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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

As we’re certain you know by now, there are fails, and then there are epic fails. This case most definitely falls into the latter category, as Sea Change’s shark-deterrent system (affectionately dubbed Shark Shield) was actually bit into by a great white when tested off the coast of South Africa. Reportedly, the device sends out electronic fields that are meant to deter sharks from coming near surfers, but according to the company’s CEO, the botched trial was “due to a problem with the electrode’s configuration.” Furthermore, he noted that the thing is only “guaranteed to work when it’s stationary, not when it’s surfing in the wave or paddling.” Needless to say, the effectiveness of these type devices have now been called into question, and regardless of whether this thing actually works as advertised, the lack of total protection — you know, while actually surfing — is enough to make us steer clear.

[Via UberReview]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

At first glance, we seriously assumed that we had mentioned this exact same story before. Turns out, one particular Maxi Haulage driver doesn’t tune into Engadget, as he pulled the exact same trick in (almost) the same circumstances. Reportedly, this timber haul was cut short as the driver followed his personal GPS system down a “farm lane” suitable only for (presumably small) tractors, and needless to say, the 45-foot vehicle has been wedged ever since. Additionally, the owner of the property is quite irate, as the mishap is forcing her to drive an extra two miles until rescue arrives. Still, the motorist did cruise right by a sign noting that the upcoming road was unfit for heavy goods vehicles, so at least the sat nav can’t take all of the blame this go ’round.

[Thanks, Carl H.]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Though not what we’d deem “common,” outages extending beyond a few hours have been known to happen to the services we love so dearly, and it seems that some Rhapsody users have become the latest to fall victim to an inexplicable lapse in service. Over at the Real forums, a number of customers have been unable to sign into their accounts for up to two days, and no amount of chicanery has solved the quandary. To make matters even more frightening, many are getting a message that their account simply is nowhere to be found, and customer service doesn’t seem to be getting anyone very far. Also curious is the fact that new accounts (as in, ones created while current customers are unable to login) seem to be working just fine, but we here haven’t personally experienced any of the login difficulties. What gives? Any of you out there pulling your hair out over this? Got a secret for getting logged in that you’d like to share?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While certain folks in Sweden have absolutely no issues surfing the net at ridiculously fast speeds, an entire section of Swedes are apparently going without simply because they’re using Windows Vista. According a local newspaper, Vista users in Lund can’t connect to the internet due to a “bug” that prevents Vista from playing nice with their Linux-based ISP. Of course, the translation is sketchy at best, but it seems that these poor users are being forced to pause until the issue is resolved; however, considering that the ISP is blaming Microsoft for the flaw and refusing to change the configuration of its hardware in order to cope, who knows how long these citizens will be without their daily dose of the web.

[Via The Inquirer]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Right on cue, the Electoral Commission has published findings from a number of UK e-voting trials, and just as expected, they went about as awry as they possibly could. Within the 24-page document resides a comedy of errors that would certainly put any other system on an eternal blacklist, but the blind faith in e-voting continues to allow events such as these to complicate democratic procedures. For starters, it was noted that the “use of electronic counting significantly increased the total cost of delivering these elections compared with a manual count,” and furthermore, the scanning of ballot papers “took a lot longer than expected due to the need to scan certain batches more than once.” Needless to say, the amount of mishaps involved are far too numerous to cover in this space, but hopefully the UK will take our interestingly administered warning to heart now that it has experienced similar turmoil. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via The Inquirer, image courtesy of BBC]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wearables

If anyone gave that Zune tattoo guy props for his bravery / stupidity, you owe a handful of kudos to this fellow, too. In an admittedly bizarre move to show one’s disdain (right?) for the always infuriating Blue Screen of Death, this man has went so far as to tattoo the BSOD error message on his arm, presumably as a battle scar for all those Windows driver installations gone terribly awry. Next up? We’re betting on a Kernel Panic tat for arm number two.

[Via Tumbl, thanks Laura]

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Source: Darren Murph

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