Samsung’s Gear Live was a surprise addition to the Android Wear lineup at Google I/O 2014, but with its roots firmly in the Tizen-powered Gear 2 and Neo it’s no great stretch for the Korean giant. As with Motorola and LG’s watches, Google and its partners are playing things close to its chest when it comes to actually playing with … Continue reading
At Google I/O, LG was finally ready to present and demonstrate its G Watch to the world. We’ve, met with the LG G Watch design team along with executives who flew in from Korea.
The G Watch is designed to be a practical smart watch. It is water and dust-proof (IP67), button-less, obey voice commands, and responds to simple motion gestures. It is easy to recharge thanks to a magnetic dock which makes it more palatable to use than the various connectors we’ve seen on the market thus far. Finally, it is always-on, which means that you don’t need to turn the display to see some information.
LG is coming relatively late to the game, but by biding their time and doing their homework, the company was able to deliver a product that benefited from the mistakes of others. The most important thing is battery life and ease of charge. The second most important thing is the ability to use standard watch bracelets from any manufacturer to make it your own.“LG HAS DONE ITS HOMEWORK”
We’ve always said that the most challenging part of wearable technology is to get people to wear it, and LG seems to have made a priority to address key pain points before adding fancier features.
In our experience, most wearable devices aren’t being used simply because they are never charged when you want to wear them. With the dock, the odds of having a charged device increases. Granted, it is not as “ideal” as wireless charging and this is a proprietary dock, but it is still a step forward when compared to physically connect something. With its 400 mAh battery capacity, LG expects the watch to have a standby time of 36 hours (that’s with the screen ON, in low-power mode)
The watch comes with an array of sensors, including a motion sensor which can be used for some fitness activities, but there is no heart rate sensor or other more sophisticated bio-sensors.
The G Watch is powered by a relatively powerful Snapdragon 400 processor that is also found in a number of full-size phones. LG uses a 1.65” display with a 280×280 resolution, which is sufficient to make thing clean and readable, but expect higher resolutions in the future. It will require an Android 4.3+ smartphone, but it should work with every brand, which is great.
The Android Wear voice-driven user interface looks very much like a smaller version of Google Now. It is clean and provides the same type of notifications that you can see on Google Now today. The metric for success is how often it will save you from pulling your phone out of your pocket / purse. We will use it in real-world conditions to see how good the idea really is, but for now, this sounds very interesting. What do you think? What should we try during our review?
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 |
| Display | 1.65-inch LCD IPS, 280×280 pixels |
| Memory | 512MB RAM |
| Storage | 4GB |
| Battery | 400mAh |
| Operating System | Android Wear (requires Android 4.3+ smartphone) |
| Size | 37.9 x 46.5 x 9.95mm |
| Weight | 63g |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Sensors | 9-Axis (Gyro, Accelerometer, Compass) |
| Color | White, Black + custom bracelets |
| Others | IP64 Dust and Water Resistant |
LG G Watch: On Our Wrists @ Google I/O , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
The system for registering, protecting, and finding durable solutions for asylum seekers in Indonesia risks becoming overburdened — potentially sparking unrest — as migrant arrivals continue and Australia’s maritime immigration policy deters boat journeys, officials and activists say.
“The capacity for the Indonesian system is already extremely weak, and there isn’t any genuine backing for improving it,” Ian Rintoul, a spokesman for the Refugee Action Coalition, a Sydney-based NGO, told IRIN. “What we’re going to see is more and more bottlenecking there, which only increases the pressure for asylum seekers to get on increasingly dangerous boat journeys.”
The detention center in Makassar, on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island, was holding 25 unaccompanied minors in one room (photo by Kristy Siegfried/IRIN)
As of March 31 the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Jakarta had registered 10,623 refugees and asylum seekers, 17 percent of whom are detained by the Indonesian government.
“Despite the high total, we have seen a marked decrease in the number of people registering with UNHCR so far this year,” said Manuel Jordao, UNHCR representative in Indonesia.
UNHCR does not track the number of migrant arrivals in Indonesia but the number of those who seek asylum by approaching the agency, or after being intercepted by or surrendering to Indonesian authorities. It is unclear what the impact of the Australian measures is on the number of asylum claims in Indonesia.
According to Jordao, about 2,000 new applications had been filed in 2014, amounting to around half of last year’s rate at mid-year. However, the pressure on the agency remains the same, he said.
“Last year approximately half of those who registered ended up being ‘no-shows’, meaning they did not show up for the rest of the process after they filed the application,” Jordao explained, admitting that waiting for the process could be frustrating for some.
The pace of processing claims has dragged in recent years.
Between September 2013 and January 2014, only 570 cases were submitted for resettlement, and 332 departed for third countries, leading many to opt for dangerous boat journeys to Australia in the hands of smugglers — in some instances leaving behind incomplete asylum processes.
“Some arrivals mistakenly see Indonesia as an easy departure point for Australia, and risk their lives on smuggling boats that too often sink along the way,” UNHCR said in a statement.
A military-led maritime-border-protection policy, “Operation Sovereign Borders,” launched in September 2013, has decreased the number of successful boat crossings from Indonesia to an all-time low in 2014, causing tensions between Indonesia and Australia. While Australia continues its policy of not admitting any asylum seekers who arrive by boat and Indonesia’s detention policy remains, activists and officials fear the situation in Indonesia could become increasingly tense.
Detected and Detained
Indonesia currently detains approximately 2,000 migrants and asylum seekers in 13 immigration detention centers (IDCs) around the country.
“The conditions vary from IDC to IDC,” said Jordao, “but many of them do not meet international standards.” He said there are around 300 children currently living in detention.
According to Jordao, the government of Indonesia is planning to construct a new IDC on the island of Kalimantan and has plans to house roughly 200 people there, making it the second largest such facility yet.
“This plan to construct a new facility indicates that detention of immigrants will remain as a problem in Indonesia,” Jordao said, adding that keeping people in such a “hopeless situation” makes them more likely to resort to violence.
An April 2013 brawl between Muslim and Buddhist Burmese detainees inside the Belawan IDC left eight people dead.
Alice Farmer, a children’s-rights researcher at Human Rights Watch who authored a 2013 report on the detention of migrant children in Indonesia, said the government’s decision to construct a new immigration detention center was disturbing.
“Given Indonesia’s record of violence and poor conditions in its detention facilities, it’s worrying that the government has chosen to build a new facility without any commitment to remedying such basic human rights issues,” Farmer told IRIN.
“Indonesia should be seeking alternatives to detention for these vulnerable groups, not building a new facility to lock up more people in violation of international law,” she said.
Detention, Deterrence Not Lasting Solutions
“Australia’s policy of deterrence has been successful so far in that their arrivals numbers are down,” admitted Jordao.
“But deterrence is not a sustainable solution,” he argued. “As long as the countries of origin continue to produce refugees, and they continue to choose Southeast Asia as a destination, the burden will remain in Indonesia and the rest of the region. What we need is a regional solution.”
UNHCR has criticized Australia’s policy, arguing, “When policies and practices are based primarily on deterrence, they can have harmful and, at times, punishing consequences for people affected, particularly families and children.”
And the harm for some begins while waiting in Indonesia, activists say.
“Asylum seekers, including children, face an uncertain future when they come to Indonesia. While waiting to hear about their refugee claim, they shouldn’t be behind bars,” said Farmer.
This post was originally published by IRIN Humanitarian News.
A small Pennsylvania community quickly rallied together to help a grieving family that lost two young girls in what authorities are calling a “freak” accident.
Ryleigh Freiwald, 8, and Macayla Freiwald, 6, died on Monday afternoon after a tree crashed down on top of the car they were riding in in Somerset County, CBS Pittsburgh reported. In the wake of the tragic accident, an online campaign has raised all of the funds needed to pay for the sisters’ funerals.
Jason Himebaugh, 33, the boyfriend of Ryleigh and Macayla’s mom, Ashley Lichty, lost control of the vehicle after the tree hit, and slammed into a nearby telephone pole. He, Lichty and Lichty’s other two daughters — Ciara, 5, and Lillie, 3 — were all injured in the crash, according to WTAE.
Ciara and Lillie were treated for minor injuries and were released from the hospital on Tuesday. Lichty, who is pregnant, and Himebaugh are recovering in the intensive care unit at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, according to WTAE.
Residents and authorities were stunned in the wake of the tragic accident.
“In my 23 years, I’ve never had anything like this here, this magnitude of this accident with children involved like that there,” Police Chief Louis Barclay told CBS.
But they were also determined to help the mourning family.
An online campaign, which is raising money to pay for Ryleigh and Macayla’s funerals, had collected more than $10,000 by Wednesday evening, exceeding the original goal.
The campaign has been aptly titled “Two little angels,” which is how family friends are remembering the two little girls.
“[They were] bubbly, very active, funny, adorable, will say anything that comes to their minds,” Susan Heslop and Katrina Pappas, told WTAE, “very lovable.”
Find out how you can help support Ryleigh and Macayla’s family here.
Imagine this: you’ve been with your partner for a while, and the initial excitement has faded. Feeling unsatisfied with your sex life, you begin to look for it outside your marriage.
A group of women joined HuffPost Live to discuss when, if ever, this is okay.
Laurie Mintz, author of “A Tired Woman’s Guide to Passionate Sex” explained to HuffPost Live’s Caitlyn Becker the conditions under which it would be acceptable to look for sex outside your relationship.
“If the couple has already made a commitment for monogamy, then the first thing is this communication, and that it has to be a very honest conversation, perhaps with the help of a therapist, where one person says to the other, ‘You know, I want sex, and if you aren’t going to give it to me, I want it elsewhere,’ and that other partner can then decide and they can talk it through.”
Twanna Hines, creator of Funky Brown Chick, a website that explores the sociology of sexuality and relationships, also joined the conversation and explained that a relationship can’t work if you and your partner aren’t compatible.
“Sexual compatibility is a form of compatibility, and if you two are completely out of sync and one person is always frustrated, which will just build into resentment, and the other person always feeling pressure, which will also build into resentment, that’s not a healthy relationship,” Hines said. “Dump their ass. Move on.”
Watch the full conversation about young couples in sexless relationships below:
What does it take for man to be arrested in Kuna, Idaho?
Apparently not breaking into a stranger’s house, flooding the kitchen and smearing feces on the floor.
Matthew Coomes, 25, is alleged to have done early Sunday morning in Tricia Gillaspy’s home, but the responding cops let him go with just two citations.
Gillaspy and her husband woke up and saw a nude stranger later identified as Coomes in the bedroom.
“My husband’s like, ‘What the heck is going on?’ And, I’m screaming in utter panic,” she told KTVB TV.
After surprising the couple, the suspect ran into another bedroom and put on shorts. Meanwhile, Gillaspy’s husband grabbed a gun.
“He’s like, ‘Get out of my house, now!’ But the guy wouldn’t leave. So, he puts the gun to his head, and says, ‘I said, get out!'”
Coomes left the house, but wouldn’t vacate the yard until officers arrived and drove him home.
As the Gillaspys surveyed the house, they saw that Coomes allegedly left his messy mark.
“He craps on my floor, and he must have been playing in it because he streaked it down the side of my walls,” Gillaspy said, according to KRMG TV.
The suspect also flooded the home by turning on a sink sprayer and shoving it into a drawer.
Coomes told police he didn’t remember going into the home or using a spray nozzle in the kitchen, though he admitted that he’d been drinking. He also couldn’t explain how feces got on the carpet or why a t-shirt and a pair of underwear he was wearing ended up on the floor of the home.
As bad as the whole incident was, Gillaspy is most upset that the responding officer did not arrest Coomes. The officer cited him with two alleged misdemeanors and drove him home.
“I go running out the door, and am like, ‘What are you doing!?’ I’m like, ‘This guy deserves to go to jail!'” she said, according to KREM TV. “It’s just frustrating that I’ve had to fight to stay safe in my own home.”
The Kuna Police lated admitted that Coomes probably should have been arrested. It’s possible that he may still be charged with a felony count of malicious injury to property, according to UPI.com.
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Make it so! A disc shaped like the flagship of the United Federation of Planets?!?! And it actually flies?!?!? How can any fan of Star Trek not want this?
At a wearble computing talk at Google I/O we learned that Android Wear notifications that pop up on your wristables will be available to Google Glass this Fall. It’s an obvious evolution that’ll sync notifications to all your devices.
Samsung’s Gear Live and LG’s G Watch have already been manhandled today at Google I/O 2014, and now it’s time to do the same to the third inaugural Android Wear device, the Moto 360. We’ve already heard much about the watch’s unique circular design…
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