SanDisk turns your SD card into notebook backup

It's ironic how people start thinking about data backup only when their PC crashes, together with all the important files on it. If you are one of those backup laggards, here's something that can significantly lessen the pain the next time your notebook starts acting up and, worse, heads for that great computer junkyard in the sky.

The SanDisk FlashBack Adapter, unveiled recently at the CeBIT tradeshow in Hannover, Germany, is an ExpressCard backup solution for notebooks that automatically stores and encrypts critical data from the computer's hard drive onto SD/SDHC cards (sold separately). This backup process is continuously running in the background while the laptop is in use, so there's no need for additional user intervention once the folders/files/file types have been specified.

In the event of computer failure, the SD card can be inserted into the card reader of any PC running Windows 2000, XP or Vista, and the encrypted data can then be extracted when the user logs into the software application.
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More updates on Pioneer ending production of plasma panels

Further to our earlier report that Pioneer plans to outsource its plasma TV panel production, here's more updates from several articles.

Reuters reported Tuesday that the company will cease production of its own plasma panels because that portion of its business continues to lose money. The company will still sell plasma sets, but plans to get its plasma panels from Matsushita, parent company of Panasonic, the Nikkei business daily reported. Panasonic is the biggest plasma TV vendor in the world, shipping nearly 40 percent of all plasma displays, while Pioneer ranks fifth, shipping just over 6 percent of plasmas worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to DisplaySearch.

So far, Pioneer isn't confirming or denying the reports ("Our headquarters are planning to publicly discuss our TV strategy at the end of this week, so we'll have no information until then," said a spokesperson), but it doesn't look good.

As CNET colleague and resident TV expert David Katzmaier put it, this news amounts to "a black day for black levels".

Pioneer has been repositioning its plasma business over the last few years as a premium brand, most recently pushing its "Kuro" technology, which emphasizes deep black levels and contrast, at CES 2007 and 2008. CNET Reviews ranked the 50-inch plasma from Pioneer as the best it's ever tested last year.

Though it appears Pioneer will continue to sell plasmas sets, if it's not making the panels, it seems unlikely that it will prolong the life of its Kuro technology. Pioneer is, however, already planning to buy liquid crystal display panels from Sharp in order to start selling LCD TVs. LCD sets have quickly become the fastest-growing TV technology, displacing traditional cathode-ray tube sets, as well as rear-projection and plasma.

Via Crave CNET

A Croc for your mobile phone

We're of two minds about Crocs. On one hand (foot?), they're just about the ugliest type of hoof-wear we've ever seen; on the other, they're still not as bad as flip-flops. In any case, if you thought the holed shoes were taking over the world, there's some new evidence to support the theory: The ubiquitous footwear maker is expanding into--of all things--phone accessories.

That's right, now you can have your beloved Crocs with you at all times even when it's not summer. These handset holders have their own heel strap that supposedly keeps your celly secure, according to Shiny Shiny, though the holes may be problematic in inclement weather. But we think the real reason for creating these--aside from making its owners look like complete fools--is to grow the true empire in power: Jibbitz.

Via CNET Crave

Security threat discovered in Google's Android software

Researchers have found some holes in Google's Android SDK that could make the software vulnerable to hack attacks. But because commercial Android devices are still months away from hitting store shelves, there's no need to panic.

Core Security published an alert on its Web site on Tuesday stating that it had found eight vulnerabilities related to some open-source image processing libraries in Google's Android SDK, which the group claims are outdated. Attackers exploiting these vulnerabilities could take complete control of Android handsets, the alert said.

It's hardly surprising that some kind of vulnerability would be discovered. And, in fact, it's probably a good thing that groups like Core are discovering problems now. Android, which Google announced in November, is still in beta. Even though several companies showed off prototypes using the Android software at the GSMA Mobile World Congress last month, none of them have built a commercial product yet.

The final version of the software code won't be available until later this year. So Core and other developers and security experts will hopefully find more glitches or problems. That way, Google and the rest of the developer community can fix these problems before the phones hit the market.

Via CNET News.com

MxTube brings native YouTube downloading to iPhones

MxTube is a fantastic new native application for jailbroken iPhones. If you're one of the lucky few with a jailbroken handset and the installer app, you'll find MxTube in the recent packages section as of last night. The app is fairly similar to the iPhone's native YouTube video viewer with the added benefit of being able to download entire clips and save them to your phone's memory for offline viewing.

Downloaded videos don't show up to those in your regular video library, and won't sync up into iTunes the next time you plug in your phone, but they can be deleted one at a time just like regular video files in case you start running short on space.

The app has a search tool that lets you hunt for videos, and each one has the option to download the higher or lower quality version in case you feel like trying to save space. Downloads can be stacked up, although in its current release, having more than one video in the download queue seems to crash it.

Speaking of crashes, the app is has a handful of bugs that make it a little volatile, including one that doesn't let you exit playing videos unless you hit the home button. Otherwise it's a fantastic tool for grabbing a ton of free video content without having to deal with the molasseslike speeds of EDGE or third-party ripping tools that require syncing with iTunes to transfer content.

I've embedded a demo from the creator of the app after the break.
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