Customs
Latest
Israel blocks iPad imports over Wi-Fi concerns
Israelis had to wait a long time for the local launch of the iPhone; it was late last year before the country's three cell carriers began selling it, and some estimates indicated more than 80,000 unlocked phones were already in use there. With that kind of pent-up demand for iStuff, you'd think that scores of travelers would be trying to bring their US-bought iPads to Medinat Yisrael ahead of the official launch. Unfortunately for those would-be "ChaiPad" users in Israel, there's a problem at the gate: customs agents have been instructed to prevent iPads from entering the country. Israel's communications ministry hasn't given the iPad the necessary Wi-Fi clearance to operate domestically, although the chip in the iPad has already been used in scores of approved devices. Word of the ban hadn't made it up to the communications minister's office in advance, according to the Haaretz newspaper, and the announcement caused a hubbub. Update: Commenters point out that the iPad is already compliant with European Union regulations for wireless, and Israel uses the same standards, so there shouldn't be any technical or regulatory obstacle to using iPads there. It may be months before iDigital, the official Israeli distributor for Apple products, has a localized version of the iPad ready for sale domestically -- especially with the worldwide delay in rollout announced this morning. A flood of US iPads making aliyah via luggage and briefcases would certainly put a crimp in future sales. Thanks B.
More bad juju for JooJoo: shipping delays, pre-sale questions
Monday, March 29 was supposed to be a happy day for Fusion Garage -- that's when the first JooJoo tablet pre-orders were scheduled to greet customers. Unfortunately, it's looking like Tuesday, March 30 will instead go down as yet another day full of unresolved questions for the fledgling company: not only did the 29th come and go without a peep, a new document from the TechCrunch lawsuit sent to Gizmodo suggests that only 90 total pre-orders were made as of February 11, and that 15 of those orders were canceled. Uh-oh. Now, Fusion Garage tells us that JooJoo units are actually in Los Angeles, where they've just been released from a paperwork-related customs delay, and that the "absolute worst case" is that they'll arrive to customers via overnight shipping on April 2nd, although FG is hoping for the 1st. We're also told that the 90 preorder number is low and the court documents are inaccurate because the company's relationship with PayPal was terminated over those issues with the terms of sale -- but the JooJoo website still lists PayPal as the only payment option. Right. See what we meant about questions? Oh, and just in case this whole saga wasn't sordid enough already, the "leaked document" making all these waves today is actually a statement by TechCrunch's lawyer made in support of a motion to enjoin Fusion Garage from selling the JooJoo, and it's been publicly available since February 22, when it was first filed -- you can check the whole thing in the PDF below. How or why it's being dredged up now is somewhat curious, if you're into that sort of conspiracy vibe, but we'd say the more interesting question is whether Fusion Garage actually gets the JooJoo to customers -- and whether or not it's good enough to erase the uniquely contentious circumstances of its birth. Update: Fusion Garage just called us to clarify their earlier comments: while the relationship with PayPal is ending in favor of a more traditional payment processor, it's still in place -- so that 90 number certainly seems more meaningful, although it is still over a month old. As for the shipment delays, we were also given a screenshot of the DHL manifest showing the customs delay -- check it after the break.
Console hacker arrested, faces up to ten years in jail
Just when you thought it was safe to get out your soldering irons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants you to know that its agents are still out there, on the lookout for for even more mod chip-wielding nogoodniks and their non-DMCA compliant consoles. According to the AP, a 27-year-old CSU student named Matthew Crippen was recently arrested for "modifying Xbox, PlayStation and Wii consoles in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act" and released Monday on $5,000 bond. The dime was dropped on this perp by the Entertainment Software Association, and the raid conducted by Customs agents sometime in May. He will be arraigned on August 10th, and if convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. Let this be a lesson to you: while the ICE may have its hands full with human slavery, drug trafficking, transnational gangs, and stolen artifacts, there is always time to make an example out of a man that knows his way around the inside of a Playstation.
UK warns that fake imported DS handhelds could be hazardous
HM Revenue & Customs has put out an official report warning that "hundreds of imported counterfeit game consoles seized at UK freight depots were found to have been supplied with potentially dangerous power adapters." Most of the wares had been purchased at a deep discount from Asian websites claiming to sell "genuine Nintendo products" for over 50% off. The Big N has already stepped in to confirm that the DS / DS Lites are indeed counterfeit, and the accompanying power adapters were also deemed "potentially dangerous, since they had not been electronically tested and do not meet strict UK safety standards." C'mon parents -- even if the youngin' has been bad, we'd still say coal is more fitting than a stocking full of potential electrocution.[Via Pocket-lint, image courtesy of Infendo]
German Customs raids over 50 booths at IFA looking for patent infringements
We've got our crack team of Engadget ninjas at IFA working to figure out exactly what's going on, but early word is that over 220 German Customs agents have raided the show looking for patent infringements. It's not clear how many booths have had visits from The Man, but it's somewhere over 50 -- we've been hearing a number in the 70s -- and spokespeople for Customs says inspections will continue until tonight. Sounds like a repeat of what's happened at CeBIT for the past few years, where German firm Sisvel has had several companies' booths shut down and products seized over claimed MPEG patent infringements -- you might remember last year's kerfuffle with Meizu and the wrongful seizure of SanDisk DAPs in 2006. There are rumors that Asian companies, including MSI, are being targeted, and that the Taiwan Image Hall in particular was hit hard, but nothing's been substantiated and German authorities say they're looking at all companies equally. We'll let you know what's going down as soon as we find out more.[Thanks, Adam]
Could 'electric computers' be the new iPhone?
An unusually-large shipment of 188 mysterious containers has arrived in North America from Apple's manufacturing partners in China. The contents? "Electric computers," a term that Apple has never before used on its customs declarations. Additionally, 67 of the containers were destined for Canada, landing in Vancouver, BC. These containers are not to be confused with Apple's regular flotilla of shipping destined for the west coast. Typically, those containers are labeled as having "desktop computers" inside on their customs forms. ImportGenius.com speculates that each container could contain up to 40,000 units of new iPhones. Either that, or the UNIVAC I ordered finally arrived. Thanks, Ryan!
Cubans line up to buy first legal PCs
Although Cubans have been able to get underground PCs for a while now, the Cuban government only recently lifted the official ban on them, and the first publicly-available machines just went on sale Friday. The state-approved QTECH PCs are only available at one store, where crowds formed to gawk at some pretty clunky tech -- the $780 towers feature Celeron processors, 512MB of RAM, Windows XP, and come with a CRT display. Not only that, but most Cubans won't even be allowed to have Internet access as only "trusted officials" and state journalists are allowed home net access. That's a pretty weak state of affairs, but it's not necessarily as dire as it seems: now that computers are legally available, some Cubans expect black market prices on up-to-date gear to come down. The managed economy in action -- anyone know if Cubans have unofficial ways of getting online as well?[Via CNET]
Cuba ends ban on DVD player, computer sales
Man, Fidel's out and already the kids are getting crazy: the Cuban government is finally allowing general consumers to buy various electronics, including DVD players and computers, for the first time. Only companies and foreigners were previously able to buy computers, while the looming threat of terrible Hollywood movies had forced Cuban authorities to seize DVD players at the airport. The change is due to "the improved availability of electricity," and Cubans can look forward to also picking up microwaves, 24-inch televisions, and rice cookers to plug into the new juice. Of course, it's not all flip flops and high-fives: air conditioners will not be available until next year, and the deadly menace known as the toaster will be restricted until 2010. Hope you like plain bread with your communism movies.
All the World's a Stage: WTF is IC - OOC? WTB RP! OK THX, CU L8R
All the World's a Stage is brought to you by David Bowers every Sunday evening, investigating the mysterious art of roleplaying in the World of Warcraft.While many online gamers are famous for using "leetspeak," there's a certain portion of the community that places a great deal of importance on complete sentences and good spelling. Roleplayers, as a whole, are friendly and communicative, but nonetheless have special ways of interacting that other gamers may not understand. As a new roleplayer, I remember having to figure a lot of these things out, although I was blessed to befriend many people who kindly explained things to me as well. The first and most important concept I had to get a grasp of was the idea of "in-character" versus "out-of-character" communication (usually abbreviated to IC and OOC), and in what situations the use of either sort would be appropriate.It's fair to say that on an RP server where roleplaying is still the rule rather than the exception, anything in the /say or /yell channels should be "in character." That's to say, it should be phrased with good spelling and proper punctuation, and should only refer to happenings within the WoW universe. In situations where one must say something out-of-character in these channels, it is polite to at least couch your OOC words in double parentheses to clarify your meaning.
Mod chip raid victim details the experience
While US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement are remaining tight-lipped about what exactly they have seized thus far, a certain modder has come forward to depict his story and explain the experience of getting raided by the fuzz. After agents woke up his grandmother and perused her domicile with a warrant in hand, they confiscated a number of consoles and spare parts around the house before heading out to find the man behind FallsInc. Once locating him at his girlfriend's dwelling, they persuaded him to hand over everything even remotely related to modding, and he was left with "nothing of worth" outside of a computer monitor and his vehicle. Unsurprisingly, the culprit (or victim, depending on perspective) feels that his "life was taken away by a ludicrous interpretation of the DCMA" as the "little guy" was taken down while mass piraters remain at large. To read his whole account, be sure and tag the read link.
ICE seizes modchips in 16 states
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement mobilized today against a major threat: modchips. In "the largest national enforcement action of its kind targeting this type of illegal activity", they executed 32 search warrants of suspected modchip distributors. Nintendo put out a press release, which can be found after the break, in support of the government's actions in support of their massive business. "Nintendo and its developers and publishers lost an estimated $762 million in sales in 2006 due to piracy of its products," said Jodi Daugherty, Nintendo of America's senior director of anti-piracy, presumably counting every known piece of pirated software as a lost full-price sale.The government (and Nintendo) may see console modding as a black-and-white piracy issue, but it isn't at all. Modchips are primarily designed to enable the use of games imported from other regions, the locking of which on consoles is also used to lock out illegal copies. Turn off region lock, and you cut the audience for mod chips significantly. But even beyond opening up other regions, modchips enable users to extend the utility of their consoles in interesting ways. For an example of modchips being used for awesome, we point at the Xbox Media Center, which allows audio and video media of pretty much any format to be played on a $150 Xbox.
