Posted 09/28/09 at 08:31:17 PM by Ryan Whitwam

If you’re the paranoid type, these new charts from The Environmental Working Group may be just what you’ve been looking for. They rate cell phones based on how much radiation they put out when placed to the ear. Cell phones emit radio-frequency radiation whenever you are using voice or data. This radiation is non-ionizing, but some groups claim there is a connection between cell phone use and cancer.

Among all phones the Samsumg Impression from AT&T had the lowest radiation output. It was closely followed by the Moto RAZR V8 for CellularOne. The Motorola MOTO VU204 and T-Mobile myTouch 3G both had the highest radiation levels. In the smartphone field, the Nokia 9300i had the lowest levels, and the Kyocera Jax S1300 was tied with the myTouch 3G for the highest.

If you don’t go in for the cell phone/cancer theory, the list may still be of some use. Just switch the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ labels, and consider the charts a measure of relative signal strength. Even if you are somehow giving yourself cancer, you’ll have really great signal while doing it. So,does cell phone radiation concern you?

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Posted 09/16/09 at 08:05:39 PM by Ryan Whitwam

A US Senate Subcommittee heard testimony Monday from cell phone safety researchers. The researchers said that more money was needed for… you guessed it, cell phone safety research. Their solution to this quandary is a one dollar government imposed tax on every mobile phone bill. These funds would go directly to further investigate the effects of cell phone use.
 
Devra Davis, of the University of Pittsburgh, claimed that additional study may support claims of mobile phones causing cancer. As a counterpoint, Linda Erdreich, of Exponent's Health Sciences Center for Epidemiology, cited current scientific studies demonstrating no causal effect. “The current scientific evidence does not demonstrate that wireless phones cause cancer or other adverse health effects," said Erdreich.

The safety researchers claim that cell phone radiation is causing damage to DNA, leading to cancer. Though, opponents are quick to point out that there is no known mechanism by which cell phones can damage DNA. Only two of the twelve senators on the committee managed to show up, so this probably isn’t going anywhere. If it were, would you be willing to foot the bill for additional research, or is it the manufacturer’s problem? Is it even necessary?

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Posted 08/20/09 at 11:36:48 AM by Paul Lilly

Got a beef with a 17-year-old girl? If so, one way not to settle it is to post a fake "Casual Encounters" Craigslist ad posing as the person you're peeved with. That's the lesson a Missouri woman is learning the hard way, who now faces felony cyber bullying charges for said ad.

A little history is in order here. After MySpace harassment led to a 13-year-old to commit suicide in the "MySpace Mom" case, Missouri changed its anti-harassment law to include cyber bullying, becoming the first state to enact such legislation. Violations are normally a misdemeanor, but Missouri's legislation allows for charges to be upgraded to a felony if the victim is under 18 and the suspect is over 20, a move intended to prevent adults from bullying minors.

In this case, 40-year-old Elizabeth Thrasher got into an argument with her ex-husband's current girlfriend on MySpace. The girlfriend's 17-year-old daughter got involved in the spat, and Thrasher ultimately ended up creating a fake personal ad on Craigslist and included the girl's photo, email address, and cell phone number.

If convicted, Thrasher could face up to four years in state prison and a $5,000 fine.

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Posted 06/24/09 at 05:20:39 PM by Andy Salisbury

Toshiba has taken note of the importance of digital security these days, and with that thought in mind they’ve released several new external hard drives for those that are hoping to keep their tracks thoroughly covered.

With the introduction of their new portable external hard drives, they’re hoping to make data security something that’s easily accessible to everyone (just so long as they have one of their drives). The drives will feature NTI BackupNow EZ software (for Windows users), which will allow the backup of an entire system with a click. It’ll also be able to scan your computer, and provide a personalized recommendation on the best way to cover your files.

There will also be password protection with up to 256-bit encryption. All of this will be accessed through a graphical interface, which Toshiba expects will make “backing up digital data easier than ever.”

“We’ve increased the level of protection offered by our personal storage products, while making them easier to use,” stated Manuel Camarena, product manager for consumer storage at Toshiba Storage Device Division. “Data backup usually isn’t a consumer’s first thought, but it is the most important consideration for preserving a lifetime of digital memories, entertainment libraries and the entire computer system.  Enhanced backup features combined with password-protected encryption create a true digital safety net that any consumer can use to protect against system failure and unauthorized access to their digital content.”

These drives are available now in 500GB and 320GB flavors, and will run you $149.99 and $119.99 respectively.

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Posted 04/16/09 at 10:22:34 AM by Paul Lilly

Perhaps further underscoring the benefit of owning an ultra-small, lightweight netbook, a woman was killed recently by a laptop computer that was lying flat on the backseat of her car before it smashed into her head following a fender bender.

Police say Heather Storey, who was hit by a tow truck, would have walked away from the scene unscathed had the laptop not been in the backseat. Or in a laptop bag. Or secured properly. Or in the front seat.

Our condolences go out to Storey's family and friends, and our warning goes out to you: Secure those gadgets before hitting the road.

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Posted 03/30/09 at 06:14:14 PM by Andy Salisbury

According to Google, if you’ve got valuable documents out on their Google Docs suite of applications, you shouldn’t worry your pretty little head off. According to them, the alleged issues are smoke and mirrors.

In an official blog post by Jonathan Rochelle, Google Docs’ Product Manager, he explains, “At Google, we treat the privacy and integrity of our users' data with the highest priority. We quickly investigated, and we believe that these concerns do not pose a significant security risk to our users. If you want the details, read on...”

The blog post continues to meticulously break down and debunk the issues that the analyst, Ade Barkah, had brought to their attention.

Though, Google did admit that earlier this month a glitch in Docs caused some user documents to be exposed to those without proper permissions. The problem occurred amongst users that had previously shared documents, but reportedly affected less than 0.05 percent of the documents.

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Posted 01/14/09 at 11:59:55 AM by Paul Lilly

Afraid to let your teen and pre-teen children online for fear the boogeyman might reach through the screen and take them away? Understandable, given the prominence of social networking sites, which has made it easier than ever for child predators to target new prey. But lest you go in a panic, a long awaited report form the Internet Safety Technical Task Force says children and teens aren't as vulnerable to sexual predation as commonly feared.

The task force, which was formed as a result of a joint agreement between MySpace and 49 state attorneys general, concludes that "actual threats that youth may face appear to be different than the threats most people imagine" and that "the image presented by the media of an older male deceiving and preying on a young child does not paint an accurate picture of the nature of the majority of sexual solicitations and internet-initiated offline encounters." 

Hit the jump to find out who the task force identified as the real online danger.

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