Tech Blotter: Fear of Wi-Fi

Feb. 27, 2006 -- -- A strange device appears on the Internet, a controversial and shadowy game is reborn, and a Canadian university bans Wi-Fi. Your weekly dose of tech tidbits is right here in this edition of "Tech Blotter."

Although no specific evidence shows that Wi-Fi presents a physiological danger, a college in Canada has banned the technology on campus.

Lakehead University, a small college in Thunder Bay, Ontario, does offer some limited wireless access at present but plans to keep that program from expanding.

The decision was that of the school's president, Fred Gilbert.

"The jury is still out on the impact that electromagnetic forces have on human physiology," Gilbert told Reuters.

"Some studies have indicated that there are links to carcinogenetic occurrences in animals, including humans, that are related to energy fields associated with wireless hot spots, whether those hot spots are transmission lines, outlets, plasma screens or microwave ovens that leak."

The decision has caused some students and health experts to cry foul, saying that the move is overkill and that there is little or no risk to students and faculty.

The news comes in a week that saw Earthlink and Google working on a bid to blanket San Francisco in wireless connectivity.

A video appeared on the Internet this weekend that showed a strange device not known to cyberspace's usual inhabitants.

Rumors are flying but most agree that it's likely Microsoft's mysterious "Origami" device.

There's no official word from the company yet, but it seems that this new toy may be Microsoft's answer to the unsinkable iPod.

The video shows the device controlling a computer wirelessly, playing the smash hit Xbox video game, "Halo," as well as being used as a drawing tablet with a stylus and more.

The video surfaces just following the one billionth download at Apple's iTunes' Store, a milestone marked with some fanfare and a bulky prize package for the lucky downloader.