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."

Why-Fi?

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.

It Came From the Internet

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.

Though there's no telling when or even if we'll see the device on the market, when and if we do, purchasers will need big pockets.

That's not necessarily because of the product's cost but its size.

From the video, it appears the gadget is much larger than an iPod and slightly bigger than Sony's PlayStation Portable.

Out of Their Parent's Basement and Into Cyberspace

The mother of all role-playing games and socially stigmatizing hobbies is about to make a play for a whole new generation of geeks, with an online video game.

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach brings back the classic tabletop game in the form of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game -- MMORPG -- in which players share a persistent world with one another, a world that lives and breathes whether they're logged on or not.

The game follows the model of similar ones, like "World of Warcraft," another MMORPG set in a fantasy world populated with hundreds of mythical creatures over a vast and varied landscape.

MMOs are unlike traditional video or computer games in that there is no "finish" and no traditional story line.

Players determine their character's appearance by choosing from a selection of aesthetic options -- like hairstyle and color, looks and clothing -- and generally choose some kind of profession or archetype like a fighter or wizard.

D&D Online will offer players the run of a new fantasy world created from the game's tabletop rules and include many of their favorite creatures, weapons, classes and a lot of camaraderie.