Plica Concept Threatens iPhone With Two Touchscreens
Posted on 02 August 2008
I know that probably most of you are enjoying your iPhone 3G and you are very satisfied with it, but when you will see this concept you might want to reconsider your thoughts. The cellphone is called Plica which means folding of a body part.
Plica consists of two touchscreens and it looks exactly like a regular cellphone. When the phone is folded in two screens, you will use one as a keyboard and on the other you will be able to see whatever you want to. Also, you can view the images on both screens which means twice the resolution. Plica is very functional kind of like a mini-laptop and it features USB and headphone jacks.
This could really be the iPhone killer as the double touchscreen is really great, the only problem is that this is only a concept. Plica was developed by designer James Piatt and I can’t wait to see this on the market.
My thoughts:
That’s an interesting concept but one of the things that it will fail at with regards to the iphone is the fact that it sports moving parts. Yes, you can operate it with one hand and one screen, but can you imagine juggling your venti mocha, your laptop bag, your light rail pass, and a headphone cord while trying to open that thing? No, you might not NEED to open it but folks will try none-the-less.
It’s also not as much of a “fashion” item as the iPhone is. But if the functionality is up to par(i.e. running android, remaining open source with a closed source carrier specific package so that phone service always remains consistent) then this would be the iPhone killer for those of us who have been hacking them to get them to do what they want.
Folks who bought the iPhone and use them the way Lord Steve deemed appropriate for all his iChildren… will never buy this. -Joe
We have posted pics of some truly messy data center cabling in the past, but this time we figured it was time to do the opposite: Show how some people have managed to organize cables into something close to art.
Courtesy of Digital:Slurp.
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Courtesy of ChrisDag.
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Courtesy of mbm3290. Swedish colors! How could we NOT include it?
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Courtesy of mmayo.
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Courtesy of Jef Newsom.
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Courtesy of Precision Fiber Optics.
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Courtesy of tim d.
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Courtesy of Network1 Cabling. (We’re not sure this is practical or not, but it LOOKS impressive…)
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This post is dedicated to Daniel Norman, cable guy extraordinaire at Loopia.se. 
Royal Pingdom » When data center cabling becomes art
Quoted from http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/08/28/top_10_tech_toy.html:
SCI FI Tech | SCIFI.COM
Top 10 Tech Toys for the Filthy Rich
Related Entries: Features
Just as cell phones are becoming ever more powerful übergadgets, and flat TV screens get larger even as their prices drop, so, too, do the gadgets of the upper crust further distance themselves from the trinkets of the masses. For better or worse, most of the guts of even the priciest pieces of tech are pretty much the same as those of the glitterati — even if the oil sheiks and Level III Scientologists of the world can afford to house those guts in 24-karat gold inlaid with Babe Ruth’s bone fragments.
Still, sometimes the superrich get what they pay for, or at least far more bang for their Black AmEx swipe than the Wal-Mart shoppers can get on layaway. Here are the 10 most extravagant electronics for the techy bajillionaires on your gift list, and be sure to come back tomorrow for our companion piece, the 10 Gadgets You Can Actually Afford.
10. Ultimate Ears UE-11 EarphonesBespoke suits, custom-made shirts, fitted ball caps — nothing bought off the rack can match the like-a-glove fit and comfort of customized men’s wear. The same perfection holds for customized in-ear monitors: earphones that require a visit to (or from) an audiologist to make a wax impression of the canals to shape precise molds, resulting in intrusive, yet perfectly comfortable ‘buds.
UE’s $1,150 phones are the company’s most sophisticated pro models yet, housing not a double but a quad armature speaker configuration with a three-way crossover. The results — delivered via dual subwoofers, a midrange driver, and a tweeter directly into your eardrum — is the most precise sound capable short of a miniaturized Christina Aguilera living in your brain. Ultimate Ears UE-11
9. Krell KID iPod DockWhen it comes to iPod docks, there are a lot of them: No audio-equipment manufacturer wants to be without one. So high-end component maker Krell introduced its own $1,200 entry this past January, attracting attention as the most expensive iPod accessory — an erroneous qualification, seeing as how there’s BMW that docks a ‘pod. No matter. Krell left out its supersensitive tubes when developing the Krell iPod Dock (disparagingly nicknamed by the acronym KID), instead optimizing the output of the iPod’s digital-to-analog converter. Otherwise, the KID serves its simple purpose of passing along iPod (or auxiliary Zune or other input) signals with panache, offering balanced outputs, bass and treble adjustments, and video out for the discerning entertainment rack. Krell KID
8. Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 HeadphonesWhen buying audio equipment, the rules of diminishing returns inevitably require we budget-minded folks avail ourselves of the cost-value proposition. Yes, $100 headphones sound better than $20 headphones, but do they sound 5 times better? And does that mean that $1,500 headphones sound 15 times better than $100 headphones? Of course the answer is not frickin’ likely. But when cost is no option, plugging in a pair of bass-heavy Bose phones into a $7,000 receiver is tantamount to casting Charlize Theron as the She-Thing in FF3.
Audio-Technica’s $1,670 striped ebony-cased cans (that’s wood — better material for producing richer sound) enhance acoustics, output precise audio fidelity, and reduce noise. Leather ear fittings provide a comfortable hold, but not even the unique wood-y look of the things can communicate “rich audiophile” anywhere outside a specialty show, nor can they diminish the dork factor of DJ-style headphones. Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 headphones
7. modPod Egg ChairFans of Men in Black (the movie — not the comic book, and definitely not the kid’s cartoon show) may recognize the iconic Egg Chair. Everyone else will recognize it from breakfast. And while the unique retro design isn’t conducive to test-taking, it’s rather ideal for sound immersion — hence, the iPod integration with surround sound speakers. Each chair is custom upholstered in a choice of fabric, adding to the appeal/cost; a model with shaken-not-stirred rumble action goes for $1,800. modPod Egg Chair
6. Bentley HumidorNothing says, “I have money to burn” like a smoldering cigar. True tobacco aficionados keep their imported-at-great-human-and-fiscal-cost Cubabos in unnecessarily expensive humidors. This $6,400 jobby is cased in solid walnut, spiced up with Burr Walnut veneer and details of ebony and silver; a premium Credo humidity regulator (humidifier and hydrometer) — ostensibly the mechanism that justifies its gadget designation — is the best of its kind. A winged Bentley logo adorns the front to remind guest tokers that his other car is a lot more impressive than whatever you rolled up in. Bentley Humidor
5. Vertu Ascent Ferrari 1947
Cell PhoneIf the iPhone is the Mercedes sedan of cellies — superperforming, aspirational, slobber worthy — than this $7,500 phone is the… Ferrari GT — a showy, overstated midlife crisis wrapped up in metal and leather. “Exclusive handset crafters” Vertu (a subsidiary of flashy-forward cell maker Nokia) has tweaked the styles of its Ascent line to feature various automotive masterpieces; the individually numbered Ascent Ferrari 1947 phone gets its cues from the GT models of that obsessive Italian carmaker’s lineup, pairing hand-polished titanium with red and black leather, tarted up with black lacquer racing stripes and a to-scale aluminum brake pedal adorning the back.
Beyond sleek, racy good looks (we’ll grudgingly give it that), the Ascent, like all Vertus, connects directly to 24-hour concierge service, providing tech support and “creative and relevant solutions” to customers via a dedicated button — ostensibly saving the pampered class the trouble of texting GOOGLE for Web-accessible information. Vertu Ascent Ferrari 1947 Cell Phone
4. Xexoo Gold-Plated iPod ShuffleThe ubiquitous iPod provides a blank palette ripe for ostentatious individualized prettying up — graphic stickers, laser engraving, plastic molding and the like. How, then, to best enhance the appearance of the stylish gadget in a truly over-the-top fashion? Perhaps German company Xexoo looked to C-3PO for inspiration, as their solution involved covering up the base, pedestrian materials (plastic, aluminum) of Apple’s music players with gold — gold plating, to be precise.
A $19,000 Shuffle makes the most of little, adding diamond bling to its otherwise-$10,000, red carpet-worthy, 18-karat-covered accessory. 24-hour tech support — including damage repair and replacement worldwide — sweetens the deal, though for the price of 240-song storage on one Xexoo Shuffle, his majesty could also purchase Shuffles for each of his 240 servants/mistresses. Xexoo Gold-Plated iPod shuffle
3. Steinway Lyngdorf Model-D
Handmade Music SystemSteinway & Sons built its reputation on building flawless pianos like its concert grand Model-D. Peter Lyngdorf has built his reputation on building high-end hi-fi equipment. Put them together and the result is a $150,000 sound system, a completely digital, ultra-high-end beaut capable of reproducing a full symphony without any sound loss — thereby scaring the bejesus out of beyond-their-prime oboists who’ve been phoning it in for decades.
Each speaker tower weighs 500 pounds, has four 12-inch drivers, two 5-inch midranges and a single ribbon tweeter. The hefty cost includes a visit from a sound technician to do the installation and configuration to ensure that Mr. Moneybags can hear every last piccolo inhalation from any point in his listening room. The Model-D all but requires a shrine to audiophile addiction. Further ratcheting up the exclusivity, Steinway is hand-making just 100 systems, keeping the pristine pieces out of the hands of latecomers as well as us commoners. Steinway Lyngdorf Model-D Handmade Music System
2. Tulip Ego Diamond Notebook PCDutch company Ego has seen the future in laptop design, and it looks like a purse. As with high fashion, utility and practicality are boring when it comes to luxury gadgets — hence the wholly underwhelming tech specifications of these Tulip Egos: single-core AMD Turion processor, 12.1-inch screen, blah blah blah. But they are so gorgeous, darling!
Women and fancy boys can customize their pocketbooks, er, notebooks with their choice of skin (leather or other fabric) and by integrating designs like embroidered initials or symbols into the case — all tailor-made. And while prices start at $5,000, the gem of the appropriately branded Ego is a $350,000 diamond-encrusted Tulip. It’s named for the flower-shaped icon consisting of 470 diamonds Krazy-glued to the lid, certain to attract jealous looks from socialites and diamond thieves alike. Tulip Ego Diamond notebook PC
1. Fujitsu Super Frontech
Vision LD DisplaySure, there are 100-plus-inch flat screens out there, but Samsung, Sharp and LG aren’t likely to sell you one no matter how much scratch you bring to the electronics show. But anyone with a half-million holiday bonus (or 63 million Japanese Yen) still burning their extraordinarily large pockets can get their hands on (if not their arms around) this whoppingly huge-ormous 231-inch display consisting of huge LEDs. And as opposed to a Jumbotron, the 16-million-color monitor accepts a myriad of inputs, including DVI. Just don’t expect to see larger-than-life Katherine Heigl standing in your living room in full HD: the resolution’s a paltry 512 x 288 pixels, requiring a viewing distance of at least 15 feet. Fujitsu Super Frontech Vision LD display
Quoted from http://www.tech.co.uk/computing/internet-and-broadband/news/75-year-old-woman-has-fastest-broadband?articleid=1857379299:
Tech.co.uk | News | 75-year-old pensioner has fastest broadband
75-year-old pensioner has fastest broadband
Swedish woman enjoys record 40Gbps connection
Anna Lagerkvist
13 Jul 2007 08:41
A 75-year-old Swedish woman currently has the fastest broadband connection in the world.
Sigbritt Löthberg, from Karlstad in central Sweden, enjoys a massive 40Gbps connection – many thousand times faster than the average connection speed delivered to homes. It’s the first time such a high speed as ever been delivered to a home user anywhere in the world.
Sigbritt has only recently taking up computing. She is the mother of Swedish ‘internet legend’ Peter Löthberg, who arranged the connection along with the local council’s network department.
“This is more than just a demonstration,” said Hafsteinn Jonsson, network manager at Karlstad Stadsnät.
“As a network owner we’re trying to persuade internet operators to invest in faster connections. And Peter Löthberg wanted to show how you can build a low price, high capacity line over long distances,” Jonsson told The Local .
1,500 HDTV channels
Sigbritt is now able to enjoy 1,500 high-definition HDTV channels simultaneously. Or, if she doesn’t find anything to watch there, there’s also the option of downloading a full high-definition DVD in just two seconds.
The ultra-fast connection speed has been achieved by a new modulation technology. It allows data to be transferred directly between two routers up to 2,000 kilometres apart, without any intermediary transponders.
The distance is, in theory, unlimited – there is no data loss as long as the fibre is in place, according to Karlstad Stadsnät.
“I want to show that there are other methods than the old fashioned ways such as copper wires and radio, which lack the possibilities that fibre has,” said Peter Löthberg, who works at Cisco.
The fibre technology behind such high speed connections is “technically and commercially viable,” Jonsson said.
“The most difficult part of the whole project was installing Windows on Sigbritt’s PC,” Jonsson added.
Quoted from http://www.pspmod.com/forums/firmware/18495-new-psp-custom-firmware-v3-51-m33.html:
New PSP Custom Firmware v3.51 M33 !!! – PSPMod.com – Sony PSP Mod & Hacks Forums
A group of russian hackers have released a new PSP custom firmware which have got a lot of people rather excited. A few users seem to confirm it working but as per usual, only try such releases at your own risk. Help spread the word and DIGG THIS STORY
Summary of features offered by CFW v3.51 M33
- All functions of v3.51 firmware retained – PS1 support, high video resolution, MP3 visualizer, internet navigation, PS3 connection etc
- Launch official UMDS which require v3.51 firmware
- Direct launching of ISOs/CSOs
- Direct launching of homebrews and demonstrations
- Direct launching of PS1 images
- Ability to alter the CPU speed of the PSP
- Recovery mode
- Multi-region
- Bugfixes
- Customize all your icons etc
source: maxconsole/pspgen
more info:Translated version of http://www.pspgen.com/
The video:Video 3.51 M33 Install – m33, install, 3.51 – Dailymotion Share Your Videos
Download:zSHARE – custom firmware v3.51 m33.rar
INSTRUCTIONS:
NOTE: If your PSP is in firmware 1.50, copy the folders kxploitpatcher and kxploitpatcher% which are in the “1.50only” folder to ms0:/PSP/GAME/ and run the patcher first.
if you already have firmware SE/OE, just copy the folder M33CREATOR to ms0:/PSP/GAME150 if you have 1.50 copy to ms0:/PSP/GAME
1 – Download the firmware update 3.51 and rename to 351.PBP and copy into the ms0:/PSP/GAME/M33CREATOR/ or for 1.50 users to ms0:/PSP/GAME150/M33CREATOR/
2- Download the firmware update 1.50 and rename to 150.PBP and copy into the “ms0:/PSP/GAME/M33CREATOR/” or “ms0:/PSP/GAME150/M33CREATOR/”
3- on your PSP, run the “3.51 M33 CREATOR”. Once finished, the PSP will return to the XMB, and a new program, the “3.51 M33UPDATE” appears!
4 -now run “3.51 M33UPDATE”.
5 – Once finishes, press on X to shutt off. Restart manually.
download custom firmware v3.51 m33: zSHARE – custom firmware v3.51 m33.rar
the easy updater ! just copy the folder 3.51 M33UPDATE to game150 for oe users !!!! zSHARE – m33update_351.rar
Quoted from http://www.bspcn.com/2007/07/11/whats-hidden-in-the-iphones-fine-print/:
What’s Hidden in the iPhone’s ‘Fine Print’? | The Best Article Every day
11 Jul
Posted by admin as Uncategorized
Written by Doug Ross
Telecom Analyst Bruce Kushnick has inspected the iPhone’s terms of service and offers some surprising revelations (emphasis mine):
1) iPhone Requires a 2-Year Contract with AT&T.
2) Expensive: Requires $2,280, Over $1,730 in Wireless Costs.
3) Double Billing. You and the Caller Both Get Charged for the Same Call.
4) All Use of the Networks Are Always Rounded Up to the Nearest Kilobyte or Minute.
…This practice is now standard and is anti-competitive. In the 1990’s, phone companies, to be competitive, created “6 second billing”, where the call was rounded to the nearest 1/10th of a minute. This change adds 15+% to the average bill. Moreover, the companies now have all gone to full minute billing, full kilobyte billing, so that they can make an extra minute on almost every transaction…
5) Customers Are Billed for “Network Errors” and “Network Overhead”.
6) Billed Even Though the Call Doesn’t Go Through.
7) Bogus Fees Added to the Bill: Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge
The “Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge” is a made-up charge that should have been included in the cost of service instead of a separate line item. Most carriers are charging this fee, even though it is not government mandated or a legitimate tax. By making it a separate line item, the phone company gets more money and doesn’t have to include this line item in the advertised cost of service. According to AT&T:
“The Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge is a charge assessed by AT&T and is not a tax or government-mandated charge. This charge is subject to change from time to time as the cost of compliance changes…. The purpose of the charge is to defray AT&T’s costs associated with payment of fees and compliance with various initiatives imposed by the government. Please note that costs may be incurred and charged prior to initiation of any of the respective services.”
$175.00 Termination Fee.
9) International Messages Are Charged Additional Fees as Are Files Over 300Kbps.
…While it cost[s] nothing extra to send an email overseas using the Internet, AT&T has decided that all messages outside the US or larger than 300 K should cost extra:
“International messages not included. Charges for international messages sent from the U.S. are 20¢ for Text Messages and 50¢ for Picture/Video Messages. Additional charges for premium messages and content apply. Messages over 300 KBs billed an additional 50¢/message.”
10) Over Your Quota: Get Gouged: 40¢ Per Minute and 69¢ Roaming Offnet.
11) The Services Are Not Secure and Can’t Block Your Phone Number.
12) The Current Mobile Email Service Doesn’t Support Attachments.
13) Prohibited Uses and “Unlimited” Sales Hype.
Even though the service is called “unlimited” they are simply using that word as a marketing concept, not an actual service description. You can’t use the service for VOIP and worse “unlimited plans cannot be used for uploading, downloading or streaming of video content (e.g. movies, tv), music or games.” Here are just some of the restrictions [prohibited services]:
* With server devices or with host computer applications, including, without limitation, web camera posts or broadcasts, continuous jpeg file transfers, automatic data feeds, telemetry applications, peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing, automated functions or any other machine-to-machine applications…
* for voice over ip…
* in conjunction with wwan or other applications or devices which aggregate usage from multiple sources prior to transmission…
* Except for content formatted in accordance with at&t’s content standards, unlimited plans cannot be used for uploading, downloading or streaming of video content (e.g. movies, tv), music or games. Furthermore, unlimited plans (except for dataconnect and blackberry tethered) cannot be used for any applications that tether the device
14) Service Is Not Intended to Provide Full-Time Connections: Unlimited is Hype – Don’t use the service too much or the phone company can terminate your service.
15) Wi-Fi Service is Limited – “To ensure that the Wi-Fi Service is not being used fraudulently, AT&T limits your usage of the Wi-Fi Service to 150 uses per month” …Does that mean that if you lose signal a few times during one session, or you are traveling and go between ‘hot spots’ you can rack up lots of ‘uses’?
16) “Offnet” Restrictions – If you have a service and you happen to call other ‘offnet’ services, including wireline phones, or non-AT&T subscribers, you have to ‘limit’ your use, be charged or be terminated.
17) Plan Goobly-gook – …There are plan fees, taxes and surcharges, roaming fees, text fees, Night and Weekend Minutes, Mobile to Mobile Minutes, Anytime Minutes and Rollover Minutes, EDGE/GPRS and BroadbandConnect, offnet, AT&T Video clips, Data Connect Unlimited, WI-FI CONNECT, constraints on ‘unlimited plans including “20% of 6 Megabits offnet”, “150 uses of Wi-Fi”, and other restrictions…
18) Comparing US and Other Broadband Countries: America Is being Laughed At.
Why did iPhone get deployed on a slow, closed network? That answer may not be known, but it is clear that iPhone is being deployed on an old-technology network, and is neither state-of-the-art nor fast. Here’s some info about the [wired] networks… “The median U.S. download speed now is 1.97 megabits per second – a fraction of the 61 megabits per second enjoyed by consumers in Japan … Other speedy countries include South Korea (median 45 megabits), France (17 megabits) and Canada (7 megabits).”
19) The Upcoming Wireless Spectrum Auctions – The upcoming 700 MHz wireless spectrum auctions are underway [and] the bottom-line is [that] America needs open wireless networks, and it should be clear to anyone who is considering buying an iPhone that the AT&T networks should not be the only network for this innovative product.
These types of anti-innovation restrictions make it clear why the incumbent telcos shouldn’t be permitted to bid on the newly liberated 700MHz spectrum.
Go to Save the Internet now and take action.
Update: Tim Wu has more.
Quoted from http://www.yankodesign.com/index.php/2007/07/04/bye-bye-ugly-ac-bricks-and-power-strips:
Bye Bye Ugly A/C Bricks and Power Strips
Posted by Long Tran in Technology, All Archive
July 4, 2007 12:18 am
The Energy Saving Adapters by Gilles Belley not only look good but have some smarts behind them too. Each module corresponds to a device and monitors the power consumption independently. Most electrical devices have a standby mode to save energy but even then, about 10% of today’s electrical costs come from appliances wasting energy in that mode. The Energy Saving Adapters can detect this and display symbolic symbols notifying the owner of wasted energy. If someone doesn’t respond within 3 minutes, it automatically turns off said device.
It’s a gorgeous solution to visually show people how much power they’re wasting but there’s a catch 22 here. Someone like me would probably purposely leave everything on just to see the pretty lights on the adapters glow.
Designer: Gilles Belley& EDF Design
Quoted from http://nanocr.eu/2007/07/03/iphone-without-att/:
So sue me » Blog Archive » iPhone Independence Day
I’ve found a way to activate a brand new unactivated iPhone without giving any of your money or personal information to AT&T NSA. The iPhone does not have phone capability, but the iPod and WiFi work. Stay tuned!
Update:
Magic iTunes 7.3.0.54 numbers:
Offset 2048912: 33C0C3
Offset 257074: 28
Offset 257013: 33C9B1
Add “127.0.0.1 albert.apple.com” to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Download Phone Activation Server v1.0 to activate your iPhone for iPod+WiFi use. Note that this application will not do anything unless you understand the magic numbers as well as add the hosts entry. Phone Activation Server (PAS) requires that you have the MS .NET Framework 2.0 installed.
Download PAS v1.0 Source Code.
Quoted from http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single8713:
SiliconRepublic.com: Irish technology claims energy breakthrough
Irish technology claims energy breakthrough
04.07.2007 – Today, the public have been invited to come and observe Orbo technology, developed by Irish company Steorn, which produces a free, constant supply of energy that will change history if it does what it claims.
Orbo technology, which Sean McCarthy, CEO of Steorn said was discovered accidentally, theoretically produces energy from nowhere using magnetics.
“The law of conservation of energy has been very reliable for 300 years, however it’s missing one variable from the equation, and that’s time,” said McCarthy.
McCarthy explained to Silicon Republic that Orbo technology works on the basis that occurrences in magnetic fields do not happen instantaneously, and are therefore not subject to time in the way that, say, gravity is.
This time variance allows the Orbo platform to generate and consistently produce power, going against the law of conservation of energy which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed.
“This is as big a claim as you can possibly make in the world of technology and science,” said McCarthy.
“Five years ago if I was watching this story from a distance I would be thinking it was complete bull. Having said that we are in absolutely no doubt that this works.”
Steorn, based in Dublin, was founded in 2000 and employs 22 people.
Last year the company took out an advertisement, publicly inviting the scientific community to come and test the revolutionary claims of its Orbo technology. Scientists have been putting the energy machine through rigorous testing since January.
Meanwhile, academic testing aside, McCarthy said that he wants the public to observe it too. Today at 6pm in the Kinetica Museum in London, Orbo will be unveiled and will run for ten days.
McCarthy said in order to ensure complete transparency, the self-rotating wheel will be housed in clear plastic, allowing members of the public to “inspect it for a hidden battery”.
The Orbo will also be viewable live on the internet from 6pm this evening at www.steorn.com/orbo/demo, with four webcams focused on the machine 24 hours a day.
If this technology is proved to work and be transferable and marketable, it will change not only how we think, but how we live.
“It’s too good to be true but it is true,” said McCarthy, “It will have such an impact on everything we do.”
“The only analogy I can give is if you had absolute proof that God wasn’t real,” said McCarthy.
By Marie Boran
Quoted from http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/07/04/mpaas-media-defender-sets-up-fake-site-to-catch-pirates/:
TECH.BLORGE.com » Blog Archive » MPAA’s Media Defender sets up ‘fake’ site to catch pirates
July 4, 2007 |
By George Gardner
Don’t get caught up inthe Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA)latest sting.Media Defender, a company whichdoes the dirty workfor the MPAA, has been caught setting up ‘dummy’ websites in an attempt to catch those who download copyrighted videos – entrapment comes to mind.
The site, MiiVi.com, complete with auser registration, forum, and “family filter”, offers complete downloads of movies and “fast and easy video downloading all in one great site.” But that’s not all;MiiVialso offers client software to speed up the downloading process. The only catch is, after it’s installed, it searches your computer for other copyrighted files and reports back.
ZeroPaid,acting ona tip from The Pirate Bay, found MiiVi to be registered to Media Defender using a whois search. Shortly after, the registrar information was changed, but the address still reflects Media Defender’s address at 2461 Santa Monica Blvd., D-520 Santa Monica, CA 90404.
Not 10 hours after the site was found to be registered to Media Defender, the site went dead. There’s no telling how long it was up; however, the domain was registered on February 8, 2007.
Perhaps Media Defender won’t use its own name on the registrar the next time around, but it just goes to show the lengths at which the MPAA is willing to go, to fight piracy.
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