Visto Corporation has signed a deal with NTP to provide, “stability in these turbulent times.” The two-part deal involves Visto licensing NTP patents–the same ones that currently have RIM involved a court battle–and NPT acquiring a stake in the company. The companies did not reveal how much equity NTP would receive.

The BeatPalStand Wave FM from Japan is a docking station for your PSP that not only charges your battery, but will also output the audio to an FM transmitter, or a pair of boombox-style stereo speakers.

Gritwire, an online RSS aggregator and social network, has announced the launch of Version 1.0 at the Syndicate Conference in San Francisco. Gritwire Version 1.0 is unique among RSS aggregators in its easy-to-use “widget” interface architecture. This architecture allows users to view their feeds, friends, wikis, and more, all on one page without ever having to refresh the browser.

Honda Motor Co. debuted a new ASIMO humanoid robot which features the ability to pursue key tasks in a real-life environment such as an office and an advanced level of physical capabilities. Compared to the previous model, the new ASIMO achieves the enhanced ability to act in sync with people–for example, walking with a person while holding hands. A new function to carry objects using a cart was also added. Further, the development of a “total control system” enables ASIMO to automatically perform the tasks of a receptionist or information guide and carry out delivery service. In addition, the running capability is dramatically improved, with ASIMO now capable of running at a speed of 6km/hour and of running in a circular pattern.[ASIMO is way cool, and exactly the direction robots should be going–Ed.]

As school districts scout ways to engage students already accustomed to instant messaging and interactive video games, they’re buying up the kind of tech tools once reserved for jet-setting corporate executives. Educational sales of personal digital assistants, laptop computers, and handheld remote controls called “clickers” are ballooning nationwide. Last year, a survey by Quality Education Data Inc. found that 28% of U.S. school districts offered handhelds for student and teacher use. One of every four computers purchased by schools was a laptop. One of the frontrunners was Yankton High School in South Dakota, which adopted Palm handhelds in 2001 and found they improved students’ grades.

The New York Times has posted an extended interview with Palm CEO Ed Colligan. In the interview he discusses a number of current topics including the RIM legal drama, open source software, the Microsoft partnership, competition, the growth of smartphones and talks a bit about their “next-gen product” with broadband connectivity.

A new application from MagneticTime, called MT1, turns text and Word documents into MP3 files for iPods, PDAs, and cell phones. MT1’s audio files are designed to take advantage of the standard functions of any MP3 player, so emails and documents can be played, paused, stopped, skipped back & forward, and filed in Playlists, etc. In addition to email, MagneticTime says MT1 can be used for training, speech preparation, corporate communications and education, among other applications. The MP3 files created by MT1 can also be stored on a central server for general employee or student access or saved on CD or DVD for distribution.

Several cities are offering free Wi-Fi service to residents and visitors. In California, downtown areas of Long Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Culver City have free Wi-Fi. Austin, Cleveland, and Spokane have Wi-Fi zones, and Philadelphia is building a Wi-Fi system for the entire city. Panera, like Schlotzsky’s Deli, Krystal restaurants and other independent cafes, libraries, parks and a growing number of cities, offer free wireless Internet access. No strings attached. The trend marks a major change from well-publicized efforts by companies such as Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and FedEx Kinko’s as well as many hotel chains. They offer Internet “hot spots” at many locations for a fee ranging from $4 to $10 a day.

Wireless pressure sensors are being used to warn doctors that a blood vessel is liable to burst. On Monday, the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center announced that it had implanted the Endosure sensor in patients who were receiving stents to protect against aortic aneurysms. The device, made by CardioMEMS Inc., is implanted in the aneurysm sac. When activated by an external device, it transmits information about pressure inside the aneurysm. aneurysms are typically repaired by inserting a stent into the affected blood vessel. This takes the pressure off the aneurysm by creating a new route for blood to flow. But since the stents can leak and cause the aneurysm to rupture, they require regular check-ups. The sensor, which is implanted into the aneurysm sac, provides a new way to monitor the pressure.

Biometrics is the science of using biological properties, such as fingerprints, an iris scan, or voice recognition, to identify individuals. And in a world of growing terrorism concerns and increasing security measures, the field of biometrics is rapidly expanding. In order to assess how vulnerable the scanners are to spoofing, Stephanie C. Schuckers, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Clarkson University and her research team made casts from live fingers using dental materials and used Play-Doh to create molds. They also assembled a collection of cadaver fingers. In the laboratory, the researchers then systematically tested more than 60 of the faked samples. The results were a 90 percent false verification rate.