Gadgets Blog » Gizmodo

The popular Web site Gawker was hacked recently in retaliation of the treatment of WikiLeaks. This was no harmless prank, and instead released source code and private e-mail conversations of Gawker employees.

The real danger is that other hackers can use this information to get passwords from Gawker users, and some have already been broken. The hackers released a 500-megabyte file filled with information for the world to see.

Gawker was not the only Web site hacked in the Gawker family, either. Gadget site Gizmodo and pop culture site Jezebel were also hit by these hackers extraordinaire. Files containing passwords of users as well as employees were readily available in the Web space, and people were sharing the files via bit torrent.

Several Web sites have been hacked recently following the release of classified information by WikiLeaks and the treatment of the founder and company. Calling it Operation Payback, hackers are hitting sites that have denied WikiLeaks service and publicity such as Twitter and PayPal and now Gawker.

Of course, the folks over at Gizmodo are likely giving each other high fives while smugly blogging about the device away from the official Apple press conference. After the whole “stolen iPhone” debacle involving a prototype device that Gizmodo, one of the web’s premier tech blogs, may or may not have acquired illegally, Steve Jobs and company declined to allow the website to have access to the press conference to announce the iPhone 4. While this may have been seen as a slap in the face to the company, Gizmodo went ahead and cockily began their second-hand coverage of the iPhone with a link to their original unveiling.

Indeed, the iPhone 4G is the latest and greatest of Apple gadgets, meaning the media furor that had only died down slightly after the release of the iPad can once again rise up and around the electronics company. Of course, for the most part this is entirely deserved. The iPhone is filled with features that make any tech aficionado drool. The resolution on its screen is better than most print magazines, and equals that of the iPad. It may be slightly bulkier than the old iPhone, but the features more than make up for this small inconvenience.

It’s a sad day in the world of technology. This last week saw the untimely demise of two of the most promising ideas on the market, bringing great disappointment to the world of consumer electronics. While these two items had little in common, one a music-listening service, and one a planned iPad killer, the combined loss in such a short span of time is disappointing and a bit frustrating at the same time. This week’s tech news roundup will focus upon what could have been as we mourn the passing of online-music service Lala and Microsoft’s innovative tablet, the Courier.

But first, Lala. The service had earned a remarkable cult following as a small independent company. The beauty of Lala is that it enabled the listener to access their music database from any computer with an Internet connection. While free services like Pandora provided music as well, Lala had a music library that was affordable, around $.10 per song. For such a modest fee, these songs belonged to the users and opened up for unlimited streaming. Not only was it a great idea, but Lala itself had a great business model, working closely with record companies large and small to bring listeners a wide selection.

What initially seemed like a remarkable scoop has generated a significant amount of backlash for tech-news bloggers Gizmodo. When an Apple employee allegedly left a prototype next-generation iPhone at a California pub, the device changed hands quickly, eventually winding up in the hands of the website. While the actual means of acquiring this device has been in question, with some sources claiming they purchased the unit for as much as $5,000, this week brought about an entirely new chapter in this saga, that has sharply divided the Internet.

At the center of the entire ordeal is the iPhone itself, the legendary unit boasting increased battery life, resolution, and most importantly, 4G technology. Last Monday, Gizmodo ran an extensive look at the phone in an article authored by Jason Chen. Yesterday, Chen arrived home from dinner with his wife to find a crew of Silicon Valley police searching his home and confiscating any devices listed as under his control. The police had a legitimate search warrant, despite the fact that Gizmodo had complied when Apple asked for the device to be returned. Businessinsider.com offered up Chen’s description of events, in which he also details the items taken from his home.

So what sort of legal ramifications are at stake here? The status looks grim. According to the California penal code, buying a $5000 stolen item is a felony, regardless of whether or not the item was returned, as is the case. In the mean time, as lawyers begin to sort out this entire ordeal, bloggers are divided as to the leak of the iPhone itself. Was Gizmodo in the wrong for buying the device in the first place, or is Apple really the tail wagging the dog? Some have speculated that the entire stunt was envisioned by Apple, who have received incredible amounts of free publicity. At the same time, the search and seizure of Chen’s property would indicate that theory a bit invalid. Using the police to harass the blogger who netted so much exposure would be a faux pas.

The folks over at Gizmodo had themselves quite the time with their most recent story. Some poor sod at a bar in Redwood City accidentally left a next-generation iPhone behind, which Gizmodo claims was “camouflaged to look like the iPhone 3Gs.”

Except it wasn’t, and the results of some keen hacking and testing were posted to their website in a news story that has gadget nerds salivating to be sure. The features of this new addition to the Apple family are certainly exciting, and represent some interesting changes in function that could really shake up the next round of smartphones. Design-wise, the gadget looks like an iPhone in an iPod classic body. The rounded corners and three-dimensional build make it look quite distinct from an ordinary iPhone.

The screen is vivid and clear, with resolution at a staggering 960×640, making for exceptional application use and crystal clear images. The device sports two cameras now, one mounted on the back for taking pictures and one on the same side of the screen, presumably for video chatting (!!!). The operating system is Apple’s brand new iPhone OS 4.0, which Gizmodo claims the phone was running prior to the official announcement of such a thing.

Weighing in at 3 grams heavier than the older models, it boasts a larger battery on the inside, presumably extending the life of one of Apple’s flagship products. Other technical changes are exciting, yet a bit puzzling at the same time. The smartphone uses Micro SIM cards, which is likely to be the industry standard in the future. Yet this development is a bit puzzling in light of the iPad’s release. Many were surprised to find out that Apple had not adopted the Micro SIM card for their tablet computer, and now it’s introduction onto the iPhone, and the announcement that the iPhone OS 4.0 will support multitasking, place some questionable light on Apple’s development of two of its featured products.

Ultimately though, Apple will continue to be the trendsetter for smartphones with the release of the next iPhone, and indeed there is much to be excited about, provided Gizmodo’s specifications are correct. If the introduction of the front-facing camera does indeed signal that video chatting will be present on the next generation of iPhones, then perhaps we are looking at applications to 4G technology that will revolutionize telecommunications. It seems as though Steve Jobs and company have created another winner, one that will dominate the market and thrill users for some time to come. Image Source: flickr.com/photos/niw/3347008791