The View From Above

The View From Above

Aug 22, 2010

As photographers, we are always looking for a way to get that different point of view from which to photograph our subjects. Low angles, wide angles, climbing a tree …. and now there’s a four rotor helicopter platform to help you get the ultimate elevated view. Pitched at photojournalists, this camera platform lets you get an aerial view of your...

Disney Being Sued For Spying On Kids

Disney Being Sued For Spying On Kids

Aug 22, 2010

A number of web service providers, including Walt Disney’s websites, are being sued due to what may be their illegal use of Locally Stored Objects (LSOs). Flash Cookies, as LSOs are more commonly known, have the ability to store user information over long periods of time. Disturbingly, they can do with without notifying the computer user, and without...

German Homes Erased From Street View

German Homes Erased From Street View

Aug 22, 2010

For a limited time, Google has decided to allow Germans to erase their homes from Google’s Street View. Until September 15, affected Germans in up to 20 cities can ask to have their homes erased, and Google will then blur the image of the home within Street View.

Computer Trojan May Have Caused Plane Crash

Computer Trojan May Have Caused Plane Crash

Aug 22, 2010

Here at the Gadget Grill we are frequently telling you that you need to ensure that your anti-virus software is installed and kept up to date. And with good reason too. We are hearing reports that the crash of SpanAir flight 5022, about two years ago, may have been caused by some malware that infected one of SpanAir’s computer systems. The Spanish...

Paint-On Solar Cells

Paint-On Solar Cells

Aug 22, 2010

Norwegian company EnSol has patented a prototype thin film solar cell technology which is designed to be sprayed onto glass surfaces. They are collaborating with the University of Leicester’s Department of Physics and Astronomy to produce a film using metal nanoparticles embedded in a transparent composite matrix. Their plans include the development of a...

Facebook Privacy Issue

Facebook Privacy Issue

Aug 15, 2010

An interesting breach of privacy has cropped up in FaceBook. It seems that if you try to log in, but maybe don’t use the correct password, then it displays a failure screen, but shows your picture and email address. At which point you can then harvest that email address, move along to attempt to log in to another user’s account, fail, harvest their...