broken

New surgical bone screw biodegrades in two years

For years, people with broken bones have had to suffer through not only the pain of the break, but also the long process of healing, often with the help of titanium screws. Typically, patients must then undergo more surgery to remove the titanium.

When my mom broke her knee in the '90s, they rigged her with so many screws and bars that her X-rays looked more robot than human. She predicted rain with eerie accuracy.

This month, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) in Bremen, Germany, are unveiling a new type of screw … Read more

Jet City Devices: iPhone screen repairs while you wait

When your mind replays your iPhone's ill-fated fall to the pavement, followed by that gut-wrenching sound of shattered glass, it'll no doubt be in slow motion. Traumatic events like that often are.

If you're lucky enough to live in Chicago or Seattle, however, you can get your baby fixed fast. Jet City Devices is an iPhone repair service that on Monday, March 1, will open a new location in Chicago's Orland Square Mall. (The Seattle office: already open.)

Both locations will replace your glass in 15 minutes for a flat rate of $85. There are, of … Read more

Klipsch dies, Jasmine cries

If you're wondering just how long you can expect Klipsch's Image S4 earphones to last with normal wear and tear, the answer is 7 months, 27 days, 4 hours, 13 minutes, and 9 seconds (OK, maybe I am making up the minutes and seconds). Here's how it went down: I was power walking to pick up lunch when a rogue arm (my right one, to be exact) flew into the cable, yanking the right earpiece out of my ear. When I stuck it back in, nada. The 'bud was dead and wouldn't produce a sound.

Upon … Read more

Fixing a cracked iPod Touch screen

The iPod Touch is one of the sleekest, most advanced portable media players on the planet. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most fragile. With one side covered entirely by a thin pane of glass, a single careless drop is enough to turn the iPod Touch into nothing more than an expensive paperweight.

To protect your investment, Apple offers a one-year, limited warranty on its iPods, with the option to buy an extended Apple Care warranty. But on the day CNET Associate Editor Antuan Goodwin dropped his first-generation iPod Touch face-down in a parking lot, he was out of … Read more

iTunes 8.2 breaks jailbreaking

Apple recently released iTunes 8.2 and, as expected, the update disables jailbreaking. As a result, the iPhone Dev Team issued a warning to users about updating:

This update is one of those that incidentally breaks QuickPwn and PwnageTool. It doesn't seem like an anti-jailbreak. But nonetheless, it will break your ability to re-run QuickPwn or PwnageTool's dfu-entry.

The iPhone Dev Team has a fix planned, but it will not be available until Apple publicly releases Firmware 3.0.

What to do when your hi-fi breaks

I get this one a lot, what should I do about my--fill-in-the-blank--broken headphones, buzzing speakers, static noises, intermittent sound, or when my subwoofer stops subbing?

Only rarely can I solve the problem with a quick fix; I always first advise contacting the dealer or Web site that sold you the product. Service is their responsibility and if they don't provide it, you shouldn't buy from them.

Of course, the best time to ask about service is before you buy any product. Will they replace a product if it fails within 90 days of purchase? Do they pay for return shipping? I'm talking about audio products here, but that advice works for any tech purchase. … Read more

Why do my headphones keep breaking?

The other day we got an e-mail from Jim, a reader in LA, who wrote:

"My question regards the care and feeding of headphones. From the coconut-halves sets of my youth to the in-ear sets of today, I've never failed to kill a set of 'phones within a few months. Even the two Shure sets I bought in the past year (E2C and SE110) and have tried to treat very carefully, have developed cracks and shorts where they loop over the ear."

Ah, Jim, I share your pain. A few weeks ago, my trusty Shure E4Cs developed … Read more

Broken WiFi After iPhone OS 2.2.1: More Fixes

A number of users continue to report broken WiFi under iPhone OS 2.2.1.

As described by one reader:

"I am having problem after 2.2.1 update where the iphone will only detect wifi networks for a moment, and then always go back to edge and no longer detect networks."

Fixes

Enter DNS address Enter your routers configuration page on a laptop or another wireless-enabled computer (usually 192.168.1.1) and find the DNS address, then enter that address in the iPhone's Network settings pane.

Reset network settings Tap Settings, tap General, tap Reset, … Read more

New Zune rating system? I don't like it

Earlier this week, Zune product manager Cesar Menendez confirmed on his Zune Insider blog that Microsoft will introduce a new rating system for songs. Instead of the five star system that's been in place on iTunes, Zune, the Windows Media Player, and just about every other music software from the beginning of time, Zune is moving to a simple binary system. If you like a song, it gets a heart. If you don't, it gets a broken heart.

I understand that the Zune team has done some market research that purports to show that some users don't … Read more