Hasta La Gadget!

Given that the memories of that classified DAP fiasco are still fresh on our brains, this one’s a bit less shocking than it might otherwise be. Sure, we’ve heard of scatterbrained MI6 agents selling confidential digital cameras on eBay, but it’s another thing entirely to see multiple US Army laptops making their way out to unsanctioned trading posts in Pakistan. A new report over at Military and GlobalPost explains that some high-tech gadgets are being confiscated on supply routes and from within vehicles, and from there, the wares are making their way to black market shops for anyone to buy. Anything from ruggedized computers to stabilized binoculars to night vision mounts have been spotted, and there’s plenty of pictures to prove it. We must say, we’re a bit worried about detailed war schematics slipping so easily into the hands of the enemy, but who knows, maybe they’re just looking for a little Minesweeper action to take their minds away from it all.

[Thanks, Jamie]

Read – Gear on black market
Read – Pictures to prove it

Filed under: Laptops

US military laptops, other gear filtering out to black market originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aw, lookie here — a happy ending! That suddenly popular Chris Ogle — you know, the New Zealander who accidentally purchased an MP3 player full of classified US Army documents from a thrift store — is basking in the glory of his 14th minute of fame. According to a new report from Reuters, Mr. Ogle peacefully handed the device back over to US authorities, and for his cooperation, a brand spanking new player was handed over to him. It’s unclear what kind of unit he received and if it was your tax money paying for it, but we get the feeling we’ll never truly know answers to either question. As for Ogle’s next move? We hear he’s jockeying for a guest spot on Flight of the Conchords.

Filed under: Portable Audio

New Zealander gives classified DAP back to US, gets a new one in exchange originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, envision this — a Mars rover of sorts, but on the battlefield. In a nutshell, that’s what engineers and researchers at MIT have created. The so-called semi-autonomous forklift could be loosed in war zones in order to unload cargo and move supplies for soldiers. Obviously, having humans behind unwieldy crates isn’t the most ideal scenario when bullets are flying, so enlisting a robot for such duties is clearly preferable. The bot can even be remotely controlled, and an array of inbuilt sensors help to direct it around objects that can’t be seen from in the brush. Gurus behind the project are hoping to include voice / gesture recognition in future iterations, so that simply yelling “unload the truck!” could give the machine all the direction it needs. Come to think of it, we could use one of these buggers around the office — reshuffling hefty HDTVs can take a toll on one’s back, you know.

[Via PC World, image courtesy of OneMansBlog]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

MIT concocts semi-autonomous forklift for war zone unloading originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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