Philips Intro CinemaOne

Philips have introduced their CinemaOne DVD Player/iPod Dock. This clean looking unit acts as an iPod speaker system, a DVD player, and a soundbar, it can plug in to your flatscreen via HDMI and provides surround audio through five DSP-driven speakers and 4-inch subwoofer. The DVD player is DivX-compatible, has 1080p upscaling and Dolby Digital and DTS support. Take a look at the product factsheet from Philips.

Veoh Safe Harbor Ruling Could Impact YouTube Suit.

Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube could be impacted by a judgement which was handed down in favour of video host Veoh. A federal judge ruled yesterday on the matter in a case where Io, an adult film company. In the ruling the judge said that Veoh does indeed qualify for a Digital Millennium Copyright Act safe harbor. The judge felt that Veoh addressed DMCA complaints quickly, and had banned more than 1,000 repeat infringers, and thus qualified for safe harbor protection. This same ruling could have an impact on Viacoms lawsuit as many of the same conditions are met by YouTube.

IE8 Beta Wows Reviewers

After so many years of grumbling from users of IE, it seems that Microsoft are finally paying attention. The latest Beta of IE8 seems to have hit a positive note with many reviewers. The updated browser includes many features that are making the browser look like a real competitor in the market as opposed to just something to replace. With features like Suggestions, Accelerators, Tabs and InPrivate, there has obviously been a lot of effort expended on improving the users experience of the web when using IE. Ars Technica conver a lot of these improvements in this article. Other articles cover the security, stability, and privacy features. I'm really hoping something will be done to tackle the memory problems.

Samsung's 1.8" 120GB Glossy USB Drive

Samsung has broken through the 100GB barrier with its SpinPoint N2. Samsung are pushing the drive to Apple for use in their iPod classic and MacBook Air. Although the 120GB USB drive comes in a cool looking glossy black enclosure the size of a credit card, there isn't a name for it yet (publicly at least). The 4200-rpm USB drive is also power thrifty, drawing less than 1.4W and just 300mA from a 500mA USB port. The drive is rated at 4,200-rpm, and has a read speed of 27MB/s and a write speed of 23MB/s. The SRP of 40GB version should be around $160 with the 120GB model retailing for about $293. Put it in a gold plated case and you'll have plenty of buyers.

iPhone Ad Pulled In UK

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has decided that Apples UK iPhone campaign is telling a lot of porky pies (lies). They taken the step of banning the commercial from airing in its current state. The ASA has argued that "all the parts of the internet" should include Flash and Java webpages, neither of which are natively viewable through the iPhone's mobile Safari. The ASA said: "Because the iPhone doesn't support Flash or Java, you couldn't really see the internet in its full glory, ... They made a very general claim that you can see the internet in its entirety, and actually that's not quite true - so we've upheld." Apple are obviously unhappy about this, but then again this is from the company which people think invented the gui and mouse based computing.

Nikon Unveil D90 DSLR

Nikon have unveiled their new D90 DSLR. The D90 features a new 12.3 megapixel Nikon DX-format CMOS image sensor with an Integrated Dust Reduction System. The DSLR has a Low-noise capability which ranges from ISO 200 to 3200, it also has support for ISO 6400. The camera can also record video using their D-Movie mode, which records in AVI format at 320 x 216, 640 x 424 or 1,280 x 720. Other features include: Scene Recognition System based on 420 pixel RGB sensor for improved autofocus, autofocus and auto white balance, in addition to Face Detection. Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus with 11 AF points. 3-inch, VGA Live View LCD. 4.5 fps continuous shooting 0.15 second startup 65ms shutter release lag. SD / SDHC storage. HDMI output The Nikon should be available in kit form for around $1,299. For more info visit Nikon.com

Canon Eos 50D Announced

Canon have officially unveiled the EOS 50D. The 15.1 megapixel DSLR features an APS-C sized CMOS sensor, DIGIC 4 image processor, up to ISO 12800 support, a 3.0-inch LCD with Live View, face detection, HDMI output, 6.3fps burst mode. It also uses the same AF system found in Canon's 40D but with a new Microadjustment feature. This Prosumer centric model should have an SRP of $1,599 with Canon's EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens -- $1,399 for the body only.

Epson V300 Scanner

Epson has released a new consumer scanner called the Perfection V300 Photo which should retail for $100 and offers 4,800 dpi optical resolution. The V300 Photo features a 180 degree lid to allow for more flexible scanning options. The scanner offers one-touch scanning with four buttons and features LED technology which “enables fast scan speeds and eliminates warm-up both when starting a scan or when switching between reflective and film scanning.” The V300 features four selectable scan modes and a transparency unit for handling negatives and slides.

Cowon Unveil New PMPs

Cowon have unveiled a number of PMP's. First up is the new S9 Curve, a 3.3-inch media player which features a 480 x 272 pixel AMOLED capacitive touch panel display with 16 million colors. It also has a 500MHz dual-core CPU, a T-DMB digital television tuner, Bluetooth, FM radio, TV-out, and a G-Sensor accelerometer. Next is their L3 nav, which has a 7-inch 800 x 480 touch screen, a SiRF III GPS chip, hidden touch controls, a T-DMB tuner and FM transmitter. Last up is the O2, which features a 4.3 inch touchscreen, a T-DMB tuner, Dictionary, Recording, SD Card Support, TV-Out, USB 2.0 and comes in 8, 16 and 32GB versions.

Sony PSP 3000 Revealed

The Sony PSP 3000 has been revealed at a few sites over the last few days. However few images are as telling as the above shot, which shows the apparent brightness and vivid detail which will be available on the updated portable game machine.

Shuttle Intro Atom-powered X27 Mini PC

Shuttle is introducing a green mini PC called the X27. This tiny unit will use as little as 23-watts whilst idling and 36-watts whilst in use. The X27 includes one of Intel's Atom chips, in a case which measures only 10 x 7 x 2.75 inches. The Unit should be available sometime in September.

iRing

iPod fans rejoice ... the iRing remote control. Ok, the iRing is only a new concept from designer Victor Soto. The iRing wireless remote control for your iPod which is shaped into the form of a cool looking ring. The iRing’s works quite simply, to adjust the volume, need to slide your finger across the touch sensitive surface of the ring. Simply tap the Apple icon on the ring to pause or play and touch on either side of the icon to skip or replay a track. Don't rush out to try and find one yet, as it is only a concept, but apple would do well to buy this one from Victor.

Cool Music Composition Gadget

Yanko Design are showing yet another really cool product concept. This one is aimed at the more musical amongst us and has been designed by Ouyang Xi, He Binbin, Zeng Li & Li Bo. The Device is a tablet based device which features a digital pen fitted with a microphone. The pen records anything you sing into it and when docked into the digital paper tablet, your vocal compositions are converted automatically into musical notation. For those of you can write music, the pen allows you to write directly onto the display. Thanks to coolest-gadgets.com for the lead.

Sony Reveal 160GB PS3

Sony announced the highest capacity hard drive in a PS3 to date - 160GB. This PS3 model will be released in North America later this November in a limited edition bundle with the game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and will also come feature a PLAYSTATION Network Voucher for PAIN and a DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller. The 160GB PS3 will have an SRP of $499.99. I wonder ... when will Sony offer upgrades to existing customers.

iPhone 3G Lawsuit

Alabama resident Jessica Alena Smith filed a lawsuit against Apple over the "Defective iPhone 3G." She hopes the suit will become a class-action complaint. She is stating that the suit is based upon the iPhone's 3G sub-standard performance and reliability. The Lawsuit details that Smith noticed that the iPhone's data connection, e-mail, SMS, and other communications were slower than expected, and that the device only appeared to connect to AT&T's 3G network less than 25 percent of the time. She also experienced an "inordinate amount of dropped calls," according to the lawsuit. It will be interesting to see this unfold. Thanks to Ars Technica for the lead.

Intel Unveil UrbanMax.

Intel showed a prototype of a device called the UrbanMax. Although details on this device are not readily available the unit looks to be a tablet/laptop like device which has a sliding/tilting display. The display itself is an 11-inch resistive touchscreen, with a 1,366 x 768 resolution. There is also a slide out QWERTY keyboard, an optical mouse, a Core 2 Duo Centrino2 and Windows Vista. Thanks to jkkmobile for the info and photos.

Intel Atom Appears In New PCs

Intels new Atom processor is appearing in all sorts of new devices. OQO showed their proposed OQO MID device in prototype form equipped with an Atom. Intel themselves showed their Classmate PC concept which also features an Intel 1.6Mhz processor. With many other MID devices appearing with this chip, its low power consumption and other capabilities look to be a real hit with many manufacturers.

Darwin Award Nominee - Tropical Storm Kite Surfer

The sad thing about this clip is that it's all too real - it seems that a Kite surfer called Kevin Kearney was strapped into his kite when a huge gust of wind from the tropical storm Fay came in and the picked him up and flung across the beach and into the side of a building right in front of local news cameras. http://view.break.com/557265 - Watch more free videos Sad thing is that he was seriously injured and is in hospital in critical condition.

New Levels Of Realism In 3D Animation

The Times Online has featured an article which take the realism in 3D animation to a new level. Emily - the woman featured in the animation found in their article was produced using a new modelling technology that allows the subtle details of facial expressions to be captured and recreated in animations. Emily is considered to one of the most impressive advances in animation technology, in that it very closely approximates real human movement and expressions. The animation is well worth a look.

How People Kill Their Cameras

Amateur Photographer have released an article detailing some of the ways in which the public destroy their cameras. The details come from data which has been released by insurance group Domestic & General in the UK. It seems that around a sixth of us blame children or dog, 3% of claims run over their camera with a car, about three quarters drop their cameras, either onto a "hard surface", into water, or other wise damage the camera by falling onto it and using it to cushion their fall. The article is worth a read.

Dell Inspiron 910 Details Leaked

Gizmodo have release some details which have been leaked about the Dell Inspiron 910. Dells answer to the Eee PC has been called the Inspiron Mini, and the specifications which can be found in this article at Gizmodo. The info indicates that the 910 can support SSDs up to 16GB and looks like it would be capable of other mods and upgrades. Still no definitive answer on its cost but Gizmodo are saying that August the 22nd is the likely release date .

Dell Unveil New Precision Laptops

Dell latest designs for their Precision laptops seems to have hit a positive chord with a number of folks. Their new M6400, M4400 and M2400 feature an all-new design and come with coloured lids. Their M6400 17-inch offers up to 16GB of RAM, 1TB RAID storage, high-end NVIDIA Quadro graphics and features an LED-backlit display with 100% Adobe RGB color gamut. The M4400 starts at $1,569, while the M2400 starts at $1,449 both support up to 8GB of RAM. Both the M2400 and M4400 are viewable at the Dell Site.

Cell Phone Jammer

As a regular user of Public transit, I've often wanted a device to hand that could stop the use of cell phones in my immediate vicinity. Short of getting an imaginary EMP device which would kill all electronics in the vicinity including the bus, I've not had much luck finding a device. Along comes the Hand-held Portable Universal Cell Phones Jammer from brando which allows me to jam any cellphone within 10M and can go with me wherever I want. The jammer sells for US$246.00. Now if the unit could also jam mp3 players on cellphones too ... I'd be a happy camper.

Teens Losing Interest In IT?

Silicon is reporting that UK teens are losing interest in IT Courses and Qualifications. According to the report the figures show that 5,068 people sat the computing A-Level this year, as compared to 5,610 in 2007. Most students (about 22 per cent) achieved a Grade C and this seems to be the same proportion as in 2007. About 12,277 student sat the ICT A-Level, which is down from the 13,360 who sat last year. The official reading these stats are however not probably taking into account that many students don't really see the skills being taught as important enough to merit study. The system does appear to need an overhaul and also an understanding of the type of skills that the industry needs educational establishments to focus on. The article is worth a read just for the statistical data alone.

iPhone With Glowing Apple Logo Mod

Gizmodo are featuring a story which features a russian mod of an iPhone in which the modder has made the Apple logo on the back glow. All told the mod isn't cheap to do. It costs about $300, so you really have to be an apple Fanboy to attempt it. Oh ... BTW, it'll also invalidate your warranty.

CAPTCHAs put to work

CAPTCHA is a technology which is often put to use to to differentiate between human and computer visitor to websites. CAPTCHA means Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, it uses a string of characters that are subjected to distortions in order make it difficult for computerized character recognition to identify them. This technology is now being put to use to help scientists translate badly damaged historical texts by converting words which aren't recognized by character recognition software into slightly distorted CAPTCHAs and allowing users to try to identify them. The technology, called "reCAPTCHA" is now used to make positive use of thousands of hours of otherwise wasted human processing power. There are currently over 40,000 sites are using reCAPTCHA. For more on this read

Pirates & Game Producer Exchange Ideas

Cliff Harris, an independent game developer with Positech Games decide to open up a dialogue with game pirates to figure out just why people actually pirate games. It seems that there was quite a deluge of mail and Cliff seems to have paid attention. The main areas of contention appear to be - Games are too expensive. The quality of games is all over the place. DRM hurts legitimate customers. Positech responded by dropping DRM and lowering prices ... it'll be interesting to see how the pirates respond and if sales actually go up ... Read his summary of the feedback here.

PS3 PlayTV Delayed Till September 19th

Sony’s PlayTV DVR for PS3 has been delayed until September 19th. The DVR add-on for the PS3 was announced last autumn and was originally scheduled for a September 10th release. PlayTV will allow you to pause and rewind live Freeview TV and features dual tuners to allow you to watch one channel while you’re recording another. It will even let users record a program while they are playing a game. It will however be available for European Playstation owners only (for now that is).

Crysis Warhead Due In September

Crytek have announced that Crysis Warhead is set for release in Europe on September 12 and then North America on September 16. If you want to save money on the US release visit Electronic Arts and pre-order it on their online store for $24.95. A whole $5 off the suggested retail price.

Criterion Collection Coming To Blu-ray

As a big fan of quality video packages, I've long been upset over the absence of the type of quality content and material that was often the earmark of a Criterion Collection based media release. Criterion are finally coming to HD now that the format war is pretty much over. Quoted below is their announcement: We’ve got some exciting news for this fall, and we wanted you to hear it first. Our first Blu-ray discs are coming! We’ve picked a little over a dozen titles from the collection for Blu-ray treatment, and we’ll begin rolling them out in October. These new editions will feature glorious high-definition picture and sound, all the supplemental content of the DVD releases, and they will be priced to match our standard-def editions. Here’s what’s in the pipeline: The Third Man Bottle Rocket Chungking Express The Man Who Fell to Earth The Last Emperor El Norte The 400 Blows Gimme Shelter The Complete Monterey Pop Contempt Walkabout For All Mankind The Wages of Fear Alongside our DVD and Blu-ray box sets of The Last Emperor, we’ll also be putting out the theatrical version as a stand-alone release in both formats, priced at $39.95. Our Blu-ray release of Walkabout will be an all-new edition, featuring new supplements as well as a new transfer; we will also release an updated anamorphic DVD of Nicolas Roeg’s outback masterpiece at the same time. I'm hoping it wont be long before we see the Criterion editions of Seven Samurai and Kagemusha, amongst other Kurosawa classics. Thanks to DVDtimes.co.uk for this one. For more on their titles visit Criterion.com

Polaroid Reveal Future Instant Camera Plans

Polaroid are set to release an digital camera which includes an on-board printer which uses the Zink printing technology. The camera/printer will be able to produce 4 x 3 inch prints. It also looks likePolaroid are looking for consumer feedback on the devices final form factor. Visit amateurphotographer.co.uk for more information.

HP Launches New Laptops & Displays

HP launched a few new products at SIGGRAPH today. Firstly a few new laptops in the form of the 17" EliteBook 8730w and 15.4" EliteBook 8530w and 8530p. The 8730 features a 17-inch DreamColor display, a quad-core Intel CPU, 8GB of RAM and NVIDIA's 1GB Quadro FX graphics card. The EliteBook 8530w and 8530p, feature 8GB of RAM, a Core 2 Duo chip (the 8530w supports an optional quad-core chip) and HP's brushed anodized aluminum DuraCase. HP also announced 22 and 24 inch displays. The 22-inch LP2275w lights up 92 percent of the NTSC color gamut across its 1680 x 1050 pixels, whilst the new 24-inch LP2475w puts 102 percent across its 1920 x 1200 pixels. Both displays feature 1000:1 contrast ratios, extra-bright panels and adjustable stands. The LP2275w will be avaialble immediately, while the LP247w will come next month. Retail pricing will be between $459 and $649 respectively.

Stolen PS3 Tracked Down Via IP

Dustin Waller received a Playstation 3 as a gift from his fiancee Christie Myers, who bought the console from 3-D Games in the in the Salisbury Mall. When Myers brought the game console home, Waller plugged it in and hooked it up to the Internet so he could play a few games. When he went on the Internet looking for online games for his new PlayStation, the stolen machine became visible and about a month later, Statesville Police knocked on Waller's door at his home in Cleveland. Waller was told his PlayStation had been stolen in Statesville, and they wanted to know how he got it. The detective also took the PlayStation away, leaving Myers and Waller short by about $350. Waller was tracked down by the login name recorded on the PS3 when signed on the Internet game. He thought it was a promotional account that came with the game. He played online several times, using the original owner's account, which is how, the Detective told Waller, he tracked the account using the computer's IP address, with some help from Sony and Waller's ISP. Police later told Waller that the man who sold the game console to 3-D Games is the chief suspect in a series of burglaries. Waller and Myers returned to 3-D Games to see if the store would return his money. After some consideration the store gave him an Xbox 360. Read the full story at The Salisbury Post website.

Black Hat Security Conference Reports

Ars Technica and other sites have been covering some of the info being unearthed at the Black Hat Security Conference. Several security concerns regarding security features found in Vista are creating a lot of noise amongst consultants. Some of the exploits are rehashes of earlier security issues caused by the very languages used to create our applications, however some are more fundammental in nature. One security issue caused microsoft to create Data Execution Protection, or DEP. This protection mechanism protects against Buffer Overflow based attacks. However security researchers have been digging away and discovering new ways of taking advantage of these types of holes. Visit arstechnica.com/ to find out more...

Sony Prepares PlayStation Home Beta

Sony are soon going to be rolling out their PlayStation Home Beta. To apply for the beta in the US and Canada simply download the PlayStation Home theme from the PlayStation Store and your application will have been submitted. This doesn't guarantee your acceptance beacue Sony will use a variety of factor to determine you eligibility. PlayStation Home's closed beta is poised to start at the end of the this month. Existing beta testers automatically qualify for the expanded beta. European users will be selected by a different method, SCEE will be directly targeting the consumers who have been most active on their PLAYSTATION Network and Store. Thanks to blog.us.playstation.com for

Asus Ships Quickstart Desktop

Asus are shipping their Quickstart Eee Box. This PC can go from off to ready-to-surf in seven seconds. This tiny PC is a fully functionally Windows XP computer,which includes the latest wireless 802.11n networking standard and what Asus calls “Express Gate” technology. The Quickstart capability allows users an almost instant on capability. The Eee PC includes Intel’s latest Atom N270 processor running at 1.6Ghz, 1GB of RAM, and comnes standard with an 80GB Hard Drive. Asus say that the unit also uses about 90 percent less electricity than a full-sized desktop. Available in both black and white editions, it should retail for around $350.

IKEA to Sell Solar Tech

The cleantech group is reporting, that Ikea is planning to sell affordable solar gear for everyday users. This could be a big boost for the industry which could change the cost of these normally expensive solutions. I can only applaud any such move ... lets hope it's more than just hype.

Apple Raises Ire Of iPhone Users

A purported capability in the iPhone is rapidly raising the Ire of iPhone users. Several Blogs and tech sites are reporting on a reported capability in the iPhone which allows it to call home and then disable unregistered apps. This feature flies in the face of many users assumptions that they are buying their technologies and are therefore free to add whatever they want to their devices. Even Engadget who are big Apple fans are not impressed by this purported capability.

Canon Intros Three Vixia HD Camcorders

Canon have introduced a trio of HD based camcorders. The HF11 flash-based camcorder and the HG20 and HG21 hard drive-based camcorders all support the AVCHD video format with 24Mbps recording, should be available at retailers in September. The Vixia HF-11 features 32 GB of internal flash memory that supports up to 12 hours of video in LP mode and just under 3 hours at 24Mbps. The camera also features 12× video zoom, a 3.3 megapixel full HD CMOS sensor, and a 2.7-inch multi-angle LCD viewfinder display. It also sports USB 2.0 connectivity, component and composite output, and HDMI. The HF-11 should be available for suggested price of $1,199. The Vixia HG21 features 120 GB hard disk for up to 45 hours of LP recording or just over 11 hours of 24Mbps recording. The camera also features 12× video zoom, a 3.3 megapixel CMOS sensor, a 2.7-inch widescreen LCD viewfinder, and instant autofocus. The HG21 should be available for suggested price of $1,299, The HG20 features a 60 GB hard drive, and has much of what the HG21 features. The HG20 should be available for suggested price of $949. All cameras feature an SD/SDHC memory card slot.

E-Passports Fail Security

The UK's Times Online have proved that the new high-tech e-passports being considered and used around the world can be hacked and cloned within minutes. A computer researcher working with the Times cloning the chips in two British passports and implanted digital images of Osama bin Laden and a suicide bomber. Both passports subsequently passed as genuine by UN approved passport reader software. The entire hack took less than an hour to complete.

Pioneer's 500GB Blu-ray disc

Pioneer launched a 400GB Blu-ray disc last month, but they have just unveiled a 500GB disc which uses 20 layers, each with a capacity of 25GB. The potential ‘crosstalk’ issues which were percieved to be problem between the separate layers on the disc seems to have been dealt with by Pioneer. This new disc is still at the prototype stage so Pioneer are working to get it included in the standard.

Peeping Tom Hacker Gets 4 Years

In a story from theregister.co.uk, A 47-year-old computer technician has been jailed for four years after being convicted of hacking into internet webcams in order to spy on teenage girls. The man used Trojan horse spyware to gain remote control of a 17-year-old girls webcam and took illicit pictures of the young woman in her bedroom. The teenager's machine was infected after she opened an infected email attachment. There were a couple of girls who were affected in this way. The cyber-stalker attempted to blackmail The 17-year-old into posing naked in front of her webcam by threatening to email images hehad taken earlier to her friends. The contacted local police, who then tracked down and arrested the hacker. In another case a woman in florida was peeped upon by a young student who had "fixed" her computer. The peeper was discovered after the woman approached a friend who worked discovered software that the woman said she never authorized anyone to install. The software included Log Me In and Web Cam Spy Hacker. The peeper was identified as Craig Matthew Feigin, 23, who was subsequently charged.

Vista On PS3!!!

Some loon has decided that he wanted to try loading Windows Vista onto his PS3 - He actually managed to achieve it. Stop laughing ... Vista on a PS3 takes about 25 minutes to boot and 12 minutes to open Notepad. Thanks to gizmodo.com for this one.

Worm Hits MySpace and Facebook

Apparently a new worm is circulating on the social networks MySpace and Facebook, posing as the latest version of Flash Player. The worm works by pretending to be a new version of the player and asking you to download the latest version. If you click on the link, it launches it self and makes you an uwitting participant of a botnet. CNET and Kaspersky Lab beleive that this worm infects a users machine and the next time the user logs on to the site, the message is automatically forwarded to people on the users friends list." Like anything you have to click on be vary wary, in fact don't click at all. Please ensure you have up to date protection.

Lenovo S10 Netbook Official

Lenovo today announced their Ideapad S10 netbook. The S10 allows users to surf the net, check and write emails, listen to music, and run basic applications. Lenovo plans to introduce netbook models designed specifically for students and educators. The S10 features a 10.2 inch backlit LED screen, 512MB/1GB RAM, 80GB/160GB HDD, Webcam, Wifi, a 4-in-1 multicard reader, an Express Card slot, and Windows XP. It should be available in early October in white, black, and ruby red editions. Prices start at $399.

Plica Cellphone Concept

A new cellphone concept on show over at tuvie.com. The Plica is an interesting concept which combines a folding cell phone and a MID type touchscreen device. This device is named after a zoological term for the folding of a body part. The Plica features two touchscreens that can fold together like a wallet. The screens can work together, giving the user extra screen real estate. One of the touchscreens can act as a touchscreen QWERTY keyboard while the other will display what you need to see. The concept which is designed by James Piatt, could easily give the iPhone a run for its money. I'd like to see it developed further.

Disappearing iPhone Apps

It appears that Apple have been removing a few of the most popular iPhone applications from their store. Last week it was NetShare, this week the popular Box Office application. So what is up with this are the apps doing something illegal or is Apple just flexing it muscle in some wierd way. Apple are making it obvious that they'll control what you can and can't put on the iPhone, however, this leaves me and a few others out there a little nervous and also reinforces one of the reasons why I'm not overly enamoured with the iPhone or Apple. I should be free to use my toys as I see fit ... not have some schoolyard bully try to extort my pocket money from me. I, like a few others out there, would like to see a free and open platform from all manufacturers and vendors. Hopefully this isn't something sinister and really more to do with security or a bug...

GIFAR - File Exploit Affects GIF and JPEG Files

According to an article over at Arstechnica, researchers at NGSSoftware have developed a hybrid attack which is capable of hiding itself within an image or other file types. NGSSSoftware intend to present details on the exploit at the Black Hat security conference which takes place next week. This exploit could be used on web sites such as MySpace and Facebook with great ease. Embedding the offending exploit code in a graphic would make it idea for socially engineered distribution. The GIFAR exploit works because two different programs see the same file differently. The web server that actually holds the file sees it as a GIF file, and serves it accordingly, but when the "image" actually reaches the client, it's opened as a Java applet and run. The research team will leave some of the details of the attack out of their presentation, in order to prevent its immediate exploitation. Patches are already underway from some vendors, including Sun.

Engadget Posts Critical Look At iPhone

Engadget finally posted a look at the iPhone 3G without coming out all gushy and looking like the fanboys they are. It seems that they don't like the fact that cracks are appearing in some iPhone 3G cases for apparently no good reason. They also don't like the idea that you still can't replace your own battery easily. Still they didn't quite come out critical in the title, touting the post as a kind of poll which asks ... How would you change Apple's iPhone 3G? Suggestions from users include: Better camera options such as more megapixels, video recording, illumination. Better battery life (dedspite the fact that the battery life ain't really that bad for a hybrid device). Cut & Paste (I can't believe Apple failed to include this). Bigger and better storage - memory cards slot, etc. Call blocking. iChat camera at front (but this would only be meaningful with better battery life). 3G-based modem capabilities. Attach files to emails. My Faves: User replaceable battery. Bluetooth with full capabilities (A2DP anyone?). A real browser with flash and Java support. Best of all - No Fan Boys... Worth a read - visit Engadget.com for more.

Spam King Murders Family, Kills Self.

Edward Davidson, the Colorado based 'Spam King' escaped from prison and then fatally shot his wife and three-year-old daughter. He then turned the gun on himself. Davidson was convicted for sending hundreds of thousands of unsolicited e-mail messages. He pled guilty to the spamming charges last December, but escaped on July 20 from a federal prison camp in Florence, Colorado. Sad thing is that he was sentenced to under 2 years, there is at the moment no indication why he escaped and killed his family.