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Toshiba Tech's erasable toner lets you photo-uncopy (video)
Put away the matches, finally there's an eco-friendly way to get rid of those ill-thought photocopy pranks. Toshiba Tech has developed a toner that can be erased, letting you use a sheet of paper up to five times. Unlike similar solutions, you don't need special paper, but you will need one of the compatible copiers. The idea is similar to Pilot's erasable ball-point pen system, but uses heat instead of friction. As you'll see in the video over the break, a trace of the erased image remains slightly visible, so you'll still want the shredder for those sensitive documents. A built-in scanner means you can archive documents and also lets the machine sort paper into what can and can't be reused automatically. At the minute, you can only print in blue, but Toshiba Tech promises more options are on the way, and a full-color version is in the pipes. While the price is still undecided at this time, the creators hope that with the long-term paper savings, it'll only be the toner, not your budget, doing the disappearing.
Viewsonic rolls out 3DV5 pocket camcorder, other gadgets of 2D and 3D varieties
Viewsonic has been touting a whole range of 3D gadgets since IFA this summer, and it's now finally brought a few of them to North America. That includes the $180 3DV5 pocket camcorder, which was already released in Europe and does 720p video along with 5 megapixel stills (in both 3D and 2D), and the also-$180 3DPF8 8-inch digital photo frame, which will let you view 3D videos and photos without the need for 3D glasses. Joining those are the $330 DVP5 pocket camcorder, which isn't 3D but does pack a built-in projector, and the $150 DPF8-CAM Digital Photo Copier, which is actually an 8-inch digital photo frame with a built-in scanner to let you easily convert your snapshots to digital copies. Head on past the break for the complete press release, and hit up the gallery below for a closer look at the whole lot. %Gallery-107538%
Canon copiers read your docs, stop jobs based on keywords
Putting an end to those despicable whistleblowers might seem nigh on impossible in the age of Wikileaks, but you can bet your bubby that stopping would-be Daniel Ellsbergs is something that companies are taking very, very seriously. Canon has just announced that copiers running version 5 of its Uniflow networking platform can use their OCR capabilities to keep an eye out for certain keywords (say, "planned robot invasion" or "time machine") and prevent the documents they appear in from being copied altogether. Wild, huh? Just so long as the machine isn't also saving the info to use against you at a later time.
Engadget's back to school guide: Printers
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we've got printers in our sights -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides. Even if your textbooks, your movies, your music, and the photographic evidence of your quasi-legal sorority hazing exists purely in the digital domain, you'll have to print out things like term papers and court documents sooner or later. (Thought we forgot about that hazing, didn't you?) We know that's money tight, so we've found something to suit every budget. Now, on to the printers...
Kaleidescape outs M300 and M500 Blu-ray players, copiers
Kaleidescape's just announced another line of high end home entertainment products -- this time it's the M300 and M500 Blu-ray players. The M500 also boasts Blu-ray copying abilities, too -- allowing you to import Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs onto your server at home. In an interesting decision, Kaleidescape will require that the physical Blu-ray disc be present for playback from the server -- which, you may be thinking, rather defeats the purpose, doesn't it? Pretty much. Thankfully, Kaleidescape's got a disc loader in the works which will allow you to keep a "large number" of discs ready in the system for faster loading. The loader itself isn't expected to be ready for retail until the first half of next year, but you can grab the M300 and the M500 beginning May 18th, with the M300 running $2,495 and the M500 at $3,995. The full press release follows.
Fuji Xerox touts language-translating photocopier
Fuji Xerox has come up with some unique copying systems before, and it looks like its latest photocopier is no exception, with it promising to take a Japanese document and spit out a English, Chinese, or Korean translation on the fly (or vice versa). That's done by networking the printer to a dedicated translation server which, if similar systems are any indication, could well result in some unintentionally hilarious copies. What's more, the device also promises to preserve the original layout of the documents copied, with it apparently making use of some special algorithms to distinguish between text, lines and images. It's just a prototype at the moment, however, so there's no indication as to when or if we might see a commercial version.[Via Crave]
Xerox innovation can add anti-counterfeit measures to digital printers
Xerox, the same outfit looking to extract information from your web browsing excursions, has now churned out a swank anti-counterfeiting procedure that purportedly allows a vanilla digital printer to "create personalized fluorescent marks on documents." Of course, these fluorescent signatures are commonly used to authenticate currency, and Xerox is hoping that people warm up to the idea of slapping the same level of security onto documents ranging from licenses, certificates, or even personal checks. The method utilizes the "dry ink" found in xerographic printers to create the secure imprint, and curious users can spot the tell-tale sign when exposing the document to ultraviolet light. Of course, you should still be wary of that dubious looking bizhub crammed over in the corner office, but if you're interested in Xerox's latest counterfeit squashing technology, you can snag it as part of the FreeFlow Variable Information Suite 5.0 software.[Via Gizmag]
Kaleidescape escapes DVD CCA's wrath in court
We all know that bit about a "speedy trial" doesn't exactly come to fruition in most cases, and after three excruciating years of battling innovation stranglers the DVD Copy Control Association, Kaleidescape has escaped unscathed. The firm's DVD ripping / streaming jukebox was under fire for obvious reasons, as it not only encouraged the ripping of "protected content," but it helped users rip and transmit the data around their network. The DVD CCA whined that the machine "breached a contract" when it crafted a product that enabled users to copy its locked-down material onto hard-drive based servers -- the judge, however, felt otherwise. In fact, it was ruled that "nothing in the DVD CCA licensing agreement prohibits the development of products that allow users to copy their DVDs," thus, no contract was breached at all. One down, too many to go.
Your office photocopier could help steal your identity
While we've seen just how to have a Sharp miracle in your office, it now seems that Sharp copiers (along with Xerox and a smorgasbord of others) could become a miraculous find for identify thieves. Given that many all-in-one "bizhubs" of today feature some sort of internal storage device to capture copies, scans, and faxes in case you need to resend the file a week or two later, it's not too surprising to think how such a convenience could be exploited by ill-willed individuals to extract personal information about you and your office mates. Pointing at tax time in particular, it has been suggested that many Americans photocopy sensitive documents that contain all the information needed to jack your ID without even realizing how vulnerable they've made themselves. Both Sharp and Xerox, however, have both released security kits that encrypt the internal data stored on its machines, but if you're using some off-the-wall copier and have noticed something peculiar about that fellow across the hall, stay sharp.
