Filed under: Wireless
While there seems to be relatively few things that WiFi hasn’t been linked to, it seems that a new study has managed to turn up yet another potential peril, in this case a link to childhood autism. According to the study published in the Australasian Journal of Clinical Environmental Medicine, the electromagnetic radiation from WiFi devices supposedly causes metals to be trapped in individuals’ brain cells, which the researchers say slows clearance and accelerates the onset of autism symptoms. As Computer Weekly points out, however, a number of health agencies, including the World Health Organization, have repeatedly examined the issue and found no danger from WiFi devices (or cellphones, for that matter) operating at levels below international guidelines. Still, we have a sneaking suspicion that this is far from the last study of this sort we’ll see, at least until each WiFi router shipped comes bundled with a tinfoil bodysuit.
[Via Switched]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Those of you searching in vain for a Zune 80 may not have longer to wait — Cesar over at Zune Insider has just posted a note about the situation, saying that all the Zunes are ready and shipping, but the Zune 80 won’t be widespread for the next 7-10 days. Apparently Microsoft’s sales forecasts called for it to produce more flash Zunes, but the strong reaction from the press and consumers has led to increased interest in the Zune 80 instead — which seems like the sort of thing you commission sales forecasts for, but hey, live and learn. Anyway, Microsoft’s sorted things out and scaled up Zune 80 production, so all of you aching to get 80GBs deep into the social should be good by next week.
[Via Got Zune?]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Filed under: Features, Gaming
Fender Strat: check. Logitech USB mic with Rock Band logo: check. Totally 80s Simmons-style drum-pad kit that Duran Duran might have used: check. Crappiest USB hub known to man: double check.
So yeah, we got our Rock Band kit today, and we’re about to go test it out. In the mean time beware: the box is huge and it’s filled to the brim. Actually, let’s be a little more clear: we hope you have a rumpus room because the drum kit and a single Fender are friggin huge. We wouldn’t exactly say the game has its own no-brown-M&Ms rider or anything, but if you’re like us and already have a GH3 Les Paul and two GH2 Xplorers you’re trying to hide behind the curtains, this one’s not going to be very easy to get past your spouse (or their quickly waning patience level).
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Filed under: Transportation
A number of UK roads are lookin’ a lot brighter now, and it’s all thanks to the SolarLite smart stud. Produced and marketed by Astucia, these active markers trump the traditional passive reflectors by storing up solar energy all day and then emitting light from dust ’til dawn in order to improve visibility from around 90-meters to 900-meters. The LED-based units reportedly extend driver reaction time from 3.2-seconds to over half a minute when cruising at 60mph, have an expected lifespan of eight to ten years and are said to have reduced night time accidents in certain areas by over 70-percent. Unfortunately, we’ve no idea when (or if) these things will show up on roads in other nations, but this would sure beat toggling one’s brights off and on to get a better look ahead while simultaneously infuriating oncoming motorists.
[Via Autoblog]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Laptops
While it’s apparently still quite a ways beyond the realm of possibility, Custom PC is reporting that AMD has at least tossed around the idea of acquiring Ageia, which makes the PhysX physics processing unit and corresponding PhysX software. That doesn’t seem to be an entirely new development, however, with AMD’s Richard Huddy saying, ‘we’ve had that discussion, yes. It’s a discussion that goes round every three months – someone turns to me and says ‘why don’t we buy Ageia?’ and I go through the arguments about why we should and why we shouldn’t.’ The biggest stumbling block, not surprisingly, is price, with Intel’s recent acquisition of Havok weighing heavily into the equation. That, Huddy says, gave Ageia a roughly equivalent value of $100 million, a value Huddy says is about $90 million too much. He still doesn’t rule out an acquisition altogether, however, although it seems that there’ll have to be a pretty big shift in valuations before AMD’s interest is really piqued.
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
