balance

Six years. That's nearly how long it's been since the Xbox 360 first debuted back in the fall of 2005. The next year, the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 followed.

Typically, new consoles emerge no later than five years after the debut of the last iteration. This generation seems to be the exception. Perhaps that's because of the ripples of a recession, but we can also credit the Wii, PS3, and 360 for being hardy, versatile consoles. In fact, looking back at what these systems were compared with what they are now, it's hard not to … Read more

The idea that a BlackBerry is for work and an iPhone or Android-based device is for play is an idea that Research In Motion wants to take on.

The company today announced a new technology called BlackBerry Balance that it says allows users to engage in both personal and work-related activities without compromising the safety of corporate information. For example, IT managers could create policies that will disable the ability for work information to be copied to e-mail accounts or Twitter, as well as lock down corporate data or files, so they cannot be used on personal applications. When an … Read more

Research In Motion will soon debut software that can segregate the personal from the professional.

Set to launch in two months, the BlackBerry Balance software will be able to separate personal e-mail, apps, and other content from those used on the job, Jeff McDowell, RIM's senior vice president for business and platform marketing, said in a Reuters interview published yesterday.

The goal behind the software is to let BlackBerry owners rely on a single smartphone, so they can use the same device for business and social reasons. IT administrators--concerned about personal devices tapping into their networks--will also be able … Read more

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Research In Motion announces a program called BlackBerry Balance that shuts corporate administrators out of your personal life on your BlackBerry

McDonalds launches a touch-and-go payment scanning system in the U.K.

Duke Nukem Forever has not been delayed for all time. The game sequel gets a launch date after over a decade of delays.

A JFK historian launches an interactive biography on the iPad

Studio executives have optioned the movie rights to a biography of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

A woman hangs up on Apple when the company calls to offer her a $10,000 iTunes gift card… Read more

Here's a spectacular gift item for your favorite Wii user--especially if he or she is under the age of 10.

Buy.com has the Nickelodeon Fun N Fit board and videogame bundle for $69.99 shipped. That's about 30 bucks less than you'd pay at most places for the traditional Wii Fit bundle.

Nickelodeon's version includes not just the balance board (modeled in fairly hideous colors, I must admit), but also the Nickelodeon Fit game (which, FYI, sells for about $40 by itself). Needless to say, it's a children-oriented title aimed at whipping youngsters into … Read more

I think we're entering the golden age of headphone design. Over the last few years the competition's heated up and at nearly every price level, headphone performance standards are improving at a fast and furious rate. For example, the TDK EB900 in-ear headphone I heard at the CNET office a few weeks ago were pretty amazing for around $100, but the all-new NOX Audio Scout is better, a lot better. Headquartered in City of Industry, CA, NOX Audio was founded in 2009.

The superlightweight design is extremely comfortable, and while my ears are sometimes very fussy about getting a tight seal for best bass response, I had no trouble with the Scout's silicone eartips.

The design features "balanced armature technology," which is rarely seen in headphones in the Scout's price class (I don't know of any others). The Scout's cable has an inline omnidirectional microphone, and according to the Scout press release, "the world's smallest send/end button, making it an ideal device for cell phones, portable media players and gaming handhelds." Best of all, the Scout's flat cable was the least tangle-prone headphone wire I've ever used. Jumble it up any which way, shove it into your pocket, and it'll never tie itself into knots. That's a first! … Read more

For those who have never suffered from a bout of vertigo, the condition might evoke thoughts of Alfred Hitchock and a dizzying fear of heights. Those people would be misguided.

Imagine instead that, for anywhere from 20 seconds to 2 minutes, you are both falling and spinning, and yet you are also lying perfectly still in bed. It is not only nauseating and terrifying, but the disconnect is also completely frustrating.

Millions of people around the world are thought to suffer from one of a number of balance disorders, some of which are still poorly understood (do the problems stem from the ear, brain, or some combination of the two?). However, a new device could help those who suffer from one such problem, called Meniere's disease, avoid symptoms the moment an attack begins.

The implantable device consists of a cochlear implant and a processor with new software and electrode arrays designed by University of Washington researchers who specialize in head and neck surgery, signal processing, brainstem physiology, and vestibular neural coding.

It has been designed specifically to treat Meniere's disease--which affects an estimated 615,000 people in the U.S., typically between ages 40 and 60 and which typically affects one ear--because the disease is well understood. (The attacks result from rupturing of the inner-ear membrane, causing a sensation of spinning in the direction of the failing ear.)

The most common way for those with Meniere's to fight the symptoms of a vertigo attack is to lie very still for hours or, in severe cases, to elect for surgery that essentially shuts off that ear altogether, permanently affecting hearing and balance.

"We have a variety of existing treatments for Meniere's disease, and any time there's a variety it's because none of them are optimal," says Dr. Jay Rubinstein at UW's Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, who himself has never experienced vertigo--"other than from drinking too much in college"--but who for years has seen first-hand how debilitating it can be. "In theory this is potentially an optimal therapy that could really change how we treat Meniere's."

The device, implanted last week in a 56-year-old patient who is the first of 10 to be involved in the first clinical trials, is essentially an override, Rubinstein explains. "It doesn't change what's happening in the ear, but it eliminates the symptoms while replacing the function of that ear until it recovers."… Read more

In an industry-wide effort to cut the cost of solar power, panel manufacturers are using electronics to boost efficiency and get more bang for the solar buck.

Suntech, a large Chinese panel maker, is partnering with three companies to integrate electronics onto its panels to optimize the output and ease installation. "Smart" solar panels is likely one of the technology trends to emerge at the annual Solar Power International (SPI) conference next week in Los Angeles.

Companies developing these technologies say that making efficiency improvements in panels represents one of the best ways to improve the economics of … Read more

Here's something I can't ever recall seeing: a deal on the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus. But here it is in black and white (and blue, if you count the link): Dell has the Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board for $69.99 shipped.

(Don't have a Wii yet? Dell also has the console itself for $169.99, a price that includes the coveted Wii Sports Resort game and Motion Plus accessory.)

I've been wanting a Wii Fit for some time, but I could never bring myself to spend $100 on it. At $70 it's a … Read more