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Handhelds Technology Hardware

Nanotech Brings Battery Life Extender for Mobiles 489

Posted by CowboyNeal from the extended-play dept.
An anonymous user writes "Using latest nanotechnology research, BatMax developed the first cellphone battery life booster that extends the mobile phone battery life and reduces charging time. BatMax is based on the IonXR, a new exclusively developed nanoceramic material, resulting from years of laboratory research. BatMax foil slows down the loss of capacity of Ni-CD, Ni-MH, Li-Ion and Li-Polymer batteries and thus provides improved battery performance. BatMax is a small (1.14 x 1.92 in) rectangular sticker which is installed on the mobile phone battery. Users just need to attach BatMax to the battery or the cellphone. They claim users will notice a battery life improvement after 5 to 10 charging cycles."
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Nanotech Brings Battery Life Extender for Mobiles

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  • Cool! (Score:5, Funny)

    by JiffyJeff ( 693994 ) * on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:49AM (#11501739)
    Hopefully this will work with my antenna extender sticker!

    • Eric reads between the lines (Score:5, Funny)

      by Eric Giguere ( 42863 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:47AM (#11501981) Homepage Journal

      It sure sounds like those "parabolic" TV antennas guaranteed to boost your reception after just a few viewings, doesn't it? Not to be cynical, but:

      Using latest nanotechnology research, (we read an issue of Wired)
      BatMax developed the first cellphone battery life booster that extends the mobile phone battery life (which is why we call it a "battery life booster")
      and reduces charging time. BatMax is based on the IonXR, a new exclusively developed nanoceramic material, (we grind ceramic tiles into a fine dust)
      resulting from years of laboratory research (it was hard to grind them small enough).
      BatMax foil slows down the loss of capacity of Ni-CD, Ni-MH, Li-Ion and Li-Polymer batteries (we guarantee it works the same on all of these)
      and thus provides improved battery performance (not to be redundant again).
      BatMax is a small (1.14 x 1.92 in) rectangular sticker (we sandwich the dust between some sticky aluminum foil)
      which is installed on the mobile phone battery (the hard part was keeping it really thin).
      Users just need to attach BatMax to the battery or the cellphone (where they'll quickly forget about it once the cover's back on).
      They claim users will notice a battery life improvement after 5 to 10 charging cycles (by then the placebo effect should kick in).

      Eric
      The Vioxx recall and spam reduction [ericgiguere.com]

      • Fraud Alert! (Score:4, Funny)

        by quarkscat ( 697644 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @08:41AM (#11502190)
        Short of re-designing the battery internally,
        this faus device isn't worth $00.02. Apparently,
        the "inventor" ran out of "perpetual motion
        machine" and "cold fusion" marks, hence the new
        "invention".

        The poster used far too many buzz words and far
        too little science to make any valid case --

        "Nothing to see here. Move on ..."
        • These guys might as well be selling the secret carburator that gives 100 mpg to a big block V-8, you know the one that the oil companies don't want you to know about!

          Definitely a scam. This should have been posted under "humor".

    • Re:Cool! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @11:41AM (#11503726) Homepage Journal
      My antenna extender sticker worked. Verizon's crappy signal would often fluctuate right around the minimum threshold of reception in my house, often dropping calls every minute or so. After applying the sticker, the signal meter was unchanged, but calls were dropped much more rarely - only once a week or so. The sticker seemed to improve the reception just enough to keep it above the threshold to maintain carrier.

      This battery sticker, though, seems less likely. The sticker was working on the signal in the space around the phone, where the sticker actually had an electromagnetic interaction. How this passive component affects activity in a circuit in which it is not connected, sounds more like a scam.

      • Re:Cool! (Score:4, Interesting)

        by billh ( 85947 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @12:09PM (#11504085)
        I just want to second Doc Ruby before he gets called an idiot. My sticker also worked, at least for one thing. I had a Sprint phone that would drop calls when I was walking up an internal stairway in my house. Every time. With the sticker added, the calls did not drop.

        It had no other effect that I noticed.

        • Re:Cool! (Score:4, Informative)

          by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @12:20PM (#11504208) Homepage Journal
          Thanks for the backup. On Slashdot, just being right, and specifying firsthand evidence, doesn't quell the calls of "idiot" - nerd a priori logic is more powerful than truth. Neither does backup, but it feels better :).

          BTW, to keep it all scientific: I stuck the booster onto a battery. When I used my spare battery, without the sticker, the calls would drop again in my house, so it wasn't just a coincidental Verizon signal boost from their cells at the same time as my sticker installation.

    • Re:Cool! (Score:3, Informative)

      by cyclist1200 ( 513080 )
      I'm excited. Now I have stickers that magically extend my batteries' lives, as well as stickers that magically de-toxify my car's gasoline! [snopes.com]

      I wonder if the "nanoceramic" uses "holographic frequencies" too...
  • Kickass. Now we can talk on our phones for longer times, so that the phone companies can make more money out of us. I still think a better idea would be to create a more efficient power source, such as those small mini-reactors that use leftover waste from nuclear power plants. Those have a far greater energy potential...

  • right thats it! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:51AM (#11501747)
    I'm putting speed holes in my car.

  • Haux? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by HateBreeder ( 656491 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:53AM (#11501757)
    A battery Sticker? You need to wait 5 to 10 charge cycles to notice anything? somehow this sounds like snake oil to me...
    • This reminds me of the antenna boosters that were being sold a while back. They always had a claim of being used by the military and showed a HMMWV with one on the antenna. Even funnier was seeing cellphones with the stupid big balls on the antennas.
      I always laughed at those. Yes the Army put balls on the antennas, so they won't poke anybody in the eye.

      Guys like these make Star Trek science sound good.

  • Do you believe in sea monkeys? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Oscaro ( 153645 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:55AM (#11501763) Homepage
    I don't.

  • Hmmm... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by richard-parker ( 260076 ) * on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:55AM (#11501764)
    I note the following:
    1. A technical description that sounds like dialog on Star Trek Voyager.
    2. No phone number anywhere on the batmax.com site.
    3. The terms & conditions [batmax.com] instruct you to send returns to an incomplete address:


    4. BatMax Corporation
      Miami FL
      USA

    5. They used an anonymous domain proxy service to register their domain:
    6. <whois://batmax.com>
      Registrant:
      Domains by Proxy, Inc.
      15111 N Hayden Rd., Suite 160
      PMB353
      Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
      United States
      ...
    Come to your own conclusions.

  • Snake oil (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Blue Ray ( 853860 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:55AM (#11501765)
    How on earth will applying a sticker to the plastic battery packaging do anything to the properties of the cell's discharge, recharge, memory effect and emotional intelligence? (I *might* have made that last one up)

    I reckon it uses that little known electrochemical property, the "placebo effect"

    Hockus-pockus, goggle-de-gook and mumbo-jumbo.

    Apparently it'll do the dishes too!

    • How on earth will applying a sticker to the plastic battery packaging do anything to the properties of the cell's discharge, recharge, memory effect and emotional intelligence? (I *might* have made that last one up)

      Simple -

      BatMax contains permeable material, which is able to directly affect the molecule level inside the battery and BatMax reintegrates the uncharged particles into the electrical circuit.

      BatMax reduces electrical loss by optimizing the ions transfers between the battery cells and maintai

    • Re:Snake oil (Score:5, Funny)

      by Walt Dismal ( 534799 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:35AM (#11501938)
      In a 2002 clinical test, I applied BatMax IonXR stickers to all surfaces (dorsal, ventral, anterior, posterior) of my grandmother. Laboratory results were the following: 1) her life was extended by 25 years 2) she bakes pies 36% faster 3) the room generally smells much better, though that might be because she has stopped eating dog food, 4) Grandpa says sex with her is a totally new experience.

  • Works for Cars Too! (Score:5, Funny)

    by DingerX ( 847589 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:55AM (#11501767) Journal
    Just check the streets of any major city: applying stickers to cars has been shown to improve perceived performance. Why not the same for mobile phones?
    • Mod this up. I've just attached "type R" stickers to my Nokia and it can now last 3 weeks without needing to be charged.

      I think I will try to stick the "type R" stickers to my shoes. I off to the Olympics.

    • Just check the streets of any major city: applying stickers to cars has been shown to improve perceived performance. Why not the same for mobile phones?

      Indeed, extensive research [riceboypage.com] has shown this to be true.

      To complete his VTEC lookalike job, he placed a VTEC sticker on his car. You may notice that this sticker is mounted a bit low. When asked about this he said, "All the Prelude drivers know it's not a VTEC, but when I pass the Civic guys they say, 'oh shit! That's a VTEC!".

  • April 1st or inexcusable advertising plug ? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by gorim ( 700913 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:55AM (#11501774)
    You be the judge. This sounds like something in the realm of the fake cell-phone antenna extenders.

    Stick a sticker on a battery to extend its life ? Someone needs to get a life.
  • I wonder if this thing will speed up the cold fusion generator I am using to run my water polymerisation machine..

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:56AM (#11501780)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • I call junk science! (Score:3, Funny)

    by ZiZ ( 564727 ) * on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:56AM (#11501782) Homepage
    This smacks of junk science and hoop-la to me. According to what I'm picking up from the webpage, it's a sticker which magically permeates your battery, removes the bad ions, and generates new, good ions for the battery instead. Oh, and it does windows, too. (Seriously! Well, ok, battery separators, but it claims to scrub them clean.)

    I wonder...If I stick one on my fuel line, will it work like the double-your-gas-mileage gasoline ion chargers?

    • Re:I call junk science! (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gl4ss ( 559668 )
      *I wonder...If I stick one on my fuel line, will it work like the double-your-gas-mileage gasoline ion chargers?*

      no, but you'll get maybe enough attention so you'll get those 10 referrees.

  • What a load of pseudo-scientific bullshit (Score:5, Informative)

    by BobTheLawyer ( 692026 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @06:56AM (#11501784)
    "nanoceramic material extracted from a natural stone"? How stupid do you have to be to believe this kind of thing?

    Their claim that the material "has been tested and documented by several prestigious institutions, laboratories and universities" is as laughable as it is vague.
  • From the website.

    How it works:

    The nanoceramic material is extracted from a natural stone and depending on the version, layered between 2 protective silicon foils or on 1 or 2 sides of a conductive sheet.
    An adhesive and protective film are added to the foil (depending on the version) to attach BatMax to the battery.

    The foil and the material are designed to:

    Absorb the electromagnetic waves generated from the battery.
    Generate a flow of negative ions.
    Interact with the battery's internal electrolyte a
  • Serously. Does it have "R-Type" printed on it in brushy letters? Will it help me play Duke Nukem Forever on the Phantom Game Console? Can I make a hat out of them and block the mind control rays?

  • Right, and I have a bridge I'd like to sell you. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by citanon ( 579906 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:00AM (#11501802)
    When did slashdot become free advertisement for quakery and fraud? I am a material scientist and I have never heard of anything you could stick on to a battery that would extend its life. Legitimate companies would never spend research dollars commercializing a product whose effects are so small that they show up "after 5 to 10 charging cycles." At any rate, the term "nanoceramic" should tip off the savy reader. How would a piece of any material improve the internal operation of a battery? Are they claiming that this magical sticker will change the material characteristics of the battery components themselves? Give me a break!

    • Re:Right, and I have a bridge I'd like to sell you (Score:5, Informative)

      by citanon ( 579906 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:07AM (#11501834)
      Further reading of the BatMax website reveals that this magical technology works by releasing electrons with a wavelength of 5 to 10 microns. Which is total bullshit. Five to 10 microns is the length of fifty-thousand atoms. You will NEVER get an electron with wavelength that big emitted from anything, ever. At any rate, no electron could cross the electrically INSULATING battery case. Otherwise, you've got more problems than just a useless sticker on your battery. What we have here is just that, a useless sticker.

    • But it's all explained on their site! (Score:4, Funny)

      by KontinMonet ( 737319 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:15AM (#11501872) Homepage Journal
      BatMax unblocks and regulates the flow of ions by generating an electro-magnetic cavity and oscillation frequency with negative ions emission. The ionization generated by BatMax has been mesured [sic] as a level reaching 30 times the value (7 - 8.000 Ions/cm3) of the ambiant [sic] air ionization (2 - 300 Ions/cm3). By the ions production, BatMax improves the electrodes oxidization.

      I'll take two bridges please...
    • Are they claiming that this magical sticker will change the material characteristics of the battery components themselves?

      Actually, what they are claiming is:
      The foil and the material are designed to:
      Absorb the electromagnetic waves generated from the battery.
      Generate a flow of negative ions.
      Interact with the battery's internal electrolyte and ions.

      Which makes absolute no sense :)

    • In related news... (Score:5, Funny)

      by slavemowgli ( 585321 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @08:00AM (#11502033) Homepage
      In related news, BatMax just announced that they hired CowboyNeal as the new head of their PR department.

  • Nicotine patch for batteries? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Masa ( 74401 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:00AM (#11501804) Journal
    Oh come on! This is just stupid. Fuck, if this really works then I'm going to stick on of these to my forehead. Should boost my brain and result better performance with my projects.
  • it's just like getting spam, but on slashdot's frontpage instead

  • April April, as the Germans say (Score:3, Informative)

    by Zog The Undeniable ( 632031 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:06AM (#11501829)
    Sorry, CowboyNeal, you're at least 2 months early with this one.

  • 100% Snake Oil (Score:5, Insightful)

    by timholman ( 71886 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:10AM (#11501846)
    BatMax is designed to separate gullible people from their money, plain and simple. Consider the so-called "technical description" at http://www.batmax.com/technology-features.php:

    "(1) The nanoceramic material is extracted from a natural stone and depending on the version, layered between 2 protective silicon foils or on 1 or 2 sides of a conductive sheet.

    The magical stuff it's made of is "extracted" from "natural stone". Hey, if it's natural, it must be good, right? These guys are selling pieces of rock with adhesive.

    The wavelength of the electron released from BatMax is around 3-40 microns, and is considered to be within almost the same range with the oscillation frequency of molecules inside the battery. These molecules are able to raise their oscillation energy and electricity generation by receiving electron wavelength from BatMax.

    This is absolutely meaningless technobabble. "Receiving electron wavelength"? A previous poster is right, these guys have been watching too much Star Trek.

    BatMax unblocks and regulates the flow of ions by generating an electro-magnetic cavity and oscillation frequency with negative ions emission. The ionization generated by BatMax has been mesured as a level reaching 30 times the value (7 - 8.000 Ions/cm3) of the ambiant air ionization (2 - 300 Ions/cm3). By the ions production, BatMax improves the electrodes oxidization.

    So somehow, using the same principle as an air purifier, the BatMax magically provides "negative ions" (without any electrical contact to the battery, of course) and makes any battery work better. 100% complete hogwash.

    I salute the BatMax promoters for their audacity at selling rocks as high tech accessories, and I can only pity those who shell out hard-earned money for them.
  • What they said...
    The foil and the material are designed to: Absorb the electromagnetic waves generated from the battery.
    Generate a flow of negative ions.
    Interact with the battery's internal electrolyte and ions.
    What they forgot to say...
    THROUGH the battery's plastic case!

    Oh come on give me a break... are they saying that the sticker operates on the battery's internal structure/chemistry through IMPERMEABLE PLASTIC?

    Maybe if the sticker was coated in nanotech enhanced snake oil that would ha

  • This really works! (Score:3, Funny)

    by l0ungeb0y ( 442022 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:18AM (#11501880) Homepage Journal
    After modding my nano-ceramic sticker with a nano-trans-plasma-inducer I bought off eBay, I was able to achieve cold-fusion! I now have perpetual battery life and after whistling into my cell, unlimited anytime minutes and free long distance for life!

    If only they can create a penis enlarging ring-tone like the breast enlarging one they made for those babes in Tokyo, I'll be the shizla!

  • How on earth? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by PhunkySchtuff ( 208108 ) <kai&automatica,com,au> on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:18AM (#11501881) Homepage
    How on earth did this blatant advertisment make it to the front page?
    How on earth can this thing even work?
    From http://www.batmax.com/technology-features.php [batmax.com] The foil and the material are designed to:
    • Absorb the electromagnetic waves generated from the battery.
    • Generate a flow of negative ions.
    • Interact with the battery's internal electrolyte and ions.
    OK, so it's outside the battery, insulated by the plastic case of the battery, yet it can still interact with the internal electrolyte and ions? Plus it generates a flow of negative ions... all by itslef?
    *COUGH*bullshit*COUGH!*
    kai
  • Slashdotted: Using some neat tricks with Ghost / Fdisk can double your hard disk space.

    Slashdotted: Shutting down your mail server for 3 days can stop most spam.

    Slashdotted: LCD screens have a latency measured in 100's of milliseconds.

    Slashdotted: Putting a sticker on the back of your cell-phone that uses "nano-tech" can extract more life from the batteries.

    CowBoyNeal: You are an idiot. [albinoblacksheep.com]

  • Shouldn't this be under "It's Funny, Laugh"?

  • extend your cellphones by 5 to 10 inches (Score:5, Funny)

    by enoraM ( 749327 ) * on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:30AM (#11501922)
    with a herbal nanotech sticker.
    Also increases the volume of - oh, that makes sense

  • It actually sounded plausible, until I realised they weren't talking about some new type of battery technology but rather a sticker.

    I absolutely do believe it is possible to extend battery technology so they can hold more charge, last longer and so on, and then produce new generations of battery that have these features. I don't believe for one second that it's possible to have any such effect on an existing battery (at least, not without disassembling it).

    Well, somebody successfully spammed /.

    -- Steve


  • Checks the bullshit-o-meter [......./] - Yep, its maxed out.

    A Cowboy Neal Post from an Anonymous submittion, it just reaks of the truth eh?! :)

    Ok, I do feel like I should buy one of these, to put with my collection of tin foil hats, get rich quick schemes, lose weight now offers, penis extension offers, umm oh yeah and all my free iPod and Playstation 2's! :)

    Feeeck.. Maybe the things claims are just a fancy shmancy way of saying "Reversing the polarity of the neutron flow!"

    I must leave you all now, apar
  • If this sticker is attached to your penis it will automatically enlarge to enormous proportions.

    Also, works much better than viagra or cialis.

    All you need to do is click this link [mysecurecitibankpage.ru] to your bank and enter your credit card number, expiration data, social security and mother's maiden name.

    Only then we will send you the magic sticker.

    But that's not all, if you click within the next five seconds, we'll send you a second sticker, for your dog's cell phone absolutely free. That's right, two magic stick
  • I have a sticker which saia "centrino" on my laptop and now it is twice as fast!
  • Send me your money and I'll send you a lucky charm that is 100% guaranteed to keep intruders away! As a side-effect it may improve your server performance 5-10%!!!

  • Snake oil / CowboyNeal (Score:5, Insightful)

    by slavemowgli ( 585321 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:56AM (#11502015) Homepage
    CowboyNeal just lost a big amount of my respect after posting that. Sure, it's slashdot, and not only stories that survive close scrutiny are posted here, but this really screams "SNAKE OIL" just as much as your average penis enlargement spam, so... did he even *read* the submission before posting (and frontpaging) it?

  • You sir, are a moron. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sjanes71 ( 2217 ) <simon.janes@gmail.com> on Friday January 28, 2005 @08:08AM (#11502059)
    Fire the person who approved this story. There's a clear reason why the submitter was anonymous: this product is complete bullsh*t.

  • As a subscriber I find this fucking disgraceful (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Kris_J ( 10111 ) * on Friday January 28, 2005 @08:31AM (#11502143) Homepage Journal
    I literally paid money to see this crap on the front page. Time for the Cowboy to go back on the "don't show me these editor's stories on the front page" list. What a bloody joke.

  • 4:47 Friday 28 January 2005 (Score:5, Insightful)

    by droleary ( 47999 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @08:39AM (#11502179) Homepage
    I declare this the moment Slashdot officially jumped the shark. Honestly, if this story doesn't get updated, pulled, or at least shuffled off to the humor section, I'm canning CowboyNeal stories in my preferences. Pulling any more crap report/editing like this (including the increasingly annoying Engadget related blog linking shit) only means I'll eventually ditch this site completely.

  • Perfect capacitor! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by elgatozorbas ( 783538 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @08:43AM (#11502204)
    The nanoceramic material is extracted from a natural stone and depending on the version, layered between 2 protective silicon foils or on 1 or 2 sides of a conductive sheet.

    They have made a great capacitor. Actually, if the stone would be very thin, or had micropores (like this one [ieee.org]) they could indeed solve a lot of the current battery problem. Unfortunately they use it in a perfectly wrong way.

  • Hey mod's (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Angostura ( 703910 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @09:20AM (#11502374)
    How about adding Update: This is clearly a snake-oil scam, sorry for posting it.

  • Where is my Pyramid Hat (Score:3, Funny)

    by StillNeedMoreCoffee ( 123989 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @11:12AM (#11503452)
    It was here just a minute ago.

  • More bullshit from slashdot (Score:5, Interesting)

    by g0at ( 135364 ) <[ac.taogyz] [ta] [neb]> on Friday January 28, 2005 @11:47AM (#11503792) Homepage Journal
    but what's more astonishing, Roland Piquepaille didn't submit this one! Remarkable.

    -b

  • DIY for cheaper - RYP nanotech (Score:3, Funny)

    by illest503 ( 130569 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @11:57AM (#11503933)
    If you buy from BatMax (na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, BATMAX!) you are getting ripped off. I've got my own nanotechnology battery extender, and it was easy to make!

    Ingredients:
    -200 grit sandpaper (made with natural stone)
    -aluminum foil (made of "nano-molecules" of Al)
    -glue stick (the kind astronauts use in the office)

    Instructions:
    1. Slap all that crap together however you like.
    2. Apply to battery.
    3. Brag your ass off!

    I'm getting 80-100 more hours out of my cellphone battery, easy. I put my homemade stickers on BOTH sides of my battery for uber performance.

  • Who's behind BatMax (Score:5, Informative)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @01:59PM (#11505412) Homepage
    Anonymous businesses are illegal in many states, but they're usually not as anonymous as they'd like to be.

    Whois is "Domains by Proxy", so that's not immediately helpful.

    BatMax, Inc. is a valid Florida corporation, but their mail drop is "WORLD CORPORATE SERVICES, INC., 2665 S. BAYSHORE DRIVE, SUITE 703, MIAMI FL 33133". Again, not too helpful.

    The USPTO shows a trademark for BatMax: "BatMax Corporation, Suite # 3A, 9250 West Bay Harbor Drive, Bay Harbor Islands, FLORIDA 33154". That's a condo in Colony Bay Harbor Condos. It's a small residential building, and doesn't look anything like the "picture of BatMax skyscraper headquarters" [batmax.com] on their web site. The building pictured on the web site is Espirito Santo Plaza [espiritosantoplaza.com] in Miami, which is still under construction although partially occupied.

    From a BatMax press release [prweb.com], we get a name: Alain Aisenberg, and a phone number, (305) 865-1400.

    We find Alain Aisenberg talking about BatMax on an MIT mailing list. [mit.edu]. There, he gives his cell phone number.

    A public records search [privateeye.com] finds that name in Miami, and gives us enough information to run a background check.

    But I'll stop there.

    • This schmuck also has a BS patent on a "modular computer user interface system" [uspto.gov] which appears to be nothing more than a numeric keypad that attaches to the computer. There's also portable telephone with simplified operation [uspto.gov] and Kid Phone [uspto.gov] You ought to read the MIT mailing list post too. In there he claims that this little patch increases computer speed to. This is absolute "As seen on TV" bullshit fraud. I'm amazed that the editors posted such blatant crap, and even more amazed they left it up without

    • Why? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Grendel Drago ( 41496 )
      But I'll stop there.

      Great Gauss, why? If astroturfers got horribly burned by some *cough* anonymous people with l33ter skills than mine, perhaps they'd stop trying to peddle their crap to us. It's like spam---one in ten thousand Slashdot readers will buy this crap, but that makes it well worth Alain Aisenberg's time.

      The only way to make it stop is to make it not worth Aisenberg's time.

      If the editors won't do something about it, perhaps some of the readers should.

      --grendel drago

  • IT'S A JOKE (Score:4, Insightful)

    by SparafucileMan ( 544171 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @02:31PM (#11505862)
    Fellows--there's no place to actually purchase the things off of the main page. For all anyone knows this is just a joke rather than fraud.

  • Why OSDN should fire Slashdot's editors (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Arkaein ( 264614 ) on Friday January 28, 2005 @07:40PM (#11509596) Homepage
    Seriously, between crap like this and dupes is there any wonder why hardly anyone who reads Slashdot actually subscribers?

    I read Slashdot every day. If there was ever any website I should pay for just to read it's probably this one. But I just can't. Other than bandwidth the group that actually runs Slashdot contributes so little to it it's almost laughable.

    The code is from the dark ages (HTML 3.2? C'mon!), the search sucks, they willfully blast small websites out of existence (if only temporarily). Unless they've changed the terms they use the idiotic model of selling page views instead of monthly/yearly deals for subscriptions. Most of all, they never listen to any of the numerous suggestions that have been made to improve the site.

    I can only wonder how much money Slashdot has lost since they started selling subscriptions because of this total disregard for the people that actually read and contribute to the site. If any editors actaully read this post (doubtful, Jaime is about the only one who actually reads anything here) wake up and take a look around. Decent management should have fired the lot of you a long time ago for keeping Slashdot from ever rising above the level of mediocrity.

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