worshippers killing a little kid for his iPod. I was raised by a very open minded family and my father was sometimes accused of being a "devil worshipper" by many of my religious peers families due to his belief in some of the satanic churches ideals. He never practiced Satanism, he merely believed in a few of their principals. He was never a violent person and on that note this article hit a sore spot for me. The satanic church itself is not about violence at all, it is more about embracing lifes pleasures. Ok, I'm getting off topic. Violent gangs are bad and don't incriminate other subcultures in the process if you don't know what you're talking about.


Bedevere: Exactly. So, logically...
Villager: If... she... weighs... the same as a duck... she's made of wood.
Bedevere: And therefore?
Villager: A witch!
Crowd: A witch! A witch!...

Try here.

This past Monday, I bought a 2GB U3 to complement my iRiver h320 (Vorbis but not FLAC, even with Rockbox - at least not in realtime, yet) which is nice to carry around a few CDs plus an audio book or two; I have been very happy with it. I think the 60GB X5 is more like what you are looking for. I was put off by the UI complaints, but they said the same about the iRiver and that was fine. Frankly. if you have a well organized directory structure fo your music, who cares?

Though I have to say this looks neat.

Google "ipod killer" -> 1,160,000 results.

We've seen iPod killers from Sony, iRiver, Dell, Nokia, and of course Creative.

Microsoft has been killing the iPod for years now. They need to get their other iPod killers out of the way to give their new device a piece of that tasty iPod flesh that Apple competitors have been feasting on for years.

"...But it gets better. To attract current iPod users Microsoft is going to let you download for free any songs you've already bought from the iTunes Music Store. They'll actually scan iTunes for purchased tracks and then automatically add those to your account....[MS has to pay rights-holders...they'll lose money to win converts] "

From: http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/06/microsoft-plann ing-wifi-enabled-portable-media-player-working-o/

Albeit ostensibly benevolent, keep in mind Microsoft has a habit of trying to dump loads of money to gain initial market share. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

Perhaps citizen will get into the e-reader market as well http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/17/citizen-lcd-ret ains-image-even-when-off/

Hmmm... Samsung is planning to do a combo drive. I hope they release it. And I hope they outselll both Toshiba and Sony, which will of course never support both formats.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/26/ipod-city-admit s-labor-law-violations/

Ok. So they are only forcing their workers to work and extra 80 hours a month for no extra pay. Forced free labor == slavery.

• first, it costs $25 to even enable the feature. their ceo says it's to help pay for the licensing costs... i guess, but it's still too pricey for a simple add-on. divide that number by five and i might consider it. especially when i have to buy a separate license for every PC i run the software from. it should be tied to the device's media access key, IMHO.
• you can't convert stuff you've already transferred over from your tivo to the mobile format. i use my PC as a backup for my tivo - as the DVR runs out of room i move stuff over to the PC and stream it from there if i want to watch it. so the ~30 shows sitting on my PC are gone off my tivo and I can't re-transfer them.
• i can't convert-on-demand. i have to go into the preferences and turn on mobile conversion, and then transfer a show from the tivo. wrong, guys, i should be able to right click on a show from the list and convert on the fly.
• i can't convert to both ipod and psp formats at once. true, i'm a gadget nerd and few probably own both devices, but give me the option instead of leaving it out. i don't get why software developers continually forget that more options = happier consumersx.
• the psp has a 480x272 widescreen. i should be able to render my tivo recordings at that resolution, but output from this app is max 320x240. which will look sad and grainy on my psp.
• they still haven't fixed long transfer times. there's no reason at all that it should take an hour to copy a 1GB file from my tivo to my PC on my 100mbit LAN.
• the transfers take a long time, so if my connection dies during a transfer or i lose power, the software should allow resuming of transfers. nope. restart it and walk away for another hour.

• first, it costs $25 to even enable the feature. their ceo says it's to help pay for the licensing costs... i guess, but it's still too pricey for a simple add-on. divide that number by five and i might consider it. especially when i have to buy a separate license for every PC i run the software from. it should be tied to the device's media access key, IMHO.
• you can't convert stuff you've already transferred over from your tivo to the mobile format. i use my PC as a backup for my tivo - as the DVR runs out of room i move stuff over to the PC and stream it from there if i want to watch it. so the ~30 shows sitting on my PC are gone off my tivo and I can't re-transfer them.
• i can't convert-on-demand. i have to go into the preferences and turn on mobile conversion, and then transfer a show from the tivo. wrong, guys, i should be able to right click on a show from the list and convert on the fly.
• i can't convert to both ipod and psp formats at once. true, i'm a gadget nerd and few probably own both devices, but give me the option instead of leaving it out. i don't get why software developers continually forget that more options = happier consumersx.
• the psp has a 480x272 widescreen. i should be able to render my tivo recordings at that resolution, but output from this app is max 320x240. which will look sad and grainy on my psp.
• they still haven't fixed long transfer times. there's no reason at all that it should take an hour to copy a 1GB file from my tivo to my PC on my 100mbit LAN.
• the transfers take a long time, so if my connection dies during a transfer or i lose power, the software should allow resuming of transfers. nope. restart it and walk away for another hour.

...when you can set up your own distribution center: Engadget has a peek at Primera's mass Blu-ray duplication system

Primera has started shipping the world's first Blu-ray disc duplication system, the Bravo XR-Blu Disc Publisher, able to burn up to 50 discs in one session. The core of the unit is actually Pioneer's recently announced BDR-101A Blu-ray burner, but it's backed up by some sweet built-in robotics to keep the discs moving (we hope -- we've heard this things are a little buggy) and full-color direct-to-disc inkjet printing to ensure a professional-looking job. This being the first unit of its kind, however, it should come as no surprise that it only uses single-layer discs, able to store a measly 25 GB, but Primera says an upgrade will be available "shortly" to allow for dual-layer burning. And if you thought regular, single-disc Blu-ray burners were expensive, you better look away now, 'cause this beast will set you back a whopping $5295.

Sounds like we'll be seeing surprisingly cheap Blu-ray movies on Ebay any day now.

> Bill Gates eats baby penguins.

Of course he does! Bill Gates is a pirate!

Disclaimer: I have already submitted this as a story.

The unamplified WiFi (2.4GHz) distance record is 125 miles. Yes, it is dampened by moisture, but....

Considering how many dozen satellites are up there these days transmitting in C band (i.e. on the same set of frequencies), I'd say it's safe to say that there's a lot of potential for directional antennas when it comes to overcoming spectrum limitations. The key is directionality. Remember, it only has to be directional on one end. Where cell phone systems have trouble is that they are omni on the cell phone end and can't be all that directional even on the tower (i.e. you don't have a dish tracking each cell phone as someone drives around).

With wireless networking, those problems just aren't as important. You have a fixed tower and a fixed customer installation, which means that the customer installation can tightly focus its ears in the tower's direction. If you had two ISPs with towers, somebody could end up getting screwed if they lived exactly along the line that runs through the two towers (and not between the towers). However, usually ISPs try to set up the towers near the fringes of the city on top of a tall hill, which means that most people would be pointing their dishes away from the competition, not towards it.

Yes, eventually, you'll run into limits with spectrum in wireless communication, but if you only focus on permanent, directional setups, there's a -lot- of room left to grow. By contrast, in most cities, there aren't a lot of places to put up a tower. I maintain my opinion that most cities are likely to run out of space for towers first. :-)

I was expecting some hardware to actually be shot

This could be a PR stunt, because any thief stupid enough to steal ALL the black DS units would never be able to sell them without getting caught. On the other hand... maybe Nintendo should hold off on shipping more?

Here's a mugshot of the evidence.

To be fair, Jobs did offer to give them a gratis license to use OSX freely; they turned him down because OSX is not open-source.

I am a simple man.

I don't want an operating system with bells & whistles. I don't want an operating system that looks like it has a glass face or real marble or the most incredible anti-aliased font you've ever seen. What I want is an operating system that works and works efficiently.

There's no reason to preach to the choir, I have many machines (most of them Linux) that dual boot to many operating systems but you'll always need Windows because it's kind of the 'industry standard' for some people.

But when I look for an operating system the words 'form','function','marriage' & 'perfect' come to mind but not necessarily in that order. What I mean is, there's a balance I seek such that my hardware isn't stressed just to open a text editor yet the design is simple & friendly to the eye.

I run Windows XP professional & it works. It works well, which is surprising considering my history with the Windows operating system. It can be cut down to a pretty bare point of functionality and I like it.

So, Mr. Gates, why should I upgrade to Vista? Your "feature list" (the same damn thing I've been seeing for the last year) doesn't entice me at all. In fact, it scares me. You know what else scares me? It might not run the games I currently play ... and I'm not even sure it will run on my current hardware. Hell, even IBM doesn't seem to want Vista.

Tons of cash for a bloated operating system? No thanks. I'll settle for Windows XP Professional.

Unfortunately, this only disables AutoPlay (another irritating "feature"). AutoRun is actually a completely separate thing, and disabling it requires a bit of registry-fu. Check out this page:
http://features.engadget.com/2004/06/29/how-to-tue sday-disable-autorun-on-windows/