Archive for May, 2004

Balu

Agora j? s? falta passar o Rock In Rio, para a SIC, ter outros chouri?os para encher o seu telejornal, aquilo do golfinho j? fartava. Mas querem ver que este gajo n?o gosta de animais, claro que gosto, mas acho que quando um golfinho ? noticia em Portugal isto vai muito mal.

A mesma coisa se passa na grelha das tv’s, os programas de humor, est?o a nascer como cogumelos, os ?Malucos do Riso?, j? deram filhinhos, p?o e circo, ser??

Acho que a falta do acesso ? web, tem me deixado c?ustico.

New WiFi Label

New Label

The Wi-Fi Alliance has upgraded it’s seal of certification, dropping the radio frequency check box in favor of showing off if a product supports 802.11a, b, or g.

The Wi-Fi Alliance promotes gear that uses the IEEE 802.11 a/b/g industry standards and certifies equipment interoperability.

The old label with a check box for speed is out. The new seal is color-coded with large ovals that contain the letters a, b, and/or g. The oval for 11a is orange, the 11b is blue, and 11g is green.

Newly certified products will also carry an Interoperability Certificate. It will spell out all the features and capabilities of the product, such as whether it supports Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), personal or enterprise versions. WPA support was also previously listed on the on the outside of the box, in the Certification seal.

The Alliance keeps a listing of certified products on it’s own Web site at www.wi-fi.org/certified_products. To date they have certified 1250 products for interoperability.

Read more on wi-fi planet…

BENFICA - Segundo lugar e Taça de Portugal em risco

Ricardo Rocha

O Benfica corre o risco de perder o segundo lugar na Super Liga portuguesa, que lhe assegurou o direito a participar na pr?-eliminat?ria da Liga dos Campe?es, assim como a vit?ria na Ta?a de Portugal.

Esta ? uma not?cia que foi avan?ada pela SIC, no ?Jornal da Noite? desta segunda-feira.

Em causa est?o alegadas irregularidades respeitantes ? inscri??o do defesa central do clube da Luz Ricardo Rocha (na foto).

Quest?es de secretaria podem retirar, aos ?encarnados?, o segundo posto conseguido na Super Liga, bem como o triunfo na Ta?a de Portugal.

WiFi Speed Spray™

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This revolutionary product is guaranteed to enhance the transfer of computer data through the air. You’ll be amazed!

Do you live in a polluted environment such as Los Angeles? If so, you’ve probably experienced the heartbreak of data transfer slow-down. WiFi Speed Spray™ can overcome the effects of pollution, increase fidelity, and provide you with the fastest wireless data transfer possible. Approved by the FCC, and 802.11b compliant! Compatible with Windows and most versions of Linux.

It’s a scientific fact. Radio waves become sluggish under a variety of common environmental conditions. Besides air pollution, radio waves slow down in noisy environments, at night, and in “high emission” areas such as computer rooms, offices that use fluorescent lighting, and even in the kitchen (those pesky microwave ovens are to blame!).

WiFi Speed Spray™ is designed to eliminate these harsh conditions selectively. Only the radio wave path is affected.

Future Crimes

MATRIX

“If a man can look around this mad slaughterhouse of a world we live in and tell you that man is a noble creature, believe me, that man is full of bull shit”.
- Howard Beale

The Register describes “future crime” technology being sold to the US Justice Department, MATRIX. The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, a national database of civilian information, accessible only to law enforcement via secure fiber, is loosing support, reports The Register. Utah pulled out this March.

That leaves just Florida, Connecticut, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

After Congress prohibited funding for Terrorism Information Awareness project, TIA was shut down, so the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security came up with MATRIX, which combines public and confidential databases into a new crime-fighting tool.

MATRIX uses Seisint, in Boca Raton, Fla., and their MetaCarta search engine hosted on supercomputers to search through billions of documents for name, place, and time reference.

Utah ACLU also claims the documents make it clear that Utah “was a driving force behind the project.” The terror scoring capability (HTF, High Terrorist Factor) was intended by the company which designed MATRIX, Seisint, to predict people’s tendency to commit a crime. In initial demonstrations Seisint produced a list of 120,000 people with high terrorist factor scores. This was compiled from public and private records covering ethnicity, age, gender and “proximity to dirty address” (see report, Salt Lake Tribune).

Miraculously, this list turned out to include five of the September 11th hijackers - impressive, huh? Well it appears to have impressed the DoJ. But there are just a couple of slight snags here. Several years later most of the remaining “terror suspects” still haven’t done anything, so it’s kind of difficult to see how MATRIX, had it existed early enough, could have been used to pick up that particular five out of the 120,000.

“Assuming they have, in fact, abandoned the terrorist quotient, there’s nothing that stops them from bringing it back, ” said Barry Steinhardt, of the ACLU on CNN.

The massive storehouse of personal information is accessible only to law enforcement via secure fiber but the credibility of the system was called into question when the Deseret Morning News reported that MATRIX sold personal information to American Express for marketing purposes. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that some 33 states released government and commercial records on residents.

Read more on daily wireless…

Wireless Radio Set

Linksys WMLS11B

Linksys today announced the start of shipments for two 802.11b wireless music “media links”.

The WMLS11B Wireless-B Music System and WML11B Wireless-B Media Link for Music can receive MP3, WMA and playlist streams via 802.11b wireless or 10/100 Ethernet wired connections.

Both products support Internet Radio and on-line music streaming services, connect to home audio systems via standard RCA analog or optical SPDIF digital cables and include an embedded LCD screen and infrared remote control user interface.

The WMLS11B Wireless-B Music System (pictured above) comes with detachable powered speakers and can be used as a portable streaming boom box.

Linksys has bundled a free three-month trial of RealNetworks’ Rhapsody Radio Plus service (normally $4.95 per month) with the purchase of either product.

The WML11B and WMLS11B are both available now for “estimated street” prices of about $150 and $180 respectively.

Sigma 24-60 mm F2.8 EX DG

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On a Canon 1.6x digital SLR (10D, 300D / Digital Rebel, etc.) of 38 - 96 mm.

The large-aperture, wide-angle zoom lens that is an excellent compact companion for digital SLR cameras

* Fast f/2.8 constant aperture
* Compact Design of just 87mm in length
* Minimum focusing distance of 38cm with a maximum magnification ratio of 1:5.8
* Two Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements and four aspherical glass elements for maximum image quality
* Internal focusing to allow use with circular polarizing filters and a petal shaped hood
* Zoom Lock eliminates ‘zoom creep’

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new 24-60mm F2.8 EX DG lens.

This is a compact zoom lens with a large aperture. With an overall length of 84.7mm, it is the smallest zoom lens in its class?. It is capable of taking pictures at close quarters, with a minimum focusing distance of 38cm at all focal lengths and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:5.8. It is a very effective lens for close-up photography.

Two Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with wide-angle lenses. Four aspherical lenses, one moulded glass type and three hybrid aspherical types, offer excellent correction for distortion as well as all types of aberration. The design concept of this lens is especially suitable for the characteristics of Digital SLR Cameras.

New coating reduces flare and ghost, which is a common problem of digital cameras and also creates an optimum color balance.

This lens has excellent correction for “vignetting”, which is a common problem of large aperture lenses. The design ensures sufficient illumination of the corners of the image.

in, dpreview.com

Dell’s PDA Most Powerful Yet

Dell X30
Dell’s new Axim X30 includes a Secure Digital I/O slot and a 3.5-inch transflective TFT color display with 240×320 (QVGA) resolution. All run Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition software for Pocket PC, which allows users to switch between portrait and landscape display orientation, and are powered by Intel PXA270 processors running at 312MHz or 624MHz.

Three configurations are available now at prices starting at $199 for a non-wireless configuration, $249 after a $30 instant rebate for wireless capability, and $349 for the fastest handheld processor available.

Bargain PDA says, “the X30 has a substantial lead in every category. It is, quite simply, the fastest Pocket PC currently available”. More information is available at AximSite, AximUser, MS Mobiles and InfoSynch.

MoBlog

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Apartir de hoje o Zone, conta com mais um servi?o, desta vez ? um Moblog, o motor desta aplica??o ? o EasyMoblog 0.5
Podem tamb?m participar na nossa Wiki.

Cara lavada, tons de azul, os cr?ditos s?o do Sr. Chris M.

X, obrigado pela participa??o, n?o te acanhes.

Flying Wi-Fi

Lufthansa

Passengers flying on a Lufthansa flight from Munich to Los Angeles on Monday became the first to experience in-flight Wi-Fi - reports New Scientist.

Boeing’s Connexion system enables passengers to surf the web and send emails from their own Wi-Fi-enabled laptop or handheld computers instead of using the more limited services some airlines offer through their seatback displays.

The system, called FlyNet, has already been installed on five of Lufthansa’s fleet, with plans to extend this to all 80 of the German airline’s long-haul planes by the end of 2006.

Passengers will share a download capability of five megabits per second, while uploading traffic, such as sending emails, will run at one Mbps. The cost to passengers is $10 for half an hour, or a flat rate of $30 for the entire flight. It’s considerably cheaper that the $16 per email charged by some companies via seatback equipment, says the New Scientist article.

Seattle-based rival, Tenzing, has already hinted that is intends to offer better services soon. “We could leapfrog them in 12 months,” claims Tenzing’s Alex McGowan.

Read more…