Reports HuffPo:

Employees at a Telefonica Movistar cell-phone store in Morelia, Mexico say they arrived Tuesday morning to find that the store had been broken into. An examination of the shop revealed the only items missing were hollow replica phones for display that are completely useless for making calls.

Employees say the clueless thieves overlooked real cell phones and cash in another part of the shop.

Even though the hot goods are nearly worthless, detectives are still on the case, meaning these nimrods could eventually serve some jail time for their hollow plastic haul.

Updated: Reader Evan makes a good point. These empty phones could very well be "drug mules" for border crossings. Here's hoping we're just dealing with some dumb thugs. [Huffington Post - Thanks, Scotland]

After explaining to the carrier how outrageous that is, he was made an offer: They'd knock the bill down to what it cost them in bandwidth. Unfortunately for Alberto, they claimed their cost was still $17,000.

Alberto called in to one of those cable news network shows about money where the host wears headphones and yells at the viewer for half an hour and neglected to mention the carrier's name, but we can't see any way a 700MB file would cost $17,000 in bandwidth fees. There's a lesson in all this: If you're going abroad, buy a roaming plan. Or at least tell us the name of the carrier so we can complain more effectively. [CNN via Ars Technica]

Starting in April, anyone purchasing a phone in Mexico will be fingerprinted and their call logs, text and voice messages will be archived for a year. These seem like strict measures, but hundreds of tourists are kidnapped in Mexico each year and the problem is getting worse. In fact, some believe these measures don't go far enough:

Billionaire Carlos Slim, who controls Mexico's No. 1 cell phone operator America Movil, said the law would be more useful if it tracked the movements of cell phone users. "What needs to be done is another type of more effective measures."

Either way, will these steps do much to prevent you from being nabbed while visiting on Spring break? I doubt it. Mexico's corrupt bureaucracy is legendary. At most it would amount to a minor obstacle that could be easily remedied with a little extra cash. [Yahoo Tech]

Steve Jobs Technological High School Center (Steve would NEVER have used that name!) is currently open, and apparently seeking applicants. Be mindful that there is a one in five chance that this is actually a horrible con, and that you'll immediately be shunted into an underground sweatshop where you'll sew exact replicas of out-of-production black turtle necks and Levi 501s. [Macenstein]

Yeah, so long as you're kidnapped while wearing your GPS transmitter fanny pack (and your attackers don't mind you keeping it), you'll be fine. I guess it might make sense if you're going to be alone in a seedy neighborhood late at night to go ahead and strap up, but still, at this price, it seems like Xega (who seem to be mysteriously without a website yes, here it is, thanks guys, it's Friday) is just capitalizing on people's fears with a bogus safety net. And successfully, too—the company claims they've sold the service to over 2,000 people. [Reuters, Image: Amal Graafstra's OG RFID implants]

Security specialists at F-Secure have drawn up a report with three maps that create—perhaps unintentionally—a compelling narrative of the way malware reflects the changing economic situation around the globe.

Back in the day (1986 to 2003), computer viruses mainly came from developed, predominantly white regions, US, Europe and Australia, along with India. There were anomalies like the Philippines-originated "Love Bug," but by and large, it seemed computer viruses could be chalked up as a by-product of the technological success of the post-industrial world. The hackers themselves were effete, tea-sipping "hobbyists," out to perfect their skills—not steal millions.
Next came the pros from Eastern Europe, China and Brazil. For the past four or five years, it's been a full-on assault from the regions where high-level computer skills are plentiful, but legit employment opportunities like those found at Redmond, Mountain View or Cupertino are slim to none. Broadband roll-out and a border-free internet have given these guys plenty of opportunities for targeted attacks with cash money—okay, credit-card and bank-account info—as the deliberate end result.In the future, though, new e-criminals will most likely operate out of regions that seem a bit more surprising, such as Mexico and Africa. Part of the reason is that internet usage is fast increasing in those areas, while the requisite IT job growth or technological-age legal system that naturally keep the ruffians in check are not developing as fast. Pour a little political discord on top of that, and you've got one hell of a haven for hackers.

India will also see a resurgence in criminal activity, mainly because the job opportunities will never keep up with the number of people being trained with high-level computer skills, in spite of the country's rapid growth.[F-Secure]

Press release:

TiVo Service Now Available to CABLEVISION Subscribers in Mexico City

- Spanish language version of TiVo user interface helps CABLEVISION further differentiate services and expands TiVo's international presence -

ALVISO, Calif., Sept 13, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ —

TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), and CABLEVISION, S.A. de C.V. (CABLEVISION), Mexico's largest digital cable operator, announced that beginning today TiVo(R) DVRs and the TiVo(R) Service are available for the first time to CABLEVISION's digital cable subscribers throughout Mexico City.

CABLEVISION subscribers can now access the first Spanish language version of the Emmy(R) award-winning TiVo user interface, which includes internationally recognized TiVo features like SeasonPass(TM) recordings, WishList(R) searches and TrickPlay functionality, which enables users to pause, rewind, instant replay and slo-motion live TV.

Chief Executive Officer of CABLEVISION Jean-Paul Broc said, "The combination of TiVo's state-of-art technology and breadth of services with CABLEVISION's superior digital cable programming creates an unmatched television viewing experience for our subscribers in Mexico City. We are extremely enthusiastic that the opportunity to bring the TiVo service to Mexico City has come to fruition and are confident that the TiVo brand will not only increase customer loyalty but serve as a driver of new cable subscribers."

"TiVo continues to make sustained progress across international markets and CABLEVISION in Mexico is another example," said Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo. "Growing our business with the right partners is critical and our strategic distribution relationship with CABLEVISION, and its parent Televisa, is proof of that. TiVo will enable CABLEVISION to further differentiate its pay television service and maximize its programming packages. The combination of TiVo and CABLEVISION will offer the best entertainment experience for subscribers in Mexico."

CABLEVISION is introducing the TiVo service to Mexico City consumers through a broad-based media campaign including cross-channel and broadcast television, print, online, radio and outdoor advertising. In addition, CABLEVISION plans to leverage its extensive programming assets and celebrity spokespeople to promote TiVo capabilities on air.

TiVo service is being offered to CABLEVISION subscribers as a package with a monthly charge covering both service and box rental.

The whole thing is expected to cost a pretty reasonable $31 million, which the company will quickly recoup, no doubt. The SpaceShipTwo and its carrier craft, White Knight Two, will be completed in 2008 as well, so the company is well on its way to offering cheap cheaper space flights. [Space]

Xbox For Your Gun? Mexico Tries Swaps in Drug Fight [Reuters via Gadget Lab]

Mexican Airline Rents iPods [Reuters]

At the risk of being Skype whores, we bring to you news that Skype is offering free Skypeout to three countries on selected weekends in July. The UK's weekend is the 15th-16th, Mexico's is 22nd-23rd, and Japan is 29th-30th.

Not that you couldn't make your mates in the UK use Skype so you could talk to them for free, but your mates are dumb, and can't be buggered to use a computer. Try it with one of the various Skype gadgets we've featured here. – Jason Chen

Skype

Yeah, there is a downside. Roaming charges for EV-DO service will be around $2 per MB of data. That $300 porno download better be worth it. – Travis Hudson

Press Release [Via Gearlog]

Available in Germany in July for $1,930. No idea why the Germans decided to call this the Mexico though. – Jason Chen

Becker [via Classic Driver via New Launches]