A British company has developed a video camera that can see right through your clothing at up to 80 feet away using what they call “passive image technology”. According to Reuters, the Thruvision T5000 camera won’t show any body traits (remember the Night Vision DV camera debacle), is harmless, and can detect hidden objects such as guns, drugs and bombs. The device will be shown off at this month’s Britain’s Home Office exhibition.
You won’t believe your eyes, but this guy ‘tight ropes’ the umbrella (I’m talking all his weight), slices a watermelon in half in one swing, and beats the piss out of a heavy bag. Apparently the Philippines President’s secret service carry these things.
If you often fall victim to coworker computer harassment (aka they IM your girlfriend and say utterly unbelievable things) then remember to lock your computer when you leave your desk. The TF2000 Proximity sensor does all the heavy lifting remembering for you by automatically locking your computer when you walk away. It’s a super basic proximity sensor, so don’t expect it to recognize your face; you’ll still have to punch in your password to get back to your web surfing. I am sure it could get annoying as it probably has a tendency to autolock when you don’t want it to, but the included software, which also tracks keystrokes while locked, allows you to adjust its sensitivity.
According to Digital Trends, for the next 6 months London Heathrow Airport and Emirates Airlines are testing RFID tagging to track luggage. Not just for internal airport use, the traveler will also receive text message updates as to the location of their bags. Hopefully all will bode well with Emirates Airlines and Heathrow, and the rest of the airport World will roll this technology out. It will be interesting to see how this system addresses the ‘lost luggage’ concern. No doubt this will draw some privacy concerns, though.
If you’ve got the paranoid itch, then you might want to invest in one of these. The Teleport 2.0 is essentially a dongle that connects your phone to your computer via USB. The included software (Windows only) does the rest, recording the call and the number dialed or received. Looks like it won’t do cell phones, but a USB to USB version would be useful.
Yesterday I wrote about Alert Me. Well, I guess the folks at Ingrid are ultra diligent because they contacted me today with their offering. It turns out InGrid is far more affordable (kits range from $129 - $399 and they offer discounts with a yearly contract). The monthly service fee is a bit more, though, $29/month. I don’t see a Key Fob system, which made Alert Me ‘creepy cool’, but InGrid does offer a fully integrated cordless handset. From the handset - there’s also a console - you can name each respective sensor, monitor a baby’s room, make phone calls, store up to 99 contacts, arm or disarm the system and more. Much like Alert Me, InGrid will send you an email or text in the event that the system is alerted.
Alert Me sounds like a good idea, but the reality of it is that it’s flawed. First let me tell you what it is before I start trampling all over the product. Alert Me is essentially a water downed alarm system for your home (aka personalized alarm system). It uses the power of the Internet, sensors and key FOBs. You simply setup the home base, connect it to the Internet, set your preferences and ‘whamo’, you’re in business. Easiestly the coolest feature are the key FOBs. The system will detect when the FOBs are in range confirming a verified presence. If your kids don’t toss the FOBs in the river on day one, then you’ll also be able to see when they’ve arrived home safely through Alert Me’s website - you can view all your alerts and status updates there as well.
Included in the package are a number of sensors that you can place through out your home to detect unsolicited entry. If someone does decided to perform a good old ’smash and grab’ (my ode to “Oceans 11″) Alert Me will send you a text message notifying you of the situation. Now here is where it get’s flawed. Alert Me suggests that you have neighbor and/or friends receive the text messages as well. They can then go and check and see if everything is a-okay and call the police, or fire department as necessary. Personally, I wouldn’t wanna be the neighbor risking my neck only to find an axe murder stealing silverware, and end up a chopped bloody mess all because my neighbor was too cheap to get an alarm system (deep breath). In the event that your broadband or power goes out (yes, it requires those) the system will utilize battery power and the old school cell phone based Internet - GPRS - (not sure if it’s built-in or you have to plug in a cell phone to it) to communicate with the Alert Me servers.
According to OhGizmo, it’ll cost you $790 and $23 a month.
I just stumbled across this while reading this month’s issue of Popsci. Have you ever worried about a crook snagging your card and ordering high end goods over the phone? Well, the Beepcard contains a prototype paper-thin speaker, microphone and voice-recognition chip. In order to use the card the user must speak into the card - yes the card - and if the recorded sample is a match, the card will send “high frequency, hard-to-fake beeps over the phone or a computer microphone, signaling the credit card company to authorize the transaction”. I am not sure if it can have multiple users, but Beepcard is market ready and they’re currently looking for partners.
If you often fall victim to coworker computer harassment (aka they IM your girlfriend and say utterly unbelievable things) then remember to lock your computer when you leave your desk. The TF2000 Proximity sensor does all the 
I just stumbled across this while reading this month’s issue of Popsci. Have you ever worried about a crook snagging your card and ordering high end goods over the phone? Well, the Beepcard contains a prototype paper-thin speaker, microphone and voice-recognition chip. In order to use the card the user must speak into the card - yes the card - and if the recorded sample is a match, the card will send “high frequency, hard-to-fake beeps over the phone or a computer microphone, signaling the credit card company to authorize the transaction”. I am not sure if it can have multiple users, but Beepcard is market ready and they’re currently looking for partners.