Security

When a neighborhood watch group escalates from its watchdog origins to outright vigilantism, is nothing to be done to protect the lives innocent citizens? So is the question asked by the Trayvon Martin camp. However, in their fervor to prove their point, they have assumed the same extreme behavior online as that which they are condemning on the streets.

Toward the end of 2011, the American Censorship Org took action against SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), a U.S. bill racing through Congress that threatens "prosperity, online security and freedom of expression." On January 18, thousands of websites like Wikipedia have pledged to go dark online in protest. To show its solidarity, Google has blocked out their iconic logo on their search engine.

SwitchEasy's colorful “Melt” 3D cases for the iPhone 4 or 4S keep your smartphone safe from life's hard knocks while managing to look hot and cool at the same time. The cases feature a slick, shiny, melty-look top portion molded in smooth polycarbonate plastic for easy ingress and egress from the owner's pocket.

Someday we'll be "flying" our cars and computers by the seat of our pants, if a unique new sensor system developed by engineers at Japan's Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology is adopted by car & chair makers. It seems each person leaves a unique impression when they sit down and the resulting digital pressure patterns can be used to identify drivers from the bottom up, so to speak.

I see your snowshoes and I raise you: Ice Shoes! Actually these Magic Spiker winter soles stretch over almost any shoe, turning the most mundane loafers into ice-gripping, non-slipping, cold-weather warriors. Pretty slick, huh?

The Geiger Fukushima iPhone was designed to be cheap yet effective in exposing radiation hotspots. It accomplishes these goals by working with the owner's iPhone and a dedicated app, thus reducing duplication of components. Bonus: it's made in Japan's hard-hit Fukushima prefecture!

Running with scissors again? Japan has something for that: the “Clippy” pocket scissors holster! This kissin' cousin to the classic nerdy Pocket Protector makes it possible for sharp travelers to practice safe snips.

Awakened like a sleeping giant, the 99 Percenters were first motivated by the Arab Spring - but now have orchestrated a movement that has taken on a whole life of their own. Commencing with a make-shift tent city constructed overnight in downtown Manhattan four weeks ago, Occupy Wall Street has caught not only America's zeitgeist but one that is cyberventilating across the globe as well.

Ready for the next tsunami? Then you've really got balls: enhanced fiberglass “Noah” capsule balls, to be exact. Japan's Cosmo Power designed these bright yellow survival spheres so users can escape onrushing floods and ride the relentless quake-spawned tidal waves to rescue.

A Japanese research team has been awarded the 2011 Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their patented invention, the Wasabi Smoke Alarm. As previously reported at InventorSpot in March of 2008, the silent alarm releases a mist of pungent wasabi oil that will wake up those with hearing disabilities in case of fire or a related emergency.

Japan's largest mobile phone service provider, NTT DoCoMo, has produced a prototype cellphone case that adds a radiation detecting function to your smartphone.

Watch out for the F50, China's first flying robotic drone. Small as a pizza pan and equipped with an HD video camera, you can be sure it'll be watching you!

While the blogoshere is cyberventilating once again about the imminent demise of Facebook (anybody remember the "We're Quitting Facebook Day" scheduled for May 31, 2010?), the ghost of Guy Fawkes has been evoked to stir the conspiracy pot. Five hundred years to the day, the Hacker activist group known as Anonymous is claiming they will coincide their destruction of Facebook with Fawkes attempt to blow up the House of Parliament on November 5, 1605.

The China Experimental Fast Reactor, or CEFR for short, has begun pumping power into China's national electric grid. By greatly increasing fuel efficiency and minimizing the discharge of long-lasting toxic waste, the CEFR pioneers the new direction nuclear power plants must take in a world where nuclear power is coming under increasing scrutiny.

Japanese teachers recently subdued and immobilized a knife-wielding intruder using a variation of the traditional, two-pronged Sasumata. The incident highlights this ancient fighting weapon in its modern iteration as a non-violent, noninvasive, “Man-Catcher” school safety device.

Back in February, when Mia Cambronero was stepping down from her post as Social Networks Manager for President Obama, the open position and job description sought job candidates that were "passionate about engaging millions of Americans in advancing President Obama's agenda and changing the country." And going into the 2012 elections, our "social media" head of state is not going to shy away from social media like so many other politicians who fear from the backlash of Representative Weiner's "below the belt" sharing.

Remote-control Predator drones operated by the U.S. Air Force may not be old & busted but Japan's army just rolled out some awesome new hotness: a flying robot orb ready for recon or defcon!

So you want to drive an EV (electric vehicle) but worry about being stranded when the power runs out... it's a valid concern that puts off many potential EV buyers. Now a pilot project from Nissan and the JAF (Japanese Auto Federation) is addressing the issue by testing an EV Roadside Assistance Charger Vehicle.

The model 303-F "Yomikaeru" microSD & SD Card Reader Frog from Japan Trust Technology (JTT) is one electronic data reading device that isn't afraid to toad the line.