lights

A relatively mundane data-link problem could explain last year's surprising finding that subatomic particles called neutrinos appeared to violate physics laws by traveling faster than the speed of light.

Problems with a fiber-optic link in the Opera experiment "could have led to an underestimate of the time of flight of the neutrinos," CERN, the European nuclear physics center that generated the neutrinos for the experiment, said in a statement today. The fiber fed GPS location data into the experiment's master clock.

Too short a travel time to the destination--Italy's National Institute of Nuclear Physics lab … Read more

The distributed sensor revolution is coming to office buildings, starting with overhead lights, according to startup Enlighted.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company today detailed the energy savings of some its first corporate customers who are using its computerized lighting controls. Enlighted said that customers, including Google, Turner Broadcasting, and Interface Global, have saved on average 60 percent on lighting energy. The return on investment, which depends on the price of electricity, is about two years, according to the company.

Rather than build a more efficient light source, Enlighted and a few other lighting startups are designing better controls. Automatically adjusting … Read more

Things are not looking good for LightSquared, the wireless startup that had planned to build a nationwide wireless broadband network.

Today, Reuters reported that the company said it plans to cut 45 percent of its workforce to conserve cash.

"This and other cost savings measures will allow LightSquared to continue to navigate the regulatory process as it works with the appropriate government agencies to find solutions to the GPS interference issue and bring its $14 billion privately funded wireless broadband network to more than 260 million Americans," according to the statement.

And yesterday, several news outlets reported that … Read more

Standing over a hot grill isn't a bad place to be, especially when faced with your own personal fans.

The powerful scent of barbecue wafting through the air is a surefire way to attract the attention of anybody and everybody within a reasonable distance. Adding a little breeze to a cookout has an additional effect aside from being able to easily meet the neighbors.

Directing smoke toward where it's desired, the Sharper Image BBQ Grill Light & Fan attaches to the grill, making life easier for the grill-master. Designed to not only cool down the cook but also … Read more

Dish Network, sitting on an increasingly valuable stash of spectrum vital to powering wireless data traffic, is waiting on a key waiver from the Federal Communications Commission before deciding on its next move.

The waiver, similar to one that the FCC yanked from LightSquared earlier this week, would allow Dish to use its spectrum to build its own high-speed wireless network. If the FCC doesn't grant the conditional waiver to Dish, it would explore several options including the sale of the spectrum or a partnership with another carrier, CNET has learned.

The moves that Dish could make have broader … Read more

Two years into a decade-long plan to free up wireless spectrum to handle an explosion in mobile data traffic growth, Washington politics are crippling the Federal Communications Commission's ability to reach any of its goals.

In March 2010, the FCC identified in its National Broadband Plan a dire need for more spectrum in the U.S. It outlined a timeline for getting 300 megahertz of spectrum in the pipeline by 2015 with an additional 200MHz opened up for auction by 2020. In total the plan would create 500MHz of new wireless spectrum that could be auctioned off, or nearly … Read more

Well, that didn't take long.

AT&T appears ready to get back in the hunt for more spectrum, now eying smaller wireless rivals MetroPCS and Leap Wireless and satellite-TV provider Dish Network, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Dallas-based telecommunications giant is just two months removed from the collapse of its deal with T-Mobile USA, which would have given the company additional spectrum, allowing it to bulk up its network and better handle the rising tide of cellular traffic driven by smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices.

The T-Mobile deal was essentially halted by regulators as anti-competitive, … Read more

LightSquared today fired back at the Federal Communications Commission, saying the agency's decision to squash the company's planned wireless network would harm the American public. But it appears to be too little, too late for the embattled company.

The start-up wireless provider was dealt a fatal blow yesterday when the FCC suspended a key waiver that would have allowed it to build its 4G network, citing concerns over potential interference with critical GPS equipment. The denial of the waiver effectively turned the company into the walking dead.

While the FCC may have officially stamped out LightSquared's hopes … Read more

Wireless operator Clearwire's fourth-quarter results were fairly disappointing, but at least its longer term prospects are starting to brighten.

The company, which supplies Sprint Nextel with 4G WiMax wireless service, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $236.8 million, or 81 cents a share, compared with a year-ago loss of $128 million, or 79 cents a share.

Revenue, however, more than doubled to $361.9 million as the company started picking itself up off the mat.

Wall Street analysts were looking for Clearwire to lose 35 cents a share and post revenue of $356.7 million. The company released its revenue and customer growth figures early. … Read more