Security Expert Finds A Wrench In The Internet - NPR

Security Expert Finds A Wrench In The Internet - NPR

Oracle issues out-of-cycle patch for flaw
Apache plugin flaw the first to cause the company to release an off-cycle warning

Dublin open to cyber muggers - Sunday Business Post

More reasons not to buy an iPhone: Remote wipe of 'unauthorised' applications
As if anyone still needs another reason to know that buying an iPhone is a really bad idea, here is another one: Apparently, Apple can remotely wipe any applications that it doesn't agree with. On your iPhone. Without you having a say in it.

Lenovo posts ingains on strong laptop sales
Lenovo reports strong results for its most recent quarter

Freeview and HDMI cables for $23 vs $90!
We've got Sky, but decided yesterday to get a Freeview box to get the additional Kids channel plus more importantly at the moment - to get the extra Olympic channel.

The other benefit of getting Freeview HD is that we'd finally be able to make use of the HD capability of our Sony Bravia V-Series tv.

I have to admit that I didn't spend a lot of time researching the options, but the Zinwell ZMT-620HD @ $399 seemed a reasonable deal. For a short time I contemplated putting a card into my media PC, but I wanted something that "just goes" versus something that *may* involve updating drivers, upgrading my PC (because it may be underpowered) etc. etc.

Overall, I'm impressed with the ease of setup.
Plugged it in, selected the auto-scan option and was running within 2 minutes.
The clarity is amazing - although as somebody mentioned on TV recently, the problem is now that you see what people (eg presenters) really look like (flaws and all) - which may not be a good thing in some cases!
The Electronic Program Guide (EPG) is very good, although I have had a few issues where I couldn't get it to come up (might be bad batteries in the remote).

Note: We already had an appropriate antenna, so all I needed to do was unplug the antenna cable from the TV, plug it into the Freeview box, then use another cable from the Freeview back to the TV.

My only gripe would have to be the lack of HDMI cable with the box!
Kinda makes sense that if you're buying an HD Freeview box that you want HDMI??
They included component and composite, but no HDMI.

I asked at the store that I got the Freeview box from about HDMI cables and got the usual "Oh, you'll need the $90 HDMI cable then". From what I've read (after googling "HDMI cable scam"), it appears this is common around New Zealand.

Personally, I went to Dragon PC (www.dragonpc.co.nz) and grabbed a 3m HDMI cable with Lifetime warranty manufactured by Dynamix - for the grand total of around $23!

Now back to the olympics....

Telecom... 850MHz WCDMA/HSDPA announcement coming?
Rumours are going around that Telecom New Zealand will announce tomorrow nationwide deployment of 850 MHz UMTS (WCDMA/HSDPA).

Telecom's original plans were for 850MHz GSM/EDGE in rural areas and 2100MHz WCDMA in the cities.

Let's see what is happening, tomorrow...

The i-9-11 event and the end of the Internet as we know it
After the terrible events of September 11, 2001 it didn't take long for a piece of legislature to be passed in the US, called the Patriot Act. That is a massive set of laws ostensibly designed to help in the fight against terrorism, with the initiall... (more in the full post)

My iPod repair experience (so far)
Well, my iPod touch has a broken Home Button which happened last week.

This is actually my first time with a repair for any product, so I've only got a small idea of what to say and do.

Here is my experience so far:

• Saturday: Went to Noel Leeming. Explained that the Home button broke and one of the staff even had a go at it.
   
  This was the strange part - they told me to contact Renaissance directly and get a cardboard box to free post to them. At that time it was strange really, as:
   
  1. I would expect the retailer to manage the repair process
  2. Renaissance usually doesn't make direct contact to customers like me.
   
  I was reassured and so was written a phone number for Renaissance.
   
   
  What a load of crap that was - as...
   
• Wednesday: Contacted Renaissance. Was asked a few questions. Then faxed a paper to fill in to fax back.
   
• Thursday: Renaissance representatives contact us. Told us that they don't manage cases directly with customers.
   
  Damn. What a waste of time that was.
   
• Thursday: Went to Noel Leeming again. This time they actually took in the iPod for repair. Signed the repair confirmation, and was told it would take around 10-15 working days (or 2-3 normal weeks)

This is as far as I've gotten right now.

Any experiences or comments to post?