seiff

What's the crummiest phone out there? Probably an issue of personal preference, unless you're basing it on which breaks most easily. In that case, it's the Razr V3. SquareTrade, an independent warranty company, just released data on phone reliability based on its records. Motorola's Razr had an 18 percent failure rate across a two-year, normal-use time period. Even worse, in nearly 60 percent of those cases the phones became completely and inexplicably bricked. Of course, there might be more to phones than function; this data comes on the heels of CES, where Motorola phones garnered more nods than any others. Lets just hope the ROKR and T815 can do one better than their predecessor.—Abby Seiff

Electric scooters may get a kick-start from an unusual source: The NYPD. Starting in January, four scooters will be added to the city's police motor fleet. Though their number hardly makes for a revolution, the Vectrix scooters (the first plug-in vehicles legal on any highway or road) are part of a larger mission to green the department. Already, it boasts a number of hybrid and flex-fuel cars.

We've covered Vectrix's stateside arrival in the past. An $11,000 price tag puts it out of the reach of most consumers, but if the NYPD test is successful, it may popularize the scooter enough to help bring down the cost. Meanwhile, the department insists long-term fuel savings will offset a higher price.—Abby Seiff

Via CNN

Despite the high cost of powering cargo freighters, it doesn't look like viable alternatives are appearing anytime soon. Instead, the enormous ships  are increasingly turning to innovative ways of lessening fuel consumption. One promising possibility is massive sails—kites really—that can be retrofitted onto ships and aid in propelling them across the ocean. Earlier this month, Beluga Shipping christened its  MV "Beluga SkySails"—a cargo ship with a 520 square foot propulsion kite; the first to utilize the system. A transoceanic voyage  is imminent, but  unfortunately for PPX buyers, the  date has been pushed from mid-December to January.  Most traders guessed correctly, however: The SKYSAIL stock (Will the sail-assisted Beluga freighter depart by December 20, 2007?) was halted at $35.75 and closed at $0.—Abby Seiff

As recently as September, Apple was playing coy when it came to a rumored 3G iPhone. At a news conference that month Steve Jobs told reporters a phone wouldn't appear before they can "see the battery lives for 3G get back up into
the five-plus-hour range." Nevertheless, its carrier seems to have less compulsion to hold back. Yesterday, AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson all but announced an impending 3G iPhone, responding to a reporter's question about the possibility with: "You'll have it next year." Apple declined to comment, but presumably isn't thrilled about the slip—especially when it comes on the tails of the holiday wish-list deluge.

Meanwhile, on PPX the news incited a flurry of trading on our 3G iPhone proposition. But until Apple proffers an announcement of its own, the stock's up for grabs.—Abby Seiff

Via: Bloomberg.com

Let the rumor mill churn away, but good luck getting something out of it. After more than a year of speculation, iTunes and the Beatles still haven't announced a deal to release the notoriously-absent tracks. BEATUNES, which would pay out in full if Beatles songs appeared on iTunes by Halloween, kept brokers guessing in the first month, but fell steadily over the past few weeks. Today, the stock closes at $0, with trading halted at a scant $1.50 per share. Why do you taunt us so?!—Abby Seiff

A day after trading was halted, PopSci got official confirmation from NASA that their COTS agreement with Rocketplane Kistler had not yet been terminated and the stock paid out at $0. A tricky prediction to pin down, the market nevertheless guessed correctly: RKPLOVR was trading at $32.75 when halted.—Abby Seiff

Far sooner than popularly anticipated, the PPX stock GASTRTY was halted and delisted this morning, for a payout of POP$100 per share. The proposition promised a payout if China and the U.S. sign a binding treaty concerning their greenhouse-gas emissions by 2009. Over the weekend, the two nations joined nearly 200 others in a deal to phase out hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) over the next 13 years.

Trading at $52.25 at close, the market was (just) predicting correctly. Slight ambiguity in the proposition's wording may have contributed to the lack of optimism—though a dangerous greenhouse gas, HCFCs form just a fraction of the total emissions. Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, makes up over 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and is more likely to be the problem one might expect an international treaty to tackle. Nevertheless, an agreement concerning greenhouse gas emissions was signed by China and the United States, and, with the requirements technically met, the proposition paid out. Be on the lookout for a more expanded proposition on this subject.—Abby Seiff

More than 20 years after the disastrous meltdown, formal plans to encase and dismantle Chernobyl's nuclear reactor have begun. Announced yesterday by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, the project calls for a $1.4 billion steel covering to be constructed over the next five years. Currently, the reactor is surrounded by the dilapidated and ineffective concrete encasement erected shortly after the accident—the replacement will be built just a short distance away and then slid over the entire structure. Some 95 percent of the reactor's original nuclear material remains.—Abby Seiff

Via

BBC

Just six days after we introduced the MOSPAM proposition ("Will spam reach record levels before September 30, 2007?") on PPX, the stock paid out at POP$100 per share when spam as a percentage of all email hit an all-time high. According to global IT security firm SoftScan, a whopping 98 percent of email sent on September 16 was classified as junk. Traders foresaw the new high and the stock was trading at $69.75 per share when the European IT firm SoftScan released their official count on September 17, at 3pm EST. Clearly, few held out much hope for cleaner inboxes this month. —Abby Seiff

Entranced by the giant pink bunny and Badlands Guardian? If you haven't yet tired of the strange-images-in-Google Earth meme, check out Map of Strange. The site charts weird images, collecting and tagging them for your viewing pleasure. Though selections are occasionally downright lame ("The angle of this makes it look like this Ferry is falling over!"), embedded voting lets users nix the worst, and the gems (like the icebreaker at left, or Cheney's pixelated house) make it a more-than-worthy procrastination tool.—Abby Seiff

Via: MUG

Spending your stay in the sickbed dialing friends and family? Might want to relocate before you end up prolonging your stay. In an article published today in Critical Care, Dutch researchers write that, at short distances, electromagnetic interference from cellphones can cause disruption of critical care equipment.

The damage ranged from the mild (disturbing the display on a monitor), to the dangerous—switching off a ventilator, in one instance. And while interference occurred at a median distance of about an inch, problems happened even when the phones were over three feet away from their electronic victim.

Before you freak out and chuck your phone in the nearest bedpan, though, it's worth noting that the two types of signals the scientists tested, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), aren't used by most American phones. Still, whatever your feelings about the metric system, it can't hurt to adhere to their recommended "one meter rule."—Abby Seiff

Read the article at
Critical Care

It ain't just for fetus-watching anymore. Engineers from the University of Washington have devised a way to use ultrasound to seal lung punctures. Typically, wounded lungs can be healed when enough pressure is applied to staunch the bleeding. Occasionally doctors have to suction out blood and air from the surrounding area. But in about one-tenth of the cases, extremely invasive operations are needed: ribs have to be separated, long incisions are necessary, the damaged portion is either sewn up or removed. With ultrasound, however, doctors can direct a high-intensity beam at the wound to seal up the fissure [using the hand held device at left]. The heat bonds blood cells even while tissue separating the wound and device stay cool.

Thus far, the treatment has been tested only on pigs' lungs where no more than a couple of minutes were needed to stabilize the "patient." But previously, it's been successful in closing human blood vessels and stemming bleeding spleens. Doctors hope the treatment could have a range of applications in the future, possibly revolutionizing internal medicine altogether. Sounds promising. Till then, presumably, be prepared to don a curly tail if you want the treatment.—Abby Seiff

Apparently 14,800 nail-gun accidents occur each year. Who knew? We can't seem to tear our eyes from the ponderable X-rays posted on thisoldhouse.com. Check it out while we mull over the question: just how did that nail get into this part of the head?—Abby Seiff