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Canadian coins reportedly bugged by spies
According to The Canadian Press, a recent report by the U.S. Defense Security Service (a branch of the DoD) revealed that at least three American contractors who visited Canada returned home with more than a souvenir toque and supply of Tim Horton's coffee, finding Canadian coins bugged with miniature transmitters when they unloaded their pockets. Apparently, the bugs were planted by international spies hoping to pick up information about military technology from the contractors at conventions, seminars, or exhibits in the country. While the exact type of transmitter hasn't been revealed, speculation seems to suggest an RFID chip, although as former RCMP officer and current security consultant told the CP, the whole scheme isn't exactly the most foolproof one. Not only would a reader of some sort have to be nearby to pick up the signals from the coins, there's also of course no guaranteeing how long the individual will actually hold onto the coin before that poutine craving forces them to spend it. [Thanks, Dave W]Update: Alas, it appears that this bit of cross-border intrigue may have been too good to be true, with The Globe & Mail now reporting that the case of the bugged pocket change has been overblown, according to a US official familiar with the case. The official added that some "odd-looking" coins did trigger some suspicions when they were found, but ultimately posed no risk or danger.
IGN's weeklong MGS feature highlights [Update 1]
We told you IGN was going to make their Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops coverage a week-long event. However, some of you may have forgotten. Here are a few highlights from the week so far: As you may already know, the story begins with Snake thrown into a South American jail six years after the events of Snake Eater. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Russia abandoned many of its soldiers, leaving one military commander named Gene very sour. He plans on sabotaging the negotiations between Russia and the US by using nuclear technology stolen from both countries. Obviously, Snake will be in the middle of all of this. The character-generation system uses data from both the access point and PSP system information. You'll want to rotate characters in your party, as they'll suffer from exhaustion, and in the worst case scenario, fall unconscious during a mission. Let them heal their wounds. There's a lot to manage: "During your mission briefings, you'll be overseeing seven separate units for your army: Sneaking, Spy, Technical, Medical, Independent, Rookies and Prisoners." You can enter a unique Sleep mode which will transfer character data to any nearby PSP that's also in Portable Ops sleep mode. There's a mode called "Cyber-Survival," which is turn-based and similar to the Metal Gear Acid series. "Real Combat" is high stakes: if a character dies in multiplayer, they're dead in singleplayer as well. For obvious reasons, Snake can't partake in this mode. Is this too much info for you? Well, don't forget that these are just highlights. The real meat of the stories can be found on IGN. Prepare to never have a life again starting December 5th.[Update 1: MGS. Yes. That's what happens when Andrew-bot writes stories. Bad, evil things. Typo corrected!]
MacBook's iSight unknowingly photographs Apple repair center
Here's one that doesn't happen very often ever. As bad as we rumor mongers pry and pry to get inside of ole Steve's brain, sneaking a peek behind closed Cupertino doors is all but impossible (even for Mr. Dell). Nevertheless, a clever Mac user got numerous undercover photographs of the inside workings at an Apple authorized repair center (Flextronics International) in Tennessee. Rather than pulling out any MacGyver-based stunts, he simply wrote a script -- dubbed Walking Study -- that instructed his MacBook to snap a photo (and upload it to his Flickr account) with the built-in iSight each time it awoke from sleep. When his dear 'Book got sent out for repair, however, the fully-functional webcam continued to perform perfectly within the secretive confines, giving everyone a glimpse of an incredibly average looking warehouse. Although the stealthy camera didn't snap any shots of (potentially) forthcoming iPhone or widescreen iPod prototypes, we've got to give credit where it's due -- Toby Mckeys got closer to the Apple's core than we've seen in quite some time.[Via TUAW]
Sony kicks out 007 Edition VAIO TX / DSC-T50B Cybershot
No double agent facade is complete with just an uber-stealthy Sony Ericsson cellphone, as everyone understands that no impossible improbable heist goes down without wiring a few mil to that heavily secured offshore account. Stepping up to the oh-so-dodgy challenge is Sony's own 007 Edition VAIO TX ultraportable, slimmed down to just 1-inch thick and weighing 2.8 pounds in order to fit comfortably in the matching Attaché briefcase. The 11.1-inch machine touts a carbon fiber enclosure, WXGA XBRITE display, 1.2GHz Intel U1400 Core Solo processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 80GB 4200RPM hard drive, Intel's GMA950 integrated graphics set, dual-layer DVD burner, and a snazzy "privacy screen" that blurs all on-screen content to curious enemies not looking head-on. The Casino Royale-approved device also touts audio in / out, Ethernet, 56k modem, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, 4-pin FireWire, MS / MSPro reader, PCMCIA, and the wireless tools (read: WiFi / Bluetooth) no undercover assassin could function without. For snapping up those incriminating reconnaissance photos, Sony bundles in a DSC-T50B (the "B" is for Bond, presumably) which rocks the same bevy of specs found on its less-secretive sibling, but sports a sleek, black finish and the obligatory 007 logo. While you may have got turned down when looking to become Pierce Brosnan's sure-to-be-legendary successor, you can live vicariously through Sony for just $4,299.99 -- but those desirable silhouettes are unfortunately not included.[Thanks, Will]
Swann's Micro DVR brings surveillance "to the masses"
Some might call it a digital camera, but Swann's Micro DVR does have certain qualities that recommend it to our inner spy. All the basics are covered: there's a color camera, LCD screen and 128MB of memory, but the Micro DVR can handle a 24 hour shift with its 24 hour Li-Ion battery and ability to use external USB memory sticks to supplement its paltry amount of included storage. You can also run the unit off of its AC adapter for seriously long-term stakeouts, and the camera's AVIs and JPEGs can be easily transported to your PC with the included software. Sadly, this Micro DVR is not for budget espionage, demanding a hefty $899, but there's a price that must be paid for fugly spy gear of questionable usefulness.
Nintendo DS is the next Bond watch [Update 1]
Nintendo's marketing department never ceases to amaze, do they? The Nintendo DS will act as an all-in-one espionage gadget in the upcoming Generic Teen Spy Movie 18 Stormrider, the first in a long line of Alex Rider stories by author Anthony Horowitz. From the press release:"After the murder of his uncle and guardian, the MI6 British spy agency recruits the reluctant 14-year-old Alex Rider to take over his uncle's mission. Like any good spy, during training he receives his key piece of gadgetry: a Hot Rod Red Nintendo DS. He also gets several game cards that transform his DS into an eavesdropping device, a wiretap detector or a smoke bomb."Uhm, why can't our dual-screened wonders do all that? I wonder if the villains use PSPs which fire out UMDs at rapid speeds. Oh snap.[Update 1: Added PSP villains, thanks, Ludwig]
T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless not supplying data to NSA
If you make most of your calls via cellphone, there's a good chance your call records aren't being provided to the National Security Agency -- if, that is, you're using Verizon Wireless or T-Mobile and most of your calls are between you and other cellphone users. Both companies say they haven't supplied data to the government, with T-Mob specifically stating that it was not involved "in any NSA program for warrant-less surveillance and acquisition of call records, and T-Mobile has not provided any such access to communications or customer records." If you're a Cingular or Sprint Nextel customer, well, it looks like you're in the same boat as the vast majority of landline users: those companies refused to deny participation in the NSA program.
Nokia N83 shot and specs
We still can't guarantee the N83 is the real deal, but it certainly looks to be taking shape, and New Mobile has a very slick looking front-on of the device with those same promising details: UMTS, 2.5-inch 352 x 416 QVGA display, 4GB drive, 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio, MicroSD, and 3.5mm headphone jack. The over the top specs make it out to be one of the hottest Symbian devices we've ever seen, which is exactly why we're not going to go getting our hopes up just yet that all those pie in the sky features are going to turn up roses.[Thanks, MacBoy]
Nokia keeps 'em coming: possible N83 spotted
Yeah Nokia, we know you're hot stuff with your ten phones per minute release pace, but even we're a bit surprised to be seeing spy photos of an N83 slider a mere week after the release of your N72, N73 and N93 handsets. The projected release date for this S60 phone is a bit more reasonable, stated as Q1 2007, but with the sweet specs listed we're really not sure we can wait that long. The phone supposedly has a 2.5-inch-ish 352 x 416 pixel screen, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD, 5 megapixel and VGA cameras, UMTS, 802.11b/g, 4GB HDD (alright, now it's just getting ridiculous), and mini-jack audio. While those specs read just like a fanboy wishlist, we can clearly see the dual cameras and some sort of slide up media controls from the pics, along with plenty of screen real estate. For the rest of it we'll just have to spend a year on Santa's "nice" list and hope he has some sway with the Nokia elves.
Spy on friends and family with your iSight-enabled Mac
This post could also have been titled: "how to lose family and friends quickly with your iSight-enabled Mac." A poster over at macosxhints discovered that you can start a new video recording session in QuickTime Pro on an iSight-enabled Mac (for that low-profile surveillance look), and invoke Fast User Switching while the QT Pro session keeps on recording. For more stealth surveillance, you can set your display to shut off and, aside from the green light, most people will be none the wiser.Ethics and exclamations of 'how dare you?!' aside, I wonder if this 'built-in webcam' feature is going to inspire a new niche of unique video recording software.
iCamCU brings spy phone abilities to your Nokia
After entertaining ourselves for a few minutes by pronouncing "iCamCU!" in a joyous chorus, the novelty of the product quickly wore off, but we thought we'd share it just the same. Basically, the software-that-shall-not-be-named sets up your Nokia smartphone to take a picture when activated via text message, and then sends the pic to you via MMS. We're sure you can find uses for the software beyond the examples depicted, but it's always good to know that a $70 bit of software (not to mention two phones with service) can finally help you catch your dog at his crazy antics.[Via picturephoning.com]
Nokia N73 revealed
Some pix of that unannounced Nokia N73 we told you about a few weeks back have surfaced in the forums over at mobile-review. The N73 (on left in the picture) as it's currently called, is the the supposed successor to the N70 (on right), and is expected to pump Symbian 9.1 and Series 60 3rd addition while featuring a 3.2 megapixel cam with with autofocusing Carl Zeiss lens, Bluetooth 2.0, stereo speakers, memory card expansion and that good 3G (UMTS) lovin' for video calls on that large QVGA screen. So really, no additional details, just some fuzzy eye candy this time around. More pics after the break. [Via NewMobile, Thanks Oliver]
