Hasta La Gadget!

Instagram has a lot of uses. It can be used for personal reasons, like to share photos with your friends and the Instagram community, or it can be used for business purposes where companies can post photos of their products for their customers to see. That being said, it seems that IKEA Russia had recently hired an ad agency for a marketing campaign that cleverly turned their Instagram account into a replica of IKEA’s website.

Essentially the idea took advantage of how Instagram lays out photos in a grid, so for  every grid they show a photo that is part of the website, and when put together resembles the actual thing, as you can see in the screen above. In fact it almost functions like a website too. For example if you were to click on the photos, they will open up and will be tagged with the appropriate products.

Viewers can then click the tags where they will be taken to another Instagram account filled with the product’s information, additional photos, and pricing, all of which has been designed to resemble IKEA’s website/catalog. We have to admit that this is a pretty clever way to using Instagram and if you’d like to check it out, head on over to the ikea_ps_2014 Instagram account, although you will probably want to use your phone because it won’t format correctly on a browser.

IKEA Russia Turns Their Instagram Account Into A Website , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

While the original DotA game was a mod made within Blizzard’s Warcraft 3, Valve’s DotA 2 has managed to take that concept and run with it, possibly turning it into a music bigger game than they had initially imagined, even though the original was pretty popular as it is. So how popular are we talking about?

Well back in 2011, Valve’s The International DotA 2 competition managed to raise $1 million, which was a lot back then, however it looks like with The International 4 which is taking place next week, it looks like Valve has managed to raise a whopping $10 million in prize money via The Compendium. Last we heard, which was back in May, the prize pool was sitting at $7 million, so that’s $3 million raised in 1 month!

For those unfamiliar with The International, it’s a DotA 2 competition. The prize pool will be funded by players, but instead of players simply throwing money into the pool, Valve has tried to make it as attractive as possible by offering up rewards. This is done by selling Compendiums where the pool is raised by $2.50 for every Compendium sold.

There will be community rewards for hitting each goal, and there will be also individual rewards for purchasing Compendiums, which will unlock by completing objectives, so in a way it’s sort of like a win-win situation for players watching the competition, and for those who are in the competition. The International will be taking place from the 18-21st of July which means there are still 3 weeks to go. We wonder how much more money Valve will be able to raise by then?

Valve’s DotA 2 Prize Pool Crosses The $10 Million Mark , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

There are plenty of chargers out there in the market today, but if you’re looking for something that suits you, perhaps the MOS Reach is a charger that you might want to check out. The device is currently a Kickstarter project trying to seek funding and what makes it special is that it will come with two USB ports to allow for USB charger, and a three pin plug slot for other devices.

Basically the MOS Reach is an extension charger of sorts. It will plug into your wall socket normally, but due to the extension, it can be brought up and placed on your desk. It will come with micro suction cups that allows it to be secured onto your desk, and if you’d rather mount it on the wall, it will also feature adhesive pads that will let you do that.

The sides of the MOS Reach are also magnetic, meaning that you will be able to stick your Lightning cables onto them if you’d rather not have wires dangling everywhere. The USB ports will feature 3.1 amps so it will be more than enough to charge multiple USB powered devices, like our smartphones and tablets.

Now we have heard many stories about unauthorized chargers in the past, so we’re not sure if the MOS Reach might be a good idea for some of your products. However the good news is that as far as the Lightning connector is concerned, its creator is working to ensure that it will be Apple Certified, so you can rest easy about that.

In any case the MOS Reach project has managed to exceed its goal of $50,000, but if you’d like to pledge anyway or learn more, head on over to its Kickstarter page for the details.

MOS Reach Charger Will Make It Easier To Charge Your Devices , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

WASHINGTON -– Environmental Protection Agency science advisers have recommended the agency strengthen ozone pollution standards in order to protect public health.

Ground-level ozone pollution — often referred to as smog — is created by chemical reactions between nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds emitted from factories, power plants and vehicles. The EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, in a letter to Administrator Gina McCarthy on Thursday, recommended that the agency toughen its standard by lowering the limit on the amount of ozone pollution to between 60 parts per billion and 70 parts per billion, from the current level of 75 parts per billion.

There is “adequate scientific evidence” to support lowering the limit to a range of 60 to 70 parts per billion, the letter said. But the scientists strongly advised against setting the limit at the higher end of that range, saying that 70 parts per billion “provides little margin of safety for the protection of public health, particularly for sensitive subpopulations.” People more sensitive to ozone pollution include those with asthma and other lung conditions, children and the elderly.

At 70 parts per billion, “there is substantial scientific evidence of adverse effects,” the science advisory board said, “including decrease in lung function, increase in respiratory symptoms, and increase in airway inflammation.” The scientists noted that the lower end of 60 parts per billion “would certainly offer more public health protection” than higher levels.

Public health groups on Friday said that the letter shows the EPA should set a strict standard.

“These independent experts recommended to EPA that a level of 60 parts per billion would protect public health and would clearly meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act to provide an adequate margin of safety,” said Janice Nolen, assistant vice president for national policy for the American Lung Association. “The Lung Association calls on EPA to heed their advice and propose a standard of 60 ppb to provide the required protection from dangerous and potentially deadly ozone.”

The fight over ozone rules dates back to the George W. Bush administration. The Bush EPA adopted new standards in March 2008 that set the limit for ozone pollution at 75 parts per billion -– a level that exceeded what the agency’s scientists had said it should be.

The Obama administration got to work revising those standards shortly after taking office, and in January 2010 released a draft proposal that suggested lowering the limit to between 60 and 70 parts per billion. But the final rules were delayed multiple times.

The rule was again delayed in September 2011, when President Barack Obama directed the EPA to withdraw the proposal and wait until 2013 to update the rule as part of his effort to reduce “regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty.”

The environmental groups Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club, American Lung Association and Natural Resources Defense Council sued EPA to force it to produce a new ozone rule. In April, a federal judge ruled that the EPA had to issue a draft proposal by Dec. 1, 2014, and a final rule by Oct. 1, 2015. The letter from the science advisory board is intended to guide the agency in developing the new rule.

“The health community has been calling for a standard of 60 parts per billion or lower for a long time,” David Baron, a managing attorney at Earthjustice, told The Huffington Post Friday. “The evidence now is even stronger that we need that level of protection, or even something more protective, to avoid these kinds of harms to asthmatic kids, seniors and others who are at risk. … It’s time to set the standard at the level that’s going to protect people’s lungs.”

TURLOCK, Calif. (AP) — Police in Central California said on Friday they found a family of four dead inside a home in what appeared to be a murder-suicide.

Officers made the discovery at the home in Turlock around 10 p.m. Thursday after a family member called to report that the four had not been seen or heard from, Turlock police said. The victims are a 78-year-old man, his 69-year-old wife, and their two adult sons, aged 39 and 42, Turlock police spokeswoman Mayra Lewis said. Their names were not immediately released.

The bodies were found in various places in the house, and Lewis said Turlock fire officials were investigating several parts of the home burned in what appeared to be attempted arson.

Lewis said a preliminary investigation has determined the four died in a murder-suicide, although it was not immediately clear how they died. She said the four had been dead at least 24 hours before the time they were found.

Officials working in the home Friday wore gas masks because of an initial report of a gas smell in the home, but Lewis said that may have been decomposition. Lewis said this isolated incident posed no danger to the community.