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passport posts

Video: Samsung's e-passport turns your head into a rotating government specimen

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 19th 2009 at 5:26AM

Samsung (and your local government) hasn't been shy with its plans for electrifying passports. Yet we still haven't seen video of its e-passport with flexible OLED display in action, 'till now. The 2-inch, 240x320 AMOLED displays a disembodied, rotating head in 260k colors and 10k:1 contrast when activated by an RF source reader. No details were provided as to when these might enter production but we have the icky feeling it'll be sooner than we want.

[Via OLED-Info]

Continue reading Video: Samsung's e-passport turns your head into a rotating government specimen

Engadget's recession antidote: win a Scosche passPORT Home Dock!

by Darren Murph posted Jun 12th 2009 at 12:00PM

This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn't want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back -- so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We'll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff / companies stop sending things. Today we've got a Scosche passPORT Home Dock ready to give your old iPod docking device the ability to play nice with newer iPods and iPhones. Read the rules below (no skimming -- we're omniscient and can tell when you've skimmed) and get commenting! Hooray for free stuff! Oh, and for those who miss out, coupon code 'engadget' will net you 20 percent through Google Checkout at Radius' site.

Special thanks to Scosche for providing the gear!

The rules:

Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too.
You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
Winner will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will receive one (1) Scosche passPORT Home Dock. Approximate retail value is $39.99.
If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
Entries can be submitted until Friday, June 12th, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!

Full rules can be found here.

Scosche passPORT Home Dock gives new life to old iPod docks

by Darren Murph posted Feb 23rd 2009 at 6:19PM

Let's get one thing straight right now -- Scosche isn't actually selling an iPod dock here. What it is pitching, however, is an adapter that'll add new life to your aged iPod sound system. Much like the automotive passPORT announced earlier this year, the passPORT Home Dock charging adapter was specifically designed to fix the charging error associated with several iPod docking stations and enables charging for the iPhone 3G, iPod touch Gen 2, and iPod nano Gen 4. In other words, it allows these newer devices to charge even in older docks that don't support USB 5-volt charging. Of course, you better really love your existing dock, 'cause this adapter alone is pegged at $39.99. A nice demonstration vid is after the break if you're having a typical case of the Mondays.

Continue reading Scosche passPORT Home Dock gives new life to old iPod docks

Video: Hacker war drives San Francisco cloning RFID passports

by Thomas Ricker posted Feb 2nd 2009 at 3:51AM

Think of it this way: Chris Paget just did you a service by hacking your passport and stealing your identity. Using a $250 Motorola RFID reader and antenna connected to his laptop, Chris recently drove around San Francisco reading RFID tags from passports, driver licenses, and other identity documents. In just 20 minutes, he found and cloned the passports of two very unaware US citizens. Fortunately, Chris wears a white hat; his video demonstration is meant to raise awareness to what he calls the unsuitability of RFID for tagging people. Specifically, he's hoping to help get the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative -- a homeland security project -- scrapped. Perhaps you'll feel the same after watching his video posted after the break.

Read -- Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
R ead -- RFID passports cloned

Continue reading Video: Hacker war drives San Francisco cloning RFID passports

Scosche Passport FireWire-to-USB iPod adapter gets reviewed

by Darren Murph posted Nov 21st 2008 at 8:36AM

Okay, so this adapter doesn't directly convert a FireWire 400 socket into a USB port, but for all intents and purposes here, it does as much. You see, Scosche's Passport was designed to channel the energy from older FireWire-based iPod charging gear into the USB prongs that the newer iPhone / iPods only accept. Macworld was able to get ahold of one for review, and in testing, it found that everything worked well when toying with new iPods, and while it was designed specifically for in-car applications, critics found that it even worked (albeit inelegantly) with dock-cradle accessories. Was it worth $30? Absolutely, so long as you'd rather burn $30 than replace that mess of wires you've got behind the dashboard (and you would).

Western Digital My Passport Studio: now with FireWire 800

by Laura June posted Oct 30th 2008 at 1:22PM

Western Digital announced a new member of their wannabe-buddies-with-Mac My Passport Studio line today -- it's the exact same drive as the previous Studio model, only this one comes etched with your favorite character from "Friends" on it! Not really: it's got a FireWire 800 port in addition to the old hat FireWire 400 and USB interfaces, perfect for those brand new MacBook Pro owners -- if they have any cash left, that is. The 400GB model is going to run you $229.99, 500GB will be $249.99, and they're available now.

Western Digital expectedly adds 500GB My Passport drives

by Darren Murph posted Sep 15th 2008 at 10:13AM

Nice going, WD! Just days after rolling out your 500GB laptop drive (and by "rolling out," we mean "shipping), you've already found the courage to add a few half-terabyte units to your My Passport lines. Starting today, consumers can snap up the My Passport Elite or My Passport Essential in a 500GB flavor, both of which still weigh in at under 7-ounces and are available now. Prices? Try $199.99 for the 500GB Essential, $219.99 for the 500GB Elite.

More e-passports hacked within minutes, security questions abound

by Darren Murph posted Aug 7th 2008 at 6:03AM

It's downright frightening that we've become numb to this news, but here again we're faced with another report of e-passports being hacked within minutes. The University of Amsterdam's Jeroen van Beek was reportedly able to clone and manipulate a pair of British passports in about the time it takes you to sip down your first cup of joe in the morning, and worse still, they were accepted as genuine by the software "recommended for use at international airports." The tests point out a number of vulnerabilities, including the fact that the microchips could be susceptible to having falsified biometrics inserted for use. As expected, talking heads at the Home Office still insist that any chip manipulation would be immediately recognized by the electronic readers, so we'll leave it up to you to decide who's telling the truth here.

Samsung demonstrates e-passport with flexible OLED display

by Darren Murph posted May 20th 2008 at 1:24AM

It's been a tick since we've heard anything noteworthy on the e-passport front (that's probably a good thing, truth be told), but Samsung SDI and German security printer Bundesdruckerei are out to break the silence. The two have teamed up to demonstrate a passport that boasts a "slim and bendable" OLED color display within a "polycarbonate data page." Predictably, the aforementioned display can be used to "provide a raft of information including a video of the document holder." It's also noted that the units will be heat-resistant, enabling officials to laminate the cards and make them less susceptible to manipulation. Information about a potential release date wasn't divulged, but it sure sounds like this stuff is dangerously close to being ready for use.

WD's My Passport Essential: now in 11 different colors

by Darren Murph posted Apr 9th 2008 at 11:54AM

Face it: Western Digital's My Passport Essential family of portable hard drives was hamstrung from day one. After all, with just about every other external HDD from the company coming in any amount of colors, who exactly is going to be kosher with just black? Never fear, as WD's dutiful painting squad has stepped up and given prospective buyers 11 different hues to select from. Each drive comes in 120GB, 160GB, 250GB and 320GB capacities and gets all the juice it needs via USB 2.0, but choosing between candy apple red and banana yellow could really slow up the checkout process.

[Via I4U News]

Western Digital intros My Passport Essential external HDD

by Darren Murph posted Jan 30th 2008 at 10:19AM

WD's Passport portable drive a bit too clunky for your tastes? We dig your style, and if you're always looking for something sleeker and sexier, the new My Passport Essential is likely to satisfy -- if only for a moment. Reportedly, these were tweaked to look more like the firm's popular My Book family, and each one weighs in at less than five ounces. Available now in 160GB, 250GB and 320GB flavors, these USB-powered drives cap out at $199.99 and (for now at least) only arrive in the glossy black finish you see above.

New US e-passports to speed checkpoint times, freak out privacy types, in April or May

by Paul Miller posted Jan 3rd 2008 at 12:15PM

The feds are done debating and are all prepped to introduce RFID e-passports readable up to 20 feet away to US citizens who frequently travel to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean in either April or May of 2008. The new passports should allow traveler info to be read as they're shuffling up to the border agent, who can verify their info and wave them along with little delay. Privacy advocates are obviously concerned about people capturing data or cloning the passports, but you can always "accidentally" destroy your RFID chip if that's enough of an issue for you -- the rest of us welcome our benevolent Big Brother with bellyfeel!

[Via Slashdot]

Western Digital Passport portable drive hits 320GB

by Paul Miller posted Dec 3rd 2007 at 8:55AM

Face it, that 80GB HDD your laptop entered the world with isn't cutting it anymore, and just any add-on won't do. No, you've gotta do it up right with a newfangled 320GB 2.5-inch portable drive, and Western Digital's got just the thing with the newest member of its Passport lineup. The drive weighs less than 5 ounces, runs on the latest and greatest platters, and will set you back $230.

NXP supplying Germany with second-gen ePassports

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2007 at 3:46AM

Considering just how well the first round of RFID ePassports withstood subversion attempts from hackers, we're amazed that anything needs to be tweaked at all. Sarcasm aside, NXP is all set to make Germany the first country on the planet to utilize second-generation ePassports, as the EU-set deadline to migrate doesn't pass until June of 2009. The new passports will include a SmartMX chip that allows biometric data to be "securely stored on the passport," and the 80kb of onboard storage also holds the individual's photo, name, and date / country of birth. Of note, NXP even goes so far as to gloat about the chip's ability to "guard against attack scenarios," but we'll be interested to see how long it takes the oh-so-motivated hacking community to find a backdoor when these launch later this month.

[Via TheRegister]

Western Digital's Passport drive goes pink for breast cancer research

by Darren Murph posted Oct 30th 2007 at 11:12PM

Just weeks after Western Digital colorized its Passport line of external hard drives, the firm is at it once more with a metallic pink iteration. This particular unit, however, promotes something a bit more important than your obsession with nightly backups, as WD has pledged to donate an undisclosed amount of cash to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for each one purchased from now until February 29, 2008. The drive comes stocked with 250GB of space, gets its juice directly from your USB port and is available now for $199.99 for those interested.