Our friend Casey Neistat made a wonderful documentary for the New York Times, he went and compared the actual calories of food to what’s listed on the nutrition facts. And guess what? More times than not, food had more calories than what was advertised. More »
The flu, as many are unfortunately aware, hit especially hard this year, and Google’s Flu Trends map only confirmed and then heightened our mucus-coated fears. Or so we thought. As Nature points out, a comparison between Google Flu Trends (which bases its map off flu-related searches) and traditional surveillance data showed that our beloved search engine had grossly overestimated the extent of the flu epidemic. More »
It always seemed like a scare tactic that fat fearing parents would tell their sugar loving kids: if you drink too much Coke, you could die! (okay, maybe in a not so morbid way) But a woman actually died from drinking too much Coke. The coroner blamed the 30-year-old woman’s 2.2 GALLON a day Coke problem—as in Coca Cola—as the reason for her death. More »
Fitbit, one of the more popular fitness tracking platforms, has updated its Android app with a couple of new features that users will definitely want to take advantage of. The new app now supports Bluetooth 4.0, for which wireless syncing capabilities are now possible. It’s a feature that’s still in beta mode, however, and only supports a handful of devices so far, specifically only the Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II.
To get wireless syncing up and running, all you need to do is tick the “Background Sync” option in Settings. From there, you’ll no longer need your computer to sync, which is something that many developers are moving towards as we slowly transition to being a post-PC world. The improved Bluetooth support is also said to cut down on battery life a bit, something that is certainly always welcome.
Aside from the wireless syncing, the update also comes with push notifications, as well as a new distance meter on the dashboard. You now also have the ability to create and edit silent alarms. It seems like the update is a good one for Fitbit users, but again, you’ll have to have a Galaxy S III or Note II in order to update.
As for other Android device owners, we’re not sure when Fitbit will begin to support more devices with this new update, but they say that further compatibility will be “available shortly.” In the meantime, Start saying goodbye to the old ways of syncing, because soon you won’t need your computer for it any longer.
[via Android Community]
Fitbit for Android updates with Bluetooth 4.0 support and wireless sync is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
More hardware startups are looking at everyday tools that have been relatively unchanged for a long time, like the HAPIFork we saw at CES this year. Today, a new startup called Wayki is adding its innovative toothbrush design to the list of gadgets hoping to improve the lifestyle of users by adding a modern tech spin to an age-old tool.
The Wayki is a toothbrush that doubles as an alarm clock, but rather than just being a roughshod combination of the two, it uses the alarm function to reinforce toothbrushing action and hopefully ingrain some good health habits for users. The alarm can’t be snoozed, and it can only be deactivated by inserting the Wayki brush head into the base, which in turn triggers the two-minute brush timer (I always thought you were supposed to go for five minutes per session, but that might be overkill, according to Wayki).
Wayki advertises its lack of a snooze function as a feature, designed to address studies that show delaying that morning start can lead to bad sleep cycles and lower productivity throughout the day. Dave Hawkins, Wayki’s lead designer, says that his own personal experience with putting off his morning start is what prompted the inclusion of that particular feature.
“I’ll often find myself tapping the snooze button, regret it later, and in a sudden hurry forget to clean my teeth before staring at my screen for the rest of the day,” he explained in an email interview. “Even when I remember, I’ll be too impatient to wait for the full 2 minutes.”
Hawkins thinks that technology can best help individuals with improving wellness and health by taking away any remaining friction in the process, essentially making things automatic for users, and the Wayki is designed around that principle.
“I think the best products do the thinking for you, and with brushing being a chore I realised that the most efficient approach was going to be removing the decision-making process from the equation. “Mental weight is a bigger challenge than physical weight. It’s far less apparent that the weight is even there.”
They Wayki is seeking £50,000 (around $80,000 US) in funding, using Selfstarter, the open source crowdfunding platform developed by Lockitron to help get its own project off the ground. Pre-orders go for £49 ($77 US), or 50 percent off of the anticipated retail price, and the first devices are expected to ship in the next three to five months. While Wayki is initially only available for shoppers in the U.K., Hawkins says that it should be available worldwide in time for its official launch.
Just before the turn of the new year, fitness app RunKeeper updated its iOS app with a complete redesign and new sharing features. This time around, the company is giving some lovin’ to Android users just in time for Valentine’s Day. The company has released an update for its Android app, which includes an all-new design, as well as some new features.
The new interface is very similar to the iOS version, and it’s ultimately much simpler and more inviting than the previous look, which should make the app easier to use for users who are new to RunKeeper. The dev team even used Google’s official design guidelines for Android, so the app has a more-unified look that makes it fit in with the Android OS.
As for the new features, the updated app includes “in-activity splits,” which shows your average pace per mile throughout your workout, as well as “more robust” audio cues that improve the real-time coaching abilities in the app. There are also workout reminders, which allow you to schedule workouts to make sure you stick with your routine.
Other than that, there’s a new “Me” tab, which is a central place where you can view your progress and see how far along you are with your goals. You can also set up personal records and keep track of your improvement over time. RunKeeper is a free download, and the latest update is available now in the Google Play store.
RunKeeper for Android updates with all-new design is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This week the folks at Jawbone have made their UP band a more social device with an update to its iOS app and connectivity with Facebook Open Graph. The Jawbone UP device itself is out on the market now and has been for some time – $129 for a lovely little strap that fits around your wrist and makes you a much more responsible fitness fanatic. This set of updates includes two major pushes for an active lifestyle with Multiple Sleep Alarms and the ease of connecting with your friends on Facebook – like a snap!
The iOS app update is live right this minute for those of you working with a Jawbone UP and an iPhone. This update is free, of course, and includes the two bullet-points we’re having a chat about here, starting with Multiple Sleep Alarms. Where before this week your alarm system was a bit more limited, you’re now able to set up multiple Smart Sleep alarms with 10, 20, and 30 minute custom wakeup windows.
With Facebook Open Graph integration you’ll be able to share your UP events and accomplishments with all of your best Jawbone buddies. Sharing via Facebook includes data from your workout plan and action, sleep schedule, food, drink, and everything in-between. Perhaps most important of all in this situation is the fact that your sharing will be selective – only the items you want to share will be shared, this as Jawbone notes avoiding “clogging up your Timeline” as it were.
The images above and below show how your newly Facebook-friendly Jawbone UP device and iOS app will be working with you through the future. The integration you’re seeing here is all up to you, you choose how much or how little you share or if you share anything at all, and of course you can take the device off your wrist at any time – be free! And make sure you don’t sleep through that Jawbone alarm – consider wrapping it around your ear, perhaps (at your own risk!)
Jawbone UP app update connects you to Facebook Open Graph is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
For the first time, scientists have produced human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) using 3D printing. They’re utterly amazing, and they could be used to reproduce kidneys, hearts, and other organs in the future. More »
Amiigo, a company that specializes in developing wearable sensors, recently launched a project on Indiegogo. Their product, called the Amiigo Bracelet, is a sweat-proof fitness bracelet and shoe-clip that can measure and track workouts as well as the user’s heart rate and calories burned. The Amiigo bracelet takes it further by also monitoring the user’s blood oxygen levels and skin temperature. What separates the Amiigo bracelet from other fitness bands in the market today is the kind of experience it offers. The company says that the bracelet offers a more personalized fitness tracking experience because it can detect exactly what a user is doing and how the body is responding to the user’s movement. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Infrascanner 2000 Does Rapid CT Screening , Ricoh Omnidirectional Camera , 
Whether you’re a football fan or not, the beautiful thing about the Super Bowl is that there’s a little something for everyone. Sports fans can smash things free of judgment, pop culture junkies can drool over commercials, misanthropes get every reason possible to hate their fellow man, and junk food enthusiasts find their Mecca in every living room they enter. Unfortunately for the latter, their day in the sun is about to get a little darker thanks to The Greatist’s little guide to appropriate food portions. More »
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