Author: Gabrielle Taylor
Sprint drops customers who call too much
I believe it was Basil Fawlty who said, “this would be a wonderful hotel, if it wasn’t for the customers.” Sprint Nextel seems to have taken the same attitude. On June 29, 2007, Sprint sent letters notifying some customers that their service would be canceled by the end of July due to excessive calls to customer service. “Our records indicate that over the past year, we have received frequent calls from you regarding your billing or other general account information,” the letter reads. “While we have worked to resolve your issues and questions to the best of our ability, the number of inquiries you have made to us during this time has led us to determine that we are unable to meet your current wireless needs.” Sprint has long had a reputation for poor customer service (which I’ve personally experienced) and for the first quarter of 2007, it reported a loss of 220,000 post-paid monthly subscribers. It is clear that Sprint have dropped the high-maintenance customers as an attempt to conserve resources, but fail to see that this attitude is what cost them money in the first place. [GT]
Sprint breaks up with high-maintenance customers
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Knit your own iPhone
So, the iPhone isn’t available in the UK yet? Not to worry, just follow the simple instructions, and you can knit your own (or have your gran knit it for you). No word on how many stitches your phone contract has to be. [GT]
My Mom Hand-Knit An iPhone [viaBoing Boing]
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TurtleNet: Turtles test wireless network
Snapping turtles in Massachusetts are being used to test a new form of wireless network. They’re being fitted with tiny waterproof computers which will record the turtle’s movements and body temperature. The information is then conveyed to a base station which transmits the data to the University of Massachusetts. The idea behind the technology, known as TurtleNet, is to create a network of constantly moving devices that record and store information, transmit data from one device to another, then relay all the saved information to a central location while running on self-charging batteries. The information about the turtles will allow biologists to have a better understanding about turtle habitats which can help protect the species. Computer science and biology: two disciplines helping each other. (Don’t worry about the turtles: the machine is small enough to not interfere with their doings “or mating”.) [GT]
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Vertical Mouse by Evoluent
At first glance, the Vertical Mouse looks all wrong and I instinctively want to tip it back over again — but I’m a Little Endian. It’s supposed to be more ergonomic than the mouse we all currently use, with a shape to “support your hand in a fully upright handshake position which reduces pain and strain from the forearm twisting you get from a normal mouse”. No, it doesn’t slide sideways when you click. As usual, it’s for Windows (although the site does have a link to a shareware Mac driver). Comes in silver and black and has models for both lefties and righties. $80. [GT]
Vertical Mouse [via GetUSB.info]
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The LiberTouch customizable keyboard by Fujitsu
Great news for everyone who knows how hard it is to clean your keyboard or is just sick and tired of staring at QWERTY every time they sit down at the computer. Make your own DVORAK – or ZOBLAW if that pleases you – with this offering from Fujiitsu. The LiberTouch customizable keyboard allows the user to remove the keys with a tool that seems to work like a bottle opener. The keyboard also comes with a single USB port. No price as yet. [GT]
LiberTouch [viaEngadget]
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'He deserves recognition because he undertook the arduous and timely task of getting fresh and high quality human embryos to use as starting material in his work and sufficient funding for such research, not because he did anything that was…
Eubiq: put an outlet where you need it
I hate cords. I trip over them all the time because I have to drag them across the room to attach them to the outlet. They’re ugly. Also, they give me Tourette’s Syndrome. Which is why I love Eubiq. Eubiq is a power track that allows you to move the plug anywhere along the maximum 3.6 meter track. You just pull the plug out and put it back in wherever you want and you can put in as many plugs as you need. The tracks are shielded and the plugs are grounded so you don’t have to worry about little ones shocking themselves. I saw a system like this at a local net cafe and was really impressed, though the plugs they had were a bit fragile. Terrific idea though. [GT]
Eubiq [viaCoolest Gadgets]
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Finger Drums: Electronic Drum Beat Maker
The Electronic Drum Beat Maker deserves a tip of the (high) hat. We’ve had finger drum sets before but these really look like you’re really playing a (really tiny) set of drums. Every time you hit a drum head it lights up and plays the beat. You can play a sequence and record it to play back later. Which reminds me: What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend? Homeless!* $19.95. [GT]
Finger Drums [via Gizmodo]
*It’s true, it happened to my cousin.
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New wind turbine quieter, produces more power downtown
Somewhat resembling a mangled clutch of giant paperclips, a new wind turbine design has all the downtown lads and lasses talking — and they can be heard above its operation, because it’s (as turbines go) super-quiet. Since it uses vertical instead of horizontal processing, it gets more energy from the kind of wind action characteristic of urban environments, and also runs more quietly. It should produce 3 times (1.2kW) the typical output of urban turbines when it comes out. The inventor, Ben Storan, was given £3000 by the British Standards Institute for his design. [GT]
New wind turbine spins success for winning student (via Treehugger)
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Electronic wave hypersensitivity in Japan
Similar to electrosensitivity to electromagnetic radiation, Japanese have begun reporting cases of electronic wave hypersensitivity, where exposure to electronic waves result in intense internal pain which can only be controlled with prescription medications, and is aggravated by proximity to electrical towers, appliances, computers and mobiles. My personal experience with this has generally been that the doctors are dismissive, but the engineers think it entirely possible. [GT]
Cell Phones Destroying Japanese Brains
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