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Input Devices

Submission + - Logitech Introduces the Future of PC Navigation (hardwarezone.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It had to happen, it's a WiiMouse...? Logictech introduces their brand new MX Air Mouse that works on the desk and in the air, promising a whole new experience for the casual and hardcore user.

To read more, click here.
Upgrades

Submission + - Sixpack from sitting at the computer (twibright.com)

Submitted by
Clock
Clock writes: "The secret dream of all computer geeks has come true. Surfing the Internet can now have similar positive effect on bodily attractivity as surfing Waikiki or Malibu. Twibright Labs have developed Exciter, a cheap open source DIY exercise bike that is to be used while sitting at a computer. Running as a three-phase self-excited induction machine, it generates electricity to power the computer, the LCD screen or at least a desk lamp. This arrangement both saves time and provides additional motivation and fun in exercise. And if you tweak the excitation capacitors, you can draw over 500 volts!"
Security

Submission + - The Technology Behind Greek Phone Scandal Revealed

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes:
On 9 March 2005, a 38-year-old Greek electrical engineer named Costas Tsalikidis was found hanged in his Athens loft apartment, an apparent suicide. It would prove to be merely the first public news of a scandal that would roil Greece for months.


In an article recently published in IEEE Spectrum, Diomidis Spinellis and Vassilis Prevelakis reveal the technology and techniques behind the wiretapped cellphones of many senior Greek political figure including Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

More than 2 years later, are cellphones and their networks any more secure?
Upgrades

Submission + - Dell blocks installation of standard components 1

Submitted by
Loh Phat
Loh Phat writes: "Hardware vendors voiding warranties or not providing support is a standard caveat across the industry, but yesterday Dell showed that withholding a $5 part is more important that future sales or bad press.

Our company purchased a Dell PowerEdge 3250 (Dual CPU Itanium) less than two years ago (still under warranty BTW) for cross platform development (yes, our customers demand support for that platform). So we purchased a unit with a single drive in a two drive system.

Its spec sheet specifies U320 SCSI drive support — a standard. See for yourself http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/pedg e/en/3250_specs.pdf

So when we wanted to add storage we purchased a standard U320 compatible drive and went to install it, however when we pulled the hot-swap drive sled out we noticed that it lacked mounting facilities for the drive; it curiously didn't match the existing sled in the occupied bay. They are 99% identical except for the lack of facility to actually attach a drive.

During a call to Dell "support" it seems that a year ago (a year after we bought the server and before the warranty expires) they stopped selling the drive sled capable of mounting a drive as a separate component — you can only get them, wait for it, attached to a Dell SCSI drive.

So it seems that it's OK to advertise the compatibility with industry-standard components, you just can't use them. With no pre-sales caveat that you will not be allowed to install anything standard unless it comes from Dell. Funny, the drive sled has its own part number H7206 but Dell *refused* to sell it to me.

The term "bait-and-switch" comes to mind. I'm all for caveat emptor, but a full declaration of terms is not unreasonable.

I don't mind having the freedom to be denied service or support of using non-vendor supplied parts (well, I do actually but I least know that before I buy) but in this case I'm physically prevented from doing so after the purchase.

So the question remains: are there grounds to file an anti-trust or some other complaint with the State regarding this deceptive business practice?

Regardless, they're now off the vendor list (actually I inherited the server as I would have selected another vendor in the first place). Good forward thinking there guys."
Education

Submission + - Controversial Skywalk in place over Grand Canyon

Submitted by
AustinSlacker
AustinSlacker writes: "CNN is reporting that the Grand Canyon Skywalk is opening today. "The Skywalk, which will be unveiled Tuesday, is being touted as an engineering marvel. The glass-and-steel horseshoe extends 70 feet beyond the canyon's edge with no visible supports above or below."
The glass-floored Skywalk allows visitors to peer 4,000 feet (1220 meters) down into the canyon. The caveat? Each visitor must pay $25.00 (USD) PLUS addition fees to get to the viewing area. I guess the $25 will help defray the cleaning costs when weak-stomached folks lose their lunch upon realizing they are standing in mid-air over a 4,000 foot drop, a-la Wile E. Coyote..."
Security

Submission + - Off-Site Realtime Backup Solutions?

Submitted by Spazztastic
Spazztastic writes: I work for a small company in Pennsylvania that does large amounts of software engineering related to audio and video DSP solutions, and I am planning on designing an off-site backup solution for us. I don't know where to start, so I wanted to ask the /. users what their input should be. We currently do full-backups on tapes that are put into a fire-safe box off-site, but I am feeling that it isn't enough after reading the $38 Billion Dollar goof story. So, what do you suggest we do?
Google

Submission + - Is Google planning a national wireless network?

Submitted by eastbayted
eastbayted writes: Amid the buzz surrounding Google's rumored plans to release a mobile phone, the Daily Wireless has posted an interesting article citing eight reasons why the search behemoth may very well be planning to build a nationwide wireless network. Among them: Google has made hefty investments in dark fiber; it's already offering free wireless in Mountain View and has offered to do the same in San Francisco; and it's fighting hard to maintain Net neutrality.
First Person Shooters (Games)

Submission + - OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator at CeBIT

Submitted by demitri
demitri writes: Legit Reviews has a quick article up on OCZ Technology's Neural Impulse Actuator that OCZ is showing off over at CeBIT this past week and the device is worth a look. Geared to improve PC productivity and gaming, the actuator uses three neural sensors that are resting on the forehead of the user to create unique commands based on the specific permutation of brain, eye and facial muscle activity. Freaked out yet?
Software

Submission + - Creative Manager Pro Releases Version 8.4.05 with

Submitted by
Creative Manager, Inc.
Creative Manager, Inc. writes: "Creative Manager Pro, Ad Agency Software and Project Management Groupware for Creative and Design firms, has released version 8.4.05, with support for Apple's iCal, Microsoft's Outloook, Mac OS X Server, and Apple's upcoming Mac OS X Leopard.

Creative Manager Inc. (http://www.Creative-Manager.com), provider of Creative Manager Pro software, has released version 8.4.05 of its flagship product, Creative Manager Pro®. Originally slated to be delivered by the end of March, the release is about two weeks ahead of schedule.

The integration with Apple's Mac OS X iCal and Microsoft's Outloook allows users of Creative Manager Pro to send calendar meeting requests, even to those who are not using Creative Manager Pro, and have the invitation show up in the invited person's Apple Mac OS X iCal or Microsoft Outloook calendar.

"Integration with outside systems is an important features that our Fortune 500 clients have asked for. This new release beats our competitors on yet another feature," boasts Ron Ause, Creative Manager's director of marketing, "proving once again that we continually respond to our clients' needs."

These new integration capabilities allow users of Creative Manager Pro to interface with more outside users, and brings Creative Manager one step closer to emulating the calendaring capabilities of Outlook and iCal.

As always with Creative Manager Inc.'s products, no installation or conversion are necessary, and all updates are at no cost to users of Creative Project Manager and Creative Manager Pro®. All client logins and vendor logins are always free.

"This new version is the best of both worlds. The goal is to create the best of breed system in all areas, but have it integrated to run the entire business. Since most people love iCal and Outlook, we have done a lot to match their capabilities and this is one more step in that direction," said Ause.

Creative Manager Pro® continues to invest, adding new features that work with Apple's latest Tiger Mac OS X and future Leopard Unix-based Operating System and Microsoft Windows.

When asked about the new upgrade, Ause said "Since so many of our clients service Fortune 500 firms, or are themselves Fortune 500 firms, the addition of the iCal and Outlook integration is a high priority. Our dedication to keeping our products as up-to-date as possible, and the fact that, with our service, it takes only hours to fix problems that with our competitors takes months, has caught the attention of our clients, and has helped us grow through word-of-mouth. Like last month's update, this update is also based on user input. Because 'We're Always Listening!'" Ause said. "Try doing that with Advantage software or Clients and Profits and see how far you get!"

Creative Manager Pro goes beyond costing to offer full Project Management, CRM, Digital Asset Management, billing and accounting, and Extranet capabilities.

Creative Manager Pro (at http://www.creative-manager.com/ is the only Ad Agency software and Project Management Software for the Creative Design industry, created exclusively for design firms, ad agencies, in-house creative/MarCom departments, and creative service firms. It is a web-based integrated project management software and job tracking solution which streamlines the entire firm, from developing new business, to staffing, managing, and executing projects through to accounting and financial reporting.

Creative Manager Pro is a full-featured, intuitive system which makes project and ad agency management a breeze. Creative Manager Pro supports Customer Relationship Management, Document Management, Shared Calendaring, Accounting and much more. Because it is web-based, there is nothing to install and it can be set up in a very short time. It works with both PC and Macintosh from any location over any connection. It may also be installed locally on the client's own servers. All options include training and support to ensure that clients are up and running quickly.

Among the many features of Creative Manager Pro:
— Graphically view your firm's metrics — manage your firm by the numbers.
— Manage Contacts and Leads
— Create Project Schedules, Calendars and Manage Tasks
— Take your contacts and calendar on the road with iCal, AddressBook & Outlook
— Approve Timesheets, Purchasing, Billing and Budgets
— Review and Approve Artwork Online
— Store and Manage Digital Assets
— Manage and Balance the Books
— Free client and vendor access to streamline workflow.
— Quick startup/import from Clients & Profits, Adman and other systems
— Full-featured CRM (Client Relationship Management)
— Extranet capabilities
— Manage media with an interface with Strata
— Charting of important industry metrics and firm statistics

Take a test drive at http://www.creative-manager.com/

Creative Manager, Inc. is not affiliated with Clients & Profits, Inc., the distributor of Clients and Profits. All trademarks are owned by their respective companies. Clients and Profits is not a trademark of Creative Manager, Inc.

Creative Manager, Inc. is not affiliated with Advantage Software Company, the distributor of Advantage Software. All trademarks are owned by their respective companies. Advantage Software is not a trademark of Creative Manager, Inc.

The team members at Creative Manager, Inc. have been leaders in ad agency software and project management software for the creative industry and on the Mac OS for over 27 years. They provide their creative clients with two major offerings: Creative Project Manager and Creative Manager Pro. Both programs work seamlessly with the Mac OS and Windows.

Contact Info:
Ron Ause rona@Creative-Manager.com
Creative Manager, Inc.
800.203.7684 x3051
http://www.creative-manager.com/

Lori Cuonze
PUSH
407.841.2299 ext. 1024
lcuonze@pushhere.com

communicate. collaborate. control."
Security

Submission + - How Apple orchestrated web attack on researchers

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=451 Apple continued to claim that there were no vulnerabilities in Mac OS X but came a month later and patched their Wireless Drivers (presumably for vulnerabilities that didn't actually exist). Apple patched these "non-existent vulnerabilities" but then refused to give any credit to David Maynor and Jon Ellch. Since Apple was going to take research, not give proper attribution, and smear security researchers, the security research community responded to Apple's behavior with the MoAB (Month of Apple Bugs) and released a flood of zero-day exploits without giving Apple any notification. The end result is that Apple was forced to patch 62 vulnerabilities in just the first three months of 2007 including last week's megapatch of 45 vulnerabilities.
Privacy

Submission + - FBI: No need for paper trails on phone records

Submitted by WerewolfOfVulcan
WerewolfOfVulcan writes: According to this Washington Post article, the FBI says that it doesn't have to comply with even the unconstitutional provisions of the Patriot Act when asking for phone records. Apparently that whole due process thing doesn't include them. Funny thing is, they've apparently already been doing it for years.

From the article:

Under past procedures, agents sent 'exigent circumstances letters' to phone companies, seeking toll records by asserting there was an emergency. Then they were expected to issue a grand jury subpoena or a 'national security letter,' which legally authorized the collection after the fact. Agents often did not follow up with that paperwork, the inspector general's investigation found.

The new instructions tell agents there is no need to follow up with national security letters or subpoenas. The agents are also told that the new letter template is the preferred method in emergencies but that they may make requests orally, with no paperwork sent to phone companies. Such oral requests have been made over the years in terrorism and kidnapping cases, officials said.

Feed Report: Dams Imperil Rivers (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
Damming, sewage dumping and overdevelopment threaten to destroy some of the world's most scenic rivers, says a report from the World Wildlife Federation. By the Associated Press.


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