How To Make Your Own Ghetto Stun Gun
Buy $10.00 USD worth of household goods, follow these simple instructions, and you’ll be zapping your pals in no time thanks to this video I found while searching the web:
Disclaimer: This is not a commercial strength Stun Gun. It’s for “fun” only; but still dangerous if misused. Be safe.
Helvetica Coffee Mug
Coffee, like Helvetica, is an acquired taste. To satisfy both habits, the nice folks at Veer created this white ceramic mug:
As you can see, the mug features four weights of the timeless font – in corresponding caffeinated shades – and a sensibly squared handle.
I totally want one of these and I shall add it to my “want list” for upcoming purchases.
IronKey 4 Gig Endurance Team
Last week I posted a pretty detailed review of the IronKey 4 GB USB Flash Drive.
After even more testing, I still stand by my review that anyone who places a high value on protecting their privacy and their data will be extremely happy with the IronKey.
Yesterday afternoon I received a care package in the form of a t-shirt from the nice folks at IronKey.
Here is the front of the shirt with the IronKey logo on the front left:
and here is the back of the shirt with the words “IronKey 4 Gig Endurance Team”:
Yep, you’ve guessed it. I’m now part of the IronKey 4 Gig Endurance Team - w00t!
Only staff members, IronKey beta testers and geek-o-holics like me can get a hold of these shirts or if you meet the development team at a trade show you might score one.
I’m sure in the near future you’ll be able to purchase an IronKey t-shirt. I love geek t-shirts.
The shirt is a little wrinkled from the shipping as you can see in the photos but it’s nothing that a quick run in the washer or a warm iron can’t fix. I’m just happy to have this shirt.
Thanks again IronKey! You guys are great.
Another MVNO Bites The Dust
This time it’s Disney’s family-centric MVNO that’s calling it quits.
By the looks of things, it appears as if 2007 is the year of death for MVNOs. Is the MVNO a doomed business model?
I could make snide jokes about the power of The Mouse, but I won’t. The truth is, it’s sad to see another wireless company fail at making a go of things.
The Walt Disney Co. today announced that it will shut down its Disney MVNO, with operations set to cease on December 31.
Current customers can continue their service until that deadline. Disney is working on setting up a reimbursement program for qualifying members, but full details of that have not been released yet.
The MVNO was run by the Walt Disney Internet Group. Based on its recent recommendation to the Walt Disney board, the decision was made to close the venture because of industry competition.
The MVNO model has proven, as we’ve seen with other companies this past year, to be a difficult proposition in the hyper-competitive U.S. mobile phone market.
In assessing our business model, we decided that changing strategies was a better alternative to pursue profitable growth in the mobile services area.
-Steve Wadsworth, president of the Walt Disney Internet Group.
The Walt Disney Internet Group pitched the idea of licensing out its Family Center suite to other carriers in a manner similar to ESPN’s licensing deals.
However, with two of the four major wireless carriers already offering similar services, Disney might face an uphill battle on that front.
With Amp’d Mobile recently unplugging, and ESPN Mobile whiffing at bat — both companies with major backers — it’s hard not to question the MVNO business model. Can it really be successful?
Helio doesn’t seem to be doing that badly (though it is burning through a hell of a lot of cash). Virgin Mobile USA and others have been around for a while.
Clearly there is some formula for getting it right. It seems finding that formula is the real key.
IronKey 4 GB USB Flash Drive
With the rapid adoption of USB flash drives as a convenient and portable way to store and transport data, technology geeks and users have found the need for a secure and reliable way to protect their USB drive data.
It’s really easy to misplace your USB drive (it does happen) or what about the worse case scenario and your USB drive is stolen?
Without any encryption or other password protection built into the USB drive, your data is left wide open to theft.
The nice people over at IronKey have spent a ton of sleepless nights and a pile of money to address these security and reliability concerns.
They have developed the IronKey USB flash drive - what they call “the world’s most secure USB flash drive”:
The IronKey 4 GB USB flash drive raises the bar and sets the standard for security in USB drives.
The designers behind the IronKey clearly had in mind the goal of delivering the most robust security available and the final product shows just how well this has been achieved.
I spent many weeks researching secure portable storage media before deciding on the IronKey. I found that no other USB drive on the market compared in terms of providing this level of data security.
Here are a few of the IronKey features that helped in my decision to choose this product:
- Fast 30MBPS Read, 20MBPS Write
- Drive contents encrypted with AES CBC-Mode Encryption
- Onboard IronKey Password-manager keeps all your internet passwords safe
- Secure version of Firefox included that encrypts all your web-surfing traffic
- Encased in a potted metal case, not plastic, making it one of the strongest USB keys around
- Exceeds MIL-STD-810F military waterproofing standards
- The encryption chip self-destructs if an invasive attack is detected
- If your Ironkey is lost, you can restore from a secure backup to a new Ironkey in minutes
- Dual channel SLC NAND Flash for high-quality and read/write speeds
- Windows XP and Windows Vista only, but Mac and Linux drivers are in development
With the ability to surf privately, provide secure online authentication, withstand being dropped, be submersion in water and solid read and write performance, the IronKey offers features not found on any other USB drive on the market.
Any Geek with Laptop or technology professional who places high value on protecting their privacy and their data will be extremely happy with the IronKey as will anyone who wants a completely dependable portable storage device.
Can you put a price on data security?
At a retail price of $149.00 USD for the 4 GB version (the model I use), $109.00 USD for the 2 GB version and $79.00 USD for the 1 GB version, the IronKey team says you can.
Keep in mind that the 4 GB model sells out quickly and in recent weeks has been on backorder with various geek distributors.
You can purchase IronKey from Think Geek or order it directly from the IronKey secure online store.
RIM BlackBerry 8820 - Oh My, Wi-Fi
The BlackBerry 8820 is RIM’s first foray into integrated Wi-Fi (802.11 a,b,g) and sometimes it even works.
The 8820 is nearly identical in every way to the well-received 8800: same form factor, same 4.8-ounce weight, same OS, same trackball navigation system.
The only real difference is the iPhone-like addition of a Wi-Fi radio, which offers a vast improvement in speed when browsing the web or checking e-mail over the EDGE alternative.
Alas, the Wi-Fi implementation here isn’t nearly as seamless as Apple’s.
The 8820 sometimes manages the handoff between the two networks fairly well, but in my tests it often had trouble dropping the 802.11 signal and reconnecting to the Wi-Fi network.
At the end of the day, the 8820 is no iPhone killer, but it doesn’t do a bad job giving Apple’s iPhone a pretty good shiner.