smoking

As if recent laws haven't made smokers feel like pariahs already, now they may have to start punching a timeclock too.

The "SmokeScreen" is a fingerprint-reading system that tracks smokers as they leave a building to sneak a cancer stick or two. Made by a U.K. company called IDScan, it's being targeted at clubs to monitor the comings and goings of patrons who presumably have paid their cover charges but are in dire need for a quick fix outside. Red Ferret says savvy club owners could even promote it as a status symbol, an "… Read more

Nashville is hundreds of miles from the nearest forest fires. Recently smoke levels there were 20 times normal. Health officials in the southeastern U.S. can now look at maps showing where the smoke is, and where it's going.

This smoke forecasting is being done by the Center for Forest Disturbance Science in Athens, Ga. Both hourly forecast updates and daily peak values of smoke concentrations are available on the Internet.

The 6-week-old fires have burned a half-million acres. And they're still outta control. These fires are a record for Georgia. That's sparked debate over lack of … Read more

A few months ago we wrote of a rather odd-looking Japanese bot named "Ubiko" whose purpose was somewhat vague--"to replace humans for such tasks as welcoming clients, promote products on site." (The "replacing humans" phrase freaked us out a bit.) Now we find out its true mission: a rolling smoke detector of the future.

Ubiko doesn't just beep when your macaroni and cheese starts to burn; it actually has olfactory sensors designed specifically to react to odors associated with fire. The robot had its first public demonstration yesterday, which Pink Tentacle described … Read more

A fair number of U.S. college students have been known to make pilgrimages to Amsterdam for more than the historic value of the city: it's a well-known fact that a tantalizing number of activities that are illegal in the States are permissible or semi-legal for the Dutch. But now, according to the AP, you can't ride a Segway around on Dutch streets anymore. The "human transporters," once touted as the most significant technological advance since the Internet but now widely considered to be a universal symbol of dorkiness (its prominent role on "Arrested Development&… Read more

It's been said on occasion that Crave doesn't always highlight the most useful items around--a scurrilous accusation to which we say hogwash.

So lest you think we're all about fluff, today we offer an item that's not only useful but actually promotes public safety: a combo flashlight and smoke detector, as seen on TravelGearBlog. If you don't know why this is a worthy product, you've never gone camping.

(Photo: Flarebrands)