iPhone Charger Death & Injury In China
A Chinese woman is dead and another man was left in a coma in a separate incident after sustaining severe shocks while using iPhones that were plugged into chargers. According to Chinese newspaper reports the man was foaming at the mouth after the shock and had to be revived by rescue personnel.
The incidents are still being investigated by Chinese officials and Apple. It’s not known what caused the problem, but counterfeit Apple products are widely available in China where trademark laws are not aggressively enforced on U.S. products.
Microsoft Earnings Take A Hit From Tablet Sales
Microsoft’s fourth quarter earnings were around a billion dollars less that expected and you can blame the Surface RT. The company took a $900 million charge due to reduced prices on the troubled tablets.
The company is counting on its recent reorganization and a revamp of Windows 8 to turn its financial picture around.
Still, don’t cry for the tech giant, they still made a net income of nearly 5 billion.
Wood Battery Could Make It Easier To Store Energy From Wind And Solar Farms
The University of Maryland showed off a revolutionary battery design: a thin sliver of wood coated with tin. It’s a thousand times thinner than a piece of paper and uses sodium instead of lithium. Researchers say the wood batteries could last for up to 400 charging cycles and be the ideal material for storing energy generated by wind and solar farms.
~ Cynthia