smoke

To observers of the papal conclave, one part of the process will probably stand out as the most visible and exciting. Today, all 115 cardinals will isolate themselves from the rest of the world, their only contact with the outside world being smoke signals.

What the fumes indicate is simple: black smoke means there has been no decision on a new pontiff. But if the "fumata bianca," or white smoke, flows out of the chimney, then the world knows there is a new Bishop of Rome. The color has to be just right, or millions of onlookers will be fooled.

But just how does the smoke get its color? … Read more

When it comes to certain diseases -- think heart disease, diabetes, and various cancers -- some basic lifestyle changes are the best preventive medicine.

And while most of us know to eat a balanced diet, exercise, and abstain from smoking, it can be far more motivating to make healthy changes if we also know we're prone to certain diseases.

Enter Zuum, a free new iPad app that estimates your risk of common diseases and personalizes tips to prevent them and improve your overall health.… Read more

He's back.

Indeed, it may well be that he never left. It may simply be that he's been traveling around, arresting the unsuspecting with his challenges, and then making them marvel at his skills.

Yes, Ben Rudolph, the man who can prove that your iPhone 3GS is so very out of date, has returned with more evidence of Windows Phone's ability to positively barbecue all opposition.

You might not yet be aware of Ben. You may, indeed, have been smoking a little too much yourself lately. Ben is the face and satisfied smile of "Smoked By Windows Phone,&… Read more

Please, toss away your i-feminate iPhones. Dump those dumpy Androids in the garbage. The numbers are in, and they are entirely conclusive: Windows Phones quite simply crush the competition.

Please don't argue. I have the figures in front of me, and they cannot tell a lie. Phones running Microsoft's mobile operating system defeated the competition in 98 percent of all "Smoked By Windows Phone" challenges.

Who says so? Why, Microsoft.

Its very fine Windows Phone evangelist, Ben Rudolph, revealed these startling numbers on the Windows Phone blog.

Thus far, 51,313 owners of non-Windows phones have … Read more

There is something charming about bravery.

When a company stands up to not only be counted, but to be challenged by all its competitors in a public cage match, you have to applaud.

So I look to my left and see that I am beside myself to hear that Microsoft is extending its "Smoked By Windows" Challenge.

Should you have spent the last few days on your knees, praying that Keith Olbermann will join Fox News, you might not have heard that Microsoft has been allowing its Windows Phones to take on all comers.

Microsoft store employees have … Read more

Nokia likes Microsoft's "Smoked by Windows" contest so much that it decided to run its own version in London.

Renamed the "Lumia Challenge," it similarly involves Nokia sales representatives racing consumers on various common smartphone tasks such as checking e-mail or taking and posting a photo, The Verge reported today. The point: proving that Windows Phones are inherently more efficient to use than rival smartphones such as the iPhone.

The promotion is part of a broader effort by Nokia and Microsoft to generate attention for the new line of Windows Phone-powered smartphones. Despite a big … Read more

Of course, it shouldn't have come to this. But it apparently has.

Microsoft's fine and entertaining "Smoked by Windows Phone Challenge" has caused one man to retain legal representation.

Vivek Viswanathan, a graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga., claims he won the challenge not merely once, but twice. Yet still, he says, the folks at the Microsoft store wouldn't give him the prize of a "Hunger Games" Special Edition PC, worth $1,000.

Indeed, he says the manager of the Microsoft store came out and asked him to … Read more

Calling itself one of the most modern and well-equipped hospitals in all of Europe, Scotland's 2-year-old and $480 million Forth Valley Royal Hospital is hoping that a new alarm system will help deter smokers who continue to ignore no-smoking signs outside the main entrance.

The alarm, which is followed by a presumably shaming loudspeaker message to stop breaking the rules, is sensitive enough to be triggered by a single smoker lighting up. A representative of the company that installed the machine said in a hospital statement that its purpose is twofold: to encourage better health and to keep the … Read more

Apple products are mostly used by younger generations, but the company should still recognize the dangers of "high-tech modern architecture." Such is the plea of 83-year-old Evelyn Paswall, a New Yorker taking Apple to court for $1 million after walking face first into the glass door entrance to the Long Island Apple store.

Does her case hold water, and should Apple continue to use ugly white tape to let people know glass is a real thing? We'll talk about this story and more on today's episode of The 404.… Read more