Russia
Latest
Russian spy plane to be re-purposed as cellphone tower
We've already seen balloons used to provide cellphone service, but it looks like the Russians could soon be putting that setup to shame, with one of its Myasishchev M-55 spy planes now reportedly set to be demoed as a makeshift cellphone tower early next year. That'll apparently happenin Malaysia over the course of February and March, but it seems like that could just be the beginning, with one " unnamed Western firm" said to be in discussions with the aircraft's manufacturer about the possibility of resuming production of the planes specifically for this purpose. Among other things, that would allow the plane to used to provide cellphone service in disaster areas, with its 17,000 meter altitude and 5,000 kilometer range allowing it to cover a wide range on the ground with relative ease.[Via textually.org]
Russia launches three GLONASS navigation satellites
It's a bit behind schedule, but Russia's GPS-challenging GLONASS satellite navigation looks to have just taken a fairly big step forward, with three satellites now on their way into orbit after hitching a ride on a Proton-K booster rocket that blasted off from Baikonur, Kazakhstan earlier today. According to Reuters, this is also the first launch of a Proton-K rocket since launches were suspended in September, after a booster failed and spilled highly toxic fuel into the Kazakh countryside. No word if Russia still expects the entire GLONASS system to be ready by 2009 as it has said earlier, but it has five more satellites to launch by the end of the year if it wants to keep up the pace it set out for itself.[Photo courtesy of RussiaToday]
Ginormous RAZR 2 crashes into Mercedes, film at eleven
They sure do look beautiful flying in formation during their annual migration, but when one of Illinois's rare Aves Razeruses crashes and burns on a busy Moscow street corner, well, it's never a pretty sight. Check out another pic of the carnage after the break...[Via Tech Ticker Blog, thanks chirag]
AllofMP3 promises to resume service
It looks like the long, litigious saga of AllofMP3 is about to take yet another turn, with the company is now promising to resume its music download service following a recent Russian court ruling in its favor. While it apparently isn't quite ready to get all that specific, the company has posted a brief notice on its official blog saying that it expects to resume the service in the "foreseeable future," and that it's doing its best to ensure that "users can use their accounts, top up balance and order music." Of course, AllofMP3 has hardly left all its legal troubles behind it, so there's no telling what may happen between now and the intended re-launch. Either way, we're pretty sure this won't be the last we hear from the company.[Via The Inquirer]
Russians working up non-lethal water jet guns
Yeah, using Avurt's IM-5 launcher and Taser International's C2 stun gun sure seem like more enjoyable ways to injure-but-not-kill the baddies, but there's a certain novelty attached to the vision of an uber-powerful Super Soaker. Apparently, a team of Russians are toying with the idea of crafting a non-lethal weapon based around "electro-hydrodynamical effects." In layman's terms, what we're looking at is a device that relies on water jets to bring down enemies whilst minimizing long-term damage, and while we're not up to speed on all the mathematics that prove this valid, it sounds pretty plausible. And hey, it's not like ammunition wouldn't be readily available in many parts of the world. [Warning: PDF read link][Via Wired, image courtesy of iSoaker]
AllofMP3's Denis Kvasov facing jail time
Here's a message for all the young ones out there: crime doesn't pay, not even for Russian semi-legal music semi-pirates. Or at least that's the way things are looking for Denis Kvasov, former owner of AllofMP3.com. Though the site was shut down earlier this month, Kvasov is still on the hook damages to EMI, Warner and Universal, to the tune of 15 million rubles ($590,715 US), and could face three years in jail as well. The amount seems a bit light, considering the RIAA's $750 to $30,000 per song demands here in the States, but legality of the AllofMP3 service is still in question, since under Russian law the site was ostensibly playing by the rules and paying "copyright fees" to all the right organizations. Of course, consumers don't have to look far to find Alltunes and MP3Sparks, virtual clones of AllofMP3, and Alltunes recently won a court case against a Russian agent of Visa that had cut off payments for the online store, so record labels have to be asking themselves how much progress they've really made in fighting this gray market hydra.
AllOfMP3.com finally shut down, replacement already launched
It never looked like those crazy semi-pirates over at AllOfMP3.com would stick around long, and indeed, after a couple years of legal struggles, the site has finally had its plug pulled. Despite the site supposedly barring Russia from WTO entry, and high profile lawsuits filed on behalf of the record labels, it's not clear at this point whether AllOfMP3 was shut down due to an internal decision or an external mandate. Unfortunately for copyright holders, the MediaServices folks behind AllOfMP3 aren't exactly changing directions: they've merely opened up a practical mirror image of AllOfMP3.com over at MP3Sparks.com, and are keeping up with their nefarious ways.
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]
Tetris ice cubes for the remarkably unashamed
Some of us prefer to hide our geekiness, fearing a loss of social status and reduced favor with the opposite sex. Others know that such things are mere trifles, and display their dorkdom with honor and pride. For those of the latter, we would point you to a step-by-step walkthrough of how to make your very own tetromino ice cubes. Yes, it must be Tetris craft week all around the intertron.The steps are clearly written and easy to follow, but some woodwork and silicone supplies are required. If you're a handyman (or woman), go make yourself some cubes: they'll go wonderfully with that Russian vodka. Just kidding. We mean pop. (Punch Out!! reference FTW)
Estonia networks slammed by possible Russian cyber attacks
We certainly hope you dig the flavor of Russia and Estonia blended together in the morning, as your News Brews is probably cranking the mixture out en masse after reports that Russia has been waging a "cyber war" on Estonia for the past few weeks. Reportedly, Estonia's well-regarded networks have been "under heavy attack," saying that Russians are behind the mass outages of its state and commercial websites. Currently, Nato and EU officials are attempting to track down the culprits, and while Moscow has reportedly "denied any involvement in the internet attacks on its neighbor," relations between the two haven't exactly been rosy of late. Don't fret Estonia, if things get too bad, there's always Sealand.[Via Guardian]
Diasonic's forgettable 4.3-inch portable media player
While we wish that each and every PMP to come flowing out of Korea could be distinguishable from the rest, Diasonic's latest does just about everything it can to fit right in with the crowd. This apparently unnamed PMP sports a matte black finish, touch-sensitive controls on the face, Windows CE 5.0, a DaVinci chipset, text / image viewer, voice recording capabilities, and the obligatory MP3 / movie playback functions. Additionally, you'll find an SD slot to carry your media, a headphone jack, USB connectivity, and a noticeably long antenna that we assume picks up the nearby terrestrial TV broadcasts with ease. The device is said to have been co-developed with Sharp, and will be showcased at the upcoming Sviaz-Expocomm 2007 in Moscow, but there's no word yet on when this run-of-the-mill PMP will be hitting shelves.
Russian teacher found guilty of Windows piracy in retrial
You may have thought that you saw last of Alexander Ponosov when Russian courts dropped those piracy charges against the headmaster / schoolteacher accused of purchasing PCs pre-loaded with illegal copies of Windows, but in a rather unexpected turn of events, a new trial partially initiated by the accused himself has resulted in a guilty verdict and 5,000 rouble ($194) fine. You'll recall that Ponosov claimed to be unaware that the sub-contractor-provided machines ran pirated software when he bought them -- a fact that prompted Mikael Gorbachev to unsuccessfully seek Bill Gates' intervention on the defendant's behalf -- and was so outraged at the charges that he joined prosecutors in filing an appeal after the case was dropped, in order to have his innocence put on record. Well that may not have been the best idea, with the court charging Ponosov (who plans to appeal) the equivalent of half-a-month's salary for what it said was a 266,000 rouble loss incurred by Microsoft -- which made sure to note that its "interest is not in prosecuting schools or teachers, it is in helping students develop the technology skills they need in the 21st century." Redmond's response to the verdict went on to clarify that "Mr. Ponosov's case was initiated by Russian authorities under Russian law. Microsoft neither initiated nor has any plans to bring any action against Mr. Ponosov." Well played, guys: make the Russians look like the bad guys here, even though it seems that the only people in the whole country who even cared about prosecuting this guy were a few activists hoping to get in good with the World Trade Organization.
Samsung's SGH-i400 goes Symbian S60
Symbian is back in the news this morning after another night of promiscuity. Having been spotted shacking-up with with LG and Google just yesterday, the Nokia bedfellow was just outed with this cutie, Samsung's new SGH-i400 smartphone. It's not the first Samsung S60 slider we've seen, nor will it be the last. In addition to some pretty bold "symbian OS" branding in the upper-right corner, the i400 brings a regular ol' 2 megapixel camera, dedicated MP3 key, stereo speakers, A2DP Bluetooth, MicroSD expansion, and support for full web browsing on its 2.3-inch "wide display." No word on a 3G radio here so we'll have to assume the worst (tri-band GSM/EDGE). We do know that it'll make its debut in Russia in July and then "other European countries" shortly thereafter. Hey Russia, welcome to Europe!
Man steals cellphone after, uh, stealing cellphone
In the latest edition of the 2007 Darwin Awards, it seems that a Russian man looks to be facing up to four years in prison for stealing a cellphone. Pretty harsh, eh? There's more -- the man stole the cellphone from a court judge where he has just been exonerated of... wait for it... stealing a cellphone. Perhaps this guy has a cellphone stealing fetish or something? Anyway, after a possible four years in a Russian prison, the smart money says he'll be changing his tune. At least this guy had compensated his earlier cellphone victim (she dropped the charges against him), but we doubt the judge whose phone was snatched will be as nice.[Via Fark]
Gates to become richest man in space?
With relative paupers taking jaunts into space at a pretty regular clip these days, it certainly would be no financial burden for the world's richest nerd to indulge his astronautical fantasies, and now a Russian cosmonaut aboard the International Space Station claims that Microsoft founder and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Bill Gates may be planning to do just that. In an interview broadcast from the ISS, Fyodor Yurchikhin repeated the assertions of current space tourist and former Gates co-worker Charles Simonyi that Mr. Microsoft himself "is also preparing to visit space," although Space Adventures -- which organizes these indulgent expeditions -- says that it has had no contact with Sir Bill so far. So in the absence of any official word from the Gates camp, we can only look to the man's personality for hints as to whether or not this fantastic voyage will take place -- and seeing how there's already been an iPod in orbit, we're pretty sure that Bill won't sleep soundly until all the world's gadget blogs and magazine covers are plastered with glossy pictures of a space Zune. [Via Slashdot]
Russia's GPS-challenging Glonass system nearing completion
The New York Times reports that the Russian Space Agency is set to launch eight navigation satellites before the end of the year, which would nearly complete the company's ambitious Glonass system, leading to a global launch sometime in 2009. That's when the country hopes it'll begin to pry folks loose from their dependence on GPS-based devices, with Russian President Vladimir Putin himself reportedly pressing scientists to make their system better and cheaper than GPS. As The New York Times points out, Russia isn't the only one looking to take on the current GPS monopoly on satellite navigation, with both China and the European Union also working on their own competing systems, although neither are apparently as far along as Russia's.[Photo courtesy of The New York Times]
Skylink goes both ways with Ubiquam U-520
Russian operator Skylink is apparently claiming that their U-520 candybar -- sourced from Korea's Ubiquam -- is the world's first dual-mode CDMA / GSM handset. While it's a nifty trick to be sure, we can think of countless phones that have managed to pull it off before; sorry Skylink, no gold star for you there. Anyhoo, on the CDMA 450 side of things, the U-520 rocks EV-DO data, but GSM suffers along with puny GPRS on 900 / 1800 networks. Other specs include a 2 megapixel cam, Bluetooth, expandable memory, and USB. We'll pass on this one -- partly on account of its homely appearance, partly because it offers precisely zero bands of interest to us -- but we're sure it'll come in handy in Moscow's rough-and-tumble mobile landscape.[Via Unwired View, thanks Staska]
The 22mph Russian boots that could, but never did
The Gray Lady's got a rather interesting piece on the peculiar (and telling) tale of a Russian inventor and his declassified gas-powered engine-boots that get 70mpg and can swiftly take a runner upwards of 20 miles per hour without the regular strain, stress, or tiredness that comes with long-distance running. Unfortunately for Viktor Gordeyev, the boots' creator, instead of being allowed to sell his boots on the open market, the Russian government classified them for military use until 1994. When they were declassified in 1994, Gordeyev tried his damnedest to get them into consumers' hands (or rather, on their feet), but despite his better efforts he just couldn't find buy-in and his business -- like so many other Russian technology companies -- went under. Yes, it's truly apparent that in Russia, boots run you. What a country, eh?
People's Mario shows us how to take out a Goomba or two
We're not sure how old this is, but we have never seen it before. As such, we're obligated to present it to you, loving readers, as not only does it present Mario in a very mature and Goomba-crushing light, it's Mario with a very non-Italian spin. And believe us when we say mature; Goombas do not just flatten when stomped, they shoot fluid out of their bodies at a high enough velocity to cut glass, we believe.So, check it out at your own risk.
Russia's ISSE makes Nokia 8800s even pricier
Sure, the details vary a little bit from jeweler to jeweler, but the result is always the same: a standard-issue phone that's been taken to excessively opulent extremes thanks to an excess of gems and rare earth elements. This time around, the phone is Nokia's already expensive 8800, and the culprit is ISSE of Russia. The handset is naturally covered in gold or silver, while optional heated enamel can add a shade of color to the phone that takes away any resemblance of precious metal. Tack on a few carats of diamonds, rubies, garnets, or whatever, slap it in a box made of "rare timber," and call it good. In our opinion, any self-respecting individual with too much cash for their own good would seek out the newer Sirocco Edition of the 8800, but that's just us.[Via Unwired View]
