Prototype Nokia phone recharges without wires

Pardon the cliche, but it's one of the holiest of Holy Grails of technology: Wireless power. And while early lab experiments have been able to "beam" electricity a few feet to power a light bulb, the day when our laptops and cell phones can charge without having to plug them in to a wall socket still seems decades in the future.

Nokia, however, has taken another baby step in that direction with the invention of a cell phone that recharges itself using a unique system: It harvests ambient radio waves from the air, and turns that energy into usable power. Enough, at least, to keep a cell phone from running out of juice.

While "traditional" (if there is such a thing) wireless power systems are specifically designed with a transmitter and receiver in mind, Nokia's system isn't finicky about where it gets its wireless waves. TV, radio, other mobile phone systems -- all of this stuff just bounces around the air and most of it is wasted, absorbed into the environment or scattered into the ether. Nokia picks up all the bits and pieces of these waves and uses the collected electromagnetic energy to create electrical current, then uses that to recharge the phone's battery. A huge range of frequencies can be utilized by the system (there's no other way, really, as the energy in any given wave is infinitesimal). It's the same idea that Tesla was exploring 100 years ago, just on a tiny scale.

Mind you, harvesting ambient electromagnetic energy is never going to offer enough electricity to power your whole house or office, but it just might be enough to keep a cell phone alive and kicking. Currently Nokia is able to harvest all of 5 milliwatts from the air; the goal is to increase that to 20 milliwatts in the short term and 50 milliwatts down the line. That wouldn't be enough to keep the phone alive during an active call, but would be enough to slowly recharge the cell phone battery while it's in standby mode, theoretically offering infinite power -- provided you're not stuck deep underground where radio waves can't penetrate.

Nokia says it hopes to commercialize the technology in three to five years.

by Yahoo

Wii Sells 20 Million Units in U.S.

As the new NPD numbers just showed, the Wii sold about 289,500 units in May. It's not exactly gangbusters compared to the ridiculous numbers the Wii has sold in past months, but it was enough to push Nintendo's console over a big milestone: The Wii has officially sold 20 million units in the United States (via GamesIndustry.biz).
The Wii hit 20 million in the U.S. with just 31 months on sale, making it, according to Nintendo, the fastest selling console in U.S. history. "The continued enthusiastic consumer response to our products shows that Nintendo has something for everyone," gloated Nintendo of America executive vice president of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway. "For Nintendo, precision motion controls and social gaming are realities today."

That last line is an interesting choice of words, as it is clearly in response to the new motion controls revealed by both Sony and Microsoft at E3 last week. It's a slightly more combative tone than simply being flattered by imitation, no?


By Kris Pigna, 06/13/2009

How to Use the Wii Controller

So you've got yourself a Wii, congratulations! Now it's time to figure it all out. The Wii Operations Manual will guide you through setting up the various sensor devices and settings you can manipulate. Most of these settings are a matter of personal preference and will not affect game play.

Steps
*Once you've set up your fancy new toy, pick which game you're going to play.
*Make sure that the sensor is in front of the ares where you want to be while playing.
*Read the directions included with the Wii and all gaming software to gain a general understanding of how you will be expected to manipulate the controls.
While at first, it may be hard to remember all the controlls of a specific game,but with practice, the motions required will become more natural to you. Become familiar with the icons that indicate which controller or remote you should be using.
*To manipulate the controller on the screen, point the controller to a point on the screen, and a corresponding icon will appear where you are pointing, and you will be able to move it by simply moving the remote, and pointing at different locations on the screen.



Tips
*Try thinking carefully about what you're trying to imitate/perform. You may be over exaggerating the motions inadvertently. In my experience, small motions register better than unnecessarily large ones.
*If you've tried and tried, and still can't quite perform the action you're going for, move the remote just slightly towards the screen at the end of the action. A movement of 1/2 to 1 inch is usually sufficient.
*Be sure not to block the sensor in any way.
*It helps to know how the Wii remote picks up motion. It can detect rotation in 3 axis (directions), and speed of straight movement in 3 axis. It can also detect its position relative to your TV in 3 dimensions.
*Most games require you shake the controller instead of swinging it.



Warnings
*Be sure to wear the attached wristband during any strenuous play to avoid accidental remote tosses.
*If you have a thin wrist strap, you must replace it with a new version of the wrist strap. The reason is because the old version can break easily due to its poor strength. Refer to Nintendo.com to know the old and new version of the wrist strap. When you are on Nintendo.com, go to the customer service section and look for "Important Wrist Strap Information".
*All new Wiis being shipped now include a free Wii Jacket. This is a glove-like object that you slip over your Wii Remote. It protects it from damage, and reduces the risk of injury to objects, people, or even the remote itself! You can go to *Nintendo.com to get a free one if you got your Wii before they started doing this.



Things You'll NeedWii
*Wii Remote
*Wii Nunchuck

Nintendo Wii helps patients with Parkinson's disease

A new eight week study shows that patients who have been playing with the Nintendo Wii have shown an improvement in their mood and more physical function of Parkinson's disease.This disease is a degenerative disease that impairs motor skills. Dr. Ben Herz, program director and assistant professor in the School of Allied Health Sciences Department of Occupational Therapy, has been having his patients play virtual sports games on the Nintendo Wii and has been getting astonishing results.

"The games require visual perception, eye-hand coordination, figure-ground relationships and sequenced movement, so it's a huge treatment tool from an occupational therapy perspective."

The patients showed a significant amount of improvements in movement, motor skills and energy levels, Herz said at the fifth annual Games for Health Conference today in Boston. The progress he was most fond of though, was the fact that their depression level was slowly depleting.

So what is Dr. Ben Herz's plan for the future? He states he is looking towards incorporating the Wii Fit balance board into his program and further extending the patient's progress. Herz has high hopes for the patients and their interactivity with the Nintendo Wii and will most likely look towards video games that require motion control in the future.

"Game systems are the future of rehab," Herz said. "About 60 percent of the study participants decided to buy a Wii for themselves. That speaks volumes for how this made them feel."

Apple drops entry iPhone to $99, unveils new model

Apple drops entry iPhone to $99, unveils new model
By JORDAN ROBERTSON and JESSICA MINTZ, AP Technology Writers

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc. slashed the entry price for an iPhone in half and lowered some laptops by $300 Monday, the company's first dramatic price cuts since the recession began a year and a half ago.

With co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs absent until his medical leave is over at the end of June, Apple's biggest unveiling at its annual conference for software developers was a new model of the iPhone, the 3G S. It looks the same but sports a faster processor, longer battery life, an internal compass, a video camera and a photo camera with better resolution and auto-focus.

A 16-gigabyte version of the 3G S will cost $199 and a 32-gigabyte version will be $299.

The 8-gigabyte iPhone 3G, which came out last year, now costs $99, instead of $199. When the iPhone debuted two years ago, eager Apple fans had to shell out $499 for a 4-gigabyte version and $599 for 8 gigs.

Apple is known for ending events with a last-minute surprise, leading to some anticipation that Jobs might make a cameo in Monday's two-hour presentation. But he did not take the stage, and Apple's top marketing executive, Philip Schiller, exited without uttering the company's signature line that there would be "one more thing."

The latest iPhones go on sale June 19, just as two-year contracts for the buyers of the original models are expiring and Apple faces tougher competition from the likes of Research in Motion Ltd. and Palm Inc. On Saturday Palm came out with a well-regarded iPhone rival, the $200 Pre.

Industry analyst Michael Gartenberg, with the Interpret market-research firm, said the new iPhone pricing breaks through an important barrier for consumers. It will likely cause other smart phone makers to offer something similar, he said.

"Every $100 you move down in consumer electronics brings in a lot more customers," he said. "Ninety-nine dollars is a psychological price point, so that's a real barrier to move through. It becomes something people can afford — it becomes an affordable luxury."

Shares of Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple slipped 82 cents to close at $143.85.

Schiller said in an interview that $99 iPhone will reach people just joining the smart phone market. But lowering the price could be risky for Apple unless its new versions have enough appealing features to keep them selling briskly at higher prices. AT&T Inc., the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the U.S., said Monday it's confident its wireless profit margins will hold steady overall. AT&T shares fell 16 cents to $24.40.

Apple might also be banking on expanding the profits it reaps from taking 30 percent of the revenue from downloadable applications on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. A new version of the iPhone operating software, available for download June 17, lets software developers sell additional content, like electronic books or extra levels to a video game, within applications.

Among other upgrades, the new iPhone software will let people download movies and TV shows using the device's cellular connection. It will let users send photos and videos the same way they send text messages, bringing the iPhone in line with other smart phones. (AT&T won't offer this feature until late in the summer.) And the new software will let parents limit the kinds of applications kids can download.

Apple had already announced other new features in the new software — such as the ability to cut, copy and paste text — and the ability for "tethering," which means using the iPhone to connect a computer to the Internet. However, while 22 wireless carriers will enable tethering, AT&T will not.

For its MacBook line, Apple showed off new laptops that boast longer battery life and faster processors. The company rolled out a new 13-inch MacBook Pro that starts at $1,200, or $100 lower than an existing similar notebook, and a 15-inch Macbook Pro that starts at $1,700, $300 less than the current model.

It also lowered the price on the ultra-thin MacBook Air to $1,500 from $1,800. The 17-inch MacBook Pro, unveiled in January, costs $2,500 and up, though it now has a faster processor at the same price.

Apple also is trying to steal share in the computer market by enhancing its Mac operating system. The next version, Snow Leopard, comes out in September, before Microsoft Corp.'s next edition of Windows hits PCs Oct. 22. Among Snow Leopard's improvements is built-in support for Microsoft's Exchange Server software, so Apple programs for e-mail, calendars and contacts could become more useful in corporate settings.

One thing looming over Apple is the growing popularity of cheaper, stripped- down laptops sometimes called "netbooks." They are one of the few segments of the overall PC business that has been growing in the recession, while Apple's Mac revenue dropped 16 percent in the most recent quarter.

Jobs has said Apple doesn't know how to build a sub-$500 computer "that's not a piece of junk." That doesn't mean Apple won't someday try to enter that market, but on Monday at least, Schiller sounded similar themes. He said in the interview that netbooks are merely "very underpowered, poorly designed cheap notebooks."

"They have poor keyboards, poor screens, and none of the features and capabilities to do what a MacBook, for example, can," he said. "We think those products are below the quality standards of something Apple would like to make."

___

Jessica Mintz reported from Seattle.




By:http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090608/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_apple