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A week under surveillance: Logitech Alert Video Security System review
Logitech dropped its Alert Video Security System on our laps just before we were allowed to tell the world about it -- not nearly enough time to put it through its paces. Since then we've spent a week beneath its piercing gaze, afraid to scratch inappropriately lest that movement be recorded forever onto the cold, merciless memory of network-attached storage. In that time we found living with Alert to be generally entertaining, sometimes frustrating, and occasionally disconcerting. How so? Read on to find out. %Gallery-98703%
Logitech announces Alert series of high-def security cameras, we go hands-on (updated with video!)
While it's not too difficult to see what's going on inside your DVR from anywhere in the world these days, keeping an eye on what's happening inside your house is sadly a little bit more complicated. Sure, there are solutions, but few are entirely plug and play -- and those that are tend to be far from affordable. Logitech's new Alert system is certainly easy to set up and, at around $300, won't exactly break the bank. Announced today and available later this month it's a simple, albeit somewhat limited, solution for home security and remote monitoring of... well... anything you can point a camera at. And, with mobile apps for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android, you can do that monitoring from just about anywhere. Click on through for the full details, some early impressions, and a little sample video. %Gallery-98703%
Vibrating auto seat alerts driver when cars get too close
Every time we turn around, auto manufacturers are developing loads of new displays and sensors. At what point does the driver hit sensory overload? That's the question that prompted John Morrell, an Associate Professor at Yale School of Engineering, to position twenty vibrating cellphone motors in a rectangular array inside the driver's seat. Several different warnings were devised, including positional warnings (someone approaching closely behind will set off the center of the array, while a car approaching from the left or right will set off the motors on your left or right, respectively). Preliminary tests were done on a simulator based on The Open Racing Car Simulator (TORCS) platform, and so far things look promising. "[T]he vibrotactile feedback improved drivers' performance over that attained by using the rearview mirror alone," according to Gizmag, "and also helped warn of vehicles hidden by the mirror blind spot." Now, if this could do double duty as a massage chair? Then we'd be onto something.
Brando's USB mailbox lights up, thrills your heart when email arrives
Is the plastic heap you're peering at above anywhere near as cute as the notifying papercraft Wall-E we spotted late last year? Not even close, but it's equally captivating. Crafted by the geniuses at Brando, the USB Mail Box Friends Alert works with Windows-based machines that happen to have an open USB port. Simply plug it in, install the software and link your Facebook, Twitter or email account; when a new message arrives, the mailbox lights up, a sound can be emitted and the flag can even raise to alert you. Never mind the fact that the flag should only raise when you've got something in the outbox -- you know you're dropping $18 on this, anyway.
Nissan's Forest AC blows wild scents through your ride, keeps you alert
And here you were thinking Mercedes-Benz's Attention Assist system was the thing in driver alertness aides. In a rather odd, nearly jocose press release, Nissan has revived our faith in corporate R&D with the glorious introduction of the Forest AC. In short, this new air conditioning system "systematically controls cabin temperature, ventilation, aroma and humidity to create an optimal interior environment." Still bewildered? It means that the system can tap into an array of sensors in order to find out exactly what environment is best for your current state of mind, and if it needs to, it'll blast your nostrils with gusts of fresh forest in order to increase alertness while keeping stress levels down. The zaniest part of all, however, isn't the idea of using various aromas to keep one's attention; it's the fact that this system is actually scheduled for installation on a vehicle (the Fuga) that'll ship this fiscal year in Japan.
Apple Learning Interchange: Security Compromise
Apple is apparently alerting ALI forum members that Learning Interchange account passwords have been compromised. In a message forwarded to us by several TUAW readers, Apple warns that members who commonly use the same credentials on multiple sites may be at risk. If you are an ALI account user, please consider updating any accounts that use identical credentials. Here is the Apple quote that was sent to us. We recently learned that the security of Apple Learning Interchange (ALI) members' names and passwords may have been compromised. These accounts are limited to accessing the ALI discussion board and do not contain sensitive information such as credit card or social security numbers.While ALI member names and passwords are not linked to your Apple ID, our records indicate that your ALI member name and Apple ID are the same. For this reason we strongly recommend that you change your Apple ID password as well as any others that might have the same name and password combination. At the time of posting, the ALI site (also linked to in the Source link) is unavailable. We do not have confirmation from Apple about this situation, although we have contacted them for a statement.
Server maintenance for Tuesday March 24th
One morning, as Michael Sacco was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been logged out of the World of Warcraft. He lay on his muscular back and saw, as he lifted his head up a little, his cheap no-name LCD monitor lit up from across the room. From this height the monitor, just about ready to turn off completely, showed Sindragosa's skeletal figure on the login screen. His monitor, pitifully underpowered compared to the rest of his electronics, flickered lazily before his eyes. "What's happened to me," he thought. It was no dream. His room, a proper room for a human being, only somewhat too small, lay quietly between the four well-known walls. Above the table, on which an unfinished collection of WoW Insider articles was spread out -- Sacco was a blogger -- hung the picture which he had cut out of an illustrated magazine a little while ago and set in a pretty gilt frame. It was a picture of a blood elf male in full Bloodfang regalia. He stood boldly there, lifting up in the direction of the viewer a pair of epic daggers. Michael's glance then turned to the breaking news window. The downtime alert -- that all realms would be down for scheduled maintenance on March 24th from 5 AM to 11 AM PST -- made him quite melancholy. "Why don't I keep sleeping for a little while longer and forget all this foolishness," he thought. But this was entirely impractical, for he was used to playing when he woke up, but in the servers' present state he could not get himself into the game. No matter how hard he clicked "Login", he always was kicked back to the login screen. He must have tried it a hundred times, closing his eyes so that he would not have to see the error window, and gave up only when he began to feel a light, dull pain in his temples which he had never felt before. It was his girlfriend, who indeed existed at this hour of the morning, nagging him to clean the litterbox and get writing. "O God," he thought, "what a demanding job I've chosen!"
FEMA: don't worry about national SMS alert system, we gots it
The FCC has already given its stamp of approval on a system to modernize the US' ages-old emergency broadcast infrastructure, relying largely on voluntary participation by the nation's wireless carriers to help get the word out to their subscribers in the event of a crisis. Left open, though, was the question of exactly who would be responsible for taking the reigns at the federal level, managing the system and overseeing alerts. After some initial concern that it didn't have the necessary legal authority to manage the system durning non-emergencies, FEMA has finally taken the bull by the horns and thrown its hat in the ring to get the infrastructure in place. The agency's first responsibility will be to develop and publish a protocol for the alerts -- something it hopes to have accomplished in the next one to two months -- with public availability of the production system coming in 12 to 18 months.
Alert! Microsoft Points scam sweeps Xbox Live
While every major company in the world attempts to bang into your head that they will never ask for your account information sometimes people don't listen.Unfortunately a scam, which appears to have been around for some time, promises free Microsoft points when you log into your .net Passport account. This site, and any site that promises the same, is 100% fake and will only lead to a headache like the reader who sent this in who had 5000 MS points purchased with his credit card.We know this isn't the first, nor will it be the last, site to attempt to scam you but we hope to echo what you all should already know.We won't link the site itself, for fear of spreading the scam, but we would like to remind you of a few key things. Microsoft will only give points away during official contests that ALWAYS link directly back to a Microsoft site and those contests are always widely reported on X3F, Joystiq and other gaming sites Never, no matter what you're promised, log into your account unless on officially sanctioned Xbox sites (Xbox.com, Bungie.net, ForzaMotorsport.net, etc.) Never give away your user name and password to anyone and remember Microsoft will never ask for this information Never give away your account details, including credit card information and mailing address Do not get caught in a scam, who knows how deep the rabbit hole goes if you do.Check out our visual guide to spotting fake Microsoft sites used in similar scams. This guide isn't foolproof however, so just steer clear from anything that promises anything!
Tame cube concept dishes out your availability status
Granted, it's becoming increasingly simple to just Twitter your day away with the smorgasbord of connectivity options out there today, but if you're just too productive to bother with that, the Tame concept is likely to become your next best friend. The cube shown above can be equipped with customized statuses that will inform anyone trying to contact you (via Facebook, text, cellphone, IM, fax, telegraph, can-and-string, etc.) exactly why you aren't responding. For convenience, each panel is assigned a color depending on the severity of your away-ness (i.e. red for "I'm on a 14-hour flight to Fiji with no BlackBerry service."), which can easily be glanced by the owner if dashing off in a hurry. Of course, this thing would be entirely more appealing if it included a robotic secretary that actually screened your calls and passed along those that were important, but hey, you've got to start somewhere.
FCC gives national SMS alert system stamp of approval
As expected, the FCC today approved plans to roll out a nationwide SMS-based alert system, which is now all but certain to be adopted by all four national carries, and no doubt most regional carriers as well. As CNN reports, under the new plan, the FCC will appoint a federal agency tasked with creating the messages, which will in turn be passed on to participating carriers (which will have ten months to comply with the system once the agency is named). Those messages will be limited to one of three categories of emergencies, including disasters like a terrorist attack, ongoing threats like hurricanes or earthquakes, or child abductions or amber alerts. Also as we had heard before, individuals will be able to opt out of the system if they so desire, and carriers will be required to provide distinct vibration and audio alert options for people with disabilities.[Thanks, Ron]
Bizarre campaign texts parents to check for lice in kids' hair
If you thought sending a SMS in order to gain entry into a public bathroom was on the weird side, get a load of this. An outlandish campaign sparked up in the UK has been sending out weekly text messages to parents in order to remind them of the need to check for head lice on their youngsters. Cleverly coined Beat the Bugs, the program led to the discovery of six cases of lice, and when polling participants at the end of the term, the majority stated that they felt more aware about treatment / prevention and that they were now checking their kids' heads at least once per week. We can hear it now: "C'mon Jimmy, time for me to look through your locks for any critters!" "Ah, bugger." [Via Switched, image courtesy of Interior Health]
National SMS alert system closer to reality
The FCC is expected to get real with a nationwide SMS-based alert system on Wednesday, revealing the details of a program that will likely be adopted by all four national carriers in the US -- and very likely, we'd assume, most of the regionals as well. The program will be designed to send messages to in-the-know subscribers in the event of a natural disaster, attack, or child abduction, and naturally, folks will be able to opt out if they prefer the "ignorance is bliss" approach. The system is also apparently going to feature specific provisions requiring participating carriers to make sure disabled users can get the alert via special vibration or audible alerts, though it's not clear how those will differ from the vibrates and beeps the rest of the populace receives. If all goes well, carriers who opt to implement the system will have to have it running within 10 months, so we'll finally be able to get that "OMG TRNDO" text we've always wanted to receive.[Via Phone Scoop]
Indian government to SMS food alerts to poor, forgets poor lack cellphones
A regional government in India has decided to send out alerts via SMS to families in need when their 35kg monthly rice ration is ready to pickup. The system is set to cover as many as 3.4 million families -- or 60 percent of the region's population -- though the gents running the show were unsure how many families in need actuality had cell phones to receive the notice or the means to sign up. We really have to wonder why nobody stopped to consider that the poor in need of food to survive might not have cell phones to get these messages in the first place. Perhaps a cheapo prepaid could be part of this high tech recipe in the future?
Sprint Nextel first national to test emergency alerts
At first, we sorta thought those air raid sirens (you know, the ones that are freakin' loud enough to wake the dead) were enough of an "emergency alert" as it was, but consider this: they usually don't tell you the nature of the emergency or give you instructions on exactly how you're supposed to proceed. That's not the sirens' fault -- a mind-numbingly loud "whoop whoop" really doesn't have the bandwidth to reveal that kind of information to the human ear -- but now that SMS-capable phones are ubiquitous, it's time to smarten things up just a tad. The government's Emergency Alert System has had just such a plan in the works for a while now, and Sprint Nextel is becoming the first national carrier to trial a system capable of sending targeted, location based alerts when bad stuff goes down. The trial is taking place in scenic Contra Costa, California; no word on a national rollout, but if you find out about your next tornado, earthquake, or other scary sitch via text, your area have just gotten swept into the craze.
Shoogle feedback mechanisms alert you of mobile messages, battery life
We've certainly heard of (and heard, too) cellphones pretending to be something they're not, but Shoogle ups the ante by adding a level of utility that we wish was already widely available. By utilizing accelerometers, vibrators and internal speakers, the creators of Shoogle have conjured up software that enables users to check their mobile's battery life and for unread / unheard messages by just shaking the handset. Put simply, a variety of sounds and vibrations allow the cellphone to feel as if blocks or liquid is trapped within, and all it takes is a quick shake to determine if any contacts are waiting for your response or if you need to make haste in locating the nearest AC outlet. Currently, only basic trials have been conducted, but more widespread testing is already in the cards. Oh, and just in case you were crossing your fingers for a video demonstration, feel free to straighten your digits and click on through for a glimpse.[Via NewScientistTech]
Neck-worn posture reminder keeps your back in check
No, we don't honestly expect any of you to actually lower your pride enough to replace those Mr. T-styled chains with a posture reminding bird, but at least you've got the option, right? The admittedly zany Sitting Pose Corrector and Reminder Alarm is apparently designed to hang 'round your neck and use internal sensors to determine just how far you're slouched over, and if that spine gets a bit too crooked, we assume it emits an embarrassing array of noises to straighten you back out. Again, we've no idea who'd submit themselves to this type of inhumane torture, but for just $8.43, it'd make for a swell gag gift.[Via CNET]
New chip curbs misplaced cellphone syndrome
Those who are contemplating some type of bizarre surgery to ensure your dear cellphone stays permanently attached to your person should probably hold off, as a couple of companies are teaming up to curb the oh-so-typical problem of misplacing one's handset. New Japan Radio Co. and Superwave Corporation have reportedly joined forces to "develop a chip that uses weak radio waves to communicate with mobile phones, paving the way for devices that tell users when a handset is misplaced." Supposedly, the chip would communicate with one's phone "every few seconds," and if you bolted from the subway sans your cellphone, a sound or vibration would apparently be there to alert you of your mistake. Hold tight folks, the firms have plans to distribute samples to manufacturers this October. [Warning: Read link requires subscription][Image courtesy of GLIRC]
Russian ATM runs on unactivated copy of Windows
Granted, we'd be a tad more surprised about this if it wasn't found in Russia, but this one defies logic regardless. While we're unsure if tricksters have figured out a way to siphon unthinkable quantities of cash from this particular ATM, the owners should be ashamed of themselves for running a (presumably pirated) unactivated copy of Windows on the public banking machine. Of course, there's quite a few workarounds for this problem if you take the time to look, but seriously, who skimps on a product activation code when running a multi-million (billion?) dollar banking operating?[Via TheRawFeed]
MedSignals' digital pill box charts your dosage
As the field of devices that let caregivers step away and give the elderly more independence expands, it was just a matter of time before digital pill boxes hit the mainstream. The aptly-dubbed med-minder holds one's pills in separated compartments to divvy up the days, and send out audible alerts (as well as flashing LEDs) when it's time to take them, records the time of opening in its built-in memory, uploads the usage data automatically to a server, and allows for access to personal chart trackers that show if any days were skipped over or taken late. The 5- x 3.5- x 1-inch box stays permanently connected to both a telephone and AC outlet, and once a day it dials up a toll free number to deliver the latest statistics. The box can apparently be ordered right now for $169, but if your great grandmother figures out that she can just crack the lid and dump the pills, you're still back to square one.[Via MedGadget]
