Hasta La Gadget!

Update: Skype has informed us that the security flaw is now resolved and that the password reset process has been updated accordingly. Check out Skype’s official statement after the break.

Skype users have something to worry about. Russian hackers found out that anyone can hack a user’s Skype account by using the email address tied to that account. When a person knows the email address of a Skype user, he or she can use that email address to create a new Skype account. Obviously Skype cannot create a new account from the email address because it’s already being used. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: India wants to monitor Google and Skype as well, Skype for Mac OS X vulnerability fixed,

Google created its Google Mars service as a spinoff from Google Earth back in 2009. Since that launch, most of the satellite images offered of Mars were relatively low resolution. That has all changed now with an update for Google Mars that makes the images even sharper than what Google offers of our own planet in many areas.

This week Google Mars received major update thanks to high-definition images sent back from orbit around Mars from the Context Camera. The Context Camera is one of the instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The high-resolution images allow viewers to drill down to a resolution of 20 feet per pixel.

Typically, Google Earth images have a resolution of 50 feet per pixel. If you have Google Earth, you can access Google Mars by clicking on the orange Saturn-shaped button at the top of the screen on Google Earth. It is worth noting that Google Earth does have higher-resolution images for some cities down to as low as 12-inches per pixel.

Before this month’s update, the only high-resolution images on Mars had been provided by the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The gray bands you see in the image above are areas covered with the Context Camera update.

[via Business Insider]

Google Mars images are sharper than Google Earth images is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

USB flash drives are becoming smaller and smaller, and thus easier to misplace. I’ve lost a couple, and that’s one of the reasons why I don’t buy any new ones, because they’d probably end up lost as well. At least the tiny LaCie PetiteKey will fit onto your keyring, so unless you lose your whole set of keys you won’t lose it too. It also won’t look out of place on your keychain, since it’s not too large and looks like a key.

The PetiteKey is not the first LaCie USB flash drive that looks like a key, but this one is much smaller. It’s waterproof, scratch-resistant and completely covered in metal. It also has encryption software, but what I like best is that it blends well with the other keys on most keychains.

It’s available right now at LaCie’s website. Prices range from $14.99(USD) for the 8GB model to $39.99 for the 32GB model.

[via Ubergizmo]

The first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones will go on sale “not too long after” they’re officially revealed on January 30, RIM’s COO has insisted, countering speculation that retail launches could drag significantly. The new devices will be 100-percent ready by the time of the unveil, Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear told Reuters, in contrast to the BlackBerry PlayBook launch which saw the tablet publicly revealed months ahead of software finalization.

RIM has declined to give a specific date when sales will begin, a hedge which Tear says is because of the complex carrier approvals process. “We have to agree with carriers as well on what they want to announce when, so it’s not absolutely to our own discretion” Tear explained, a process the Canadian company said began on October 31.

“We’re working hard right now to make sure all the bits and pieces and all the details are in place for the date, when the devices will be available for consumers and enterprises” Tear said, with a considerable number of networks considering the devices. “We submitted to 50 carriers to begin with, and obviously that number is increasing as we move forward.”

RIM had aimed to get the first BlackBerry 10 phones on the market before 2012 was through, but the company took the decision to postpone the release so as to make sure the platform was entirely ready. That – although arguably sensible given the PlayBook debacle – prompted hand-wringing among analysts, who suggested the smartphones may not in fact reach stores until the end of March next year.

Tear seems confident, however, that retail availability will be a matter of days or weeks, not months. “Our ambition is to make this a global launch,” he said, “everything will not happen at the same time, but it will be a global launch.”

Figures released earlier today suggested RIM’s market share in the global smartphone arena dropped to 2.1-percent in Q3 2012, down 0.8-percent year on year.

BlackBerry 10 sales “not too long after” January reveal insists COO is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

EA has announced that the demo for the new open world racing game Need for Speed Most Wanted is available right now. The demo is available for download for both PS3 and Xbox 360 gamers via the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. The game launched officially on October 30, but there may have been some players out there holding out for the demo to decide if they wanted to spend the money or not.

The demo starts players behind the wheel of one of the coolest cars in the game including the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Porsche 911 Carrera S, Audi R8 GT Spyder, and the Ford Focus RS500. Those three additional cars are hidden in different areas of Fairhaven forcing players to search them out to drive them.

Each of the vehicles has its own unique races, challenges, and modifications that players can unlock. The game features Autolog 2 allowing for social competition when you’re online giving people the chance to beat rival times in certain races and other challenges. Players can rack up to 50,000 Speed Points playing the demo, which carry over into the full game.

Need for Speed Most Wanted offers seamless, nonstop multiple player action with no lobbies. The game also promises different events with persistent scoring and unlimited rewards. The game has received high scores in reviews and has proven to be one more popular games in the franchise.

Need for Speed Most Wanted demo now available for PS3 and Xbox 360 is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.