Gizmodo: fraunhofer institute

iPhone 2.2 Release May Come Tomorrow

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:28:24 EST

According to a Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information press release, the eagerly expected iPhone 2.2 operating system update will arrive tomorrow, November 21. The release is expected to bring new features, but the Institute's note highlights a major security problem that can make your iPhone to place a call when visiting a malicious web site. This date is in line with the previous rumors. Update: here's the video of the security exploit that the iPhone 2.2 release will fix, according to the Fraunhoferians.

The Fraunhofer Institute SIT alerted the producers of the iPhone about this issue a month ago. To close this hole, new firmware will be released on November 21.

According to Collin Mulliner, the exploit only requires three lines of HTML code, which anyone with basic knowledge of this language can add to any web page.

The scenario: The iPhone user receives an e-mail or SMS with an Internet link. Clicking on the link will open a web site. But suddenly, the iPhone will start calling a phone number without any user intervention. The worse thing is that you can't stop the call, as the cellphone will be gray while the number is dialed. (...) Even amateurs could easily develop a criminal exploit.

The Fraunhofer Institute says that a similar vulnerability was discovered last month and patched, "but obviously was not enough." [Fraunhofer SIT via Apple Insider]

Amazing Magic Mirror Digitally Changes Fabrics On the Fly

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:11:00 EDT

The Fraunhofer Institute—the guys who invented MP3 and screwed the music labels as a result, which is why we like them so much—have a booth at IFA with their latest inventions. The best one is this stunning magic mirror, an augmented reality display that gets any piece of clothing and transforms its fabric in real time. Live, the effect was absolutely amazing, indistinguishable from a real mirror.

Honestly, when I was in front of it I just couldn't tell the difference from a real t-shirt. It deformed like the one she was holding. I think she's a witch. [More IFA 2008 Coverage]

Body Heat Powers Gadgets

Charlie White — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:59:47 EDT

Those freaky scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute are always thinking up cool stuff, and now they've figured out how to turn body heat into electricity. It works by taking advantage of the difference between two temperatures, but until these Fraunhofer dudes got ahold of the idea, the required temp range was too great to use body heat. If you think about it, there's still quite a bit of difference between room temperature and 98.6°. We thought of an even better way to power up gadgets using this technology.

Notice the picture of a hand resting on this device here which looks like it's cranking out enough juice to power that laptop sitting next to it, but we're thinking this would be a perfect device for Chen to stick down his pants. The ladies are saying it's pretty hot down there. [Digital Journal, via Med Launches]