Hasta La Gadget!

Bowers & Wilkins has released the new A7 AirPlay wireless music system. As its name suggests, the speaker features Apple’s AirPlay technology that wirelessly streams high-quality lossless audio or MP3s from iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or iTunes on a Mac or a PC straight to A7. The Bowers & Wilkins A7 also provides the company’s highly-acclaimed Nautilus tweeters, a 6-inch Kevlar reinforced subwoofer, and five dedicated audiophile Class D amplifiers. The Bowers & Wilkins A7 AirPlay wireless music system is priced at $799. [Product Page]

I always loved playing with my Spirograph when I was a little kid. Of course, now with tablet and computer painting apps, it’s hard to imagine going back to such a simple creative plaything. But sometimes, simplicity is fun too. One graffiti artist still loves his Spirograph, and it inspired him to make a giant one.

Using the basic principles behind the original Spirograph, street artist Narcélio Grud bent a large metal rod into a circle, and then attached a rig which allows a set of smaller wheels (made from bicycles) to spin around on the inside and holds the spray can button down. As he turns the wheel, a rotating geometric pattern appears, just like with the original Spirograph toy. Adjusting a couple of bolts that hold the spray can let him create a virtually infinite number of patterns. Here, check it out in action:

While the effect isn’t as precise as using a pen and paper, it’s still a cool idea, and I’d love to see someone make a motorized version of this thing sometime.

[via Rebelart via Nerdcore (DE)]

Off Justice’s 2007 debut †, DVNO is terrific dance of a tune. There’s really not much to say about it other than it’s a catchy, upbeat dance/disco/electro-house(?) joint with a fantastic bass-line. It came up on my shuffle and I had to pass along the love. Just listen to it. And then listen to it again. Lather, rinse, repeat. More »

Mobile security company Intrepidus Group presented evidence during the EUSecWest security conference potentially identifying a major flaw in at least two US transit systems. Creating an Android app named “UltraReset” and using it in tandem with an NFC-enabled Android phone (a Nexus S, in this case), security researchers Corey Benninger and Max Sobell were able to reset and reuse — free of charge — transit access cards in both San Francisco’s MUNI system and New Jersey’s PATH system. Before you go getting any bad ideas, know that Benninger and Sobell haven’t released the app for public use, and warned both transit systems in late 2011 (though neither region has fixed the exploit, the duo claim). PATH and MUNI share a common chip access card — the Mifare Ultralight — which can apparently be reset for 10 extra rides (as demonstrated on video below) via Android phones with NFC, an OS newer than 2.3.3 (Gingerbread). Starting to sound familiar?

Intrepidus is, however, releasing a modified version of the app, named “UltraCardTester.” The modified app functions just like its nefarious progenitor, except it can’t add time to cards (see it in action below). The app can tell you how many rides you have left, and if a system is open to exploit, but it won’t assist you in the act of exploiting. We reached out to both New Jersey’s PATH and San Francisco MUNI on the issue, but have yet to hear back as of publishing.

Continue reading Security researchers identify transit system exploit in San Fran and New Jersey, create app to prove it

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Wireless, Software, Mobile

Security researchers identify transit system exploit in San Fran and New Jersey, create app to prove it originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 19:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iranians have been having trouble accessing YouTube, Gmail and other Google services for some time now, but their digital world may be growing even smaller — Iran announced today that it plans to shuffle citizens onto its own domestic version of the web. Reuters reports that officials plan to connect citizens to the national information network that’s currently in use at government agencies. Iran hopes to complete the transition by March of next year, and is already taking steps to isolate its population from certain international services. “Google and Gmail will be filtered throughout the country until further notice,” an Iranian official added, noting that the ban would commence in “a few hours.”

Some locals, such as the Iranian Students’ News Agency, are attributing the ban to recent protests sparked by a trailer for an anti-Islamic film on YouTube called Innocence of Muslims, but the government has made no official comment on the reason behind the ban. The state isn’t clear on the fate of the global internet in Iran, either — although it has talked about creating an isolated national network before. Here’s hoping the new network will be a compliment to the Persian web, and not a substitute.

[Image credit: yeowatzup, Flickr]

Filed under: Internet

Iran announces plans to create isolated local internet system, fate of global access unknown originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 18:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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