Addrlist.com News Blog

Researchers Dupe Keys Using Photos

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 08:22:59 +0000

If you thought your house key was safe from duplication just because you never loaned it out long enough for anyone to make a copy, you may want to invest in a few more deadbolts for the front door - and a pitbull, while you’re at it. A team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego, has figured out how to duplicate keys merely by taking pictures of them from afar.
As a proof of concept, the team was able to snap a picture of a keyring from 195 feet away using a telephoto lens and still produce a working key using their prototype system, du

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Ruling May Curtail Software Patents

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 08:12:20 +0000

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit—effectively the second-highest court in the U.S.—has issued a ruling rejecting a patent application that sought to patent a business method independent of any device or transformation of matter. For years, the Federal Circuit has been broadening patent rights, extending patent protection to software applications and business methods during the 1990s. The new ruling should signal an end to many types of business method patents…and, in turn, change the world of software patents, which are closely related to business process patents from a legal standpoint.

The specific case the Federal Circuit ruled on is In Re Bilski. Bernie Bilski, CEO of

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Trouble for Google-Yahoo Search Ad Deal?

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 08:02:12 +0000

The Wall Street Journal is reporting (subscription required) that Google and Yahoo might be on the verge of walking away from their much-touted partnership on search advertising. According to the paper, the companies have been unable to reach and agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice on implementing the partnership, and a decision could come as early as next week.

Between then, Google and Yahoo account for the bulk of the search advertising market, with many estimates putting their combined share around 80 percent. Under the proposed partnership, Google would be able to sell advertising on Yahoo’s

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Nintendo DSi Launching Overseas in mid-2009

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:57:40 +0000

The new Nintendo DSi handheld gaming system (Japanese) is set to go on sale in Japan tomorrow for ¥18,900, adding on-board cameras and music capabilities to the popular gaming platform. The DSi will also support a “DSi Shop” that will sell applications, content, and games directly to DSi users via it’s integrated Wi-Fi connection.

Nintendo hadn’t announced any definite plans for offering the Nintendo DSi outside of Japan, save to note that they expected to bring the unit to other markets in 2009. Now, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says the company plans to launch the DSi overseas by “summer 2009,” noting in a meeting with press and analysts that a n autumn or year-

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PC Makers Recalling 100,000 Sony Batteries

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:50:15 +0000

Back at the end of 2006, Sony took a major blow on the chin by recalling millions of batteries chipped in notebook computers—both those made by Sony as well as batteries the company manufactured under contract for a plethora of computer manufacturers. Fast forward to the end of 2008, and Sony is launching another notebook battery recall…and (so far) it is impacting up to 100,000 batteries sold around the world in computers from Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, and Lenovo.

According to Sony, the recall covers 2.15Ah lithium ion cells that were manufactured between October 2004 and June

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Microsoft, Google To Use Open ID

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:43:46 +0000

Open ID is meant to eliminate the headaches of remembering different passwords and user names for different services and websites. At its heart, if you have an Open ID identifier, you simply sign into that, and it can be used to log into all member sites and services.

The service has now received a major boost as both Microsoft and Google have released plans to sign in their users to Open ID, joining Yahoo and AOL, the BBC reports.

Curiously, Google and Microsoft have had seats on the board of the

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Digital Trends Week In Review 10/31/08

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:40:15 +0000

iPhone Appealing To Lower Incomes

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:30:14 +0000

It’s official – the iPhone isn’t just a rich man’s toy. A new comScore report, All About iPhone, states that the biggest growth in demand for the device is among those who earn what’s termed less than the median household income, between $25,000 and $50,000 per year.

In that bracket, adoption of the iPhone has risen 48%, and 46% among those earning $25,000 – $75,000 per annum, meaning in those brackets the figures are more than three times those of people earning over $100,000 a year.

Report author Jen Wu, a comScore senior analyst, wrote:

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Update For Windows Live Hotmail

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:20:14 +0000

If you logged into Hotmail yesterday, you’ll have first seen a screen announcing a new look for the service. As Microsoft said in its blurb:

“No big changes – more like a repainted room than a remodeled house. We’ve just made a few improvements to Hotmail based on feedback from customers like you.”

The look is indeed slightly different, and there is a choice of themes for those who want them, but there are a few other things that users will find more useful.

Contact Picker, for instance, simplifies looking up contacts when writing a mail, and there’s also a predictive text feature in a

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Datz Offers UK All You Can Eat MP3 Deal

Tim — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:10:16 +0000

For anyone in the UK who likes music, it’s quite a deal. You pay around $155 to receive a USB security key that lets you download all the MP3s you want from Datz Music Lounge for a year, with no restriction on what you can do with them – burn to CD, transfer to a portable media player, it’s up to you.

Even if you don’t renew your subscription, you still keep everything you’ve downloaded.

Datz has signed up EMI and Warner Music, but still doesn’t have the remainder of the big four labels, Universal and

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