Bright Ideas for Lighting: Innovative Outdoor Technology

Since Thomas Edison invented the first commercial light bulb in 1879, the concepts involved in the illumination of one's home have progressed at, well, at the speed of light, if you will. The days of incandescent light being the standard option of illumination are long gone, and have made way for newer, more innovative means of producing light, and more aesthetically-pleasing means of presenting it. Here are three cutting-edge, designer lighting options for a modern home that would knock Edison's suspender socks right off...

Manufactured Moon Light

Manufactured by Night Light, Inc., these outdoor lights create the facade of a full moon-lit night. The lights are placed in high trees, and the higher the better for a believable effect and for obscuring the lights from the unsuspecting eye. Aim for a height of 30 feet or higher to generate a natural look. Optimal for a woodsy outdoor area, moon lights provide such ample illumination that no path lighting features are required.

Surface-Mounted Luminaries

Light Nodes, a new series introduced by U.S. Architectural Lighting, are compact luminaries that mount to the wall. These lights are ideally paired with high efficiency lamps and LEDs. Designed to endure wet, damp locations and still provide shielded illumination, Light Nodes come in a wide spectrum of colors, temperatures, and beam patterns, and can accommodate lamp sizes up to PAR20, A19, and R20.

New Wave Pool Lights

Chill Lites are LED lamps that are rechargeable, cordless and resistant to water and chlorine. They are ideal for floating atop a pool — making a dip in the water all that more inviting — or lining a pool border for a touch of elegant decor. The LED bulbs are available in glowing blue, red, white, and green, and are offered in unique shapes including: balloon, bubble, cube, and globe. Chill Lites were featured as one of the most exciting examples of outdoor lighting in an article by IntheSwim.com, which has more examples of creating a dramatic pool or patio ambiance.

Solar Flare

These Imperial II Solar Lanterns sit atop three-inch poles and add flare to your backyard, garden or patio. They come fully loaded with more than 20 LEDs, delivering 350 lumens of power to improve visibility. These uniquely designed lanterns boast reflector boosts to the lighting power, are composed of weather resistant, cast-aluminum, and house an 8-watt solar panel made of tempered glass that allows the lantern to run for up to 12 hours if it is fully charged. When the sun sets, the solar lanterns activate on their own, generating automatic ambiance for your outdoor enjoyment.

Technology has brought our race unfathomable advances in science, medicine, communication, and yes, even simple exterior lighting. These examples of attractive and innovative lighting options with light that lasts for days, and devices that harness the power of the sun, would have been considered witchcraft in the 1800s, but today they are our modern conveniences. If Edison could see us now ... he'd see us much more clearly, and in much better light.

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3 of the Most Vulnerable Security Aspects of Your Smartphone

Hackers and other cyber criminal miscreants have migrated their projects to the newest venue for their fraud – smartphones. Smartphone users are often confronted with significantly more risk simply by using smartphones intended applications. According to the February 2012 Identity Fraud Survey Report by Javelin Strategy & Research, smartphone users are 35 percent more likely to experience fraud than the average consumer. While the greatest tech developers on the planet are constantly at work to create more secure apps and operating systems, there are still some big threats looming for smartphone users.

Mobile Wallets

With the aid of near field communications, the time is coming soon when you will be able to simply wave your smartphone at a register to pay for goods and services. Mobile wallets, in which your credit cards, bank information, coupons, loyalty cards and even boarding passes are held digitally, may very soon become standard in many places. While it may seem futuristic, it is already becoming common. Identity theft protection company Lifelock points out that services like Google Wallet and Apple Passbook already allow users to tap their phone against a near field communicator terminal to pay for something, and mobile commerce seems sure to follow. The risk for users currently lies within the security of NFC technology, but there are steps you can take to prevent your information being compromised. Creating a password for your phone, closing open apps rather than letting them run in the background, choosing to download apps from trusted sources and never posting your phone number online are all steps that you can take to insure that your data isn't being put at unnecessary risk.

Certifi-Gate

Perhaps one of the biggest smartphone vulnerabilities right now is the Certifi-gate vulnerability. This vulnerability is widespread – according to CSO Online, more than 70 percent of LG Android phones have a plugin installed that creates this vulnerability, as well as 18 percent of Samsung devices and nine percent of HTC devices. Many phones come installed with pre-loaded technical support apps that allow a support technician to take control of the phone remotely, and this is where Certifi-gate creates risk. While running the software remotely takes very high privileges, the app features an authentication problem that allows unauthorized access. Once a hacker has that unauthorized access to your phone, they can perform a frightening number of malicious acts – screen scraping, key logging, and extracting your personal information are just a few.

Currently, the only solution is for manufacturers to push updates out to their users that fix this authentication issue, but manufacturers have been slow to do so. Mobile carriers are equally guilty of not pushing for a solution to be distributed, and there is little users can do other than only choose apps from trusted companies and reach out to their phone manufacturer and carrier and demand the vulnerability be addressed.

Text Attack

The scariest vulnerability is one that you cannot prevent by being responsible – such is the case with the Android text attack vulnerability. The text attack doesn't require you to accidentally download malware or click on a corrupt link, instead only requiring ta hacker to know your phone number. The way that it works is that a hacker creates a short video, places the malware code within it, and texts it to you. Since Android messaging app Hangouts pre-loads videos when they arrive instead of asking for permission, the malware is invited in by your operating system without approval from you. Currently, the risk this vulnerability creates is listed as “high” according to the Android dev teams security risk hierarchy. While an update is coming, it is dependent on your carrier and manufacturer to get it to you. In the meantime, don't share your phone number online or in social media and you will reduce your risk of being targeted dramatically.

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Make Your IRL Car as Fly as Your GTA Ride

Cruising around Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto 5 in your sweet ride can be a lot of fun, but it’s a bummer when your own real-life car isn’t as fly as your digital one. Wouldn’t it be awesome to pimp your real car just like you’ve done in GTA 5? You may not be able to sport a 9F Cabrio or a Carbonizzare that features a Ferrari California front and V12 Zagato rear, but you can add some bells and whistles to your own vehicle to give it some extra personality on the road.
Here are some tips and tricks to make your own car as exciting to drive as the one you use in GTA.

Rims & Tires

Rims not only look great, they can also help your car handle better on the roads. When selecting rims, think about the color scheme you’ll be carrying throughout your vehicle's interior and exterior. This can determine not only what style of rims you choose, but also whether you'll go for chrome, painted, or flat metal rims. Name brands like Brembo, Ultra, and Enkei have established their quality over the years, and provide multiple series of high performance, racing, and tuning rims.

While rims can improve the handling of your car, beyond that, they are mostly for show. High performance tires, however, can really change the way your car drives. From off road, to all season, and high performance sport, Nitto makes a variety of tires that can improve your car's performance. For a vast selection of high-performance tires, take a look at TireBuyer.com to find a set that best fits your needs.

Body Kits

Body kits can be found online, however, it’s important that the one you choose fits your specific vehicle. Body kits can be expensive and aren't universally compatible. Once you get your hands on one, take it to a cosmetics shop for installation and to verify it's the right fit.
Unless you really know your way around under the hood and work on your vehicle regularly, don't opt for the DIY installation route.

Decals

From brand decals, to custom graphics, you can either hire an artist to make a design, make your own, or pull one from your favorite video game, book, or movie. Some people opt for custom paint jobs rather than decals, but paint can also be more expensive.

A paint job may last forever, while decals typically last between five to seven years. If your tastes change, this might work out perfectly so that you aren’t stuck with the same graphic on your car for eternity.

Decals are relatively easy to install, but you can also have them installed by a professional at a sign, body, or graphics shop. Vinyl decals won’t damage your car as long as they are properly installed. If you do decide to install them yourself, set aside some time — a proper application takes three hours, on average.

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Technologies That Will Change the Manufacturing Industry

Today’s automated and software-driven industries can churn out products with the push of a few buttons. It takes mere seconds to create something that would have previously taken weeks or months of employee hours. The advancement of technology in such areas as 3-D Printing, the Internet of Things, and next generation robotics are leading major paradigm shifts in manufacturing that were unimaginable even five years ago. Not only do these technologies cut costs, they also decrease the time of production, which means more can be made for less. Let’s take a look at some of these innovative technologies that are changing the way products are made.

3-D Printing

One of the most exciting advancements in manufacturing technology has been the ability to ‘print’ 3-D objects. In December 2014, the International Space Station’s 3-D printer completed its first print job from a design file that was transmitted from NASA’s offices on Earth to the ISS in orbit. The tool produced by the printer was was a ratchet wrench.

Automotive manufacturers like Ford are now using 3-D printers to build prototypes and make product testing more efficient, while o-ring and rubber seal manufacturer Apple Rubber recently integrated the MakerBot Replicator 3-D printer into its business ops. 3-D printing has captured the imaginations of the general population and the manufacturing community alike, and it has evolved quite rapidly over the last five to ten years that it’s now possible to produce almost any object using metal, plastic, rubber, mixed materials and even human tissue.

Next Generation Robotics

Advancements in robotics technology are rapidly realizing the vision of full collaboration between humans and machines. As sensors improve and become much cheaper, robots are becoming more agile and precise when interacting with their environments. Meanwhile, improvements in GPS technology now allow robotic technology to do more than work on an assembly line, as these devices can now roam free to work in industries such as precision agriculture to control weeds and complete the harvest. While some have worried that robotics may take the jobs of human workers, it’s much more likely that next-generation robotic devices and machines will collaborate with workers instead of replacing them, and there’s still many a large portion of industries that haven’t even begun to adopt robotics. As Henrik Christensen, Executive Director of the Institute for Robotics, told MIT Technology Review, “In the past, robots have penetrated 10 percent of the industry. There’s still 90 percent of the industry, and that’s where you need collaborative robots.” Even when you take into account more advanced design and potential breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, human ingenuity and intuition will be difficult to replicate and will be necessary to lead most manufacturing endeavors.

The Internet Of Things (IoT)

A major technological breakthrough, the Internet of Things allows electronic devices to connect with each other via the existing Internet infrastructure so they can communicate without receiving commands from humans. This technology is growing at such a rapid rate, it’s estimated that approximately 26 billion objects will be linked together on the Internet by 2020. The major implication of IoT is we will start to see more small machines meant for specialized tasks, rather than large ones that can take on multiple duties. Since devices will be able to ‘talk’ with each other, they will be able to spread notifications in real time. For example, if one device finds a defect or failure, all the other computers will be notified instantly so the issue can be resolved. This refined form of communication will result in less downtime, increased quality, minimal waste, and lower costs overall.

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What Makes a Commercial Memorable?

Storytelling has existed for centuries, but modern storytelling, like the stories we see in television commercials, was born in the early 1940s. The first paid ad to air on American television was a 10 second spot purchased by Bulova, a watch- and jewelry-making company. The first commercial was short, shaky and it didn’t reach many viewers.

Today, television advertising is a healthy business and it seems to be resistant to the ever-growing amount of online advertising. eMarketer predicts that television ad spending will increase to $75 million by 2017. But what makes a commercial memorable?

Effective Commercials

According to Market Share, people cited humor as the number-one factor that makes a commercial memorable. Others remembered the product tagline or company jingle — there are some jingles that we can never forget, no matter how hard we try, like the Kit Kat or Meow Mix jingles. Some people even remember commercials because of the iconic characters, for example, Flo from Progressive and the Oscar Mayer Kid. Effective TV advertising comes down to satisfying the viewer’s needs; whether it’s rational, emotional or both.

Play the Emotions

Brands take different approaches when they’re creating commercials. Apple, for example, makes its messages as clean and simple as possible. Apple ads typically feature a lineup of the newest products and devices but the ads also play to the emotions of the consumer. A 60-second iPhone 5 ad featured iPhone users face timing their loved ones and families. The message is extremely simple and it’s easy to understand. Other brands, like Budwiser, use experiences, sometimes featuring adorable puppies, which trigger our emotions.

The types of commercials that appeal to our emotions are saved in our memory for long periods of time just because we had an emotional response. Advertisers play to our eight basic emotions: joy, anticipation, surprise, fear, acceptance, anger, disgust and sadness. Ads with the most success appeal to all eight emotions. The higher the degree of emotion featured in an ad, the longer lasting the memory of the commercial.

Call to Action

No matter how emotional the story, television ads, and ads in general, always have a call to action (CTA). The CTA typically appears at the end of the ad. The CTA has evolved from a company’s address or location, to phone number and contact information, to today, in the form of hashtags. Have you noticed that dozens of brand include the company name or fun slogan in a hashtag during the final seconds of the commercial? That’s the call to action. It's natural, it's relevant and it works.

Learn More About Commercials

If you want to learn more about the advertising that you’re consuming while you’re watching your favorite television shows, do a little research online.

iSpot, a real-time TV advertising metrics resource, measures paid ad effectiveness and lists the most-viewed commercials on its website. The website also offers users the opportunity to “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” commercials and offers social sharing so users can share their favorite commercials with their social networks. There’s a wide range of companies featured on the iSpot website, from identity theft protection service LifeLock to Adobe Photoshop. Each company has its own “profile” which displays metrics including airing rank, number of spots, national airing and more.

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How Gamers Can Reduce the Effects of Eyestrain

There are currently over 34 million gamers in the United States that play video games for an average of 22 hours a week, according to BGR. With so much time spent in front of a screen, digital eyestrain is a common problem experienced by many gamers. According to Mayo Clinic the symptoms of eye fatigue are sore or irritated eyes, dry or watery eyes, blurred or double vision, increased sensitivity to light, difficulty focusing and pain in the neck, shoulders or back. If not treated properly, eyestrain can lead to recurring headaches and migraines.

WebMD says that computer-related eye symptoms may be responsible for up to 10 million primary care eye examinations each year. So, what can you do to ensure you don’t suffer from eyestrain? Consider the following precautions:

Position of Screen

The first thing you can do is ensure that the distance from your screen is a proper length away so you eyes don’t have to work too hard while you play. For a PC gamer, this means that the monitor should be directly in front of you at an arm’s length away, which is about 18 to 28 inches. Next, the top of the screen should be just below eye level. For a console gamer, the distance you sit from your television should be twice the length as the size of the screen. So, if you play on a 50-inch screen, you should sit a little over 8 feet away.

20-20-20 Rule

Mayo Clinic recommends adhering to the 20-20-20 rule, which states a person should look away from their screen every twenty minutes for at least twenty seconds at an object that is at least twenty feet away. This helps the eyes refocus and recharge during periods of extended use and helps your blinking cycle return to a regular rate.

Remember, the rule is a general guideline, so find what works for you. Stopping every thirty minutes instead of twenty will still be much more beneficial for your health than playing for four hours straight.

Blue Lights and Glare

Blue light comes from computer screens, mobile devices, indoor lighting and even from the sun. Blue light is on the low end of the visible light spectrum, meaning it has a shorter wavelength and produces a higher amount of energy than colors higher on the spectrum. Exposure to blue light could cause damage to a person’s eyes after extended periods of time, states Blue Light Exposed. Medical professionals also recommend staying away from blue light 2 to 3 hours before going to sleep as it can promote insomnia, according to WebMD.

One way PC gamers can deal with blue light is to install a program that changes the color of the light coming from your monitor. For instance, the program f.lux slowly shifts the color of your screen depending on the time of day. Another solution for blue light is to purchase blue light blocking glasses.

You'll also want to make sure the room you game in has the proper amount of light. If your screen or monitor is the only light in the room, add another light source to the mix by allowing natural light to come through a window or turning on a lamp. However, if the light from the window produces glare on your screen, install shades that reduce the glare without blocking out the sun.

Taking a Break

Even if you observe the 20-20-20 rule, it’s important to stop and take a break after extended periods of game time. Stand up, walk around, get a glass of water or walk outside for a few minutes. There are many apps that remind you to take breaks. One of the more popular ones is called Awareness, which works for both Mac and PC. Awareness reminds you to take a break based on time increments you set and even monitors your app and browser usage during the predetermined breaks to keep you honest.

If you try all of these tips and still experience symptoms of eyestrain, contact your doctor to seek professional advice.

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How Science is Changing Motorcycle Helmet Technology

The name Stephanie Kwolek might ring a bell for some people, but for motorcyclists, it should mean a great deal—especially those who wear protective head gear. Kwolek, who died this year at the age of 90, was a scientist with the DuPont Company in the 1960s. She researched polymers and, more importantly, steered the way toward the creation of Kevlar. The light, synthetic fabric was found to be so strong that it became the main ingredient in a variety of protective gear, including bulletproof vests and motorcycle helmets. The breakthrough in Kwolek's work has proved to be ever-changing as scientists continue to find ways to improve motorcycle helmets.

Improving Kwolek's Technology

Kevlar is a fiber that, ounce for ounce, is five times stronger than steel. It has improved helmet safety standards tremendously, yet scientists are still working to improve on Kevlar helmets. Why? Because our brains are delicate gobs of goo. As tough as Kevlar is, it can't fully protect in a motorcycle crash.
Our brains are surrounded and protected by three layers called meninges, which are made up of pia, arachnoid and dura mater, with the skull being the hard, outer capsule keeping it all in place.

Gradually, scientists have learned that our brains float inside the skull like a sailboat at sea. You can make a sudden stop with your head, but inside, the brain is in fluid motion, stopping like a sailboat would in rough waters. Thus, sudden, violent stops can cause the brain to crash into the inner walls of the skull, causing the brain to shear, bleed or swell.

Because of this, helmets had to include some sort of inner lining to cushion the blow of a sudden, violent stop, absorbing the impact by flexing within the outer shell. Check out the variety of helmet designs available today—there are a number of different liner designs that help absorb that impact energy. The lining consists of expanded polystyrene or the same kind of material in beer coolers and packaging material.

Types of Designs We See Today

Though it is optional to wear a helmet in many states today, many motorcyclists choose to protect themselves, which has proven to reduce the risk of being killed in an accident by 37 percent. There are plenty of trendy designs from which to choose: the Skully P-1 comes equipped with standard safety material, but also has mobile technology. It features built-in heads-up display, which enables the rider to access GPS and Bluetooth, and even email can be set up to display a live feed from a 180-degree rear view camera. Using technology like this, manufacturers are further encouraging motorcyclists to embrace the helmet movement.

Helmet design companies like Riddell, known or making football helmets, are working to understand the science behind the brain's reaction to highly violent impacts, which is highly common in the sport of football. Riddell's 360 design has become the standard helmet for many teams, proving to improve concussion prevention in players. Its hexagonal liner system inside the helmet helps reduce incoming energy from frontal impacts. Riddell's work is similar to other helmet companies are working on to improve headgear.

Swedish company Hövding is experimenting on an airbag helmet concept, which removes the use of a traditional helmet altogether. Though intended for bicycle riders, the inflatable device is worn on the collar around the neck and triggered by sensors, resembling a ballooned pillow around the rider's head. There's even a helmet design that activates a chemical packet after a crash that supposedly cools the rider's head to prevent brain swelling.

Today's standard motorcycle helmets come in all shapes, sizes, colors and features. Nearly all options are made of Kevlar or some type of polycarbonate plastic or fiberglass, and interlined with a cushioned material to lessen the impact in a crash. Science, led by Kwolek's work, has given motorcyclists many options to choose from, and which helmet a motorcyclist chooses depends on the rider himself. Be assured, however, that whichever modern helmet a rider selects, includes a long history of evolved science behind it with one ultimate goal in mind—protecting that precious brain.

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Tiny Size, Enormous Impact: Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed History

If Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001 version of mankind is true, then without the big monolith, we would still be picking fleas off of our fuzzy neighbors. Whether it is because of benevolent space aliens or simple human ingenuity, there was a flash of brilliance where a bone became a tool and the world changed in response. Over the past hundred years, these technological breakthroughs have come fast and furious. These innovations are changing the world so quickly that children cannot comprehend a time without them and futurists question where they may lead us.

The O-Ring

It is just a little piece of rubber, but it played a big part in the industrial revolution, the space race and World War II. In 1936, Denmark born inventor Niels Christensen created the first O-ring as a seal for automobiles. Before that, cars had a tendency to leak fluids, which severely limited the amount of power possible. However, it did not become widely used until the United States purchased the patent during World War II and used it as the primary seal for its aircraft. Additionally, the importance of O-ring manufacturing was emphasized during the Challenger disaster when the SRM Joint failed, breaking the O-ring and causing the ship to crash.

Flash Drives

In the 1980s and '90s, computer technology was moving so rapidly that a new personal computer was obsolete before you got it out of the box. In 1980, a one gig hard drive cost around $40,000 and weighed 550 pounds, states PC World. By 1991, the same storage capacity weighed 2.2 pounds. In that decade, we also went from floppy disks to CDs. And now, the flash drive and its magical parallel, the cloud, allow a person to carry and share a lifetime of work, memories and theories. Where once we had a tattered leather notebook, now we have the flash drive.

Remote Control

The best reason for a 1970s parent to have children was so that they had someone to change the channel. For you younger folks, there was a time when people actually had to stand up to put on a different show. It was Edison’s contemporary and rival Nikola Tesla that patented the first radio controlled device in 1900, claims PBS. However, it was not until the 1980s that the TV remote as we know it was developed for common commercial use, and now we have smartphones and devices that control our TV. TiVo tells us what to watch, and we can play Mario Bros while watching football on the small screen in the corner. Tesla was such a brilliant futurist that he predicted some of this technology as far back as 1901.

The Electron

Technically people did not invent the electron, but what we did with it in the last hundred years is world changing. In your fifth grade science book, the atom would be described as having protons, electrons and possibly neutrons, and the electron would be described as a negatively charged particle. Today’s definition of the electron is a probability weighted, possibility structure in potentia. This change in meaning has lead us from technology where we plug in our toaster to the possibility of artificial intelligence. Using the quantum mechanical definition of an electron may give us quantum computers and AI, worm holes and faster than light travel. Elementary school science class didn’t tell us any of that.

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Extended Life for Your Tablet: Tips and Tools for Protecting your Battery

The battery is one of the largest parts of most tablets, making it possible to use these devices all day long without a recharge. Even the new iPad Mini can run up to ten hours, thanks to the generous size of its battery. However, too many apps or battery-draining practices can wear down the battery, making the untimely death of your tablet a strong possibility. To maximize your tablet's battery so that you can use it when you want, check out these tips and tools:

Avoid Excessive Heat

According to Apple, heat is one of the biggest threats to your tablet's battery life. Keep your tablet out of direct sunlight, and remove it from your car in the summer time. The intense heat makes the tablet's processor work harder which in turn drains the battery. However, it is important to note that since the device is not equipped with a fan, it has to shut down if it overheats. Thus, if you overheat your iPad, you won't be able to use it whether the battery is full or not.

Optimize Your Settings for Battery Protection

Simple settings can play a huge role in how much battery your device is using. The following necessary adjustments will all lengthen battery life:

1. Turn down the screen's brightness.

2. Turn on airplane mode in "no coverage" areas. If your tablet is constantly trying to connect to nearby WiFi or data networks, it creates an unnecessary wear on the battery.

3. Set up your tablet to automatically lock after a short period of inactivity. This strategy prevents it from staying active when it is not in use.

4. Disable push notifications. Keep the push notifications that are important to you like your Facebook messenger notifications, but remove the ones that are superfluous. For example, you don't really need to know every time Talking Tom is hungry.

5. Disable applications that use location services. You can do this app by app, or you can go to settings, select privacy, select location, and disable location services from there.

Battery Manager Pro

This behind-the-scenes app boasts that it can boost your battery by at least five percent. It starts by getting your tablet into supercharge mode. When the tablet says that the battery is 100 percent charged, this app continues to encourage the battery to soak up even more power. As you use the tablet, this app will shut down unnecessary apps and functions.

When the battery is waning but you still need to use the tablet, you can turn to Battery Manager Pro for advice on which tasks the phone can handle. For instance, if you want to talk or listen to music, this app can let you know exactly how long you can spend doing those activities before the battery wears out.

Complete a Monthly Charge Cycle

According to Information Week, you should complete a full battery cycle at least once per month. Doing this will help your battery stand the test of time. To start the cycle, turn the tablet off and put it on the charger. Turning it off is critical if you want to avoid having the apps drain the battery as it charges. Once the battery is completely charged, use the tablet as normal, but run the battery down to its very last bit of juice before charging it again. Taking it from fully charged to totally dead and back again will invigorate it.

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3 Tech Advances Improving the Lives of Spinal Cord Patients

Spinal cord injuries are some of the most life-altering afflictions in the world. They affect everything a patient does, from getting out of bed in the morning to completing the simplest of daily tasks. Advancements in medical and assistive technologies are improving the quality of life for patients dealing with a spinal cord injury or recovering from spine surgery. Three are highlighted below:

Bladder Control Microchip

A common side effect of spinal cord injuries is difficulty or complete loss of bladder control, which makes working and getting out of the house for other activities frustrating. The National Center for Biotechnology Information reported on a University of Cambridge experiment performed on rats with spinal cord injuries. Researchers implanted a microchip that prevented unwanted voiding of the bladder. Ask your doctor about similar technology available for people, and for more information on bladder management, visit Spinal-Injury.net.

Surgical Improvements

Spinal cord surgery used to be an extensive and invasive procedure that required months of recovery. Due to advancements in laser-based and laser-assisted medicine and lower infection rates, many spinal cord surgeries are now done on an outpatient basis as a minimally invasive procedure. Conditions that may be able to be treated with this method include:

• Arthritis of the spine
• Bone spurs
• Bulging, herniated, ruptured and slipped discs
• Degenerative disc disease
• Pinched nerve
• Sciatica

These surgical procedures deal with the core issue as well as the other issues related to traditional spinal cord surgery recovery and aftercare. When patients aren't worried about surgical complications, they can focus on the rehabilitation process and overall life improvements. For more information on minimally invasive spine procedures, visit Laser Spine Institute.

Assistive Technologies

Several forms of assistive technology are making a big difference in the lives of those with a spinal cord injury. Wheelchairs in particular have seen significant advances—lighter materials, better engines and easier controls are helping patients get around easier. Stair lifts that work with the chair and stand-alone models deal with the tricky issue of getting to upper floors without an elevator. Technology is also being developed so wheelchairs can eventually deal with that issue directly, instead of requiring a lift.

Computers and mobile devices have received several upgrades in this area, too. Speech-to-text programs help those who can't type, and specialized computer mice and keyboards are also available to accommodate special needs. Tobii PCEye uses eye motions to provide computer control, so people with limited or no arm and hand movement can use a computer for work and general browsing. Access to a computer helps quality of life through providing normalcy, entertainment and employment options.

Smartphones and tablets have apps that provide similar functionality, and their mobility means they can be mounted on a wheelchair or another convenient location for easy use. A stylus or other accessory can be used to assist with input.

For more information on assistive technologies that can help after spinal cord injury, visit the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

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Liquid Silicone Rubber Continues to Advance & Meet Diverse Industry Needs

If you compare the molding manufacturing process to the body's circulatory system, liquid silicone rubber (LSR) is like a heart valve—it's a critical, complex component that highly supports and optimizes a specific type of operation. LSR is a versatile material that's used in the medical, automotive, electronics and aerospace industries, as well as in a number of consumer products. According to Apple Rubber, a leading designer and manufacturer of custom LSR sealing devices, LSR can insulate or be conductive; it can withstand freezing and stand up under high temperatures; and it is both fungus-resistant and nontoxic. These characteristics make LSR highly valued in the manufacturing industry.

An Indispensable Material for Development & Advancement

As LSR's popularity has grown, so have opportunities for new developments. Apple Rubber has developed precision mold capabilities, including injection molding and compression molding, according to the company's products page. LSR injection molders are actually a recent manufacturing trend fostering bigger collaboration. The benefits of LSR initiate the creation of more intimate relationships between product design and development. These close relationships improve a product's manufacturability and precise functionality.

Liquid silicone rubber advancements have also just recently joined metal injection molding as part of diverse manufacturing processes and injection molding services. AZoM, a top materials information source for the global engineering and design community, identifies LSR as a thermoset engineering material adopted by medical, electronics and consumer product industries for specific applications. In the same vein, small metal parts, used for medical, electronics and automotive industries, can be formed by metal injection molding, which is a standard manufacturing process. New technologies, along with the manufacturing expertise of researchers and developers, are advancing the collaboration of LSR and molding processes to meet the needs of diverse industries.

LSR's Impact in the Medical Field

The medical industry in particular relies on LSR and its specialized properties for exceptional performance in medical devices, applications and instruments. LSR is biocompatible and hypoallergenic, according to Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry Online (MD+DI), a resource for original equipment manufacturers of medical devices. Along with its minimal risk of allergic reactions, LSR is hygienic, which helps prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi. Other LSR properties, such as its superior flexibility, durability and immunity to heat damage, make it the preferred medical material over latex and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). LSR's expansive medical applications include serving as a buffer for lung catheters, a pigtail catheter sealing component and a silicone tubing coupler.

LSR has manufacturing advantages (e.g., one can create a single component using molding, as opposed to combining separate parts using adhesives) that reduce inventory, assembly costs and the potential for a device to leak or fail. LSR medical manufacturing processes include injection molding and bonding LSR-fabricated materials to materials such as metal and plastics.

A Future With Growing Demand

MD+DI expects the use and applications of LSR to continue to grow. By 2016, U.S. demand for silicone is predicted to reach $4.1 billion and climb 5.6 percent annually, according to the Freedonia Group, a global manufacturing market research group. MD+DI underscores the aging U.S. population and how it will affect an increased demand for LSR. The need for disposable health devices (such as catheters) will rise. Subsequently, the need for LSR will also rise. Liquid silicone rubber is also forecast to be increasingly used for the development of polycarbonate CPAP masks that treat sleep apnea and needle-free valves used in clinical treatment settings.

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And the Debate Rages On: Incandescent VS CFL VS LED

Still in dilemma which lighting to use? This infographic courtesy of Illustra Lighting (thank you guys!) hopefully ends that today!

Energy Efficiency

Only about 10% of the electricity used by an incandescent is converted to light, the remaining 90% is wasted as heat. CFLs and LEDs are much more effecient, converting about 30% of electricity into light.

Lifespan

An incandescent lasts about 1,000 hours, CFL 5,000 hours and LED 50,000 hours. To put that in perspective, a light bulb that's left ON for 3 hours a night is about 1,000 hours a year.

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Google Glass: A New Perspective (Welcomes You To A World Through Glass)

Photo by tedeytan via Flickr

It only took a few years for smartphones to replace point-and-shoot cameras as the most popular way to take a picture, but the principle was the same — hold the camera up, check your view through the screen and snap a shot. Functionally, photography really hasn't changed in decades, until now. Google Glass is the new wearable technology that resembles a pair of eyeglasses and houses a high-definition camera in the frames. Wearing Google Glass, users can take pictures and record video on the go. It's innovative. It's revolutionary. It will just about ruin photography as we know it.

Voice Commands

Photo by mjaysplanet via Flickr

Google boasts Glass's hands-free capabilities and voice commands to take pictures and record video. Users mutter "take a picture" and that's exactly what Glass does. The idea sounds groundbreaking in theory, but it doesn't translate well to reality. Think about your smartphone and how often you use its voice command. Probably rarely, and if it's for pictures, likely never. A recent study found that 85 percent of iOS users have never used Siri since upgrading. And it's likely that the 15 percent who do, don't use it for anything photography related.

The novelty of voice commands will wear quickly and Glass users will beg for a button to press when taking pictures, if they haven't ditched the headset altogether.

Privacy Issues

Google Glass has a courteous red LED indicator to alert outsiders that a photo or video recording is coming their way. This is to prevent socially invasive people with no boundaries from secretly and creepily snapping shots on the street. It's a pretty noble feature from Google, but developers already found their way around this privacy feature and disabled the red light with third-party software. Now, whenever you see someone walking down the street with a pair of these specs, you'll never really know what's going on behind the lens.

On the other side, tin-foil theories surface saying companies or the NSA can use Glass cameras to create an advanced network of street surveillance without the owner's knowledge or consent. It's a theory that would sound crazy just one year ago, but today it isn't so invalid. Google Glass does have built-in Wi-Fi, so a Centurylink connection in the home gets you online, but it also pairs with an Android phone. There's rarely a moment these aren't online.

POV Perspective

Photo by brunosan via Flickr

Instagram ushered a new era of unprofessional box-shaped photos. Our children will look back on all the pictures we took after 2011 and assume camera technology digressed. In the same way, Google Glass will introduce a new trend of awkward point-of-view perspective pictures and any creative angles will go out the window. On the bright side, there's no longer a need for selfies. Just let a person get uncomfortably close and you now have a new Facebook profile picture.

Make It Fashionable

If Google Glass wants any sort of mainstream implementation, it will need to team up with Ray Ban or Oakley to release a fashionable edition that more people will wear. Google Glass isn't available to the public until 2014.

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Let's Play: 6 Hidden Object Games That Will Blow Your Mind

The casual gaming market will be worth $8.6 billion by 2014. As this market continues to expand, more developers dive into the market and come up with new, exciting and original ideas. One particular casual games genre, hidden object games, have seen a particularly good crop of new releases geared for a variety of audiences.

When you download hidden object games, you are introduced to a world with a continuous story, or individual, segmented stages. The game play is similar throughout all hidden object games. You're looking for items on the screen to further your quest, gain points or simply to match up objects. This genre is particularly interesting because it encompasses such a wide range of engagement. Some games are suitable for younger players, as there isn't much of a storyline, and the game play is focused on the objects. Other games are designed for mature audiences and have an adventure game appeal.

Simple

The game "100% Hidden Objects" is about as simple as you can get with the hidden object genre. It doesn't have stories or other complications. It simply presents you with a playing board, hidden objects and a directive to find them. If you want to play something without a lot of thought, this is one of the best choices available.



"Hidden Object Crosswords" isn't your typical hidden object game. Instead, you need to find clues that help you get through crosswords puzzles. If you can't find the clue, it's going to be difficult figuring out exactly what you're supposed to put in the blocks.

Midrange

"Azada: Elementa" has plenty of fantasy elements in it, but it's not so heavy on the story that you have to concentrate extensively to figure out what's going on. Instead, it provides some story trappings, but focuses you almost entirely on finding hidden objects so you can track down the magical elements.

"Redemption Cemetery: Salvation of the Lost" has an intense title for an intense game. This is a complex and fascinating journey with fantastic art direction, a story involving supernatural beings and a need to bring three spirits the satisfaction they never received in life. While the story is intricate and revolves around an interesting world, it is not the most complex plot in the world, allowing you to jump in and out of the game without getting lost.



"Big City Adventure: Tokyo" continues the success of this series. You aren't dealing with epic plots, but you are wandering around Tokyo and taking in all of the sights, with the occasional hidden object to check out along the way.

Complex

"Enchantia: Wrath of the Phoenix Queen" places you in the middle of Enchantia with plenty of great art direction to go along with it. You are working against the Phoenix Queen, trying to thwart her evil plots before she takes over the land. You look through gorgeous landscapes to find all of the items that you need to succeed.

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Today's Infographic: What Are The Impacts Of Cell Phones On Our Lives

In this day and age, you are most probably among many who use a cell phone in your each and every activity. In fact modern consensus shows that even when we are eating we are still using them... Right after waking up, you probably grope for your phone (yeah I've seen that). Everyone is really hooked by this small device that we even spend more time with it than with the people around us.

May this infographic help you understand the great impact of these devices on our lives.



This Infographic is produced by Coupon Audit (provides Toms promotional code) and Kernel's Corner.

To embed this infographic on your site, please copy the code below:

<p><img style="max-width: 100%;" src="http://www.couponaudit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/What-Are-The-Impacts-Of-Cell-Phones-On-Our-Lives..jpg" alt="What Are The Impacts Of Cell Phones On Our Lives." /></p> <p> This Infographic is produced by <a href="http://www.couponaudit.com/coupons/toms">Coupon Audit (provides Toms promotional code) </a> and <a href="http://www.kernelscorner.com/">Kernel's Corner</a>.</p>

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The Good News About Video Games: Health Benefits Of Video Games And More

Hardcore gamers may have the last laugh yet, or at least the best vision. Studies conducted at McMaster University in Canada recently concluded that first-person shooter games such as Electronic Art's Medal of Honor are capable of improving the eyesight of people with vision impairment due to cataracts.

The study, led by Daphne Maurer, director of the Visual Development Lab at McMaster, believes her research proves that the vision-for-action movement of first-person shooter games like MOH actually helps rewire how the sensory brain functions. The majority of test participants reported seeing improvements in the following:

• Direction of Motion
• Lower-Contrast Images
• Smaller Details

Maurer has announced taking her research a step further as she works to develop a non-violent video game that doesn't require blood, guts and gore to help stimulate and improve vision.

Additionally, gamers who go on and on for marathon sessions can find relief through extended life contacts and cleaning solutions. These type of aids work to reduce the protein deposits that build up on contact lenses kept in the eye for long periods of time. They keep eyes comfortable and clear longer. Good news for gamers and everyone else who don't have time throughout the day to baby their contacts. You'll find products like these easily available at VisionDirect.com and other online retailers.

Other Benefits of Gaming

Improved vision isn't the only well-researched and documented benefit of playing video games. There are at least four more areas scientists have found in which indulging in game play has its advantages.

• Improvements in Children With Chronic Illness: In 2012, researchers at the University of Utah announced findings that video game playing helped improve the resilience of children suffering from a variety of conditions like Parkinson's disease and autism. The games were found to stimulate positive emotions that helped the children better cope with day-to-day struggles.
• Quicker Reaction Times: Researchers at the University of Rochester in NY credit games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Halo 2 with improving the reaction time and decision-making skills of gamers over non-gamers. Participants who played the games at least five hours a week over a year's time were able to outperform non-gamers in tests that required quick reactivity.
• Happiness in Your Senior Years: Studies conducted at North Carolina State University concluded that seniors who engaged in video game activity at least once a week, or even just on occasion, reported greater levels of overall happiness than those who didn't game at all. Of the 140 people over age 63 questioned, 61 percent said they played on occasion. Of these, 35 percent played a minimum of once a week.
• Pain Management: Innovative doctors at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, found that the distraction of playing video games during painful burn-wound cleansing actually worked better for patients than morphine. The experiment, headed by anesthesiologist Dr. Christopher Maani, used the virtual reality game SnowWorld to keep patients engaged as they underwent excruciating treatments to treat massive burns incurred in battle. As patients concentrated on throwing snowballs at penguins and mastodons to the accompaniment of soothing music, they were better able to endure the physical pain involved in treatment.

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Big Data as Big Brother: How Stores Are Tracking Your Phone

You are being watched while you shop — not by security cameras and guards, but by your own phone. The New York Times recently broke a story that retail stores such as Cabela, Nordstrom and Family Dollar are using the stores' Wi-Fi networks to track your phone and aggregate data about you. While businesses say it's no different than what online retailers already do, are they right in making this claim?

What They Do

Retailers are using video surveillance, cellphone signals and downloaded apps to track and analyze customer movements throughout their stores. With this data, they can determine customer patterns, such as how long a particular demographic of customers will spend looking at high-ticket items, sections they ignore and movements throughout the store. Many retailers can locate your phone and track your behavior even if you don't connect to their Wi-Fi.

While many businesses claim the information they collect is anonymous, others use information gathered voluntarily from store credit cards and official smartphone apps to track and monitor customer movements and interests in the long-term. For example, a company based in Seattle called Placed has an app available for download that surveys customers while they are visiting a store, offering gift cards and other incentives in exchange for personal information, such as age and gender. Placed's website claims they are gathering intelligence on customer activities and behaviors to measure the impact of advertising. The language seems haunting, and many consumers are openly uncomfortable with the technology being created to track and manipulate them.

Why It Bothers Us

This revelation couldn't come at a worse time for these companies' public relations campaigns. A Gallup poll from earlier this year reported more than half of Americans were uncomfortable with the revelation that the NSA was engaged in domestic surveillance, and only slightly more than a third approved. While companies track keystrokes and search histories online to offer coupons and target marketing, they don't track actual physical movements in the real world.

With the addition of GPS tracking and video surveillance coupled with personal data, it's hard to not make a correlation to data breach stats that have recently surfaced. According to the Internet Security Threat Report: Volume 17, published by Symantec in 2012, more than 232 million identities were compromised worldwide in 2011, primarily by hackers looking for information usable to commit fraud.

The concern isn't only criminals and hackers will come after the data, it's the overwhelming sense Big Data is becoming Big Brother. Take, for instance, London-based company Realeyes, the self described “Google of Emotions.” Realeyes uses hidden camera technology placed near ads and throughout stores to collect facial data about the emotional state of shoppers, ostensibly to then offer them deals based on their current emotional state. It smacks of the worst kind of emotional manipulation in the eyes of consumers — it sounds so dystopian, it's almost terrifying.

While good marketing always uses emotions to sell products, the idea a person whose face shows unhappiness may be targeted with an advertisement for whiskey, as Realeyes head of marketing Ekaterina Savchenko suggested to The New York Times, is too troubling for most consumers to contemplate.

What are your thoughts on in-store data tracking?

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Why Designers Should Change Their Apps for Apple iOS 7?

iOS 7 is one of the most drastic changes that Apple has made to its mobile operating system that runs on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, etc. While developers have no issues getting around iOS 7, the designers will have a tougher time tweaking their apps to be in accordance with iOS 7’s design guidelines. The operating system has some major design changes, including changes in icons and interfaces.

In this article, let me discuss the major changes that Apple has incorporated to iOS 7’s UI design.

Last year, Apple’s iOS design chief Scott Forstall had to resign from Apple after the Apple Maps failed. Afterwards, Apple’s hardware design chief, Jony Ive has headed development in software as well. He is responsible for this refreshing new change in iOS.

Important Changes in the Operating System

To be able to better compete with Android, Apple’s nemesis, here are the changes that iOS incorporates.

1. A Flat Design

3D style of icons that used to be there in all the previous versions of the operating system is gone. Now, the icons and the interfaces are rather flat. With thin lines and soft edges, the icon has a layered style. While this is a refreshing change in Apple’s design standards, some people may find the older version more appealing. It is however simply a personal opinion.

2. Color Scheme

The iOS incorporates a brand new color scheme to be able to create this flat design. Soft, delicate shade of white, black, red, green, and blue can be found in these icons. Apple has an elegant new color palette to work with iOS icons.

3. Fonts

Apple now uses Helvetica Neue UltraLight as the primary font. The desktop operating system, OS X Mavericks also features this font. This font represents a new ‘skinny’ interface of the iOS. You can of course change the font size to fit your needs.

4. Layered Design

Within an app, the layered design of iOS allows several different screens. It gives an illusion of a collection of very thin layers on each app. While layered design is going to give a bit of a headache to some designers, it is a refreshingly straightforward design strategy that involves translucent windows.

5. Motion Detection

In one of the recent news reports, Apple is known to be testing motion detection on iOS 7. It will be available once the new iPhone 5S comes to the market probably by the end of the year.

6. Menus and Bars

In the main lock screen of iOS, you can open the Control Center. There are also notifications of the latest calls and messages. Since the color scheme and user interface options are slightly different, the menus and bars are quite elegant on iOS 7.

Porting Apps to iOS 7

One of the changes you can find in Safari is that the browser now involves a page stack interface where you can view all your open tabs in one place. This is one of the examples of the layered design we talked about earlier.

Apple provides about 900,000 apps through its iOS app store. In essence, it is the largest app store in the world for any mobile operating system. Android is close behind. iPhone developers have been required to follow some important app design guidelines in the past. With iOS 7, there should be some slight changes to the interface.

Apple requires every designer to do three important things now: change the icon of the app; change the launch image; start supporting the Retina Display.

It is not easy to get your app approved in app store without tweaking the necessary things. Apple has always had some important design guidelines in place and wants the designers and developers to follow the company guidelines very closely. Due to this reason, it is important that the app designers learn about the iOS 7 design standards and work out a brilliant app that conforms to them.

About Author:

Laurel Shah is a technology writer with some experience with large IT companies. She now works for blog Blue Bugle and writes articles related to technology, smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops, social media, etc.

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What Does Your Wearable Technology Say About You?

You can tell many things about a person by checking out the technology they wear. From digital watches to medical monitors, technology sends out messages about finances, work, play, health, and personality.

What Does Your Headset Say About You?

One piece of equipment that provides some subtle hints about a person’s lifestyle, or at least their preferences, is the cell phone headset. There is a variety of Bluetooth headsets on the market for consumers of all ages, financial brackets and lifestyles. Headsets come in a wide range of prices, from less than $25 at the big box stores, to several hundred dollars for professional models that have superior sound and ambient noise cancelation features. Different styles and colors let you tell the world you are fun and spunky or goal-oriented and customer-driven.

Person wearing a headset by sun dazed via Flickr

Bracelets That Track Your Movements

The Jawbone Up is a tracking and monitoring device that looks like a colorful bracelet to the uninformed observer. Designed to be worn around the clock, except for during recharging, the Jawbone Up tracks sleep patterns, food and movements. Some features are automatic, such as monitoring your level of sleep, and some require more user input and management. The Jawbone Up, at $129.99, tracks your food intake and records eating patterns, too, according to Wearable Technologies.

New Watches for Sport Enthusiasts

Sonostar gives golfers access to information about 30,000 golf courses and provides range-finding services, NDTV Gadgets reports. In addition to helping golfers shave a few points off their scores and gather information about course layouts before they head for the tee boxes, the new watch will help runners and cyclists monitor calories burned and miles charted.

If used in conjunction with a smartphone, users can access Facebook, Twitter and other networking sites, plus read e-books on a 1.73-inch screen. The price tag will be around $179. Naturally, the watch displays time accurately, too, though wearers of these watches probably make sports one of their biggest priorities.

On the Horizon

Wearable technology is fun and fashionable, and with innovative and creative applications, users are finding efficient ways to manage their health, stay connected with work and family, and participate in sporting events. In the future, consumers will see more safety features built into clothing and other products, too.

People who work around toxic materials are trained to handle potentially hazardous materials regularly. The Fraunhofer Research Institution for Modular Solid State Technologies EMFT developed gloves alert wearers when toxins are present, Dvice reports.

Some computing devices telepathically communicate using brainwaves, such as a new Samsung tablet, are being tested, according to MIT Technology Review.

The future holds promise for new devices and applications to improve education experiences, make the workplace safer and simply entertain people who need to unwind.

What does your wearable technology say about you? Tell us in the comments.

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Companies Satiate Users Need for Speed With Content Delivery Networks

Content is king in the online business world, says PRNewsWire.com. Large corporations have rolled out a new connected system of Internet servers called a Content Delivery Network (CDN) that allows businesses to increase the speed of content delivery to visitors. The speed is increased when a company site caches their content in the CDN physically located closest to the site visitor.

Companies like AT&T and GoDaddy have embraced this technology to better serve its clients seeing that while adopting CDN technology might increase the cost of hosted storage, it will also decrease the wait time to download a page. While you might pay more for CDN hosting, you increase the probability of client conversion.

GoDaddy

The forward-thinking CEO and founder, Bob Parsons is back in the driver's seat at GoDaddy, as the site hosting company is introducing a new CDN called the Web Accelerator. Used mostly for sites that use straight HTML and are more image driven, the Web Accelerator is a welcomed alternative to relying on dynamic database interaction, said Jason Rosenthal, President of Products and Technology at Parson's GoDaddy. CloudTimes.org says users enjoy performance improvements ranging from 25 to 100 percent.

Users are able to view the metrics of their site, which should provide them with analytics of their sites' performance and visibility. Teaming up with WebpageTest.org to generate backend metrics, which offers suggestions on how users can improve their sites' performance. The Web Accelerator is the first project to come out of GoDaddy's overhaul to improve on its cloud-server solutions for users. Rosenthal says this change was introduced in response to what customers said they needed to get out of a cloud solution for their site.

According to GoDaddy.com, to qualify for the Web Accelerator, you must have:

• An Ultimate Linux Web hosting plan
• No SSL applied to the account
• A hosting account in the U.S.
• Have a domain and hosting plan in the same account

AT&T

Regardless of what type of device you use to log on and view web pages, AT&T is striving to make its users more satisfied with the download time on desktops, smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. After creating a global strategic alliance with Akamai Technologies two months ago, AT&T's CDN was unveiled. PRNewsWire.com said the new addition to its network offerings allows business websites to increase load time for web pages and secure distribution of software across enterprise networks will be accelerated as well. Users have an increased capability to send high-defintion videos across networks and improve the practices for e-commerce, financial and other web apps.

You must have a hosting account through AT&T to receive its services.

When security and speed are two valued elements in technology and business, it makes sense that more companies are taking on CDNs to store and distribute media, documents and financial information.

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