Voyeurism gets another knife in the back

Are you someone who enjoys taking pictures of unsuspecting people such as a middle school kid taking pictures of the teacher in class, only to alter them later and post them on myspace?  Sorry to say kiddies but your fun and games are soon coming to an end.  A bill that just been introduced in congress would make it a federal law that all camera phones must make a “click” or “shutter” sound when taking pictures.  The bill, the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act is but another form of the government meddling in business that is to put mildly, a complete waste of time.  Said bill would be mandated by the domain of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and treated as a “safety requirement” because we all know the entire world is on the brink of collapse because people have camera phones that don’t “click”.  The sound would have to be audible to anyone within a “reasonable distance” of the phone taking the picture.  So basically if the out of touch washed up government has their way, soon camera phones will be announcing via air horn that a picture of mass proportions is about to be taken. God, what is the world coming to?

Source: Phone Scoop, Stupid Laws *pic*

WiFi blocking paint coming to an apartment near you

Inside any apartment building you can always find at least half a dozen Wifi networks, many of those open because the person who set it up doesn’t know any better.  If the interference bothers you or your equipment, or you just feel like blocking those pesky signals, a team of researchers from the University of Tokoyo has finally figured out a way to block the higher frequencies of WiFi with paint.  For several years now, blocking cellphone frequencies and signals with paint was possible, however as mentioned above, the higher frequencies were still able to pass through.  Those clever Tokoyo University students have prevailed however, and soon you can slather your pad in this new paint.  How much will it cost you to turn your apartment into a radio dead zone?…about $50 per can.  Not cheap by any means, but determination knows no limits.

Source: Gizmodo, Unplugged

Sears: Don’t forget to recharge your Plasma TV

I guess Sears wants to start a competition with Best Buy on shoddy sales tactics. A Consumerist reader, “Anthony” recently bought a Plasma TV from Sears. He wisely turned down the extended warranty on the day of purchase and went home happy. A few days later a Sears salesmen called him asking why he chose Plasma over LCD and then proceeded to try and sell Anthony another warranty, a $300/3 year warranty. The reason?

Multi-colored PSP’s coming soon

So that PSP you’ve had your eye on the last couple years hasn’t won you over quite yet.  The last sticking point is that the PSP is too…well…too black.  Well, if you don’t mind ordering electronics online that have no U.S. version and are feeling adventurous can soon take advantage of the Sony provided color induced explosion!  Sadly, these new colors don’t currently have a U.S. release date, so, you’re on your own if you buy one!

Source: Akihabarnews, Ubergizmo

Lamb and Tuna fish go together like eBay and Skype.

You hear lamb and tuna fish and are instantly repulsed as the thought of the two tastes mixing in your mouth is enough to make you eat breakfast more than once.  Much the same reaction, although more of a “what were you thinking” coming from thought, reasoning and rationality inside your head.  eBay the once rapidly growing internet giant is not immune to the economic difficulties and is looking for any way possible to stop the bleeding of their profits.  Skype in and of itself is a great tech company with huge potential, however, eBay went way outside of their core when they purchased Skype.  eBay and Skype are two completely different companies with no real overlap.  Many in the tech world were dumbfounded when the transaction was made but figured eBay had something up their sleeve.  Well, fast forward 4 years later and eBay’s sleeves are as empty as they were on the day they purchased Skype.  In order to save a quickly diminishing company, Skype is *quietly* being put up for sale so that the folks at eBay can afford to keep the lights on at night.  It’s shocking to see the quick turn of events in such a short time.  But, how much money could eBay really make off of Skype?  Alley Insider speculates that the number could be as high as $ 3 billion!  It certainly won’t completely turn around eBay, but will offer some much needed cash.

Source: Alley Insider

Sprint decides to trim some loose ends…8,000 ends.

So, you’ve been working at your job for 1,5, 20 years and they just let you go.  It’s no secret the economy is in the toilet.  In your quest for a new job, I would advise against heading to your local Sprint store if that sort of thing excites you as Sprint themselves are laying off 8,000 employees by March 31st.  To further keep pennies in their piggies, Sprint is freezing salary increases, freezing 401(k) matching, and a freeze in tuition reimbursement.  Ouch.  Maybe there is a silver lining in the cloud of dust from the collapsing companies.  In order to win back customers and in return make more money Sprint could lower prices on plans and phones, or even have “giveaways”.  It’s the little things at times like these that really grab peoples’ attention.  Just a few short years ago, Sprint used to be a quickly expanding company.  What happened? 

Get your sweety some pink tech this Valentines Day.

If your significant other is of the tech loving group, or, if they just like all things pink, Sony and Samsung have you covered. The previously released Sony Ericsson W350 is now available in a light pink tone that is sure to appeal to the ladies. It is a lower end handset so as not to confuse or overburden non-smartphone users. If you want to give something a little more sophisticated/feature packed, Sprint has a pink version of the Instinct now floating around as well. So which phone are you. The music centric low techie, or the high tech “gotta have it now” crowd?

Source: Mobile Whack