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Gadget Wisdom

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Paypal to Issue Security Key

Gizmodo reported yesterday on Paypal’s new security measure. Paypal will be offering a hardware-based solution which will display a one-time use passnumber every thirty seconds, to be added to your password and username. These keychain sized devices, common for business based security protocols, are an easy and inexpensive way of ensuring security…assuming you don’t lose the device.

We wish we could get one to review. We tried to log in…and it said it was currently unavailable.

Published on January 16, 2007
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iPod Illegal?

Apple is being sued over the immensely popular iPod. The suit alleges that it is “Crippleware” in that the software disables iPod’s inherent ability to play WMA format files and other forms of protected music format besides AAC. Thus, the owner of an iPod can only purchase music online from Apple’s Music Store. Conversely, owners of other music players cannot play music purchased at Apple’s store.

Specifically addressing WMA, which is a Microsoft creation, it is the only music player not supporting it, and it is the format preferred by competitive music stores. Apple’s response is that it opted to develop its own format rather than being forced to license from Microsoft.

Perhaps the solution is to force an open-source format for DRM, if that is at all possible. A standards body could be established to certify devices and software as complying with the standard. There are various good examples of such bodies in the computing industry.

Is Apple engaging in monopolistic practices by locking iTunes, its purchased content, and your music player together with no alternative options?

Published on January 16, 2007
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Vending Machine for Books

Slashdot directed us to report on a new $50,000 machine that can print books on demand. It can print up to 550 pages and bind it in seven minutes. It will debuting in some U.S. libraries this year. 2.5 Million books are now available, within five years, On Demand Books will be able to reproduce every volume ever printed.

It is very exciting. Such technology will allow bookstores to sell virtually any book by generating it on request, thus reducing inventory required in stock. For libraries, content now in the public domain and other information can be given out to patrons.

Published on January 15, 2007
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Free International Phone Calls by Calling Iowa

AllFreeCalls.net offers free calls if you call a number in Iowa. As Techcrunch reports, the founder created his own telephone company in Iowa under an FCC kickback scheme that gives telephone companies a portion of the fees generated from every inbound call to an Iowa number. So, when you call them, a portion of the fees go to the company, and they use it to cover the international calling fees.

They offer service to Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil (Rio De Janerio), Canada, China, Christmas & Coco’s Island, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland (Warsaw), Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK and USA, with more coming soon.

Published on January 15, 2007
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Comcast announces collaboration with Tivo

Comcast announced on Monday that its digital video recorder boxes will now feature Tivo software. It allows their subscribers, for an extra charge, to search for and record their favorite shows, suggest ones they might enjoy, and schedule recordings from the internet.
Published on January 12, 2007
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Seven New Year's Resolutions for Your PC

Lifehacker recently came up with its New Year’s Resolutions…things people should do but don’t for their computers.

  1. Regularly back up your hard drive – We know we should…but we don’t. Admittedly, we store our data on a mirroring RAID array, but that doesn’t make us any safer if disaster comes
  2. Set up a self-repairing hard drive – Schedule your computer to run repair programs regularly, including things liek defragment, drive checks, etc.
  3. Clean out your hard drive – Over time your hard drive becomes full of programs and files you don’t use…get rid of them. If you aren’t using it, delete it or back it up to optical media.
  4. Organize your virtual filing cabinet – Now that you’ve cleaned things up…time to organize what you have into a good and easy to work with hierarchy.
  5. Keep your hard drive clean – You just did all this work…you had better work to keep it that way.
  6. Encrypt your private data – Protecting your important information from prying eyes is important…especially if you have a laptop.
  7. Securely Track Your Passwords – First…make sure your passwords are not easy to crack…and then secure them somehow. A password program, such as KeePass, among others, can create a secure password vault.
Published on January 12, 2007
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Into the Wood

A while back, we commented on USB flash memory drives made of wood. We recently found this blog entry at Amazon. With the prevalence of cheap plastic casing, white, black, and brushed aluminum finishes…the wooden finish seems to have lost its appeal.

Perhaps the author has a point… but the current offering of wood encased products is somewhat lacking, although there appears to be a market. It inspired us to think of one forum in which wooden enclosures are still popular.

Not long ago, we thought about buying a cocktail arcade cabinet kit from ArcadeDepot.com. They manufacture kits and assembled empty arcade cabinets and we thought it would make an amusing dining table. It is one of the few options for a wooden enclosure that makes hardware a part of your furniture.

Published on January 9, 2007
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Improving Cell Reception

Ask Meta Filter provided some advice on legitimate ways to boost cellphone reception indoors. We thought we’d expound on it.

  • The first and easiest solution is…if your cell phone doesn’t work where you want it to…perhaps a new provider is in order.
  • Second of course is a passive antenna and some low-loss antenna cable. Of course, it does limit your mobility, as you want the antenna to not move and you want to move. You can also tie two antennas together via a low-loss antenna cable…which is a passive repeater
  • Slate.com covered amplified repeaters, which can be prohibitively expensive for the frugal techie, costing several hundred dollars at least. However, if your cell phone is your primary phone, you might think it worth it.
Published on January 9, 2007
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Walmart Continues to Push CFLs

One of our first posts reported on Walmart’s efforts to promote energy efficient lighting, something they consider a win-win situation. Now, as our friends at the Consumerist and the New York Times report, Walmart continues to throw its energy-efficiency into the effort.

CFLs have their problems…they take a few moments to get to full brightness…dimming technology for them is not fully developed…but they do come in a wide range of colors and sizes. The spirals have been covered by globes to hide their CFL origins.

We recently put through an order to 1000bulbs.com. The dimmable bulbs we ordered were on backorder, and it took a few weeks for them to show up…and we fully plan to detail our recent experiences with these bulbs.

Published on January 9, 2007
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Metering for Fun and Savings

The New York Times has a fascinating article on energy metering in today’s paper. Many groups are installing smart power meters that provide energy pricing hour by hour instead of a set monthly rate.

Since energy prices can fluctuate rapidly based on demand, a frugal individual can lower their electric bills and help the environment at the same time. Win-win situation.

Published on January 8, 2007
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