Nilay Patel
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Researcher to Use GPS to Study Asthma Triggers
You wouldn't expect GPS tech to have an impact on asthma research, but the University of Wisconsin-Madison's David Van Sickle says it will -- he's planning on tagging sufferers so he can learn when and where they reach for their inhalers. The data will hopefully make sorting out environmental triggers of the disease much easier -- it took scientists eight years to prove that soybean dust near the Barcelona harbor caused a massive asthma outbreak in the '80s, a timeline that might have been dramatically shorter if location information had been available from the start. The plan's still in the early stages, but would-be participants can sign up already -- let's just hope the tracker is slightly more attractive than Kogan's enormous watch unit.[Via CNET]
Nintendo DSi Debuts to iPhone-like Sales in US and Europe
Amazon Now Selling Xbox Live Arcade Games
[Via Joystiq]
Proposed Bill Would Create National Cybersecurity Advisor
It hasn't gotten a lot of traction yet, but Senators Jay Rockefeller and Olympia Snow have jointly introduced a bill that would create an Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor, a new White House position designed to beef up the nation's information security policies. The new office goes hand-in-hand with the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, another proposed bill that would create an entire panel of security experts brought in from the government, private sector, and universities. All together, the two pieces of legislation would require that government networks and software meet a set of security standards and vulnerability tests -- and, more controversially, that private networks deemed "critical infrastructure" by the President meet these standards as well.
What's more, El Presidente can order the disconnection of those networks during a "cybersecurity emergency" or national security emergency if needed, and security professionals will need to be licensed by the government to work on them.
Yeah, it's a long way from BlackBerrys loaded with presidential campaign information being sold at yard sales, but we'd bet some of these ideas get tamer as the bill moves through the process -- we'll see how it goes.
New Flat-Speaker Tech Could Make Public Places Even Louder
Of course, this'll all come to nothing if the sound quality isn't up to snuff, but we'll find out more when the first commercial FFL product goes on sale later this year.
[Via PhysOrg]
Apple and Stanford Offering iPhone App-Making Classes Online
Would-be iPhone developers struggling to make their apps do more than fart and crash take note: Apple and Stanford have partnered to offer videos and course materials from Stanford's undergraduate iPhone app development course through iTunes. The course is being taught by two Apple engineers, and it sounds like videos will go up regularly -- the first is scheduled to post on Friday. Alright, let's ...Apple Adds HD Video Purchases to the iTunes Store
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Apple_adds_HD_video_purchases_to_the_iTunes_Store';Apple's flood of announcements this month continues apace today with the addition of high-def movie purchases to the iTunes Store. Although HD TV shows were previously available to buy, HD movies were rental-only until now. HD flicks will cost you $19.99, and we're guessing they're the same H.264 compressed ...Hands-On with the World's Cheapest Laptops
We were ready to fall in love with the Impulse NPX-9000 as soon as we heard the words "World's Cheapest Laptop," but now that we've got a review sample in our hands, the bloom might be off this rose -- especially since the $199 wholesale price isn't even as cheap as the Dell Mini 9 on sale. On the other hand, there's something just delightfully janky about our Windows XP-powered unit, now ...New iPod shuffle Only Usable with Apple-Authorized Headphones
Sigh, it looks like Apple's habit of squeezing iPod accessory manufacturers for license fees has now extended to freaking headphones -- iLounge is reporting that the new iPod shuffle can only be controlled by headphones with a special hardware authentication chip. That means that third parties will have to pay Apple for the privilege of making shuffle-compatible accessories, and you can bet ...Will the Next iPhone Software Update Include Copy and Paste?
Digg's Kevin Rose has a solid (but far from perfect) track record when it comes to Apple rumors, and he just drove the nerds of SXSWi crazy with his latest gaze into the crystal ball: he says the iPhone 3.0 will have copy and paste. Kev says that the interface is much like the magnifying glass -- you use two fingers to select the text you want, and then you can cut or copy. Sure, that's great, ...
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