At least they are honest

At least they are honest
Originally uploaded by Flyinace2000

Nothing like a little honesty at a souvenir shop. But does anyone really expect to pay $20 for designer sunglasses?

More eBay News

Remember the French ruling last month saying ebay had to pay up to LVMH (Louis Vuitton) to the tune of $61 million? Well this time Tiffany & Co decided to try to protect their brand but lost. On July 14th a U.S. judge told Tiffany they would need to police eBay themselves and Ebay had no responsibility to try to weed out the fakes.

I recommend everyone read how to spot a fake on craigslist and ebay.

Article via Business Week and Consumerists.

WowWEE FlyTech BladeStar takes Flight

Flying Toy
Originally uploaded by Flyinace2000

Every holiday season we see a new toy that flies, but this might be the first one i want to buy. Besides the usual list of features such as built in rechargeable batteries, 10 minute flying time on a 5 minute charge, and IR Remote this little guy has a new trick, autopilot. Thanks to its built in IR sensors you can control it by waving your hand near it. The sensors will detect the nearby heat source and will react. Place you hand underneath it and the copter will rise. There is also a combat mode for 2 or more helicopters. The BladeStar comes with several replacement parts to keep the kids happy if something does break.

http://www.bladestaronline.com/

AOC 2218Ph takes aim at Apple's style

AOC 2218Ph
Originally uploaded by Flyinace2000

Last night we got to take a look at AOC's newest lineup of displays. Out of the three they were announcing their 2218Ph 22" computer monitor and the 2230Fm 22" display that pulls triple duty as a monitor, TV, and media player. The 2230 distinguishes itself apart by including the ability to playback media files directly off USB or flash card storage. I felt the real star of their booth was the 2218Ph monitor. Besides its very respectable specs, the stand was one of the best I have ever seen. It not only allowed for height and rotational adjustments but was so flexible you would lay the monitor parallel to your table top. It was able to do all of this without feeling like it was going to topple over at any given moment. Along with its well design stand the 2218Ph is shooting directly at consumers who demand their consumer electronics to have a sense of style. The bezel is a handsome piano black with hidden touch keys that bland right into the bezel. It would make a fine addition to a mac mini or even a extra monitor for an iMac. The final feature of this monitor I really enjoy is the inclusion of HDMI. With a simple HDMI switch you could easily use the monitor has a TV or gaming monitor. Just note that you will need to still hook up external speakers. The monitor has a MSRP of $429.99 and should be available at most electronics and office supply stores nationwide very soon.

Angering the Wrong Party - Operation "Cisco Raider"

Here is an interesting chat with Mike Sheldon, CEO of Network Hardware Resale and President of UNEDA.

Sheldon makes several interesting points regarding the sale of counterfeit networking product, and specifically, Cisco networking equipment. With Cisco the market leader in an industry where components can easily cost thousands of dollars and counterfeits are difficult to spot, counterfeiting has proven to be a big problem for Cisco.

The problem of counterfeit Cisco equipment attracted the attention of the FBI and other government agencies after Cisco counterfeiters sold fake Cisco equipment to GSA-approved vendors, who then turned around and sold the counterfeit equipment to the government. Big mistake. The government started an investigation dubbed "Operation Cisco Raider", leading to over 400 seizures of equipment valued at over $76 million. And considering some of the implications of counterfeit equipment in government computers, including embedded hardware in sensitive military equipment, one can understand the concern.

The initial transaction came thru eBay, and Sheldon discusses why the secondary market for Cisco equipment is so attractive - for example, vastly lower prices and quicker turnaround. Cisco is aware of its counterfeiting challenge, and has taken a variety of steps to combat this problem, primarily through its used equipment operation.

In a time of uncertain economic prospects, IT purchasing managers can be tempted to purchase gray market Cisco and other OED equipment through non-authorized channels. And as Cisco Raider has shown, the opportunity to "flip" the gray market purchases and essentially launder the equipment for profit can be lucrative. However, the US government has taken notice. While certainly having his own motivations for doing so, people like Sheldon do a good job in sounding an alarm over the risks of purchasing out-of-channel equipment.

June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor

The Authentics Foundation
Partners with
CARE USA
Supporting the Global Launch of the
Pasty Collins Trust Fund Initiative
Advocacy Grants Program

Quality Education: Unlocking the Power Within
Liberated from Exploitation, Empowered to End Poverty

World Day Against Child Labor
12 June 2008

In observance of World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL), the Authentics Foundation is pleased to announce its partnership with CARE USA’s global launch of the Pasty Collins Trust Fund Initiative (PCTFI) Global Advocacy Grants Program (AGP) focused on increasing the educational attainment for girls marginalized by hazardous and exploitative child labor.

The Authentics Foundation recognizes CARE’s leadership and efforts in combating hazardous and exploitative children labor around the world and is pleased to be a part of this year’s WDACL observances. CARE is staging and participating in global observances in Indonesia, Tanzania, NW Balkans & Serbia, Togo, Ghana, Mali, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and the United States supporting this year’s WDACL theme “Education, the Right Response to Child Labor.”

Along with the financial support of the Authentics Foundation, CARE USA, the International Labor Organization-International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC), and its national partners are working in tandem hosting national public awareness events around the world focusing on the importance of a quality education for children engaged in hazardous and exploitative child labor, especially girls. This advocacy initiative being launched today will give a voice to girls who are hidden, often along the margins of society quietly toiling away in isolation, never having the chance to realize the promise of an education-much less ever seeing the inside of a classroom for themselves. No longer will their voices go unheard. Central to their struggle of lifting themselves out of poverty is unlocking the power within through the provisions of a quality education.

The Authentics Foundation will be funding a four-year policy and advocacy program aimed at bring about lasting change for adolescent girl child laborers. By working towards a more conducive policy environment in favor of specific policies that liberate girls trapped by hazardous and exploitative child labor and that ensure the promise of a quality education, the Authentics Foundation envisions a world free from the exploitation of children, empowering the end of global poverty. Through specific interventions targeting sustainable change will this vision become a reality for 216 million child laborers around the world.

For more information on the Authentics Foundation, please visit www.myauthentics.com and to learn more about CARE’s efforts to eliminate hazardous and exploitative child labor please visit www.care.org and do your part by making a contribution today.

WWDC Coverage

I will be attended Apple's WWDC this year. I will provide coverage of the Keynote on June 9th and continuing coverage the rest of the week. San Francisco here I come!

RadioShack Ad Shows JailBroken iPod Touch

This week's RadioShack ad shows an iPod touch. Why is that news? The one they show is JailBroken. It has the ability to run 3rd party applications not officially supported by Apple. The iPod you buy from RadioShack will definitely not come like this!

via

Engadget

XP Service Pack 3

Looks like MS isn't forgetting about the millions of people that still use Windows XP. The long awaited SP3 will start rolling out to MSDN and TechNet members on 21st, then to MS Update on the 29th, and finally to Automatic Update on June 10th.  

via 

Information Week

Photo via

Akoaraisin

How to spot fake CDs and DVDs

"Fake DVDs often appear to be a bargain... but you're likely to find the main feature a big disappointment.
Advertisement

The dangers: They either won't work at all, have sound but no picture, picture but no sound, or are filmed from a camcorder in a cinema.

How To Spot A Fake: Beware of those with no outer wrapping and no title on the disc. Also look out for those without security holograms or with photocopied or badly printed labels."

Read the rest of the story here

Photo Credit

In the future, UK web pirates may be banned from net

Britons who illegally download mp3s or movies may have their internet rights revoked if legislative proposals introduced this week are passed. The new laws would require ISPs, or Internet Service Providers, to take legal action against any users known to be downloading, The Times of London reports.

The proposed policy follows the "three strikes you're out" mantra; Net users would be given a warning for the initial offense, a suspension of their contract for the second, and a compelet dissolution of their internet contract on the third illegal download. The government is also considering taking legal action against any ISPs who don't adhere to this policy.

With a piracy market reaching over 21.6 Billion GBP per year, talks between ISPs, the government, and the record industry have been ensuing for years.

“We welcome the signal from Government that it values the health of the creative industries and takes seriously the damage caused by widespread online copyright infringement," says
Roz Groome, vice-president of anti piracy for NBC Universal. "We call upon ISPs to take action now. They must play their part in the fight against online piracy and work with rights owners to ensure that ISPs’ customers do not use their services for illegal activity. Piracy stifles innovation and threatens the long term health of our industry.”

Personally, we feel there are so many innovative legal ways to get your music we don't see the point of risking it by going the other way. Free sites like Musicovery or Pandora allow users to create innovative playlists based on mood, song/artist preference, or even tempo. And companies such as eMusic sell records long since out of rotation, many of which are so obscure iTunes doesn't carry them. Even the structure of the record industry is changing, with the guys at Engadget and Downtown records launching Rcrd Lbl, an online resource that gives you the music free while still offering payment to the artists.

Photo Credit

iPhony runs on Windows

It looks like the gods of binary have made up and produced the unthinkable--a Windows iPhone. What's that you say? The rivalry between Jobs and Gates is still strong as Captain Ahab and Moby Dick? Then what gives?

TravelTechTalk tells us that the T32 is just a really (bad) counterfeit iPhone. This knockoff runs on Windows Mobile, and is equipped with a triband radio, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and not one but TWO cameras. My, my, that definitely makes up for the lack of a multitouch display and the Sing-that-iTune widget. Cough cough.

In China, 99% of Digital Tracks are Pirated

Havocscope tipped us off to this surprising Bloomberg story, which discusses China's massive problem with unlicensed and pirated music on the web, which amounts to 99% of all digital tracks in that country. That statistic was provided by a study from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which cites China as the biggest source of illegal downloads.

Speaking at a Jan. 27 conference at the Midem music industry meeting in Cannes, France, deputy director of the ministry's market department, Zhang Xin Jian, said that the situation is "grave" and being given "great attention." China is expected to increase measures to curb piracy in the country.

Illegal downloads outnumber the legal mp3s by a factor of 20-to-1, the IFPI told the AP.

Besides cutting from the profit margin of record labels, the trickle down effects of piracy are beginning to be seen in music culture. Many experts argue that, with flailing sales and decreasing profits, record companies no longer have the desire--or money--to sign artists they are unsure about. As one music critic told me, major labels are less willing to "take a chance" on an act--thus the upsurge in music marketed to teens, the demographic who by all accounts spend a lot of their allowance on records. What do you think about this?

Photo Credit

Tis the Season to be Taxing!

January 31st has come and gone and if your in the U.S. it is time to start thinking about taxes.  For the DIY you can check out woot to get Tax Cut for only 24.99 (Feb 1st only).  Don't forget to read about the new tax laws for 2007.  Take a look at some often missed mixed deductions.  Try to figure out if those Girl Scout cookies your bought from the neighbor's kid is deductible.    Then make sure your 401k is not ripping you off.  Next if you are out of money and hungry, Burger King takes credit cards.

Library of Congress Just Earned Cool Points

If you head over to flickr and you'll see the recently updated collection of 3000 images from the Library of Congress. Goverment and Web 2.0. I think more agencies should hop on the web. The White House could get a kickin' myspace page, the CIA could join a private torrent site, FCC could get a channel on YouTube, and Ron Paul could start a blog and have a story on digg every 15 minutes.