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IBM's thermal paste cooling innovations detailed
It was but a few months back that IBM was tooting its own horn in regard to a "breakthrough" technology sure to revolutionize the processor cooling realm as we know it, and while miraculous claims often vanish after their bold declarations, it looks like this invention is moving forward. While we'd already heard the typical techie hub bub that goes along with such systems, IBM is now explaining a bit more about how the process will eventually work. Essentially, researchers have created a system in which "tree-like branched trenches" are placed in the copper cap, where a newly-thinned thermal paste can be applied with half the pressure of current renditions, netting a "twofold increase in cooling performance." The micrometer-sized channels basically act as an "irrigation system" to allow the toasty particles to homogeneously escape rather than building up in the self-proclaimed "magic cross" section. We know, this still isn't spelling things out in layman's terms, but if you're truly interested in knowing precisely how IBM plans on slashing the heat emitted by your future CPUs, grab your reading glasses and hit the read link.
Oxygen-deprivation systems showcased at CeBIT
No doubt there's a few outfits at CeBIT doing little aside from blowing hot air, but a number of firms are seeking to extract all the warm oxygen it can from critical data centers. Oxygen-deprivation systems have seen a lot of interest in Germany, as both Wagner Alarm and Security Systems GmbH's OxyReduct and N2telligence GmbH's not-yet-named system remove a vast majority of the surrounding oxygen from rooms full of servers in an effort to greatly reduce the risk of overheating and fire. Although each company's approach had its own special twist, reducing the oxygen level within notoriously toasty data centers is certainly something enterprises and even medium-sized businesses will take note of, as just about everyone and their great-grandparents are now terrified of components spontaneously combusting. Unfortunately, neither outfit was willing to disclose general pricing information, as they seem to work on a per-job basis based on the area that needs do-oxygenated, but if you're studio apartment looks anything like this, you should definitely look into a consumer edition if it ends up on the market.
UK scientists testing air-conditioned vests for military use
Air-conditioned vests have certainly graced the bodies of armed men and women before, but an elusive new breed is being tested in the multi-million dollar Spinnaker Building at the University of Portsmouth to ensure that it'll keep soldiers cool from the brutal conditions in Iraq. Scientists at the school weren't at will to disclose all the nitty gritty details about the classified gear, but we do know that these bad boys utilize "a combination of air, liquid, and new applications of old technologies such as converting paraffin wax into liquid in chambers within the vests to absorb heat from the body." The gist of the testing is to create a suit that actually improves one's ability to make sound judgments while in the field and under extreme conditions, and it was also mentioned that a mysterious US defense contractor is hoping to tweak these and have 'em out "within one to two years." Now, if only these things were available en masse for our poor laps, we'd really be in business.[Via Gizmag]
Novel Concepts' IsoSkin dissipates heat without the fan noise
Novel Concepts is probably just hopping on the "stop the overheating" bandwagon, but nevertheless, the firm's latest, um, novel idea is to eliminate those bulky, air-sucking PC fans by creating an ultrathin heat spreading material to coat toasty parts. Dubbed IsoSkin, the material comes in at just 500-microns thick, and the company insinuates that it could eventually be used to replace the "outer skin of portable electronics," further doing away with the need for internal heatsinks and fans. Notably, the sheets are purportedly able to "dissipate heat 20 times more effectively than copper," or transferring about 250-watts, while weighing in 60-percent lighter than the material it hopes to leapfrog. Utilizing planar capillary technology, the IsoSkins could reportedly be "manufactured for pennies per square centimeter," and considering that several microprocessor and electronics companies are already testing this stuff out, maybe the next wave of lappies won't require firefighter-grade pants to use safely.[Via ExtremeTech]
Intel seeks light sensors to halt laptop scalding
Having an overheating laptop nestled on your legs isn't exactly the most comfortable way to work, but even if your Li-ion doesn't erupt on your mid-section, other forms of damage can still ruin your day life. In an effort to quell the scalding that so often occurs on today's lap-burners, Intel has issued a patent application "which uses light to sense when a computer casing is getting too hot, and automatically throttles back the power" to cool things off. Considering that hot spots emerge in various locales on the casing, a light sensor would be used to detect changes on an internal thermochromic coating, which would then relay a signal to the processor to clock down a bit in order to keep the temperatures within reason. Of course, we fully expect a taskbar icon to disable this CPU-limiting procedure for those rocking flame retardant pants, but this should work just fine for those who prefer not to dress accordingly while computing on the go.[Via NewScientistTech]
Nokia 6280 overheats, erupts in smoke on video
We've seen dozens and dozens of aftermath photos from laptops and other random batteries suddenly possessing violently explosive tendencies, but we all know full motion video is more satisfying than simple stills. In this particular case, we're thrilled that the smoking, fizzing Nokia 6280 was filmed while in a location where humans couldn't be harmed, and initial reports are (unsurprisingly) tagging the battery or charger as the culprit. The 3 customer reported that his new handset "began fizzing white smoke" just hours after switching it on for the first time, and Nokia is reportedly investigating the issue. Of course, this isn't the first time a Nokia battery has been blamed for a fire, but unlike the previous case, we kind of doubt the firm will get off as easy here. So if you've actually hung around to read this far, we'll let you get to the fun stuff now, so go on and hit the read link for the final moments of the mobile's smoky death.[Via Inquirer]
Matsushita recalls 68,000 potentially fiery massage chairs
We're all very aware of how often Li-ion batteries have been on the literal hot seat over the past year or so, but now it looks like Matsushita has yet another recall to deal with outside of those overheating laptop batteries. The company best known for its Panasonic brand has recalled 68,762 of its electric massage chairs after two cases were reported of the "internal motor burning out" and sparking fires. Thankfully, no one was injured while getting all the kinks worked out of their spine, but considering there are much safer ways to heat your bottom while kicked back in a recliner, we doubt the unadvertised warming functions were appreciated. So if you just so happen to own one of these vibrating chairs, you should probably make haste in pulling the plug and phoning Matsushita for an RMA number.[Via Fark]
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]
Canadian lawsuit pegs Dell for knowingly selling defective laptops
Sure, it's a new year, but it's the same ole problems for Dell. Yet again the Texas powerhouse is facing a lawsuit claiming that the company knowingly and willingly sold laptops to loyal buyers even though they were defective, and this time it's coming from our northerly neighbors. A group of Canucks who purchased toasty Dell lappies have slapped some legal action on Dell through the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and the filing claims that "Dell was negligent in designing the computers and sold them even though the company knew of the problems." The models in question reportedly include the 1100, 1150, 5100, 5150 and 5160 models of the Inspiron, and rather than focusing on batteries that erupted in their laps, it claims that the "notebooks suffer from design defects that cause premature failure of the motherboard due to overheating just after the one-year warranty expires." As expected, a Dell spokesperson didn't have a comment on the pending suit, but we're sure it'll be a bit more diligent to show up in court than in previous scenarios.[Via Inquirer]
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]
Canon warns of overheating cameras
Who is doing quality assurance these days? First laptops blowing up, then weak straps resulting in household damages, and now this -- overheating camera battery covers. While nowhere nearly as serious as the exploding laptop trend, Canon is warning owners of the PowerShot A530 and A540 that the cases' doors can become extremely hot. Additionally, there will be a significant decrease in performance, resulting in a lot less pics of the holidays than you would have hoped. Those folks realizing that they have an affected camera can have Canon replace it at no charge.[Via Gear Factor]
Intec offers up another Xbox 360 cooling solution: the $100 Power AC Adaptor
If you're not exactly down with tossing a water-cooling system into your Xbox 360, and don't want to get burned by a possibly scorching Nyko Intercooler, you should run right out and pick up Intec's Power AC Adaptor -- if you've got $100 to kill, that is. You heard right, Intec has unveiled a third-party power brick "to replace your lost or malfunctioning" one, which sports an internal cooling fan "to keep your Xbox 360 cooler during operation." It also boasts three status lights of the green, orange, and red variety, which informs you if the brick is "OK, in stand-by mode, or currently malfunctioning." Aside from having a built-in indicator for telling you just how bad things could get, the 0.85-pound device doesn't even include the wall plug to connect your newfangled power supply to an AC outlet. So even if you had the slightest inclination to save your Xbox 360 from impending overheating via this overpriced accessory, be sure your power cord isn't of the recalled variety before plugging up.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Nyko Intercooler scorches Xbox 360 consoles?
We've seen our fair share of products that aren't exactly "as advertised," but it seems that Nyko's Intercooler might actually up the stakes by accomplishing the complete opposite of what it's intended to do. While the Xbox 360 has experienced a good bit of "technical difficulties" in its short life, the Intercooler accessory was hailed as a product that nixed the seemingly widespread overheating issues; however, new reports are suggesting that the device "steals too much power" from the oh-so-needy innards of Microsoft's console, leading to eventual failure of the components. It was noted that the Intercooler can even elicit "brown discoloration" around the system's AC input before users are faced with the ominous red ring, and if this tale-tell sign is witnessed by RMA processors, your return becomes null and void for using an "unlicensed peripheral." Although Nyko respectfully defends its questionably useful product, Microsoft doesn't appear to lend the same appreciation -- but regardless, there's still a few (unofficial) methods left to ensure your Xbox 360 stays below the boiling point, cool?[Via digg]
TGS: Ridge Racer 7 demo attracts loyal fan
It seems all that burning rubber and gratuitous nitro boosting in the Ridge Racer 7 demo took its toll on a lone PS3. Kotaku snapped this picture of a Sony rep bravely averting disaster by pointing some sort of advanced cooling mechanism into the console's compartment. System anomalies crop up at trade shows all the time -- we salute the fan-man for his keen sense of practicality. He probably doesn't lock his dog in the car while he's out shopping either. [Thanks AK and mupwangle]
Cooking an egg on a MacBook
Alright, so maybe you didn't want such a warm welcome when using your MacBook, but the list of unadvertised capabilities of these heat-emitting notebooks is growing. Most recently a pioneering fellow decided he liked his eggs over hard -- hard drive, that is. While his MacBook was operating within the manufacturer's specifications (read: likely folding for Engadget or some other such process-intensive task), the underbelly of this beast got toasty enough to literally fry an egg. While probably not the most efficient way to fix breakfast, it's definitely among the most entertaining we've seen, and certainly helps substantiate the, ahem, smoking reviews this machine got.
Lexar recalling 66,000 defective JumpDrives
Here's a new one for you: we've all seen product recalls stemming from overheating batteries, defective CCDs, and faulty power cords, but this is the first we've heard of a USB thumb drive being called back for "posing a risk of burns to consumers and property damage." Actually, Lexar -- in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission -- is recalling a total of five different models when all is said and done: the 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB flavors of the JumpDrive FireFly and the 1GB version of the JumpDrive Secure II. According to the CPSC, 66,000 of the faulty units were sold between April and May of this year -- check the Read link for specific serial number ranges -- and although so far no injuries have been reported, consumers are advised to stop using affected models immediately. As usual, the company will hook you up with a new model free of charge if you ask very nicely; as for us, we're probably gonna hold onto ours and use them to brand new interns with the Lexar logo as part of our geeky hazing ritual.[Via The Inquirer]
Dude, your Dell is on fire
Although we enjoy ogling mangled electronics as much as the next person, if you should ever find yourself at a conference with us and someone's laptop happens to burst into flames, we kindly request that you seek out a fire extinguisher before reaching for your cameraphone.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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.
HP "recalls" 679,000 cams, issues firmware update
So even though Hewlett-Packard is "recalling" some 679,000 Photosmart R707 digital cameras (224,000 of which are in the US), there's no real need to panic, because instead of having to send your model back, performing a simple DIY firmware update will keep your shooter from becoming a flame thrower. Like so many other recalls of the past, this one also involves batteries that can potentially overheat and start a fire, but the problem only occurs if you feed power to the camera when it contains non-rechargeable batteries. Therefore, if you always use rechargeables in your R707, it sounds like you have nothing to worry about, but you single-use AA users shouldn't plug in your cams until you've completed the update, 'kay?
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?
