paper

Disney has developed a way to use a sheet of paper as a power source, thereby eliminating the need for batteries. The concept is being tested and, if those tests prove successful, the idea could be used to make Disney children's books. But it could ... also prove useful for a range of gadgets. The system uses electret, a material that permanently holds an electrical charge. It works with static electricity, but can be compared to a magnet. Teflon, more commonly associated with non-stick cookware, is an electret material. If you rub Teflon against paper, it creates an opposing electrical charge in ... (view more)

Megaupload's lawyers say that the United States Department of Justice's copyright infringement charges represent "prosecutorial overreach" and have no basis in U.S. law. The site's legal team made that argument in a white paper released to the media ... on Tuesday. According to that white paper, the Department of Justice is pursuing its case against Megaupload and site founder Kim Dotcom on a "theory" that the accused participated in criminal secondary copyright infringement. However, there's no basis for such an argument in U.S. criminal law. Secondary Copyright Infringement Not A Crime, Lawyers ... (view more)

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) plans to join the twenty-first century by using computer systems rather than paper to manage its cases. The change may improve detection rates by making it easier to cross-reference data between cases. ... The new computer system, called Sentinel, will also allow FBI agents to make notes on cases via dedicated software. A demonstration for reporters showed that Sentinel contains elements reminiscent of consumer software, such as web browsers, Microsoft Outlook, and tax preparation software. (Source: wsj.com ) FBI personnel have been using Sentinel ... (view more)

Alaska Airlines will soon issue its pilots with iPads as a replacement for paper documentation. The main reason for the switch is that the 1.5 pound iPad is lighter. Compared to flight manuals that are roughly 25 pounds, the iPad 2 offers a ... significant savings in weight. Often the paper bundles are so large that it must be carried in a special bag. Among the documents are manuals for specific flights and the systems used on particular aircraft. There are also documents about the procedures that flight crew must follow during a flight. Heft Printing Costs Wiped Out Although buying the iPads ... (view more)

Puretext Have you ever copied some text from a web page or a document and then wanted to paste it as simple text into another application without getting all the formatting from the original source? PureText makes this simple by adding a new Windows ... hot-key (default is WINDOWS+V) that allows you to paste text to any application without formatting. http://stevemiller.net/puretext/ Paper Changer Paper Changer is a small application for changing the background wallpaper on the windows desktop from a random selection of JPEG images within a specified folder. Paper Changer can be set to change the ... (view more)

A lot of the hoopla surrounding the new Windows Vista operating system (OS) is based on it's new multimedia capabilities. However, users purchasing Vista to use the much-hyped and enhanced multimedia capabilities to watch high definition or blu-ray ... DVDs -- or to listen to audio CDs -- may be in for a very upsetting surprise. In a disturbing, albeit, eye-opening white paper detailing a cost analysis of Windows Vista Contect Protection, Peter Gutmann (a Department of Computer Science security engineering researcher at the University of Auckland, New Zealand) details the consequences of ... (view more)

One area of computing that we haven't touched on yet is printing. With today's hardware prices, I suppose it would be safe to say that most home computer owners have an ink jet or bubble jet printer connected to their system. From Dot Matrix to Ink ... Jet and Bubble Jet The first, commercially available for the PC market, 'bubble jet' printer was introduced back in the early '80s by Hewlett Packard. It was small, required each sheet of paper to be hand fed, about the size of a cigar box, and consumed paper and ink to produce a fairly good result. One of the greatest features of the bubble jet ... (view more)

Synopsis: Is your computer desktop covered with leaflets of paper reminders? Want to recover your previous desktop space and reclaim your sanity? Then why not try Cute Reminder?! With Cute Reminder, you can create simply-to-use (and non-annoying!) ... reminders to manage your desktop notes with just one or two mouse clicks! Cute Reminder's extremely easy to use interface provides comfort at your workplace whether you're in the office or at home. With the help of Cute Reminder software, you can easily create desktop sticky notes and make reminders for an appointment, birthday, phone call, bill ... (view more)

Recall -- Last week, Infopackets Reader Jenny C. asked if I knew of a freeware greeting card program. She wrote: " I am wondering if you could help me: I have been trying to find a small (and hopefully free) software program to create ordinary ... greeting cards -- one that I can put my own pictures or clipart on, write my own verse, and mail it (via snail mail) to friends. I used to use a greeting card program that came pre-packaged with my computer, but the program has expired and I can no longer use it. I would love to make my own greeting cards and I am sure other subscribers would too. ... (view more)

I agree with the John Cusack character, Rob Gordon, from the movie High Fidelity: "there's nothing like a well constructed mix tape, or CD!" In the same respect, applying the right finishing touches -- like a colorful label and detailed track list ... -- makes an audio CD complete. What is Acoustica CD Label Maker? Acoustica CD Label Maker is perfect for printing custom label designs for CD and DVD discs and jewel cases. Acoustica CD Label Maker: Features Import art from stock graphics or use your own graphics: A large selection of stock images come bundled with the label maker, ... (view more)