By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

Halloween would not be the same without some technical assistance. With that in mind, we present Haunted Furniture from the Scarefactory.

Corpse in the Cabinet
Classic Zombie character springs from indiscreet cabinet, swinging himself forward and doors outward, then quickly resets and waits for the next victim. Free standing design just place in the scene and go, cabinet stickers available… use in office, hospital scenes, attic, anywhere a small cabinet might be. $2,195.00
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By Chief Gizmateer
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Sling Media has finally released some Mac software for controlling the Slingbox. Ever since January, the Mac BETA software has been teased to be released time and time again by Sling Media. The Slingbox packing even has listed that a Macs are a supported platform!
Even the Sling Media CEO wrote a letter to Slingers:

Has Hell Frozen Over? (close…we finally got the SlingPlayer for Mac out)

For those of you who have followed this saga, you know that we thought we could complete the SlingPlayer for Mac OS X much sooner than we have. The net result was we set false expectations, and that is not an acceptable outcome. I want to personally apologize for the lack of the Mac client before now.

Mea culpa aside…we have some good news… the SlingPlayer for Mac OS X BETA is finally here!

Source: SlingCommunity

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

These days almost everything plays video clips, so why not your wristwatch? The Shenzhen Adragon Digitek is an MP4 wristwatch boasts 256MBs to 2GBs of internal storage and plays MPEG 4 video clips as well as JPEG still images AND MP3 or WMA audio. The screen is 1.5 inches diagonal, which means SMALL and the resolution is 128 x128 with 260K OLED true color, but if you’re stuck in traffic or waiting for a plane, it beats watching the second hand click around and around.

Price: made by Chinavision, these are wholesaling for $59 - $101 depending on the amount of internal memory. We Say: What else? It’s from China and sold wholesale, so no MP4 watch for you yet pal. Great pricing. When can we get our hands on one?

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

Internet Explorer 7’s been out nearly two weeks, while Firefox 2 has been out just one. I’ve been using both (in my normal obsessive habit of upgrading to the latest of everything) and although this isn’t a full review, I have some observations based on my usage. This is a good time for me to publish this, as tomorrow Microsoft will push out IE7 as a high-priority (but still optional) update via WindowsUpdate.

In terms of installation … I had no problems with either install. Of course, with Firefox, there is the usual problem of some extensions not working with the upgrade, including Tab Mix Plus (my favorite behind Roboform). Fortunately there’s a RC2 build of TMP that allows it to be used, and Roboform’s new version was available the day of FF2 release.

Nope, it wasn’t installation that was the problem. It was usage. And let me be frank … with only one of the two next-gen browsers.
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By Chief Gizmateer
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
TIOTI (Tape It Off The Internet), a new download service looking to provide subscribers with legitimate television downloads with purchases and Bittorent feeds, is accepting email addresses for sending out invitation to use the service.

Here’s an excerpt about their service:

We currently index 1,600+ TV shows - 90,000+ episodes - and we are matching everything up with content sources like iTunes, AOL and Amazon Unbox - with more to come.

Our beta feature set allows you to do exactly what it says on the tin and do it in style. With integrated message boards, groups, personalised badges and an extensive API, we have lots more great stuff coming soon too.

So we’re slightly curious as to why they used the obsolete word “Tape”…

By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

In this corner, many ticked off adult webmasters, in the other corner, Zango, spyware maker, rumor denier, general wart on the Internet. The victims, everyone with Zango on their machines, and its not just because Zango sucks either, apparently, the adult webmasters have decided to fight Zango with their websites and a redirect. Where does the redirect go? To a page with this content;

We are a group of website owners that believe it is time for you to take your PC back.

According to Zone Alarm, a well known anti-adware program, “Zango is attempting to monitor user activities on your computer. If allowed it may try to track or log keystrokes (user input), mouse movements/clicks, Web sites visited, and other user behaviors.”

We as a whole, believe this is a scourge that needs to be fought at the grassroots level. While taking over your PC browsing by Zango is not illegal, we believe in your right to be informed. When you allowed this toolbar to be installed on your PC, you inadvertently agreed to allow Zango to do this to you.

Below, you will find detailed instructions on how to remove this intrusive piece of software. Once you have completed this process, please click the “Back to the Page you Visited” Link below. Source: Adwaresucks.com

Zango’s answer? We’ll just do a popup when the users lands on that page that says;

Steve Stratz, Zango’s director of public relations, called the Zango Warning site “blatant lies and scare tactics”, and provided vnunet.com with a copy of an ad that the company will soon be running.
The ad, which is set to appear every time a user is re-directed to the Zango Warning site, tells the user “The Web page in question is designed to ’scare the surfer’, as its ‘creator’ has confessed. We at Zango have gone to great lengths to ensure that every consumer who installs our software sees, prior to installation, a fully and conspicuously disclosed plain-language notice and consent process.” Source: VitalSecurity.org

We Say: Zango would make everything a lot easier if they would just go away, but they are making too much money off of innocent users who don’t know any better. While I respect the adult webmasters for fighting back, the loser will be the end user, as I don’t think this website or Zango’s popup will be the last we hear about this. This will probably escalate and get even uglier than those Zango popups.

There is a robot revolution coming, or rather it’s underway. So says a number of robotics researchers. To attempt to stem any possible public backlash, fear, etc., a number of UK professors and universities have started a program to educate the public and get feedback from them as well.

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

The iPod had its 5th birthday earlier this week, but there’s another 5th birthday as well. This week, Windows XP turns five. And despite its maligned image, especially security-wise. there’s no denying it was a major step up from Windows NT, 2000 and 98 / Me.

For a child, one’s fifth birthday is an exciting time, full of precious moments and limitless promise. For an operating system, coming up to one’s fifth birthday is a different matter entirely. By the time they reach this milestone, most operating systems have long since been retired or replaced by the Next Big Thing, often an updated version of themselves. For Windows XP, which is celebrating its fifth birthday this week, the big question is this: why has it taken so long for Microsoft to come up with a successor? Source: Ars Technica

We Say: Yes, the big question is certainly what’s taken Vista so long. But the fact that we are still using XP and still using it well shows it had some good technology underneath the covers. Will Vista prove a compelling upgrade, or will people continue to use XP as long as possible? Time will tell.