A four-year study of cell phone base station transmissions funded by three of Japan’s largest cellular carriers (NTT DoCoMo, KDDI Corp. and Softbank Mobile) has concluded that no risk is posed to human health according to an article on Macworld News.
The study, which began in November of 2002, gathered data by generating signals identical to those used by WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) base stations, the most common 3G phone technology used in Japan and other countries. These signals, which were up to 10 times more powerful than the limits allowed by Japanese law, were reported to have no harmful effects on cell samples.
The study contradicts a widely publicized Dutch study performed in 2003 by the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research that found that people exposed to radio fields from 3G base stations experienced symptoms such as nausea, tingling sensations and dizziness while the same effects didn’t occur with signals from older GSM base stations.
For full details, check out the article.
If you have any comments or feedback, let us know.

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There are a few things to catch up on, but they prove interesting and an article on The Unofficial Apple Weblog sums it up pretty well:
Diane Greene, CEO of VMware, has mentioned that her company’s product is already being used to run virtualized versions of Mac OS X on systems from providers such as Dell and Hewlett Packard. Greene has claimed this was unintentional.
SWsoft CEO Serguei Beloussov, whose firm owns and provides fiscal backing for Parallels, has stated that Parallels will upgrade its own product to make it easier to run Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware. Beloussov also cited that this wasn’t deliberate, but the nature of the current Intel hardware allows for easier virtualization.
The end result could bring Mac OS X to PC hardware through two well supported products and could help widen the user base for the operating system.
Further details to be posted as they become available.
If you have any comments or feedback, let us know.

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According to an article on Engadget, Japanese inventor Susumu Suzuki and company recently demonstrated a water-powered battery at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The batteries are built from mostly carbon-based compounds which are activated by a tiny amount of water and can supposedly last longer than a traditional battery without degrading (according to a crave article, the units can be recycled several times as well) and could cost about one tenth the price of a current battery if mass produced. The batteries themselves would provide about the same amount of stored energy as a standard manganese dioxide battery.
Additional details were hard to come by, but the creators at the CES booth cited that many patents had been obtained for the device.

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PowerPage editor in chief Jason O’Grady has the full details of Apple’s security update, released yesterday to repair a hole in version 7.1.3 of QuickTime.
For the full story, click here.

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On Tuesday, Apple announced that the company has updated its Xserve RAID array, upping its storage capacity to 10.5 terabytes of space at a new lowered cost of US$1.31 per gigabyte according to Macworld News.
The Xserve RAID is compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, Netware and mixed environments. Apple is currently selling its higher capacity drives separately for owners of the seven terabyte Xserve RAID devices to upgrade the drives without replacing the entire hardware base. The entire seven terabyte configuration’s price has been lowered to US$12,399.
Apple’s current 10.5 terabyte Xserve RAID configuration is currently available as a build-to-order device and is available through the online Apple Store channel as well as through phone representatives at 1-800-MY-APPLE.

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Amid the hubbub of CES, Wildcharge Inc. announced something potentially cool and useful; the Wildcharger is a charger device capable of delivering up to 90 watts of power to simultaneously charge multiple laptops and other devices.
A second version of the device, the Wildcharger Mini, can deliver up to 15 watts of power and simultaneously charge up to three to five devices such as cell phones, PDAs and portable music players, thereby eliminating some of the portable charger clutter inherent in travel and business.
The product has received some attention so far and functions as a “pad” which devices are inserted into and thereby gradually charged as if an adapter was being used.
Further details as well as an available product will be made available through the Wildcharge web site on or before this summer.

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They were talking about how RSS would change the world a few years back. Now it was actually time to download and use one for daily work.
Newsfire by David Watanabe is perhaps one of the best RSS readers available for both the novice and advanced user. Combining the better elements of a standard reader with a decidedly Mac interface, Newsfire catches the eye with a clear, focused appearance. Move the mouse over a story link and a nice highlighting feature helps further distinguish what you’re visually sorting through.
Hunting down RSS links has never been anyone’s idea of fun and Newsfire handles this in the background. Type in the basic web address for a site you want to follow up on and the program hunts down the necessary RSS subscription address information, then adds it to the list of sites to follow.
Not a bad feature in the least and Newsfire takes the technical work out of setting something useful up.
Click the jump for the full review…

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When I picked up my new MacBook this past fall, there was a mix of joy and anticipation running through the air. My trusty iBook G4, which had been with me through thick and thin, had gone belly-up and as I opened the box for the MacBook, I both missed the iBook G4 and felt like I didn’t really deserve this beautiful new computer, even if the iBook G4′s logic board failed to recognize any hard drive installed in the unit and I needed a portable machine nonetheless.
As the weeks went by, I tried to keep the MacBook pristine. Never one to cover a laptop in protective and way-cool band stickers, the best I could do was keep the keyboard lining in place so the keys didn’t track up the screen and place the laptop in my old laptop bag where I hoped for the best. This worked to a certain extent, but a laptop bag contains everything else needed to get through a given day and little scratches began to appear around the top and bottom.
When Jason sent me a Wrappers review unit, I wasn’t sure what to think. The cover looked like a sock (my friends have called it a “MacBook cozy”), but felt padded and reassuring without being bulky.
Click the jump for the full review…

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iLounge has discovered details of the sequel to last year’s successful Nike + iPod Spot Kit. This year, Nike will release two to three hybrid watches as well as wireless remote accessories for Nike + iPod Sport Kit-equipped iPod Nanos.
The first model is the Flight+, a hybrid watch and wireless remote control while the second design is Amp+, essentially a digital bracelet described in this article. A third model is rumored for release, albeit details have yet to be obtained.
Click the jump for the full story…

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According to articles from MSBNC and Macworld News, South Korean manufacturer LG Electronics announced last Thursday that releasing a buttonless touch-screen device similar to Apple’s much-anticipated iPhone.
LG’s device, the LG-KE850, is being produced via a partnership with Italian fashion manufacturer Prada, will be released to stores next month and retail for US$780 (about 600 euros) and be sold at Prada locations throughout Europe with an introduction to Asian markets come March.
The buttonless phone features a touch-sensitive interface and eight gigabyte internal storage as well as a two megapixel camera similar to the iPhone.
Click the jump for the rest of the story…

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