The Future Of Charging Our Devices

As the world relies more and more on mobile devices, our necessity for new ways to charge batteries gets to be more pressing. That's the reason inventors today are working to create clothing that does more than keeps you warm; it can also charge your gadgets! This was highlighted in a recent
story in Mashable. It discusses a number of different clothing and textile items that double as chargers. We talk about a few below.


Rain Boots that Charge Your Phone


GotWind partnered with Orange, a British mobile carrier, to develop some rain boots that can charge your phone. These companies unveiled the boots, as prototypes, at the Glastonbury Music Festival and got an excellent response from the mobile users in the crowd.


Military Tech


There is also technology now being worn by U.S. military personnel. Soldiers can now depend on lightweight military uniforms that boast intelligent textiles into their vests, shirts, helmets, and backpacks. This technology allows soldiers to charge one battery and then send the energy from it throughout their clothing. In this way, they can charge whatever device needs to be charged.


The Most Advanced Felt in the World


And if you thought that was innovative, check out Power Felt. Scientists at the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University are developing this currently. It is a thermoelectric device that turns body heat into electricity. It’s like something out of a science fiction novel but if they nail this technology down, then we might have an unlimited supply of electricity from our clothing for our devices.


These technologies will alter the way we charge our devices and almost eliminate the limitations we currently have due to inadequate batteries. That will be a wonderful day!

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Get More Out of OS X Mountain Lion

OS X Mountain Lion, the ninth version of the operating system powering Macintosh laptop and desktop computers, has gotten mostly rave reviews. This isn't shocking. The operating system is both robust and simple to use*. But are you getting the most from your Mountain Lion experience? There are several tricks you can use to improve your productivity while using OS X Mountain Lion, and Mark Crump, a writer for GigaOM, has the goods.


Managing Mail


One of the more valuable features that Mountain Lion provides is for people who are overwhelmed by the volume of email they receive. And let’s be honest, this is most of us. You've probably realized that very little mail is actually important and much of it is promotions and coupons. To help handle this, Apple created the Mountain Lion Notification Center. This allows you to get alerts that pop up on your screen when emails from specific people come in so you don’t have to keep navigating back to your inbox.


The Power of Reminders


Sometimes when we get too involved with our work we neglect the little things, like picking up milk on our way home from work, or calling a client at 4pm. Mountain Lion has a very simple app that will help. The reminder app lets you set reminders for these things, and you may check off the task when they're completed.


Relying on Notes for Important Codes


If you are frequently forgetting your passwords, you can use Mountain Lion’s Notes feature. This allows you to have quick access to your passwords or dial in codes for your meetings. It also syncs with iOS Notes so you will have your passwords wherever you go.


*Although we love Microsoft, we're also fans of great technology, whatever the label.

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3 of the Top E-readers on the Market

Many people have e-readers these days. If you are shopping for one, you are probably aware that there are lots of models on the market. Most of them are good quality, so you really can’t go wrong with whichever one you choose. We showcase three below.


Nook Color: The Nook Color is Barnes & Noble's e-reader and it is affordable. You can get one for about $150. While the price tag is low, the reading experience is very high in both the display of images and prose. One fantastic aspect of the Nook Color is the capability to look up the definition of words just by pressing and holding the word.


The Nook Color has some built-in applications, like the popular music-streaming site, Pandora. And it’s very easy to download more applications from the apps store. However, the one complaint most people have is that a lot of the newer apps are not available for the Nook Color.


Kindle Fire: The Kindle Fire is very similar to the Nook Color and is one of the most popular e-readers available. The reading experience on the Kindle Fire is incredibly clear and just like the Nook Color it comes with its own email client and web browser. The Kindle is affordable, too, with the current price tag being under $200.


The one negative that people have to say about the Kindle Fire is that the controls are less than user-friendly. As an example, there is no volume control on the device itself. You have to tap the screen to bring up the volume control.


Kobo e-Reader: The Kobo e-Reader Touch doesn't have the name recognition of either the Nook Color or the Kindle Fire. But that doesn't mean it's not a worthy competitor. In fact, you wouldn't go wrong by spending your e-reader dollars on this nifty device if reading is your absolute goal. Users rave about the reading experience on the Kobo. Images and words are sharp and simple to read. In fact, the Kobo offers seven unique font styles and 17 different font sizes for readers to choose from. Others rave about the device's soft, quilted back. Don't laugh; this back makes holding a Kobo feel much more like holding a real book. That's a feature that the Nook Color or Amazon Kindle can't boast.


You can download e-books from the Kobo store in many different formats. This is perfect for graphics-heavy books. Also, the battery life of the Kobo blows other e-readers out of the water. When the Wi-Fi feature is switched off, the battery can last as long as a month.

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Robots As Helpers

When many of us were kids, we thought the future held jetpacks and helper robots for us. Helper robots, particularly, are appealing. It feels like, particularly with all the current advancements in robotics, we should have robots that can clean our house, make us breakfast, and select our clothing in the morning, like Rosie did on the Jetsons.


This comical video called "Thanks a lot, robot friend" highlights the issue with helper robots in a few seconds. The task the robot in the video is trying to complete is to pour a beer into a glass while holding something in the other arm. Upon attempting to accomplish this task, the robot pours beer everywhere after which it’s arm falls off. It may be absurd, but it demonstrates robots have a ways to go before they are able to perform even simple household tasks.


Washing Your Hair the Robotic Way


In spite of this comical video, some companies are creating robots that are more complicated and help people. Panasonic, for example, unveiled its Hair-Washing Robot last year. This robot wets, shampoos, conditions, and rinses your hair and gives you a little massage. Most of us do not need robots to assist with this. It was created for elderly people or people with limitations that may make such a simple task very hard.


The Robot Bed


Panasonic also came out with a robotic bed that transforms into an electric wheelchair. You can see how the elderly or disabled would find this very beneficial. So, there are some helper bots out there designed for people who actually need them, rather than those of us who would like to be lazy and not do house work. Regardless, it seems like we are well on our way to having the world of 1950s science fiction come into reality.

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Translation Apps: Apps That Speak Your Language and Many Others

Have you ever traveled overseas and been struggling to speak the language? Constantly fumbling with a dictionary is not ideal. Instead, how about next time you use your smartphone. There are many apps on the market that were designed for this purpose. We have outlined three below that we think are worth your time and money.


Jibbigo


Jibbigo costs $4.99, this app is available for both the iPhone and Android. It has such an massive dictionary you would be hard pressed to find a language this app cannot translate. To use it, users speak right into their smartphone and Jibbigo will give you a translation via text or voice. This app can be extremely useful to people traveling to remote locations as it does not require a network connection.


Dean Foster's Culture Guides


If you want an app that provides you with more information then just translations, Dean Foster’s Culture Guides may be what you are seeking. Currently, these guides are only available for 12 countries but they supply maps, current weather reports, exchange rates, in addition to translations.


Word Lens


If you need to translate the written word, Word Lens is a great app. It utilizes your smartphones camera. You take a photo of a sign, menu, book, etc. and the app will convert it for you. You can observe how this would be convenient. The only languages this app presently works with are Spanish, French, Italian, and English. The basic app is free, but if you would like to buy any of the languages it will cost you $4.99 per language.

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Why You Need To Protect Yourself With Two-Factor Authentication

Many people are nervous nowadays about hackers. Slate.com ran a story recently discussing Matt Honan’s, a writer for Wired Magazine, experiences with being hacked. In August, Honan’s Apple account was hacked, and all of the information on his iPhone, iPad, and Macbook was erased. Moreover, the hacker deleted his Google account and hijacked his Twitter account, using it to post racist and obscene remarks. Something this story puts into sharp focus is the fact that everyone can get hacked.


However, the story also provided some good news: There are steps that consumers might take to make it much less likely that they will suffer Honan's fate. And it all starts with two-factor authentication.


Two-factor authentication


You can use two-factor authentication to better protect your accounts from hackers. With two-factor authentication Google provides you with a code that you have to enter in addition to your password. It can mean the difference between your accounts being safe or your accounts being exposed to hackers.


How it works


Two-factor authentication has been enabled for all Google accounts. You are able to download the app for your smartphone or mobile device. Then when you log into your account you will type both your password and the code that Google has given you.


You are able to use Google’s two-factor authentication system without a smartphone too. Just log into your Google account on your PC and wait for Google to text or call you to give you the code.


Not widely used


You can use this extra defense to protect yourself against hackers. Unfortunately, not a lot of people use it. This is mainly do to the slight hassle it is to add an extra step when logging into accounts. But when you think it over, it may be the difference between being hacked and staying protected.

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Two Tips To Fight Screen ADD

Do you suffer from computer-screen attention deficit disorder? Here are some indicators: You have five Internet Explorer tabs open simultaneously. You're working away at three Word documents simultaneously, and you are messing with two open spreadsheets, too. Quite simply, you are juggling so many on-screen tasks at the same time, you're struggling to finish any one of them.


Computer-screen ADD can make you less productive because when we focus on many tasks at once, we run the risk of not completing any of them. It can also become difficult to prioritize tasks when you are lost in a sea of responsibilities.


Focusing on many things at once can hurt your productivity. But there are a couple things you can do help break these behaviors.


Resist the minimization urge


Breaking the habit of minimizing windows may seem difficult, but in order to improve your productivity it is important. By minimizing windows you are choosing to set that task aside and work on something else, but if you leave it up and tackle it, it is one more thing off of your plate. If you shrink it, it may be days before you get it done as you work on it erratically. Sticking with the “no-minimization” rule can make you complete that task immediately and not put it off.


Email filters


This is a very simple thing you can do to help you be more productive and stop screen ADD. You can create filters to send emails that are from specific people to your inbox and anything else is sent to another inbox. This will prevent you from becoming preoccupied by the other emails and enable you to concentrate on the most important ones that you may have previously skimmed over.

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These Tips Will Help You Deploy A New OS On Your Company

The news about Windows 8, the new Windows operating system, is that it will hit the market later this year. But an amazing amount of businesses have not yet launched Windows 7 on their machines. About 70 percent of businesses are still running Windows XP, which was released way back in August 2001. Many companies, though, are now considering upgrading to Windows 7. This makes sense: Microsoft won't offer formal support for XP as of April of 2014. Businesses, then, who want support from Microsoft, must upgrade at the very least to Windows 7 by that date. But before businesses make the move to the Windows 7 operating system, they will have to take some steps to make certain that their computers are ready for the change.


Analyze hardware and compatibility


To begin this process, the first thing an organization must do, is analyze the hardware on the machines to be sure they can run Window’s 7. Also, the applications that are currently installed on the machines may not be compatible with Windows 7. There are ways that an IT department or MSP can find this out.


What OS images to deploy


The next step to take before deploying a new OS is to figure out what applications you'll need on your computers and the order they must be installed in. Should you install all of the current applications at the same time as the OS? Should you take time to evaluate which applications are essential to what departments and only install the necessary ones after installing the OS? The second option is probably the best, as it allows users to then install whatever programs they believe will be useful later and it quickens the deployment process.


Choosing the right image deployment tool


Once a company has settled on a deployment approach, they must choose which tool they'll use to create, manage, and deploy the Windows 7 image. There are lots of tools that can assist with this including Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 and System Center Configuration Manager 2007 or 2012.


In the end, upgrading your company’s operating system needs to be done every few years. When it’s time to do it, it must be planned for and executed well by individuals who have taken all of these things into account. Making certain you have a good plan will help the conversion go smoothly and with less stress.

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The Real World Application Of Military Technologies

The military is an innovator when it comes to developing new technology. In fact, the U.S. armed forces are creating some tech that just might improve your life.
Some of the items they are focusing on might amaze you.


The laser gun


Science fiction fans have long wondered when we'd get those cool laser guns from Star Wars and Star Trek. Well, the military now has an operational laser gun, a machine called Excalibur. The Department of Defense has long worried about the harm that conventional weapons can cause in urban warfare. That's where laser guns come in. The Department of Defense's DARPA unit is presently developing laser weapons that are 10 times lighter than current combat lasers. The goal is to one day create 10-kilowatt devices which can be used in precision strikes against ground and air targets.


The doctor is in – your body


DARPA is developing nanoparticles that fight disease and illness in the human body. This could transform the medical industry and the program is moving quickly. They are already testing this nanotechnology on larger animals.


Thermal imaging on the cheap


The U.S. military has long used thermal imaging technology but this technology is far from cheap. That's why DARPA is now working on its Low Cost Thermal Imager manufacturing program. This program, as its name signifies, is attempting to drastically lower the cost of thermal imaging technology. DARPA would like to one day see thermal imaging machinery in cell phones, eyeglasses, drones, helmets, and rifle sights.

We May Be On The Verge Of Discovering Immortality

Have you ever seriously considered the ramifications of living forever? Would you want to if it were possible? Well, according to scientist and author Ray Kurzweil, these questions may become more relevant in the near future. He predicts that we may discover the key to immortality in the next 20 years. This may have everything to do with nanobots replacing our blood cells.


This might seem not only far-fetched but also a little spooky. Kurzweil is very passionate about these ideas and so are some pretty well known people. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates are big proponents of Kurzweil’s ideas.


Rise of the nanobots?


Regardless of how “out-there” Kurzweil’s ideas are, they may be a very real possibility. In about 20 years, scientists believe they will have found a way to halt andreverse the aging process. Kurzweil then believes that nanotechnology will come into play, replacing human blood cells, and doing the work much more efficiently.


Exponential technology


Again, this soundsastounding, but Kurzweil is basing his predictions on one fact that cannot be contested: Technology has been advancing at an exponential rate. And this, Kurzweil argues, signifies that immortality is just a few technological leaps away.


That doesn't, though, answer the bigger question: Should humans live forever? What will happen to the planet? Will overpopulation destroy our natural resources? And, obviously, is living forever even something people want? Won't those people who believe in an afterlife want to ultimately pass from this life? These are all big questions, and if Kurzweil is to be believed, we may all soon be confronting them.