January 2008
Secret safe-words of the Emergency Broadcasting... →
Lou sez, “This is an actual scanned page of a radio station’s Emergency Broadcast System authenticator list. A radio station would receive a ‘secret word’ by teletype and they’d have to use this list to verify that the emergency was real or if it was merely a test. As I look over this list, I can’t help but notice the silly ones, and imagine myself as a DJ...
Hands-on with the Canon EOS Rebel XSi DSLR →
Filed under: Digital Cameras
We got our hands on what’s probably one of the most anticipated cameras of the show, the Canon EOS Rebel XSi DSLR. The predecessor XTi model was crazy successful, so smart money says that the step up to a 3-inch live view LCD, 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor, 9-point AF and Canon’s DIGIC III processing will help continue the trend. That’s a lot of...
1001 - A Flickr Client →
Every other day we see an app being built that takes advantage of the versatile Flickr API. An App that caught my eye today was 1001 that bills itself as the desktop version of Flickr. Though 1001 carries a weird name, it performs just about everything the online version of Flickr does, be it upload photos, tagging, browsing streams, or just about anything else you can do with Flickr.
1001 is...
If You're Watching Everyone, You're Watching No... →
The idea has become so commonplace that it’s almost a cliche: security and privacy are opposites, and we as a society need to decide how much privacy we’re willing to give up to get more security. That’s been the basic message of the Bush administration over the last few months as they’ve begun talking about ambitious new plans to monitor more and more of our private...
NEWSFLASH: Text messaging is a huge rip off →
I was spoiled. The first phone that I had when this whole “texting” (as the kids call it) craze hit was a T-Mobile Sidekick, which included unlimited SMS messages with the data plan. Then somewhere along the lines, I fell off the wagon and switched to Sprint in order to get my hands on a Treo 650. Imagine my surprise when I got my first bill and found out I’d all of a sudden been paying some...
Exclusive: iJailBreak Mobile released: upgrade... →
It’s Jailbreak day here on CrunchGear, as another app has just been released, and it’s the easiest to use yet, as it’s an over the air updater for previously Jailbroken iPod Touches and iPhones, and the best part is you can do it without a computer at all.
If you’re iPhone or Touch isn’t jailbroken yet, this isn’t for you. But if you’re using a 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 Jailbroken handheld, this is the...
Security vs. Privacy is really Control vs. Liberty →
Security expert Bruce Schneier has a stirring editorial about the “false dichotomy of ‘security versus privacy’” — people who push for reduced privacy don’t want more security, they want more control.
The debate isn’t security versus privacy. It’s liberty versus control.
You can see it in comments by government officials: “Privacy no longer...
● The Earth without people →
What would happen to planet earth if the human race were to suddenly disappear forever? Would ecosystems thrive? What remnants of our industrialized world would survive? What would crumble fastest? From the ruins of ancient civilizations to present day cities devastated by natural disasters, history gives us clues to these questions and many more. The upshot of Life After People is that, with the...
Why the Music Industry is Lying to You →
According to TorrentFreak, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) last week released their latest report, summing up the digital music landscape at the start of 2008. The IFPI claims in the report that for every legal music download, there are 20 illegal downloads taking place. Or in other words, illegal downloading is happening at a rate that is 20 times that of legal...
Peedi Crakk - I’m Sorry (Jay-Z Diss) →
File under “I Put A Couple Careers on Hold…”
Peedi Crakk - I’m Sorry (Jay-Z Diss)
Steve Jobs: The $1 Man →
Poor, poor Steve Jobs. In 2008, Apple’s CEO will continue to receive his third-world-like salary of $1. The worst part of this is that once again, he will not receive a raise this year. The only compensation he’ll get is a few shares of his beloved corporation, currently priced at $140 a piece.
Since Apple is afraid that Jobs will go looking for greener pastures, they have generously offered him...
Steve Jobs: The $1 Man →
Poor, poor Steve Jobs. In 2008, Apple’s CEO will continue to receive his third-world-like salary of $1. The worst part of this is that once again, he will not receive a raise this year. The only compensation he’ll get is a few shares of his beloved corporation, currently priced at $140 a piece.
Since Apple is afraid that Jobs will go looking for greener pastures, they have generously offered him...
One Click Rules ‘em All! Get Rid of all Facebook... →
One of the biggest problems with Facebook is that, app requests keep pouring in at a rate more than you can keep up with. I had over 250 invites to various Facebook apps ranging all the way from boring to fun. I just wanted to ignore all of the app requests in a simple elegant solution, but there was no “Ignore All” button to be found anywhere on the app requests page.
Clicking the Ignore...
Videos of people smoking salvia divinorum →
Random Good Stuff has compiled a bunch of YouTube videos of people smoking a legal and powerful hallucinogenic plant called salvia divinorum. Link
Canon EOS Rebel XSi →
Blending high-end features with low-end prices, Canon’s latest dSLR has this Nikon user wanting to jump ship. The Canon EOS Rebel XSi ($800-$900; April 2008) offers features like Live View… Visit Uncrate for the full post.
Sleeveface pool on Flickr →
Sleeveface is my new favorite Flickr pool. There are more than 700 examples and they’re a total laff riot. Seen here are contributions from John Rostron (left) and Godesinge (right). Link (Thanks, Jess Hemerly!)
MPAA officially admits mistakes in piracy study →
This article has been published at RLSLOG.net - visit our site for full content.
Hollywood laid much of the blame for illegal movie downloading on college students. Now, it says its math was wrong. In a 2005 study it commissioned, the Motion Picture Association of America claimed that 44 percent of the industry’s domestic losses came from illegal downloading of movies by college students, who...
Seattle police receive spanking for taking... →
Thomas Hawk says:
Apparently the City of Seattle settled with amateur photographer Bogdan Mohora after the ACLU helped him file a claim over a false arrest when Seattle cops James Pitts and David Toner arrested Mohara for taking their photograph during the arrest. Bogdan was awarded $8,000 and the officers were disciplined. Just another friendly reminder that photography is not a crime, even if...
Business Writer Surprised To Discover Rappers Have... →
This is both hilarious and slightly sad at the same time: It seems as though a writer for Fast Company, a monthly business publication, was shocked to findout rappers don’t just spend their money on gaudy jewelry and spinning rims. This is in reference to Ludacris’ recent foray into the restaurant business:
Now this sounds terrible, but I have to admit I was taken aback at the idea that...
Stop Scaring Teens With The News →
A recent study reports that while most teenagers describe their online experiences on YouTube as a “treat,” most classify their online news experiences as stressful or a “reminder of the world’s dangers.” Furthermore, most of the teenagers in the study do not actively keep up with the news. Rarely, if ever, do they go directly to the news websites, but rather end up...
Pocketguitar for the iPhone lets you strum on the... →
Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone
Engadget found this slick little gem over the weekend for your jailbroken iPhone. It’s a virtual guitar (a lot like Jam Sessions if you’ve ever played that, actually — reaffirming my thought that the iPhone is the best handheld gaming device ever made), where you can put your fingers over the strings at the top, and then...
Video: Ten OTHER Things MLK Said →
by Jay Smooth
Also: MLK vs. J.Dilla (courtesy of Khal)
National Intelligence Director Wants Access To All... →
Now, there are those who claim the government already has the ability to monitor all internet communications, but it looks like it’s about to become official. National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell told a reporter from The New Yorker that he’s prepared a “cyber security policy” that would grant the federal government the right to monitor all internet communications....
19.20.21. →
In 2006 the planet crossed a tipping point – more than half the world’s population now live in cities.
Focusing on 19 cities with populations greater than 20 million people at the turn of the 21st century, 19.20.21. is a 5 year initiative to study the global effects of urbanization. The project plans to use the data collected to become an indispensable tool for urban and business...
The Slippery Slope Of Censorship In ISP Filtering →
We’ve talked about how government attempts to censor certain types of internet content tend to be a slippery slope towards more and more censorship. They usually start out with “child pornography” and then move onto other areas as the line concerning what’s acceptable is blurred. It gets even worse when the government doesn’t reveal what sites are censored, as it...