NEW YORK - Doctors are often lauded as miracle workers, but even the most skilled have patients they can't help. Demetrios Leontaris keeps a picture of one on his cell phone organizer
Tapping at his keypad, he smiles as he pulls up a picture of the ill-fated patient: an iPod Nano left badly bruised after being run over by a car. While it still played, attempting to repair the casing could have broken the device.
A self-styled iPod Doctor, the affable Leontaris is a full-time iPod resuscitator, part of a cottage industry catering to music devotees whose musical companions have fallen ill, usually from mistreatment.
Aaron Vronko, co-founder of iPodmods.com, chuckles when recalling some of the grisly injuries he's seen. Some devices have been slammed in car doors, another was partially melted when left too close to a light bulb. Still others have unwittingly been made into rather expensive chew toys for dogs. Some are sent through washing machines.
For the grieving, the third-party repair shops offer hope. Even the most earnest-looking iPod owner would be too sheepish to try to exchange a water-logged iPod. In one such case, Vronko notes, the familiar whirr of the spinning hard drive took on more ominous sound: "You could hear it swishing around in there. There wasn't much we could do."
Apple Inc., maker of the popular music players, doesn't, for example, accept exchanges on iPods under warranty if their screens have been cracked or if it's clear they've been dropped. Customers can purchase a warranty extension that tacks a second year onto their coverage; the cost varies depending on the model.
The entrepreneurs have stepped in for those hoping to repair their iPods rather than buy new. Leontaris began repairing iPods and other digital music players about three years ago after he bought a used iPod online only to find it didn't work.
While Leontaris has long had an interest in tinkering with electronics he also has a well-ingrained entrepreneurial sense. As a child in Union, N.J., where he still lives, Leontaris and his brother would charge a dollar to haul groceries upstairs when their building's elevator went out.
"We were poor growing up so you didn't just throw it out and get a new one," the 32-year-old said. "If the VCR broke it was going to be another few months before we got one."
So the idea that people would want to repair portable music players — iPods range from about $80 to $350 — seemed logical to Leontaris.
He set up his Web site, http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_bi_ge/storytext/business_of_life/21925264/SIG=10uqkt80u/*http://www.nycipoddoctor.com, to draw customers from nearby New York City. Leontaris most often brings his SUV-cum-workshop to the customer, many of whom wait in the passenger seat, watching as he goes to work on their ailing device.
One customer, Tausif Husain, 38, of Queens, N.Y., recently watched as Leontaris gave a scratched video iPod a facelift by replacing the front and the back covers. Leontaris searched his cache of impossibly small screwdrivers — kept in what was once a cup holder — and placed the back plate of the now disjoined iPod over the windshield's defrost vents. The heat from the vents loosened the adhesive that helps hold some of the device's parts in place. Husain had a new protective case at the ready so the iPod wouldn't again be scarred by keys and loose change. "This is going to be a collector's item," he joked of the newly pristine iPod.
Leontaris said customers are often surprisingly happy to have their personal DJs back in working order. "It makes people happy." Adding to their sense of satisfaction: Leontaris' one-year guarantee.
As iPods and its competitors shed their girth and the devices rely on ever-smaller components, Leontaris expects his job will grow more difficult. "They're getting more complex. I'm probably going to be obsolete as time goes on."
For now, though, he has found a business that enables him to help support his wife and three children, charging $45 and up to replace a battery and $59 and up for a new screen, for example.
Others have carved out a business as well. Web sites likes http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_bi_ge/storytext/business_of_life/21925264/SIG=10pm7vodt/*http://www.iPodResQ.com and Vronko's http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_bi_ge/storytext/business_of_life/21925264/SIG=10p1fsg95/*http://www.ipodmods.com have sprung up for those looking to inject new life into their iPods.
Vronko, 24, founded iPodMods in Kalamazoo, Mich., with a friend after studying business in college; they set up the Web site in 2004. It has drawn customers from more than 65 countries.
With 90 million iPods sold, Vronko sees a growing pool of potential customers.
"We've gone from five a week to 500," he said. "Within a week of the model debuting, we get a phone call saying someone dropped it and broke the screen."
While the repairs could mean fewer iPods are sold, third-party repairers say iPod owners are more likely to feel confident about later buying a new iPod knowing there are options should an accident occur or the warranty expire.
Apple doesn't make repairs to products outside the warranty except to replace the rechargeable batteries. It will offer a 10 percent discount for trading in a broken iPod for a new one. Many third-party repair services buy broken iPods for parts.
Apple declined to comment on the role of third-party iPod repair.
"I think honestly they kind of happily ignore us," Vronko said.
Meanwhile, customers have posted recommendations for Web sites that do repairs in user forums on Apple's Web site.
Not all customers want to repair their iPods. Dan Williams, an 18-year-old college freshman in Akron, Ohio, has a nearly two-year-old iPod that's had difficulty retaining its charge since he dropped it. While he'd consider trying to have it repaired, he confessed to wanting to trade up to more storage capacity for a burgeoning music collection.
"I'm probably just going to go get a new one," he said.
And of course there are music lovers who might have difficulty facing a gloomy prognosis. Vronko recalled a man who was listening to his iPod while doing yard work and didn't realize he dropped it until after he'd run over it with the lawnmower.
"I don't think we did a lot for it," Vronko said. "We refunded his shipping to him and sent it to a metal recycler."
On the Net:
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_bi_ge/storytext/business_of_life/21925264/SIG=10uqkt80u/*http://www.nycipoddoctor.com
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_bi_ge/storytext/business_of_life/21925264/SIG=10pm7vodt/*http://www.iPodResQ.com
http://www.ipodmods.com
Written by TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer Tue Feb 13, 2:10 PM ET
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Pop-up Blocker Problem Found in Firefox
A flaw in the pop-up blocker of the open-source browser Firefox could allow an attacker to access local files, according to security analysts.
The flaw, however, does not affect Firefox 2.0, the latest version of the browser, but version 1.5.0.9, according to Beyond Security, which credited the find to Michal Zalewski.
The attack could occur if a user manually allows a pop-window to appear. The browser normally blocks access to local files, but when a pop-up is manually allowed, "normal URL permission checks are bypassed," Beyond Security said.
To make the hack work, however, a malicious file containing the exploit code would have to already be on the system, the advisory said. The file could be planted on the system by enticing a user to click on a link that would download the file.
The malicious file could then enable access to other files, which could be transferred to a remote server. Mozilla Corp., the distributor of Firefox, could not immediately comment on the report.
Written by: Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service Thu Feb 8, 2:00 PM ET
The flaw, however, does not affect Firefox 2.0, the latest version of the browser, but version 1.5.0.9, according to Beyond Security, which credited the find to Michal Zalewski.
The attack could occur if a user manually allows a pop-window to appear. The browser normally blocks access to local files, but when a pop-up is manually allowed, "normal URL permission checks are bypassed," Beyond Security said.
To make the hack work, however, a malicious file containing the exploit code would have to already be on the system, the advisory said. The file could be planted on the system by enticing a user to click on a link that would download the file.
The malicious file could then enable access to other files, which could be transferred to a remote server. Mozilla Corp., the distributor of Firefox, could not immediately comment on the report.
Written by: Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service Thu Feb 8, 2:00 PM ET
New hack simplifies high-definition video copying
San Francisco (IDGNS) - A hacker claims to have discovered a cryptographic key that can be used to circumvent copy restrictions on HD DVD and Blu-ray movies.
The key, which was published Sunday on the Doom9.org discussion forum, is a further step toward undermining the next-generation AACS (Advanced Access Content System) encryption system used to copy-protect high-definition media.
The hacker, going by the name of Arnezami, said he discovered the key by examining what was happening in his computer's memory while it processed an HD DVD video.
A spokeswoman for the group that sets the AACS specification, called the AACS Licensing Administrator, said Arnezami's claims were being investigated but declined to provide further comment.
In late December, a different hacker, named Muslix64, posted a software program that could decrypt high-definition movies. Users needed to first enter another type of encryption key, called the "volume key," for the software to work. More than 100 of these volume keys have since popped up, allowing users to freely copy such films as King Kong, Mission: Impossible and Jarhead.
The publication of this latest key, called a processing key, gives users a much easier way to figure out the volume keys they need in order to make movie copies with the HDDVDBackup software, according to Arnezami.
Introduced in April 2005, AACS is supported by media and technology companies such as Microsoft, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic), Sony, Toshiba, The Walt Disney Co., and Warner Bros.
The encryption system is designed to be more robust than the CSS (content scrambling system) encryption scheme used by DVDs, which was completely cracked in late 1999.
Written by Robert McMillan Wed Feb 14, 10:01 AM ET
The key, which was published Sunday on the Doom9.org discussion forum, is a further step toward undermining the next-generation AACS (Advanced Access Content System) encryption system used to copy-protect high-definition media.
The hacker, going by the name of Arnezami, said he discovered the key by examining what was happening in his computer's memory while it processed an HD DVD video.
A spokeswoman for the group that sets the AACS specification, called the AACS Licensing Administrator, said Arnezami's claims were being investigated but declined to provide further comment.
In late December, a different hacker, named Muslix64, posted a software program that could decrypt high-definition movies. Users needed to first enter another type of encryption key, called the "volume key," for the software to work. More than 100 of these volume keys have since popped up, allowing users to freely copy such films as King Kong, Mission: Impossible and Jarhead.
The publication of this latest key, called a processing key, gives users a much easier way to figure out the volume keys they need in order to make movie copies with the HDDVDBackup software, according to Arnezami.
Introduced in April 2005, AACS is supported by media and technology companies such as Microsoft, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic), Sony, Toshiba, The Walt Disney Co., and Warner Bros.
The encryption system is designed to be more robust than the CSS (content scrambling system) encryption scheme used by DVDs, which was completely cracked in late 1999.
Written by Robert McMillan Wed Feb 14, 10:01 AM ET
MySpace teen suit dismissed by Texas court
NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp.'s MySpace said on Wednesday a federal court dismissed a negligence lawsuit filed by the family of a teenage girl who was a victim of an adult sex predator she met on the popular Internet social network.
Judge Sam Sparks of the U.S. District Court for the Western district of Texas granted MySpace's motion to dismiss charges for negligence and fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
MySpace separately faces several other lawsuits filed by families of teenage girl victims of predators on the service.
Judge Sam Sparks of the U.S. District Court for the Western district of Texas granted MySpace's motion to dismiss charges for negligence and fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
MySpace separately faces several other lawsuits filed by families of teenage girl victims of predators on the service.
NY, Calif more likely identity theft targets: study
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Yorkers, especially around New York City, and Californians, especially around Los Angeles, are more likely to be targets of identity theft, according to a new study.
The study released Wednesday by ID Analytics Inc., a San Diego fraud security firm, found that New York, California and Nevada have the highest incidence of attempted identity theft, while Wyoming, Vermont and Montana have the lowest rates.
Three other Western states ranked in the top 10 in fraud attempts: Arizona (4), Oregon (7) and Washington (9).
Among states with large populations, Illinois ranked 5th, Michigan 8th, Texas 10th, New Jersey 12th, Florida 14th, Pennsylvania 36th, and Ohio 46th.
Urban areas had higher fraud rates because larger populations make it easier for criminals to "operate under the radar," according to Stephen Coggeshall, chief technology officer at ID Analytics.
"With respect to income," he added, "(fraud) rates are elevated at the high and low income ranges, and lower in middle income levels. In New York, for example, that could help explain some rates, and why there appear to be 'pockets' of fraud."
The study was released two weeks after Javelin Strategy & Research, a Pleasanton, California firm, said identity theft cost Americans $49.3 billion last year, an 11.5 percent drop that might reflect increased vigilance.
It said people with incomes above $150,000 were among those most at risk.
ID Analytics studied incidents from January 2003 to June 2006, including attempted thefts as well as reported crimes, using data collected from clients and public sources.
It said 10 percent to 15 percent of fraud attempts involve stolen identities of actual consumers, while the balance involved criminals creating identities with real and false data.
According to the study, Manhattan residents with zip codes beginning with "100" were four times as likely to be targeted. Next were Brooklyn, New York residents with 112 codes, and Detroit residents with 482 codes.
The next four zip codes were in the Bronx, Manhattan and Nassau County, New York, followed by the 948 code in Contra Costa County, near San Francisco, and Los Angeles' 900 code.
Of the top 50 codes, two-thirds were in New York and California.
Some findings appeared unusual.
The fraud rate in one zip code for Floral Park, New York was 63.3 times the national average, which Coggeshall attributed to an unexplained surge in 2005.
That rate dwarfed the next highest rate, 12.3 times the national average, in the zip code for Faulkton, South Dakota -- population 703.
Coggeshall said the data suggested that for consumers, "it's important to be aware of your general level of identity risk."
Experts urge consumers not to divulge personal data in response to unsolicited communications. They also recommend consumers notify financial services providers and file fraud alerts with credit bureaus if they suspect identity theft.
Written By Jonathan Stempel Wed Feb 14, 10:42 AM ET
The study released Wednesday by ID Analytics Inc., a San Diego fraud security firm, found that New York, California and Nevada have the highest incidence of attempted identity theft, while Wyoming, Vermont and Montana have the lowest rates.
Three other Western states ranked in the top 10 in fraud attempts: Arizona (4), Oregon (7) and Washington (9).
Among states with large populations, Illinois ranked 5th, Michigan 8th, Texas 10th, New Jersey 12th, Florida 14th, Pennsylvania 36th, and Ohio 46th.
Urban areas had higher fraud rates because larger populations make it easier for criminals to "operate under the radar," according to Stephen Coggeshall, chief technology officer at ID Analytics.
"With respect to income," he added, "(fraud) rates are elevated at the high and low income ranges, and lower in middle income levels. In New York, for example, that could help explain some rates, and why there appear to be 'pockets' of fraud."
The study was released two weeks after Javelin Strategy & Research, a Pleasanton, California firm, said identity theft cost Americans $49.3 billion last year, an 11.5 percent drop that might reflect increased vigilance.
It said people with incomes above $150,000 were among those most at risk.
ID Analytics studied incidents from January 2003 to June 2006, including attempted thefts as well as reported crimes, using data collected from clients and public sources.
It said 10 percent to 15 percent of fraud attempts involve stolen identities of actual consumers, while the balance involved criminals creating identities with real and false data.
According to the study, Manhattan residents with zip codes beginning with "100" were four times as likely to be targeted. Next were Brooklyn, New York residents with 112 codes, and Detroit residents with 482 codes.
The next four zip codes were in the Bronx, Manhattan and Nassau County, New York, followed by the 948 code in Contra Costa County, near San Francisco, and Los Angeles' 900 code.
Of the top 50 codes, two-thirds were in New York and California.
Some findings appeared unusual.
The fraud rate in one zip code for Floral Park, New York was 63.3 times the national average, which Coggeshall attributed to an unexplained surge in 2005.
That rate dwarfed the next highest rate, 12.3 times the national average, in the zip code for Faulkton, South Dakota -- population 703.
Coggeshall said the data suggested that for consumers, "it's important to be aware of your general level of identity risk."
Experts urge consumers not to divulge personal data in response to unsolicited communications. They also recommend consumers notify financial services providers and file fraud alerts with credit bureaus if they suspect identity theft.
Written By Jonathan Stempel Wed Feb 14, 10:42 AM ET
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