Safety | Tag Archive

Latest Gear Live Videos

Subscribe:

YouTube

iTunes High Definition

iTunes Standard Version

RSS

Smart Car Aces Crash Tests

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Transportation,

We were happy to find out that the new Smart Car did well during its recent crash tests. The 8 foot car received the highest rating in both front-end and side impact testing. It received the second highest rating for rear crashes. Adrian Lund, president of the IIHS that conducted the test, said that a small car may be safer in congested urban areas, where crashes occur less often.

“All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better. But among the smallest cars, the engineers of the Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package,” Lund said. Looking at the results, it’s even a smaller package now.

IE 3 and 4 Blocked by Paypal

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Microsoft,

Paypal logo We got rather spooked after reading PayPal and Unsafe in the same headline. Having used the service for several years, we always wonder if it is really secure. The company says that those who use Internet Explorer 3 and 4 are the ones at risk because they don’t have enough security features to prevent phishing. If you use one of these you will be warned on the site and expect to be possibly blocked if you try to get in anyway.

The newest version supports EV SSL certificates. The comments were made in a paper written by the site’s Security Officer Michael Barrett and Risk Management Director Dan Levy. Our best advice? Head on over to IE and update to 7.0 or switch to Firefox.

Doculock FP71 Flash Drive Protected by Fingerprint

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, USB, Misc. Tech, Storage,

If you are worried about someone grabbing your flash drive and learning all your secrets, Doculock’s FP71-Flash is about as safe as it gets with its fingerprint ID. Once you initiate it, you can use it in different computers with no software driver or password needed. The drive will remember all user names and passwords for you. The 1GB FP71 is available for £32.88 (~$65.00.) There is also a 2.0GB not available at this time so contact Doculock to pre-order if that is the one you prefer.

Stash Your Cash in Your PC

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, Misc. Tech, PC / Laptop,

When you are not using your laptop’s PC card slot for what it was meant to do, stash a key, memory, cleaning rag, coinage, or other items that you never seem to remember to take with you when you need them with the StashCard. Made by Wireless Garden, the sneaky device is available at RadioShack, CompUSA, or Circuit City for $9.95, but if you order online from the company, you will save $2.00, which you can then keep inside the StashCard that you just bought.

Wicked Lasers Torch Spits Real Fire…Almost

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smart Home, Misc. Tech, Transportation, Videos,

Wicked Lasers has put out some interesting products in the past (just check out our Blue Spyder II laser video,) but their Torch is way beyond utile. With 4100 lumens, it takes the Guinness cake as the most powerful flashlight in existence. Adjustable with a high-efficiency relector, it is encased in aerospace-grade aluminum. At a size of 57 x 230 mmm, the device does literally what it is called as you can see in the video. The light will work for up to 15 minutes on a battery charge. Frequent campers and pyromaniacs can find them for $299.99.

CES 2008 Video: iHearSafe inventor Christine Ingemi

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, Accessories, CES, CES 2008, Design, Features, Home Entertainment, Music, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Science, Videocasts,

Last February we told you about iHearSafe Headphones, which protects the hearing of children (or, really, anyone) by limiting audio decibels to 80 or below, regardless of how high the volume is cranked on the device. The headphones are available for $20 USD. By chance we literally ran into iHearSafe inventor and mom, Christine Ingemi, at this year’s CES, getting the word out about her earbuds. Check the video for the full scoop.

Pepper Spray Stunning Ring Keeps Creeps Away

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Wearables, Misc. Tech,

We love that there are technological gadgets that help protect women from criminals…witness the No-Contact Jacket the Cell Phone Stun Gun and even the GPS Platform Sandal. Now comes the Pepper Spray Stunning Ring, which—if you can deal with the cheap-ish look of it—can protect you at all times. The ring holds a dose of pepper spray 400 times stronger than a jalapeno pepper and projects as far as 12 feet, guaranteed to burn and nauseate any potential perps. And don’t worry, the ring actually has a safety, so you won’t accidentally spray a loved one…or yourself. Available for $30 USD, with refills (yes, refills), selling for $8 a pop.

Read More | Protect Yourself Direct via Gizmodo

Security Stepped Up After VT Tragedy

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, GPS, Handhelds, Misc. Tech,

Ever since the tragedy at Virginia Tech 5 months ago, many colleges and students have been purchasing devices to ensure their safety. The Rave Guardian has a “safe walk” feature that lets students set a timer when they want to be watched while crossing a dark campus. It also features the means of allowing administrators to contact students in an emergency.

Napco Security offers a Gem-WP Panic Button that can be placed on a key chain or pendant. The system features radio waves to find student locations. Other colleges and universities now have installed systems such as Send Word Now, so that students can receive instructions in case of an emergency.

Many of the institutions require scholars to purchase equipment after enrollment. It makes us sad that it took an extreme incident to make the schools sit up and take notice, but happier knowing that our kids are safer when going to and from classes.

Are “Geek Squad” Agents Stealing From Your Computer?

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: PC / Laptop,

Geek Squad Stealing Porn We love the folks over at The Consumerist, a website devoted to letting disgruntled shoppers stick it to The Man. Now they’ve gone all “Dateline/Primetime Live” on us, conducting an undercover 3-month sting operation. Their mission? To see if a Best Buy Geek Squad Agent would stoop so low as to steal porn, music, etc. off of a customer’s PC brought in for repair. The sting was in response to rumors that this happened to actual customers in numerous cities. To create bait, a computer was loaded with porn—and rigged to film any wrongdoings as they actually happened. While most of the Geek Squad-ers presented with the porn-laded PC passed the test, one dishonest techie failed miserably, filmed stealing pornography and transferring it to his company-issued thumb drive. Rumor has it there is even a Geek Squad “central server”, where the Agents share their illicit booty (no pun intended). Click here to view video of the actual theft, and to learn how to protect your files when bringing your computer in to be fixed. Because you know if the Geek Squad is doing it, your neighborhood repair shop could be too.

The Cell Phone Stun Gun is Shockingly Deceptive

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Smartphones, Misc. Tech,

We’ve already told you about the No-Contact Jacket for women, which literally gives a shock to potential criminals attempting to assault the wearer. Since you can’t wear a jacket every day, we offer an alternative: the Cell Phone Stun Gun. It looks like your standard phone clipped to your jeans, but the press of a button sends a whopping 800K volts to any unsuspecting cretins, allowing you to make your getaway. And yes, there’s a safety switch, so you won’t accidentally shock yourself if you grab this phone instead of your real Nokia. Ouch. The Cell Phone Stun Gun is available for $60 USD, however the website is prohibited from sending this weapon to a handful of states, for legal reasons.

Welcome, Guest