Living Digital Show

Top 10 Spy Gadgets You Can Own Right Now

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:39:28 +0000

Spies are everywhere these days, from the 10 Russian agents nabbed recently here in the United States to the more glamorous Hollywood variety, such as is Angelina Jolie. In the movie Salt, Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, a CIA officer accused of being a Russian spy.

With so many secret agents–both real and fictional–these days, we thought it might be helpful to examine a short list of modern-day high-tech spy gear. After all, who knows when you’ll need invisible ink, or a code to pass messages in, or just the right bag to swap in a stairwell?

But before we get started on our surveillance, we must offer a big disclaimer about this collection of sneaky hardware (and software): Using any of this spy gear may be illegal or unethical, depending on how and where you use it. If you’re unsure, check the laws in your state and consult your conscience. By linking to the Websites hosting additional information about the products mentioned in this article, we do not mean to endorse them.

Remote Monitoring

What do these household items have in common? They’re bugged! The Small B/W Wall Clock Camera, model C1390B24 (lower left, $276) has a black-and-white camera hidden inside, while the Air Freshener 3G Camera, model CX300MC-A (lower middle, $720) has a color camera inside plus a SIM card that lets you watch the live video feed on a 3G phone. The Power Strip Hidden Audio Monitoring Device (upper left, $1209) is also rigged with a SIM card and a microphone, so you can dial in and listen to conversations. For $100 more, you can get a version that calls you when it detects voices in the room.
Spy Cams

Spy cameras; click for full-size image. Tiny cameras that record on the sly can be hidden in all sorts of objects. Here we see (left to right) we seethe Spy Pen Camera ($30), which lets you download 640-by-480 video and audio recorded on the built-in 4GB memory straight onto your computer; the Button Camera ($129), featuring three styles of button covers with matching real buttons for the rest of your jacket or shirt; the Key Ring Spy Camera ($102) with built-in microphone; and the dressy Tie Camera ($252), which can share a power supply with the optional Covert Video Recorder ($389).

Cellular Jammers

Need to scramble a cellular signal and thereby render nearby cellphones’ calling capabilities useless, so your evil-empire nemesis can’t deliver his latest intelligence update to the homeland at the appointed hour?

The High Power Portable Jammer (left, $205) isn’t covert, but it can scramble signals at distances of up to 60 feet away.

The 3G Mini Cell Jammer (right, $199) promises to scramble cell signals for 3G, UMTS, CDMA, and GSM networks within a range of up to 32 feet.

Keyloggers

When you can’t crack the encryption code on some secret plans locked away in a computer file, your only other option is to identify the user’s password and use that to access to the information in unencrypted form. That’s when spies (and paranoid spouses) turn to keyloggers, which record every keystroke that a user enters on a specific computer.

The PS2 Keylogger (upper left, $71) works with older keyboards, while the KeyKatch USB keylogger (right, $130) connects between the keyboard cable and a USB port on newer computers. Ultimate Keylogger software (lower left, starting at $26) can monitor not only keystrokes, but also applications and visited Websites. The Ultimate Keylogger program can also send encrypted activity reports via e-mail.

GPS Trackers

The PTXTrak Real-Time GPS Tracking Device (left, $470) transmits the location of a car or person every 10 seconds (if driving) or every 20 feet (if walking), while you watch on a Web-based map.

The Mini GPS Logger (right, $288) records and stores–on the device itself–the route, stop time, speed, direction, and altitude of a moving object.

Subsequently you can retrieve the data and download it to a computer via USB.

Document Scanners

PlanOn’s handy document scanners do the job quickly and covertly–assuming that no one considers moving an unopened ballpoint pen rapidly across every line of text on a page to be odd.

The DocuPen Xtreme X05 (top, $300) comes with 64MB of internal memory, takes MicroSD cards for expansion, and can perform Bluetooth transfers as well.

The DocuPen RC810 (bottom, $170) has 8MB of memory and takes about 4 to 8 seconds to scan a full page of text.

Antibugging Protection

When it’s so easy to bug someone it’s hard not to be paranoid your bugged yourself. In the spy vs. spy world of gadgets and countergadgets, there are some easy ways to avoid being bugged.

The PE-AJ1 Audio Jammer electronic noise generator (left, $169) can knock out any wired or wireless microphone within an area of 150 square feet (note, however, that a protected area of 150 square feet works out to a protected radius of only about 7 feet, according to the ancient spy formula A = πr 2).

The KB-DD800 Multifunctional Portable Sweep Unit (right, $495) purportedly can detect bugs and cameras hidden in the room, as well as GPS trackers and wire telephone tapping.

Night Vision

If you’re after some night vision gear for your mission, you can choose between monoculars and binoculars. The Night Own 3×50 monocular (upper left, $450) is suitable for camping, boating or wildlife observation, as well as for espionage, while the Patrol 2X24 monocular (right, $360) is a sound entry-level model that you can attach to a tripod.

If you want to go pro, consider the Ranger Digital Night Vision 5×42 binoculars (lower left, $760), with 5X magnification, a built-in LCD screen, and a rubberized body.
Aerial Snooping

It looks like a prop from a Batman movie, but The Bat (left, not available in stores) is a functioning drone that carries microphones, shoots photos and video, and comes equipped with sensors for detecting poisonous gases and radiation.

Only 6 inches wide, it cost $10 million to develop at the University of Michigan. More down to earth (but still up in the air) is the Spy Kite (right, $46), which lets you snap photos from heights of up to 80 feet and download them to your PC via USB.

Phones No Longer Safe

Phone trackers; click for full-size image. If your mission is to spy on someone who uses a BlackBerry or an Android phone, a service called MobiStealth (left, $80 for three months) promises to enable you to monitor their location, listen to phone calls via a Web interface, and check the user’s text messages and Web history.

Mobile Spy claims that its iPhone Spy software (right, $50 for three months) works in a similar manner with iPhones–but only if they’ve been jailbroken.

Spy Coins

Finally, all self-respecting spies need a safe way to transfer to the home office all the data they’ve acquired during a hard day of skulking around. These hollow spy coins from Dereu & Sons have been uses since the Cold War by spies to transport secret messages or suicide poisons. Now you can use them to carry a MicroSD card. Available coins include U.S. nickels (left, $30 each) and half-dollars (a significantly better deal at $25 each), British pounds (right, $33 each), and EU euros ($30 each).

Source: PC World

Etsy a Destination for Home Crafters to Market their Wares

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:19:16 +0000

Today we take a peek inside the offices of Etsy, the company behind the virtual marketplace tailored for crafters and DIYers.

The Etsy offices are just as whimsical and creative and you’d expect from a company focused on making it easy for crafters to sell their handmade and vintage goods.

The spaces are colorful and the objects in them creative and interesting. Leaning driftwood lamps, individually styled offices, and handcrafted record-walls are just the half of it.

Check out the pictures to see more of their awesome and colorful office.

Want to Go Into Space? Comming Soon to a Launchpad Near You…

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:13:52 +0000

This is Boeing’s new Crew Space Transportation-100 spacecraft. It is similar to Apollo’s Command Module but, instead of just three astronauts, it will carry up to seven astronauts or astroturists. The destination: Commercial space stations (and the ISS).

The CST-100 is compatible with several rockets, including Delta IV, Atlas V, and SpaceX’s recently launched Falcon 9. According to Boeing, the use of this rockets for manned spaceflight will be easy thanks to the spacecraft’s pull abort system.

The abort system will not be jettisoned from the capsule, and it will be used for maneuvering in space.

The spacecraft will also be used by NASA to ferry astronauts to the ISS, but Boeing says that this won’t be enough to support its development and production. According to Boeing’s Roger Kroner: “There needs to be more than one place to go. This is not viable if the only place is ISS.”

The other place will be Bob Bigelow’s space hotel. Bigelow is on track to build a commercial space station on the next decade, using inflatable modules.

One of the best things about the CST-100 is that it will be reusable ten times, only requiring maintenance and a new heat shield. No price tag yet for the rocket ride or the stay at the space station.

Source: Gizmodo

You Might Experience Space Travel Within Your Lifetime

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:07:22 +0000

A new Apollo-like capsule design from Boeing may be taking groups of seven people at a time into space within our lifetimes. Take a look at how it works:

Want to Go Into Space? Comming Soon to a Launchpad Near You…

New Solar Shades Automatically Keep Your Cool

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:52:05 +0000

The Compliant Shading Enclosure concept automatically regulates the amount of shade, shadow and light that comes into a window. How? There’s a curtain (the green thing) in between the glass panes that’s programmed to open or close depending on the temperature

The concept is designed by Brent Vander Werf and is rather fancy:

The shading system utilizes a bi-metal element that is bonded to high expansion and low expansion alloys. A slight change in temperature makes the alloys produce an opposing force, causing the element to deform and rotate. The system requires no maintenance or user input once installed, and by adjusting the parameters of the alloys, the mechanism can suit a variety of climates.

Basically, it gets its directions from the outside temperature. When it’s hot, the curtains are drawn back, when it cools down, the curtain are drawn in. The whole getup is powered by the sun (which makes incredible sense here) so you don’t have to worry about a tick.

Source: Gizmodo

New Solar Plant Makes Power Even at Night

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:49:08 +0000

Skeptics of modern technology, behold: a newly opened solar plant in Sicily is able to continue generating electricity long after the sun goes down. The trick lies in the plant’s use of salt to store up heat for later use.

The “Archimede” facility uses what’s known as concentrated solar power, absorbing the sun’s heat and later using it to boil water and drive electricity-yielding turbines. CSP plant differ from photovoltaic plants, which generate power directly from sunlight.

Most CSP plants use a synthetic oil to store turbine-driving heat, but Archimede uses molten salt, which possesses a heat capacity able to drive its temperature up over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. Even when the sun starts to dip, the salt is still, as you can imagine, rather hot—hot enough to continue to boil water at night.

Source: Gizmodo

North Carolina Suddenly Likes Internet Jobs?

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:46:33 +0000

Governor Bev Perdue says she hopes to see more businesses like Epic Games in Cary. This company is part of the growing world of video gaming. Now, under a bill she signed into to law Thursday, the state is actively luring this industry into the state.

“We’ve got such a great opportunity here in the Research Triangle and in North Carolina,” says Michael Capp, the president of Epic Games. “We’ve got a nascent hub of game development, we’ve got an excellent hub of military simulation modeling, great education. We could be the worldwide hub for video game development and digital media development.”

This law is not limited to the gaming world. It includes several provisions in several areas to encourage jobs and job growth in the state.

“There’s one thing that you’ve heard from us this year with the work of the general assembly and me,” said Perdue. “It’s that jobs is the number one priority for us in North Carolina.”

Part of this law is aimed at attracting the film industry to North Carolina. To help do this, incentives are offered for up to 25 percent of a production company’s qualifying expenses, but that tax break is not to be bigger than $20 million. One thing that won’t count toward the film’s cost is any actor’s salary that is beyond the first million dollars. Perdue says that limited salary provision could end up costing the state.

“I believe in this next Sparks movie we can be competitive, probably as competitive as Georgia,” she says. “I’m not sure Louisiana, but we’ve really got to keep working on the salary cap.”

Perdue says she plans to go back to the general assembly again next year, and ask them again to work on increasing the film industry incentives in hopes of removing that cap.

For proper context, recall that the Governor also recently signed a bill that caused Amazon to close all North Carolina operations costing the state thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue. The words “political cover” come to mind here…

Source: Carolina News 14 & Thor Schrock

Amazon Pulls Completely Out of North Carolina Over Sales Tax Law

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:45:10 +0000

We’ve received numerous reports of Amazon Associate members in North Carolina receiving emails stating that Amazon is going to have to discontinue the service there due to a pending change the in state’s tax structure. Sometime in the next two weeks, Amazon expects that it will be terminating the service for all North Carolina residents. That will be very bad news for a lot of people who rely on Amazon’s popular affiliate sales program as a source of income.

Here’s the full email:

We regret to inform you that the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) appears ready to enact an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with North Carolina-based Associates. You are receiving this e-mail because our records indicate that you are an Amazon Associate and resident of North Carolina.

Please note that this is not an immediate termination notice and you are still a valued participant in the Associates Program. All referral fees earned on qualified traffic will continue to be paid as planned.

But because the new law is drafted to go into effect once enacted – which could happen in the next two weeks – we will have to terminate the participation of all North Carolina residents in the Amazon Associates program on or before that same day. After the termination day, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com nor will we accept new applications for the Associates program from North Carolina residents.

The unfortunate consequences of this legislation on North Carolina residents like you were explained in detail to key senators and representatives in Raleigh, including the leadership of the Senate, House, and both chambers’ finance committees. Other states, including Maryland, Minnesota, and Tennessee, considered nearly identical schemes, but rejected these proposals largely because of the adverse impact on their states’ residents.

The North Carolina General Assembly’s website is http://www.ncleg.net/, and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/.

We thank you for being part of the Amazon Associates program, and we will apprise you of the General Assembly’s action on this matter.

Sincerely,

Amazon.com

So what exactly is this “unconstiutional tax collection scheme”? Here’s what the site news-record has to say:

The tax change is part of a package passed by the House last week in its attempt to rewrite the budget. Lawmakers are struggling to fill what they say is a $4.5 billion gap between the money needed to keep government operating as it is and the revenue the state is due to take in next year.

As part of the effort to bridge that gap, House members broadened the number of items to which state sales tax would apply and have to be collected by retailers. The tax on the category “digital click-throughs” under which the Amazon agreements fall would raise $13.2 million next year, according to estimates by the General Assembly’s fiscal research arm.

With its “scheme” and “unconstitutional” wording, Amazon is clearly not happy about this. It also notes that other states have thought about similar measures but rejected them. But hey, that’s a pretty huge budget gap, makes me worried for what California might do. And what’s with the Carolinas and getting into dustups with web companies?

Source: TechCrunch

OnStar App To Debut for all 2011 GM Vehicles

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:35:41 +0000

It’s safe to say that General Motors is struggling for relevancy these days and, while the Chevy Volt could be a huge step into the modern era for the company, that still leaves every other car looking a bit — traditional, technology-wise.

OnStar is going to help, expanding its Volt-specific controls to the entire 2011 lineup of GM cars.

When we saw OnStar’s Volt app earlier this year we loved how it not only let you control recharging but also unlock the doors and monitor system specs from anywhere.

While monitoring recharging status obviously won’t be much good if you’re rocking a good ‘ol ICE vehicle, you will still be able to start the car remotely, unlock doors, and also monitor stats like tire pressure and oil level from your iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android handset.

Yes, you’ll need to be an OnStar subscriber to use the app, with rates currently starting at a somewhat steep $18.95 per month. Now, if only there were an app that could help us to afford a new ZR1.

Source: Engadget

Apple Begins Automatic Refunds to Customers

Thor Schrock — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:19:16 +0000

Automatic refunds, or so the email says. We’ve been on the receiving end of a deluge of tips this morning pointing out that Apple has begun funneling cash back into its users’ pockets — a most unusual event, to be sure — to live up to its retroactive promise of free Bumpers for all (who buy their iPhone 4 before September 30).

If the particular wording is to be trusted, that should mean that even those who haven’t yet bothered to put in a claim, but did purchase a Bumper, will find themselves enriched in due course.

Apple estimates this band-aid solution to its antenna problems will cost $175 million in real cash money, but we suspect the biggest price to pay will be in the form of pride and reputation.

Source: Engadget