CarTorrent: Yes, Exactly What It Sounds Like

From Gizmodo -

UCLA has teamed up with automobile makers BMW and Toyota to develop a P2P filesharing network called CarTorrent which lets cars communicate through 5.9GHz wireless LAN over ranges of 100-300 meters. During its first implementation (due 2012), the system will communicate navigation info, various media and surveillance. Eventually, it could be used for emergencies as well, allowing car computers to sync in split-second decision territory where individual drives could fail.

The system is expected to cost an additional $500 premium.

Boeing's New 787 May Be Vulnerable to Hacker Attack

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which made its public debut last July 8, 2007,in Everett, Washington, reportedly may have a serious security vulnerability in its onboard computer networks that could allow passengers to access the plane's control systems. The computer network in the Dreamliner's passenger compartment, designed to give passengers in-flight internet access, is connected to the plane's control, navigation and communication systems.

The revelation is causing concern in security circles because the physical connection of the networks makes the plane's control systems vulnerable to hackers. A more secure design would physically separate the two computer networks. Boeing said it's aware of the issue and has designed a solution it will test shortly.

More details at Wired.

Android phones to make a February debut?

From the APC website -




Above is a photo of an alleged prototype Android smartphone as it posted in Gizmodo. It looks very much like a derivative model of some of HTC's product line, HTC being the world's biggest manufacturer of Windows Mobile smartphones (including the iPAQ series) and one of the leading partners of Google's Open Handset Alliance.

While not exactly aesthetically pleasing, it is, more importantly, already functional, as the screen shots below will show. This means developers and engineers can actually already work on and with it.




A lean, clean look: Android's UI presents a horizontally-scrolling 'carousel' of icons which is similar to the small-screen look of Intel's concept MID devices.




Something to talk about: this screengrab from Google's YouTube demo of Android shows how incoming SMS and chat messages appear in speech bubbles at the top of the screen.

History comes alive: Android's browser shows its history of recently-visited Web pages as thumbnail images of each page.

Gaming a la Google phone: Who needs Snake when you can play Quake? Android includes a software 3D engine and also supports hardware-based GPU acceleration.

Additional screen shots and more details are available here.

Kindle: Amazon's Backdoor Entry to becoming an MVNO?

Together with Amazon's launching of its ebook reader, Kindle, was the launching of its Whispernet service as well. Whispernet, which enables Kindle users, to effectively be always connected to the Internet, uses Sprint's EVDO network. This effectively makes Amazon an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), much like in the mold of Branson’s Virgin Mobile, which does not own its own network.

While the bundled Whispernet is currently free but with limited access to Internet content, there is essentially nothing that is stopping Amazon from expanding it into a full-fledged IP-based service, complete with voice communications and data transfers. In fact, down the line, it may opt to also use Sprint’s WiMAX network.

Admittedly the current Kindle device falls short as an Internet device but again, that can easily be resolved by the introduction of a newer model, one that may even include WiMAX capabilities, and which will allow full Internet access, including VoIP, video conferencing and other advanced features.

When, and most likely not if, that happens, Amazon will effectively become a full-fledged MVNO, with its own content materials to boot.

Crave Talk: Nintendo must make a mobile phone

From Crave -



In a recent post, Crave's Andrew Lim discussed the merits of Nintendo making a mobile phone, even supply a photoshopped pic seen above.

As he pointed out, most mobile phone manufacturers -- in particular Nokia -- are taking gaming very seriously. This could dramatically affect the market, in the same way that the massive proliferation of music phones persuaded Apple to make the iPhone.

There are also Sony PSP phone rumors, which if true, could prove a genuine challenge to Nintendo's future portable consoles. So it is only natural for Nintendo to make a mobile phone, or perhaps partner up with a mobile manufacturer.

Nintendo has already demonstrated with the DS and Wii that it understands usability and aesthetics to such an extent that any phone it would produce would not only look beautiful, but would also be extremely usable in terms of hardware and software. The Nintendo DS already has the potential to be a PDA. At the moment you can use your DS (via an extra cartridge) to listen to music and browse the Internet over Wi-Fi using an Opera-based browser. It wouldn't take much to extend its functions.

Nintendo also understands casual, time-limited gaming better than any other company. If it could continue the quality of games it has produced for the DS on to a mobile, it would easily be the best phone gaming experience ever created. And that's the point: Nintendo makes consoles and is extremely good at it, so who would you rather have making your gaming phone?

Expert scares world with VoIP hacking proof

From Techworld -

An expert, Peter Cox, co-founder and ex-CTO of firewall vendor BorderWare, has released a proof-of-concept program to show how easy it would be for criminals to eavesdrop on VoIP-based phone calls.

Called SIPtap, the software is able to monitor multiple VoIP call streams, listening in and recording them for remote inspection as .wav files. All that is needed would be to infect a single PC inside the network with a Trojan incorporating these functions, although the hack would work at ISP level as well. The program can index 'IP-tapped' calls by caller - using SIP identity information - and by recipient, and even by date.

SIPtap demonstrates that the worst-case nightmares of VoIP vulnerability are now well within the capabilities of organized crime, which could use such a program to steal confidential data from companies, governments and even the police.

Amazon Kindle first hands-on

From Engadget -



A very brief hands-on review -

The device came out of box with too little juice to get on the EV-DO network, but the e-ink display looks great. The selector bar on the right is really interesting; it appears to be a white, opaque thin LCD panel that polarizes and turns clear letting reflective dots peer through -- the end result is a small selection bar that looks unlike anything we've seen on a portable reader device.

The keyboard is clicky and tactile, but with keys shallow enough that they won't get too in the way when you're reading. We're a little worried that the absolutely massive page forward / back buttons might get inadvertently triggered here and there, though.