August 16, 2005, 5:50 PM PDT
iBook stampede causes wet, smelly mess
Posted by: Molly Wood

A Virginia school system selling iBooks for $50 ended up with a stampede on its hands, which resulted in 17 injuries and a woman urinating on herself just to keep her place in line. My new nickname for her? "Apple juice." (Thanks to all who sent this in!)

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August 16, 2005, 5:30 PM PDT
The Walkman phone
Posted by: Kent German

Rumor has it that Sony Ericsson will finally bring its W800i Walkman phone to the United States later this month, after debuting in Europe a week ago. We first saw the phone at CTIA earlier this year, and we've been chomping at the bit to give it a full test run. Although Sony Ericsson has yet to secure a U.S. carrier for the W800i, the company has previously introduced cool phones, such as the P910a and the K700i, without a carrier's backing. And considering the phone's extensive music capabilities, it may be some time before a carrier figures out how it can make money off music downloads.

In a striking orange candy-bar-style form factor, the W800i promises an MP3/AAC player, a 2-megapixel digital camera, e-mail support, messaging, an infrared port, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, a Web browser, and GSM/GPRS world phone support. With 500MB of memory, it lets you store around 150 music tracks, and the promised music-playtime battery life is 15 hours if the phone functionality is turned on--and a whopping 30 hours if it's off. We're still unsure about pricing, but we'll let you know as soon as we get it. Sony announced a second Walkman phone, the W600a, in June.

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August 16, 2005, 4:37 PM PDT
Worm, worm, scary worm!
Posted by: Molly Wood

A new, fast-moving worm is knocking out Windows 2000 networks. And this just a day after Zotob appeared. Looks like (virus-writing) school is back in session! (Watch our Security Center for updates.)

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August 16, 2005, 4:09 PM PDT
Are all cell phones waterproof?
Posted by: William O'Neal

What is the deal with people dunking their cell phones in water? Today, I had lunch with a friend of mine who forgot that his LG VX4400 (Verizon) cell phone was in his pocket before taking a dip in the local swimming pool. He realized his mistake some 20 minutes later when he got out of the pool. Of course, the phone was dead, so he headed over to the Verizon store to replace it. Several (unhappy) hundred dollars later, he was up and running again. A few days later, he pulled out his "dead" phone, put the battery from the new phone in, and bam, it was working like new. "Well [insert expletive here]," he said, "I'm gonna return this new phone and just replace the battery." Now, this isn't the first story I've heard of a cell phone that took a swim, appeared to have died, then miraculously came back to life. A coworker of mine admitted to dropping her phone in a toilet (albeit a clean one), fishing it out, letting it dry off, and having it work like a charm. For me, this begs an interesting question: Are all cell phones waterproof?

Anyway, feel free to share your resurrected cell phone stories with us.

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August 16, 2005, 1:16 PM PDT
Score one more for Blu-ray
Posted by: Molly Wood

Universal Music Group says it will back the Blu-ray megastorage DVD format, bringing talent like Elton John, Mariah Carey, and U2 to the Blu-ray party. So that makes this the current format-war tally: to Blu-ray: a whole bunch; HD DVD: a whole bunch; consumers: still screwed.

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August 16, 2005, 12:56 PM PDT
Apple patches OS X
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

Apple has patched 44 flaws in its popular Mac OS 10.3.9 (Panther) and 10.4.2 (Tiger) operating systems. Only a few of the flaws are considered critical, such as those involving AppKit and the Web browser Safari. Attacks affecting these apps could allow a remote attacker to run malicious code on a vulnerable system. Other critical flaws that could also allow remote attacks, such as those affecting Apache 2, are not seen as critical, since Apple did not enable this feature by default.

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August 16, 2005, 12:39 PM PDT
DJ iPod's in the house!
Posted by: James Kim

Mixer, turntable, and all-around DJ hardware specialist Numark has announced an October shipping date for its $399 iDJ Mixer for the iPod. Designed to match the iPod's frosty-white aesthetic, the two-channel mixer features a three-band equalizer; phono, line-in, USB, and microphone inputs (so that you can still hook up a couple of Technics); snazzy, glowing blue backlighting; and of course, two integrated docks that even charge the iPod.

The unit is moderately compact at 11.3 by 11.5 by 2.6 inches and 4 pounds, and the touch-sensitive cueing interface looks like it will give you precise control over the iPod--however, there is no pitch control, an omission that will likely create some massive train wrecks.

DJs who happen to have any dock-connector iPod (or two) have been waiting for a mixer like this for years, though we think Final Scratch is still the sweetest way to mix MP3s.

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August 16, 2005, 11:14 AM PDT
Toshiba unveils first HDD based on PMR technology
Posted by: Felisa Yang

Toshiba announced today that it is shipping the world's first hard disk drive based on perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology. The 1.8-inch drive will live in consumer electronics products such as HDD-based MP3 players.

Conventional longitudinal recording technology lays data bits end to end on the disc, much as you would lay dominoes in a game of, well, dominoes. But these tiny bits are subject to a force called superparamagnetic effect, which sometimes causes the bits to flip, corrupting the data on that disc. With PMR technology, the bits are stood on end, which means more bits can fit onto a disc, resulting in a greater areal density.

Toshiba's 1.8-inch drive packs in 133GB per square inch, or 40GB on a single platter. What does that mean to you? How about up to 10,000 MP3 songs or 25,000 photos on a disc? And while Toshiba is the first company to release a viable product, other storage companies are not far behind. Hitachi expects to ship a PMR-based, 2.5-inch HDD by the end of the year. (And Hitachi definitely wins the battle of jaw-dropping PR: this flash animation video from Hitachi's site explains PMR through the glory of '70s disco--complete with questionable fashion choices and a disco ball!)

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August 16, 2005, 10:37 AM PDT
More input devices from Logitech
Posted by: Lara Luepke

Logitech's going crazy this month with input device releases. In the last week, we've seen a Webcam, two gaming mice, and a gaming keyboard. Today, the company announced four new desktop sets. The Cordless Desktop MX3000 is the most basic of the four (and looks very similar to the MX3100 set we reviewed earlier this year) and pairs a battery-powered mouse with a multimedia keyboard. The Cordless Desktop S 510 Media Remote set, which includes a keyboard, a basic mouse, and a remote, is designed to be used with media apps and Logitech's own MediaLife software. Logitech also made a minor upgrade to its DiNovo Cordless Desktop; it's taken on a new name, DiNovo Media Desktop Laser, and is now paired with the MX1000 laser mouse.

The most interesting desktop set, however, may be the Cordless Desktop MX5000 Laser. The keyboard is impressive, with an integrated LCD that you can program to display a variety of information. There are also touch-sensitive volume and zoom controls on the side, along with a variety of programmable quick keys.

I took a look at all of these sets earlier in August and was very excited to see that Logitech's adding some interesting functionality, including integrated LCD screens and touch-sensitive controls. And, in true Logitech fashion, the sets all looked comfortable and intuitive. The Cordless Desktop S 510 and the Cordless Desktop MX3000 will cost $99.99, the Cordless Desktop MX5000 will cost $149.99, and the DiNovo Media Desktop Laser will set you back $199.99.

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