About 38 percent of U.S. consumers are watching TV shows online, 36 percent use their cell phones as entertainment devices and 45 percent are creating online content like Web sites, music, videos and blogs for others, according to a new-media survey from Deloitte & Touche.

If you use RealNetworks’ RealPlayer software, you might want to pay close attention to this demo from the folks at Gleg Ltd., a Russian vulnerability research and exploit creation outfit.

According to Gleg founder Evgeny Legerov, there is a zero-day vulnerability that allows code execution in RealPlayer 11, the most up-to-date version of the cross-platform media player. Legerov said the exploit was tested against RealPlayer 11 build 6.0.14.748.

A nice way to close out 2007: As reported by the Washington Post, the RIAA is now saying that saving backups of your legally purchased music CDs on your hard drive is actionable. That is, regardless of your intent–whether to redistribute copyrighted music or just to insure against Fluffy’s latest catnip-induced tear through your music collection–they can sue your sorry behind.

This is a new step for everyone’s favorite music cartel. They have had some moral imperative in going after those who torrent ripped versions of their product, which they can make a case cuts into their fair trade (putting aside the issue of how much money the artists ever see). The “information wants to be free” misreaders of Stuart Brand can make the case that such pirating can spur sales, but really. Fess up. But to say that a personal backup is a legal violation, regardless of intent, is a sea change.

Lexar Media announced the upcoming expansion of its lineup of Kodak-branded flash memory products. This is a move that will allow the company to reach a variety of new market segments and consumer users with the Kodak brand. Soon-to-be-introduced Kodak products will include new mobile microSD and microSDHC memory cards, the leading form factor for use with mobile devices, as well as new Kodak USB Flash drives and higher-capacity SD cards. These new products represent some of the first fruits of a recently announced five-year extension to the existing, long-standing agreement between Lexar and the Eastman Kodak Company, which now allows for expanded distribution and a broader portfolio of Kodak-branded flash memory product lines created by Lexar.

MOGO Wireless announced the launch of its personal mobile cell tower product line. These products will help you stay connected in your personal or professional life. Frustrated mobile phone users will appreciate the increased signal strength (ten times) and reduced number of dropped calls they experience while using MOGO’s plug-and-talk products. The line will consist of both a small business/home office offering that works in conjunction with a laptop, as well as a mobile product that works from an automotive 12 volt power supply. Additionally, a 12V to 110 adaptor, available as a stand alone accessory or bundled with the MOGO SOHO product, also allows the mobile user to achieve upgraded performance in a personal space environment at home or in an office.

Does Rudy Giuliani know John McCain’s private campaign plans before McCain’s own staff? Can something as simple as an intercepted email message change the outcome of an election?

Our new book, Where Have AllThe Emails Gone?, by our own David Gewirtz, shows how something as seemingly benign as White House email can have freaky national security consequences — and possibly freaky election consequences.

New rules will go into effect on Jan. 1 that prohibit air passengers in the U.S. from carrying spare lithium batteries in their checked baggage. The new rules, announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Transport, are designed to reduce the risk of fires in aircraft. Lithium batteries have been identified as a possible cause of several aircraft fires.

Passengers will still be able to carry lithium batteries in checked bags if they are installed in a device like a laptop or digital camera. But loose batteries will need to be put in a plastic bag and carried on the plane as hand luggage, the DOT said.

Millions of $40 government coupons become available Tuesday to help low-tech television owners buy special converter boxes for older TVs that might not work after the switch to digital broadcasting. Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, anyone who does not own a digital set and still gets their programming via over-the-air antennas will no longer receive a picture.

The converter boxes are expected to cost between $50 and $70 and will be available at most major electronics retail stores. Starting Tuesday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will begin accepting requests for two $40 coupons per household to be used toward the purchase of the boxes.

Sears and Kmart customers who sign up for a new marketing program may be giving up more private information than they’d bargained for, a prominent anti-spyware researcher claims. According to Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Ben Edelman, Sears Holdings’ My SHC Community program falls short of U.S. Federal Trade Commission standards by failing to notify users exactly what happens when they download the company’s marketing software.

And given the invasive nature of the product, Sears has an obligation to make its behavior clearer to users. “The software is not something you’d want on your computer or the computer of anyone you care about,” Edelman said in an interview. “It tracks every site you go to, every search you make, every product you buy, and every product you look at but don’t buy. It’s just spooky.”

A little girl thought she was getting an iPod for Christmas but ended up getting a rude surprise. She got the box but when she opened it up, she found a surprising switch: the iPod had been replaced with a bizarre note.

The note reads in part “Reclaim your mind from the media shackles.”

Jay Ellis, the girls father, returned the ipod to the Germantown, Md. Wal-Mart store where he purchased it. The store manger told him that another customer returned an iPod with a similar issue.