USB VOIP phone With voice recorder (UP-111C-A)

The new phone released by ACTION STAR ENTERPRISE supports Skype, MSN and Yahoo messenger and other IP Telephony applications.
The UP-111 supports PC-to-PC and PC-to-phone operations. The device provides enhanced Internet voice communication with echo cancellation. It features built-in hot keys, screen display and four function keys for volume up/down, mute and record. Also available is the different ring tone capabilities.
Here is a short list from the site;
‧ Support plug & play, USB compatible- no sound card needed.
‧ Instant volume adjust buttons.
‧ Offer several different kinds of ring tones.
‧ Record and save your conversation as “.wav” file to PC. This is neat I thought!
‧ LCD displays time, incoming phone no. and conversation time.
‧ Offer speed dial.
‧ Compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Mac OS X v10.3 or higher without
installing driver.

Sell your gadgets, gizmos on Froogle!

I was reading the google blog today and noticed this article telling you how to buy things online using Froogle. It also gave directions on as how to sell on Froogle.
I thought many gadgeteers and gadgetress who would like to sell online might find this interesting.
Google base also play major part in selling and buying.
Selling and buying is easy, read this to find out about buying and this to find out about selling and bulk upload your items.

gridtech: First OSS Physics Book that I have seen

How does sentences below sounds to you? Are they geeky enough to be published on a gadget gizmo and toy blog? Find out how these gadgets, gizmos and big boys toys work! read the book!!
gridtech: First OSS Physics Book that I have seen

Battery Free Optical Mouse NB-30 and it is wireless

I have had my share of trouble with mice. Wired mice, wireless mice. But the latest trouble was my logitech wireless mouse. I always forget to put it on the cradle, so battery is always low and I get frustrated when I sit down to work.
But while surfing today for gadgets, toy and gizmos, I found this mouse! Viola, no more battery problems. I have not tested it but I think I will. Only trouble I fore see is that I or my mouse have to live tied to the mouse pad! That is another story. Only pad I liked was / is a old (more than 10 years now!) SUN optical mouse pad. Which was an aluminum and has a blue grid to support the old sun mouse glide!
So without much further grumbling here is the review. Happy mousing.

DCMA abuse news comes in the heels of SONY DRM / ROOTKIT saga!

Today I followed a trail of articles about DCMA abuse. It is chilling, actually /. Took me to Chilling effects, University of Southern California, a pirates bay (here, I laughed my guts, and turkey out), and I am getting sick of the morons and moronic interpretation of the law that supposed to protect the masses. I think here we need some major cleanup, or I have to take up my childhood dream, live my life out on a boat sailing around the globe. I will add edit more on this article later as I have to join a party soon. That if I don't drink away my Sony blues.

Happy thanks giving to all the gadgets, gizmos, toys and most of all, all the people who use them!

Enjoy the holidays, and find some time to play with your friends, family and pets. Leave the gadget, toys and gizmos alone. Let that turkey go!

Blue Screen of Death comes in Colors, On XBOX 360

reported XBOX 360 crashes,
There are more crash news while driving at XBOXSCENE,it's forum, teamxbox and /. Are we having fun yet?
Got these from chamisool's photos;

EFF's CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT against SONY

This only a part of the 30 page complaint filed by EFF. You can download the PDF and read it or Join the lively conversation going on at the Groklaw. There you can read the complete transcript, if you don't have PDF software. In any case I think it is a wortwhile visit. You can read about the other evil empire, SCO at the same time.



CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT 1
Robert S. Green (State Bar No. 136183)
Jenelle Welling (State Bar No. 209480)
Avin P. Sharma (State Bar No. 233328)
GREEN WELLING LLP
595 Market Street, Suite 2750
San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone: (415) 477-6700
Facsimile: (415) 477-6710
Cindy Cohn (State Bar No. 145997)
Fred von Lohmann (State Bar No. 192657)
Kurt Opsahl (State Bar No. 191303)
Corynne McSherry (State Bar No. 221504)
ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Telephone: (415) 436-9333
Facsimile: (415) 436-9993
Reed R. Kathrein (State Bar No. 139304)
Shana Scarlett (State Bar No. 217895)
LERACH COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER
RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP
100 Pine Street, 26th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 288-4545
Facsimile: (415) 288-4534
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
ROBERT HULL, JOSEPH HALPIN and
EDWIN BONNER, on behalf of themselves
and all others similarly situated
Plaintiffs,
v.
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
CORP., SONY CORPORATION OF
AMERICA, and BERTELSMANN, INC.
Defendants.

Case No.
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Plaintiffs, by and through their attorneys, bring this action on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, and allege against Defendants as follows:
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT 2
INTRODUCTION
1. By including a flawed and overreaching computer program in over 20 million music CDs sold to the general public, including California residents, Sony BMG has created serious security, privacy and consumer protection problems that have damaged Plaintiffs and thousands of other Californians. At issue are two software technologies –MediaMax and Extended Copy Protection, also known as XCP – which defendant Sony BMG claims to have placed on the music CDs to restrict consumer use of the music on the CDs but which in truth do much more, including monitoring customer listening of the CDs and installing undisclosed and in some cases hidden files on users’ computers that can expose users to malicious attacks by third parties, all without appropriate notice and consent from purchasers. The CDs also condition use of the music on unconscionable licensing terms. These, plus other problems caused by Sony BMG’s inclusion of this software, are in violation of California law and public policy. After a series of embarrassing public revelations about security risks associated with the XCP software, including warnings issued by the United States Government, Microsoft and leading anti-virus companies, defendant Sony BMG has taken some steps to respond to the security risks created by the XCP technology. It has failed, however, to address security concerns raised by the MediaMax software or the consumer privacy and consumer fairness problems created by both technologies.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE
2. The jurisdiction of this Court arises under Code of Civil Procedure § 410.10 because Defendants conduct business in and sell a substantial number of audio compact discs in the State of California. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this Class and the representative action pursuant to
8. Defendant Sony Corporation of America is the U.S. subsidiary of Sony Corporation, a multinational corporation based in Japan. At all times mentioned herein, Defendant Sony Corporation of America, is and at all relevant times was, a New York corporation, with its principal place of business in New York, New York.
9. Defendant Bertelsmann, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, a multinational corporation based in Germany. At all times mentioned herein, Defendant Bertelsmann, Inc., is a Delaware Corporation with its principal place of business in New York,
New York.

XBOX 360 for $3500? Are these people crazy or what??

I was checking out some junk comments on the site today. I get many comments that are not related to toys, gadgets, and gizmos. But I was checking this out of curiosity.
Yes there was a bid for this Item, May be the owner himself bid on it! Anyway here is the description; No link since I don't want to promote Spam.


This incredible machine is sold out everywhere, and stores are not confident they will have any to sell for the Holidays. Get the best present of the year here, with all the incredible extras!!

Includes all of the following...

* XBOX 360 Console
* 20 GB Hard Drive
* Wireless Controller
* Headset
* Ethernet Connectivity Cable
* Component HD AV Cable
* Bonus Media Remote
* 1 Year free subscription to XBOX Live Silver Membership
* 1 Month free trial membership to XBOX Live Gold

Extras:

* Play and Charge kit for your wireless controller - rechargable battery for your controller that charges while you play!!
* Bonus Second Wireless Controller!!!

And, the grande finale...

ALL 17 LAUNCH TITLES, Sealed, Never Played!!!

* QUAKE 4
* FIFA 06 - ROAD TO FIFA WORLD CUP
* CONDEMNED: CRIMINAL ORIGINS
* CALL OF DUTY 2
* TONY HAWK'S AMERICAN WASTELAND
* NBA 2K6
* PERFECT DARK ZERO - COLLECTORS EDITION with bonus dvd, limited edition glyph, comic and collectors case
* GUN
* RIDGE RACER 6
* MADDEN 06
* NEED FOR SPEED: MOST WANTED
* PETER JACKSON'S: KING KONG
* AMPED 3
* TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 06
* PROJECT GOTHAM RACING (PGR) 3
* KAMEO: ELEMENTS OF POWER
* NHL 06 - not pictured, but ready to ship.

Many of these games are already sold out all over the place...I had to run all around town to get all of them.

(Don't be fooled by other sellers, Dead or Alive is not available yet!)

As you can see in the picture, everything is in hand and ready to ship today!! If you buy it by 4:00 Mountain Standard Time, I will be able to ship it overnight, and you will have it by the following day!!

Trust a seller with 100% positive feedback

Holidays, toys and hazards! Beware!!

North Carolina Public Interest Research Group (NCPIRG) has put out a timely report.
The report titled "Trouble In Toyland" is warning us to remain vigilant about often hidden hazards posed by toys on store shelves. You can download the complete report here!(PDF)
The report says that "Toys are safer than ever before, thanks to decades of work by product safety advocates and parents and the leadership of Congress, state legislatures and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Nevertheless, as parents venture into crowded malls and browse for the perfect toy on the Internet this holiday season, they should remain vigilant about often hidden hazards posed by toys on store shelves."
The hazards listed in the report includes;

CHOKING HAZARDS,
Toy manufacturers are over-labeling toys by placing choke hazard warnings on items that do not contain small parts. This could dilute the meaning of the warning labels, making them less useful to parents. CPSC should push manufacturers to apply the choke hazard warning only when necessary.

Mattel, a large toy manufacturer, now includes a non-statutory and vague warning on some of its toys, saying "“Small parts may be generated."If a toy contains small parts or can break easily into small parts that pose a choking hazard, the company should use the statutory warning. Toys without small parts should not include this confusing label.

STRANGULATION HAZARDS,
PIRG researchers found that the popular yo-yo water ball poses particular hazards to young children, including strangulation and other injury to the eyes, neck and face. New versions of the toy contain batteries to make the toy flash; these batteries can tear through the toy easily, posing a choking hazard if swallowed.

In June 2005, Illinois became the first state to ban this toy. At the federal level, the CPSC should ban all sales of yo-yo water balls and similar toys in the United States.

LOUD TOYS,
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that prolonged exposure to sounds at 85 decibels or higher can result in hearing damage. PIRG researchers found:

• Several toys currently on toy store shelves may not meet the ASTM standards for appropriately loud toys.

Several toys currently on toy store shelves exceed 100 decibels when measured at close range.

TOXIC CHEMICALS IN TOYS,
• Manufacturers are selling play cosmetic sets that include nail polish containing toxic chemicals, such as toluene and xylene. Since children often put their hands in their mouths, nail polish applied to fingernails offers a direct route of exposure.

Even though the European Union has banned or imposed wide restrictions on the use of six phthalates in toys and childcare products, some manufacturers of childrenÂ’s products continue to use phthalates in toys for the U.S. market. Phthalates, a class of chemicals used to "“plasticize" or soften otherwise hard PVC plastic material, have been linked to reproductive defects and other health problems.

In response to consumer concern about phthalates, some manufacturers are labeling their products as "“phthalate-free."” The U.S. government, however, does not regulate the "phthalate-free"” label or ensure that products labeled "“phthalate-free" actually do not contain phthalates. To test the reliability of the "“phthalate-free"” label, PIRG commissioned laboratory tests of eight soft plastic toys labeled as not containing phthalates. Of the eight toys tested, six contained detectable levels of phthalates.

OTHER TOY HAZARDS.
Many toys are approved for use by young children but require additional safety precautions as well as adult supervision. Non-motorized scooters and other riding toys, for example, cause more toy-related injuries every year than any other category of toy. Electric toy minimotorcycles and gasoline-powered mini-motorcycles (“pocket bikes”) are likely to be popular purchases this shopping season. Children are vulnerable to a wide range of injuries when using both motorized and non-motorized riding toys; parents should supervise their children closely when they use these toys and outfit them with the proper safety equipment.
The report explains further on PURCHASING TOYS ON THE INTERNET
Increasingly, parents are turning to the Internet as a convenient way to shop for toys, especially during the busy holiday shopping season. The CPSC, however, has yet to require online retailers to include choke hazard warnings on their websites. PIRG conducted its fifth annual survey of online toy retailers, finding that some online toy retailers are voluntarily displaying some sort of choke hazard warning for at least some of their toys—although mandatory requirements are still necessary. We found:

• One-third (35%) of the 37 online retailers surveyed display some sort of choke hazard warning next to toys that otherwise require such labeling on their packaging or point of sale, although most retailers do not display these warnings consistently on their websites.

Of the retailers surveyed, just over half (20) allow consumers to shop for toys by age group. Of these 20 websites, four post or direct parents to toys that are not age-appropriate.

• Nine of the retailers provided no manufacturer age recommendations for the toys we surveyed.

CPSC should require online toy retailers to display on their websites the safety warnings otherwise required by law to appear on toy packaging. Toy manufacturers should take the initiative and use statutory choke hazard warnings on retail toy websites.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONSUMERS AND PARENTS
Be vigilant this holiday season and remember:

The CPSC does not test all toys, and not all toys on store shelves meet CPSC standards.

• Online toy retailers do not have to provide the same safety warnings that otherwise are legally required on the packaging of toys sold in stores.

PIRG'’s report includes only a sampling of potentially hazardous toys. Always examine toys carefully for potential dangers before you make a purchase.

Report unsafe toys or toy-related bewares to the CPSC. holidays beaware and enjoy the holodays.

Root of Sony rootkit revelation!

Mark Russinovich is shown in his office with his Van Zandt CD from Sony BMG Music Entertainment, in which he discovered that the company had added a copy protection technology called XCP to his computer that this gadget blog has spoken so much about (one of the articles), Friday, Nov. 18, 2005, in Austin, Texas. Russinovich posted his findings to his blog which generated serious attention, and eventually forced Sony BMG to recall 50 different discs this week. Some 4.7 million had been made and 2.1 million sold (Photo and data from AP)My first article was published on 7th November.

Sony get your Blues Music and start playing, Dark Clouds are Circling you!

If computer security researcher Dan Kaminsky, is right and assuming all the cases are here in USA, Texas has about 7.6% of the US population And Dan's number is 560000 cases. So at $100000 a case sony might have to pay about 4 billion dollars. This is in addition to the lawyer and court fees. Add that to California, New York and EFF cases.
Well Sony, and other RIAA members and RIAA, don't feel bad, you make about $10 per CD, after paying the artists! So if you can go after grandmothers with $3000 stick, I will be laughing when sentence is delivered. Don't worry about me either, I don't download your music. In fact I buy my music, currently I have over 250 CDs. The music I buy is what I love. But lately I don't love music. I hope you,RIAA, understand what you are doing to music industry. I will stick to my gadgets and Gizmos. And I will listen to my old CDs. I have not bought a new CD in about two years now. I get my music now in second hand store, if I have to have a CD.

"Sony has engaged in a technological version of cloak and dagger deceit against consumers by hiding secret files on their computers," says Greg Abbott, the attorney general for Texas, and he is following through with a law suite, alleging that its controversial (and now recalled) "XCP" anti-piracy software violates the state's anti-spyware and consumer protection laws. You can read the press release here.Abbott's suit seeks civil penalties of $100,000 for each violation of the law, attorneys'’ fees and investigative costs.
Brian Kerbs at Security Fix has spoken to Abbott, today and has records about EFF and possible Massachusetts case. Read about better estimates on the fines on his site.
My other hero over at Freedom to Tinker is explaining about the copyright violations that Sony has done while trying to protect it's Digital Rights. Sony has used open source software to construct parts of this software. Read Matti Nikkiaccountt that explains thedissectionn of root kit. I don'tbelievee Sony when it say it is innocent, According to Matti, The project has been developed in a directory called "XCP Player Code\Sony ActiveX Player\XCPPlayerControl\". Sebastian Porst has also uncovered another bunch of violations. I am getting really sick of you Sony!
Please read Ed Felten's article to fully understand the extend of violations. He nicely mentions how mainstream media do not see this to be part of the case. Mainstream media did not see any beforeuntill they could not ignore.Forbess, do you still think blogs are junk factories?

UPDATE Groklaw, the site covering the SCO/IBM and other items such as patents, have started a section devoted to Sony DRM/rootkit saga. All the legal documents will be filed and preserved!

OK! Wrap up your Sony CDs, You can send them Back!

VICTORY! As Mark said, Sony and it's music arm Sony-BMG has posted that customers could send their CD's back.
These are the CD's with now famous SONY DRM SAGA, We reported this here as soon as Mark polished his report. I got most of my information from Marks site and Brian Krebs site.
Brian was reporting when other mainstream media were hesitating.
Anyway the News is out as it was intended to be and I hope Sony learned a lesson at the same time teaching a lesson to other similar minded evil empires.
Back to Sony CD retturns, Sony BMG’s site now includes a prominent link on its front page, “INFORMATION ON XCP CONTENT PROTECTION,” that takes visitors to a page with a statement from Sony that declares its concern over the security issues raised by its software. The first paragraph points out that Sony licensed the software from First 4 Internet, which while true, does not hold Sony any less responsible for its use of the software or the contents of the End User License Agreement (EULA).
Both Mark and Brian's sites have Descriptive reports and I am directing you over to those sites rather than rewriting the same thing.
My first post, geemodo: No Sony Gadgets, Gizmo's or anything related to Sony on this site!

Get BEYOND your lame TV, Beyond TV 4 is out!

This one gadget all the guys and Girls with a multimedia PC and a receiver card need to look into. It a Gizmo to have, a part of anyone's gadget collection. And something you will enjoy, from Snapstream past products. I promise it not to be myth, TV. You will get much more than that in your familiar windows platform. I myself is a Linux fan but I will give credit where credit is due.
With all the goodies of beyond TV get ready for Three new big ticket items with Beyond TV 4, FM Radio support, DivX support, and HDTV! This is what they have to say about HDTV portion of the product,ItÂ’s six times the picture quality, two and a half times the audio channels with Dolby surround sound, and countless new camera angles.
A select group of beta users have already started putting HD support through the paces at home and have really helped us create an HD PVR product that everyone can use. So a shout out to them and a big thanks for all of their early feedback. In my opinion, the coolest thing is that with Beyond TVÂ’s built-in multiple tuner and multiple lineup support, I can simply add a digital tuner to my existing setup. I will still get all my analog content and be able to surf through all of my digital and analog stations in one seamlessly integrated program guide.
The product has been tested with free to Air cards such as;
AVerTVHD A180
HDTV Wonder ATI
VBox DTA 151 and USB-A 3560
Fusion HDTV 3
Learn more at their site, follow these links
* Beyond TV 4, coming to a website near you
* New HDTV PVR products bundled with Beyond TV
* Everything about HD - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Now Sony story is getting Lame!

Now Sony story is getting Lame!COPY-PROTECTION software used by Sony Seem to have violated some others copyrights!
"Multiple software components on the CD have references to the LAME open source MP3 code," Finnish software developer Matti Nikki said.
"We can confirm that at least 5 functions in the XCP software are identical to functions in LAME," said Thomas Dullien of German security software firm Saber Security, which specialises in the analysis of complex software.
open source reference in the copy-protection software is never mentioned anywhere and they supposed to under LGPL licence which LAME player is released.
"That's the flipside of open source: If you don't respect the open source rules, the old regime of copy protection comes back in full force," Dutch lawyer and internet specialist Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm said.
"We can confirm the existence of significant amounts of code from FAAC (which is LGPL) in the executable ... These functions are part of ECDPlayerControl.ocx, thus directly integrated into the executable," Mr Dullien said.
These are some bits from varous publishers, I will post more once I get a story together.
Darkside may be powerfull, Sony this is no Godzilla!

Today;s Sony related advise, How to get a rootkit array!

Lame Sony (more on the lame matter later!) Has a way for you to distribute 200 rootkits at once!
Vaio, I used to like the, and as I said before, I gave my Sony Vaio away! I explained the situation, got the latest drivers for the notebook, without visiting sony site, Pointed Sony.com to timbaktu, My firewall blocks all known sony sites, out going!
Anyway I have a Brand new Toshiba notebook and a Brand New Compaq notebook all under $1400. But they are good, one a 64 bit AMD with 1.2GB memory and a 60GB drive, CD/DVD burner. The other is a mobile Pentium 4 with 764MB memory and 80GB Drive also with a CD/DVD burner. Both have Bright screen 15.4 inch screens. I love this country! Where else would you get deals like this, Both from Compusa!
This is from a guy, always had sony notebook! Eat this Sony! I will harp to everyone that I know, about what you did.
I work in the computer field, I already turned away two possible Sony sales to other vendors. Apology from you will be accepted, if made in pulic to every one you hurt.

Back to headline, Sony has a gadget that can burn 200 disks at once! No not industrial, it is a consumer device. It comes with a dual layer capable 200 DVD/CD burner, If you want a life time of rootkits, go find this one and some sony CD's!

2006 The International Consumer Electronics Show CES

If you are into gadgets and gizmos, then there is a place you must visit every year, How about combining your passion with Vegas! Show during the day and party all night.
Past experiences of CES for me was TOP!
This year they have a dating Service, No not with Vegas Sweeties, But this is a sort of putting attendees together with exhibitors. Believe me you need to plan for this show, Otherwise you will miss a lot. Now there is a MYCES at CES site. Info is here.
Get ready, register and have fun!

Some highlights, from their website;
2006 International CES News Highlights
INNOVATIONS PLUS AT THE SANDS HEATS UP WITH EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AT 2006 INTERNATIONAL CES

GOOGLE CO-FOUNDER TO KEYNOTE AT THE 2006 INTERNATIONAL CES

INNOVATIONS 2006 HONOREES RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE IN CONSUMER ELECTRONICS PRODUCT DESIGN AT 2006 INTERNATIONAL CES

INTERNATIONAL CES ANNOUNCES POWERHOUSE LINE-UP OF SPEAKERS FOR THE 2006 INDUSTRY INSIDER SERIES
This year's Industry Insider speakers include industry leaders Ivan Seidenberg, CEO, Verizon Communications; Kevin Martin, chairman, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Antonio M. Perez, president and CEO, Eastman Kodak Company. The series also will feature a Retail Power Panel with Brad Anderson, vice chairman and CEO, Best Buy; David Edmondson, president and CEO, RadioShack; Alan McCollough, chairman and CEO, Circuit City and Larry Mondry, CEO, CompUSA.

YAHOO! CHAIRMAN TO KEYNOTE AT THE 2006 INTERNATIONAL CES
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced today that Terry Semel, chairman and CEO of Yahoo! Inc. will deliver a keynote address at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

SONY'S CEO TO JOIN STELLAR KEYNOTE LINE-UP AT THE 2006 INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced today that Sir Howard Stringer, chairman and CEO of ***** ****(evil Empire). will deliver a keynote address at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

BILL GATES AND PAUL OTELLINI TO PRESENT KEYNOTE ADDRESSES AT THE 2006 INTERNATIONAL CES
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced today that top Microsoft and Intel executives will deliver keynote addresses at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGY COMES TO LIFE AT THE 2006 INTERNATIONAL CES
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) today announced that it is partnering with Robotics Trends to feature robotics technology at the 2006 International CES, the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE 2006 INTERNATIONAL CES NEW YORK PRESS PREVIEW
Jumpstart your CES coverage at the annual New York Press Preview. This must-attend event is designed to give the press a preview of what to expect at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and an exclusive peek at the new products in store for the year ahead.

INTERNATIONAL CES HOSTS TECHNOLOGY'S SEASON PREMIERE AT CES UNVEILED: THE OFFICIAL PRESS EVENT OF CES
Hot product debuts and cool new technologies from 80 leading consumer technology companies will be on display at the second annual CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of CES on January 3, 2006.

INTERNATIONAL CES EXPANDS INFLUENCE IN THE CHINESE MARKET AT SINOCES 2005
The 2005 China International Consumer Electronics Show (SINOCES), China's largest consumer electronics event, opens today in Qingdao. Sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the producer of the International CES, the fourth annual SINOCES runs today through July 4 at the Qingdao International Convention Center.

SAVE THE DATE - 2006 INTERNATIONAL CES SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 5-8
The 2006 International CES will be held Thursday - Sunday, January 5-8 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

INTERNATIONAL CES NAMED #1 BY TRADESHOW WEEK MAGAZINE
The 2004 International CES, the annual tradeshow for consumer technology, topped the Tradeshow Week 200 list, making it the largest tradeshow in the United States and Canada as ranked by Tradeshow Week magazine.

2006 INTERNATIONAL CES TO SHOWCASE FUTURE OF CONSUMER ELECTRONICS AT THE SANDS
Emerging technologies, digital imaging exhibitors and a number of vertical market TechZones will take center stage as the International CES expands to the Sands Expo and Convention Center in 2006.

The International Consumer Electronics Show 2006 will come together in Las Vegas this January. The dates are,

2006 International CES: Jan. 5-8, 2006
Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006 10 a.m.* - 6 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 6, 2006 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 8, 2006 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Future show dates
2007 International CES: Jan. 8-11, 2007
2008 International CES: Jan. 7-10, 2008
2009 International CES: Jan. 8-11, 2009
2010 International CES: Jan 7-10, 2010
*LVCC South Hall opens 9 a.m. Opening Day.
Innovations Plus at the Sands opens 8 a.m. each day and closes at 3 p.m. Sunday.

VOIP IP Telephony: We all need to know about gadget patents, Now we have a place to go

VOIP IP Telephony: We all need to know about patents, Now we have a place to go

A train of Sony Flaws and an Owl Hoots!

Hello World, I just let Sony stuff pass for a day and Boom. So much news! I just finished reading Brian Krebs' writings and man, he is a busy one. So is "Freedom to Tinker" There are a bunch of must read articles. Brian is a google news featured guy! Thanks Brian. Then there is an Owl who muttered about me! Thanks Owlish!
now to Sony Saga, there seems to be a bunch of security flaws introduced by This bad bad rootkit. I see them Here,here here here...
What ever you do the Sony Uninstaller Hole seem to Stay Open.
According to Felten (whose research was informed by a discovery from a Finnish researcher known as "Muzzy"), "the root of the problem is a serious design flaw in SonyÂ’s web-based uninstaller. When you first fill out Sony'’s form to request a copy of the uninstaller, the request form downloads and installs a program -- an ActiveX control created by the [digital rights management software] vendor, First4Internet -- called CodeSupport.

"CodeSupport remains on your system after you leave SonyÂ’s site, and it is marked as safe for scripting, so any Web page can ask CodeSupport to do things. One thing CodeSupport can be told to do is download and install code from an Internet site.

"Unfortunately, CodeSupport doesnÂ’t verify that the downloaded code actually came from Sony or First4Internet. This means any web page can make CodeSupport download and install code from any URL without asking the userÂ’s permission."

Another researcher, Kaminsky has done more work, Kaminsky said he's not sure yet how many individual computers inside of those 560,000 networks actually have the Sony software installed on them, but noted that "at the end of the day, it only takes an average of two machines per network and we are easily talking about millions of machines here."
His simple explanation on his Plotting is;
Sony has a rootkit.

The rootkit phones home.

Phoning home requires a DNS query.

DNS queries are cached.

Caches are externally testable

Viola! A Map.


Kaminsky tied the addresses to geographic locations by using his access to a commercial geolocation database. He has since posted a software tool on his site that renders a very cool three-dimensional look at where the largest concentrations of installs are located
I could go on, But I think you have a bunch to read for now.
Have a good day!

Hand Cranked Notebook!

Although this is not that new news! I was reading, "One Laptop Per Child - a Preview of the Hundred Dollar Laptop" by Ethan Zuckerman made me revisit the path I visited a few months ago.

We may look into the aesthetics, weight, battery life and CPU power when we want a new notebook, The audience that these computers are targeted, just want a computer so they can compute. Computer has become, to us (most of us!), a device that we have to have. We send /read our emails, run grid applications, or solve a simple financial or mathematical problem. We no longer grab a notebook(paper) and pencil, volumes of encyclopedias when we have to do some research.
We open browser to google, open up our Word processor and cut and paste our paper.
Now I am going to cut and paste some things from Ethan's site but I urge you to read the article. It gives you an in depth view in to this gadget, OLPC, One Computer Per Child. A spark of thinking by Nicholas Negroponte. Ethen personally knows Nicholas and so the article and the chain of connected articles, gives you a heart warming but in depth technical information.
Thanks Ethan, Thanks Nicholas! This trip down the Al Gore's road made me think and concider Geekcorps!!