trick

Don't let your office nemesis see this

We almost didn't post this item because we wanted to keep it a secret from our co-workers. That way we could use it on them every day between now and April 1.

The "Phantom Keystroker" is the ultimate prank for office sadist, a devious little device that's sure to make any cubicle dweller go postal (not that it takes much). Once discreetly plugged into an unsuspecting colleague's USB port, it will randomly move the cursor around and type in dummy text whenver it feels like it, Gizmodo says.

Unfortunately it can't be controlled remotely. … Read more

Political dirty tricks 2.0: Outsourcing voter suppression calls?

During my blog posts this week, I'll be focusing on ways in which the Internet can be used to disrupt elections and the political process. On Friday, I'll be giving a talk on the subject at the Anti Phishing Working Group eCrime Researchers Summit on the subject of Political Phishing.

In today's post: What happens when voter suppression calls get outsourced to India? How will law enforcement track down the evildoers, and what will this mean for our elections?

Shortly before the 2006 election, voters across Virginia received calls that falsely claimed that their voting places had … Read more

Quick Tip: Read RSS feeds in Nero 8

If you've been wondering exactly how to program RSS feeds into the new Nero 8, help has arrived. CNET Editor Molly Wood shares a Quick Tip for programming your favorite RSS feeds into Nero 8's feed reader on the StartSmart interface.

For more information about other new features, check out the Nero 8 full review and First Look video.

Kingston's class with the photo icons

Kingston's low-key but interesting Icons of Photography site uses a monthly magazine format to make the most of a relatively shallow content pool. Over the past year and a half, it's parlayed the four pros--Harry Benson, Colin Finlay, Gerd Ludwig, and Peter Read Miller--into 11 issues by doling out bite-sized chunks of editorial.

Accompanying each piece you'll find a handful of photos, representative of the work of the pro or the amateur supplicant. Calling them galleries would be a gross overstatement: they're five-photo, completely text-free slide shows. If the idea were to present the photos in an elegant manner, that would be one thing. But the huge, distracting Kingston logo banner and ad ruin any chance of that. So a label with the name of the photographer, and perhaps some EXIF data, might be nice.

There are four basic types of stories, all targeted toward the interested amateur. The feature "20 Questions" presents brief interviews with pros, that makes an interesting two-minute read for the uninitiated. It's a bit frustrating, though. For instance, when Harry Benson discusses his famous image of the Beatles' pillow fight, a link to or inclusion of the photo would have been really nice.… Read more

Video: An iPhone without the phone (or the contract)

Erica Sadun at The Unofficial Apple Weblog has a handy little tip on how to transform your iPhone into a Wi-Fi-enabled iPod.

It involves signing up for the iPhone prepaid option, activating the iPhone, doing a bit of SIM-card fu, canceling the payment plan, and then enjoying the iPhone's iPod and Wi-Fi functions without the contract.

Sadun's instructions, tests, and results are here.

Update: Tom Merritt tested this out, "borrowing" Jasmine France's iPhone, and it worked smoothly for him. Watch his Insider Secrets video above to see that SIM trick and other SIM-swapping advice for … Read more

Who's listening to your iTunes?

If you share your iTunes library so that anyone on the network can access your music, it's a matter of time till curiosity gets the best of you.

When you close iTunes or shut down your computer, you may be greeted by a message that says "One or more users are connected to your shared iTunes library." Then, if you're like me, you feel guilty about closing iTunes.

What if your loyal listener is in the middle of their favorite song? Who am I to poop on their party? And who is this mysterious listener, anyway? … Read more

3D holograms made easy

Now this is something with potential for some fun. The "Mirage 3D Hologram Generator" is a precision optical instrument that claims to generate a perfect image and, as Newlaunches says, you don't need a Ph.D to work it. All you need to do is place an object in the small bowl, and what appears to be a detailed replica will hover over it.

We're a bit wary of passing along anything sold through a site with a name like "Eyetricks.com," but it insists that the $36 device has been used in schools … Read more