Free Ferme !

Le fournisseur d'accès à Internet Free a été dans l'obligation de
faire fermer les accès d'un certain nombre de newsgroups pour ses
abonnés. Véritable alternative au P2P pour récupérer des fichiers
(légaux ou non), les newsgroups sont de plus en plus populaires, y
compris pour le piratage.

Jusqu'à présent, Free autorisait l'accès aux newsgroups où bon nombre
de fichiers illégaux circulent. Mais suite à une plainte et à une
demande de suspensions de l'Alpa (Association de Lutte contre la
Piraterie Audiovisuelle), le FAI a du suspendre, sans condition,
l'accès à ces newsgroups (aux noms assez évocateurs : cartoons.french,
documentaries.french, movies.divx.french, series.tv.divx.french,
series.tv.french, dvd.french, hdtv.french, spectacles.divx.french...)
pour une durée de 30 jours. Fermeture qui pourrait se prolonger et/ou
s'étendre à d'autres newsgroups. Elle pourrait également marquer
l'ouverture d'un bal judiciaire contre ces mêmes newsgroups...

Mais ces fermetures, qu'elles soient temporaires ou non, semblent
aussi faire le bonheur des prestataires privés. Ainsi, des services
comme Giganews, qui permettent à n'importe quel internaute (moyennant
finance) d'accéder à l'ensemble de ces newsgroups, se frottent les
mains.

Pour attirer le chaland, le service Giganews affiche ainsi une offre
promotionnelle pour les internautes de Free comme on peut le voir sur
cette page qui propose : « une offre 10 Go sur 3 jours gratuite pour
l'ensemble des nouveaux clients francophones qui s'inscrivent avec
leur adresse @free.fr ou @proxad.net », « l'opération séduction » ne
fait que commencer !

Rock Band's bundled guitar to be wired on Xbox 360, wireless for PS3



 
 

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via Engadget by Darren Murph on 9/12/07

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Now that you've gone and pre-ordered Rock Band, here's a tidbit about what will actually be included. According to Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos, the guitar that comes bundled in with the Xbox 360 version will not be wireless, as he reportedly states that "the cost of wireless technology on the Microsoft side is higher." Notably, the PS3 bundle will indeed include a wireless axe, and before you get too riled up, Xbox 360 users will still be able to purchase a wireless shredder separately if it's a make-or-break scenario for ya. Oh, and the drums and microphone will be wired on both platforms, but Xbox 360 buyers will purportedly get a USB hub thrown in to hook it all up.

[Via GamingToday]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!


 
 

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Sony thumbs nose at Samsung, confirms OLED TVs by December



 
 

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via Engadget by Thomas Ricker on 9/12/07

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Surely you remember Sony's OLED TVs with an astounding 1,000,000:1 contrast? Good, then you'll also recall that Sony promised the 3-fracking-mm thin, 11-incher this year; a schedule Samsung publicly doubted. While we wish it was 27- or even 30-inches, it's still a very important step in the wide-spread, commercialization of the technology. So check it Sammy, Sony's on the road touting a December, Japan delivery to anyone who will listen. So the question is: are you?

Read -- Sony confirmation at Gitex
Read -- Sony confirmation in Japan (footnote, near end)

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!


 
 

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Urban Aeronotics X-Hawk flying car



 
 

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via Newlaunches.com by on 9/12/07

A company called Urban Aeronautics is promising to produce the worlds "first" flying car by early 2009. The car's ducted fan design allows the car to reach speeds upto 155 mph with an altitude of 12,000 feet and maneuverability of a helicopter. It can perform vertical take off and landings all without the dangers of exposed rotors. If all goes according to plan will be able to "hug" the side of a building, a feat that the best helicopter is unable to perform. X-Hawk's modular cargo bay allows for tailor-made, task specific configurations that enable this aircraft to be an all-around workhorse. The company will not be pitching the product for your millions but to the military and rescue services.

 
 

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PICTURE: Don't Use Your Laptop While on the Toilet



 
 

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via Tech Blog on 9/11/07

According to reader Pablo, this sign was spotted at an airport in Istanbul. If the picture isn't clear enough, basically they don't want you spending hours on the toilet, using your laptop. Here's what Pablo has to say:

I spotted this at the airport on my summer trip to Istanbul tacked to the stalls of the Men's restroom. Speaks for itself


 
 

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The world's shortest international bridge



 
 

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via Newlaunches.com by on 9/8/07

bridge.jpg Simply put the island on the left is Canada and the small one on the right is United States. The small island contains the backyard of the house on the larger island. The bridge connecting the backyard to the house is thus the smallest international bridge in the world. Source

 
 

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Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada



 
 

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via Newlaunches.com by on 9/8/07

The Diavik Diamond Mine is in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, about 300 kilometres (186 miles) north of Yellowknife. The mine produces 8 million carats or about 1,600 kg (3,527 lb) of diamonds annually worth around C$ 100 million ($ 95 million). (More pictures after the jump) Source

 
 

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HP Blackbird 002 gaming machine is uber-cool



 
 

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via Newlaunches.com by deepa on 9/6/07

hp-blackbird.jpg Its time for all the game-addicts to rejoice! HP has finally announced the Blackbird 002 gaming machine. It is supposed that HP Blackbird 002 PC was designed with two goals in mind. Primarily, to bring innovation back to the gaming PC by delivering extreme customer-centric innovations and secondarily to completely reinvent the look and feel of the performance PC. Inspired by the gaming pioneers Voodoo, it is definitely not the types that you'd want to hide it under your desk. It commands attention from every angle. It's a pure gaming machine that rejects conventional PC design in favor of an aggressive, dynamic appearance that seems to defy the laws of physics. The system comes with no pre-installed software because gamers like it that way. Since gamers also prefer configurable machines, the case can be opened with a swinging door. You can configure the machine at a special web site where you can choose the type of memory, graphics cards, hard drives, and processors from either Intel or Advanced Micro Devices. look for more detailed pics ......... The Blackbird 02 will sell for $2,500 to $7,000, well below the average price that Voodoo gets for its custom-made, hand-painted gaming computers. Did you know that for the first time, an HP machine will debut without the stickers visible on the box? Via - Luxurylaunches

 
 

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The closest aircraft landing you will ever see



 
 

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via Newlaunches.com by on 9/6/07

The photo is taken at Princess Juliana airport in the Netherlands Antilles which is famous for extremely low landings. The traffic is bought to a halt when the jumbo's land, people are known to be blown away from the engine backwash, airplane enthusiasts hang on to the fence or road-guard for support. The above video is of an Air France jumbo taking off from the same islands, it literally blows the people off the beach into the water. Plane landing at the same airport.

 
 

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iPod Touch ripoff from China available on Amazon



 
 

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via Newlaunches.com by on 9/6/07

ipod_ripoff_1.jpg As Stewie would say 'What the Deuce', by now you must have known my love for 'Family Guy', I just finished posting about the the new iPod Touch and we already have a rip off from China. Ironically it is available on Amazon and by looking at the page it looks as if it was available since quite some time now. I sure admire their speed as even before Apple launched the iPod Touch they were ready with a rip-off. Apart from the flimsy icons it is indistinguishable from the real thing, it has a 2.8 inch touchscreen, 2 GB which stores 200 songs, Mini SD expansion slot (something which the iPod lacks), FM Radio, built in speaker and support for MP3, WMA, MPEG-4(AVI) and JPEG formats. It is available on Amazon for just $100 which is 1/3 the price of the iPod Touch. ipod_ripoff_2.jpg ipod_ripoff_3.jpg ipod_ripoff_4.jpg

 
 

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Motorola ROKR U9 official or not!



 
 

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via Newlaunches.com by on 9/6/07

motorokru9.jpg If we go by the details on the Czech news site Idnes, then here is the shot of the ROKR U9 that looks like the PEBL and has a crafty LCD display, vibration-feedback touch controls on the outside as the RAZR2. It will feature 25MB of internal memory to support the microSD card slot, and will probably only have EDGE support for Internet access. Though the specs of the internal display and keypad are unknown up till now but we can expect the details to get official when it releases. The launch will most likely happen sometime soon involving a US launch followed with Asian and European versions. Source

 
 

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HP iPaq 610 and iPaq 910 smart phones



 
 

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via Newlaunches.com by on 9/6/07

hp_ipaq_910.jpgWe really love HP for coming out with two new hunks. First up is the HP iPaq 610 Business Navigator, it's a quad-band mobile with support for HSDPA and assisted GPS with integrated Google Maps. It comes loaded with Windows Mobile 6 (Professional Edition) plus impresses you with specs like Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g with WPA2 security), 256MB Flash ROM/128MB SDRAM, and 3-megapixel camera. It has a more voice-centric focus and includes the same advanced voice command system found in the 510. It has a slightly bigger screen (touch screen) measuring 2.8-inches. The new Smart Touch wheel is found in the middle of the alphanumeric keypad that lets you scroll through the various menus items. The HP iPaq 910 Business Manager (pictured above) is a successor to the HP iPaq hw6900 series. It has a full QWERTY keyboard, push e-mail capabilities, a 2.46-inch touch screen, HSDPA support, assisted GPS, Bluetooth 2.0., Wi-Fi, and a 3-megapixel camera. The iPaq 600 series will start shipping in late September for about $600 for an unlocked version, the iPaq 910 is expected availability is late November or early December. There is no word on pricing or carrier as yet. Source

 
 

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