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"Publisher giant Hearst released more details for the Skiff Reader, its self-produced e-book device. The new model is one of the largest e-book readers ever at 11.5 inches and provides a 1200?1600 touchscreen display better suited to magazines and newspapers. Its use of e-paper is equally new: rather than glass, it uses an LG-made flexible steel foil that resists shattering. The reader doesn't have a release date or pricing, but unlike the Kindle it will be available in Sprint's retail shops when it releases sometime later this year"

"WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in collaboration with major implantable pacemaker and ICD manufacturers, demonstrated the effects of emissions from radio frequency identification (RFID) readers on common implantable cardiac devices. According to research published in the January edition of the HeartRhythm Journal, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the observed effects may cause increasing complications as RFID use expands in the medical device field. Read full text of study » The study, which looked at the electromagnetic interference susceptibility of 15 pacemakers and 15 ICDs caused by exposure to 13 RFID readers, concluded that low frequency RFID readers may pose the greatest risk to pacemakers and ICDs. While modern pacemakers and ICDs use filters to minimize susceptibility to higher-frequency signals, there is limited filtering of low frequency signals due to the design constraints of both pacemakers and ICDs."

"Is the H1N1 swine flu vaccine causing miscarriages? Is the vaccine safe for pregnant women to take? Those are questions that thousands upon thousands of pregnant women have wrestled with over the past couple of months as they have decided what to do about the swine flu. The WHO and U.S health authorities insisted that the H1N1 swine flu vaccine was perfectly safe for pregnant women and pushed them to the front of the line. So thousands of women did run out and get themselves injected with the vaccine. Now reports are pouring in from all over the United States of women who have lost their babies very quickly after receiving the H1N1 vaccine. Many of these women are overcome with pain and a feeling of loss and are looking for answers. They end up on sites like this one because the mainstream media won't touch this story with a ten foot pole (lest they offend the pharmaceutical giants and their millions of dollars in ad money). Fortunately there are alternatives to the mainstream media now. The following are stories from 9 of our readers who have lost their babies very soon after getting the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. We challenge anyone who still believes in the safety of this vaccine to read all of the following stories and then to explain to the rest of us why we should not be concerned. The truth is that the H1N1 swine flu vaccine is NOT safe for pregnant women. The following are unedited personal testimonies left as comments by readers of this site..... #1) Kelly: If you haven't had a miscarriage, you shouldn't comment about someone that has. This is my second miscarriage. I know my first miscarriage had absolutely nothing to do with the H1N1 shot (because it was in 2003), however, this time I believe there definitely could be a connection. I had 3 healthy babies after my first miscarriage. When I went to have my H1N1 shot (which was HIGHLY recommended by the Health Office workers since I WAS pregnant and I higher risk of H1N1), I was around 5 wee

"LAS VEGAS - At the International Consumer Electronics Show last week, 3-D television, electronic readers and little laptops captured much of the attention. There were plenty of other interesting ideas on display, too, from 3-D printing to a wireless cell phone tether. Here are some of the gadgets most worth keeping an eye out for this year, and some that best deserve an arched eyebrow of amusement: TV on the iPhone - Qualcomm Inc.'s FLO TV service has been limited by the fact that only a few AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless cell phones can receive the signals, which carry about 15 news, sports and entertainment channels. Now, Qualcomm has teamed up with phone accessories maker Mophie to create an external battery pack for the iPhone that doubles as a FLO TV receiver. It's expected in the first half of the year. No price for the pack was announced; FLO TV service costs $15 per month. Separately, TV stations are also rolling out their own broadcasts for mobile devices. Another device at the show, the Tivit, is designed to take those signals and send them to an iPhone or BlackBerry over Wi-Fi. It should be available this spring for about $120, and the broadcasts are free. Game-controller glove - Iron Will Innovations demonstrated a futuristic-looking black-and-silver glove that replaces a keyboard and lets users control games by touching their fingers together instead. Called the Peregrine, the glove includes five sensors on each finger that replace different keystrokes when touched to the glove's thumb. The glove and plugs into a computer's USB port. The Peregrine should be in stores for $150 by the summer, though the company is taking pre-orders online for $20 less."

Federal regulators seized Charter Bank in New Mexico this week as its capitalization fell below requirements, making it the latest of scores of banks to have failed in the economic crisis. However, the Albuquerque Journal reports that Charter faced a very low default rate on residential loans and no commercial failures, either - until the Office of Thrift Supervision, its regulator, demanded that Charter increase its declared risk fivefold (hat tip HA reader Super5): Federal authorities on Friday closed Charter Bank, a closely held, family-run financial institution known for its financing of low-income housing in New Mexico and for the philanthropy of its owners. … Last fall, Office of Thrift Supervision examiners, responding to the national collapse of real estate development, ordered Charter to increase its allowance for loan losses from $10.8 million to $55.4 million, even though Charter had no delinquent commercial construction loans and only [0].34 percent of the loans in its commercial real estate portfolio were behind on their payments. That order reduced the level of capital Charter had on its books. Last Wednesday, OTS ordered Charter to find new capital as a buffer against insolvency or face closure. Charter had hoped to find a buyer, but none appeared. The owners' stake in the company was wiped out by the forced closure. How involved were they in low-income lending? The head of New Mexico's MFA makes it clear: Charter became a major real estate lender and was especially active in underwriting and servicing mortgages for low-income housing. It worked closely with the Mortgage Finance Authority, which was established by the State Legislature to help finance low-income housing construction. According to MFA executive director Jay Czar, Charter services about 95 percent of the mortgages issued through the agency. "They are just class bankers," Czar said. "These are guys who quite frankly really look out for the s