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California fire not sparked by defective cellphone battery
Just two days ago California fire department authorities pinned the blame of damaging hotel fire on a malfunctioning cellphone battery, but after further inspection, it seems that the mobile's battery isn't the culprit after all. Engineers from 2125i could not have sparked the blaze that resulted in $75,000 worth of property damage and severe burns to Luis. Upon testing the phone, they discovered that "the electronic circuitry in the phone was undamaged and that the battery was still functioning," with a Vallejo Fire Department investigator adding that the battery performed flawlessly after surviving the fire, which eliminated it from being a suspect. Unfortunately, it looks as if the real case of the blaze may "have been destroyed in the fire," but thankfully, Mr. Picaso is in "critical but stable condition" in a Sacramento hospital.[Thanks, DeShaun]
Belkin intros USB-powered laptop Cooling Stand
While it's easy to assume that most laptop stands will inevitably increase the airflow surrounding the case, therefore cooling your machine off somewhat, that's apparently just not enough for some of the lap burners on the market today. For those who just can't part with their searing machines, Belkin has unveiled a new Cooling Stand that purportedly prevents your laptop from overheating. Of course, if it literally takes a fan to curb an overheating problem, you might have something a bit more serious on your hands, but alas, this trendy white / silver riser sports a modern, slightly curved design with a fan located in the center of the unit. Its self-proclaimed "high-capacity blower" moves air out from under your lappie and is powered entirely by your USB port (the one not powering that USB seat cooler), so you can drain your already weak battery even more when trying to keep cool on the go. You can snag one of these wind machines late next month for $29.99.[Via TechDigest]
Xbox 360 mod sports fully-internal water cooling
There are a few ways to remedy the Xbox 360's heat problem, but none of them are as impressive as the all-internal water-cooling system created by Dano2k0 on the Xbox-scene forums. Somehow, he's managed to squeeze a Zern GPU block, a Koolance GPU-180-H06 block, a Tank-o-Matic mini reservoir, a 12v thermaltake pump and DD fill port into the 360's already crowded interior. The mods don't stop on the inside, as the box itself is customized with blue LEDs, plexiglass windows, some slick blue paint and, best of all, no huge water pipes that look like they came from a pool filter.
The Xbox 360 and glitching, six months later
While the occasional glitching is just a part of owning new technology, there's something about that little red power ring that has the potential to send chills down any 360 gamer's spine. IGN set out to investigate the "glitch in the system" that plagued certain consoles last November from a six-month-later perspective.Some cases are just extreme though. Take Chris Szarek, for example, who had to go through so many replacement consoles that he eventually got a personal call from Peter Moore who apologized for the matter. While he and other gamers with such issues could possibly be storing their consoles in an oven or something, there are other people who are clearly taking the right steps to avoid any sort of problems.One of the IGN staffers had this to say once his own system bit the dust: "... while I was on the customer support line, I heard two guys in the background giving the exact same 'detach cables and hard drive' speech to other poor souls with dead 360s, so I think the problem of dying 360s is still pretty common." Read on for some interesting information regarding this "common" issue. It makes us wonder though: Are any of our readers out there still experiencing such problems?
102,000 Disney DVD player batteries recalled
We see a lot of product recalls around here, and keep most of them to ourselves (unless, of course, we feel our readership faces certain danger), but we figured you'd be particularly interested in one that could prevent your kids' hands from getting burned. Memcorp, in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is recalling 102,000 battery packs for Disney-branded portable DVD players sold at theme parks and through Disney's online catalog from April 2005 through last month due to reports of overheating. Apparently the batteries, which were included with five different models (full list available by following the "Read" link), have drawn 17 complaints with regards to their toasty nature, including three reports each of property damage and minor skin irritation. This certainly isn't the first incidence of faulty batteries that we've seen, but usually manufacturers are thoughtful enough not to package them with products intended for children.
Philips' plasmas are HOT
A little too hot as it would turn out, as they've sold about 12,000 plasma displays that are prone to overheating. If you own a 42 or 50 inch Ambilight screen clear some time on your schedule, get out the Maxwell CD and light some candles because you've got a date with the repairman.Here at HD Beat, we really think Philips should instead tout this as a feature, why waste time watching a Yule Log or Screen Dreams DVD when your TV can just go up in flames by itself?
