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Spyware In BlackBerry Updates For Users in the UAE 116

Posted by timothy from the this-could-happen-in-$yourcountry-too dept.
mulaz writes with this excerpt from The Register: "An update pushed out to BlackBerry users on the Etisalat network in the United Arab Emirates appears to contain remotely-triggered spyware that allows the interception of messages and emails, as well as crippling battery life. Sent out as a WAP Push message, the update installs a Java file that one curious customer decided to take a closer look at, only to discover an application intended to intercept both email and text messages, sending a copy to an Etisalat server without the user being aware of anything beyond a slightly excessive battery drain."

Comment Doubt it's pirates (Score 1) 987

by gameshints (#27957267) Attached to: What Can I Do About Book Pirates?
I doubt it's pirates. Your decline in sales is most likely due to students re-selling your used textbooks. Change a word (or two) and release a new edition to put a damper on used textbook sales. Students will love that. Probably so much that they would actually start to pirate your book...

Comment Re:One big annoyance with the show (Score 1) 64

by machinegunben (#26139173) Attached to: O'Reilly Interview Digs Into the Tech of Storm Chasing

That film you are talking about was the Kansas Turnpike/El Dorado Lake Tornado. The video was all for dramatic effect - If you look at the lines in the road in the video they aren't travelling more than 35-45mph.

Quite a memorable video, and probably the best that crew ever shot. It's being remembered almost 18 years later!
Media

Sony BMG Says Ripping CDs is Stealing 767

Posted by CmdrTaco from the well-big-shock-here dept.
LKM writes "Sony seems to think we should not be allowed to rip CDs we own to our iPods. In fact, doing so is stealing, and we should all re-buy songs, preferably one copy for each device. Says Jennifer Pariser, the head of litigation for Sony BMG: 'When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song. Making a copy of a purchased song is just a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy'.' I guess somebody should tell Sony about all the devices Sony produces that allow this stealing to occur!"
Mozilla

The Secrets of Firefox about:config 263

Posted by kdawson from the Mozilla-fu dept.
jcatcw writes "While Firefox is very customizable, many of its settings aren't in the Options. Each setting is named and stored as a string, integer, or Boolean in a file called prefs.js and accessed via about:config from the nav bar. Computerworld provides instructions on 20 tweaks for speeding up page loads, making tabs behave, reducing memory drain, and generally making the interface act the way you want it to. Customization also comes through the must-have FF extensions (but be sure to skip these)."
Businesses

New York Sues Dell for Poor Customer Service 295

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the reaping-what-you-sell dept.
Phanatic1a writes "New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is suing Dell, alleging bait and switch financing tactics, false advertising, and 'numerous other deceptive business practices relating to their technical support services, promotional financing, rebate offers, and billing and collection activity.' According to Cuomo himself, 'At Dell, customer service means no service at all.'"
Mozilla

Students Embarrass eBay With Firefox Add-On 269

Posted by kdawson from the doing-it-right dept.
An anonymous reader sends along a posting from the Grooveking blog on a group of Stanford students who got together to help promote Firefox and ended up releasing a long overdue eBay Toolbar for Firefox before Mozilla and eBay could release their jointly developed extension in Europe. Mozilla's COO said the preemptive release of the eBay Toolbar had ruffled some feathers among European eBay execs. "Besides basic search features, it removes external ads on the site and allows users to see thumbnail pictures on ALL search items, even those sellers didn't pay for. An eBay toolbar has been long overdue... eBay can't be too enthusiastic about this toolbar since it cuts directly into its main sources of revenue: ads and thumbnail fees. But eBay users get a really good deal."

A New Wireless Power Transmission Sheet 126

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the electric-blanket dept.
Roland Piquepaille writes "Several companies have started to sell power 'pads' that can charge your cellphone when you put it on the pad's surface. But these silicon-based pads are expensive — and relatively 'specialized.' Now, Japanese researchers have built a plastic sheet which could power all the devices placed close to it. So far, this 4-layer sheet, which uses printed organic transistors and plastic MEMS switches, can deliver up to 40 watts of power — enough for some laptops. The technology is apparently efficient and inexpensive to produce. But as the devices to recharge will need to incorporate a special receiver, don't expect to see these plastic power sheets on sale before several years."

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