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Top 5 Gadgets That Could Get You Arrested
OK, we'll admit it. Some of us are drawn to dangerous gear like bears to a picnic basket. There's just something devilishly appealing about mixing a few of our favorite things (tech toys) with one of our least (a ride in the back of a squad car). Although we'd never condone breaking the law with these five gadgets, we can't deny our morbid fascination with them. Just remember: If misused, these gizmos could get you slapped with a set of handcuffs along with a criminal record. 1. The WASP Knife A vicious double-whammy of sharpened steel and freezing gas menaces watermelons everywhere. Image: Courtesy of WASP Knife Designed to quickly dispatch marauding undersea predators, this 5.25-inch hunting/tactical blade conceals a catastrophic one-two punch. After you shank say, a Great White Shark, a flick of a button injects the beast with an 800-psi blast of compressed air. This basketball-sized sphere of freezing gas decimates the interior of whatever it's injected into; whatever's left simply floats to the surface. It works great on watermelons, too. Why It'd Get You Arrested: Stabbing random objects on dry land (and then making them explode) is the fast track to a vandalism charge. Turning the WASP Knife on an innocent creature for non-defense purposes, though? Depending on the state, you're looking at aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, animal cruelty or even the rarely used "mayhem" charge. 2. Sonar II Burner The Sonar II can burn through garbage bags and retinas with equal aplomb. Image: Courtesy of Wicked Lasers Look, everyone wants a lightsaber. But we can't have them because: A) midi-chlorians don't exist and, B) law enforcement agencies are already less-than-enthused over high-power handheld lasers. Consider for a moment, Wicked Lasers' Sonar II Burner. Essentially a more powerful version of the lasers found in Blu-ray players, this six-inch tool doesn't have to compensate for anything; it can light matches, burn holes through paper and melt plastic. Why It'd Get You Arrested: Where to begin? At 60mW, the Sonar II is totally capable of starting fires (arson), burning retinas (assault) and disorienting airline pilots (Gitmo). 3. EMT Paintball Sentry Turret Fires 30 rounds per second. Fully automated. Illegal in virtually all forms of competitive paintball. Image: Courtesy of Evolution Model Technology May the Flying Spaghetti Monster's noodley appendage help the poor schmoe who ends up in the cross hairs of the Sentry Turret. This remote-controlled, tripod-mounted paintball cannon unleashes oil-based vengeance at 30 rounds per second on full-auto. And all you paint-balling pros take note: The EMT is not some glorified sloppy-shot Brass Eagle. Integrated-vibration dampeners plus rotation/tilt mechanisms make rounds fired from this gadget highly accurate. Why It'd Get You Arrested: With the amount of paint the Sentry is capable of unloading, you'd definitely be facing accusations of assault, disturbing the peace and any other charges your welt-covered victims care to press. 4. Fiber Laser Marking System It may not look menacing, but this portable laser can sear images into rock, glass and metal. Image: Courtesy of Laser Photonics If you're going to deface public property, you might as well get an assist from technology. Laser Photonic's unintentional contribution to this practice is the "Handheld Fiber Laser Marking System." This portable, high-power laser was originally designed for etching graphics into industrial surfaces like metal, glass and stone. Sure, it lacks the DIY charm of spray paint. But it makes up for this by running off a car battery, and being able to etch almost any graphic you can load on a multimedia card. Why It'd Get You Arrested: Tagging public property with such creativity and zeal is likely to bump up the charge. A number of states reserve the right to boost vandalism charges to the felonious level if the damage exceeds $400, is especially malicious or is performed by a repeat offender. 5. Lil' Buttie LB110 Don’t let the name fool you; this gadget is not your friend … if you get caught illegally tapping a phone line with it. Image: Courtesy of Test-Um You don't have to work for the NSA to listen to other people's phone calls. A nifty lineman's handset like the Lil' Buttie LB110 is enough to do the trick. This cheap, easy-to-find gadget is the cornerstone of tapping a phone line. All it really takes is hooking the handset's alligator clamps to a set of exposed telephone wires and syncing up the handset. Once you're on the line, you can snoop on conversations, record them or even dial out at your leisure. Why It'd Get You Arrested: Despite what you may think, owning a "butt set" isn't illegal. Don't be fooled though -- unless you're using it for running diagnostics on your own phone line, someone's bound to drop the hammer. Getting caught using (or even installing) an unauthorized line is the express lane to a felonious wiretapping charge, and/or a lifetime of government scrutiny. Trust us on this one.
Publ.Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:30:00 GMT
Source: Wired.com
Hans Reiser Sentenced
Linux Guru Hans Reiser was sentenced to 15-to-life Friday for murdering Nina Reiser, his wife who was divorcing him. Reiser, the developer of the ReiserFS file system, maintained throughout a six-month-long trial that his wife abandoned their two young children after he confronted her with allegations she bilked his Oakland, California software company Namesys. After his conviction, he brought authorities to her unmarked grave as part of a deal for a reduced sentence.
Publ.Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:01:37 GMT
Source: Wired.com
The Envirosight Supervision 250 Crawls Through Sewer Pipes So No Human Has To
What it is: Envirosight SuperVision 250 What it's used for: Revealing damage deep inside city pipes You go, you flush: out of sight, out of mind. Not for city maintenance crews. With 850 billion gallons of sewer and storm water leaking into watersheds around the country every year, the Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on cracked pipes. And the SuperVision 250 is riding that great, stinky wave of demand. Placed in pipes 10 to 72 inches in diameter, this little guy will track down splits, debris, corrosion, and breaks. Operators can watch the video feed from the 10X optical-zoom autofocus camera and use a joystick to pan and tilt. A ring of high-intensity, shadowless LEDs illuminates the scene; dual lasers help size up defects. A sapphire window shields the camera lens, while hardened stainless steel parts protect the crawler from the harsh sewer environment. And thanks to an ultrathin, Kevlar-reinforced tether (sorry, no wireless), the bot can crawl up to 1,640 feet through even heavily obstructed pipes. Just make sure to hose it off when it comes back.
Publ.Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT
Source: Wired.com
McCain Picks Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Running Mate
The 44-year-old former beauty queen, announced today as John McCain's presidential running mate, loves America and hates polar bears.
Publ.Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:18:00 GMT
Source: Wired.com
Flexy Motorola Phone Bends in Half, Breaks Our Hearts
The innovative Motorola Z10 is out and it's giving us the bends. The new slider actually features a hinged midsection which bends at an angle when you answer the phone. Aside form this unique feature though everything else about this handset is a bit hard to deal with. The OS is confusing and obtuse while the 3MP camera is woefully inadequate for the video recording capabilities the phone is designed to perform.
Publ.Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:53:00 GMT
Source: Wired.com
Snail Car Is Born When Math, Dreams Collide
California artists create The Golden Mean, a rolling tribute to an aesthetically pleasing ratio, and take the piece on the road to Burning Man.
Publ.Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:09:00 GMT
Source: Wired.com
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