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Showing posts from March, 2016
Sony Xperia Eye could thrust AI-based ‘lifelogging’ into the limelight By  Aaron Krumins   Before diving in the Xperia Eye, let’s take a quick survey of the lifelogging genre to throw into better relief the advantages Sony is hoping to bring to the table. Lifelogging, for those new to the concept, is the process of using technology to track personal data generated by our own behavioral activities. In its most ubiquitous form, lifelogging consists of recording health and fitness metrics. This is part of what’s been termed the quantified self-movement, the bulwark of which is formed by many popular smartphone apps such as   Health Tracker   and Under Armour   Record . Lifelogging cameras take this a step further, adding a visual record to the layer cake of data that represents one’s unfolding life experience. Lifelogging cameras, despite having been floating around in various R&D labs for well over a decade and inspiring many a strange and wonderful science fiction tale, h

Newly Formed Neurons Help Brain “Catalog Memories In Time”

Newly Formed Neurons Help Brain “Catalog Memories In Time” March 11, 2016  | by Ben Taub photo credit:  The human brain generates 1,400 new neurons per day, but their function had until now remained unknown   Sometimes it can feel every day is Groundhog Day: you wake up, go to work, see the same people as the day before, and come home again. And yet, you experience each day as a completely new event, fully aware that you are living it for the first time. Exactly how the brain distinguishes between apparently similar contexts without mixing them up has perplexed scientists for some time, but new evidence suggests that “newborn” brain cells may hold the answer. The vast majority of brain cells – or  neurons  – are formed before birth and do not divide or regenerate at any point during a person’s lifetime. However, a small subpopulation of cells located in a tiny brain region called the  dentate gyrus  are able to do so, producing new cells via a process known as  neurogenes
Biologists discover electric bacteria that eat pure electrons rather than sugar, redefining the tenacity of life By  Sebastian Anthony   Some intrepid biologists at the University of Southern California (USC) have discovered bacteria that survives on nothing but electricity — rather than food, they eat and excrete pure electrons. These bacteria yet again prove the almost miraculous tenacity of life — but, from a technology standpoint, they might also prove to be useful in enabling the creation of self-powered nanoscale devices that clean up pollution. Some of these bacteria also have the curious ability to form into ‘biocables,’ microbial nanowires that are centimeters long and conduct electricity as well as copper wires — a capability that might one day be tapped to build long, self-assembling subsurface networks for human use. As you may recall from high school biology, almost every living organism consumes  sugar to survive. When it gets right down to it, everyt

Homework is wrecking our kids: The research is clear, let’s ban elementary homework

Homework is wrecking our kids: The research is clear, let’s ban elementary homework Homework does have an impact on young students — but it’s not a good one (Credit: KatarinaGondova via iStock ) “There is no evidence that any amount of homework improves the academic performance of elementary students.” This statement, by homework research guru Harris Cooper, of Duke University, is startling to hear, no matter which side of the homework debate you’re on. Can it be true that the hours of lost playtime, power struggles and tears are all for naught? That millions of families go through a nightly ritual that doesn’t help? Homework is such an accepted practice, it’s hard for most adults to even question its value. When you look at the facts, however, here’s what you find: Homework has benefits, but its benefits are age dependent. For elementary-aged child

win phone must hav apps

1. Facebook I see a lot of people looking at cell phones on my way to work every day, and the number-one thing I see them doing is looking through their Facebook newsfeed. These days, not having Facebook is pretty much like not having a telephone. The built-in Windows Phone People app lets you hook up your Facebook (and Twitter) contacts and see the latest updates, but the official Facebook app lets you do every kind of Facebooking—posting updates, photos, and check-ins. You can pin tiles to the home screen for Facebook messages, places check-in, or groups, as well as just for the overall app. One of our absolute favorite features, though, is that you can have the app set your lock screen to cycle through your top-liked photos. Windows Phone Store Link: Facebook   2. Skype 2. Skype [slide ID: 386788] The video phone is here, and it's Skype ! Of course, your videocalling partner doesn't need a Windows Phone: You can Skype with anyone
10 Ways to Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal You want the strongest wireless signal you can get from your router, wherever you are in your home. Here are some quick tips for achieving optimal reception. Browsing slowing to a crawl, the inability to stream, dropped Wi-Fi signals, wireless dead zones—every one of these problems is maddening in a world where getting online has become, for

ff tips

Search Better With Keywords If you find yourself searching through the same sites over and over again, you may want to consider utilizing search keywords. For example, if you're an avid Wikipedia-er, you can use search keywords to access an intra-Wiki search directly from the main address bar. To create a search keyword, right-click on the search box within the site you'd like to add. This action will prompt a pull-down menu where you can choose "Add a Keyword for this Search." This in turn prompts a pop-up bookmark window, which includes a "Keyword" field where you can create a nickname for your search, e.g. IMDb.com would get "IMDb" and PCMag.com would get "HellaAwesomeTechSite" (from experimenting, it appears that you can't use a multi-word keyword). Once added, you access that search by typing the keyword followed by the search into the address bar. For example, you would just need to enter Wikipedia Charles Dar

All the Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix in March

All the Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix in March Netflix comes in like a lion in March with lots of original shows and movies. Post-Oscars, movie releases are generally less than award-winning. But while March at the multiplex may be meh, Netflix has some original movies and shows that are marvelous (and,

Samsung Now Shipping 'World's Largest' Hard Drive

Samsung Now Shipping 'World's Largest' Hard Drive The 15.36TB "PM1633a" drive is designed for use in enterprise storage systems. Need a lot of storage? Like, a lot a lot? Samsung has you covered. The Korean tech giant on Thursday announced it has started shipping what it calls the "industry's largest solid state drive"—the 15.36TB "PM1633a" we first heard about in August . To put the size of this thing in perspective, the largest hard drives made by Seagate and Western Digital top out at 8 to 10TB. Samsung's PM1633a is based on a 12Gb/s Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interface, designed for u

When the architects were asked to design a new urban university campus in Ho Chi Minh City, they had something radically non-urban in mind.

It occupies the easternmost coast of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Here is Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon). Located in southern Vietnam, it's the country's largest city, with a population of almost 8 million people. And here's what Ho Chi Minh City looks like. It's a big city with big buildings and lots of people, which makes for many a challenge. Share Photo by Tartarin2009/Flickr . "Cities, especially in thriving countries like Vietnam, are growing at such a speed that infrastructure is unable to keep pace," said the team at Vo Trong Nghia Architects in an interview with Dezeen Magazine . "Environmental stress is observable through frequent energy shortages, increased pollution, rising temperatures, and reduced greenery." When the architects were asked to design a new urban university campus in Ho Chi Minh City, they had something radically non-urban in m