Author: Rosheena Zehra

Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates to Work Together on Clean Energy

The Facebook and Microsoft founders have teamed up to work together on solving problems related to climate change. Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he and his wife, Priscilla Chang will join forces with Bill Gates in an initiative called Breakthrough Energy Coalition that aims to invest in zero-carbon technology all over the world. The organisation’s membership includes other names like Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma, and Masayoshi Son.

This announcement has been made just ahead of the the UN Climate Control Conference in Paris later this week. American President Barack Obama and Microsoft founder Bill Gates are expected to unveil an initiative called Mission Innovation at the Paris event.This initiative will work with governments all over the world to double public investments in energy research.

The 19 countries which have already signed up to be part of Mission Innovation will increase their investment in energy-research to $20 billion by 2020; India is part of this list of countries. Even though Mission Innovation and Breakthrough Energy Coalition are separate programmes, they will work side by side to achieve their common goal of working on clean, sustainable energy sources.

November 30, 2015
Amazon Teases Drone Prototype in Video for Future Deliveries

A new video released by Amazon shows a drone delivering goods to their destination. The company boasts of the drone being able to detect obstacles in its way to steer clear off, while possessing the ability to fly for 15 miles. The video which was released yesterday, also used Top Gun’s Jeremy Clarkson to convey its message.

The drone lands on a strip with the company’s logo on it in the video. The strip has been put there by the family that has placed the order. This suggests that the landing strip may be necessary for the drone to get to its location.

While the tech seems fancy and futuristic, Amazon is yet to get its clearance from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The plan to put a delivery-system in place that uses drones was first announced in December 2013 by Amazon. Let’s see what the future holds for it.

November 30, 2015
US Sets Up Three Centers for Treatment of Smartphone Addicts

Nomophobia is the fear of not having access to a smartphone. Yes, it exists and is real enough for an American fascility called Morningside Recovery to provide formal, systematic treatment for it. The treatment begins with collecting the smartphones of individuals with the condition. Following this, they are allowed only limited access to their devices, promoting other kinds of activities they may have been missing out on lately. By cutting contact with the outside world, the individuals are encouraged to interact with each other, and participate in group and individual activities.

The sufferers of nomophobia are encouraged to develop new behavioral patterns that do no involve smartphones. With the help of breathing exercises, the individuals are trained to deal with anxiety and panic attacks. Morningside Recovery has three centres providing this treatment located in California, Texas and Arizona.Dr. Waterman, the director of the programme, advises not just his patients but also smartphone addicts all over to “just try to put it [smartphone] down for a few moments and re-focus on their daily interactions.” Kindly take note. In a world where smartphones have become an extension of our bodies, it is not long until facilities like Morningside Recovery start popping up in India as well.

November 28, 2015
Waterproof iPhone 7 May Have No Earphone Jack

According to sources, Apple has applied for a unique patent called “Electronic Devices with Housing Port Shutters”. This patent is unique in the realm of smartphones because it aims at sealing off all ports on the body of the handset to protect it from the entry of moisture or any kind of liquids. As a result, iPhone 7 is expected to come minus an ear-phone jack.

This technology would determine that the ports of the phone remain shut until there is a direct use for them. Like the speaker-shutters would shut if the sensors pick up any kind of moisture. In case of a call or message, the shutters would open to convey the sound, keeping the device protected from external agents at all other times.

Unofficial render of the iPhone 7

Additionally, a Japanese website, Macotakara, reported that Apple would remove the 3.5 mm port for earphones to make iPhone 7 slimmer. Users would have to use Bluetooth or the Lightning connector instead of the earphone port. Apple is also expected to take care of earpods that would connect to the Lightning port. A Lightning cable or a 3.5 mm-to-Lightning adapter would have to be provided by third-party sellers in order to ensure compatibility with iPhone 7.

Despite rumours of an early 2016-release, iPhone 7 is expected to arrive in September. Would you be willing to take chances with a handset that comes minus an earphone jack? Or has Apple taken it a little too far this time?

November 28, 2015
Body Art Meets Technology to Help You Keep Track of Your Health

Tech Tat, a tattoo prototype made using electro-conductive paint, can help you keep track of your pulse rate and heart beat. Made by an Accenture team interestingly called Chaotic Moon, this kind of tattoos are also capable of carrying information like credit card and ID details.

https://youtu.be/9iFuTaqD4fM

The enthusiastic team of the little piece of technology accepts that not only does it take care of important business like serving as a fitness tracker and a portable carrier of your private details, it’s also visually pleasing. However it’s not been confirmed yet if and when Tech Tat will be available commercially.

“We can’t conjecture about when people could get their hands on one. Typically, we will explore the best partners that would help us get Tech Tat to the consumer,” says Chaotic Moon’s CEO, Ben Lamm

This isn’t the first time body art has met technology. Motorola’s Moto X had a fling with using temporary body tattoos to unlock the smartphone last year. Having said that, it’s still hard not to look forward to seeing Tech Tat in action. Let’s see where this tech-tattoo fusion leads us next.

November 26, 2015
Nokia 230 is the Basic Phone for Selfie Obsessed People

Microsoft has made the Nokia 230 official. Like its predecessor, last year’s Nokia 130, this phone follows a simple interface minus the song and dance of modern day smartphones and is priced at an affordable $55 (Rs. 3600). The phone also has a dual-SIM model -Nokia 230 Dual SIM

Like the LG Ray X190, the phone concentrates on letting you click pretty selfies with its 2 MP front camera, same as the main camera. Both cameras also have LED flash.

https://youtu.be/GrZs6hJ-1b4

Rest of the specs include a 2.8-inch display with 240 x 320 pixel resolution, and 16 MB of RAM. But don’t let this make you think any less of the Nokia 230 which is capable of supporting Bing Search, Facebook, Twitter, Opera Mini, MSN weather.

The phone has no internal storage but supports a MicroSD card of up to 32 GB. Furthermore, Nokia 230 has Bluetooth 3.0, GSM support and dual-band 900MHz/1800MHz only as wireless connectivity options. It also has an FM Radio receiver (ain’t that cute?) with a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

With a sand-blasted aluminium back cover, the phone measures a 124.6 x 53.4 x 10.9 mm and comes equipped with a battery marked at 1,200 mAh.

If you ever feel like getting away from the world of blingy smartphones, Nokia 230 in all its simplicity is the way to go. It will be made available starting December.

November 26, 2015
LG Ray is Big on Selfies With an 8 MP Front Camera

Making another addition to the category of mid-range phones is LG’s Ray X190 with a 5.5 inch IPS display. The phone measures a 9.3 mm in thickness and is quite similar in terms of design to a previous LG device, the G4.

The highlight of the phone is the front camera marked at 8 MP. The main camera is of 13 MP with 1080p resolution. Rest of the specs are a little disappointing, making the phone pretty much selfie-oriented. The screen has only a 720p resolution (267ppi); the phone has no LTE and only supports 3G. LG Ray is a dual-SIM phone but the battery is capable of only 10 hours of talk time.

The operating system is Android 5.1 Lollipop and imitates the flagship G-series with features like Knock Code and Gesture Shot. The device packs only a 1 GB of RAM and MediaTek MT6592M chipset with an octa-core processor.

Currently LG Ray X190 is priced at RUB 15,000 in Russia, which is about $232 or Rs. 15,000. The price is likely to be higher when the device arrives in India. However not sure if the phone is meant for you if you are willing to do anything other than clicking selfies with it.

November 26, 2015
Android Pay Purchases Will Donate to Special Needs Education

Google has revealed that it will be donating up to a $1 million dollars to the education of 6.4 million special needs children. With every Android Pay purchase in the US, the company would give a dollar as donation for the betterment of the American special needs education system.

This announcement comes as an extension of Google’s Global Impact Challenge: Disabilities initiative. Google has teamed up with DonorsChoose.org and started the programme on the 24th of November right through to 31st December. Additionally, the donation amount will be doubled for every Android Purchase on Black Friday, owing to Thanksgiving and the holiday season.

The initiative is only confined to the US as of now.

November 25, 2015
Fashion Meets Tech in these Cool Sneakers With App-Controlled Screens

What happens when fashion meets technology? Awesome things, yes that’s what happens. ShiftWear has introduced sneakers with fitted app-controlled screens, and things only get better and better from there.

The design of the shoes can be controlled by a smartphone app that lets the wearer decide from a bunch of ideas depending on their whim and fancy. From basic geometric patterns to complex art designs -any of these can be sported on the shoes using the app and the screen on the shoes. Van Gogh paintings or your favourite Manga character -match your footwear to your mood, and of course, the rest of the outfit if you so desire.

The tagline of the product is: “The most adaptable shoes you’ll ever own, customized straight from your smartphone.”

It doesn’t end there -these sneakers are waterproof and can be machine-washed as well.They run on self-charging, eco-friendly batteries that get charged with every step the wearer takes. Check the snazzy video below to get a better idea of this latest 21st century contraption.

ShiftWear is a new company testing the waters with this innovative idea and trying to raise funds for their project using Indiegogo. If you want to get yourself a pair, prepared to shell out a $150 (close to Rs. 10,000). Would you be willing to invest in a product like these app-controlled sneakers for the love of fashion and technology?

November 25, 2015
Vines Are Now Only A Swipe Away on the Apple Watch

After being worked upon for the past couple of months, Vine has finally come to the Apple Watch. The app had been under construction since at least this summer when it was first showcased in an on-stage demonstration at an Apple event in June.

The launch of the watchOS app, that took place yesterday on the 24th of November, allows users to run videos on their gadget, while at the same time allows a feature that other than being borderline obsessive also lets you keep track of the number of times your video has been looped.

However despite all of Apple’s efforts, there is a sense of incompetence with various apps on the Watch. It seems like too many iPhone features are being crammed up in a small space of a tiny watch-screen. This new app will shrink down a lot of your favourite Vines on the gadget making them available simply a swipe away. The entire endeavour, however, still seems a little wasted, owing to the size of the screen and the fact that they load at quite a slow speed.

November 25, 2015
Snapchat Makes Live Stories More Interactive With New Feature

In an attempt to make its Live Stories more interactive, Snapchat has introduced a new feature called Story Explorer. Users will now be able to see more of their favourite Live Stories.

https://youtu.be/Is5MVYepFBE

There will be an “Explore” tab at the bottom of some stories, and swiping it up would allow users to see more Snaps related to that particular story. The idea behind this new feature, as the company suggests, is to allow users to see different aspects of the same story and explore several perspectives.

“It’s the first time you’ll be able to experience that incredible game-winning dunk from thousands of perspectives throughout the stadium – or feel like you’re right there on the scene when breaking news unfolds.”

This new feature has been rolled out in New York and Los Angeles for now. Snapchat says in its official blog post that it will be made available in other places as well “very soon”. Looks like Snapchat might have provided social media with a reliable, authentic source of news after all, don’t you think?

November 24, 2015
Oppo’s New Handset Seems Heavily ‘Inspired’ by the iPhone 6 Plus

After design overlaps between HTC’s One A9 and iPhone 6, looks like Oppo has also joined the league with its new smartphone. As hardware leaks of Oppo’s latest addition to the world of smartphones emerge, we see a device with a metal uni-body which looks very similar like that of the iPhone 6 Plus.

HTC had given its device a dash of originality by placing its camera in the centre of the back of the phone. Oppo, on the other hand, has refused to be too creative with its design -its camera is located exactly where it is in an iPhone. The only thing different is the orientation of the LED flash.

To add this, there are also other identical features which include a bottom-firing speaker grille, headphone jack and port for charging, all positioned on the underside of the phone.

What is this charm of Apple that has captivated both consumers and manufacturers all over? Whether you hate it or love it, or love to hate or hate to love it -either way it’s hard to ignore the presence the Apple in the tech world. Do you think the design of the iPhone is actually as popular as all other companies are making it out to be?

Image Source

November 24, 2015
New and Improved Selfie Stick: It’s Longer and Here to Stay

In an unusual twist of events, the selfie stick has been revamped by author Mansoon and made longer, and somewhat, more absurd (if that was even possible). The selfie stick made by Mansoon is longer and has ended up achieving what it had set out to evade -extra attention in public.

The modified product is featured on the website Omocoro. Mansoon explains his intention behind the product as to avoid the embarrassment of using something a selfie stick in public. Two prop hands ordered off Amazon to make this contraption by him. Needless to say, the clothes had to be modified as well to make the prop hands look like part of his body.

In case you are interested in getting one of these for yourself, the website offers a step-by-step DIY. Take a look and try it at home (or not) if you’re tired of watching the grass grow or the paint peel off the wall.

November 23, 2015
Nexus 6P Users Complain of Poor Microphone Quality During Calls

Seems like Apple is not the only company with its fair share of problems. Google makes sure its tech competitor never feels left out, even when it comes to running into controversies with their latest gadgets.

JerryRigEverything.com put the Nexus 6P through a series of tests few weeks ago. These tests included heat test and checking the bending capabilities of the phone. Even though the phone is otherwise a sturdy device, it has a hardware flaw which meant -the phone snapped into two when it was tested for bending.

However, twisting your phone at unnatural angles is not something most users are likely to do. So this whole ‘bend-gate’ issue a second time over with a flagship could be simply overlooked, right? And all was well in the Nexus 6P paradise one more time…until new issues emerged.

Users are now complaining of poor sound quality during phone calls. The person on the other side is unable to hear them properly. Other than standard phone calls, this is also happening during VoIP calls, like Hangouts.

The poor microphone quality has been experienced by users in both the speaker as well as the ear-piece mode. People have taken to Google forums and reddit to talk about it. Google is currently looking into the problem.

If you have used a Nexus 6P, did you face the same, or any other problem, as well? Let us know in the comments below.

November 23, 2015
These Tiny Swallowable Sensors Analyze Your Health From Inside

A team of researchers at MIT have developed an ingestible sensor which will be able to assess your vital signs from inside the body. The sensor would pay special attention to the gastrointestinal tract while making both short and long term assessments easier for patients. Athletics and soldiers also stand to benefit from this new development in the realm of health related technology.

The sensor sits inside an almond-sized silicone capsule. The method of using this sensor internally will be very helpful with trauma patients like burn victims. Even though measurement of vital signs has evolved and developed tremendously over the years with ECGs and electronic stethoscopes being two efficient examples, all these are wearables which require skin contact. But ingestible devices completely eliminate the need for external contact with the patient’s body.

“What we did with our technology is identify components that were compatible with ingestion. These are very small microphones similar to the ones that are used in common cellphones and actually listen from within the body and [can] extract the heart rate and respiratory rate,” says a research affiliate at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

The sensor works by picking up sound waves from both the heart as well as the lungs, along with the additional noise that comes from the digestive tract. The team overcame a major hurdle of devising a signal processing algorithm that can sieve and differentiate between the different kinds of noise and pay attention to the the heart beat and breathing.

This received data can be transmitted over a distance of as far as three meters. Once ingested, the capsular sensor would stay within the system for about a day, or two. For patients that require long term treatment, they might need to ingest these sensors more than once over a fixed period of time.

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November 21, 2015