Anti-Wi-Fi paint keeps your wireless signal to yourself

Don't like the idea of your neighbors rudely snooping on the wireless signal you slaved to pay for from the lazy comfort of their living room? It's not just about slowing down your connection; while they're downloading Mad Men via bittorrent, you could be on the hook for their actions.

Wireless security and encryption systems are fraught with problems and insecurity, and other methods to restrict your signal to a small area are cumbersome at best.

Enter a new solution: Anti-Wi-Fi paint.

The idea is simple: Use a special paint on walls where you don't want wireless to pass through (say the exterior of your house). The secret is mixing aluminum-iron oxide particles in with the paint. The metal particles resonate at the same frequency as Wi-Fi and other radio waves, so signals can't pass through the thin layer of pigment. Outsiders would simply be unable to access your wireless network, just as you, inside the house, won't be able to interlope on anything beamed on the outside.

Developed by the University of Tokyo, the paint is said to be the first that can block radio frequency in higher spectra where Wi-Fi and other higher-bandwidth communications occur rather than just low-frequency wireless like FM radio. Most Wi-Fi technologies operate at 2.4GHz; the Tokyo paint can reportedly block frequencies all the way up to 100GHz, with a 200GHz-blocking paint now in the works.

The paint isn't just of interest to those concerned about wireless leaking out of the building. Movie theaters have long been interested in finding a legal way to keep cell phones silent during screenings. Electronic jammers that actively block wireless signals are illegal, but passive materials that prevent wireless signals from getting through are not. Since the wireless-blocking paint can also block the lower-frequency signals that cell phones use, addled mobile junkies would have no outlet for reaching the outside world.

Some aren't convinced that anti-Wi-Fi paint makes a lot of sense for a secure situation, though. Says one engineer, "Surely the thought of having to redecorate a building in order to provide Wi-Fi security is more costly and complex than the security functionality available in even the cheapest of Wi-Fi access points..."

Good point.

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Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer goes pink

Polaroids are famous for being instant, and the company has moved with the times to keep up with the digital revolution by offering the Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer that will help you print out your favorite digital snapshots in a jiffy. Well, this time round the Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer will come in pink for one sole reason – to appeal to ladies worldwide to pick up a gadget that they otherwise wouldn’t spend a minute looking at it.

We jest, this new shade is for a good cause to show support for the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month that started yesterday. Each $49.99 printer sold on Polaroid.com will see $10 donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). Go on now, be a good samaritan.

Press Release

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Sony PSP Go now available

Want to get hold of the latest offering from Sony? It will be one with a gaming slant this time round – the new Sony PSP Go, also known by its model number PSP-N1000. Out in North America a few months after it debuted in Japan, the $249.99 handheld console will target consumers who want to bring their entertainment along with them wherever they go.

Currently, there are 16,000 pieces of digital content available for PSP owners to purchase/download over the PlayStation Network, ranging from games to popular TV shows, and this number looks set to grow by leaps and bounds so that the UMD-less PSP Go will have a greater chance of survival. We’re not too sure whether the $249.99 price point will prevent it from selling tons, but we do know there is always a bunch of loyal early adopters who absolutely adore Sony to provide decent sales figures in the beginning. If you already own a Sony PSP, would you fork out money that can pick up a Wii with change to spare instead of the PSP Go?

Press Release

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Verizon Wireless teams up with Gateway

Verizon Wireless has decided to partner Gateway to bring the latest Gateway LT2016u netbook to the masses, where this little netbook that could will feature an integrated Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband service so that you won’t need to rely on Wi-Fi hotspots in the big bad world out there each time you visit a different place for work (or leisure), as long as there is a decent 3G signal within Verizon’s network coverage areas, you’re able to surf and stay connected to the Internet. Available from October 4th onwards, the Gateway LT2016u is no slouch when it comes to computing capability, featuring enough processing muscle to offer decent performance for e-mail management, checking out social networking sites and blogs, Web site browsing as well as uploading videos to your favorite video sharing sites.

Too bad you can only choose from one color – Night Sky Black, where we would welcome a wider array of shades to keep up with the times. Guess black is always safe with the business crowd Verizon is targeting with this, but still, people like options. Some of the specifications available on the Gateway LT2016u include the following :-
10.1″ high-definition WSVGA LED backlit TFT LCD display
Extended 6-cell battery for up to 6 hour operation
Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor
1GB RAM
16GB hard drive
Digital media card reader (SD/MMC/MS/MSPD/xD)
Optimized Dolby Headphone technology
Two built-in stereo speakers
Built-in digital microphone
Integrated 0.3-megapixel webcam
Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 b/g)
Ports: USB 2.0, headphone out, microphone in, Ethernet, and VGA
It will run on the Windows XP Home Edition operating system, and those who are interested will be able to pick up the Gateway LT2016u for $149.99 after they send in a $100 mail-in rebate while agreeing to a new two-year contract. As for the monthly Mobile Broadband access fees, it will cost $39.99 per month for a 250MB data package, where anything more than that will be charged $0.10/MB. We would recommend topping that amount by another $20 so that you can enjoy a monthly allowance of 5GB, which is more or less “unlimited” for those who are average Net users without any intense downloading of Torrents.

Press Release

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The Automatic Odor Remediator

There is never a shortage of air fresheners out there that perfume the air, at least temporarily. However, none really last. Then you can have something that sprays the air on a regular basis, but those are just air fresheners on a timer really. Well this does things a little differently, it’s more like the devices you’d find in casinos and the nicer hotels out there. It does things a little more subtly and the clean scent sticks around far longer, which is definitely a plus if you have indoor pets.

This would be a great item to put right on top of a cat box in your house or in the kitchen to get rid of garbage smells. It’s about the size of a box of tissues, so you won’t have to worry about it eating that much space. It then plugs into an outlet to keep it powered. It creates a mist that the droplets themselves are a fraction of the size in comparison to the aerosol mist droplets you usually would use. These mircrodroplets also don’t instantly drop to the floor, instead they stay in the air for up to 14 hours. Admittedly there is something slightly creepy about knowing you’re walking through a mist all the time. The cartridge will last up to 60 days, you can pick up either Pine, Lavender-Herb or Citrus-Mint. The full kit will cost you $199.95.

Source: Bookofjoe

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Nissan’s EPORO robot cars won’t have accidents

My source called these EPORO robot cars, but I don’t know if I feel comfortable calling these things cars. Unless these are cars from some alternate universe where penguins rule the world.

Yes, they may not look like what Nissan usually rolls off the assembly line, but the EPORO robot cars are an advancement for the day when cars drive themselves like Knight Rider.
You see, these EPORO robot cars are able to move in groups, and have software built in that keeps them from crashing into each other. Just think of them as bumper cars without the humans and without the bumps.
I suppose a better comparison would be to schools of fish, who are able to travel without bumping into each other and fluidly avoid other obstacles.
It sort of reminds me of the software used in Pixar’s classic Finding Nemo. Remember how the schools of fish traveled in schools, just like real fish? It would appear that Nissan took that tech a step higher, and plans to put six of the EPORO robots on display at CEATAC Japan next week.
I like where EPORO technology is going. I suppose automated cars could easily be programmed to follow traffic signals, but Nissan has finally figured out how to keep automated vehicles from hitting each other.
Are we that far away from Minority Report style automatic vehicles? I hope not. I would like to take nap in my car while on the way home.

Source

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Indoor/Outdoor Wireless Speaker from The Sharper Image

I’ve already covered the Rotating Speaker System from Sharper Image just the other day, but this next product from that company is for those who want to take their speakers out of the room, or even out of the house.

The Indoor Outdoor Wireless Speaker comes in two main parts. The first is a transmitter that hooks up to your laptop or MP3 Player via headphone jack. This transmitter beams the sound to the stereo speaker (that you see in the photo) for a range of 160 feet.
I had a chance to try it out for myself, and the speaker plays the “rich, full-range sound” that it advertises. There is a volume control on top of the speaker, so the user doesn’t have to go to the transmitter to turn it up or down.
It has a weather-resistant finish for when the speaker goes outside. That finish is probably good enough for a few splashes or some light rain.
As for the dock itself, it seems to be made for an iPod or iPhone. I’m not certain why this dock is only AC powered, but the speaker can run off on 4 D batteries or AC power.
The Sharper Image Indoor Outdoor Wireless Speaker is available on the now up-and-running Sharper Image site for about $69.99.

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