Amnesty International has installed a new anti-domestic-abuse ad fixture in Hamburg, Germany which is equal parts clever and shocking: when you look at the photo, it's a smiling couple; when you look away, it's a dude punchin' a lady.

The billboard works by scanning its proximity with an eye-tracking camera, which triggers an image switch on the display panel when it senses someone looking at it. The change only occurs after a brief delay, so that observers understand what's going on, and get the message.

It's a fantastically effective concept, and a brilliant use of technology. Kind of sad, then, that it's probably award bait, and doomed to be a lone installation, according to Copyranter. [Copyranter via Dvice]

Companies like Wicked Lasers will sell you a Blu-ray diode laser. But this DIY keychain looks flat-out deadly in this photo, like a mini one-shot pistol of the future...that can fire for a whole hour before recharging.

One modder bought a brass keychain from Lowe's, then squeezed a Blu-ray diode inside along with a 200mW lithium ion battery inside. (The photo here is technically of his 6x build of the laser, which actually burns out in about half an hour but operates at 268mW.) No matter how many lasers we see (hopefully not beamed directly into our eyes), we just don't get sick of em. Actually, the ones that shoot right into your eyes are pretty great, too. [Hack n Mod via Hackaday]

Sure, your black DualShock3 is clad in a timeless color. But this silver DualShock3 can match that pile of obsolete cellphones you have in the bottom of your closet. And it's available now at Gamestop for $55. [Gamestop via Kotaku]

CNET has a source saying Microsoft is considering selling Windows 7 on flash drives, making installation on netbooks—a declared target for the OS—much simpler. In case you were wondering, Microsoft, this would be greatly appreciated. [CNET]

To their credit, Apple addressed complaints about a downgraded, slower SATA interface on their new MacBook Pros fairly quickly. Unfortunately, that hasty firmware update seems to be causing much more serious problems. For example! Not recognizing common hard drives.

A rapidly growing thread over at Apple's Support site is brimming with people reporting that the new firmware update—which simply jacks up the MacBook's SATA interface to a maximum potential bandwidth of 3GB/s, like in older models—causes their laptops to fail to recognize a wide variety of third party hard drives, leaving their computers effectively crippled.

You could argue that Apple's firmwares don't necessarily need to accommodate whatever modifications and third party hardware users might subject them to, but in this particular situation, that logic doesn't hold. The only way to even notice the MacBooks' decreased 1.5GB/s bandwidth would be to install an ultra-fast, aftermarket SSD, so Apple's firmware update was a response to its users' desire to use third party hardware. From the looks of it, this particular hiccup will affect more users than the first one, so Apple should be—pending an investigation—obligated to fix it. Should.

If you haven't applied the first update, Adam's initial advice has turned out to be very prescient:

If you're not planning on swapping in an SSD, you don't need to worry about this firmware update.

[Apple via The Register]

Fortune's profile-cum-appraisal of Howard Stringer and his efforts to reform Sony paints a fairly bleak picture. Stringer's got some solid ideas, but implementing them sounds like a nightmare, and the future—even in his hopeful forecast—is alarmingly hazy.

The buzz around Stringer's ascension has always been that he would bring an assertive, brasher management style to the company, which would allow him to enact the sweeping reforms the company needs. The problem is, his new ideas often fall on deaf ears, and he's finding getting anything done plainly difficult. The piece is a great read on the whole, but doesn't see a clear way forward for Stringer, or Sony. Hence, this sad passage:

The real test of Stringer's game plan is a product that doesn't even exist yet, isn't a machine, and has no code name. It is a kind of omnibus web-based software platform that will use the power of the Internet to connect the company's rich library of content and devices, creating a multimedia experience for customers that actually rewards them for buying multiple Sony products and services.

In other words, Sony need to become Google and Apple, all at once, in about a year. Good luck, Howie! [Fortune via Chris Anderson]

That HTC's "Sense" interface would run on older hardware was known for months before its official announcement, so a sanctioned update for existing phones makes sense, right? Turns out, there might be an extremely annoying barrier standing in HTC's way.

Partially contradicting earlier (but no less tenuous) reports that the interface would be ported to other Android phones, MobileBurn is now claiming an HTC representative told them that "licensing restrictions" would prevent the company's customized, proprietary interface from arriving on "with Google" branded phones—which include the T-Mobile G1 (Dream) and MyTouch 3G (Magic).

At first glance this sounds petty and strange, but oh, goddamn it, there's a precedent. From May:

We've just learned that HTC is including a built-in Microsoft Exchange client on the HTC Magic devices that lack the "with Google" branding... According to HTC's Eric Lin, the "with Google" phones will sport the stock Android smartphone operating system, while the non-Google branded phone will include HTC developed "special sauce."

I'm sure there's a sound legal reason for this, but that doesn't stop it from being as annoying as all hell. It looks like this one might be up to you, homebrewers. [MobileBurn--Thanks, Alan!]

Not that anyone ever had any doubts that the Dev Team would be able to work their magic on the 3GS, but this is quick: within a week of the phone's launch, the hackers say they've figured it out.

The Dev Team says that the 3GS is vulnerable to the same "24Kpwn" bootrom exploit that plagues the iPod Touch 2G—an unpatchable, un-updatable route of access for jailbreakers. Additionally, they expect to be able to unlock the phone with the ultrasn0w tool, using familiar techniques.

What seems a little odd about this is that the 3GS would be so susceptible to hacking, and in such way that had been identified months ago. The Touch 2G had additional protections that the iPhone 3G didn't, and it was released just a few months after. The 3GS, however, was released well over six months after the Touch 2G and quite some time after its predecessors exploits had been publicly identified, but doesn't appear to have substantially different protections.

There are two possibilities here: either the 3GS development and manufacturing schedule is longer and more rigid than the iPod Touch 2G's (the Dev Team says its bootrom was "cut" in August of 2008, before the 24kpwn exploit was identified) or, more compellingly, Apple just doesn't really care that much about jailbreaking anymore. I'll assume the former, and quietly hope for the latter. [Dev Team—Thanks, Bhoumik and Eric!]

RIAA member Universal Music Group was forced to settle a piracy suit it had brought against Mavis Roy after suffering a bit of a setback in their prosecution: Mavis Roy did not own a computer when UMG first brought suit.

Roy, a New Hampshire resident, actually thought the letters she received from UMG's lawyers were either a joke or a scam and didn't respond for several months. Her reaction is pretty understandable; the RIAA simply directed her to a site where she could pay her "debt" with a credit card (which certainly seems like a scam) and, again, Roy did not own a damn computer.

UMG had mistakenly sued her due to the vast deficiencies in MediaSentry, the anti-piracy software the RIAA uses to track down pirates. MediaSentry incorrectly pinpoints IP addresses with not uncommon frequency, and this is obviously one such case. Roy mounted a case and UMG was forced to settle out of court, for fear that any decision at all would result in a precedent that could mean future suits could be thrown out as well. Unfortunately, the settlement does not include UMG paying Roy to apologize for being such a-holes about the whole thing, and neither side will receive any money. [Recording Industry vs. The People via Electronista]

Here's a nice one for Mac-using amateur musicians: Apogee's ONE is a multifunctional handheld device that features a built-in mic, preamp, and dedicated input/output. It works over USB and is designed for Garage Band, Final Cut, and the like.

It's a single input, stereo output device, offering 24-bit audio between 44.1 and 48KHz sample rates in a package around the same size (though thicker) than an iPhone. Apogee's putting emphasis on the built-in mic (they even offer a stand so you can treat the whole thing like a handheld mic), though it's got one input for instruments or your own mic. That input is coupled with a preamp, customizable using the ONE's controls.

The ONE is designed to work with Apple's range of audio software, including iTunes, Garage Band, Logic, and Final Cut, though we don't imagine it would have trouble working with non-Apple software as well. It remains to be seen whether the built-in mic is everything Apogee claims; on such a small device, we're skeptical but remain hopeful. It'll be available sometime in "late July" at a pretty reasonable $250. [Apogee]