Legal Issues

Hackers may be able to spy on your keystrokes if you keep your iPhone too close to your computer, a group of researchers reported this week.

According to Georgia Tech University computer science professor Patrick Traynor, it may be possible for hackers to hide malware on an iPhone 4 that is capable of sensing "keyboard vibrations [to] decipher complete sentences with up to 80 percent accuracy." And while Traynor and his team say that it would not be an easy thing to accomplish, it is definitely possible.

Because iPhone 4s--and other current-generation smart phones--have both an accelerometer and … Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--The biggest lesson that Apple board member and longtime Steve Jobs adviser Bill Campbell learned from the former CEO? "Make sure you have great product."

Campbell, known as "Coach" to friends and some peers, may not be as known in the world of technology as he should be. The chairman of the board of Intuit, and an Apple adviser and board member who also has several other high-level tech-industry positions, appeared at the Demo Fall conference here today, in conversation with Bloomberg reporter Brad Stone.

Over the course of a 20-minute rumination on … Read more

If a group of scientists can get their project off the ground, there's a chance U.S. air travelers may one day be able to bring aboard more liquids in their carry-on luggage again.

The team, led by Oklahoma State University chemistry professor Allen Apblett, has come up with what it says is a nanomaterial that can both detect and neutralize some dangerous explosives. If deployed in a practical manner at airports in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world, it could, in theory, make it possible once again for some people to bring more liquids with them … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--There's no denying that most of us are "Star Wars" fans, but how many of us ever thought our own work could complement George Lucas' immortal screenplay? For thousands of people, the wonderful Star Wars Uncut project has been the key to pretending, even if for just 15 seconds, that we've got a little Lucas in us.

For those unaware of it, Star Wars Uncut is an ongoing project that tasked fans with re-creating 15-second scenes from the original film in any way they can think of. Fans responded by the thousands, and thanks to … Read more

If you're a vegetarian, and someone gives you a gift card for Ruth's Chris Steak House, you might find it difficult to use. The same might be true if your dog just died and someone gifted you a $50 PetCo card.

Mismatches such as those and millions more like them have added up to $30 billion worth of unredeemed gift cards that Americans are sitting on collectively, according to a leading player in the burgeoning secondary market for the ubiquitous cards.

In a just-completed study, Plastic Jungle, which buys and sells gift cards, reported that all-told, the U.… Read more

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that a World of Warcraft-playing bot violated the online game's terms of use, upholding a lower court's 2008 decision against the so-called Glider software, and issuing a permanent injunction against its use.

The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled (PDF file) that the MDY's Glider bot--which helps WoW players by automatically playing early levels of the massively popular game--is a breach of a contractual covenant. In a post on their Virtual World Law Blog, lawyers at the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman explained that the decision largely follows … Read more

Microsoft representatives appearing on National Public Radio's "Science Friday" today said that the company's Kinect motion-controller was left open by "design," despite earlier comments by the company that it did not "condone" Kinect's hacking.

A tweet by the "Science Friday" staff read "(Xbox director of incubation) Alex Kipman says Kinect interface was left unprotected 'by design.' [And Microsoft's] Shannon Loftis says she's 'inspired' by community finding new uses."

But earlier this month, in response to a $3,000 challenge by the open-source hardware outfit Adafruit … Read more

It's World Series time, and if you're a fan of either the San Francisco Giants or the Texas Rangers looking for tickets to any of the sold-out games being played over the next few days, don't despair: You can get in.

Of course, it's not going to be cheap. Since the only tickets that are available are on the secondary market, they're going to cost substantially more than face value. For example, in San Francisco, where tonight's game two, and games six and seven (if necessary) will be held, the average price for all … Read more

A jury last week found Apple guilty of infringing on three patents held by a small Texas company and ordered the company to pay as much as $600 million in damages, according to Bloomberg news service.

Bloomberg reported that Apple was ordered to pay Mirror Worlds $208 million in damages for infringing on each of the three patents. The patents relate to how documents are displayed on a computer screen and are related to Apple's Cover Flow technology, which it uses in the Mac OS, on iPods, and in the iOS operating system used on the iPhone and iPad. … Read more