With red state Democratic Senators remaining skittish about embracing Obama’s gun proposals, at least two top Democratic donors are stepping forward and vowing to withhold any and all future financial contributions from any Democrats who don’t support the centerpiece of Obama’s plan: Expanded background checks.
GPS is burgeoning into a tool for more than just finding our way, such as choosing gears on a weekend drive. If one of Google’s newly published patent applications becomes reality, positioning might also fix our off-color photos. Its proposed technique would use GPS to automatically tune a camera based on both the local climate and whether or not you’re outdoors: the white balance and saturation could be different for a sunny day in the park than a rainy day stuck inside, for example. While automatic settings are already commonplace, the method could lead to more accurate output that reduces the urge to flick on a manual mode. There’s no guarantee that we’ll ever see the patent in a shipping product, but don’t be surprised if future Android smartphones produce uncannily good photography with little effort.
Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, GPS, Google
Source: USPTO
A Japanese man who allegedly tried to kill a woman he was stalking by putting poison in her shoes was arrested Thursday, police and reports said.
The woman, a colleague, did not die, but developed gangrene in part of her left foot, they said. It was not known to what extent she was injured or if she had to have any amputations.
Tatsujiro Fukasawa, 40, allegedly put hydrofluoric acid, a highly caustic chemical, in her shoes in December last year, a police spokeswoman and reports said.
He is believed to have obtained the chemical, which is used in oil refining or to dissolve rock, at his workplace.
Fukusawa has denied the allegation, Jiji Press said, citing local investigative sources.
Hydrofluoric acid can be absorbed through the skin into the blood, and can led to systemic failure, including heart attacks.
We all know that texting while driving is dangerous, but it turns out that almost half of all commuters in the US admitted to doing it anyway, according to a survey conducted by AT&T. Not only do 49% of commuters text while driving, but 98% said that texting while driving is dangerous and that they probably shouldn’t do it.
What’s perhaps more surprising is that out of all the teenagers surveyed, 43% of them admitted to texting behind the wheel, which is lower than the 49% of the older folks. Of course, that doesn’t make the situation better — 43% of teenagers is still 43% of teenagers who text while driving, so the statistics don’t look good either way.
However, with the advancement of technology, commuters are able to use hands-free systems if they want to use their phones while driving. However, as we’ve pointed out before, hands-free systems may not be all that much better. A study showed that hands-free systems can still distract drivers by taking their mind off the road.
It’s never a good idea to multi-task while driving. Even having your morning coffee can distract you from the road. It only takes a split second for something to happen, and by then it could already be too late. While you may think that you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to take a sip of coffee, your mind itself gets distracted and can reduce your reaction time significantly.
[via Android Community]
Nearly half of all commuters admit to texting while driving is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
According to a leaked build of the next-generation update to Windows 8 going by code-name “Windows Blue”, you’ll soon be able to sync not only some of your account information from computer to computer with your Microsoft account. What Within Windows describes here is a laundry list of elements you’ll be factoring in to your Microsoft account associations – everything from Bluetooth device recognition to Installed Apps. Soon you’ll be able to bring your account with you wherever you go, on whatever PC you happen to be logging in on!
With the rise of Cloud Computing we’ve seen more than a few businesses build their greatness on the idea that you should be able to access all of your digital bits and pieces from wherever you may be. With Windows Blue, you’ll be finding that not only your digital media and download approvals will be going with you, you’ll also have the ability to move from one PC to the next with your wireless accessories, too.
• Device Associations (including Bluetooth)
• Internet Explorer Tabs and Tracking Protection
• Picture Password
• File History
• Input Personalization
• Explorer Quick Links
• App Secondary Tiles
• Tethering
• Installed Apps
So say you’ve got a Bluetooth mouse that you love so very much, but you’re often switching from your home computer to your work computer, and your work computer is one that other people often use with their own login. With Windows Blue (the next big update for Windows 8), you’ll find that once you’ve logged in with your Microsoft account, you’ll be able to see your Bluetooth mouse right away – provided you’ve brought it with you.
Also revealed this week was the fact that Windows Blue will have your Microsoft account bringing your Start Screen panels in the same configuration you left them, again no matter what PC your working with. Sound like the cloud is bringing you with it yet?
Are you convinced by Windows Blue yet? Perhaps you’d like more information on this upcoming Windows 8 build? Have a peek at the timeline below for more details!
Windows Blue to bring cross-PC Bluetooth sync is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
My recently-purchased car has Bluetooth built-in to let me use my phone hands-free from the steering wheel, as do most cars coming off the line new these days. The one issue is that there’s no way to activate Siri using the car’s default controls, which is another unfortunately common thing for modern cars and aftermarket Bluetooth stereo kits. But Plano, Texas-based Beanco Technology offers a really simple solution to fix that called the Mobile Home, in the most minimalist way possible.
A lot of gadgets come through my office, and generally speaking, if they have terribly punny names like “Mobile Home” and come from a website that looks like this one, I’m inclined to pass on writing them up. But the Mobile Home impressed by how easily it added a much-need feature lacking from my in-car Bluetooth system, without requiring me to do anything more than pair a Bluetooth device to my iPhone (so long as you’ve already also paired your phone with your in-car system).
A small rectangular black box with what looks like a design copyright-infringing Home button, which acts just the same as the one built into your iPhone device.
Anyone with a car stereo or hands-free system, factory or aftermarket, that allows you to do everything except call up Siri from existing steering wheel-mounted controls.
Using either the metal clip mount, or the included Velcro attachment kit, you fasten it either to your sun visor or dash, effectively adding a nice big Home button to the in-car controls in a place that’s easy to reach without taking your eyes off the road. Just like with the iPhone itself, you long press the Mobile Home to bring up Siri, double-click to activate lock screen audio controls, and single-click to wake the display. The iPhone sees it as a Bluetooth keyboard, which means you can’t use the on-screen one when it’s connected, but that’s not something you’re ever supposed to do while driving anyway.
My main complaint with the Mobile Home is that it’s expensive, at an MSRP of $79 (though the “special launch price” of $59 seems to be pretty permanent). But if this is the one piece that’s missing from your ideal in-car hands-free setup, then it does the job better than most, and even incorporates things like an auto-off function that means the battery lasts between six months and a year under normal use conditions. Sometimes looks can be deceiving, and behind Beanco’s somewhat amateurish presentation, there’s a handy little gadget that does its job simply and well.
Who would have thought that the mobile operating system scene is big enough to accommodate yet another player to the market, where this time around, it would hail from China, courtesy of Hammer Technologies (no, this has nothing to do with the fictional Justin Hammer in the Iron Man film), where they have made attempts to push their latest smartphone operating system that is known as the Smartisan OS.
Of course, the Smartisan OS is not exactly a brand new operating system per se, but rather, it is a new user interface that is based on the Android platform, although the entire user interface as well as its core apps have been given a makeover. Just in case you figure out that this modus operandi is rather familiar, this is because Xiaomi’s MIUI also did the same, which means the Smartisan OS will play nice on current Android devices. While some might say that it is travesty for the Smartisan OS to be heavily inspired from iOS, the developers themselves refute this, touting that it has been simplified to include fewer icons per page, and lacks the kind of text that describes just which apps are associated with a particular icon. Will Smartisan OS catch on? I have my reservations, but stranger things have happened in the past.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Gameloft Announces Official Iron Man 3 Game For iOS And Android, Sprint And Softbank Promise Not To Use Chinese Equipment, Will Replace Huawei Products In Clearwire’s Portfolio, 
The Bamboobee Revolution Nostalgic model.
(Credit: Jacqueline Seng/CNET Asia)
We’ve seen bamboo speakers, laptops, stylii, iPhone cases, and even a concept car. Next up: a bicycle.
We have to be clear: This isn’t a bike for cycling enthusiasts or speed demons (there’s the Storck Aero2 IS TT bike for that), but for those who want something a little different from the crowd.
Singapore-based startup Bamboobee is taking a ride on Kickstarter and aiming to launch two series — the Revolution and the Sunny (named after co-founder Sunny Chuah).
The flagship Revolution series is a standard commuter bike that comes in six different models. The cheapest model comes with a $600 pledge, but sports the most basic specs — a single speed. As you top up, you get either better components such as a Nuvinci 360 hub with internal gears (the Revolution Nuvinci) or full bamboo accessories such as rims and mudguards (the Revolution Nostalgic).
[Read more]
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Originally, GPS was used by the military, and ever since the technology has made its way to the masses for peaceful and civilian use, we have seen our fair share of GPS navigation systems. Of course, these dedicated GPS navigation systems were once considered to be a “must have” device, but the proliferation of more affordable and yet capable smartphones with integrated GPS capability, alongside powerful mobile mapping software, rendered such dedicated GPS navigation devices more or less obsolete. Google has not forgotten about the functionality of GPS, and their recently published patent application has proposed the clever use of GPS to tune a camera automatically, depending on where you are, the local climate as well as your position – whether you are indoors or outdoors, so much so that the white balance and saturation will be configured accordingly to make shooting photos with your smartphone more or less a dummy-proof experience.
Of course, this remains a patent as at press time, and could very well be in the same boat for many more years to come, but I suppose the door is always open for Google to include this in future Android smartphones for a more intuitive photo taking experience.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Blackberry Q10 Currently Being Tested By 40 Carriers In 20 Countries, 55% Of Blackberry Z10 Customers Come From Other Platforms, According To CEO, 
Being a burn victim is definitely no fun at all, as it is an excruciatingly painful position to be in, not to mention if the case is a serious one, said patient would also be at risk from potential infections which could prove to be lethal. After all, our skin is the first line of defense against the many bacteria that hang around unseen to the naked eye, ready to pounce onto any open sore or wound, and serious burn victims generally have no skin to speak about, hence resulting in a severely weakened immune system. Modern medicine has yet to figure out a method to spot pathogens that incubate within the wound, but this does not mean other measures cannot be taken.
In fact, researchers over at the University of Bath in the UK have managed to embed a fluorescent dye into special nanoparticles that were ultimately developed to break open whenever it encounters toxic bacteria in the vicinity. When said dye was used in a wound dressing, it will become apparent whenever nasty bacteria are around, which shows how there is unwanted activity within the healing tissue, allowing medical personnel to take the relevant measures in double quick time.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: ASCO Introduces CancerLinQ To Help Find The Cure For Cancer, Robot Arm Breaks Off In Patient During Surgery, 
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