MIT Gurus Dream Up Sensor Network for Preventing Forest Fires
[Via Inhabitat]
Posts with tag Fire
[Via Inhabitat]
Cell Phone Charger Blamed for Blaze in Delaware
[Thanks, Carl]
Fight Fires with a Gun!
The premise is simple, yet brilliant; what looks like a fancy Nerf gun is loaded with up to eight pressurized CO2 cartridges that smother the fire. You simply adjust the distance belt, aim, and fire the carbon dioxide bullets into the fire. The bullets explode releasing their flame extinguishing payload.
If we ever get our hands on one of these, we might just start setting a fire or two just for the fun of putting it out. Fighting fires is officially bad-ass. [From: Wired]
Japan Investigates Exploding iPod Nanos, Again
Presumably Apple is calculating the Tyler Durden cost-of-recall at this very moment. In other words, take the number of 1st gen nanos in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, they don't do one.
Update: Japan has issued a warning to iPod nano users saying, "Users need to be careful about overheating of the machines," particularly when charging the players. Japan's government has reported a total of 14 similar incidents to Apple related to models MA004J/A, MA005J/A, MA099J/A and MA107J/A all sold between September '05 and September '06 -- two of which resulted in minor burns. NHK claims that Apple does not plan a recall but is ready to exchange defective parts.
Three-Alarm Fire Burns at Apple's Cupertino Campus
Uh oh. At about 10pm pacific time, a 3-alarm fire (about 66 firefighters responding) was reported at Apple's Valley Green Six building on Apple's Cupertino campus. The site, which is just down the road from the Infinite Loop HQ, is said to be an R&D building by Apple personnel -- Apple has not confirmed this. The fire seems to be under control with no reported injuries although it's too soon for any kind of damage estimates. As surreal as it sounds, The Mercury News reports that, "Some Apple employees stopped by to look at the scene and snap pictures on their iPhones." And fiddle, presumably. Hit the read link for a local news video report. [Via MercuryNews, thanks Jeff T.]
Man Arrested for Running Into Burning Building to Get Computer
by Tim Stevens, posted Jul 9th 2008 at 10:37AM
We've all seen the stories where a noble passer-by runs into a burning building to save a stranded baby or animal before the firemen are able to get there and do the same. Such people usually receive 15 minutes of fame on the local news, the key to the city, and, of course, an overwhelming feeling of well-being. Given our reliance on computers today, a lot of people are also quite devastated if their precious data is destroyed by fire, but a word of caution: Should you be thinking of pulling the hero move next time a house burns down, then the legal charges filed against a Minnesota man for doing just that might make you think twice.
The man, 53-year-old Nicholas Guy, lived in an apartment complex with a number of other tenants in Winona, Minnesota. The fire department responded to a call placed at 7:43pm and was on the scene attempting to put out a blaze that started on the first floor before spreading to the attic. Guy, who was drunk, disobeyed police orders and snuck into the building to retrieve his computer, but then needed help to get back out again.
He was charged with disorderly conduct and for obstructing a fire scene, crimes that won't land him in jail, but could result in some hefty fines. [Source: Winona Daily News]
Jilted Wife Sets 400 Cell Phones On Fire
We're pretty familiar with cell phones immolating themselves. Usually it's cheap, knock-off or poorly designed batteries that explode at the drop of a hat and cause some fireworks and fears of death. A story out of China reports of a very different sort of cell phone fire -- a much larger and rather more intentional type.A 37-year-old woman in China named Mrs. Wang was rather irritated at her husband when he decided to leave their marriage. As retribution she went to the couple's store, where they sell cell phones, gathered 400 of them, put them in a pile inside their house, and lit the whole thing on fire. The pile was reportedly worth about $42,000, which means she obviously picked only the best handsets to ignite.
The look on Mr. Wang's face after he came home to the smoldering mess, however, must have been priceless.
From Engadget
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Michigan Boy Burnt By Pocketed PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Are Sony PSPs going the same way as burning cell phones and batteries? According to WebPro News, a Farmington Hills, Mich., middle school boy felt something warm happening in his pants during band class -- and, just as you suspected (dirty monkeys!) -- it turned out that his Sony PSP was heating up to the point of causing second-degree burns.
In an almost cliche-like instance of coincidence, the disc he had in the portable gaming and media device was for a popular driving game called 'Burnout.'
There's no official word on the cause of the flare-up, but the Sony PSP Web site says to use only PSP batteries and charging packs "that meet our quality standards to avoid hazards such as firing or explosion. Using batteries with such protective devices may cause a failure or an accident." No word on if the boy was using a third-party battery or had damaged the device. He did return to school the same day after receiving treatment in the hospital for his injury.
From Engadget
Related links:
- FAA Institutes New Bans on Laptop and Gadget Batteries on Planes
- iPod Lights Man's Pants on Fire
- Pregnant Woman's Nokia Phone Battery Explodes
iPod Lights Man's Pants on Fire
Danny Williams' taste in music is so wretched, his own iPod tried to kill him. Very recently, the Douglasville, Ga., native looked down to find his pants pocket engulfed in flames. The culprit: his year-old iPod Nano.Williams walked away from the incident uninjured thanks to a piece of glossy paper in his pocket, which he believes spared him from being badly burned. But, as if having your iPod try to immolate you isn't frightening enough, consider where this episode took place: Williams works at a kiosk at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. As Williams said himself:
"If TSA had come by and seen me smoking, they could have honestly thought I was a terrorist."
This fire is just the latest in a series of recent lithium-ion battery flame-ups. After smoke and flames were reported by consumers last August, Sony has since been forced to recall more than seven million laptop batteries it made for its own computers as well as for Dell, Apple, Gateway, Toshiba and several others. This summer, a Chinese man was killed when his cell phone battery exploded in his chest pocket, sending a broken rib tearing into his heart.
The lithium-ion battery has become ubiquitous due to its small size and ability to hold a charge, making it the perfect power supply for our increasingly mobile world. Unfortunately -- while very rare -- it is more likely than other types of batteries to light on fire or even explode.
As for this latest incident, Apple has pledged to replace Williams' iPod, but wouldn't comment further. As a result, we are unable to tell you which batch of iPod Nanos are affected and how widespread the problem might be.
Hey Apple, we're all very aware that you came out with some shiny new iPods last month. But, resorting to these scare tactics to convince us to upgrade? That's a new low.
From Geek Sugar
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