Hasta La Gadget!

Summer was always great growing up because it meant no school. Summer is still great now because of barbecues, pool parties, the beach, outdoor bars, watermelon, hot dogs, chips, popsicles and the fact that we don’t have school anymore. But did you know you can make summer even GREATER by using these lifehacks from life wizard Grant Thompson. Fruit flies, sticky hands, warm water and more will be a thing of the past.

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An image of a MP4 being played back through Google Chrome and Chromecast.

(Credit: Droid Life)

Google’s Chromecast turns me on, but it doesn’t really compel me as I’ve got several streaming solutions in my home. At least, that’s what I thought until I read Thursday that Chromecast can play video files on any computer connected to the streaming dongle.

This is huge news for those who thought Chromecast is just another glorified streamer.

Related stories:

• Google TV: We’re not dead (yet)
• Chromecast: Google’s best weapon to breach the TV biz
• Google’s $35 Chromecast stick pushes Netflix, YouTube to your TV
• Google’s new Chromecast dongle plays hard to get

As pointed out by Droid Life, a Chromecast can play back local video files hosted on a computer runn… [Read more]

Related Links:
Chromecast: Google’s best weapon to breach the TV biz
Google’s new Chromecast dongle plays hard to get
Google disconnects Chromecast’s Netflix deal
Chromecast isn’t a Roku/Apple TV killer — but at $35, it doesn’t need to be
Super-hotcakes? Chromecast wait now up to 4 weeks




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Consumer Reports has designated the 2014 Chevrolet Impala as the top-rated sedan, marking the first time a domestic model vehicle has earned the title in the past two decades. This marked quite a turn around for the vehicle, which previously scored a low of 63, jumping to 95 this latest time around, wedging it firmly in the “Excellent” category.

Despite having been placed at the top of its respective category, it also beat out nearly every other vehicle Consumer Reports looked at, with only the BMW 135i and the Tesla Model S beating the latest Impala model. Until this year, the “Large Sedan” category in which the designation was given has been dominated by either European or Japanese cars.

Unfortunately for Chevrolet, despite having achieved a score of 95, the 2014 Impala still will not be given a “Recommended” title because of how new the vehicle is – the 2012 model didn’t receive a Recommended designation, either, due to how low its score was. Still, the vehicle is said to be found as competitive to cars that are priced $20,000+ over it, such as the Audi A6.

The high score was achieved in part by the car’s handling, with it being “agile,” with what is said to be excellent braking and “capable acceleration.” The sedan is said to feel like a luxury vehicle when driven, and to have several upsides besides how it handles, such as a massive trunk and intuitive controls.

Consumer Reports’ Director of Automotive Testing Jake Fisher said: “The Impala’s performance is one more indicator of an emerging domestic renaissance. We’ve seen a number of redesigned American models – including the Chrysler 300, Ford Escape and Fusion, and Jeep Grand Cherokee – deliver world-class performance in our tests.”

SOURCE: PR Newswire

2014 Chevrolet Impala named first American-brand top sedan in 20 years is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

After a spate
of recently-hacked phone nudes, it’s clear our advice to never shoot pictures of your own junk isn’t going to catch on. So if you’re going to do it, at least do it well. Here’s how to make your naked shots shine.

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This person’s phone is delivering the bad news that not much fat is currently melting away.

(Credit: NTT DOCOMO)

Tired of stepping on the scale to get a vague idea of whether all the hard work you put in at the gym is paying off? A new device developed in Japan could help people better gauge which activities are actually burning fat.

At 10 centimeters in length and weighing 4.4 ounces, the portable device measures acetone levels from the user’s exhale. (Elevated levels generally indicate that the body has begun to break down fat.) It then sends the results to a smartphone via Bluetooth or a cable within 10 seconds.

Acetone is expelled through tiny sacs called alveoli when we exhale, though it is also produced when fat is broken down. This means that breath acetone levels can also help diagnose and monitor diabetes, which the researchers are looking into as well.

But a new study testing the device, which was published July 25 in the Journal of Breath Research, revealed something interesting when it comes to burning fat. When researchers at the NTT DOCOMO Research Laboratories in Japan tested it on 17 healthy adult volunteers (11 men, six women… [Read more]

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