OK, so sensationalistic headlines targeted at Second Life are so last week; from FBI related gambling bans to animal sex, we’ve seen a lot. Now there are allegations being printed by News Corp in Australia that suggest that the next major terrorist attack on a Western country could be being planned in Second Life, and yes, as can be seen in the picture to the right, 9/11 is being used as a reference point as well. The report describes in detail various griefer operations as being terrorist attacks and goes on to say that: On the darker side, there are also weapons armouries in SL where people can get access to guns, including automatic weapons and AK47s. Searches of the SL website show there are three jihadi terrorists registered and two elite jihadist terrorist groups. The fear factor is so thick, it can’t be easily paraphrased With the game taking such a sinister turn, terrorism experts are warning that SL attacks have ramifications for the real world. Just as September 11 terrorists practised flying planes on simulators in preparation for their deadly assault on US buildings, law enforcement agencies believe some of those behind the Second Life attacks are home-grown Australian jihadists who are rehearsing for strikes against real targets. Terrorist organisations al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah traditionally sent potential jihadists to train in military camps in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Southeast Asia. But due to increased surveillance and intelligence-gathering, they are swapping some military training to online camps to evade detection and avoid prosecution. The terrorists must get broadband in their caves now. Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside al-Qaeda, says it is a new phenomena that, until now, has not been openly discussed outside the intelligence community….”They are rehearsing their operations in Second Life because they don’t have the opportunity to rehearse in the real world” Be alert, but not alarmed “Community representatives are relied on to report suspicious or inappropriate behaviour to the owners or the SL authorities, just as in the real world.” → Read More
I hate Second Life yet I enjoy soccer, so this next story puts me in a weird spot. Inter Milan launched its new home kit (its uniform) today in the online world full of losers and zeros. I visited the area to see what the Inter faithful were up to. It turns out, not much. It’s Inter, though. Nobody likes them. → Read More
Did anyone seriously believe the Wii was going to be a hit? I certainly should have known and maybe I could have used my brainpower to start up a Wii business selling some crap accessory that everyone will want to buy rather than whatever it was I was doing last year. Renchi now has an airplane stand for your Wiimote and nunchuck for the Wii Sports game, Airplane. It’s not exactly rocket-science, so you should be able to figure out exactly how it works. It retails for $13 and you know it only costs a couple bucks to manufacture. I could have thought of this. Ugh. Product Page → Read More
I love Transformers just as much as the other guy, but I’m not spending $185 on a Decepticon/Autobot ring. I bought a cupcake from Crumbs opening weekend for $4 and I got a free Autobot ring that I’m more than happy with. But I will admit that I spent $80 on the official Chinese print of the G1 series and movie on DVD. These rings are ultra exclusive with only 50 rings per size, so pick your side wisely. Product Page [via Uber Review] → Read More
Just the other day I was going for a short jog and wondering whether or not someone would fill the void in the mobile phone industry for a pedometer, heart rate monitor and MP3 player all-in-one. Be still my heart. Rumors are floating about that Samsung and Adidas have teamed up to release the SGH-F110. If the rumors are true then we will soon see a mobile phone that does everything I mentioned before in a nice little package that includes a 2-inch screen, 2-megapixel camera, FM radio, microSD, USB 2.0 and Bluetooth 2.0. The audio player will also adapt your playlist according to the rhythm of your heartbeat and a voice will yell and scream at you to hurry up. The F110 will supposedly run over quad-band GSM, but EDGE is in the equation so that may deter some of you. Rumor: Samsungs SGH-F110 becomes the personnel a coach [AreaMobile] → Read More
LOL! That’s the only thing I can type, let alone say, after reading this delightful little piece envisioning a world in which AT&T ran the highways. You know, the real highways for cars, not the information super++ one. It’s really, really funny. Gems include: • AT&T would make horn tones available for $3.99. No transfer of music from the car’s jukebox to its horn tone storage chip would be allowed. • Driving beyond the coverage of AT&T’s highway network would incur roaming charges. → Read More
You just know that this is going to end in a Hollywood movie. Matt Marshall at Venture Beat has the scoop on what the Amp’d team were spending part of their $360 million in venture capital on: porn. According to the asset list from the Apm’d fire sale, the company acquired at least 100 porn DVDs; least that’s the number listed for the auction (we’d presume additional DVD’s were probably taken home). As Matt put it so well “We’re still wondering how venture investors such as Redpoint (which lost $25 million in this) and Highland (which lost $50 million) could have let this happen.” Amp’d declared bankruptcy June 2 owing $100 million. Full coverage of the Amp’d meltdown on TechCrunch here. UPDATE: A correction printed at Venture Beat notes that these might not have been DVD’s, but some sort of X rated content Amp’d produced, they look like DVD’s and certainly we are unwilling to repeat the names of them here to prove the point. Aside from the still very valid questions about how Amp’d blew $360million in funding and ran up $100million in debt, there are now some interesting questions as to why a company primarily marketing to teens was producing X-Rated content. → Read More
Here’s another Tale of Interest, the Delphi Nav300, a GPS unit with a 3.5-inch display. You should know by now that nearly every GPS unit on the market is identical, though companies are trying harder to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack. The Nav300 plays it safe, though, and only exactly what you would expect and need from a GPS is here: plenty of maps, points of interests, text-to-speech, etc. You can also subscribe to Delphi’s real time traffic information service, if you’re so inclined. → Read More
I know this is neither gear or gadget, but it’s sweet nerd news and let’s face it, you people are nerds. Mark November 27 on your calendar and clear out your entire schedule because Futurama is making a return to the small screen. It won’t be joining Family Guy on FOX, though. Comedy Central will be its new home and the first four episodes will actually be released on DVD as features with “Bender’s Big Score” being the first. Reruns will begin airing on CC starting January 1, 2008 with new episodes to follow. The original cast, writers and artists are back on board and the new episodes will include more nudity AND animation takes a step up to HD. A nude Leela in HD could be interesting if you’re into purple-haired cyclopes. ‘Futurama’: Now with more cartoon nudity [Zap2it] → Read More
VHS has been dead for, what, 10, nine years now? Whatever it is, I bet you still have a few VHS home movies here and there. If they’re not destroyed by now, you should consider transferring them to DVD; Sony wants your money if you choose to go that route. Its One Touch VHS-to-DVD unit will transfer unprotected VHS tapes to DVD starting in August. (Though, again, it seems expensive: $400). It’ll even upscale video to 720p/1080i. It does no other tricks, we’re sorry to say. This could also be useful for people who, for whatever reason, still cling to their collection of VHS tapes and have a sizable DVD collection. One small unit > two separate units. The One-Touch VHS-To-DVD Video Transfer System [Hammacher Schlemmer] → Read More
Panasonic announced two HD camcorders that are on the bleeding edge *cough*Bullsh!t*cough* of imaging technology. The HDC-SD5 and HDC-SX5 record video at 1,920×1,080 resolution under the AVCHD format. Both camcorders are equipped with an Advanced Optical Image Stabilizer for, you guessed it, the shakes. Both models are also outfitted with Leica Dicomar lenses that feature 12 lens elements in eight groups that use low-disperation optical glass to reduce color blur. → Read More
The Fujitsu LifeBook N6460 has shown its gigantic 10-pound, 17-inch face stateside. You’ve got your choice of two models, one with a DVD burner for $1,799 after $50 rebate and one with a Blu-ray drive for $2,599. The Blu-ray version also has a 400GB hard drive, which is double the capacity of its less expensive cohort. Both models include an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2GHz, an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 graphics card with 256MB dedicated and up to 256MB shared memory, 2GB of RAM, and a six-cell battery good for an underwhelming 1 hour of juice. Given its size, though, you probably won’t be lugging this beast too far from your kitchen table. Fujitsu LifeBook N6460 Notebook → Read More
If you’re playing at home, you know that Target, the world’s biggest retailer named Target, backed Sony’s Blu-ray disc format last week (well, sorta), causing wannabe pundits to proclaim for the 900th time that Blu-ray is the winner of the current format war. (The winner is whoever wins the race to be affordable to the Average Joe.) The HD DVD camp certainly doesn’t think Blu-ray has won anything, much less the “war.” Citing the fact that HD DVD players are also found in Best Buy, Circuit City and Wal-Mart (the only one that matters), a co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group said that Sony’s entry into Target isn’t a cause for alarm. Besides, Target will continue to sell both Blu-ray and HD DVD movies. → Read More
Also released today from Samsung is a credit card-sized 8-megapixel digital camera, the i85. Despite its diminutive size the i85 features an extensive list of goodies that’s shown off by its 3-inch LCD. To keep its slender figure, the 5x optical zoom NV lens remains in the confines of the brushed-silver aluminum body while proclaiming a max shutter speed of 1/2,000 of a second and a super macro focus of 1cm plus shake reduction. See what else this coked-out super model can do by → Read More
Matt says the iPhone quote-kicks ass-unquote, but folks aren’t too hot on Apple’s iPhone Bluetooth headset. For $130, you’ll get the headset, USB charger and iPhone dock. … And that’s about it. The headset accomplishes only the most minimal of tasks: you can talk to your dopey friends on it. You cannot listen to music (no A2DP support here) on it, nor can you listen to any audio other than phone calls. Revolutionary though the iPhone may be, Apple’s Bluetooth headset doesn’t impress. → Read More
If your A/V receiver is becoming a tad too crowded because of all the HDMI cables and you hate switching back and forth from your next-gen DVD player to your game console then check out IOGear’s 4-port HDMI Switch. As you’d expect you can connect up to four devices to the Switch, which relays everything to your 1080p TV. The Switch is HDCP compliant and uses IOGear’s patented HDAS technology that immediately locks in and transfers any active A/V content for your visual and auditory pleasure. Pick up the Switch now for $189.95. Press Release → Read More
YouTube has announced a new music competition that will be judged by leading artists 50 Cent, Common and Polow da Don. YouTube OntheRise Rap Edition is a follow up to last year’s YouTube Underground contest and seeks to discover the best rap and hip-hop artists in the United States. Unsigned talent who aspire to be professional artists have until August 17 to submit their videos. The final winner will be announced September 7. The winner will be awarded a trip to New York City to professionally record a single for G-Unit/Interscope Records, a $10,000 gift card from Guitar Center, and their video will be featured on the homepage of YouTube. Further contest information is available here. CrunchBase Information YouTube Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
“Cavemen.” It was leaked and it sucks. “Son of a submariner!” That’s an expletive certain to be heard in the greater Hollywood area when TV execs find out that many of their upcoming TV shows, scheduled to debut this fall, have already leaked online. I mean, they all probably suck to high heaven, but that’s besides the point. Such works of art as NBC’s “Bionic Woman,” about a young girl’s strange erotic journey from Milan to Minsk, and ABC’s “Cavemen,” a laughable attempt to address the racial prejudices the Geico cavemen face in everyday life (real brave, Hollywood…), are on sites like The Pirate Bay. Hollywood suits expect more shows to be leaked in wake of last week’s Comic-Con, that oasis for nerds. → Read More
Outside of a niche of audiophile snobs, Super Audio CD is relatively obscure. Even though few people know about the format and even fewer actively use it, Sony will roll out the XAV-W1, its first in-car SACD player… ever! It’s fully compatible with 5.1 sound systems and has a 7.1-inch WVGA screen, further future proofed with its compatibility with satellite radio, HD Radio and iPod controls. You’ll be able to view movies on the 7.1-inch screen, so don’t think it’s there just for show. → Read More
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