Noted crypto expert performs detailed Skype vulnerability analysis

Noted crypto expert performs detailed Skype vulnerability analysis: "Those in the VoIP community who are critical of Skype are numerous in their number and loud in their derision of the utility as not secure.With 35 years as a cryptographer, Tom Berson of Anagram Laboratories writes that he is 'professonally skeptical about the security of almost anything, especially of a system which is as [...]"

Linux Tutorial: Getting Started

Linux Tutorial: Getting Started: "This tutorial is meant as an introductory guide for a user to use a modern personal computer (PC) running the Linux operating system. The main aim is to provide a self-learning guide on how to use a modern Linux desktop..."

iKids Phone with GPS Reciever

Dutch telco KPN has introduced a mobile phone specially made for young children. The iKid phone comes with a GPS receiver that "remains working even when the phone isn't activated. Parents can select three 'safety zones', areas where their children... iKids Phone with GPS Reciever: "Dutch telco KPN has introduced a mobile phone specially made for young children. The iKid phone comes with a GPS receiver that 'remains working even when the phone isn't activated. Parents can select three 'safety zones', areas where their children..."

Telecom offers VoIP for companies, households to get it in mid-2006

Telecom offers VoIP for companies, households to get it in mid-2006
24 October 2005, Source: CIA - Daily News

Cesky Telecom started today offering mid-sized and large companies the service of the calling via the Internet. The service ePhone integrates the voice communication into the application Microsoft Outlook 2003. The service ePhone is now offered as a part of the complex corporate communication solution and it will be offered independently in the first half of the year 2006. Telecom will offer VoIP for households in the middle of next year, Cesky Telecom IP Telephony Services Manager Jakub Kopecky said at the INVEX fair today.

The service ePhone makes it possible to use Outlook not only for sending e-mails but also for telephoning not only in the framework of the Internet but also to fixed and mobile lines in the Czech Republic and abroad. Because Telecom does not offer the serice independently, there is no price list for ePhone. The company is negotiating the price of the corporate communication solution independently.

Cesky Telecom has developed the service ePhone in cooperation with Microsoft and media-streams.com.

Ready for a Mobile Phone Comedy Series?

Ready for a Mobile Phone Comedy Series?: "Motorola has teamed up with MTV Networks and Comedy Central to produce a new mobile-phone comedy series. Entitled 'Head and Body', the show launches this week and targets teenagers and young adults. So what's the show about? ''Head and Body'..."

How to build a better lens

So, our amazing (and tiny) squad of beta testers have built a few hundred lenses. Some of them are pretty thin, some really jump off the page.
What’s the difference?
If you get a chance, take a look at Seth’s lens. I designed this page as an example of chunking and storytelling.
Chunking, because the best lenses divide the world into tiny bite-sized chunks. A long long list of links (which is what most web pages that fashion themselves as lenses contain) is completely useless to the average human. The goal here, remember, is not completeness, it’s to give me a toehold. The best bookstores have a little display at the cash register to get you excited about exploring the bookstore and buying stuff. The smartest people I know don’t spend all day showing off how much they know–instead, they focus on a few topics and make it easy for the people they’re dealing with to engage in a conversation.
Same thing happens on a great lens. You expose a few points, just a few, maybe as many as five. Then move on to another module.
Less, not more.
Which leads to storytelling. The point of a great lens is to convert someone from a stranger into someone with enough confidence to actually click on something. Remember, on almost every single page on the entire web, the single-most clicked on button is BACK. Your goal is to have a narrative, to tell a story that unfolds and makes it easy for people to get what you’re up to.
So, as we expand the beta and you get your chance to make your first lens, or if you want to build a lens somewhere else, make it chunky.

Samsung YP-U1 reviewed

Samsung YP-U1 reviewed: " With 512MB or 1GB of flash, a chewing-gum form factor and a price somewhere between $99 and $149, Samsung’s YP-U1 is the company’s attempt to grab some market share from the iPod shuffle. And with a backlit display, hinged USB and equalizer, it’s got an edge on the shuffle in at least a few places. CNet Asia put one through its paces, and found it to be a decent, basic player, but found the battery life and playlist capabilities a little on the weak side. They also dinged Samsung for leaving out an FM radio, but what do you want for $99?

Attack of the gaming grannies

If you saw her in a grocery store, you would see an old, Midwestern diabetic with thick glasses leaning on a crutch or shopping cart," says her grandson Timothy St. Hilaire, who launched a blog recounting her gaming exploits -- and her colorful expletives. "She's a polite mother of five and grandmother of 12...but get her in front of a game, and she becomes a monster."St. Hilaire represents the new older face of gaming. Despite the common perception that most gamers are busy coping with acne and adolescent awkwardness, many are instead concerned with getting their Social Security checks on time.PONG ADDICTS. Some 19% of gamers are over 50, up 9% in five years, according to Peter D. Hart Research Associates. And 53% of game players expect to be playing as much, or more, 10 years from now.

Balloon beams broadband internet from stratosphere

Balloon beams broadband internet from stratosphere: "The untethered helium balloon sent data to the ground at over 1 gigabit per second � thousands of times faster than home broadband"

The TomTom One car navigator...with MP3 player?

The TomTom One car navigator...with MP3 player?: " GPS Review claims that TomTom is gearing up for the release of the TomTom One car navigator (artist rendering to right). It is said to feature a touchscreen, Bluetooth, USB, SD card slot, and connector for an external antenna. It will ship with an SD card preloaded with maps and car mounting kit and charger. If the name is correct then we might be talking about a whole new lineup for TomTom devices — GPS Review even speculates that the One might also feature MP3 playback due to the inclusion of a headphone jack. Hmmm, that would make this a very bulky portable MP3 player or an in-car hazard with your head tethered to the dash. But hey, we’ve only got a pathetic artist rendering at this point so let’s just wait and see the deets,

Rumor: 40GB and 80GB HD on Xbox 360

Rumor: 40GB and 80GB HD on Xbox 360: "From joystiq.com:[QUOTE]We've been tipped off that Xbox 360s shown at the Digital Life show this past weekend at the Jacob Javitz were sportin' 40GB and 80GB hard drives. We can't confirm it with photos or anything, but according to our observant tipster one Xbox 360 was shown to have 38 GB of space remaining when a Microsoft representative navigated a 'memory' section for a few brief moments.This is not to say that the Xbox 360 will ship with anything other than the 20GB drive that has been announced. We confirmed with Microsoft that the console will launch with only the 20GB hard drive initially. This is more about evolution of the console post-launch.[/QUOTE]Read More: joystiq.com."

Acer laptop includes VoIP phone inside

Dan Nystedt
Acer Inc. has developed a new laptop PC that comes with a wireless VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone the size of a PC card that fits into an onboard slot.
In fact, the phone is a Bluetooth card with a speaker that unfolds for users to talk into. It works with the notebook PC as an onboard VoIP phone via Bluetooth wireless technology.
The notebook PC isn't available yet. The model viewed by IDG News Service Monday at the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei was being used to demonstrate Intel's latest mobile platform based on its Yonah dual-core mobile processor.
Intel officials said they expected the laptop to be among the products available around the time it launches Yonah, expected in about the first quarter next year

The HTC Prophet

The HTC Prophet: " Some images and details have leaked out about the HTC Prophet, a new GSM/GPRS/EDGE Pocket PC Phone that’s supposedly slimmer than the HTC Magician and that is listed as running Windows Mobile 5.0 and having a 416MHz processor, an integrated FM tuner, WiFi, a 65,000 color, QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) display, and a two megapixel digital camera with flash. No word on a possible release date or which carriers might be offering the phone.

How moribund Google Voice Search could be key to SF Google Wi-Fi AdWords

How moribund Google Voice Search could be key to SF Google Wi-Fi AdWords: " Dean, who is Site Admin for the U.K.-based VOIP User forum, proposes an absolutely spot-on scenario for how Google Talk could work with, say, the Wi-Fi network Google hopes to build in San Francisco.I've expanded on that scenario with some research and thoughts of my own. Let's go there.Dean's scenario involves a revival of Google Voice, a [...]"

Coffee And Caffeine: A Duel To The Death

Coffee And Caffeine: A Duel To The Death: "What would happen if there was no coffee to wake us in the morning? As a caffeine addict myself, I would not be a very happy camper."

Mysterious Crop Circles Surface: New viral marketing campaign?

Mysterious Crop Circles Surface: New viral marketing campaign?: "From TeamXbox.com:[QUOTE]An individual, going by the name of Lutz, has been posting various pictures of crop circles across different Xbox forums including our own. Although this all could be a hoax played by someone with time and Photoshop skills, this look to us like a new viral marketing campaign in the style of ILoveBees, OurColony, and Origen Xbox 360.The pictures each display a type of crop circle; two drawn on sand and one on grass. The circles have three numbers in roman digits: I: 1, VI: 6 and VIII: 8. More Pictures on teamxbox.com.It appears the story thickens as some forum users have come across yet another strange website[hex168.com] that is obviously tied to these mysterious photos.[/QUOTE]Also note that 168 in hex = 360 in decimals ;)HEX168.com also has a counter with countdown to somewhere 3days and 15hours from now at time of writing this news.Read More/Pictures: teamxbox.com, forum.teamxbox.com, hex168.com.Xbox-Scene Discussion Thread: forums.xbox-scene.com"

Pluck lets people connect in the shadows

Pluck lets people connect in the shadows: "The man behind iChat returns with technology that lets users tag, comment, and rate Web pages."

$99 Color Organizer

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct 12, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- For busy people who want to manage every organizational aspect of their lives simply and affordably, it's never been easier than with the Palm Z22 organizer, one of two new products from Palm, Inc. announced today. An easy-to-use and compact color handheld built for the mass market, the Palm Z22 organizer is the most affordable color handheld from Palm yet. At $99 (estimated U.S. street price), it holds thousands of contacts, years of appointments, birthdays and photos, and its special memory capability keeps the information safe, even if the user forgets to charge the device

Gaming Webcam with USB hub

Chatting with video & gaming
The Philips SPC 600NC is a fun webcam for adding an interactive dimension to gaming and video chatting. In intense red, it comes with free games you can see yourself in. And when the camera is not on, use its mount for connecting other USB devices.

Skype Zones

With Skype Zones, you can now access Skype and make calls from more than 18,000 Skype-friendly internet hot spots round the world
Skype Zones BETA is a little piece of software powered by Boingo that gives you access to Skype through thousands of Skype-friendly hot spots, while you’re on the move. So now when you’re at your favourite café or waiting quietly at the airport, you don’t have to count the tic-tac of your watch, instead you can just talk to your friends on Skype.
Skype Zones prices
You can try it out for two hours for just € 2.50 ($2.95) or you can enjoy it as much as you want for a whole month for € 6.50 ($7.95)
Find Skype Zones

EA and Steven Spielberg Team Up to Develop Three Original Videogames

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 14, 2005--In a ground-breaking long term agreement, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that Academy Award(R) winner Steven Spielberg will be collaborating with the game makers at EA's Los Angeles studio (EALA) to create three new original franchise properties. Beginning this year, with offices located on site at EALA, Spielberg will work directly with EA's development teams to offer his signature style of storytelling to the concept, design, story and artistic visualization of the new games. EA will own the intellectual properties and the game franchises will be developed, published and distributed worldwide by EA. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"I have been playing EA games for years and have watched them master the interactive format," said Steven Spielberg. "Having watched the game industry grow from a niche into a major creative force in entertainment, I have a great deal of respect for EA's understanding of the interactive format. I'm looking forward to working closely with the team in Los Angeles."
"There is no greater storyteller than Steven Spielberg," said EA Chairman and CEO Larry Probst. "In addition to his gift for pleasing movie audiences, he has an innate understanding of games and how to immerse players into a fantastic world of action and characters."
"It's incredibly exciting to be collaborating with Steven Spielberg," noted Neil Young, VP and Studio Head at EALA. "He shares our vision for the potential of the medium and has the passion and creativity to help us finally deliver on the promise that a game can not only engage and compel you with its interactivity, but can also move you emotionally."
The mission at EALA is to be the definitive creative destination for game makers and game development in Southern California. It is home to the award-winning Medal of Honor(TM), Command & Conquer(TM) and The Lord of the Rings(TM) franchises. EALA drives innovation in technology, art and game design by employing a first-class studio of game-makers at its campus in Playa Vista, CA. The studio is also home to EA's Worldwide Music and Music Marketing group and EA Mobile