Tim Schaaff has left Apple Computer for Sony Corporation, where he has been appointed to the newly-c…
Originally from AppleInsider
Month: December 2005
Tiny R/C helicopters
David Pescovitz:
Alexander Van de Rostyne’s Pixelito is a 6.9 gram helicopter that’s remote controllable via an infrared link. Six-years in development, it’s the latest and smallest in his family of Pixel Radio Controlled Helicopters.
Link (via MAKE: Blog)
Originally posted by David Pescovitz from Boing Boing
Play Doh fingers fool fingerprint reade
oh! er, Play Doh! “Fingerprint scanning devices often use basic technology, such as an optical camera that take pictures of fingerprints which are then “read” by a computer. In order to assess how vulnerable the scanners are to spoofing, Schuckers and her research team made casts from live fingers using dental materials and used Play-Doh to create molds. They also assembled a collection of cadaver fingers. In the laboratory, the researchers then systematically tested more than 60 of the faked samples. The results were a 90 percent false verification rate.” Link
Tow truck hauls away car with 85-year-old man inside, leaves him in sub-zero weather
Mark Frauenfelder:
After police in Edmonton ticketed a car for being illegally parked, a tow truck company hauled it away and left it in a freezing cold lot without checking to see if anyone was inside. Unfortunately, there was someone in the car — an 85-year-old man.
Police in the western city of Edmonton, Alberta, said frost had obscured the car’s windows and a tow-truck driver, unaware of the elderly man sitting in the driver’s seat, took the car to the police compound. The incident occurred Tuesday.
“The security officer at that site along with the tow-truck driver noticed that there was some movement in the car,” said Edmonton Police spokeswoman Lisa Lammi.
“They accessed the vehicle and sure enough there was an elderly man inside. He was disoriented but he was not unconscious.”
s coverage of crooked tow truck companies here)
Originally posted by Mark Frauenfelder from Boing Boing
For the man with everything – the V8 snowblower
December 2, 2005 If you’re tired of anaemic, one-lung snowblowers with their slipping drive belts, you might consider Kai Grundt’s V8 snow blower which raises the bar on the traditional snow blower in every respect. With electric start, electric block heater, antifreeze heater and eight cylinders, it has no drive belts to freeze up and you’ll never get bored with the job as the 454 cubic inch big block Chevrolet V8 produces 412 horsepower, 430 foot pounds of torque and can throw snow 50 feet at just 3500 rpm. Nor will you get cold as the machine has been ingeniously designed to route the engine coolant through the handle bars, with the rear mounted, enclosed radiator keeping the operator nice and cosy. ..