Music headphones can cause problems for those with heart devices

And you though it was the kusic that was making your heart beat faster. Experts are now sounding a warning about headphones and earbuds and portale music players that can cause problems with people who have certain electronic heart devices like a pacemaker or an implanted defibrillator.
In fact, the issue is so bad health officials are saying you should not keep your iPod earbuds in your shirt pocket or draped around your neck — even Read more

Blu-Ray prices coming down

The need for healthy holiday sales in a bear market, competitive pressure from movie download services, and media speculation about the future success of the Blu-ray format itself has resulted in falling Blu-ray player prices across a range of current and older models.

Tier 2 players and older models (6-9 months) are now widely available under $200. Amazon is offering a Samsung model bundled with four discs for that price. Holiday season prices may be in the $150-200 range. All of this runs counter to many of the industry’s original market forecasts and expectations.

“Blu-ray vendors and dealers are starting to realize that for Blu-ray to become the next DVD, they need to lower player prices in order to generate interest and build volumes,” comments ABI Research principal analyst Steve Wilson.

“They are also getting more competition than they expected from download alternatives such as Xbox 360 and the Roku Netflix player, TiVo and Amazon. However downloads provide an opportunity as well as a threat: both LG and Samsung have concluded agreements with Netflix that allow some of their players to download movies and TV shows straight from Netflix. Read more

AT&T to buy Wayport hotspots

AT&T is buying one of the largest privately-held Wi-Fi networks, creating even more places for broadband fast connectivity. aIt’s announced plans to buy Wayport, Inc., a leading provider of managed Wi-Fi services in the United States, for approximately $275 million in cash.

The acquisition expands the AT&T Wi-Fi footprint to nearly 20,000 domestic hotspots, takes the company’s global Wi-Fi presence to more than 80,000 locations, and creates thousands of new ways for customers worldwide to stay in touch. Read more

Free protection offer for your PC

Microsoft has a pretty good free offer going with its new Windows Live OneCare protection package for the PC. You can try the whole package for three months at no cost. OneCare provides anti-virus and anti-spyware filtering and screening, online ID protection, a firewall, printer sharing and multi-PC management features.

If you want to try Windows Live OneCare free for 90 days just download the free trial.

BlackBerry Bold is loaded

The new BlackBerry Bold from AT&T is now on saleat AT&T stores, and based on my weekend use with an early evaluation unit, I’m impressed. It’s a significant improvement over previous BlackBerry models and a very attractive alternative to the iPhone.

My only suggestion is that before buying the Bold, you may want to wait a few weeks to compare it to the BlackBerry Storm, a touchscreen model coming from Verizon Wireless. It’s expected to be pretty slick, too.

The Bold, though, is one smartphone that truly lives up to the hype.

I’m hardpressed to find a feature it lacks. It works Read more

100,000 Sony batteries recalled

There’s been another massive battery recall for laptop computers.
This time, it’s some 100,000 Sony Lithium-Ion batteries used in Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Dell notebooks have been recalled. 35,000 batteries of these batteries were sold in the US.
There have been 40 reports of overheating, in some cases involving smoke or flames, according to a company statement.
The batteries were sold in the same time frame as Sony notebook batteries involved in a massive recall in 2006. Some of those batteries, which resulted in recalls by Apple, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Toshiba, and Sony, had also overheated and caused fires that resulted in minor injuries. Read more

Trick or Treat pet

My favorite Halloween costume was this dog… Dressed up as a skunk.

Ghoulish Halloween phone scam

The BBB is warning local residents to beware a ghoulish phone scam this Halloween that is preying on senior citizens. Generally, the scam works like this: a grandparent receives a distressed phone call from who they believe is their grandchild.

The supposed grandchild typically explains that they are traveling in Canada and have been arrested or involved in an auto accident and need the grandparent to wire money to post bail or pay for damages- usually amounting to a few thousand dollars. Read more

Notebook sales surpass PCs

Quarterly sales of notebook computers have topped those of desktop computers for the first time ever in the United States, market intelligence firm IDC reports.
IDC said notebook sales made up 55.2 percent of computer sales in the July to September quarter, 18 percent growth over the same period last year and the first time they have surpassed 50 percent.
The share of notebooks shipped in the U.S. in 3Q08 stood at a solid 55.2%, according to preliminary figures from IDC’s U.S. Quarterly PC Tracker.
The 55% ratio was made possible by a record volume of notebooks shipped in 3Q08 – over 9.5 million units – representing more than 18% growth both year over year and on a sequential basis, according to IDC’s preliminary data. These figures were reached amid a relatively active back-to-school season and the burgeoning financial crisis, which captured headlines but did not immediately affect the PC market’s performance. Read more

Funniest spoof on the digital transition yet

February 17 is the date for the end of analog TV and the switch to all digital broadcasting and the latest estimates are that about 9 million Americans are going to be signalless of they dont get the converter boxes needed to go between their rabbit ears or TV antenna.

Sounds simple, right?

Somehow, I think this video from the Spike Feresten Talk Show via blip.tv is more true that spoof: Read more

Doctors warn of rash from cell phone use

Say it isn’t so! Teenage girls will be mortified! Doctors baffled by an unexplained rash on people’s ears or cheeks should be on alert for a skin allergy caused by too much mobile phone use, the British Association of Dermatologists said on Thursday.
Citing published studies, the group said a red or itchy rash, known as “mobile phone dermatitis” affects people who develop an allergic reaction to the nickel surface on mobile phones after spending long periods of time on the devices. Read more

Hackers using fake YouTube pages to attack computers

Computer security specialists warn that hackers are using fake YouTube pages to trick people into opening their machines to diabolical software.

A deceptive YouTube attack evolving as it spreads on the Internet is part of a growing trend of hackers to prowl popular online social networking communities in which people trustingly share web links and mini-programs. Read more

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