Articles tagged “Gadgets”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

7 Ways to be an Ethical Photographer while Traveling By Julia Austin IN Travel & Outdoors Aug 17 2011 Just like you monitor which personal photos you put up on your social media pages like Facebook and Twitter, in order to give what you believe is an accurate and complete depiction of yourself, you must take this same care with photos of others that you take while traveling. + READ MORE

5 Freaky Robots Show Us the Future is Now (Videos) By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Nov 22 2010 Robots have been a fascination of kids and scientists alike for generations. But while we've grown used to the idea of robots in our lives, from the mechanical arms that manufacture our automobiles to the more whimsical robot housekeepers and servers coming out of Japan design labs, there are far more high-tech robots being created that put us on the edge of our seats. Here are five of those strange and fascinating new inventions that call into question everything from the need for our flesh-and-bone bodies to human consciousness. + READ MORE

7 Phone Apps That Are Changing Lives in Africa By Rachel Cernansky IN Tech & Transport Nov 5 2010 From healthcare to insurance to fighting government corruption, people you've never heard of are developing phone apps that are revolutionizing life in Africa. + READ MORE

PVC In Your Electronics? In the New Greenpeace Green Guide, Toxin-Free Gadgets Win By Rachel Cernansky IN Tech & Transport Oct 27 2010 If Philips can create a TV without these toxic chemicals, "there is now no excuse for other TV manufacturers not to follow.“ + READ MORE

Social Networking Offers High-Tech Answers for Ending Street Harassment By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Oct 26 2010 Harassmap takes advantage of constant access to social media sites via cell phone to give women a way to monitor and avoid the worst areas. + READ MORE

Nanotech Does the Coolest Stuff You'll Never See By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Oct 20 2010 Nanotechnology is creating things at a molecular scale, and everything from microscopic robots to more efficient energy storage have come out of the new science. Check out a few of the inventions that have caught our interest: + READ MORE

Smart Phones That Shift Shape To Send Alerts to Users By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Oct 20 2010 What if, rather than get an audio or visual cue from your smart phone that your battery is low or that you've received a new message, the phone changes shape? In situations such as at movie theaters, you could still know what's going on with your phone without having to disturb everyone around you. This new shape shifting technology isn't so unrealistic; in fact, it's already underway. + READ MORE

Oxfam and Nokia Make Disaster Relief As Simple As Pressing "Send" By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Oct 19 2010 Oxfam and Nokia have partnered up to create an app that allows anyone with a Nokia cell phone to get updates on when donations are needed, make a quick donation, and follow the fundraising efforts of Oxfam in real time. + READ MORE

TED Talk: Making Gadgets More Like Guts, Skin and Skeletons By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Oct 12 2010 Greening our gadgets comes down to just a handful of basic principles -- minimizing energy consumption, making them last as long as possible, and creating them to be hackable, fixable and upgradeable. + READ MORE

eLEGS Makes Walking Possible for Paraplegics By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Oct 11 2010 Few things are likely more amazing than regaining the use of your legs if you're wheelchair bound. Berkeley Bionics has created an exoskeleton that allows a paraplegic person to stand up and walk. + READ MORE

Vibrating Cameras Turn Hands Into Eyes for Visually Impaired By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Oct 4 2010 A concept device by designer Noam Klopper could turn a blind person's hands into their new eyes. + READ MORE

Robotic Skin Could Restore Sense of Touch for Amputees By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Sep 13 2010 Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have made a breakthrough in creating a touch-sensitive "skin" for robots. It makes it possible for the same robotic hand to gently grasp something fragile in one instance, and keep a hold of something heavy in the next. But the e-skin also has important implications for people with prosthetic limbs -- it could restore the sense of touch. + READ MORE

Geeks Without Borders Set on Saving Lives With Technology By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Aug 31 2010 Most everyone is familiar with Doctors Without Boarders, a humanitarian organization saving lives of people who lack access to healthcare. But what about people whose lives are threatened by a lack of access to technology and the information that technology provides? Geeks Without Borders hopes to be that solution. + READ MORE

Microscopes Hacked With Cheap Flashlights Offer Improved Healthcare for Impoverished Areas By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Aug 24 2010 The inventiveness within the medical community for shrinking the size and price of supplies is important and inspiring work. Especially when it comes to the basics, like microscopes. + READ MORE

Mappiness iPhone App Pinpoints Happy Places By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Aug 23 2010 It's commonly thought that if we're happy, we make those around us happier too; conversely, if those around us are happy, we feel happier along with them. So what if you could stake out where the happiest places are located and go there? UK researchers are hoping to uncover environmental factors in what makes people happy, and are using one of the most handy tools available -- iPhones. + READ MORE

First Device to Transmit Sign Language Over Cellular Networks Is Field Tested By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Work & Connect Aug 17 2010 For deaf people, using a telephone can be a cumbersome ordeal that includes special equipment and services that connect callers through translators. Cell phones have become incredibly useful tools for the deaf community, but it's their texting capabilities that are so valuable. Yet students at University of Washington are helping to make cell phones convenient for deaf and hard-of-hearing people to communicate face to face. Making a quick call is soon to be a whole lot easier. + READ MORE

Worldreader to Boost Literacy in Ghana With Kindle e-Readers By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Tech & Transport Aug 16 2010 Not only is the idea of bringing Kindles into classrooms growing in the states, but also in developing nations. Worldreader, a non-profit co-founded by ex-Amazon.com VP David Risher, is hoping to boost literacy rates by handing out Kindles. + READ MORE

TED Talk: Wiring Up the Oceans with Sensor Arrays to Study Mysteries of the Deep By Jaymi Heimbuch IN Work & Connect Aug 2 2010 What if we could set up a system of high definition cameras and sensors to constantly monitor the areas and send us a steady stream of information? That's the goal of oceanographer John Delaney, who is heading up a team installing sensor arrays to explore how our ocean functions. + READ MORE

Congress Acts to Stop Conflict Mineral Trade While it Cleans Up Wall Street By Rachel Cernansky IN Tech & Transport Jul 16 2010 When Congress passed the financial reform bill yesterday, it managed to do so with an important provision on conflict minerals intact. + READ MORE

No More "Blood Phones" -- Conflict-Free Electronics Can Help End the World's Deadliest War By Rachel Cernansky IN Work & Connect Jun 28 2010 Our cell phones and other electronics currently help fuel the world's deadliest war - commit to buying conflict-free gadgets, and demand the industry make a conflict-free commitment of its own. + READ MORE