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Wave Bubble: the portable, undercover RF jammer
There's no better way to celebrate the one hundredth birthday of broadcast radio -- or to completely enrage your sibling by rendering that brand new cellphone useless -- than to craft your very own RF jammer. Branching out from the many other jammers we've already seen, the Wave Bubble touts itself as being a "self-tuning, wide-bandwidth" rig that doesn't require a spectrum analyzer, and can "jam many different frequency bands" all in a pocket-friendly enclosure. Powered by an internal Li-ion cell, this bad boy provides self-tuning via "dual PLL," and you can manually enter new frequencies to vex by simply plugging it into your PC's USB port and inputting the data when prompted. It can purportedly provide up to two hours of jamming on dual bands (such as "cellphones") or four hours on single bands such as "cordless phones, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc." Additionally, the output power ranges from 0.1-watts (high bands) to 0.3-watts (low bands), and the handy device sports an approximate range of about 20 feet with "well-tuned antennas." Of course, you aren't apt to find this for sale anywhere considering the fit the FCC would undoubtedly throw, but if you consider yourself a master of the DIY craft, be sure to tag the read link for some in-depth pedagogy.[Via HackADay]
How to permanently activate Windows Vista, at least for now
While Microsoft's Vista hasn't quite had time to make it out to us normal folk just yet, there's certainly versions floating around thanks to the November 30th corporate release, which has in turn led to the new discovery of a method to circumvent Redmond's most valiant efforts to make us activate the darned software. With the help of a few background apps, a little registry tweakin', and whole lot of deviousness, you can reportedly freeze the 30-day countdown timer within the operating system in order to prevent it from ever leaving the fully functional evaluation mode. Purportedly, the TimerStop Vista crack works "on all 32-bit x86 editions" including Ultimate and Premium, but the success rate in 64-bit (x64) environments is "likely to be low." Notably, the folks behind the crack suggest that Windows Updates will still be accessible, as will Microsoft's "value-added software downloads" typically only available to those who pass the WVGA validation process. So if you're looking to hit up a new OS in the coming weeks, or you've already got 'er up and running, be sure to peep the read link if you're interested in pulling this off -- but don't count on Microsoft to sleep on this one, holiday break or not.[Via Digg]
Time Warner gets fussy with DirecTV over NFL Network coverage
There's nothing like a warm, heartfelt lawsuit to really spread that holiday cheer, and we've got yet another battle in the courtroom about to get cranked up, and this time it's between rivals DirecTV and Time Warner. While TWC still can't claim the ability to offer the fledgling NFL Network on its cable systems, DirecTV felt the need to boast not only about its "superior coverage," but to also rub a little salt in Time Warner's wound by informing folks in NFL towns that games shown on the NFL Network "couldn't be seen" on Time Warner. Although the claims seem somewhat legitimate, Time Warner insists that "all eight games featured on the NFL Network will also be available to local fans over broadcast networks," which apparently wasn't the message being conveyed to pigskin-loving consumers. Regardless, DirecTV dug its hole a tad deeper by hiring Jessica Simpson to state that the firm's HD quality "beats cable," which is quite the laughable statement to anyone familiar with "HD Lite." In the end, however, we're sure the ads will be removed (or at least reworded), and the two firms will continue to bicker in future bouts, but what fun would it be if these two actually decided to get along, right?[Via MultiChannel]
MPAA strikes again, says transporting DVDs to iPods is wrong
We don't seeing anything with helping a man out, or cutting him a sweet deal if he picks up a bundle of goods, but apparently the MPAA isn't down with companies loading the DVDs that consumers purchase onto their iPods as a friendly convenience. In another round of studios forcing consumers to purchase content multiple times for no good reason at all, Paramount Pictures has filed a lawsuit against the all but helpless Load 'N Go Video, which provided customers picking up an iPod and a few DVDs with a converting service to get flicks onto their handheld as a thank you for their business. According to the suit, the actual ripping of the DVD is illegal under the almighty DMCA, making the entire process illegal, fair use or not. Evidently selling millions of copies of Mission: Impossible III isn't good enough, as it appears that customers will be asked to shell out multiple times for the same (admittedly subpar) content. While pirating copies for personal gain is certainly aggravating the law, transcoding content for personal use sure seems harmless to us, but you'll have an exceedingly difficult time convincing Hollywood of that.
Xbox 360 backup hack leads to surging dual-layer DVD+/-R sales
Although a lot has been said regarding the hackability of the Xbox 360, there's always a way if there's a will. Sure enough, the clever, engineering minds of the world finally figured out how to flash its firmware, create backup discs, and subsequently destroy any remaining warranty. While Microsoft certainly doesn't appear to be the beneficiary in this here scenario, someone's always there to catch the spoils of such widespread hackeration, and this time it's the dual-layer DVD manufacturers. As the hack has seemingly become quite the rage, companies such as CMC Magnetics and Ritek are seeing demand for their "dual-layer DVD±R discs" creep upward; coming off numerous months of sluggish sales, the outfits are pointing the finger at widespread availability of the Xbox 360 hack to explain the sudden resurgence in popularity. While "global DVD±R DL disc shipments are expected to reach 100 million in 2006," analysts are now expecting that number to "double" in 2007, so hopefully the cost of backin' it up will continue to become more affordable than ever (until Microsoft rolls out another fix, that is).
US DOJ investigates Mitsubishi's prior SRAM biz
It's been several years since Mitsubishi bailed out of the crowded SRAM business, but apparently the US Department of Justice still has a bone to pick with the mega corporation. After handing off its SRAM operations to Renesas -- "a joint venture founded by Mitsubishi and Hitachi" in 2003 -- the firm had seemingly bypassed the barrage of DOJ inquisitions which pinned Samsung with a $300 million fine and led the Korean FTC to examine the uber-low NAND memory prices that only Apple seemed to be receiving. Now the anti-trust agency has tagged its third victim regarding the US SRAM market, but has yet to explain what issue(s) piqued their interest. Mitsubishi, however, is seemingly already hanging its head in shame, as it made statements insinuating that unforeseen penalties could be faced, and noted that the probe could lead to "a possible adverse affect on the company's future business performance." While we aren't exactly sure what skeletons may still be in Mitsu's closet, we've certainly been forewarned that potentially harmful discoveries could be imminent.
Trained dog sniffs out cellphones in prison
Sure, you've got options when it comes to keeping track of your meandering canine, but Mel Barker of the Norwich prison is turning the tables on who gets called master. Aside from the ridiculous amount of gadget theft (and subsequent injuries) already occurring in the UK, the smuggling of cellphones behind closed bars is apparently quite an epidemic. With transport vehicles ranging from hollowed out cheese wheels to underhanded cops, Barker resorted to training a 15-month old English Springer Spaniel (Murphy) to hunt down illicit mobiles before the wrong (or right, depending on perspective) people received an unexpected call. The pup has his work cut out for him, however, as over 60 phones have been confiscated from prisoners during the past year, and the demand is presumably still on the rise -- but considering his uncanny ability to detect "scents unique to mobile phones," we're sure Murphy will have it all sniffed out real soon.[Via Textually]
Yarrrr (or, how to spot pirated DS games)
Those folks over at 4 color rebellion have posted an informative guide on how to spot cheap DS cart knockoffs. While the DS homebrew community is actually quite strong, its growth has invariably created easier and more efficient methods for those...ah...morally flexible among us to reap the rewards. Take a gander at the article, and be sure that if you're purchasing DS games via eBay or some such method, be very careful from whom you buy. No DS game has really reached "cult-hit rarity" status yet (Phoenix Wright is getting another shipment soon, say sources), but if you're not looking, some one-legged buccaneer might plunder your booty in exchange for a shoddy fake.
Norway Ombudsman looks at iTunes TOS and cries foul
You know why DRM sucks? Because it makes it possible for Apple to do naughty things like change the ways you can use your iTunes Music Store tunes after you've purchased the songs / videos. If you didn't know about it, you should really take a long read of the iTMS Terms of Service. It looks like someone in Norway has noticed and found it to be supremely problematic: "The Consumer Council of Norway find the terms to be unbalanced and highly in favour of iTunes as one party in the entered agreement. . . . The consumer is granted few or no rights while iTunes provides itself with several unfair rights according to Waterhouse."So now, the TOS is up for review. I'd like to think Norway will slap iTunes down and it will lead to a loosening of the TOS across the globe, but considering how Apple's current poor support of Europe lags behind support in the U.S., I seriously doubt that Steve Jobs is very concerned by this review.
