If you’re a fan of comics, and let’s face most males are, you’ll be interested to know that you could soon be reading comic books on your iPod and iPhone. iVerse Media has developed a system for reading comics on the iPod platform called “iVerse Comic Reader software”.

With the software they are able to encode comics into a format that can be downloaded and read on the iPod, and they’re looking for submissions from comic fans, comic hopefuls and of course professional comic artists and publishers. Comics will be made available to download from iTunes Media, and iVerse Media is hoping that they’ll be priced as low as $0.99.

Michael Murphey is the owner of iVerse Media:

Creators and studios will be able to set the final prices on their titles, but we’re expecting most standard-length titles to be around $.99, and we’re encouraging creators to give away the first issues of their titles to allow new readers who may not be familiar with comics, but are iPhone or iPod Touch owners, to give comics on the devices a try.

With Digital Comics on the iPhone/iPod Touch we have access to a world wide audience, no printing costs or print run minimums, and it doesn’t take three months to get the title from the catalogue to on sale in a store.

When the comic titles are downloaded from iTunes, they’ll also be backed up onto the local machines once the device and the computer and synced.

Using the unique interface of the iPhone and the iPod, comics will be easy to read as they’ll be ready formatted for the size of the device.

As recent reports have shown, using your MP3 player with the volume switched up to high for an extended period can severely damage your hearing. This has been proven, and campaigners are lobbying for more understanding and education among MP3 player and iPod users about the dangers of turning the volume too high on their portable audio players.

Deafness Research UK has just released its list of top tips to minimise the risk of damaging your hearing when using your MP3 player, and they urge any MP3 player user to take heed and pay attention to their findings.

According to the CEO of Deafness Research UK, Vivienne Michael:

Our research shows that too many people are putting their hearing at risk by listening to their MP3 player too loudly and for too long. There are simple ways to minimise the likelihood of damage and reduce the risk of hearing problems in later life. Our tips apply to the whole population but we are especially worried about young people, who are generally the heaviest users of MP3s and other mobile music devices - and often the most at risk because they don’t understand the dangers.

The top tips for protecting your hearing when using your MP3 player, according to Deafness Research UK, are:

Always use the noise limiter on your MP3 player

Parents should look for a locking feature on the player and use it to set the maximum volume using a special code

Check that your player is not one with a maximum volume that exceeds statutory and Health & Safety limits - see the Which? website for details

Adopt the 60:60 rule - only use your MP3 player at 60% of its maximum volume for 60 minutes a day

Never have your MP3 player so loud that you can’t hear the noise around you

Never have it so loud that those around you can here your music!

Ear bud headphones are less efficient at drowning out background noise so it’s tempting to turn up the volume. Use the older muff-type or noise cancelling headphones instead

If you listen to your MP3 player too loudly, you’re in danger of damaging your hearing. Ensure that you look after your ears otherwise you won’t be able to enjoy your music for your whole life, whether you use an MP3 player, an iPod or listen to your favourite bands live.

Thefts from children and teenagers on the streets of Essex are becoming commonplace. In the past two years over 500 mobiles have been stolen, including dozens of MP3 players, iPods, games consoles and even laptops. Children as young as eleven have been the victims of crime in a spate that has seen technology such as MP3 players targeted by thieves.

The findings show that owners of gadgets are not safe to display their technology on the streets, but the police insist that Essex isn’t a high risk area when compared to other parts of the UK. According to Essex police, thefts of mobiles for instance are falling from the figures from the last two years.

Brighton and Hove is a particularly bad area for thefts of mobiles and laptops however. Figures have shown that teenagers are being targeted for their mobiles and MP3 players. The most likely age-group to be mugged in Brighton is the fifteen to sixteen age-group. According to Sussex Police, the increased visibility of mobiles and MP3 players as a status symbol and fashion accessory had led to the increase in thefts.

On the subject of mobile phone theft, he said:

Police and the communications industry have been working together to find ways to make the theft of mobile phones worthwhile. One particularly effective method has been immobilising equipment.

They advise that anyone with technology such as MP3 players and laptops should try and avoid showing them off in public places.

According to recent research, in 2005 – 2006 40% of muggers in the UK were aged between eleven and sixteen.

Reports are emerging that Apple’s iPod nano could be a fire hazard as it’s been reported that it’s emitting sparks. Apparently this is something reserved for the first generation iPod nanos, so if you have an old iPod nano you should be careful with the MP3 player device.

According to reports coming out of Japan, two iPod nanos emitted sparks and overheated while they were charging. Apple claim that instances of their iPod nano MP3 players overheating are ‘very rare’. When the devices overheated they caused damage to nearby items, such as paper and a straw mat on one occasion, but no one has been injured. The devices were rendered unusable however.

Reports of iPod nanos overheating first emerged in March when Apple admitted that an iPod nano had given off sparks and overheated. The models concerned are: MA099 and the MA005.

According to Apple, the affected units were sold between September 2005 and December 2006.

According to Apple’s website:

When you’re using iPod or charging the battery, it is normal for iPod to get warm.

The exterior of iPod functions as a cooling surface that transfers heat from inside the unit to the cooler air outside.

Change within technology is about as sure as the sunrise, and it looks like change is about to sweep the iPod line-up from Apple. According to many retailers, the current iPod line is about to be replaced!

It appears that retailers across the US are preparing for Apple’s current range to be replaced with new models. Apparently the news has leaked from retailers in the US that has seen iPod models being scanned in stores with barcode readers having their status changed from ‘Active’ to ‘Discontinued’.

It’s not just the US that has reported news of iPod models being discontinued, the retailer Argos in the UK also looks to be clearing its stock of old iPod models in anticipation of new models arriving in the next few weeks. With this news, if you’re looking to pick up some cheap iPods this could be the month to do it.

According to Wall Street analysts, Apple have to make these moves now in order to keep their position as market leaders.

Ben Reitzes, an analyst for Lehman Brothers, noted that stock of the 16GB iPod Touch has been scarce of late:

We continue to believe Apple will need to reposition the iPod touch line in conjunction with its anticipated new product announcement in early to mid-September now that the iPhone acquisition price is lower.

As the Olympic Games come to a close, a recurring factor has been discovered in the preparation of the most successful athletes. Those athletes who have won Gold at the Beijing Olympics all seem to have one thing in common, they’re all avid iPod users.

Simon Whitfield, who competes in the triathlon, listens to his iPod right before competing:

I watched the guys warm up and it’s hot out there. I just sat there with my cooling vest on listening to music and just chilled out. I think that really paid off.

It did pay off for Whitfield, as he won Silver at this year’s Olympics.

Penny Werthner is a sports psychologist at the Beijing Olympics. She says that athletes use music to psyche themselves up and to free themselves of distractions before competition.

The majority are using it to block out everything else that’s going on around them. Essentially what they’re doing is really not thinking at all. They’re just listening to music and being in a space before they actually get ready to narrow their focus.

Sadly for Whitfield his iPod went dead just 20 minutes too early on Tuesday last week as he’d forgotten to charge it up the night before! He was able to roll with the problem though, as it could have effected his preparation badly:

I roll with it. I’m pretty casual about all that.

You have to also plan for contingency if you forgot your music or something happens. Ideally, you don’t forget it.

Vodka has many uses, admittedly most of them involve getting drunk, but charging the battery of your MP3 player or iPod isn’t one you’d have thought of! However a company in China, Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, announced they’ve developed a battery that runs on alcohol.

The battery is called the ‘Bio Energy Discovery Kit’ is a test kit that has been distributed to education establishments and features an alcohol powered battery that powers a fan.

Taras Wankewycz is the co-founder and vice president of Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies:

Many new ideas will come from the market once this technology can be experimented with. The development and commercialization of the world’s first direct ethanol fuel cell is an exciting milestone for us but is also just a single step in our continuing goal to bring ever more powerful fuel cell energy solutions to the masses.

The reality of using vodka to run your iPod may still be some way off, but new modes of powering electrical devices are being worked on all the time. Horizon are working on various different fuel types, all based around ethanol (DEFC – direct ethanol fuel cells).

MP3 players and mobile phones are perfect for the new planned fuel cell as they use very little power.

He’s the star of the Olympics so far and seemingly unbeatable in the swimming pool. Michael Phelps is now officially the greatest ever Olympian having amassed more gold medals than any other athlete alive, and his unique swimming style makes him an icon for advertisers the world over. Eight gold medals out eight for the Beijing Olympics, added to his previous tally of six gives him a lifetime haul of fourteen golds.

The real question though is what does Michael Phelps listen to on his iPod? What music makes the man tick? What music spurs him on to greatness? Every time you see Phelps (out of the pool at least) he has his iPod firmly plugged into his ears. Indeed he only unplugs from his MP3s two minutes prior to race time, so his iPod plays a big part in spurring him on to success.

In fact, one track Phelps admits to listening to in Beijing is Lil’ Wayne’s “I’m Me” from the album “The Leak”. One of the lines from that track strike a chord with the success Phelps has enjoyed:

Yes I am the best/and no I ain’t positive I’m definite/I know the game like I’m reffing it.

Other tracks on his iPod include Eminem and Jay-Z, so the answer is rap music. Michael Phelps just can’t get enough of his rap. If you’re looking to become an Olympic legend, get yourself an iPod like Michael Phelps and pump some tunes for success into it.

A twenty-four-year-old man was stabbed in his buttock after he refused to give his iPod to robbers this week. The robbery happened in Basildon, in Chesterfield Gardens.

The man and a seventeen-year-old friend were walking through the gardens when they found themselves the victim of a robbery.

Three men pulled up alongside them in a car, and jumped out. One of the men pulled a knife and instructed the frightened seventeen-year-old to give up his mobile phone, which he did. Then they tried to steal the iPod from the man. He refused to hand it over, when they stabbed him in the buttock.

The men then took his iPod and drove away.

Inspector Steve Ditchburn stated:

This was a shocking and violent incident in which a youngster was actually stabbed for his iPod.

Thankfully this boy was not seriously injured, but the outcome could have been very different.

We have good descriptions of the robbers, so if you recognise them, do the right thing and turn them in.

Essex Police will not tolerate knife crime of any sort and we want to take the people who commit these crimes off the streets.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the crime to contact Pisea CID.

David Briscoe, a physical therapist in The Cross Lanes, USA, has taken to using the Nintendo Wii to help patients with their rehabilitation, sort of Wii-habilitation.

The console allows patients to exercise using non contact activities, such as hitting virtual footballs with their heads. One such patient, Valerie McGill, regularly tries to get her head to the balls to help with her balance.

It was David’s idea to include the Nintendo Wii as a piece of equipment for his patients at the MedCare centre. He calls the new physio practise “Wii-Hab.”

The beauty of the Nintendo Wii is that players can make the movements as though they were doing the activities for real, but without the strains to the muscles involved with them. For example they can play ten pin bowling without having to lift a heavy bowling ball, which is perfect for someone suffering from arthritis.

David Briscoe says about the use of the Wii:

We’re supplementing her gym workout with this interactive technology.

As a fan of the Wii himself, Briscoe also realises the importance of having the wrist strap of the Wii remote secured to her hand.

I put a hole in the wall at home when it flew out of my hand.

After playing the Wii for some time, he realised how good the console would be for his physiotherapy patients.