Spying

With large lens barrels, dSLR optics look professional and intimidating. This is why it can be difficult to take candid street shots with them. But Photojojo has a solution--the Super-Secret Spy Lens.

This attachment fits onto most lenses via adapters, and the opening along the side shows a precision mirror that reflects light into the optics. The swivel barrel lets shutterbugs take discreet shots in any direction without having to point the lens at the subject.

Photojojo's Web site lists the price for the Super-Secret Spy Lens from $50 to $85, depending on which combination of adapters you require. … Read more

The U.K. government is considering the mass surveillance and retention of all user communications on social-networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo.

Vernon Coaker the U.K. Home Office security minister, on Monday said the EU Data Retention Directive, under which Internet service providers must store communications data for 12 months, does not go far enough. Communications such as those on social-networking sites and via instant-messaging services could also be monitored, he said.

"Social-networking sites such as MySpace or Bebo are not covered by the directive," said Coaker, speaking at a meeting of the House of Commons … Read more

In the department of who-knows-if-this-is-real-or-not, we bring you some alleged "spy" shots of the back of the next-generation Mac Mini that are making their way around the blog circuit.

Everybody seems impressed that the thing has a whopping five USB ports. There are also connections for Ethernet, FireWire 800, and what appears to be two display ports--one Mini DisplayPort and one older mini DVI Mac display port. Why there's no HDMI connection is beyond us, but then again, this may--or may not--be the real deal, so we won't get too worked up.

Of course, there's … Read more

For some time now, the "cloud-o-sphere" has generally agreed on a basic classification scheme for cloud computing, typically called the SPI model. SPI stands for "SaaS, PaaS and IaaS", or Software-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service, respectively.

A few weeks ago, Randy Bias (the CTO of cloud vendor GoGrid) wrote a great post differentiating two classes of Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings: infrastructure Web services versus cloud centers. I covered this differentiation earlier, but I've since come across another cloud model that leads me to believe there is a third category to consider.… Read more

LOS ANGELES--Many of the major film studios have gone through a painful round of layoffs and now the industry's trade group is cutting staff, too.

The Motion Picture Association of America, much maligned by file sharers everywhere, has gone through a "significant" round of layoffs, according to a studio source. The source said the layoffs were well over 10 percent and more reductions are expected.

A spokeswoman for the MPAA confirmed the layoffs to CNET News, but declined to provide numbers or percentages. The group battles copyright infringement on behalf of the six largest film studios. How … Read more

Nearly a year since being ordered to pay the big film studios more than $100 million, TorrentSpy is launching a legal comeback.

On Tuesday evening, TorrentSpy filed an appeal to overturn a judgment issued by U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper. Last May, Cooper ordered TorrentSpy, which shut its doors as a result of the legal fight with the Motion Picture Association of America, to pay nearly $111 million in damages to the MPAA for infringing the copyright of thousands of films and TV shows.

TorrentSpy was a favorite tool for those seeking bootleg films, but site operators always insisted … Read more

This snooping utility provides almost all the features essential for monitoring a PC, but we were especially impressed with its stealthiness. System Surveillance Pro logs keystrokes, IM chats, applications used, and Web sites visited, and can capture screenshots at user-defined periodic intervals.

The interface makes it easy to locate any log file you need to access. System Surveillance Pro can block Web sites via URLs or detected keywords, and includes a scheduler in case you don't need to monitor PC usage at all times. Like most respectable spying applications, it will send you e-mail reports so you can keep … Read more

Those searching for a system spy tool will find that this one looks familiar. Offered under many different names, this all-in-one system-monitoring application adequately captures keystrokes, programs used, Web sites visited, and screenshots. SpyBoss Keylogger Pro's interface includes simple pull-down menus and function buttons. Arranged in a "see all settings at one glance" format, this interface won't take users more than a few minutes to master.

Set options, start spying, and return to read a log at your leisure. The app captures many types of data. Screen-capture timing is easy to set, but the program doesn'… Read more

No matter the promises, not every piece of software can operate with every system configuration. ID Computer Spy is one such application. Our testers had difficulty getting this monitoring software to work. Installation is promising, although the program doesn't allow users to direct it to a less obvious folder than Program Files. The configuration interface is clean and easy to comprehend. It just isn't an application made to install and forget until needed.

Testers complained that installation options to set Quick Launch and Start Menu items weren't followed. Neither did the application always load after install. That … Read more