News & Views

• New Android Copy Protection Has Apps Calling Home <- Not good. Don't condone piracy but no one's business when I run an app
  29 Jul 10
  Found at: gizmodo.com
  Google has announced Android's new attempt to curb piracy, an online "licensing service" that automatically contacts the Android Market when an app is launched. The new mechanism is available to developers now, becoming standard "over the next few months." [An...
• Power Strip Adds a Customizable Shortcut and Widget Dock to Android [Downloads]
  29 Jul 10
  Found at: Gizmodo
  Android only: While Android has a few multitasking tricks built-in, Power Strip re-assigns your Home button to bring up a dock containing app shortcuts, folders, and even widgets that you can launch at any poi...
• Inside the 2011 Ford Explorer Facebook Reveal - Cheese aside - I really really miss our Explorer.
  27 Jul 10
  Found at: Mashable!
  In just a few minutes the 2011 Ford Explorer will be unveiled to the world. The reveal is coming six months prior to the car appearing on lots nationwide, and taking a much different form than any of the car reveals that came before it.That’s because, for th...
• Jailbreak is legal
  27 Jul 10
  Found at: Mobility Site
  The US Copyright Office says that Smart Phone owners have the right to run whatever software they want in their phones. As result, Jailbreak is Fair Use! Jailbreaking the iPad might void your Apple warranty and even your terms of service from ATT, however the...
• Hundreds of Apple iPhone users left facing huge bills for surfing web abroad even though internet was switched OFF | Mail Online
  24 Jul 10
  Found at: www.dailymail.co.uk
  Hundreds of users have returned to the UK to face bills of up to £1,500 for ‘data roaming’ charges even though they have switched off the function on their phone.
• Let's Help BP Photoshop Their PR Images [PhotoshopContest]
  22 Jul 10
  Found at: Gizmodo
  BP has been outed as a secret Photoshopper, albeit a pretty crappy one. I think we can help them out with those cleanup pictures, can't we? More »
• Tory MP: fight privatised Big Brother
  21 Jul 10
  Found at: Technology news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk
  Parliament not doing enough to investigate privacy invasion by internet companies, Rob Halfon tells debateA "very dangerous shift" towards a "privatised version of Big Brother" is on the horizon if UK authorities don't wake up to the invasion of privacy by int...
• Dissolving microneedle patches <- think @joannejacobs mentioned other day but would have made life easier this week for #2
  21 Jul 10
  Found at: www.gizmag.com
  Microneedle vaccine patches are just as cheap as syringes, plus they're painless, leave no sharp waste and can be self-applied. And now it seems t...
• Wonk - An expert who studies a subject or issue thoroughly and excessively. - wordsmith.org
  21 Jul 10
  Found at: wordsmith.org
• Sweeping US Privacy Legislation Would Include Private Right of Action <- Seems like a good start to me #privacy
  21 Jul 10
  Found at: www.huntonprivacyblog.com
  On July 19, 2010, Representative Bobby Rush introduced a bill that expands on draft privacy legislation proposed by Congressmen Boucher and Stearns ea
• Cohesion – The 4th Chapter Of Involvism
  20 Jul 10
  Found at: Jonathan MacDonald
  – A while ago I wrote a whitepaper of a philosophy called Involvism. Here I would like to re-blog the 4th method called Cohesion. The entire series published to date can be found by clicking here. – Mantra The cohesive link of beliefs, values, approaches...
• Timbuk2 Is Discounting A Bag By Up To 60 Percent Each Day [Dealzmodo]
  20 Jul 10
  Found at: Gizmodo
  I won't lie: I'm in love with my Timbuk2 bags. That's why I'm excited to point out that the company is in the middle of a huge sale. They're basically discounting one kickass bag by up to 60% each day. More...
• BP photoshops fake photo of crisis command center, posts on main BP site - doh!
  20 Jul 10
  Found at: www.americablog.com
  News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective
• TrueCrypt 7.0 Gets Intel Hardware Acceleration and Better Automatic Mounting [Downloads]
  20 Jul 10
  Found at: Lifehacker
  Windows/Mac/Linux: TrueCrypt, the smart and secure way to encrypt your data, has shipped a seventh version that can encrypt faster on select Intel hardware, as well as configure your encrypted volumes or drive...
• Shiny shiny! - ASUS Eee Pad EP101TC to get Android
  20 Jul 10
  Found at: Android Community
  ASUS has apparently decided to ditch Windows 7 Embedded on their Eee Pad EP101TC and replace it with Android.  The 12.2mm thick touchscreen slate was launched at Computex earlier this year, with a 10-inch display and 675g chassis; according to NetbookNews, AS...
• What a Recording Artist Needs to Sell to Make Minimum Wage
  16 Jul 10
  Found at: Gear Diary
  Image Courtesy Kevin Dayhoff’s Blog I had seen this image a month or so ago, but had lost the link – but it remains stunning to think of what is required for a musician to simply make minimum wage, let alone scrape by a reasonable living! The graph below...
• Can I refuse to have my child fingerprinted at school? guardian.co.uk
  16 Jul 10
  Found at: www.guardian.co.uk
  Emma Norton: Liberty Clinic: Question 61: Thinkingcrumpet wants to know if refusing to allow their son to be fingerprinted by a new school will endanger his place
• What is the fastest Android phone? Benchmarking
  16 Jul 10
  Found at: androidandme.com
  Android and Me covers all the latest Android news, phone launches, app reviews, software updates, Android hacks, and phone accessories.
• New Zealand To Dump Software Patents Afterall (But Will Allow 'Embedded Software' Patents)
  15 Jul 10
  Found at: Techdirt
  Back in March, we discussed a report claiming that New Zealand politicians wanted to completely outlaw software patents. However, in June, it was reported that a lobbying group claiming to represent tech industry companies, NZICT, had convinced politicians to...
• Phorm man tipped to head Project Cartel
  13 Jul 10
  Found at: The Register
  Is this Web-wise? The Guardian reckons former Ofcom chief policy officer Kip Meek is due to be announced as chief executive of the BBC-led Project Cartel Canvas. But should he get the job, the former McKinsey man has a bit of baggage he may want to sling overb...
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