Submission + - iPhone Completely Unlocked for $96 with Forged SIM (gizmodo.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Gizmodo is reporting total unlocking of the iPhone: 'while the wizards are still working on a software-only complete unlock for the iPhone, hackers in Europe claim that they have completely unlocked it, allegedly using a SIM reader/writer and a blank SIM card to obtain full calling and SMS capabilities. Total cost: $96. Read on for the details.' Apparently it has been tested in Europe, but I am ordering my SIM kit now.
Submission + - How blogging grew out of Unix history (clubtroppo.com.au)
Jacques Chester writes: "I administer a moderately popular site in Australia. Like many geeks who get roped into helping out with such things, I am frequently surprised at how current bloggers seem to think the Internet was only turned on when they turned up, that this is a new phenomenon. I decided to write a little on how it's all been done before."
Submission + - Is Microsoft muscling into our national archives? (zdnet.co.uk)
ZDOne writes: "National Archives chief information officer David Thomas is tasked with ensuring government documents and websites survive for future generations but it's no easy task. Microsoft has been keen to show-off what it is doing to curb the problem posed by Office documents no longer being commercially supported but open source alternatives may be a better long term option."
Submission + - The Ultimate Gang Showdown
polterbyte writes: "Pirates or Ninjas? Well, The Ultimate Gang Showdown will give us a chance to answer that question once and for all. Of course Monkeys, Robots and Zombies are there too. And many, many more. Actually, there are 128 contestants in this Wimbledon style Draw. Get in there and vote!"
Submission + - Russia working to claim Arctic (foxnews.com)
Crazy Taco writes:
So, according to Russian thought in this article, does the United States just get the moon then? After all, we went there and planted our flag. Should that be ours? Should we just give in and accept that the Russians get the Arctic for planting a flag, since that gives us the moon (which is WAY better in the long run)?
Two deep-diving Russian mini-submarines descended more than 2 1/2 miles under North Pole ice to stake a flag on the ocean floor Thursday, part of a quest to bolster Russian claims to much of the Arctic's oil-and-mineral wealth.
So, according to Russian thought in this article, does the United States just get the moon then? After all, we went there and planted our flag. Should that be ours? Should we just give in and accept that the Russians get the Arctic for planting a flag, since that gives us the moon (which is WAY better in the long run)?
Submission + - NY Times "Free" trial is a trap (nytimesee.com)
LiquidCoooled writes: The New York Times have recently begun offering an exact digital replica of the daily newspaper.
However to get a look at this nifty sounding site, you must signup and leave your credit card details.
The only thing which concerns me is the following:
Page Headline: Free: Try The New York Times Electronic Edition For 7 Days
Clause lower down: The first charge will be on the 5th day of your 7-day free trial.
My question then, how do I get a free 7 day trial?
However to get a look at this nifty sounding site, you must signup and leave your credit card details.
The only thing which concerns me is the following:
Page Headline: Free: Try The New York Times Electronic Edition For 7 Days
Clause lower down: The first charge will be on the 5th day of your 7-day free trial.
My question then, how do I get a free 7 day trial?
Feed Engadget: Senators Wyden and Brownback promise to push Internet Radio Equality Act (engadget.com)
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio
Things haven't looked great for internet radio stations for a while now, and though SoundExchange has put a pause on the rate hikes while it's in talks with the webcasters, not much progress has been made, and US Senators Ron Wyden (D) and Sam Brownback (R) have decided to do something about it. They're promising to push forward their co-sponsored "Internet Radio Equality Act," which hopes to chuck the new extravagant rates decided upon by the Copyright Royalty Board and return to a flat percentage-of-revenue model. Wyden and Brownback also decry the recording industry's use of a minimum per-station fee to leverage broadcasters into DRM, which "fails to respect the established principles of fair use and consumer rights." While they do support a negotiated solution, the Senators promise to takes steps toward passage of the IREA if there's no progress in negotiations by Labor Day. To throw your weight in behind the movement, check out the read link.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Submission + - Homeland Security abused by Kinder Morgan (charlestoncitypaper.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Calling out Kinder Morgan's polluting habits earns one man a visit from Homeland Security.
Hearing more and more of these kinds of stories, no warrant and no reports.
"He's repeatedly tried to obtain the boarding report typical of any Coast Guard boarding, but Sea Hawk's Gutierrez says that since Charleston County responded to the call, the only records of the incident are Deputy Adcock's report about the expired registration, which never mentions boarding the boat."
Submission + - Is the RIAA back to it's torrent-crushing tactics? (tgohome.com) 1
Tom writes: "During a download from The Pirate Bay, I saw 11 similar IP addresses (via. the 'Peers' tab) on the .available.above.net server. This is really odd, because the chance of this happening is something close to 11 in 26 billion. Also, uTorrent constantly was complaining about pieces failing hash checks..."
Journal SPAM: Will Bush Cancel The 2008 Election? 10
Published on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 by CommonDreams.org
Will Bush Cancel The 2008 Election?
by Harvey Wasserman & Bob Fitrakis
It is time to think about the unthinkable.
The Bush Administration has both the inclination and the power to cancel the 2008 election.
Submission + - Bill Gates Sells 3 Million Shares in Microsoft (cnn.com) 2
eldavojohn writes: "Today Bill Gates has sold 3 million shares of Microsoft's common stock for $28.99 to $29.44 each. A vote of no-confidence from the chairman himself?"
Feed Engadget: Vista Performance and Reliability Pack hits the web prematurely (engadget.com)
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Don't look now, but Microsoft is apparently readying a Vista Performance and Reliability Pack for release, and while it's certainly not available through Windows Update just yet, that doesn't mean it's not hiding elsewhere. Reportedly, the aforementioned pack and the Vista Compatibility and Reliability Pack will institute a number of welcome fixes and performance increases in a variety of areas, and though the list is indeed lengthy, a few notables include:- Increased compatibility with many video drivers.
- Improved visual appearance of games with high intensity graphics.
- Improved quality of playback for HD DVD and Blue-Ray disks on large monitors.
- Improved reliability for Internet Explorer when some third party toolbars are installed on Vista.
- Improved reliability of systems that were upgraded from XP to Vista.
- Resolves an issue where creating AVI files on Vista may get corrupted.
- Improves the performance of Vista's Memory Manager in specific customer scenarios and prevents some issues which may lead to memory corruption.
[Via TechSpot]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Feed Engadget: LG Philips develops oil and water based flexible display (engadget.com)
Filed under: Displays
LG Philips, known for its nearly constant pursuit of new flexible display solutions, has recently applied for a patent on a bendable OLED screen technology which would use oil and water to produce images. Apparently, current flexible OLED displays are hampered by the fact that the OLEDs get hotter than the plastic substrate, making manufacture difficult and expensive. The new process that the company is developing would circumvent those problems by making pixels out of oil and water connected to plastic electrodes. The opaque oil would float on the water and obscure a colored surface beneath -- when an electric charge was applied to the field it would reveal the surface and change the color of the pixel. The process is cheap and simple, which hopefully means a future of reading a completely digital morning paper for all of us.[Via NewScientist, thanks Alan]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Submission + - Comcast Terms Change: You Lose Right to Sue (wtop.com)
dupeisdead writes: "Thankfully I don't even have the option to use Comcast where I live, but this is troubling. Almost all companies "reserve the right to change the contract" blah blah blah, but very few people actually read that. Comcast wishes to change existing contract with customers... Why would Comcast need to change this provision, and would this actually hold up if it came to it?"
