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Someone has claimed to have hacked the Advanced Access Copy System (AACS) copy protection used on HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs and posted the script and a video to “prove it.” Claiming to have spent just 8 days tweaking some code, a web forum poster created BackupHDDVD, a Java app that will apparently decode a movie and store it to a PC hard drive. As the Home Media article points out, HD discs do include a second level of protection that was not claimed to be hacked and companies will certainly work to counteract the hack.

My favorite response to the YouTube video posted: “Sad that your next video will be from Prison.”

Think it was really hacked? Let us know what you think or if you can verify that it actually works.

Read [Home Media] Read [Uninnovate] Original Forum Posts [Doom9]

If you step into an Apple store in a shopping mall, chances are you’ll see an area with demos of the different iPod versions, MacBooks, as well as Macs. Then there’ll be Apple software, accessories and peripherals on the other side of the store. That’s quite typical for a PC retail store, right? But reports say that Apple stores rake in more profits per square foot compared to big retailers like Best Buy and even beat luxury retailer Tiffany & Co.

So what are the differences between an Apple store and any other retailer? Probably many, as reported in this article by Red Herring, but based on personal observation, I’d say it is about location, product specialty and product placement.

Best Buy and Tiffany & Co. are perfect retailers to compare Apple against. In Best Buy, products are somewhat cramped together and they’re not specialized. People come in to buy a variety of products at Best Buy, not just a specific brand/product. In an Apple store, products are displayed welcomingly with lots of space for people to move and play around with products.

Although products are well placed and quite specialized at Tiffany & Co., they are a high end retailer and not located in places where everybody just drops in and feels welcome. Compare that to Apple who, even though they offer considerably high end products, have locations in places that even an average Joe wouldn’t mind dropping by and can still feel welcome.

Not to say that people wouldn’t feel welcome at a Best Buy or Tiffany & Co. but someone could get overwhelmed with the amount of products at Best Buy, while others could feel unwelcome in high end luxury retailers like Tiffany & Co. Apple just does a better job of making their retail stores inviting and welcoming - IMHO.

Read [MacNN]
Read [RedHerring]

Tired of using those cassette deck interfaces to connect your MP3 player to your car stereo so you can crank the tuneage while cruisin’ around town? (I still haven’t found a decent wireless transmitter.)

Sony’s new car stereo should solve at least some of that problem - and not just by playing MP3s from CDs (though it’ll do that, too). The Sony CDX-GT610U and Sony CDX-GT616U Car CD Players/Tuners will include a front panel USB port, allowing for plug-and-play goodness from any digital audio player. For an extra bonus, use it with a Sony Walkman and you can control the player from the tuner or from a tiny remote (which is really only good for back-seat drivers) while simultaneously charging the player. It’ll also display the artist data, and besides MP3s, play WMA, AAC or ATRAC files as well. Set for release in January 2007, the Sony site says it is only available in Canada, so get your international calculator ready.

Read [Unbeatable] Site [Sony]

Keepin’ warm and dry is supremely important to those who experience a white Christmas on a regular basis. Of course, if you want to get a bit more gadgety about being warm during winter months, a simple pair of mittens or an electric blanket just ain’t swank enough. PCMag’s staff came up with a list that includes a few decent, seasonal multitaskers, including:

• A heated jacket (twice as toasty)


• A Bluetooth-enabled woven winter hat (that beeping noise really is in, or on, your head)


• “Click Wheel” gloves (to control your MP3 player without going bare handed)


• Video camera goggles (perfect for skiing with a wireless web cam?)


• Earmuff audio headphones in the form of 180s (those form-fitting, wrap-around earmuffs, which I love)


• A heated doggie dish (my wife has a larger version for her horses)

Yup, I know the Zune has basically already come and gone but I was doing a little spring end-of-the-year cleaning and wanted to put these up. Overall the player was cool. I definitely like the scroll function on my nano more and wish the text would scroll across, as opposed to staying static (so you can’t read what the entire song title is as you search through). My other complaint was that after using the Zune for three weeks in NYC (on the street, subway, and trains to Conn) I have yet to run into a “social interaction” - the reason I bought the Zune in the first place. I know I could go on about the Zune but I’d rather you just enjoy the quick peep show and when the time is right, we can blog more about Microsoft’s DAP.

The Weather Station features a back-lit LCD screen, NOAA Emergency Alert System broadcasting (it’s the first home weather device to include NOAA), forecasting, atomic time, custom alarms and display templates. It also includes eight wireless indoor and outdoor sensors with a 300 ft. range to measure wind, rain, humidity and pressure. Honeywell will also demo a new atomic clock with dual projection forecast (PCR426, MSRP $99) and a flat touch pad and LCD display and three varieties of long range time and temperature products.

Now you only have yourself to blame for crappy weather predictions.

Site [Honeywell] Read [SmartHome]

• Swimming Fish Optical Mouse (cute)


• Horrified B-Movie Victims Play Set (NOT a gadget! but still fun)


• iPillow (cute and fluffy)


• My Pet Cam (cute and useful)


• Yoda Backpack ("Carry your crap, I will.")


• Flybar Pogo stick that can go four feet high (fun toy)


• Track Stick GPS Tracker to track your trip (cool)


• Programmable Drink Dispenser (dern cool but pricey)


• Wooden Digital Clock (carpenter cool - pictured above)


• Waterfall Fireplace (geek cool)

• WiiTar (a motion sensitive musical controller through a PC)


• Vibrator (via GayGamer.net and SlashDong, of course created by crashing the Wii browser)—NSFW hack


• Wireless PC Mouse (A joystick emulation application - GlovePIE - uses the bluetooth in the WiiMote to control the mouse cursor in Windows XP)


• Wireless Mac Mouse


• RC car controller


• The Uber Controller (Controls home electronics through the WACI NX server emulated through a Nokia 770)

Grand Illusions have created some very modern, stylish inkless pens, based on methods used as far back as medieval times.

Looking not much different from most other stainless steel pens, the only difference is that instead of the classic pen nib we’ve come to expect, a solid metal one awaits instead. Due to massive demand, the pen is currently out of stock, but more are expected soon. According to the manufacturers, on standard paper, the pen leaves a similar effect to that of a graphite pencil, with one major difference. No smudges, and rubbers don’t stand a chance. With no ink to use up, the pen can supposedly last forever, but after heavy use, I imagine that the metal alloy would wear down eventually. Priced at just $30, the pen is poised to be a major hit.

Via [PopGadget]

We would like to welcome Delta Taph to Gadgetell, 12-year old ProBlogger and Web 2.0 Professional.

Recently, Lego has been trying their very best to appeal to the geeky crowd, as we’ve seen with their fantastic Lego Mindstorms set. But it seems that some fans were unimpressed, and took matters into their own hands.

We’ve already seen the incredible feats that can be performed with the newest Mindstorms NXT packages, but did you know that you can open up a bottle of beer using these spiffy little packs? It seems so as in this video above, you can see the home-built Lego beer opener. The device is slightly larger than conventional openers, and is also a lot slower. But this kind of enthusiasm could give birth to a whole new generation of home-created Lego devices. What next? Let your imagination decide…

Read [Gizmodo]