New Data Loss Laws Introduced In UK

As of last Wednesday (May 7th 2008), anyone who recklessly loses personal data will face a "substantial" fine after the government created a new civil offence. British MPs backed the amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, making it an offence for anyone to "intentionally or recklessly disclose information" or "repeatedly and negligently" allow information to be disclosed. The Information Commissioner's Office welcomed the powers and said it would be a strong deterrent against companies losing personal data.

Microsoft Launch MSN Video

Microsoft has announced the launch of a new social video service which is tightly integrated with it Windows Live Messenger instant messaging service. "MessengerTV," is initially only available in 20 countries, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, and Mexico. Funny enough it is not yet available in the US. The service offers content from MSN Video's collection, this includes TV shows, music videos, and a selection of the web's viral content from third party providers.

CHDK - Hacking Your Canon Point & Shoot

lifehacker.com have posted an excellent article on the Canon Hacker's Development Kit. CHDK is a free, open source project with which you can add features like RAW shooting mode, live RGB histograms, additional photographic settings, motion-detection, time-lapse, longer video recording and even games onto your existing Canon camera. The beauty of CHDK is that it is non-permanent and non-destructive, you can use when you want to; CHDK makes no changes to your camera. Installing CHDK entails having a couple of files added to your camera's memory card. Removing it involves simply restarting your camera without the memory card present.

HTC Touch Diamond ... Worthy Adversary

HTC have announced the latest challenger to the iPhone: the HTC Touch Diamond. The touchscreen phone features a new interface called TouchFLO 3D, which provides animated access to people, messaging, email, photos, music, weather and more. It even has its own browser for surfing the web on its 3G wireless connection. With some unique capabilities such as an automatic face down silent mode, and the gorgeous faceted back the phone will certainly attract a lot of users: HTC Touch Diamond Key Specifications Size: 102 x 51 x 11.33mm Weight: 110 g Connectivity: WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional Display: 2.8-inch VGA touch screen Camera: 3.2MP, with video calling Internal memory: 4 GB Internal Storage, 256 MB flash, 192 MB RAM, Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g GPS: GPS/AGPS Interface: HTC ExtUSB™ - (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed) Battery: 900 mAh Talk time: GSM: up to 4 hours Standby time: GSM: up to 300 hours/100 hours with push email Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM 7201A™ - 528MHz Visit Gizmodo for more pictures and details.

Iron Man Phone

LG Electronics have unveiled the LG Iron Man phone, a limited-edition, 18-karat gold slider based on the LG Shine. The Phone is being given away as part of the promotional campaign with Paramount Pictures to promote the upcoming Marvel Studios film Iron Man. The Iron Man phone will however not be sold in stores. The only way to get one of these babies, is to win one on the Iron Man Website after the 15th April or from one of the other promotions being run by magazines and websites. If you can't win one then you can always console yourself with one of the great Iron Man Figures.

Zune XNA Games Preview In May?

Microsoft are aiming for the first community technology preview of their XNA games for the Zune to be released in May. Zune games are able to support ad-hoc wireless play, supporting up to eight players, however, the devices don't currently have hardware 3D acceleration. However Microsoft already have several proof of concept games up and running.

CD-Player For £4K

As a gadget freak I like the looks of this seriously cool looking CD Player and audio system. The Shanling CD-T3000PRO looks very much like something cooked up in an alien lab, or as a power device for Stargate or any other sciu-fi series. However it is simply a high powered CD player which is fitted with a Philips CD-PRO 2 disc mechanism, an aluminium alloy chassis and 8x Burr-Brown DAC. It also features some serious protection against mechanical and electromagnetic interference. So is it worth $7K, not to me, but then again, if you have the cash to spare, I guess it depends on whether you fancy it or not. I give it high marks on style though.

iLogic Sound Hat

The iLogic Sound Hat is a simple concept that allows you to plug your iPod or other portable media device directly into integrated speakers inside of the hat’s surface. Devices can be plugged-in via a standard 3.5mm headphone plug on a 98cm wire. The hat itself has a fleecy feel on its interior and looks quite simple. You can get the iLogic Sound Hat from I Want One Of Those for £14.99.