Due to "security concerns" the FSB has requested that the Communications Ministry demand that all cellular telephone encryption be deactivated for 24-hours, according an article in The Moscow Times. Thankfully, the phones (GSM mostly) will display icons that indicate the encryption is disabled and many customers will receive SMS messages …

The results are in, PC Magazine has tallied the votes, and the Apple Macintosh is clearly sitting atop the computer industry in terms of service and reliability. Dell was also rated an overall A+, with somewhat lesser rankings in some of the areas than Apple. Compaq continues its streak in …

The positive reviews for Apple's new iSight camera and iChat AV software continue to roll in. This time, it's Popular Mechanics adding their kudos for the pair. Once again, the comparison is made to Microsoft's MSN Messenger offering, but once again, the issue of tight integration has given the Apple …

SendStation has announced that they will be releasing an adapter from a standard 6-wire FireWire cable to the new 3G docking connector on the iPod. Although a bit pricey at $16.95, those who travel often and prefer to keep the number of cables down will find it very nice …

With all of the disruption over copying music online, maybe the record industry should read this article from BBC News, based on information provided by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The organization claims that over one billion counterfeit CDs will be sold worldwide this year. Now, our friends …

In a win for privacy advocates and a loss for technologists and the RFID industry, Wal-Mart has decided to abort their trial of the controversial technology for inventory control, reports CNet. The company claims that they never finished installing the shelf and never received any RFID products from their partner …

Reuters has article quoting a new article from the Journal of the Royal Society for Medicine entitled "Stonehenge: a view from medicine." The author claims to have determined that Stonehenge is actually an enormous scale model of the female genitalia. Although I couldn't get the actual article, I did at …

Although the press announcements were about the upgrade, I'd never heard of the program Maxi Bidder from Colourfull Creations before yesterday. The software is a $9.95 program for doing eBay sniping from a Macintosh. Sniping is the practice of lurking until a few seconds before the bidding is complete …

A review from eWeek has now hit the web, and the word on 5.1 is pretty good. 5.1 has some big changes from 5.0, including the support for nearly double the number of processor architectures and a complete revamp of the way the kernel handles SMP (symmetric …

In a fine example of what is wrong with the kinds of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) created by the post-9/11 USA Patriot Act, the Washington Post has an article about some of the indecencies and inconveniences caused to Muslim-Americans. The article discusses the uproar about Monster removing all …

Mobile Burn has an article with pictures of the Sony Ericsson P810, the upcoming successor to the popular P800. Features rumored to be in this version: Much thinner, metal case 1.3 mega-pixel camera

An interesting article from The Scotsman tells of a school in Leicester, The Midlands, UK that has decided not to accept free fruit from the government because the food is to be funded by the National Lottery. The school's students are 96% Muslim and the parents were surveyed before the …

An article from SlashDot is reporting that Guido van Rossum is leaving Zope.com. Guido is the original creator of the Python programming language. The article says that he is going to a startup called 'Elemental Security' that will be creating a security product using Python.

Armadillo Aerospace (the X-Prize entry lead by John Carmack), has announced that they have successfully tested their re-entry vehicle. Complete (or perhaps replete) with pictures and MPEG video.

Thanks to a pointer from SlashDot, I found my way to an article from GTW Associates (a firm that consults on international standards and trade policy) about a relatively obscure, but potentially important decision by the Supreme Court not to hear the appeal in a copyright case. The case deals …

The Washington Post is reporting that a student from GMU (George Mason University) is in a bit of a bind. His previously "tedious and unimportant" (his professor's words) PhD dissertation is now a very hot commodity in security circles and may be classified by the US Government if he isn't …

ABC News reports that the Hotel Valencia in San Jose, California, has just finished a significant information systems deployment that has resulted in one of the most technologically advanced hotels in the nation. Among its interesting technologies are: A card-reader-armed doorman who can confirm your reservation, check you in, and …

An article from SpaceToday.net reports that NASA has finally launched Opportunity, NASA's new Mars rover. Further information about, and pictures from, the launch are available in the NASA feature piece. More information on the MER (Mars Exploration Rover) mission, and about Opportunity's twin, Spirit, are available on the NASA …

Gefen has announced a new USB extension product that will allow you to communicate with USB devices that are 1,650 feet away using fiber optic cable. Thanks to a pointer from MacCentral, we were turned on to the latest product in Gefen's extension empire. The company has long been …

Thanks to RS, I have a better-late-than-never story about GSM roaming in the US. A press release from AT&T Wireless indicates that a deal was struck in April that would allow joint roaming between the AT&T and T-Mobile GSM networks starting in June of this year. The fine …