heating

Too soon to call warm iPads 'heatgate'

Everyone loves a controversy, and Apple has had its share of them in the past few years.

Stock options backdating? Check. A lost, leaked iPhone months ahead of its release? Yep. Antennagate, locationgate, batterygate, addressbookgate--those too.

But heatgate?

That could be the name of the latest Apple gadget-related dustup. Though let's be clear: context matters.

Apple's new iPad, which more than 3 million people bought over its launch weekend, gets warm. Not you-can-cook-your-breakfast-on-it warm, but (similar to the iPhone and previous iPad models) warm enough to have it turn itself off if you're using it in … Read more

LED backlight a likely culprit in iPad heat issue, says expert

Reported heat issues with new iPad are most likely due to a combination of more backlights and more power needed to drive the backlights, an expert told CNET. This follows a CNET report attributing extra heat to the new iPad's A5X chip, also.

Apple has doubled the number of LEDs in the new iPad to achieve the same brightness as the iPad 2, driving up power requirements and therefore heat, Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies, said in a phone interview today.

"The LED power at maximum brightness is 2.5 times that of the iPad 2," … Read more

Apple on new iPad heat issue: It's not as hot as you think

Some customers say Apple's new iPad is running hotter than its predecessor. But the Cupertino, Calif.-based company says it's just right.

"The new iPad delivers a stunning Retina display, A5X chip, support for 4G LTE plus 10 hours of battery life, all while operating well within our thermal specifications," an Apple representative told CNET today. "If customers have any concerns, they should contact AppleCare."

All Things Digital was first to report Apple's response to heat claims regarding its newly released tablet. Consumer Reports said it is investigating the issue. CNET is also conducting in-house tests and plans to publish a story later today.… Read more

Seagate reaches 1Tb per square inch, hard drive to reach 60TB capacity

The current highest-capacity internal hard drive that you can buy offers 3TB of storage space, which is huge. Soon you'll be able to put even more data on one, thanks toSeagate's recent achievement in data density.

The hard-drive maker announced today that it has become the first company to achieve the milestone storage density of 1 terabit (1 trillion bits) per square inch, promising to double the current hard-drive's capacity before the end of this decade. The company says its new storage technology will also allow hard drives to reach 60TB capacity within the next decade. … Read more

Does the new iPad have a heat problem?

Heat has come up as an issue with previous generations of iPads. So, that's not news. But the new iPad may have, in select cases, its own unique heat problems.

User forum postings (here and here) and a report seem to point to heat as an issue for select users.

The problem area--based on forum links above--seems to be a hot-spot in the corner of the unit.

In the worst case, the iPad shuts down and a message pops up, saying "the iPad needs to cool down," according to a Next Web report (link above).

That seems … Read more

Ultrasound one step closer to killing sperm--and the vasectomy

Male birth control hasn't progressed since condoms and vasectomies were devised more than 100 years ago. And while the idea of using therapeutic ultrasound to zap sperm has been kicked around for decades, it has never been sufficiently reliable for contraception.

Until now.

Researchers have now found that a commercially available therapeutic ultrasound generator and transducer can significantly deplete the sperm count of rats. The team, based out of the University of North Carolina, relied on funding from the Parsemus Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The results are notable because they improve on the only promising … Read more

The 404 868: Where time is not important (podcast)

Wireless Internet access and cellular service are coming to New York subway stations, but like the Second Avenue subway line, it might be awhile before you can check it out. In the meantime, we're suggesting that the MTA install air conditioners to keep riders from passing out on the platform.

The rest of today's rundown includes an Apple fanboy in London already standing in line for the iPhone 5, Domino's Pizza's latest marketing campaign in Times Square, and Blockbuster luring angry Netflix customers with its own unique movie rental service.

The 404 Digest for Episode 868

A blogger is already camping out for the iPhone 5. Domino's Pizza runs unfiltered customer comments on a Times Square billboard. Blockbuster takes advantage of the rise in pissed Netflix customers. Next Media animation: The Dark Knight Rises Trailer.

Episode 868 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Handy weather apps for iOS

Across the United States, people are experiencing some of the hottest weather of the year. Many cities are topping out in the hundreds, and some are even getting close to 110. Even a quick glance at the current weather map tells the story: It is hot just about everywhere and if you don't have air conditioning or a body of water nearby, you're probably not feeling too happy about the sunny weather.

This week's collection of apps are all about checking the weather to see when you can get some relief. The first gives the most weather information on one screen so you can know everything at a glance. The second is a fairly simple weather app, but offers one very useful feature. The third is the most complex, with both viewable weather data and national radio updates for weather in your area. Hopefully, with these apps in hand, you'll be able to see some light at the end of a very hot tunnel.… Read more

Managing overheating external hard drives in OS X

External hard drives are exceptionally popular peripheral devices, and it is exceptionally likely that you have one attached to your system given the recommendation to use Time Machine or some similar form of full-system backup. If you have a laptop, then it is additionally likely that these external drives you use will be the smaller 2.5-inch laptop drives that can be powered off the computer's USB or FireWire bus. While convenient, sometimes these drives can end up getting exceptionally hot with use, to the point where it may hurt or even burn if you hold the drive for … Read more