2007 May | Trend Squad

Man Charged for Using Cafe’s Free Wi-Fi

And by charged I mean a $400 fine and get 40 hours of community service for stealing Wi-Fi. That’s right folks, Sam Peterson II, who used a Michigan cafe’s free wireless network to check his e-mail will be dishing out enough dough to buy 3/4 of an iPhone and weeks worth of community service for his offense. Apparently, the cafe where Peterson logged on is a popular WiFi spot and Peterson didn’t realize not paying for access was such an offense. Here’s more:

I knew that the Union Street had WiFi,” he told 24 Hour News 8. “I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn’t see a problem with that.” But Peterson did it everyday, and from his car. He drove up, parked, and piggybacked onto the Union Street network.

Piggybacking, which means using someone else’s WiFi without their permission, currently lies in a gray legal area in most states. A local police chief became suspicious of what Peterson was doing in his car every day and eventually talked to him and issued a warning. After thinking about it a bit the police chief did a little investigation and found that “unauthorized use of computer access” is in fact a crime in Michigan. Soon afterward, a warrant was issued for Peterson’s arrest on a “five year felony, $10,000 fine.”

Written by Trend Spotter on May 31, 2007 | No Comments

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New Google Maps ‘Street View’ Causes Ruckus

The new Google Maps Street View feature, which allows users to click on maps in major cities get real images of the street, is causing a real ruckus on the web. In order to make the map work, Google had to send out a van with a bunch of 360-cameras to get street level images. Turns out, not all the images they picked up are the kind people want broadcast throughout the universe. Captured pictures of an old man jaywalking, a smiling man walking out of a strip club and two fellas walking into a cannabis club have made their mark in San Francisco, while two college gals sunbathing at Stanford University are making their mark on “oh there’s a girl nearly naked” scene. And don’t even get me started on the New York image (pictured at right) of what looks to be ET touching down in New York. Turns out, the view from the street might be more exciting than the view from the top afterall.

Written by Trend Spotter on May 31, 2007 | No Comments

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Totally Geeky or Completely Crazy? Geeky Shoes

I couldn’t resist posting these when I saw a feature on TechEBlog which displayed some outrageously geeky shoes. The first pair of sneakers come with a wireless music system which includes an MP3 player. You can store up to 100 songs and transfer them via the USB which is, get this, on the side of the shoe! The other pair, covered with a computer keyboard, were unveiled at the 14th China International Clothing and Accessories Fair in Beijing and won the top prize in the sports category at the 6th Hong Kong Footwear Design Contest. Geekiness and whiteness aside, what are your thoughts on high tech footwear?

Originally Syndicated via RSS from geeksugar — Geek is chic.

Written by Trend Spotter on May 31, 2007 | No Comments

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Wind-Up Triceratops Pencil Sharpener

Wind-Up Walking Triceratops Pencil Sharpener (Images courtesy Vat19)

Remember the Wind-Up Robot Pencil Sharpener I wrote about last year? Well now there’s an alternative for those prefer the past over the future. And by past I mean the late Cretaceous Period since this pencil sharpener is shaped like a Triceratops.

Like his robot counterpart the Triceratops can be used to sharpen a pencil which at the same time winds up a mechanism allowing him to lumber across your desk. There’s also a key provided for winding him up when all your pencils are sharp, or if you’re like me and live in the 21st century and haven’t seen a pencil in over 5 years. It also has a built-in reservoir for holding pencil shavings that can be emptied by simply opening his head.

The multi-purpose Triceratops can be found at Vat19 for $6.50.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from OhGizmo!

Written by Trend Spotter on May 31, 2007 | No Comments

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$19,000 TEAC’s VPI HR-X1 Turntable

teac-turntable_12
If you have a taste for high-end audio and don?t mind spending richly for a hi-end craftsmanship then the run-of-the-mill speakers and audio systems then this $19,000 TEAC’s VPI HR-X1 turntable is meant to satiate your affluent tastes! The VPI HR-X from TEAC features a belt driven, 50-mm thick acrylic plate which floats on an air suspension system at 33.3 or 45rpm. The turntable features 24 extremely, 300rpm AC synchronous motors and it weighs approximately 52.5kg. But, in case you are considering buying this, we have another option in the same range, $19,000 ClearAudio Master Reference Turntable.

via Blavish / Engadget

Originally Syndicated via RSS from BornRich

Written by Trend Spotter on May 31, 2007 | No Comments

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Paperweights Make You Seem Very Busy And Important

By Evan Ackerman

Okay, okay, we get it. It’s a paperweight that looks like a piece of crumpled paper. It’s witty, it’s ironic, but is it useful? Here is what I suggest: buy a bunch of these paperweights, leave them strewn about your desk, and whenever anyone approaches you with some new task, glare at them angrily from behind your sturdy fortress of faux crumpled paper. If they don’t leave you alone because they think you’re massively busy, they’ll leave you alone because they think you’re massively nuts. And if all else fails, there’s always long range bombardment… Despite their substantial weight, the paperweights are made largely of vinyl and have no hard edges. $28 each.