smoking

To James Monsees and Adam Bowen, the biggest problem with the smoking industry is that it stopped innovating 50 years ago. And the two San Francisco entrepreneurs have set out to get that innovation engine moving again.

Monsees and Bowen, who were classmates at Stanford's design school, worked on a master's thesis together about smoking and in their research, discovered that many smokers love the ritual and the social elements of having a cigarette, but hate the fact that doing so often bothers people and is known to be unhealthy. With their degrees in hand, the two decided to build a product around helping people maximize those positives and minimize those negatives.

That was four years ago. Now, their company, Ploom, has just released its first product, the Model One. The $40 Model One is a vaporizer built around patent-pending technology that heats tobacco to a temperature that releases its flavor, but doesn't burn it. It's intended to be a white-gloved slap to the face of the traditional cigarette and the companies that make them.

The Model One looks something like a cross between a flute and a high-tech pen.… Read more

For those of you who thought Dell was content with putting out low-end Android handsets like the Aero, I submit the Thunder, Smoke, and Flash.

Wednesday saw Engadget leaking three new phones from the handsetmaker's road map. Looking through the various details and specs, one gets the sense that Dell has lofty ambitions for the platform, going so far as to create its own user interface called Stage. Based on the few pictures available, the experience looks stylish, sleek, and classy. Although we shouldn't expect to see these phones for nearly a year, Dell has already committed to … Read more

Wilson is out today. He's supposedly covering the New York auto show for CNET TV, but we suspect that he's at home still trying to get the Cheeseburger Doritos flavor off his tongue from yesterday's episode. We aren't mad at him either, because Natali Del Conte steps into his shoes to sort out a few stories on today's episode, starting with a short explanation behind that "PC Load Letter" message you've probably seen on your office printer.

Immortalized in the classic scene from Office Space, Michael Bolton probably wouldn't have been so pissed if CNET's prestigious printer Editor Justin Yu was around to show him that "PC Load Letter" means you have to load letter-size paper into the Paper Cassette. It's that simple, now put the bat down.

The next story might not be so easy to explain. "Security experts" suspect that terrorists have plans to smuggle explosives onto planes using bombs in fake breast implants. Since you can apparently hide up to five ounces of pentaerythritol tetrabitrate (yes, from "Die Hard 3"), airline officials will likely start more "in-depth" examinations of women that have undergone breast augmentation surgery. No, this is not a ploy by Wilson G. Tang to make some money on the side, but we're still wondering if it's possible to feel the difference between silicone and pentaerythritol tetrabitrate..."Oh my!"

Some people just can't have a conversation online without punctuating their thoughts with a silly emoticon. In fact, as Natali tells us, there's even a new emoticon out now that conveys sarcasm! Theo Watson adds his own twist on the funny faces with a new Auto Smiley program that uses a Web cam to automatically insert a smileycon into whatever program you're using. You can download the app and source code here and enjoy your hands-free smiling!

Keep the e-mails and voice mails coming everyone! Call us up at 1-866-404-CNET or send a message to the404(at)cnetcom and let us know what's on your mind. We're starting to read listener e-mails on the air now, so make them good! As always, sticker pictures are appreciated as well, and don't forget about Steve Guttenberg's ongoing "Audiophillie" awards--we've already received submissions but you still have plenty of time to send yours in before the April 12 deadline, so get to work!

The Japanese are getting teary-eyed over a smoke alarm for deaf people that emits a strong odor of wasabi, according to a recent Nikkei Net article.

Instead of an ear-piercing wail, the device unleashes the chemical compound allyl isothiocyanate, which gives horseradish, mustard, and wasabi their bite. A red LED on the alarm also starts flashing when smoke is detected.

In tests on sleeping people with normal or no hearing, the device woke nearly all subjects up within two and a half minutes after the stench hit their nostrils. Further tests determined the ideal intensity of airborne wasabi to wake … Read more

We've spent the last couple of days checking out how the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor kicks up off-road dust. Sure, it looks cool. But what is it really like to navigate and race this Baja-ready pickup truck on the desert sand? "The Smoking Tire" put host Matt Farah up to the challenge in the nether regions of California's Borrego Springs to get a first hand look at how the 2010 Ford Raptor can be used in an off-road driving scenario--boy, does it look like fun!

You can probably already tell that at the minimum this … Read more

I have nothing against smoking, save for the difficult odor that emanates from every part, breath, and piece of clothing belonging to a smoker. I could no more live with a smoker than I could live with a third ear perched off the end of my nose.

However, I am embalmed in a curious sympathy after reading a report from The Consumerist concerning two Mac users whose AppleCare warranties appear to have been voided due to the presence of cigarette smoke in their homes.

One, named Derek, recounts the tale of his overheating black MacBook. He took it into the Apple store in Jordan Creek, West Des Moines.

He told The Consumerist: "Today, April, 28, 2008, the Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, that has voided the warranty and they refuse to work on the machine, due to 'health risks of secondhand smoke.'"

He continued: "Nowhere in your AppleCare terms of service can I find anything mentioning being used in a smoking environment as voiding the warranty."

Derek's resulting appeal to the office of Steve Jobs bore him no joy, so he resorted to blowing some compressed air at the machine, leading it to restart its wondrous functions.

Then along came Ruth, who took her son's iMac to an authorized repair center. After five days, they apparently told her they couldn't work on it because it was contaminated with cigarette smoke and was therefore a bio-hazard.… Read more

It's all over the news. A major analysis published this week of more than a dozen studies in North America, Italy, Scotland, and Ireland designed to determine the effect of smoking bans on heart attack rates shows a 17 percent reduction in heart attacks in places where bans were in effect for one year. That rate more than doubles to 36 percent in places where bans have been in effect for three years.

The impact of smoking bans is "bigger than expected," the BBC reports. The bans are "potent weapons in the battle to prevent heart … Read more

WhiteSmoke analyzes users' writing and provides suggestions for improved grammar, style, and spelling. Although the program looks nice and is easy to use, there are a lot of errors that it doesn't catch.

The program's interface is intuitive and attractive, and the program's built-in Help file does an adequate job of explaining its functions. Users type or paste their writing into a box, and the program analyzes the text and provides suggestions for improvement. While WhiteSmoke did easily catch spelling errors, it had a harder time with grammar. Comma splices in particular don't seem to bother … Read more

There is an endless amount of variety when it comes to cooking outdoors. Before you even decide what to cook, you have to decide how to cook it. There are choices galore all vying for your cookout attentions. Outdoor fryers exist, along with smokers, ovens, and other means. Most of us tend to fall into the grill category, but even then, the choices don't stop. Between charcoal and gas is where most of us fall. Charcoal adds a dimension of flavor, but can be quite messy. Gas offers convenience without sacrificing quality results. Sometimes, however, the gas grillers out … Read more