Safety
Two brave senators ask Customs to stop searching laptops willy nilly
Did you know that it’s perfectly legal for U.S. customs agents to search your laptop, cellphone and other electronic doodad without your consent, and without any suspicion of wrongdoing? That…
Chrsyler to offer in-car wireless Internet next model year, safety advocates freaking out
Chrysler, the also-ran of the Big Three in Detroit, will offer in-car wireless Internet access beginning with 2009 model cars. The Los Angeles Times says it uses 3G, but doesn’t…
Would you go to a notoriously bad neighborhood to buy an iPhone you found advertised on Craigslist? As many as 12 people here in New York did, and got robbed…
Flickr’d “Talking, texting or playing games,” for six hours a day. Does that sound like addiction to you? Well, apparently it is. Two kids in Spain, aged 12 and 13,…
Body scanners that can see through clothing to be installed in 10 U.S. airports soon
Body scanners that can “see” underneath clothing will be installed in 10 of the country’s biggest airports within the next few weeks. Airline passengers in cities like New York, Los…
Look at this watch. Biggs sees it, and drools just a little; he drools a lot, though, so it might be unrelated. Known as “Vibering,” it’s a watch designed for…
Taser may have affected man's heartbeat, which they're not supposed to do
Sure, we all get a laugh at someone else’s expense when watching taser videos on YouTube, but did you know that the device may affect your heartbeat? That’s not cool,…
No better way to get beat in the ghetto than by pulling out this Swiss Army Knife and accidentally switching to the 8GB flash drive instead of the knife proper.…
Pregnant women, beware: Cellphones linked childhood behavioral problems
A new study has found links between cellphone use during pregnancy and behavioral problems in children later in life. Just the type of news the cellphone industry wants to hear,…
Do you own a man-stopping Taser? According to today’s New York Times magazine—where’d I put my elitist latte and copy of Harper’s Bazaar?—more and more consumers are buying Tasers, especially…
Despite having more CCTV cameras than anywhere else in Europe, UK police have solved a whopping 3 percent of London robberies with them. Considering that all those cameras cost somewhere…
Wired hates that, even though our cellphones are wicked cool, there’s a distinct lack of development in the area of practical gadgetry. Umbrellas—really, there’s no way to improve that? (Oh,…
Microsoft develops USB gadget that extracts criminals' computer data
It’s not all fancy, yet pointless, touch-sensitive tables and shoddily constructed video game systems for Microsoft . Nope. Now Redmond is getting involved in the gritty world of law enforcement,…
There’s an experimental necklace developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology that reminds you to take your medicine. Users must first ingest a special pill, along with your other pills,…
This video supposedly shows an Australian kid stuck inside one of those claw games you find at malls and bowling alleys. Conveniently, or perhaps suspiciously, the news report doesn’t explain…
National emergency text message alert system approved: You'll soon be getting txts from the president
You could soon be getting text messages from the president about terrible things! Regulators yesterday approved a measure to create an emergency alert system using text messages. Cellphone users would…
A little meta for my tastes, but today’s Old Gray Lady has an article explaining how blogging will slowly kill all us bloggers. While I’m sure some of you would…
Gold digger Credit crunch got you down? Looking for gold in all the wrong places, like, say, the innards of your computer? Don’t! Unless you want to die! A Tulsa…
Blast Knuckles self-defense accessory delivers 1.9 million volts (!?)
Raiden? Cracked.com went out of business in 2010 for being too funny for its own good. But one time, in 2008, it came up with a list of safety-themed gadgets…
CrunchArcade: Doctor clarifies her games rating recommendation, says not meant to punish adults
[photopress:calmdownuk.jpg,full,right] A little present showed up in my iTunes Podcast section a few minutes ago. The Game Theory podcast interviewed Dr. Tanya Byron, who’s recommendation to restrict the sale of…
CrunchArcade: Cigarette-like warning label could soon be on UK video games
[photopress:healthwarningvgs.jpg,full,center] As we all know, violent video games like “Grand Theft Auto IV” turns children into trained, merciless killers like the guy from “No Country for Old Men.” It’s such…
Study finds kids know playing loud music with their PMP isn't safe, don't care
[photopress:pmphearing.jpg,full,center] Teens don’t give a damn about losing their hearing as a result of listening to their portable media player too loudly. That’s the conclusion of a Dutch study published…
http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/271552990 I met a guy at a friend’s birthday party who works for Raytheon out here in the Boston area and he was really dodgy when I asked him specifically…
[photopress:badmilk.jpg,full,right] Scientists have developed a system that detects whether or not milk has gone sour. The system’s made up of two parts, a small metal ribbon that’s placed inside milk…
Signal smoke detector really lets you know when it's time to replace the batteries
[photopress:signaldet.jpg,full,center] Smoke detectors save lives, but only if they’re working properly. This detector, called Signal and designed by one Matthew Jobson, opens up and basically slams an anvil over your…
[photopress:soundled.jpg,full,center] If that bar I got kicked out off at the weekend had these LED lights along the staircase, I may not have fallen down them, resulting in my current…
Some steps to successfully run a BitTorrent tracker without getting caught
[photopress:bttracker.jpg,full,right] Despite my affinity for getting music and movies for free, I never once entertained the idea of setting up my own BitTorrent tracker. Too much risk for my liking.…
SPOT outdoors GPS device sends txt messages of your location to friends, family
[photopress:spotspotspot.jpg,full,center] My idea of camping includes walking through Union Square to get to the subway, but I know plenty of y’all enjoy roughing it. While sleeping under the stars, though,…
Childhood 2.0: Your kids live their lives online and that's horrible
[photopress:yourkidsaredoomed.jpg,full,center] PBS would like to inform you that your kids now live their entire lives online. Instant messages, Facebook, Hubbo, BFF, etc., all the while sharing their sensitive information with…
Smoker Bell: A place where smokers can comfortably enjoy their death sticks
[photopress:smoker_bell.jpg,full,center] Few things annoy me more than coming home from bar or club or whatever and having the smell of smoke on my clothes. (Walking behind a smoker on a…