Evening news roundup

• Data dangers dog hard drive sales [BBC]
  “Many people are taking risks with data on hard drives and memory cards which they are selling via eBay, say experts.”
• eBay to buy Skype in $2.6bn deal [BBC]
  “Online auction site eBay has agreed to buy internet telephone company Skype Technologies in a $2.6bn (£1.4bn) deal.”
• Duplication rife in online efforts to reunite evacuees [CNN]
  “People-finding efforts have led to confusion, frustration”
• Backpack generates power from walking [CNN]
  “A backpack that converts a plodding gait into electricity could soon be charging up mobile phones, navigation devices and even portable disc players, U.S.-based researchers said on Thursday.”
• My ROKR doesn’t rock [Macworld]
  “Jim Dalrymple got one of the first ROKR phones sold from the downtown San Francisco Cingular location and couldn’t wait to get back to the office and see how it worked. It wasn’t long before excitement turned to frustration and anger as his Mac and iTunes failed repeatedly to recognize the ROKR.”
• Objects in Ears Are Not as Full as They May Appear [NYT]
  “A survey released last week suggests that people greatly overestimate how much capacity they need on their digital music players”
• Less Plaque, More Action Films [Wired]
  “Goggles that create the illusion of watching a movie on a big screen make dental work much more tolerable for patients of a San Francisco Bay Area dentist.”
• VOIP Phones Give Villagers a Buzz [Wired]
  “A nonprofit group uses VOIP and Wi-Fi to equip remote villages in western Uganda with their first telephone system — powered by solar panels and stationary bicycles.”
• Yahoo Gives Up Reporter’s E-Mail [Wired]
  “Questioned about the company’s role in the arrest of a Chinese journalist, Yahoo’s co-founder Jerry Yang confirms the web firm gave a reporter’s personal e-mail information to authorities, citing the need to abide by Chinese law.”

Die Dulci Fruere