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Doorbusting at Long Island Walmart leads to worker’s death 28 November 2008 at 1:05 pm by admin

Remember that completely insane crime wave that hit when Sony’s hotly anticipated PlayStation 3 finally rushed onto the scene in very limited numbers? Yeah, well that side of humanity is rearing its ugly head again, as an employee perished when legions of crazed Black Friday shoppers blazed through the doors of a Long Island Walmart. The worker was an overnight store clerk who was simply trying to hold back the crowds before the doors officially opened at 5:00AM. According to Jimmy Overby, another employee at the store: “They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me.” Words to the wise: either do your Black Friday shopping from the safety of your own home, or be careful, cool, calm and collected when you venture out.

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Doorbusting at Long Island Walmart leads to worker’s death originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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+ Oklahoma town provides real-time streaming from cop cars, free WiFi to residents By admin 23 November 2008 at 1:51 pm and have No Comments

Traffic wardens over in the UK have been wielding handheld camcorders for well over a year now, but Ponca City, Oklahoma is making waves here in America with a slightly more sophisticated alternative. In conjunction with Honeywell, the town is implementing a broadband mesh network comprised of over 490 wireless nodes and gateways from Tropos Networks, and aside from providing free WiFi to some 30 square miles of residents, it’s also hoping to use the abundant connectivity to help public safety. For instance, the city has installed wireless video cameras in police vehicles so “dispatchers and supervisors can monitor activities during traffic stops, and quickly deploy additional officers and resources if necessary.” ‘Course, that’s just the official word — everyone and their mother knows this is just the beginning of “C.O.P.S.: Live in Oklahoma.”

[Via Slashdot, image courtesy of CanMag]

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Oklahoma town provides real-time streaming from cop cars, free WiFi to residents originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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+ Keep Your Laptop Safe When Travelling [Laptops] By admin 24 October 2008 at 3:01 pm and have No Comments

pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/10/laptop-safety.png” width=”305″ height=”226″ align=”right” hspace=”4″ vspace=”2″ align=”right” /Tech blogger Chris Pirillo offers 10 practical tips for keeping your notebook safe on the road. His tips run the gamut from the very simple (pad your case) to the more technical (set a BIOS password), so it’s a great checklist to rundown to make sure you’re doing everything you can. In general the post covers broad tips for keeping your laptop safe, but if theft protection is more specifically your concern, check out our guide to a href=”http://lifehacker.com/5044029/how-to-set-up-a-laptop-security-system”setting up a laptop security system/a. div class=”related”a href=”http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/10/23/10-tips-to-keep-your-notebook-safe-when-traveling/”10 Tips to Keep Your Notebook Safe when Traveling/a [Chris Pirillo via a href="http://www.ofzenandcomputing.com/zanswers/1417"Of Zen and Computing/a]/div/p br style=”clear: both;”/
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+ Nissan readies pilot for road-cam / slip-hazard alert services By admin 21 October 2008 at 2:33 am and have No Comments

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Way back in 2005, we got wind of a Bluetooth-based telematics systems for cars dubbed Carwings. Now, Nissan is gearing up to launch two safety pilots which will rely on — you guessed it — Carwings HDD navigation systems. First up is the slip-hazard alert, which marries data from the ITS (Intelligent Transport System) and ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) in order to warn drivers of slippery road conditions. In addition to that, the recently concocted road-cam service can “enhance the effectiveness of the alert service by offering drivers a visual image” of surroundings. The company will make the slip-hazard alert and the new road-cam service available to all Carwings customers (in Japan) beginning next month, with the latter hitting first (in November) and the former second (in December). Oh, and did we mention the upgrades will be completely gratis? Because they will be.

[Via Wired]

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+ Five Best Windows Firewalls [Hive Five] By admin 12 October 2008 at 11:00 am and have No Comments

Connecting your laptop to the local coffee shop’s Wi-Fi without a good firewall and thinking you’re secure is like using a condom with thousands of holes in it and calling it safe sex. Your antivirus application is a good start, but if you want to make sure you’re computer is safe while you’re connected to the internet, a solid firewall is a must. Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite Windows firewall, and today we’re back with the five most popular answers. Keep reading for a closer look at the five best Windows firewalls, then cast your vote for your favorite.

Comodo Firewall Pro (Freeware)

Comodo Firewall Pro is a powerful, free firewall utility. The application’s simple, clean interface belies its power, but make no mistake: Comodo is an excellent firewall packed with advanced options. In addition to the firewall, Comodo also comes packaged with an anti-malware tool called Defense+. If all you want is the firewall, be sure to select that option during installation.

ESET Smart Security (Shareware)

ESET Smart Security comes from the same company that makes NOD32, one of the five most popular antivirus applications. ESET Smart Security includes the NOD32 Antivirus along with a firewall and anti-spam filter. As a full-service solution, ESET Smart Security isn’t cheap at $60, but a 30-day trial is available. Like NOD32, Smart Security is a powerful tool with a small memory footprint.

ZoneAlarm Free Firewall (Freeware)

ZoneAlarm is a free software firewall from a company called Check Point. Not only does ZoneAlarm detect inbound intrusions, but it also lets you set per-application limits for outbound connections—meaning you can stop Google Chrome or iTunes from phoning home whenever they want, for example.

Your Router’s Built-In Firewall

Despite our request for a software firewall, many of you were still adamant about sticking with the firewall that’s built into the router you’re using on your home network. Fact is, if you don’t use your computer outside of your home, you don’t necessarily need a software firewall—and you don’t have to run a separate application eating up RAM to get great firewall protection. However, as soon as you and your laptop leave the safety of your home, your laptop has essentially no protection if you don’t set up some sort of software firewall. So while your router’s firewall may be great, just remember: It can’t follow you out the door.

Windows Firewall

Arguing that it gets a bad rap because it’s a Microsoft product, many of you are perfectly happy with the default Windows Firewall. It’s built directly into Windows, runs quietly in the background, and blocks suspicious attacks without requiring you to install any third-party software.


Now that you’ve seen the best on the block as chosen by your peers, it’s time to vote for the firewall solution you like best.
Which Is the Best Windows Firewall?
( surveys)
Whether your favorite made the short list or not, let’s hear more about your firewall of choice in the comments.

+ SLAM Helmet Maps Room to Help Rescuers Navigate Through Smoke [Laser Helmet] By admin 10 October 2008 at 4:50 pm and have No Comments

Researchers are using a technique called simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) to develop helmets that rescue workers can use to navigate through heavy smoke. The helmet features an infrared laser scanner and software that bounces signals off walls and uses that data to create a map of the surrounding area.

The software also filters out variables like swaying and head-bobbing that could confuse the signal. Obviously, this technology is a long way from being implemented in the real world (as you can see from the crude helmet pictured here), but I can see how it could be a big help to rescue workers if some sort of monitor was added to the helmet or it was integrated into a handheld device. [New Scientist]

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