iPod will be model for Omniyat's new tower

Dubai: Real estate developer Omniyat Properties is planning to launch projects worth more than Dh3 billion in 2007, starting with a tower inspired by Apple's iPod MP3 player.

The company will announce at least two residential projects and one commercial development and will open its account in February with the innovative iPad residential tower in Business Bay.

The 23-storey building, which is scheduled to bring more than 200 units onto the market in 2009, was designed by Hong Kong-based architects James Law Cybertecture International.

The tower will sit atop a docking station angled at six degrees to give the exact look.

With a property portfolio worth Dh2.7 billion in its first year of operations - made up of four luxury commercial developments in Business Bay and one residential tower - the company has already made a swift impression on the market.

"Our aim was to launch three projects this year but strong market demand encouraged us to deliver more. Out of the entire portfolio, we have sealed sales worth approximately Dh2.4 billion," said Mehdi Amjad, president and CEO of Omniyat Properties, an arm of Almasa Holdings.

Amjad admitted the company has still to face its biggest challenge. "We are aware that today people are taking us at face value on what we promise, but by 2008 when we hand over our first project, they will judge us on the quality of the product we deliver."

Next year will see the launch of new companies under the recently-formed Omniyat Holdings parent company.

The organisation was set up with an authorised capital of $250 million and initial paid-up capital of $100 million and will manage Omniyat Properties and a host of upcoming companies and projects.

Amjad said the first new company will focus on serving the property industry and will be listed on a major international stock exchange.

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iGlove Multi

One of the more irritating aspects of cold weather comes into play when you try and use things with gloves on. Things like iPods, for instance. Now, with the iGlove Multi ($35), at least you can use your iPods in warmth, thanks to Click Wheel compatible tips on the thumb and forefingers. Just make sure not to try and change tracks during a snowball fight.

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iSoundCap offers iPod-ready Ski Cap

iSoundCap has announced the iSoundCap Ski Cap, a new iPod-ready cap designed for skiing and other cold weather activities. “This new cap, made of 100% acrylic, not only will keep the head warm, but will also hold an iPod nano in a water resistant protective pocket,” says the company. “The clear plastic covering the iPod wheel allows the user to change volume and song without removing the ski cap: just hit your playlist and go.” Pricing and availability were not announced.

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Nike+ IPod = Surveillance

If you enhance your workout with the new Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, you may be making yourself a surveillance target.

A report from four University of Washington researchers to be released Thursday reveals that security flaws in the new RFID-powered device from Nike and Apple make it easy for tech-savvy stalkers, thieves and corporations to track your movements. With just a few hundred dollars and a little know-how, someone could even plot your running routes on a Google map without your knowledge.

The Nike+ iPod gives runners real-time updates about the speed and length of their workouts via a small RFID device that fits into the soles of Nike shoes, and broadcasts workout data to a small receiver plugged into an iPod Nano.

While this setup sounds convenient and cool, it didn't sit well with Scott Saponas, a computer science graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle. After enjoying his Nike+ iPod for a few months, Saponas began to suspect there might be other, more nefarious uses for the gear.

He brought his concerns to University of Washington computer science professor Yoshi Kohno and fellow graduate students Carl Hartung and Jonathan Lester. After just a few weeks of tinkering, the four researchers discovered that the Nike+ iPod is, as Kohno put it, "an easy surveillance device."

The first problem is that the RFID in the shoe sensor contains its own on-board power source, essentially turning your running shoe into a small radio station capable of being received from up to 60 feet away, with a signal powerful enough to be picked up from a passing car.

Compare this with the roughly 3-centimeter to 10-inch read range of a typical consumer-grade RFID, such as the kind you find in smart tags in Gap clothing or in credit cards, which is passively powered by the reader.

Additionally, the sensor will reveal its unique ID to any Nike+ iPod receiver. With a quick hardware hack that Kohno said "any high school student could do in the garage," the researchers hooked a Nike+ iPod receiver up to a Linux-based "gumstix" -- a tiny, $79 computer that could easily be hidden in door frames, in trees next to jogging trails or in a pocket.

In their report, the researchers detail a scenario in which a stalker who wants to know when his ex-girlfriend is at home taps into her Nike+ iPod system. He simply hides the gumstix device next to her door, and it registers her presence as she passes by in her Nike shoes. If he adds a small "wifistix" antenna to the device, it can transmit this information to any nearby Wi-Fi access point and alert him to her presence via SMS or by plotting her location on Google Maps.

A thief could use a similar set-up to case several houses at once, figuring out when Nike-wearing owners are at home and when they aren't.

Neither Apple nor Nike had comments at press time.

Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Lee Tien says the Nike+ iPod is a harbinger of things to come. "We're going to see more devices like this in the next few years," he said. "This isn't just a problem with the Nike+ iPod per se -- it's a cautionary tale about what happens when companies unwittingly build a surveillance capacity into their products."

UC Berkeley RFID researcher David Molnar agreed with Tien, adding, "This shows a need for independent oversight and investigation of these technologies before they go to market. These things happen because the people building devices don't think about privacy implications."

Molnar also speculated about how easy it would be for a company to build their own tiny readers and deploy them in a large environment, selling the data stream to those who would track spouses or teens, or collect information about how many people wearing Nikes visit malls or movie theaters. "Given that there are no laws about skimming data in California right now, it would be perfectly legal to do it there," he said.

The researchers, for their part, just want to see Apple, Nike and other manufacturers fix the problem. They offer a simple solution in their report, which is to build the sensors to speak to only one reader.

"Using relatively standard cryptographic techniques, you could make it very difficult to listen to broadcasts from somebody else's sensor," said Kohno. He hastened to add that he doesn't believe Apple and Nike purposefully designed the sensors to be surveillance-friendly. "I just think companies should be as aware of privacy issues as they are of safety issues," he said. "Too often, they aren't."

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Etymotic Research ety8 In-the-Ear Bluetooth Earphones and 8-Mate Adapter for iPod

Pros: A lightweight pair of Bluetooth 2.0 stereo earphones with the first-ever ability to fit inside your ear canals rather than on top of or around your ears. Includes adapter for connection to iPod; earphones work reliably at distances of 30 feet away. Aggregate sound quality is close to company’s award-winning ER-4P wired earphones, a major step forward for wireless technology, and though battery life varies by iPod model, it’s comparable to other wireless systems out there.

Cons: Very expensive relative to other iPod Bluetooth wireless headsets already in the marketplace. Wireless transceiver boxes look awkward in your ears, and possibly your iPod. Otherwise impressive audio quality is reduced by clicking interference in bass of some songs. Cable microphonics noticeable during movement.

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