Patients at the Aravind Eye Hospital in Theni, India, are able to receive high-quality eye care thanks to a collaborative project between an Indian hospital network and researchers at the University of California – Berkeley and Intel. Using Wi-Fi, nurses are able to interview and examine patients in five remote clinics throughout southern India. The nurses then conference with eye doctors via a high-quality video conference, which transmits via Wi-Fi. After a five-minute video examination, the doctor can determine whether the patient requires a closer examination or an operation. According to UC Berkeley News, “Typically patients receive glasses, medicine or remote diagnoses for more serious problems that often require a hospital appointment or surgery. About 5-10 percent of patients – already about 100 people a month – experience significant vision improvement as a result of treatment, usually by cataract surgery. A recent study conducted by the hospital showed that following treatment, 85 percent of the men and 58 percent of the women who had lost their jobs due to sight impairment were reintegrated into the workforce.” Read the full press release here.

A new MP3 player, the MusicGremlin, is the first Wi-Fi-enabled MP3 player to offer its own music subscription service. The 8 GB drive can hold nearly 2,000 songs, and users can purchase songs for 99 cents each or unlimited songs for $14.99 per month. The MusicGremlin sells for $299. Of course, manufacturers hope to eclipse the iPod. With such incredible market saturation, though, the iPod would be tough to beat.

According to military news site Strategy Page, U.S. troops are increasingly able to purchase more “quality of life” items from the Iraqi economy. As neighborhoods have stabilized, Iraqi businesspeople have begun offering a variety of goods and services, including Wi-Fi. For troops interested in news from home and longing to keep in touch with friends and family, the Wi-Fi is a much-desired service.

Brewed Awakenings, a coffee shop located in Vancouver, WA, became increasingly frustrated as a 20-year-old man used its Wi-Fi signal for hours at a time in the parking lot. Finally, the coffee shop called police, who first gave the man a warning. After he returned to use the free signal, the police arrested him. This instance has stirred some debate. While some people criticize the man for “stealing” the signal, others have commented that Brewed Awakenings invited the problem by allowing wide-open free service that did not require users to make a purchase and obtain a code to logon.

The European Union’s “Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive” (RoHS) deadline went into effect on July 1. The directive requires lead-free electronics in all personal computers, and it also bans mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), cadmium, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). According to TreeHugger.com, Toshiba became the most RoHS-compliant manufacturer last year with its Terca PCs. Apple has stated that most of the materials listed in the directive were voluntarily eliminated years ago, although the company did have to pull several products from European shelves for non-compliance. TreeHugger.com notes Dell, Fujitsu, and NEC have also made progress toward eliminating toxins.

Skyhook Wireless released a positioning system last month that uses Wi-Fi instead of satellites. A challenge to GPS, the new system has been introduced in 100 metropolitan areas, and Skyhook expects the service, which it claims will be simpler and less expensive than GPS, will be cover 70% of the U.S. by the end of the year. For more information, check out this article.