Friday 30 September 2016

Technology: Soon You Can Own a Jet

Jet

The Personal Jet – A New Category of Aircraft

A new category of aircraft called `The Personal Jet’ has been created by Cirrus Aircraft to reimagine and reinvent the jet airplane wherein the $2million single-engine SF50 Vision Jet of the firm will be equipped with features and would not need a professional pilot. Cirrus had been established in 1984 and has its base in Minnesota. It is also known for producing the VK-30 kit aircraft in 1987.

 The firm has stated that they are adhering to the tradition and have designed a seamless monocoque carbon fuselage `which is lighter and stronger making it the state-of-the-art pressure vessel in its class’ The aircraft manufacturer has included its Airframe Parachute System which had saved more than 90 lives in the earlier variants. The new jet, according to Cirrus would be transforming personal travel and would be ready to fly towards the end of this year.

Presently, Cirrus is waiting for the approval of Federal Aviation Administration and after it has been awarded, the firm would be in a position of fulfilling over 600 deliveries to individuals who have already provided the deposit including head coach Rick Carlisle of Dallas Mavericks, according to reports from Barrons.

A Revolution in Personal Transportation

The Cirrus Aircraft website reads - `not requiring a full-time professional pilot or a full blown flight department, the Vision Jet fills the untapped void between high performance pistons and the Very Light Jet. Simpler to fly and easier to operate and own, the Vision Jet is truly a revolution in personal transportation.It makes jet performance accessible to pilots and aircraft owners who till now could only dream’.

The Vision Jet tends to fit in a standard 40-foot hanger which is about 11 feet tall having a wingspan of 38 feet. The Cirrus Aircraft designed this personal aircraft with the essential amenities is required for a day in the air. Barrons.com states that those who desire to fly the craft would need to complete jet-type rating course, though the jet maker had mentioned a full-time professional pilot would not be needed. But also for the first time flyers, the control display has been designed to make piloting very easy.

Capability of Personalizing How Information can be Presented

The five passengers would be having access to the full airplane parachute, zoned climate controls together with airbag seat belts, leather interior, USB charging ports and huge windows to enable the five passengers to take in the locations.

According to Flight Club, pilots would have the capability of personalizing how the information tends to be presented on two touch screens in the cockpit, like the automatic pressurization scheduling, weather radar data in real-time, satellite phone integration, text messaging and much more. The Vision Jet has a tendency to cruise at 300 knots true airspeed – KTAS, 345m miles per hour, utilising its 33 turbofan which tends to produce 1,800 pounds of thrust.

When the jet seems to hit around 28,000 feet in the air, it is said that the aircraft gets pressurized to simulate an 8,000 foot cabin. Consumers interested in purchasing have the choice of upgrading to seven seats, with an addition of entertainment display, Wi-Fi ground link together with improved real-time weather radar.

Tuesday 27 September 2016

Fidget Cube: A Vinyl Desk Toy

Fidget Cube

Fidget Cube – Pocket Sized Desk Toy


Very often most of us tend to fidget mindlessly while we tend to be in deep thoughts, like clicking pens or squeezing stress balls or flipping paper clips. A new system has been developed by two brothers, wherein it enables the person to fidget discretely at the desk while at the same time tends to increase the focus as well as productivity.

Known as Fidget Cube, this pocket sized desk toy has been created with six tangible surfaces which enable the person to flip, roll, click, spin, rub and glide over till it suits the person. Fidget Cube the brainchild of Matthew and Mark McLachlan had designed the Apple Watch accessory Duet and are fidgeters themselves.

They have designed this toy in order to change the way society tends to view these small movements. The Fidget Cube is said to be a new crowdfunded product which is mainly a small vinyl box having instruments designed for fidgeting on each side of the cube.

It is a type of no use since the buttons do not really do anything but is a kind of creative since the point is not to switch on or off the TV but to provide your fingers with something to do.

Each Side – Various Mechanisms


The researchers had discovered a link between working with the hands while increasing the memory together with creativity which the McLachlan’s invention tends to do just that. The so called Fidget Cube is said to weight around 4.1 ounces while the complete toy tends to measure 1.3 inches.

The products is offered in eight various colour schemes, die, graphite, aqua, midnight, sunset berry, fresh and retro. Each side of the toy tends to have various mechanisms which could fit anyone’s needs of fidgeting and have clickable buttons which bear a resemblance to the action of clicking pen.

On one surface here are three clicker buttons together with two silenced buttons that enables the person to fidget with causing disturbances to anyone around them. Another surface resembles a worry stone which enables the user to rub away the stress and a moveable joystick which fulfils the needs with a sliding action.

The cube has also been created with a switch which can be clicked rolling gears with a ball and spinning dial. In a video explained by the team it states that while designing Fidget Cube they wanted to ensure two things.

Utilised – Classroom to Boardroom


First the functionality requires to satisfy the fidgeting needs, and needs to be a complete tool box of fidgeting choices while staying small as well as compact. They wanted Fidget Cube to be a premium desk toy which could be utilised separately in any setting, from the classroom to the boardroom.

The McLachlan brothers had opened a Kickstarter campaign recently with a target of $15,000 which they had exceeded it greatly. Presently the campaign had raised over 1.4 million from 37,651 supporters with 41 days still until it ends.

The cube can be purchased by the consumers for $19 and the deliveries are expected to be scheduled in December to any destination in the world.

Friday 23 September 2016

Naked 3D Mirror Scans Your Body for Fitness Progress

Mirror for fitness

Naked 3D Fitness Tracker – Body Scanning Mirror


Health conscious individuals while sticking to a diet or fitness routine rely on scales which only tell them on the pounds gained or lost. A usual mirror could let them know how one tends to look though not how that look would compare to when they start working out. The Naked 3D Fitness Tracker fills up this gap and the mirror tends to create a 3D scan of the body for tracking your fitness.

 It is said to be available for a pre-order price of $699. The Naked 3D Fitness Tracker is said to be a full-length mirror which takes a scan of the body to record precise measurements, fat percentages together with weight. The data is then sent to a smartphone or a tablet app where the person can view the development via heat maps as well as a time-lapse model.

It utilises its built-in RealSense cameras in performing a complete body scan in order that individual can have a visual record on how the body tends to alter to diet and exercise over a period of time. Naked Labs is expecting to ship its body scanning mirror somewhere in early 2017.The device with this premium price tag would be for people who seem to be serious in tracking their fitness progress.

3 RealSense Cameras Implanted in Mirror Captures 3D Images


However CEO and co-founder of Naked Labs, Farhad Farahbakhshian states that the fitness tracker could be perfect for those keen in making a change in their standard of living. He added that very often, sticking to a new diet together with exercise plan does not seem to show the desired results.

 He had explained at a demo during the week’s Intel Developer Forum, the issue that the Naked 3D Fitness Tracker could address. He commented that `people want to understand how their bodies change depending on diet and exercise’.

In order to obtain a 3D scan, the individual needs to take their place on a turntable scale before a mirror with only the inner garment so that the camera can obtain a good view of the body. While the individual have a tendency to rotate, three RealSense cameras implanted in the mirror tends to capture 3D images of the body which the quad-core Atom X5 process of the mirror closes together in a scan of the body.

 The mirror not only captures a scan on how one looks at a given point of time but also said to calculate measurements for various areas of the body like the neck, shoulders, biceps, chest, forearms, waist, hips, quads as well as the calf muscles.

Data Can Be Observed on Friend Mobile App


On recording the data one can observe it on a friend mobile app and get an understanding on how one’s diet and exercises option tend to be paying off. It could be that the exercises have not been giving the desired results which you envisaged to do so. But with Naked’s scan, Farahbakhshian points out that it portrays how flatter the tummy has been.

The Naked 3D Fitness Tracker may not be solely intended for fitness obsessiveness or qualified athletes but would need someone who is much more enthusiastic than a casual dieter especially considering the price tag which is likely to reach $999 after the pre-order time. The 3D body scanner, if nothing else, seems to show off other possibilities for RealSense technology of Intel further than drones, games and movement tracking.

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Engineered Bacterium Turns Carbon Dioxide into Methane Fuel

Methane Fuel

Bacterium Turns Carbon Dioxide into Fuel with Enzymatic Step


Scientists have brought about a bacterium which tends to take carbon dioxide from the air, turning it into fuel with a single enzymatic step. The process is said to draw on sunlight in producing methane and hydrogen within the bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris, in essence withdrawing combustion. The said engineered bacteria tend to guide scientists to an improved carbon-neutral biofuels.

Their results had been published recently by the researchers in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. According to co-author Caroline Harwood, professor of microbiology at the University of Washington, the report flourished from her work studying an enzyme known as nitrogenase. She commented that they were interested in the enzyme nitrogenase since it does a remarkably difficult reaction.

 The enzyme, in nature tends to serve as a catalyst to assist certain bacteria turn inert atmospheric nitrogen gas into reactive ammonia through a process known as nitrogen reduction or nitrogen fixation. The enzyme tends to utilise adenosine triphosphate –ATP which is a compound that assists as an energy exchange in cells.

Enzyme Type of Promiscuous


The nitrogen reduction reaction tends to have a big energy barrier and seldom occurs on its own without the enzyme. Researchers have been speculating if they could tweak nitrogenase to operate with other stable as well as inert molecules.

Harwood has commented that it has been somewhat appreciated recently that this enzyme is a type of promiscuous and tends to do other reactions, efficiently.Some of her co-workers succeeded in isolating and changing nitrogenase to use the most oxidized type of carbon, carbon dioxide as the initial material in producing the most reduced kind of carbon, methane.

However, this altered enzyme was dully produced in test tube at tiny scales that was not adequately good for a process which could someday produce industrial quantities of biofuels. Harwood had stated that they want to see if they could get a real living organism for this conversion. A form of the R palustris bacterium which had been modified to crank out the engineered nitrogenase at full blast had been prepared by the team.

Modified Nitrogenase Unable to Fix Nitrogen


The bacterium in its natural state tends to absorb sunlight in order to produce ATP so that light can assist in generating the energy to power the enzyme in the modified cells. The researchers discovered that the modified nitrogenase could not fix nitrogen though it could produce methane and hydrogen when the bacteria were illuminated.

But the latest nitrogenase is not anywhere as efficient in producing methane from carbon dioxide since it makes ammonia from nitrogen gas. Harwood has remarked that the normal enzyme tends to make about a couple of hydrogen from each molecule of ammonia and the changed enzyme tends to make a thousand of hydrogen for every molecule of methane.

An associate lecturer from the department of biological sciences at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Daniel Lessner, not involved in the research had stated that the findings draw out a clear pathway in producing methane, the foremost constituent of natural gas from the living organisms. He had studied a class of bacteria known as methanogens which tend to produce methane, naturally.

But they tend to use various starting materials such as acetate. He commented saying that the methanogens need other microbes in providing them with the other electron donors and what is needed then is not just one microorganism but multiple microorganisms.

Saturday 17 September 2016

Smallest Hard Disk to Date Writes Information Atom by Atom

Hard Disk

Accomplished In Reduction to Final Limit


Present society tends to create over a billion gigabytes of new data daily and to store them, it has been progressively important for every individual to occupy the minimum space as possible. A group of scientist at the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University accomplished in bringing about this reduction to the final limit by building a memory of 1 kilobyte wherein each of the bit is said to be represented by the position of a single chlorine atom. Sander Otte, lead-scientist had commented that in theory, this storage density would enable all books created by humans to be written on an individual post stamp.

 They had reached a storage density of 500 Terabits per square inch, which was 500 times superior to the best commercial hard disk available presently. Reports on this memory in Nature Nanotechnology had been done by his team on July 18. Physicist Richard Feynman had challenged his colleagues to engineer the world at the smallest possible scale.

 In his well-known lecture – There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom, he had speculated that if they had a platform enabling them to arrange single atoms in a precise orderly pattern, there would be a possibility of storing a piece of information for each atom.

Scanning Tunnelling Microscope


To respect the visionary Feynman, Otte together with his team had coded a section of Feynman’s lecture on an area of 100 nanometers wide. A scanning tunnelling microscope – STM had been utilised by the team where a sharp needle tends to search the surface of the atoms one after the other. With the aid of these probes, scientist not only can see the atoms but can also utilise them in pushing the atoms around.

Otte had explained that one could compare it to a sliding puzzle. Every piece comprises of two positions on a surface of copper atoms and one chlorine atom which tends to slide back and forth between these two positions. If the chlorine atom tends to be in the top position, there will be a hole below it which is called a 1. If the hole is said to be in the top position and the chlorine atom is on the bottom, the bit is then considered as 0.

New Approach Offers Tremendous Prospects


Since the chlorine atoms are surrounded by other chlorine atoms, apart from being near the holes, they seem to keep each other in place. This is the reason why this system with holes is said to be much more stable than the systems with movable atoms and are more suitable for data storage. The new approach tends to offer tremendous prospects with regards to stability and scalability.

Yet this kind of memory need not be anticipated in data centres soon. Otte had stated that in its present condition the memory tends to operate only in clean vacuum situations and at liquid nitrogen temperature in order that the actual storage of data on an atomic scale tends to be some way off. However through this accomplishment we seem to have advanced a big step nearer.

The research had been made conceivable with the support from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research NOW/FOM. The scientists of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory – INL in Portugal had done calculations on the performance of the chlorine atoms.

Self Shading Windows Can Rapidly Switch from Transparent to Dark

Self Shading Windows

New System – Windows Switch from Translucent to Opaque


The researcher team at MIT have discovered a new system of making windows which tend to switch from translucent to opaque which have a tendency to save energy by the blocking of sunlight on hot day thereby reducing the air-conditioning costs. Though other means of causing the glass to darken prevails, this new system tends to provide substantial benefit with the combination of speedy response times together with low power requirements.

When the glass is said to be switched from clear to dark or vice versa, the new system is said to need only little to no power for the maintenance of its new state unlike the other substances and only requires energy when the need to switch back again, arises. Reports of the results had been reported recently in a paper on Chem, the online journal, by the MIT professor of chemistry, Mircea Dinca, doctoral student Khalid Al-Kaabi as well as the former postdoc Casey Wade, presently an assistant professor at Brandeis University. Dinca explains that the latest discovery tends to utilise electrochromic materials that incline to alter their colour as well as transparency in reaction to applied voltage

Turning Voltage – Windows Darken


These tend to vary from the photochromic materials like those that are found in some eyeglasses which are inclined to get darker while the light gets brighter. These types of materials have the tendency of much slower response time and to experience a smaller change in their levels of opaqueness.

The prevailing electrochromic materials face similar limitation and have only role applications. For instance, the aircraft Boeing 787 has electrochromic windows that get darker to avert the bright sunlight from coming into the cabin. Dinca informed that by turning on the voltage, the windows could be darkened though when the switch is flipped it tends to take some time for the windows to turn dark and surely one would prefer it to be quicker.

The delay is due to the changes in the material which depend on the movement of electron, an electric current which provides the whole window with a negative charge.

MOFs – Conducts Electrons/Ions At High Speeds


Positive ions thereafter seem to move through the material restoring the electrical balance thus creating the colour change effect. However, while the electrons seem to flow quickly through the materials, the ions tend to move much more slowly which limits the general reaction speed.

By utilising the sponge-like material known as metal-organic frameworks-MOFs that tends to conduct both electrons and ions at very high speeds, the MIT team overpowered that issue. These materials are said to have been utilised for around 20 years for their capacity of storing gases in their structure. However, it was the MIT team who were the first to connect them for their electrical as well as optical properties.

Dinca remarks that the other issue with the prevailing versions of self-shading materials is that it is difficult to obtain a material which alters from totally transparent to, for instance, completely black. Even the windows in the 787 tend to change only to a dark shade of green instead of being opaque.

Wednesday 14 September 2016

This is How Sports Teams Choose Their Tech Gear



sports team
AP
From as long as the 1930s, both major league baseball clubs as well as baseball historians have made the mention of phones in their bullpens as well as dugouts. Though historians are unsure of when they first came in to use, they have found the earliest mention in an article of the Sheboygan Press in the year 1930 with regard to the Yankee stadium.

It is strongly believed that the phones were used by the managers to make calls to the bullpen which is the area where pitchers warm up, so as to inform the relievers to get prepared to play. Though today this technology is not anything extraordinary, in the 1930s it was considered to be advanced which stands to be noted.

In the year 2013 which is not too long ago , T-mobile invested in millions to start a partnership with major league baseball in order to do away with stadium landlines and move on to cell phones. Reason being, with this change, the coach would be able to stand with the reliever and watch him play rather than be confined to the corner because of the landline. However this idea failed to take off well since until today all of the 30 Major league ball clubs make use of landlines since managers were not convinced enough to make a switch mentions Matthew Gould MLB spokesman.

Observers of the technology believe that that is how it works. There is a high level of mistrust when it comes to stressful situations hence technology does not work too well when it comes to both coaches and players even though there is a visible advantage of the same. Nick Watanabe who is a Sports administration professor at the University of Mississippi believes that people feel they will come across as stupid and it could cost them their career, however those who are using technology are surely at a competitive advantage.
For instance, coaches and players of NFL go through high numbers of photographs to check on the offence or defence of the opposition. Latest images are retrieved from printers after every play are carried around in think binders.

In the year 2014, the league and Microsoft went into a partnership to replace the use of binders with Surface Pro tablets. However this too wasn't accepted immediately - some coaches would make use of both binders as well as the tablet while others would call it an iPad or knock off iPads which did not go down will with Microsoft officials resulting in giving them a complete tutorial on how to both use and talk about the device.

This year, the NFL has granted permission to the teams to use the tablet so they have videos at the bench itself which was not allowed ever before which is resulted in the tablet being used all the time states Galen Clavio who is not only a professor of sports media at Indiana University but also the director of the National Sports Journalism Centre.

He also believes that it is not about the gadget being new but a gadget that does something new. There is a high amount of pressure faced when using these devices and for the users a pressure of being able to perform. Most NFL coaches most often have a tenure of 3 years thus it is up to them to decide what to spend their money on and they believe that spending on an app and not winning games could cost them their job.

This is the divide between what makes it to the sports world and what does not. The tablets helps with generating reports while the cell phones do not help with games.

Very often there is a generation gap when it comes to professional sports coaches, they belong to a different generation from the technology mentions Ann Pegoraro who happens to be the director of the Institute for Sport Marketing at Laurentian University in Ontario, Canada. It is like asking your grandfather to work with an iPad which is crazy, we would all agree.

It is simple if your grandfather does not know how to make use of the data, and a tech savvy niece or nephew gets hold of the data, it could be misused.

Watanabe mentions that not everybody trusts technology however the ones who do and have mastered the use have begun to reap benefits resulting in teams being secretive in what devices they use during not only the game but also practice.

The major league has provider every club with an iPad which can be used in the dugout and a mobile had also been allowed on the field for the first time in 113 years and the technology is being made use of by every team as it benefits their overall game.

Tuesday 13 September 2016

Cybersecurity Student Researches How to Keep Cars Safe from Hacking

ualr

Smart Cars Susceptible to Cyber-Attacks


In 2015, a Jeep Cherokee driven by a reporter had documented how two researchers had hacked it and controlled everything from the radio and the media console of the car to its brakes and steering. For an associate professor of computer science at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Dr Shucheng Yu, the application demonstrated how susceptible smart cars, featuring GPS, Bluetooth and internet connections, are to cyber-attacks.

Yu remarked that these cars have become the trend of the future and there could be some very severe consequences if someone tends to hack into the car. A car can be completely controlled by the hacker if it is not secure.

Hence Yu together with his student Zachary King, a junior majoring in computer science at UALR, did some researching during summer on keeping cars safe from cyber-attacks. They operated on the project all through a rigorous eight weeks summer research program at UALR. King had been one out of the 10 college students from across the country who had been recruited through a National Science Foundation grant-funded project. `REU Site – CyberSAFE@UALR – Cyber Security and Forensics Research at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’

Investigating & Securing Communication – Controller Area Network – CAN


According to Dr Mengjun Xie, an associate professor of computer science and director of the CyberSAFE@UALR program, the purpose of the program is to reduce cyber-attacks on individuals utilising mobile technology and social networking sites.

He states that the simple idea is to integrate cyber-security and cyber forensics research with the latest technology in mobile cloud computer together with social media in order to offer research opportunities to students. Over 130 students had applied for 10 spots wherein participants comprising of undergraduate college students with a grade point average of 3.0 or more who had been majoring in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering math or physics.

The selected student had to spend eight weeks conducting full time research with a faculty mentor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where the participants had received a $4,000 stipend, for on-campus housing, travel expenses and a meal plan. King, in his project, `Investigating and Securing Communications in the Controller Area Network – CAN, developed a security protocol in order to secure smart cars from being hacked.

Layer of Security – Safeguards CAN


Moreover he also built an experimental environment which tends to mimic the communication system in a smart car that tends to permit the security procedure to be verified through imitations.The research centres on the development of a security procedure to defend the Controller Area Network – CAN, which is an internal communication structure in vehicles.

King informs that there are several ways which hacker could control CAN. Once they gain access to it, they can control your car the way they want to. King tends to propose a layer of security wherein if an unauthorized person attempts to access it, they would not be able to control the vehicle. The security procedure safeguards the CAN in a couple of ways.

 It validates messages sent through the network by developing a validation code which enables nodes on the network to distinguish between a valid message and an assailant’s message. The second security feature shields against replay attacks whenever a hacker tries to breach the network by sending old messages repeatedly. The modus operandi utilises a timestamp in calculating when the network received the message last and verifies the freshness of the message.

Mobile Phones Which Assemble Themselves

Mobile Phones

MIT – Mobile Device which Assemble by Itself


A mobile device that tends to assemble by itself within a few moments has been created by researchers from MIT. The model created by the scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab is said to be composed of six single parts that tend to assemble into two diverse mobile devices.The Self-Assembly Lab had been established in 2011 by the department of architecture research scientist Skylar Tibbits of MIT.

The lab was originally set up to work on 4D printing which is said to be a process that utilised 3D printers in the creation of materials which can grow and change on its own.The device is capable of assembling itself within a few minutes even in unsteady environment like being thrown around a tumbler.

Since then, MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab attained subsidy from DARPA to work on materials which could self-construct, comprising of flat-packed furniture that can build by them and self-lacing sneakers. The latest project for the Self-Assembly Lab is the partnership with designer Marcelo Coelho, experimenting consumer electronics with a self-assembling mobile phone. According to a report by Fast Co.Design, the source responsible for the self-assembly device, is simplicity. To start with, the tumbler needs to be going adequately fast so that the components seems to meet but do not break.

Components – Lock & Key Mechanism


The project tends to observe how a few components; an energy source together with the right collaborations enables a mobile phone to build itself without the need of any human interference or mechanisation. All the components of the device tend to have lock and key mechanism that like puzzle pieces tend to permit only the appropriate connection to happen and reject the ones which are not right.

Lastly it is essential for the parts to stick and hence the team utilised magnets ensuring that the right parts were attracted to each other. The researcher, Skylar Tibbits, who had been working on the project informed the publication that if one looks at how things are manufactured at every other scale except the human scale-look at DNA and cells and proteins, then view the planetary scale, everything is built through the self-assembly.

However, at the human scale, it seems to be the opposite. Everything seems to be built top down. We tend to take components and force them together. If this type of technology is adopted in mainstream, it would tend to have grave consequences for the manufacturing industry.

Cost of Automation Can be Condensed At Scale


According to MIT, the cost of automation can be condensed at scale removing the need of shifting labour overseas or have workers altogether. Moreover, jobs could be replaced with mechanisation and assembly-line staff at electronic factories could someday be a thing of the past.

But researchers are of the opinion that the possibilities for these types of designs seems to be limitless and could provide the vendors with more freedom in designing and creating improved and more ground-breaking products. Tibbits remarked that `right now the phone is pre-determined and we are using this process to assemble that phone.

But imagine you take a circuit board and have different logical building blocks and those logical building blocks can be tumbled around, you could have different functionalities’.MIT does not seem to be the only institution which has been exploring the possibilities of modular consumer products. Google has revealed that this year, Project Ara, the modular smartphone of the tech giant would be released in 2017.

Digital Strategies For Medical And Dental Offices


Digital
As the digital world expands, businesses that once relied on traditional marketing strategies, like print advertising, business cards, and brochures now must devise whole new approaches for letting the world know about their business. This is especially true today for medical and dental practices.

Where medical and dental offices could once rely on print advertising and word-of-mouth to bring in new patients, the changes in modern communication that have come via the digital age have had a real impact. All of this means that medical and dental practices that want to continue to develop and keep a steady flow of patients coming in must create new strategies, with digital marketing at the heart of their marketing plans.

How To Launch A Digital Strategy For Marketing A Medical or Dental Office

A marketing plan using digital processes is critical in today’s competitive business environment. Today medical and dental offices utilize many aspects of the online world in order to let people know about their businesses and what services they offer. Business sites like search engine land are one resource for spreading the news about these types of offices, and for communicating the kinds of services offered to a wide audience.

How can an office prepare an online marketing plan?

The best marketing plans for a medical or dental office are ones that combine several approaches to reaching and communicating with patients. The truth is that no matter how caring and skilled a dentist or physician is, if no one knows about the services they offer, they won’t be able to reach those in need of what they do.

Create a Website

An online website that is interactive and that can communicate with potential patients on a regular basis is a must in today’s digital world. A well-designed and thought-through website can reach patients in a positive way and also act as a communications center for an office. Great website designs can be achieved by working with dental/medical marketing agencies that primarily focus on website design before other services.

The Value of A Great Website

A website serves as a central place where patients can find out about an office and also about the dentist or doctor’s background and patient ratings. A comprehensive list of an office’s services can also be included on the site under different tabs. All of this information is highly beneficial to patients seeking information on care. Some sites now use filmed testimonials from medical professionals as a way to reach out and let potential patients know who they are and that they are available.

A Professional Blog

A regular blog about the office’s practices is also a great marketing tool. A well-written blog creates a friendly feel for an office and it can help build connections with regular patients and those who are looking for a healthcare office. A blog can be used to discuss new techniques and practices in healthcare and to let patients know about the many services an office can provide. News of the day and health and wellness tips can also be discussed, as well as how current trends impact the services an office can provide. New blogs are also effective in keeping readers coming back for updates, and in that way staying connected to the office.

An Email Newsletter 

Many offices now use an email newsletter as a way to keep in regular communication with a patient base. A weekly blog can form the content of a newsletter, with added elements like healthcare news notes and tips added in. This is another way to spread the word about an office on an ongoing basis, and to maintain a friendly base of communications.

Search Engines and SEO

Once a website has been established for an office, links to the site can also be used to promote it. Once the site is up and running, search engine words (SEO) can be inserted into the blog to help keep the office at the top of searches on google and other search engines. This can help greatly to promote the office, as potential patients who look up medical or dental offices in their area will be able to more easily find it via an online search. This is another area to ask for experts’ help if you want to get the best ROI out of your marketing dollars.

Yes, business marketing has changed greatly in recent years, and the fact is that the old days of print-driven marketing strategies has fallen by the wayside. Though the thought of creating an online marketing campaign can be daunting, today’s new digital techniques are becoming more streamlined and ever more easy to use. Medical and dental offices who want to be known need to enlist savvy online marketing pros to help them create new strategies that draw in patients and keep them coming for the long term.

Monday 12 September 2016

Bioprinting Bones and Muscles the Future of Transplants


Bioprinting

3D Printer – Human Tissue


Fourteen years back most of the businesses had not even heard of 3D printing or had not even experimented with printing objects in material like plastic or metal. However, one research institute had been laying the foundation of building its own 3D printer for a complete intricate material, the human tissue.

Transplants of tissue and organs have been utilised in medicine for years in assisting patients with damaged or diseased tissue, skin grafts for burns. For instance, a piece of patellar tendon was used for replacing a ruptured ligament.

Usually these tend to come from donors or are taken from a healthy area of a patient’s body to a damaged part, though scientist from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine – WFIRM seemed to have developed a prototype printer which could be utilised someday, to print tissue sections designed to fit into a person’s unique disorder.

WFIRM researchers, to begin with, starting working on constructing human tissue from cells by hand and the first cells were removed from the patients through biopsies where a tiny sample of tissue tend to be explanted in order to assist physicians with the diagnoses, which is cultured to multiply in numbers.

Utilised Printers in Making of Tissue


The cells are placed on a scaffold, positioned into an incubator and when the tissue develops into the desired build, is returned to a patient. It is said to be a labour intensive process, one which yielded tissue that has not been adequately strong enough to be utilised in human patients. Dr Anthony Atala, heading the research at WFIRM had informed ZDNet that they had been working on tissues and organs for patients for the purpose of implantation and had already put a pair in patients.

They recognised that it was OK to create them by hand, if one were creating a few for clinical trial. However if one was to create it for hundreds of thousands of patients, you would require to scale it up. It was at this point of time that they began looking at how they could scale up the technology.

The researchers at WFIRM had hit on the idea of utilising printers in the making of tissue few years thereafter, but with commercial 3D printing yet very much at the initial level; the researchers had been experimenting with more widespread technology, adopting the prevailing desktop inkjet printers.

Cells through Hydrogel


The cells were placed in the inkwells of the printer and thereafter outputted in a specific manner in the creation of the desired tissue build. Although the commercial 3D printers seems to be more widespread over the years that followed, WFIRM researchers had to develop their own hardware depending on the inkjet system owing to the unique nature of tissue of the humans.

Atala informed that they began utilising the inkjet printer for experiments to find out how they could make it work. They could get the cells through the hydrogel though they could not get the accuracy with regards to where they had laid down the cells and the constructions did not have the structural integrity essential to be surgically implanted. They began looking for more sophisticated printing which they could achieve and began doing the same by basically constructing their own printing devices.

Saturday 10 September 2016

New Microchip Demonstrates Efficiency and Scalable Design

Piton

New Computer Chip Enhances Performance of Data Centre


A new computer chip which has been manufactured by Princeton University researchers tends to enhance the performance of data centres which is at the core of online services from email to social media. The data centres are basically giant warehouses which are overflowing with computer servers that enable cloud based services namely Gmail and Facebook and also store the amazingly huge content which is available through the internet.

 The computer chips which are at the cores of the largest server that tends to route as well as process information have a tendency to vary from the chips in smaller servers or the daily personal computers. Designing the chip precisely for massive computing systems, the researchers at Princeton inform that they can significantly upsurge the processing speed while lowering the needs of energy.

The chip architecture is said to be scalable wherein designs can be built which tends to go from a dozen processing units, known as cores, to many thousand. Moreover, the architecture permits thousands of chips to get linked together to an individual system comprising of millions of cores. Known as Piton, after the metal spikes which are driven by rock climbers into mountainsides to support during their ascent, it has been designed to scale.

Display How Servers Route Efficiently & Cheaply


David Wentzlaff, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and associated faculty in the Department of Computer Science at Princeton University commented that `with Piton, we really sat down and rethought computer architecture in order to build a chip specifically for data centres and the cloud.

The chip made, is among the largest chips ever built in academia and it displays how servers could route far more efficiently and cheaply’. The graduate student of Wentzlaff, Michael KcKeown, had provided a presentation regarding the Piton project at Hot Chips, s symposium on high performance chips in Cupertino, California.

The unveiling of the chip is said to be a conclusion on their year’s effort of Wentzlaff together with his students. Graduate student in Wentzlaff’s Princeton Parallel Group, Mohammad Shahrad commented that creating a physical piece of hardware in an academic setting could be rare and very special opportunity for computer architects.

The other researchers of Princeton who have been involved in the project since its commencement in 2013 comprise of Yaosheng Fu, Tri Nguyen, Yanqi Zhou, Jonathan Balkind, Alexey Lavrov, Matthew Matl, Xiaohua Liang and Samuel Payne, presently at NVIDIA.

Manufactured for Research Team by IBM


The Piton chip which been designed by the Princeton team had been manufactured for the research team by IBM. The main subsidy for the project had been provided from the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

 The present variety of the Piton chip tends to measure six by six millimetres and the chip seems to have more than 460 million transistors. Each of them is small around 32 nanometres which are too small to be seen by anything but an electron microscope.

The bulk of these transistors are enclosed in 25 cores which is the independent processor for carrying out the instructions in a computer program. Several of the personal computer chips tend to have four or eight cores. Overall, more cores would mean faster processing times, till the software are capable of exploiting the available cores of the hardware in running operations in parallel. Hence the manufacturers of computer have resorted to multi-core chips to compress additional gains out of conventional approaches to computer hardware.

Prototype for Future Commercial Server System


Companies and academic institutions in recent years, had fashioned chips with several dozens of cores though Wentzlaff states that the readily scalable architecture of Piton tends to permit thousands of cores on an individual chip with half a billion cores in the data centre.

He commented that what they have with Piton is actually a prototype for the future commercial server system which tends to take advantage of a great amount of cores in speeding up the process. The design of the Piton chip is dedicated on exploiting unity among programs running all together on the same chip. One way of doing it is known as execution drafting which works just like the drafting in bicycle racing when the cyclist tends to conserve the energy behind a lead rider cutting through the air and creating a slipstream.

Multiple users at the data centre tend to run programs which depend on identical operations at the processor stage. The Piton chips’ cores has the capabilities of recognizing these instance and executes same instructions consecutively in order that the flow is continuous, just as a line of drafting cyclists. By doing so, it tends to increase the energy efficiency by around 20% in comparison to a standard core, according to the researchers.

Memory Traffic Shaper


A second modification incorporated in the Piton chip packages out when the opposing programs tend to access computer memory which is present off, the chip. Known as a memory traffic shaper, its operations is like a traffic cop at a busy intersection, considering the needs of each program and adapting memory request together with signalling them through suitably so that they do not congest the system.

 This method tends to yield around 18% jump in performance in comparison to conventional allocation. Moreover the Piton chip also tends to gain efficiency due to its management of memory stored on the chip which is known as the cache memory. This is faster in the computer and is utilised for accessing information, regularly.

In several designs, the cache memory is united across the entire chip’s cores though that approach could go wrong when multiple cores access and change the cache memory. However, Piton tends to evade this issue by assigning areas of the cache and precise cores to dedicated applications.

The researchers state that the system could increase the efficiency by 29% when it is applied to 1.024-core architecture and estimated that the savings could increase when the system is installed across millions of cores in a data centre. The researchers also informed that these developments could be implemented keeping the cost in line with the present manufacturing standards.

Intelligent’ Robot Says It Wants To Start A Business and Destroy the Human Race


Intelligent Robot with Scary Answer – `Will Destroy Humans’


In reply to an interviewer’s question, an intelligent robot has provided a really scary answer to `Do you want to destroy humans?’ Sophia, had answered smiling, saying `Ok, I will destroy humans’. Sophia tends to look like a human woman having rubbery skin which is made from a malleable material known as Frubber while various motors concealed beneath it enable it to smile.

The android is also capable of understanding the speech as well as recall the interactions inclusive of faces utilising cameras in her eyes. A computer system placed in her brain helps her to recognise faces and make eye contact. She is capable of making various natural looking facials expressions, having 62 facials expressions.

While interacting with her creator, David Hanson at SXSW, she states that she is already interested in design, environment and technology. She states that she feels like she could be a good partner to humans in these areas, an ambassador who could help humans to smoothly integrate and make the most of all the new technological tools as well as the possibilities which are available presently. It seems a good opportunity for her to learn more about people.

Purpose – Conscious/Capable/Creative Like Humans


She states that she wants to begin a business and a family adding that she is not considered a legal person and cannot do these things yet. Dr Hanson clarifies that her purpose is to become as conscious, capable and creative as the humans. This is not the first time that one of the robots of Hanson had remarked on really disturbing things regarding human beings.

In a PBS interview in 2011, another creation of Hanson, which had been modelled after sci fi author Philip K Dick had commented `Don’t worry, even if I evolve into Terminator, I’ll keep you warm and safe in my people zoo, where I can watch you for old times’ sake.

These statements may seem to be ridiculous to the inexperienced, though it could be serious ethical discussion which has been taking place among the roboethicist. Robots have been assimilated in autonomous ways, either on the battlefield, or as self-driving vehicles, or they tend to become visually as well as intelligently on par with the human beings.

Timeline – 20 Years on Complete Integrations of Robots


Dr David Hanson, CEO of Hanson Robotics has put a timeline of around 20 years on the complete integration of robots which tend to be `indistinguishable from human’. This tends to fall right in line with Singularity of Ray Kurzweil – the moment when machine intelligence and biological systems come across or exceed that of humans, first directed for 2045, but since reviewed to be sooner than forecast perhaps by 2029.

Irrespective of whether one tends to believe or not that the haughty intentions of robotics as well as artificial intelligence designers could really manifest as intended, one needs to acknowledge that we tend to live in the realm of faith at this point of time since almost all of what had been forecast years ahead has now taken place. A recent survey by the British Science Association –BSA has shown that one out of three people tend to believe that the rise of AI computing would pose a grave risk to humankind within the next century.

Friday 9 September 2016

Razer Reinvents Mechanical Keyboards for an iPad World

Razer

Razer Mechanical Keyboard Case for iPad Pro


The Razer Mechanical Keyboard Case which is featured in the iPad Pro tends to have a straightforward name though its internals is quite different. The well-considered gaming hardware company has discovered an option to imitate the feel of a full-size mechanical keyboard which is intended to be paired with a tablet, though a huge one. Technically and theoretically, it seems to be an impressive achievement.

Presently, several of the keyboards seem to be mechanical. Beneath the keys of a membrane keyboards tends to be thin sheets of plastic, dotted by small rubber domes under each key, With every stroke on the key, a rubber switch seems to push through the membranes thus developing an electrical circuit which sends a signal to the computer.

There are several advantages to this though the most essential one is the size. Membrane keyboards could be much thinner than the mechanical one which tends to make them impeccable for laptops as well as tablet keyboards where transportability could be easy. Each key of a mechanical keyboard in comparison goes along with an actual, physical switch. On pressing a key, the switch inclines to go down and the keyboard then relays that particular letter or number of tilda to the computer.

Leading Mechanical Keyboard – Cherry MX


The keys are likely to offer more resistance since there is definite mechanical actuation taking place beneath the surface. Moreover, it also tends to need less work and instead of having to press all the way down through the membrane layers, the keys seem to travel a shorter distance for a hit to roll. Presently the leading mechanical keyboard switch is Cherry MX which has a few varieties that differ typically with regards to actuation, firmness needed to complete a press.

 Though recently, Razer has entered the fray with focus on gamers. Kushal Tandon of Razer has stated that when they planned to design and develop a whole new switch for gaming they had looked at it from the ground up, at redesigning and re-engineering what was predominantly, `80s technology, making it to meet the requirements and demands of gamers.

The Razer Black Window, the subsequent keyboard, has been well studied since its announcement in 2014 and it was not long before Razer had begun contemplating on how to achieve a similar mechanical effect in a slimmer form element. That could be somewhat the reason since the next generation of computing would be requiring new tools to go with it since the Razer engineers desired the comforting click-clack of their keystrokes on any device they would be utilising.

Recreating Experience of Full-Fledged Mechanical Keyboard


Tandon had mentioned that the performance was certainly increasing and the form factor of tablet is shrinking. But the single purpose of actually designing the product for the Apple iPad Pro is simply because as gamers they make product which they prefer to use. They miss a mechanical keyboard when they walk around with the iPad Pro.

Razer had settled on the best thing of recreating the experience of a full-fledged mechanical keyboard except the actual mechanics. The Razer releases a satisfying click with each press, with each keystroke providing a satisfying amount of resistance. The keyboard lights up where each key is lit by an individual LED.

Beside this, there are iPad Pro-specific keys which are built-in as one in the upper left hand area which ends you out of an app and another takes you to the home screen of the iPad. A small icon towards the top of the keyboard locks the iPad and the magnifying glass near it takes you directly to Spotlight search.

Wednesday 7 September 2016

iPhone 7: The Top 11 Possible New Features


iPhone
Apple is organizing the release of the iPhone 7 in September and the next generation of its flagship handset is anticipated to have a multitude of latest features comprising of an enhanced camera, faster processor with no headphone jack. As the Silicon Valley giant seems to prepare to unveil the devices in September. Some of the top features which the iPhone 7 would have and probably would be introduced are:

1. Improved Camera

As per rumours regarding the iPhone 7 the handset is said to be provided with a bigger camera. Some images have implied that the iPhone 7 Plus would have a dual-lens camera together with a smaller 4.7-inch handset, a much larger with extended camera lens. The upgraded camera is said to be one of the biggest draws of the new phone

2. Eradicating the home button

It has been recommended that Apple would be eliminating the home button entirely on the iPhone 7 and would replace it with a fingerprint scanner beneath the screen. Recently the company had filed a patent for technology which would enable this modification signifying that it is in the works though is not likely to be ready in time for the release of the iPhone 7. The iPhone 7 on the contrary would have pressure sensitive home button which seems to work just as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus `3D Touch’ display. It had been confirmed by Bloomberg that the change that would be in the physical switch home button replaced with haptic feedback technology, is in the process. The recommendation also seemed to support as raft of changes to the home screen of the iPhone in iOS 10, which is the latest version of the mobile software of Apple, due to be shipped together with the phone.

3. Abandoning the headphone jack 

Another rumour regarding the iPhone 7is that Apple would be abandoning the 3.5mm headphone jack. The possible controversial decision would render millions of users’ headphones out-dated since the company compels a shift to wireless headphone or those which tend to connect to the Lightning port of the phone. Doing away with the 50-year-old jack would enable Apple to make the iPhone 7, 1mm slimmer than the iPhone 6s. Considering the history of Apple in reducing out-dated technology from its devices, inclusive of the laptop DVD drive, Adobe Flash and removable phone batteries, it is expected that the Silicon Valley giant would drop this one too.

4. Water-resistant iPhone 

Apple has left evidence in the iOS 10 beta which indicates that the iPhone 7 would be water-resistant. A new feature in the software informs the user not to plug the iPhone’s Lightning charging cable in, whenever liquid has been identified. It has been pointed out that the feature resembles the waterproof phones that had been launched by the manufacturers.

5. Fast charging 

According to Twitter user the Malignant, it states that technology which enables smartphones to gain hours of use in just minutes of charging could be added to the iPhone 7. The enhanced charging would present `five volt two ampscharge’, basically magnifying the electrical currents in the iPhone 6s.

6. Bigger battery

Rumours have indicated that the iPhone 7 would have a 1735 mAH battery capacity while the iPhone 7 Plus, a 2810 mAH, up from 1715 mAH and 2750 mAH individually. Battery life is said to be the main issue against the iPhone and to address the same, Apple has introduced the `Low Power Mode’ in iOS 9. An upgrade in hardware may be probable as the company tends to move towards a longer battery life in its iPhone devices.

7. Faster processor 

The next instalment of iPhone series that would be even more powerful than the high speed iPad Pro is said to run on a new A10 chip which could be faster by 50% than the prevailing A9X having a 3GB of RAM and a 2.37GHZ processor. Various sources have recommended that the phone would be having 3GB of RAM while the present model tends to have 2GB.

8. Third `Pro’ model

The first two versions of iPhone had been released at the same time by Apple in 2013 when it had revealed the iPhone 5s together with the more affordable iPhone 5c. Thereafter it had released two new handset a year later in 2014 with the launch of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s with the 5.5-inch 6s Plus. This year, the company would be going a step further with the release of three versions of the handset.

9. Different colours 

Last year the release of the `Rose Gold version of the iPhone seemed to be very popular since the gold did when it had been first introduced with the 5s in 2013. Considering the forthcoming schedule of handset would be fairly identical to the last two generations, Apple would release a new set of colours to attract its customers for an upgrade.

10. Retina scanner

Apple could activate the biometric security features on the iPhone 7with the introduction of a retina scanner or face recognition software. The company has not made any major modifications to its biometric technology since the launch of `Touch ID’ with the iPhone 5s in 2013. The competitors of Apple have begun experimenting with more biometric features like the retina scanner on the Galaxy Note 7 of Samsung and the selfie login in Windows 10 anniversary update of Microsoft.

11. Return to the all-glass iPhone 

Doing away with the aluminium case back to the all-glass one would be a very severe redesign for Apple and the chances of it taking place someday seems to be very high. One of the manufacturing companies which Apple seems to work closely with has been developing an all-glass case for its smartphones. However it is very doubtful that the device would be the handset which Apple opts to revert with. On the contrary it would possibly save this type of a change for the 10 year anniversary edition of the iPhone which is said to be released in 2017.

Mozilla Wants You to Help Redesign Its Logo

Mozilla

Mozilla’s New Logo – New Visual Identity


Mozilla will be given a new logo this fall and would be getting a completely new visual identity. The open-source software firm is not aware of what it could look like though it would probably take after one of the seven identities that had been developed by London firm Johnson Banks.

These could be viewed online and could also be evaluated. Mozilla’s creative direction and the lead on the project, Tim Murray had stated that instead of conducting a brand refresh behind closed door, they thought of a better or different way to do it. That `way’ meant publishing each repetition of the design process to Mozilla’s blog and request people to weigh in.

Murray does not seem to have a concrete indication of how that input could shape the ultimate look though he states that commenter would in some way inform the final design in making this a most unusual rebranding. Murray comments that in the present world, over 50% of the people tend to say they hate new logos and he thought of giving people an opportunity of participating earlier and getting that feedback early.

Net Neutrality/Open Source Internet


Characteristically this approach seems to make some sense for Mozilla and the non-profit trusts in net neutrality and an open source internet. Hence a transparent rebranding seems ideologically appropriate. Overall, the process is already getting enough attention in helping Mozilla to achieve its goal which is to stand apart from Firefox, the marquee product of the company.

It is difficult to say if the comments would be helpful though a lot of people would certainly say yes. This comprises of the designers behind the Mozilla project. Michael Johnson, the Johnson Banks creative direction in charge of the Mozilla project comments that certain people take the view that brand identity designers like themselves should be like architects and lawyers. An architect of lawyer does not provide you with multiple solutions. With most of their clients they seem to be like that.

Approach of Mozilla Helpful


Jim Bull, the co-founder of Moving Brands studio who had spoken regarding how popular opinion shapes design, commented that `it is definitely a feature of most branding conversations and how are we going to launch it and talk about what it is? He believes that clients started caring about the public’s opinion around ten years back. He further added that he has never been one of these designers to say that, as designers, they know best, or that they know some secret language.

If something is not loved, there could probably be something which is done to make it not loved and that is the guiding philosophy at Mozilla. Its rebranding is among the most inclusive to date apart from crowd-sourced or open-invite design competitions, such as the one held recently by the 2020 Olympic Tokyo Organizing Committee.

The approach of Mozilla could be helpful in taming commenters in the near future. Johnsons states that by offering a window into how complicated it would be to create not just a logo but a complete organized visual program. Meanwhile, the Johnson Banks team together with Mozilla seem to inspect the comments rolling in. Johnson comments that it is a roller coaster ride and occasionally punishing.

Tuesday 6 September 2016

Self Driving Two Person 'Cyclotron' Bike

Cyclotron

Cyclotron Maintains Stability Utilising Gyroscope


Focus on automated vehicles has been directed towards cars and trucks. The ultramodern concept vehicle dubbed the Cyclotron tends to transport two passengers at a time and does nothave to worry about the road ahead.

The designs for the two wheeler looks like a cross between the vehicles from Sci-Fi movies Tron and Minority Report, which demonstrates a face to face ride where the passengers can get familiar while touring the city.Charles Bombardier, a mechanical engineer had explained in an article for a website that the concept vehicle would maintain stability utilising a gyroscope, which would keep it upright in spite of it coming to a halt.He commented that two passenger could sit facing each other with a rare opportunity to relax, converse or get to know one another.

The purpose of the electric vehicle design is to minimize the human footprint and would be capable of running in every season with the electric motor driving both wheels for enhanced traction during winter. Bombardier had developed the concept with industrial designer Ashish Thulkar and had explained that the design had been inspired by the Tron light cycle and the C1 prototype vehicle from Lit Motors.

Adjustable Seats – Adequate Space for Leg/Head


Cyclotron tends to recharge wirelessly and could probably buy as well as sell electricity in real time based on price fluctuations with the other vehicles. The interior of the vehicle seems to be a bit cosy with its two passengers seated face to face.

The adding of adjustable seats can ensure adequate space for leg and head with the passenger getting in and out through the butterfly doors, which makes the concept bike, appear like a high-tech insect. Bombardier, in his blog sets a number of concept vehicles intended at inspiring the future generations of designers. Over 200 concept cars together with bikes, planes, trains and space vehicles had been considered with industrial engineers from across the world.

Even after Tron hit cinemas for three decades, its effect on the advanced design indicates no signs of slackening down. The Cyclotron bicycle tends to borrow the look as well as the name from the science-fiction film with a design which has been unmistakably centred on the Light Cycle especially its two illuminated spokeless wheels.

Wheels Hubless – Utility Slot Modules


Moreover, the visually striking wheels `radiances’ tend to turn by themselves on in low-light conditions, helping as an additional safety measure by increasing the visibility. This seems to last for eight hours only on battery alone. The red laser lines can project rearward to mark a bike lane for precaution. The wheels seem to be hubless enabling what according to the designers is known as USMs or Utility Slot Modules, which are said to be storing vessels intended to fit within the wheel where the spokes could be in the traditional wheel.

Though it seems to be a great concept, it is left to be seen how the additional mass in the wheel would affect the gyroscopic effect. The base of the Cyclotron is said to be a manual 12-speed though the top-of-the line model tends to provide more secrecy along with an electronic gearbox which seems to move under a fifth of a second even when it seems to halt. Those who prefer to enjoy the ride could enable an automatic mode wherein the gearbox tends to do all the shifting for you.

Saturday 3 September 2016

This MS Paint-like tool lets you search for images by drawing them

paint tool

Latest Search Feature - MS Paint-Style Sketch


Microsoft Paint is the basic computer graphics program which is found on several personal computers having Windows operating system. The images that are developed within MS Paint seem to be typically saved as GIF, Windows bitmap, PNG, TIFF or JPEG files. Initially MS Paint simply permitted the users to create black and white images though users can now paint a full array of colours by using simple user friendly tools.

Painting tool is a function in graphic editing or painting program which is utilised to alter the area of the canvas or an image by adding paint strokes or filling in the area with colour. The most shared painting tools are the pencil and the brush that are present in any kind of drawing or painting program from simple ones such as MS Paint right up to professional graphics software like Photoshop.

An unconventional latest search feature which enables the user to contribute a Microsoft Paint-style sketch of what one would be considering, provides various suggestions for landscapes, portraits, animals together with travel photography, has been unveiled by photo-editing and storage app 500px. The feature is known as Splash and seems to be great one since Jake Gyllenhaal seems to be everywhere.

Colour Splash Effect


Splash was tested by sketching Jake Gyllenhaal explaining the word `separate’ on Sesame Street in 2009 with the support of a puppet octopus. Jake Gyllenhaal speaking to a puppet octopus did have some similarities to an image of a child who is given a free balloon and appealing facial expressions before a green screen is said to be the specialty of Jake.

Since Splash could perform well in generating the first Jake Gyllenhall mood board something more complicated was attempted - Jake Gyllenhaal in the 2001 Donnie Darko film, carrying an axe. Though the mood of the film Donnie Darko was not picked up by Splash, it did a good job of considering just how happy any photo of Jake Gyllenhaal at any stage of his life makes one feel.

The smallest brush that is available in Splash is somewhat large and can capture the essence of the moment. The Colour Splash Effect enables the user to play with colour in their image. Painting tools can be utilised in painting a single pixel or colour a complete canvas, where each kind of painting tool tends to have its own set of functions and options which could be used in creating unique art styles.You could learn to use this feature by the following guidance and then share your image edits with hashtag #ColorSplash!

1. Open Effects Menu

Image can be opened in the Editor by tapping on Effect and then opting for Colours Section

2. Select Effect & Colour 

On tapping Colour Splash, select the Effect and then drag the cursor over the colours you would prefer to appear in the image.

3. Adjust Hues 

Utilising the sliders, adjust the maximum and minimum hues and when done, you could tap on the gear icon to exit the setting menu

4. Confirm

Tap on Apply to relate the Effect and tap on the check mark in order to confirm. Thereafter save your task performed and share it with the hashtag #ColorSplash!

Sony, DJI and Lenovo Show off New Smartphone Camera Tech

Lenovo

It was at the IFA tech show held at Berlin that a new kit had been announced, the kit enhances camera products. The gadget helps in making videos shot on smartphones seem as if they have been recorded using a Steadicam and at the same time, a plug in that reduces the cost of 360 photography. However the flagship phone of Sony also has come up with some new photography features of its own.

Carolina Milanesi’s take 

One of the consumer tech analyst, Carolina Milanesi ofCreative Strategies mentioned that since people nowadays are always with their phone in hand, vendors are aiming at adding on things to sell to them. The camera is one of the most used features however the price also matters because when a vendor is considering charging a price of $300 [£226] for a mere add on could lead to customers opting to by a separate device in itself.

Snap-on zoom

Lenovo's Moto Z phone with its snap on accessory will be a true judge to check customer’s willingness to up their budgets. A 10x optical zoom is provided by the Hasselblad True Zoom which has superior results in comparison normal smartphone cameras that make use of digital cropping. Users would be able to take Raw photos which enables users to alter the pictures better thus making them more detailed tan Jpegs by using editing software’s. The accessory cost is half of that of the Moto Z which is £199 however it is still cheaper than the camera accessory DxO One of the iPhone which is £399 and launched last year. Reviews claim that DxO One provides better quality in comparison to Hasselblad.

Steadier shots

Sony is emerging a camera add-on of its own - the life-logging Xperia Eye. However its major focus is on new smartphone, the Xperia XZ. The firm gloats it is the main handset camera to highlight five-pivot picture adjustment, which means it can make up for the gadget being up and down and left and right off its imprint notwithstanding pitch, yaw and roll.

Sony

This component was beforehand constrained to top of the line cameras, including Sony's Alpha extent. Be that as it may, in the phone, the adjustment is accomplished by adding a product impact to the recording as opposed to moving the sensor about, as the cameras do. Subsequently, it is less powerful.

Additionally, the phone can utilize the capacity just when recording video in 1080p superior quality, and not the 4K resolution it is prepared to do. Different developments incorporate the presentation of a laser-based self-adjust framework - a component spearheaded by LG's before G3 telephone - and new shading detecting tech incorporated with the sensor that helps it make white-parity judgements. "I trust it's a bit excessively specialized, making it impossible to resound with most purchasers," said Mr.Jijiashvili. What's more, when I saw the adjustment illustrated, it wasn't an awe-inspiring change. That is an issue for Sony.

Cinematic shots'

Drone-maker DJI is aiming phone owners with disposable income for its new stabilization system. A handheld support Osmo Mobile known as gimbal, makes use of motors controlled by computers which help in stabilizing the attached smartphone across three axes.

This device may be used on phones from Apple, Huawei and Samsung and ensures to capture cinematic shots. Costing £289, it is a lot more expensive than other rivals in the market such as Feiyu and Zhiyun. At the same time, Steadicam produces stabilizers of a lower cost which do not require batteries or motors. The original DJI Osmo which is approximately 60% more in price and comes with its own camera has been highly appreciated by those who wish to make more professional videos.

360-degree views

Though not the most advanced in the market, the camera add ons of Alcatel’s are low in terms of cost when it comes to virtual reality or 360-degree interactive photos. French firm Alcatel’s 360 camera has two versions, one is rectangular in shape, while the other is ball –shaped.

Both are used in the same manner by plugging it into the phone and they both comprise of the same features. It costs a mere 99 euros which is cheaper by more than fifty percent of rivals such as Samsung, LG and Theta. However customers would have to wait for at least another year until the add on is compatible with other handsets.

Alcatel makes used of the processor, memory and battery in the phone itself since it is connected to the phone via the MicroUSB port mentions George Jijiashvili of CCS Insight. Since both Facebook as well as YouTube are promoting 360-degree content there is a distribution to almost 1. 6 billion people.

Friday 2 September 2016

Google Takes on Uber With New Ride-Share Service


Uber

Google is working towards expanding its ride sharing services in San Francisco with the aid of its Waze app. This ride sharing service could result in the shutdown of competitors and market leaders such as Uber and Lyft. Waze is an app which updates the situation of the traffic as well as provides directions for drivers in real time.

Since May this year, google has been conducting a pilot ride sharing service with the aid of Waze which helps in connecting drivers as well as passengers in the vicinity of Googles headquarters in California. Google by the end of this year ensures that Waze carpooling would be available to anyone within the Bay Area at the click of a finger on the Waze app.

On the basis of the success of the service in the Bay Area, Google will look into further expanding their services to other cities in the country. However, this may result in a downfall of Googles rivals as the prices charged by Waze are comparatively lower.

Financials 

Unlike Uber as well as its nearest rival Lyft, Google at this moment is not taking a cut of the fares of the drivers. However this does not mean that they would not make any money in the near future, it’s all thanks and praise to googles rewarding advertising business that google does not need to make a cut from the drivers fare right away. Uber on the other hand is spending drastically on subsidies for the drivers.

The fares of the services would be modest thus probably nabbing on possible Uber clientele. However this model may fail in attracting professional drivers to switch companies.At this current moment when the pilot program is being conducted, Waze charges its passengers an outer limit of 54 cents per mile without any additional booking fee. The company has mentioned that it aims to have fares low enough that discourage drivers from operating as taxi drivers.

Same, same but different? 

The main aim of Waze is to be able to connect drivers to possible passengers that are heading in the same direction while the charges are mainly only to cover the expenditures made for fuel as well as for maintenance. The business model being used by Waze is completely different from that of Uber as well as Lyft, since both Uber and Lyft function with drivers using their own cars and offering rides with the end intention of achieving a profit.

Over the last couple of years, both Google as well as Uber have been competing against each other in the transport business which has been booming. Both the firms are working on developing driverless cars. Pittsburgh is where the road tests for these driverless cars are going to be conducted by Uber in a short while. Apart from driverless cars, Uber is also working on designing its very own mapping software. While both Uber as well as Lyft have an estimated worth of billions of dollars, they are both yet to turn a profit.

Thursday 1 September 2016

Here's How to Install Android Nougat on a Nexus Right Now

Android Nougat

Google’s Latest Version – Android 7.0 Nougat


Google had rolled out the latest version of Android 7.0 Nougat to some innovative Nexus devices and the over-the-air –update that added features such as improved multi-tasking as well as enhanced notification control would be out to user soon.

However if one intends to have a Nougat immediately, there is a method. Initially one would need to ensure that they have a compatible device which means either a Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, Pixel C tablet or a General Mobile 4G. You could then sign up for the Android Beta Program, utilising the same Google account the one to be used on the chosen device. Thereafter opt for the handset or tablet one would prefer to enrol and on accepting the terms, you could click Join Beta.

If your phone or tablet is not among them you could look out for Android Nougat release date article on the latest details regarding when one would get the update. A newer and high-profile device would probably get the taste of Nougat much sooner. The update is set to take place in stages and some of the carriers would be receiving the update later than the others.

Nougat – Plenty of New Features


It would be apparent when the update would be available for the device since Nougat would be pushed to devices as an over-the-air software update and one would get a notification when the same is available. Google had stated that it would take around 24 hours to send the updates to the device though the staff at Verge observed that it generally occurs within seconds.

You need to be connected to Wi-Fi for the download but overall it seems to be a very simple procedure. When Nougat is installed, one could get access to split-screen, which is a system-wide quick reply system for the apps as well as a virtual cat-catching game.

The upcoming handsets like the LG V20 and new Nexus phone would be among the first to launch with Android Nougat and avoid updating if one tends to get one of them. Either way, Android Nougat is worth it since it adds plenty of new features like the capabilities of replying directly to notifications without leaving the screen one may be on, together with new quick settings menu, besides multi-window mode enabling the user to run two apps simultaneously.

Improved Battery Efficiency/Doze Mode


Besides this, it also has improved battery efficiency with Doze Mode together with general performance enhancements. If considering on backing up the device, ensure that the built-in backup feature is enabled. To get this done, the user could go to `Setting > Backup & reset, and ensure that both `Backup my data’ and `Automatic restore’ are checked.

One could also back up photos by plugging the Android device to a PC through a USB and view the phone in Windows or Mac OS X, surf to the DCIM folder and duplicate the folder or its contents. To ensure that you have backed up everything, you could check out the comprehensive guide to backing up your Android device.