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Tag: Technology

  • iPad Mini 3: Most Underwhelming Apple Update Ever?

    The iPad Mini 3 is being touted as, at best, a very anti-climactic update, and at worst, a brutal evisceration of the iPad Mini line.

    The iPad Mini 3 was doomed to struggle in the shadows of the new iPad Air 2 and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but its cool reception has some wondering just how long Apple can keep the iPad Mini line afloat.

    “I think Apple is either being very lazy, or it’s throwing the iPad Mini under the bus,” Sebastian Anthony, senior editor of ExtremeTech, told Foxnews.com.

    He added, “The most likely reason is…[it’s] trying to create a bit of a gap between the products. There’s now a clearer [separation] between the iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3, and iPhone 6 Plus,” he said.

    It’s quite possible that Apple is ready to follow Steve Jobs’ sense of direction and go ahead with letting the iPad Mini 3 lead the way to making the iPad Mini obsolete.

    Jobs said back in 2010, “The 7-inch tablets are tweeners, too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad.”

    He just might be on to something. The new iPhone 6 Plus, with its 5.5-inch screen, kind of does away with the need for the iPad Mini 3. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus belong essentially to that ever-growing category of “phablet”, after all.

    Bob O’Donnell, Chief Analyst of Technalysis Research marketing research firm in California, explained, “The Mini 3 is a very modest update because Apple recognizes that larger smartphones like the iPhone 6 Plus are likely to cannibalize the iPad Mini.”

    Besides, as far as budget-conscious consumers are concerned, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to spring for the new iPad Mini 3, at around $400, when you can now get the iPad Mini 2, which is entirely adequate, for around $300. The new iPad Mini 3 has a gold trim option and Touch ID, but beyond that, no stellar improvements over the iPad Mini 2.

    What do you think? Is the iPad Mini 3 worth spending the extra money on?

  • iPhone 6 Plus Pre-orders May Be Delayed By Weeks

    The iPhone 6 Plus will go on sale September 19th, but was available for pre-order on Thursday.

    Of course, Apple set a new record for pre-order sales and has placed a strain on the existent supply of iPhone 6 Plus models.

    The iPhone 6 Plus now shows a delivery time of up to a month, but if you can settle for the regular iPhone 6, you could have it on the September 19th release date.

    If you order the new iPhone 6 Plus through Verizon Wireless, AT&T or Sprint, shipment could be delayed for six weeks or more.

    Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said, “Response to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been incredible, with a record number of pre-orders overnight. Pre-orders are currently available online or through the Apple Store App.”

    This delay has caused some pretty crazy secondary market sales of rights to a pre-ordered iPhone 6 Plus. In many cases, rights to a pre-ordered iPhone 6 are worth as much as double the sticker price.

    In some other extreme cases, the case is much crazier.

    One eBay auction for an unlocked 128-gigabyte gold version of the iPhone 6 was bidding at $1,625 on Friday afternoon. That is compared with a face value of $949 if you order it and wait for a few weeks.

    Sometimes, when people just have to be the first with the new toy (we all know that guy), there is no room for logic. The result is that some people who buy in bulk to resale will be very successful at taking other people’s money in return for the privilege of being the first in the office with the new iPhone 6 Plus.

    Or you could hang on to that iPhone 5S for a few more weeks and pay a normal price.

  • Google Acquires Lift Labs To Help Those With Parkinson’s

    Google announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Lift Labs, with the team joining the tech giant’s “moonshot” branch Google[x].

    Lift Labs makes a spoon that uses a stabilization technology to counter tremors for those with Parkinson’s disease. Here’s a look:

    “Their tremor-canceling device could improve quality of life for millions of people,” says Google in a Google+ post. “We’re also going to explore how their technology could be used in other ways to improve the understanding and management of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.”

    Lift Labs said, “We’re excited to be joining Google[x], Google’s moonshot factory. We will continue to sell our Liftware system, and Google will enable us to reach even more people living with Parkinson’s or essential tremor who could benefit from using tremor-canceling devices every day.”

    Lift Labs will join Google Glass, self-driving cars, Project Loon Internet balloons, glucose level-checking contact lenses, and the recently unveiled Project Wing delivery drones at Google[x].

    Last month, Google[x] acquired Gecko Design. Last year, it acquired Makani Power.

    Image via YouTube

  • iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus Features

    The iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus were debuted by Apple today to a very excited fan base.

    The new iPhones are bigger, as was rumored, now with the option of a 4.7 or 5.5 inch screen.

    These larger screens pack impressive resolutions of 1334 x 750 and 1920 x 1080 respectively.

    But size is not the only thing that the new iPhones can boast about.

    CEO Tim Cook lauded the devices as “the biggest advancement in the history of iPhone” and he doesn’t seem to have been yanking chains.

    The new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus now have lots of new features that make it stand out in a sea of smartphones. Some of the new features are beyond impressive.

    For example, the 5.5 inch display on the new iPhone 6 Plus now has the capability to support split-pane views when held in landscape position.

    Both models have a new eight megapixel camera with new technology to help capture the best shot possible. The iPhone 6 has software-based image stabilizing and the iPhone 6 Plus takes it a step further with optical image stabilization.

    The stabilization, along with the new gyroscope and the M8 processor, will allow higher quality pictures to be taken in low-light situations.

    Also a great new feature on the new iPhones is the implementation of Near Field Technology which will be tied to a new service called Apple Pay. So now, if you have a new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, you can pay with your phone and leave your cards at home!

    That’s pretty cool, but admittedly a little scary, for those of us that are paranoid about information security.

    However, according to Apple’s senior vice president of internet services and software, the transactions will take place between users and the place where they’re making payments and Apple won’t collect the data about actual purchases.

    Another fun feature are the new graphics that are 20 percent faster.

    Tons of cool new features for the new iPhones! The new iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus come in gold, silver or space gray, just like its predecessor. iPhone 6 is priced at $199 for 16 GB, $299 for 32 GB and $399 for 64 GB with a two-year contract.

    The iPhone 6 Plus begins a little higher at $299, $399 and $499 at the same storage options and with the two-year contract.

    It’s a great day for Apple lovers!

  • Laptop Sales See New Revival After Decline Of Tablet

    Laptop Sales See New Revival After Decline Of Tablet

    Laptop sales have been increasing lately with the decline of tablet sales. The tablet, once touted as the laptop killer, is slowly sinking in popularity.

    The reason behind the increase in laptop sales is said to be partly due to Microsoft stopping its support for the Windows XP operating system.

    Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly stands by this idea as the driving force behind increasing laptop sales.

    He said on Wednesday, “The tablets boomed and now are crashing. The volume has really gone down in the last several months. But I think the laptop has something of a revival because it’s becoming more versatile.”

    With the introduction of devices like the Microsoft Surface, the lines between tablet and laptop became somewhat blurred. This has been a popular option, especially for students. Who wants to carry around both?

    Joly said of the combination, “So, with the two-in-ones, you have the opportunity to have both a tablet and laptop, and that’s appealing to students in particular. So you have an evolution. The boundaries are not as well defined as they used to be.”

    The growth in laptop sales isn’t astronomical, but it is enough to make one not see them as down for the count.

    Joly says part of the problem with the tablet, which is causing its sales to decrease and laptop sales to rise, could be that there hasn’t been a great need for replacement if you have a tablet.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lay532mncvg

    “As a consumer. I think replacement is the issue. The penetration has gone so fast that it’s reaching an amazing degree and therefore it becomes more of a replacement market, and the level of innovation in the past year has not been as great as it had been in the previous two years. So, there again, the jury’s out in terms of what’s going to happen, because it’s going to depend on what innovation comes to market. But you need a reason to replace.”

    What do you think? Are you ready to ride the wave of increasing laptop sales and give up your tablet? Or do you still love the convenience and portability of a tablet too much?

    Image via YouTube

  • Google Deals With Novartis To Further Develop Its Smart Contact Lenses

    Earlier this year, Google announced its smart contact lenses aimed at helping diabetics keep glucose levels under control. The company has now reportedly found a partner to to make them.

    Reuters is reporting that Google has struck a deal with Novartis to develop the contact lenses and better compete in the blood-sugar tracking market. But they’re not stopping there. According to the report, Novartis will also aim to treat presbyopia, a condition in which eye focus diminishes with age.

    Also as part of the deal, the report says, Novartis’ Alcon eyecare unit will continue to develop and commercialize Google’s contact lens technologies.

    The project’s co-founders Brian Otis and Babak Parviz had this to say about the project back in January:

    Over the years, many scientists have investigated various body fluids—such as tears—in the hopes of finding an easier way for people to track their glucose levels. But as you can imagine, tears are hard to collect and study. At Google[x], we wondered if miniaturized electronics—think: chips and sensors so small they look like bits of glitter, and an antenna thinner than a human hair—might be a way to crack the mystery of tear glucose and measure it with greater accuracy.

    We’re now testing a smart contact lens that’s built to measure glucose levels in tears using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor that are embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. We’re testing prototypes that can generate a reading once per second. We’re also investigating the potential for this to serve as an early warning for the wearer, so we’re exploring integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed above or below certain thresholds. It’s still early days for this technology, but we’ve completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype. We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease.

    Parviz’s vision for what smart contact lenses can do stretches far beyond the applications mentioned above. He gave a talk a couple years ago about what the technology might one day be able to accomplish, and we’re talking some pretty cool, futuristic stuff. Ideas mentioned include: gaming, virtual reality, augmented reality, interfacing with mobile, supervision, night vision, and multi-focus.

    Keep in mind, Parviz is the main guy behind Google Glass. He also just happened to jump ships to Amazon.

    Terms of Google’s deal with Novartis were not disclosed.

    Image via Google

  • Google’s Robots To Get Better At Squeezing Into Tight Places

    Last year, Google bought Boston Dynamics, the robot makers who created such nightmare-inducing machines as this:

    …and this:

    …and this:

    Now, the company is working with researchers from MIT to add some more flexibility into the mix (via 9to5 Google):

    I’ll let your imagination run wild on its own with that.

    So, just to be clear, they have robots that move like and resemble the shape of humans, robots that can run as fast as cheetahs, robots that can climb walls, and robots that can jump ridiculously high, just to name a few. Now they’re adding flexibility and squeezing into small places into the mix. Let’s just put it this way. People are already talking about Terminator 2’s T-1000 in relation to this.

    Image via YouTube

  • Smoke Detectors: Glitch Is Fixed And Nest Is Buying Dropcam

    The Nest Protect smoke detector is back after a two month hiatus – at a reduced price.

    Previously $130, Nest’s alarm can now be purchased for $99 as the company has eliminated the faulty feature which ultimately led to its recall. Nest’s Protect + CO was taken off the market in April when its salient wave feature (which allowed alarm silencing via wave of a hand) was found to be flawed. Upon investigation, it was learned the detector could be inadvertently inactivated by mere movements around the unit – inducing a potential delay of alert in event of fire or carbon monoxide leak .

    Thus, 440,000 affected detectors were recalled and a reduced price version (which lacks the original problem causing wave function) now takes their place. For those Nest customers who bought the original device, the feature has likely been remotely disengaged by the company. The bad news is that there’s no more “wave feature”. The good news? It appears that you can get refunded the price disparity here. Plus, there’s the whole not dying from undetectable gas benefit (even if it’s just until you buy a different brand).

    In other Nest news – Google bought Nest this year and Nest is now buying Dropcam. (Nesting dolls?)

    Nest’s Matt Rogers states:

    “Once the deal closes, we’ll incorporate Dropcam into how we do business at Nest. That includes how we handle everything from customer support to customer privacy. Like Nest customer data, Dropcam will come under Nest’s privacy policy, which explains that data won’t be shared with anyone (including Google) without a customer’s permission. Nest has a paid-for business model and ads are not part of our strategy. In acquiring Dropcam, we’ll apply that same policy to Dropcam too.”

    Despite insistence that the company will largely operate independently, there have been concerns about general privacy and ease of access for hackers alike. Many see the technology as beneficial for monitoring elderly loved ones conveniently from a remote location, while others might eschew it as they recall the family who woke to hear a stranger’s voice yelling at their infant through a hacked nanny cam one night.

    What are your thoughts on smart-home devices?

    Wi-fi for the win? Or too Orwellian?

    Image via Youtube

  • Star Trek-Inspired Tractor Beam Is Real

    If you ever watched Star Trek, you probably wished you had a tractor beam of your own. You may have even dreamed about how you would use it. Would you have used it to pull your car into the garage? Maybe you would use it to let the dog in at night?

    Your dreams of owning a tractor beam may not be as farfetched as you previously thought, because scientists recently created one.

    The tractor beam uses sound waves to move objects and was created by scientists at Dundee University. The team that designed the tractor beam was able to make it move a hollow triangular object forward 1cm,

    Dr Christine Demore, of the university’s Institute For Medical Science and Technology (IMSAT), said: ‘We were able to show that you could exert sufficient force on an object around 1cm (about 0.4in) in size to hold or move it, by directing twin beams of energy from the ultrasound array towards the back of the object.’

    The team was able to use an ultrasound device that is already clinically approved for use in MRI-guided focused ultrasound surgery to move and even rotate the object. They claim that their tractor beam is the strongest one ever created and they plan to continue to develop it to make it even stronger.

    Dr. Demore said,

    “The concept has been there for a long time. It took a couple of years to find the right pieces and get them together, with lots of other research going on. Our previous work on the sonic screwdriver led to this.We can do other shapes and sizes, but it was the best shape to demonstrate what was happening.”

    Next, the team will focus on shaping the tractor beam to move different types of objects. The beam needs to be shaped to match its target and different shaped targets will require different shaped beams.

    The development of the tractor beam will take some time to perfect, but the team believes their results will lead to advancements in ultrasound-based techniques.

    How would you use a tractor beam if you had one?

    Image via YouTube

  • Here’s Larry Page’s TED Talk

    Here’s Larry Page’s TED Talk

    Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page participated in a TED talk by way of interview by Charlie Rose last week at TED2014. He discusses his vision for the company, which includes things like Internet balloons (which it already has) and aerial bikeways. He talks about the company’s acquisition of artificial intelligence company DeepMind, and why he’d consider giving his money to Elon Musk.

    “He wants to go to Mars,” Page says. “That’s a worthy goal. We have a lot of employees at Google who’ve become pretty wealthy. You’re working because you want to change the world and make it better; if the company you work for is worthy of your time, why not your money as well? We just don’t think about that. I’d like for us to help out more than we are.”

    The video page has the transcript if you’d rather consume it that way.

    Image via YouTube

  • The Smart Watch: The Good and The Pretty

    The smart watch! What’s your favorite one? Oh, you don’t know what a smart watch is? Understandable.

    While it’s pretty obvious that sooner or later there would be a smart watch since there are smart-everything-elses, the whole smart watch phenomenon hasn’t blown up as fast as those iDogs and such. Nevertheless, they do exist, and people use them. The watches have apps; some are helpful, some are not. Here are the top three that you might want to look into:

    1. The Martian Smart Watch
    The Martian Smart Watch concentrates on elegance; you may have noticed that many smart watches look like mini computer monitors on your wrist. While it may have less features than the next two watches, its smartphone camera control, hands-free voice command and alerts display make it effective as a smartphone extension of sorts.

    2. META Watch
    The META Watch is a highly-anticipated smart watch still in development. Designed with the help of former Vertu luxury phone designer Frank Nuovo, this smart watch uses a digital screen but makes sure that it stays sleekly high-fashion. Apparently. many smart watches have been the victim of crappy apps and features for the sake of calling it a smart watch, and this phone does not fall into that category while still being fashionable.

    3. Pebble Smart Watch
    If based just on popularity, the Pebble Smart Watch is the winner. Pebble used a Kickstarter and set a record for the funding it received, and it served as an excellent marketing tool as well. Critics agree that it is a great product, but the software seems to have no use at all. Sort of like wearing one of those yellow LiveStrong wristbands pre-Armstrong Scandal. Software upgrades, however, are surely soon to come.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Home Security Systems: Affordable Advanced Options

    If you’re looking for more home security options than ADT or the other Big Guy security systems, you may not have to settle for a drooly dog and the Batman signal– there are more affordable options for your piece of mind.

    There is a new generation of DIY security options that you should probably learn about– these can be used with apartments, so easy to install that you can do it yourself, and there are no contracts and often no monthly fees. You can control the devices from your tablet or smartphone unlike many of the traditional Big Boys, and was the fact that they are affordable mentioned?

    Here are the top three along with their prices and features:

    iSmartAlarm
    This security system is known as one the first and best “smart security systems.” It starts at the $199 of most of these security systems, along with an optional camera for $149 more. The basic system offers motion sensors, contact sensors for doors and windows, panic sirens and more. The optional camera allows you to view your home from your smartphone or tablet and can automatically take pictures upon a break-in.

    Canary
    The Canary of Indiegogo fame starts at $199 and has no use for further add-ons; it has a night-vision-ready camera, temperature, motion and humidity sensors, and an adaptive technology that learns your household movements while allowing smartphone access. According to its creators, it will be available May 2014

    Viper Home
    Viper Home is known for its consistency, and their basic package has no extra fees besides the optional $9.99 a month for an added camera. The fees make it a bit look less than when compared to the fee-free systems, but its integration with automotive security (these are the same guys that make the car alarm that audibly warns “Protected by Viper, stand back”) and the awesome ability to work during power outages put it on top.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Touchscreen Gloves: Many Options For Tech-Savvy Handwear

    Due to the winter storms that have been making their way all across the United States these past few weeks, most people have opted to bundle up before venturing out, even for small amounts of time. Coats, hats, and scarves can make for a warmer experience, but tend to add bulk and weight that make it hard to move. Another problem plaguing folks as the winter weather wreaks its havoc; gloves that make it incredibly hard to text or snapchat your friends about how cold it is when you have a touchscreen phone.

    Most retailers have hopped on this problem by making available touchscreen-compatible gloves. These nifty gloves can be picked up almost anywhere, ranging from places like Amazon.com and L.L. Bean to your local Walmart. This style of tech-savvy glove has become incredibly popular, even going so far as to make appearances of morning talkshows.

    Some people aren’t willing to shell out the cash to buy a pair of touchscreen gloves, however. Or, perhaps they don’t want to exchange a pair of old, well-loved gloves for a new set. These same folks still want to use their touchscreens, though, so they have to summon up some ingenuity. One such example of this creative problem-solving lies in this Kickstarter campaign, created by Tony Yu. Yu has created a liquid solution that can be applied to any pair of gloves in order to make them touchscreen-compatible. The Kickstarter has already far exceeded its goal of $10,000, but still has five days left until the crowd funding ceases.

    Another solution that’s appealing for the more crafty among us lies in touchscreen thread, which can be found online on Etsy and in your local craft supply store. These conductive threads can be knit or crocheted into the fingertips of handmade gloves, or can be sewn in to already existing pairs of gloves.

    Touchscreen gloves are a definite must-have for any tech-savvy person during the winter months, and with so many options available, there’s sure to be a solution that works just right for you.

    Image via Focalprice.

  • HTC One-Two Punch: Bigger,Faster…More Everything

    The “Quietly Brillant” brand has been steadily growing in popularity, providing some of the first large screen smartphones along with its unique technology. HTC’s One has sealed the deal to make it one of the top phones of last year, and according to CNet, it looks as if they have no plans to fall behind with their newest One dropping soon.

    The name is under wraps; some sources believe it is called the M8, and others believe it will simply be called the HTC One 2. Although none of those names are quite spiffy, the speculated specs of the upcoming phone sure are.

    Firstly, HTC One’s Snapdragon 600 chip will be upgraded to at least an 800 to remedy the main, and often only, complaint of HTC One reviewers. A RAM upgrade has also been promised to further push the power. HTC One-Two’s screen is reported to sport a .3 inch increase to make it a solid five inches. The most impressive perk of the updated One is the rumored two rear camera feature along with an upgrade of its patented Ultrapixel camera. This means clearer pictures that just might surpass- or at least rival- the superior iPhone camera.

    HTC is holding details of this phone under close wraps– they haven’t even officially told us when they will release the phone. More details will hopefully be shared during the Mobile World Congress held at the end of this month in Spain, but the popular opinion is that the phone will be released in March.

    Image via Wiki Commons

  • Google Contact Lenses Are Now Official

    We reported two years ago that Google contact lenses were likely on the way, after Glass was unveiled, and finding that one of the engineers had previously given a talk discussing such devices.

    Now, Google has actually announced smart contact lenses. It’s not what you think though. It’s not the contact lens version of Google Glass. At least not yet.

    Google’s contact lenses have to do with health – specifically keeping glucose levels under control for diabetics.

    “Over the years, many scientists have investigated various body fluids—such as tears—in the hopes of finding an easier way for people to track their glucose levels,” write Brian Otis and Babak Parviz, the project’s co-founders (Parviz being the engineer mentioned above). “But as you can imagine, tears are hard to collect and study. At Google[x], we wondered if miniaturized electronics—think: chips and sensors so small they look like bits of glitter, and an antenna thinner than a human hair—might be a way to crack the mystery of tear glucose and measure it with greater accuracy.”

    “We’re now testing a smart contact lens that’s built to measure glucose levels in tears using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor that are embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material,” the two explain. “We’re testing prototypes that can generate a reading once per second. We’re also investigating the potential for this to serve as an early warning for the wearer, so we’re exploring integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed above or below certain thresholds. It’s still early days for this technology, but we’ve completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype. We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease.”

    Google did not even bring up Google Glass in the announcement, but that’s not to say the technologies couldn’t merge in the future. Who’s to say they’re not already working on it? First of all, watch Parviz’s presentation. He’s clearly thinking bigger with contact lenses, and he outlines some pretty incredible possibilities, which could make these things (and Glass, for that matter) a great deal more useful. My favorite example is the “super vision” idea.

    Other concepts he discusses include: gaming, virtual reality, augmented reality, interfacing with mobile, night vision, and multi-focal electronic contact lenses.

    There’s a lot of potential with this technology, and now that Google actually has something to show off, even if it’s still testing, it suggests that this kind of stuff may be closer than we thought. If you thought Glass turned people into cyborgs, wait for this stuff. Of course Google is buying up robotics companies left and right too, not to mention Nest, makers of smart home devices like thermostats and smoke alarms. Imagine if these things interfaced with Google contact lenses. Who knows what Google will let you do in the future? Wink to adjust your heat? Be alerted within your actual field of vision when there’s a fire in your home?

    But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Right now, Google’s contacts have a specific purpose, and it will have to prove their legitimacy there first. The company is currently in discussions with the FDA, and admits that there’s still a lot more work to be done “to turn this technology into a system that people can use.”

    Google says it intends to look for partners to develop apps that would make measurements available to the wearer and to doctors. Perhaps they shut down Google Health too early.

    Image via Google

  • Cholesterol Levels: Keep Them Lo-Ho-Ho-W This Xmas

    Cholesterol is a hot topic this week, and for good reason– the Christmas dinner rivals the gloriousness of the Thanksgiving dinner, not to mention the cookies and sweets that seem to be everywhere all season.

    It has since been established that high cholesterol is no longer a worry just for “senior citizens,” according to the FDA, you should start getting your cholesterol checked after you hit the age of 20. If you are a bit overweight or have unhealthy habits such as smoking or excessive drinking, you should definitely keep up with your cholesterol levels to prevent heart disease.

    The FDA also tells us that the best way to keep your cholesterol down, in general, is to do things like:

    -Cut back on foods with lots of fat such as fatty meats, fried foods, whole milk, fatty cheeses, butter, margarine, oils, lard, and creams.
    -Cut back on food with lots of cholesterol, such as egg yolks and whole eggs.
    -Eat more fruits and vegetables.
    -Cut back on fatty snacks and desserts, such as candy, cookies, doughnuts, muffins, pastries and pies.
    – Exercise at least 30 minutes most days.

    Which sounds great in everyday life, but… this is Christmas.

    If you’ve been making a conscious effort to maintain your cholesterol levels all year, or don’t want to give yourself the gift of the beginnings of high cholesterol levels this Christmas, there is a lot that you can do.

    If you are in charge of the cooking:
    -Enlist the use of egg whites plus yolk in your cake batter
    -Drain your meat before cooking
    -Use olive oil or nonstick cooking spray instead of butter for cooking
    -Use fat-free milk and chicken broth
    -Don’t fry everything

    If you aren’t in charge of the cooking, just make sure that your plate is heavy on the vegetables, fruit and lean meats and light on dense foods heavy in oil.

    All in all, it’s likely that you’ll eat a bit more than you would on a regular day, but don’t fret. Catch up with an old friend or family member with a brisk walk around the neighborhood, or start a snowball fight for an enjoyable dose of exercise.

    Fun tech fact: If bleeding on your phone doesn’t give you the willies, ABC News tells us that you soon may be able to use a Smartphone Cholesterol Application for Rapid Diagnostics (SmartCARD) to measure your levels at any time. Once this nifty device is released, you’ll be able to get a quick reading by merely dropping a drop of blood into a holder attached to your smartphone.

    This Christmas, you can give the gift of a healthy cholesterol count this season to yourself as well as to your loved ones– a gift that’ll keep on giving for years to come.

    Image via Youtube

  • Best Tablets For That Special Someone On Your Holiday Shopping List

    Tablet computers have brought a whole new definition to the word “convenient;” they have the mobility and ease of accessibility of a smart phone, but also embrace the clarity and versatility of a laptop computer. Tablet computers are useful for people of all ages and interests; a tablet computer can be just as helpful to an elementary school child learning multiplication as it would be to a business professional traveling between meetings, or a busy college kid juggling multiple assignments and papers during finals week (much like this writer). As the Christmas season draws near, the hype over tablet computers seems to intensify, as the versatility attributed to the devices makes them the perfect gift for almost everyone on a potential shopping list. Just what tablets are the best, and for who, though?

    Luckily, multiple spots around the net have taken it upon themselves to come up with definitive lists, showcasing the best of the best that the tablet market has to offer. The folks over at i4u news published a list aptly titled, “The Best Tablets to buy as Holiday Gifts.” They list prices alongside their top thirteen picks, and even include a few tablets made especially for children. Prices range from as cheap as $63 to as extravagant as almost $500.

    Yahoo news also released a guide to the “Best 7 Inch Tablets of 2013,” and included selections from all the major providers, including Apple, Google, and Amazon. The list suggests tablets based on their “performance, display and usability,” and includes such big-name items as the Kindle Fire, the iPad Mini, and the Nexus 7.

    Tablets certainly do make a great gift for almost any person on your shopping list, and as they become more widely available, the possibility of picking up a tablet for even the most tricky of gift recipients becomes a more and more realistic option. So, tell us, WebProNews readers; are you planning on snagging a Tablet for yourself or someone else this holiday season? What would you consider the best tablet?

    [Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.]

  • Curved iPhone: Will it be Apple’s Newest Design?

    Curved iPhone: Will it be Apple’s Newest Design?

    Wasn’t it just a couple months ago that Apple released both the 5s and the 5c at the same time? Now there are rumors spreading like wildfire that Apple will once again do a double phone release. The news seems to be Apple’s response to both Samsung and LG who have recently released smartphones with a curved display. Now Apple is reportedly designing two separate models which will feature a curved screen and enhanced touch sensors that can detect varying levels of pressure. The main difference from their competitors will be the use of a wraparound display.

    The information, which was first released by Bloomberg, reported that the new iPhones will feature screen sizes of 4.7 and 5.5 inches, which will make them the largest Apple phones to date. The newest Galaxy Note 3 runs 5.7 inches and the Galaxy Round, which was released about a month ago, both feature the latest bigger is better trend in technology. In addition, the new LG model G Flex, features a 6-inch flexible screen with a plastic back that actually heals itself. Yes, you can nick, scratch, ding and maybe even drop it. The phone will reportedly repair itself.

    Apple’s new curved phones can’t come out quickly enough for the company whose revenue growth and current sales are the slowest in five years. When the company released two different iPhone versions at the same time last September, something they had never done before, the iPhone 5s wound up dominating sales over the iPhone 5c. The 5s is the cheaper model.

    When can we expect Apple’s latest foray into the crowded but still overtly competitive smartphone market? No release date has been set and the phone is still at the beginning of the production stage. Whether the latest curved model trend will takeover also remains to be seen.

    Image Via Wikipedia Commons

  • Walmart Glitch Makes Early Christmas

    Walmart’s website contained a lucky glitch for some online customers who wound up scoring huge deals, the kinds of deals only found in a buyer’s dream and a seller’s nightmare.

    The glitch affected some of the pricier items, such as those found in the electronics department. There were items that are normally priced at hundreds of dollars listed as being under $10! Among some of the items were products such as computer monitors and projectors.

    An InFocus projector that is listed on other sites as being around $580, was accidentally presented as being $8.85!

    News about the deals spread quickly throughout the social media grapevine causing many of the unusually-priced items to sell out. But as quickly as the good news spread, so did the alleged rumors and fears that the Walmart site may be hacked, which would—if true–put the previously thrilled cardholders in financial jeopardy.

    Once news of the glitch got back to Walmart, they investigated the technological errors found on the site and assured customers that the site was not hacked. Ravi Jariwala, a spokesman for Walmart reported:

    “We experienced a technological error that caused some items to show incorrect pricing. We are working quickly to correct the error, and during this time there may be intermittent site availability. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers.”

    As somewhat comforting as the reassurance may be, people are now wondering whether Walmart will honor the glitch prices, because in case we’ve forgotten, this isn’t the first time technology has gotten a company into an interesting situation.

    Earlier this year, United Airlines accidentally sold several plane tickets for $5 due to a similar glitch. Whether members of the airline company were secretly scornful about the technological incident was unknown, but to the consumers’ delight, United Airlines agreed to honor the lucky purchases. So what will Walmart do?

    When pressed for the answer to this question, Jariwala reported that the company is still working on the details. In the meantime, many fingers will be crossed.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

    Other sources: USA Today

  • Ashton Kutcher: Lenovo Product Engineer?

    Ashton Kutcher: Lenovo Product Engineer?

    Although Ashton Kutcher recently played Apple guru Steve Jobs on the big screen, he has become the product engineer for a new line of the PC company, Lenovo.

    It is almost guaranteed to help the business of a company when incorporating a superstar Hollywood actor like Ashton Kutcher to be involved with the product.

    In addition to being the highest paid actor on television and appearing in many films, Kutcher is also a big investor in tech products and likes being a part of the growing technological world.

    Lenovo, already the world’s biggest PC manufacturer, has appointed Kutcher as the product engineer on a new Yoga line of tablet computers.

    It was previously rumored over the summer that Kutcher might be entering into a business partnership with Lenovo, and now the news has become official. He is very excited to be in business with the PC giant, and said of the experience, “Entrepreneurship is part of their DNA, and I couldn’t ask for a better fit.”

    An Ashton Kutcher-Lenovo partnership will undoubtedly help their business, as they will use him to provide input and decision-making into design, specifications, software and usage scenarios. In a statement from Kutcher at a launch event, he said of the partnership, “This partnership with Lenovo brings together my love of technology and design that makes your life better.”

    He went on to say that he hopes to help Lenovo develop future mobile computing products, with the Yoga tablet just being the beginning. Ashton Kutcher has already stepped into the tech world before, and co-founded A-Grade Investments, which has provided venture capital and collaboration for multiple tech companies including Airbnb, Fab, Foursquare, Spotify, Path and Uber.

    The new Yoga Tablet went on the market today, being able to last for a a total of 18 hours of battery life, and it also has three different modes (hold, tilt, stand). The 8-inch Yoga Tablet will retail for $249, while the 10-incher is priced at $299.

    There is no doubt that the recent partnership with Ashton Kutcher will help Lenovo’s business, and he is excited about being able to help with the expansion of a very successful company. Lenovo is currently worth $34 billion, and was founded in 1984.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a9K59G0Z0g

    Image via Youtube

  • Bionic Man Brought To Life With Artificial Parts

    Bionic man, previously a term that was only associated with science fiction, has now become a reality. The term was made popular in the 1970s with the help of a popular television show called The Six Million Dollar Man. The series chronicled the adventures of Steve Austin, a former astronaut whose body was rebuilt using artificial parts, after he nearly died. After being rebuilt, the character gained superhuman strength and speed, enabling him to become a very important secret operative, and solve high profile crimes.

    As scientific breakthroughs continue to be made on an ongoing basis, there is no telling what we will be seeing produced next. Just recently, a team of engineers assembled a robot using organs, limbs, and other body parts that actually pays a close resemblance an real bionic man, much like in the television show. In other related extraordinary scientific discoveries recently, a real life lightsaber, was developed by scientists at MIT and Harvard. It is not quite the type of device that Luke Skywalker used yet, but who knows, maybe one day it will be turned into a weapon.

    The artificial “man” that was recently developed is being used as the subject of a Smithsonian Channel documentary. It will air on Sunday, October 20th at 9 p.m. and is called The Incredible Bionic Man. The parts that were used to make the bionic man came from 17 manufacturers around the world. Richard Walker, the managing director of Shadow Robot Co. and the lead robot scientist on the project, has said that the robot has about 60 to 70 percent of the function of a human. He is also about six-and-a-half feet tall and is able to step, sit and stand, with the help of a walking machine.

    Even though the bionic man is very advanced for what it is and the parts work very well, they are still a long way away from being used in humans. There are some key parts missing too, with no digestive system, liver or skin, and obviously lacks a brain. The parts donated in the bionic experiment were donated, costing roughtly $1 million. The bionic man is currently on display at the New York City Comic Con and after, he plans to head to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

    Image via Youtube