That means at the very least changing the fingerprint lock for your next car, mister!
Biometric Centralised Databases?
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Monthly Archives: March 2008
App released for memory retainer exploits
AnyDVD will copy all Blu-Rays
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RFID credit cards easily hacked with $8 reader
The RFID hacks keep coming fast and furious — hot the heels of that Mifare / Oyster Card exploit, the crew at BoingBoing TV has posted up a little demo of how easy cracking the RFID encryption on an American Express card can be. All it takes is an $8 dollar reader easily available on eBay, some software, and the courage to walk around with a laptop waving plastic boxes at people’s butt pockets, but developer Pablos Holman says he’s hoping to develop a newer version that will allow him to be a little more discreet. The root of the problem is apparently the fact that the system uses local decryption rather than sending card info to a secure data center, but either way we’ve been worried about this for a long time — we’re sticking to loose change and the barter system from now on.
RFID credit cards easily hacked with $8 reader – Engadget
Google Hacking Database
Dorks are people who do things stupidly enough that they end up putting valuable information on the internets in such a way that google finds and indexes them.
The Google Hacking Database has a whole list of dorks you can search google for.
The Cult of the Dead Cow (CDC) has been around for ages and has now built the Goolag scanner, which automatically scans for dorks.
Are Kids Copying Their Parents When They Lie?
this article goes into great depth on the studies about what makes a child (from pre-schooler to teen) lie, what they lie about and how often they do this. The numbers are quite surprising!
Are Kids Copying Their Parents When They Lie? — New York Magazine
Welcome to BTC
The Cheetah gaming keyboard is one in a series of powerful gaming devices for serious gamer. Cheetah provides programmable Game-Keys. So hardcore users can easily control macros.
The Cheetah Game Wheel has 17 convenient keys. The 17 keys are fully programmable allowing customized PC Game playing. Included software allows for programming the keys and setting up macros. Cheetah has an A / B profile change key to quickly load a second set of macros.
The Cheetah keyboard%u2019s keys use patented Backlight Technology. During the backlit hotkey is toggled on ( this hotkey’s backlit is closed ), These keycaps are blue when the PC is in sleep mode. For normal mode, these keycaps are orange. The faster you type, the orange will turn to red.
Oh, and it’s shit hot.. love it! looks cooler than my g-15
Europe is world’s largest economy!
The U.S. economy lost the title of “world’s biggest” to the euro zone this week as the value of the dollar slumped in currency markets.
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Taking official estimates of 2007 GDP — $13,843,800 billion for the United States and 8,847,889.1 billion euros for the euro zone — the economy of the latter passed the United States once converted into dollars, shortly after the euro topped $1.56.
The dollar sank to $1.5688 per euro late in European trading hours on Friday, at which rate the euro zone’s 2007 GDP equates to $13,880,568.4 billion.
hehehe
Weak dollar costs U.S. economy its No. 1 spot | Reuters
Nike ONE: legend in car design cranks out pure car porn
Shoe purveyor Nike dipping into the auto industry may sound disastrous, but the Nike ONE is an undeniably sexy single seater. The Nike ONE design team was led by legendary car designer Phil Frank, who designed classics such as the Saleen S7 and the new Mustangs. The Nike ONE was made to coincide with the release of racing game Gran Turismo 4, and looks a bit like what might happen if the monstrosity from Alien and one of the bikes from Tron had a baby.
Check out the gallery below for more sexy Nike ONE shots. Just do it.
Toys we wish did more: Star Trek Classic Communicator
The Star Trek Classic Communicator is finally out and, while it’s undeniably awesome, we can’t help but feel it falls a little short of the mark. Here’s what it does do: it’s got 20 sound effects from the TV show including noises and voice clips from the original series, working lights when you flip open the metal faceplate and a “Hailing Function,” which simulates a non-interactive call from the Enterprise. It looks just right and would make a fantastic prop or toy for any Trekkie.
What it doesn’t do? Act as a communicator. Simple two-way communication would have really sealed the deal on this one. Hopefully you’re not wearing a red shirt while you’re using it, because your away team is going nowhere.
The Star Trek Classic Communicator costs $30, though you could just wait for currency to be abolished under the formation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161 and replicate one.
Electronic Yodeling Pickle could actually be useful
Let’s get this out of the way early—this is a long, green pickle that happens to yodel. It’s available for $13 and there is no word on how many different Yodels this pickle is capable of belting out. What is important is that the manufacturers, Accoutrements, felt the need to mass produce a product like this.
If you want to be serious about it, an electronic yodeling pickle is obviously a gag gift that is great for those that enjoy yodeling, pickles, or cheap electronic junk. On the other hand better uses for this pickle include those of a different nature. It could also be a good pistol and mortar for a pharmacist. With those few options, don’t question the Electronic Yodeling Pickle, just embrace it.
Gui…. No Its Piano Hero
Cirbin V13R
What do you get when you take a Harley-Davidson V-Rod motorcycle, put an extra wheel on the front, install a couple of seats and top it off with a gorgeous fiberglass body? You get a Cirbin V13R, a tricycle that looks a lot like some of those sexy, tiny electric vehicles we’ve been showing you, but this one’s available now. The V13R borrows a lot of tech from its Harley V-Rod underpinnings, packing that stainless steel beauty’s 1.25-liter engine under the hood and its electronic instrument cluster up front and center.
Add that characteristic Harley sound growling its signature potato-potato-potato roar as you shift through its five speeds, and you have yourself a fast and footloose three-wheeled thrill ride. Save up your money, though, because these babies aren’t costing small potatoes — even though this trike’s price starts at $40K, most of them are selling in the $55K range.
Harmony
Harmony is framework for defining, updating, and synchronizing views over strings, trees, and relations. It can be used, for example, to synchronize the bookmark files of several different web browsers, to convert address books represented in vCard to CSV, and to map between BiBTeX and RIS-formatted bibliographic databases.
Harmony Project home page
Google opens Youtube
The YouTube APIs and Tools open up a full range of YouTube functionality for web pages, software and devices. Users of the API can upload new videos, edit video metadata such as comments and favorites and modify user settings. Your client application can request a list of videos that match specific search criteria, get access to the most popular YouTube videos or retrieve and maintain YouTube user information such as playlists, subscriptions or contacts.
YouTube APIs and Tools – Google Code
Brain Controllers III
And after a glut of information, suddenly everyone and their dog is launching them. First EPOC end of feb, now OCZ technology is launching their thought mouse. They will be pricing at around $150,- in the US.
Bionic Eye Prototype
The Boston Retinal Implant Project recently developed a bionic eye implant that will restore vision to those affected by degenerative blindness. The device works by being implanted into the back of the eyeball and working as a light transmitter to the brain, where the two are connected by a nerve/wire thinner than a human hair.
Now, the technology has its limitations; it won’t give sight to those born blind or who suffer glaucoma, nor will it offer perfect vision. Only for those who previously had sight, and a semi-functional optical nerve, is this possible. The idea is that it will give the blind a general sense of their surroundings so they can function on a basic level. But researchers do hope to improve the technology so that users can recognize things like facial detail and expressions in the future.
Android Tech: Researchers Create Bionic Eye Prototype, Render Guide Dogs Obsolete
So… when are they coming with zoom and record functionality? It may take a little while yet, but the first steps have been made!
British soldier awarded the Military Cross for fighting off 150 Taliban – Times Online
Fusilier Damien Hields used his grenade machinegun to destroy seven Taliban positions before his ambushers realised he was their main threat. After peppering his vehicle with bullets, they hit the 24-year-old soldier. He had to be dragged off for treatment by his driver after he tried to continue fighting.
“Fusilier Hields showed extraordinary courage under intense fire,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Huw James, his commanding officer. “I was astonished at the state of his vehicle. There were so many holes in it, it was like a teabag. The Taliban did everything in their power to neutralise [him] and Fusilier Hields was having none of it. His actions allowed his patrol to come out of the ambush in which they were outnumbered by three or four to one and probably saved a lot of lives.”
British soldier awarded the Military Cross for fighting off 150 Taliban – Times Online
Big Cat Protection
Protecting Big Cats is one hell of a thing. Each cat eats around 230 lbs of meat per day, making them very expensive to support. Me, I love tigers, lions, cheetah’s, panthers etc etc. and am glad that some of these cats are saved from underestimating pet owners, hunters and circus breeder wannabe’s and given a place they can prosper.
If you want to touch a tiger, there’s no better place than the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi
In the UK the Wildlife Heritage Foundation protects tigers, lions, leopards and cheetah’s in Kent in the UK
The Tiger Haven is huge – around 50 acres in Tennessee and around 250 cats.
Big Cat Rescue in Florida has around 100 cats, including lynx, cougars, ocelots, bobcats and more.
EARS – Endangered Animal Rescue Sanctuary is smaller and also located in Florida
The International Exotic Animal Sanctuary has 58 felines and 7 bears living in Texas.
All of these places have a sponsorship / adoption scheme and will sell stuff to you to keep the project going. They are all non-profit and the fact that they are sanctuaries means the animals won’t be sold, released into the wild, hunted in canned hunts, etc. They are given a home and these homes are expensive to keep. Most welcome volunteers and some have guided tours, allowing you to come into close contact with the cats.
Playmobil Security Check Point
My family was planning a vacation to Europe, so I purchased this item to teach my twins about what to expect at the airport and hopefully, alleviate some of their anxiety. We also downloaded the actual TSA security checklist from the American Airlines website and then proceeded with our demonstration. Well, first we had to round up a Barbie and a few Bratz dolls to play the other family members, so that cost us a few extra bucks at the Dollar General and it is aggravating that the manufacturer did not make this product “family-friendly.” Of course, since the playmobil Dad could not remove his shoes or other clothing items, unlike the Barbie, the playmobil security agent became suspicious and after waving her wand wildy a few dozen times, called her supervisor to wisk the Dad into a special body-cavity search room, (which incidentally led to quite an embarasing and interesting discussion with my twin daughters about personal hygiene and a slight adjustment to the rules we had them memorize about touching by strangers). But worst of all, since the suitcase did not actually open, the baggage inspector made a call to the FBI and ATF bomb squads which then segregated the family’s suitcase (which btw was the only suitcase they provided for our educational family experience) and according to the advanced TSA regulations, had to blow it up, (since they could not otherwise mutilate the luggage, break off the locks and put one of those nice little advisory stickers on it), which we had to simulate out in the backyard with a few M-80s and other fireworks. The girls started crying. They became so hysterical by the whole experience that we could not even get them in the car when the time came to actually take our trip, and so we had to cancel the whole thing at the last minute, losing over $7,000 in airfare and hotel charges that we could not recoup do to the last minute cancellations. We’ve now spent an additional $3,000 to pay for the girls therapy and medication over the past year since this incident occurred, and the psychologists have told us that this will affect them for life, so much for their college fund and our retirement. Then, to top it all off, when we tried to use to playmobil phone to call the company to ask for reimbursement, as you might expect, of course the damn thing didn’t even work; neither did our efforts to e-mail them using the computer screen on the baggage checkpoint; and our real-life efforts to contact them to obtain re-imbursement have also likewise been ignored. Worse yet, we had the product tested and found out that it was positive for both lead paint and toxic chemicals, having been manufactured in China by workers holding formerly American jobs, so now we all have cancer and have been given only another year or so to live. My advice – educating your kids about airport security with this toy may actually be more harmful to them than just packing them in the damn luggage with some bottled water & hoping they survive. :
And there’s loads and loads more – tears came to my eyes!
Europe launches its first re-supply ship to the ISS
ESA PR 15-2008. Jules Verne, the first of the European Space Agency%u2019s Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATV), a new series of autonomous spaceships designed to re-supply and re-boost the International Space Station (ISS), was successfully launched into low Earth orbit by an Ariane 5 vehicle this morning.
It’s around 3 times as large as the US resupply ship and is the most complex European spacecraft built to date.
ESA Portal – Europe launches its first re-supply ship %u2013 Jules Verne ATV %u2013 to the ISS
ORCA MSI Editor
Edit the properties of any MSI. Change the title, and text within the installer. Look at how and where the files are delivered. Enables you to right click any MSI and open with Orca.
Download: ORCA MSI Editor | Technipages
MindwireV5 Shocking Game Accessory: Rumble is for the Weak
MindwireV5 Shocking Game Accessory: Rumble is for the Weak
mindwirev5.jpgYou know what would make gaming even more fun? Pain. Or at least that is what the folks at Mindwire would like you to think. Their new MindwireV5 unit helps you get into the action with sensations ranging from a “crashing car to the blast of a machine gun’s multiple bullets hitting you; a sharp zap all the way through to a soft massaging feeling.” Five self-adhesive pads are connected to the arms, legs and stomach that administer a range of electric shocks to create sensations that mimic in-game action.
The system works with most PS2, Gamecube, and XBox games as well as PC games that support force feedback. Next gen consoles are also supported%u2014in certain configurations (a full list of compatible games is available on the website). So, I’m not sure about all of this electric shock business, but tell me more about this “soft massaging feeling?” The Mindwire is available for £99.99 (or $200). [Mindwire via PocketLint via Geeky Gadgets]
MindwireV5 Shocking Game Accessory: Rumble is for the Weak
Retromodo: Schimmel Pegasus Grand Piano Could Probably Travel Through Time and Space
Schimmel Pegasus Grand Piano Could Probably Travel Through Time and Space
pegasus.jpgLooking like it belongs in Jeff Vader’s Coruscant bachelor pad, the hand-made Schimmel Pegasus has an ergonomically curved keyboard, over 200 strings under a total tension of 176,520 newtons, and a key assembly composed of 10,000 pieces. Only 14 were made ten years ago for people like Eddie Murphy, Lenny Kravitz, and granfunkmeister Prince. Now you can get into this exclusive club because there’s one for sale until March 15th. More pics and technical details after the jump. Updated with price and other information
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Professor Luigi Colani reimagined the traditional 88 keys and gave the classic grand piano a futuristic organic shape with some virtuoso upgrades. The Pegasus features a ergonomic curved keyboard ( i. e. the keys exhibit a slight curvature ) that encompasses 7 1/4 octaves, a electrically operated hydraulic lid that allows you to control the specific amount of projection desired, a fallboard “soft close” system, the original Schimmel Triplex Scale “CAPE” precision soundboard tri-dimensionally curved and formed with a “high performance” back assembly with tension collector, a Sostenuto pedal (middle pedal), a fully-adjustable integrated black leather upholstered stool extendible in width, height, and distance to the keyboard, and a hard-wearing professional lacquer finish resulting in a grand piano of breathtaking elegance.
The Schimmel Pegasus comes with all this and the guarantee that your skills won’t get any closer to Prince’s than when you played with your Casiotone.
Update: According to the Mr. Koveleski, they are asking only $110,000, and their highest bit is currently at $100,000. The piano is now located in Northern California. The original owner is not any famous person, however, but “the CEO of a famous San Francisco Bay Area music store.” [Automorrow and Autoworldmobilia]
Retromodo: Schimmel Pegasus Grand Piano Could Probably Travel Through Time and Space