If you thought your cell phone, laptop or other electronics were draining faster than usual during the unusual bitter cold, you’re not wrong.
Electronic experts say the bitter cold drains batteries faster so people who depend on their cell phones in remote locations need to make sure they recharge often and have chargers in their car in the event of an emergency.
One computer expert said that Apple computers are especially vulnerable to the cold.
“Apple is rated from I believe 32 degrees to roughly 95 degrees,” David Greer of Digital Doc told CBS. “Samsung is rated from minus, negative 4 to up to 128.”
Greer also warned of the importance of not trying to rapidly heat your phone or computer if it’s cold. Greer said you risk major damage to the devices if you do not allow them to slowly reach room temperature.
He suggests making sure you keep your phone in a jacket or close to your body to keep it warm.
Want to spy on your neighbor? Want to see where your spouse goes in the afternoon? Want to peer in on the meeting at church you weren’t invited to?
Starting in June, you could spy on all of those with a personal drone you can carry in your pocket and have airborne and spying on someone within 20 seconds.
The “Pocket Drone” by AirDroids was seeking $35,000 from the crowdfunding site Kickstarter to launch their company. With 45 days left in their funding campaign, the company has raised $365,000 from over 800 backers seeking to get their hands on a personal spy craft.
The craft will be remote controlled either with a specialized controller or from a laptop, desktop or smartphone using the Android operating system. While the system only allows for 20 minute flights before needed a recharge, it can capture hundreds of photographs in that short time.
The system will also allow users to have a “follow me” mode where a mobile device with GPS can be tracked by the drone. If the user can hack a subject’s phone, they can program the drone or series of drones to follow a target.
The drone could also be used for real-time video surveillance.
China’s Defense Ministry has confirmed long rumored development of a new hypersonic aircraft that could attack thousands of miles from its launch point.
The hypersonic glide vehicle would be launched using an intercontinental ballistic missile and could travel at speeds of Mach 10. The device would be very difficult to detect by warning systems because unlike the missiles the glider would not enter space.
Military affairs analysts told the Washington Free Beacon the weapon is part of weapons called an “assassin’s mace.” Those weapons are designed to be used by a weaker military force to gain an advantage against a superior foe.
A Pentagon spokesman said that they were aware of the Chinese test.
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and two subcommittee chairman called the test concerning and that it showed a fast technological leap by the Chinese military.
The FBI has announced they will be launching a system in 2014 that will allow law enforcement to use facial recognition to track and follow citizens.
The computer-based system will automatically identify a person based on a digital image or video source that is matched to a massive database.
The process had been a work of fiction on TV shows like CSI and other police procedurals but now such a system will be used in real life. The facial recognition program is part of a $1 billion Next Generation Identification System being created by the FBI.
The system will also include iris scans, DNA analysis and voice identification.
The FBI says the new system will allow them to reduce terrorist and criminal activity by expanding criminal history information services.
The American Bible Society has released their 2013 “State of the Bible” report and revealed that just over 4 in 10 Americans reads the Bible online.
The report says 29% of Americans search for Bible verses on smartphones while 17% use a Kindle or iPad. Continue reading →
Researchers have made a huge breakthrough in microwave emitting laser technology allowing them to maintain a beam at room temperature for the first time. Previously, all versions of microwave emitting lasers, or a “maser,” required high magnetic fields and technically challenging cooling systems.
The report published in the journal “Nature” shows that masers can be created using a crystalline material without any cooling units or magnets. Continue reading →
Researchers in Japan have a new system that will increase internet data transmission rates to 20 times over the most common internet wi-fi standard. The research claims that the “T-Ray” band could offer huge amounts of bandwidth that has been previously unavailable to businesses and consumers.
The band is between the microwave and the far-infrared regions of the spectrum and it’s currently unregulated, allowing anyone to use the space. Continue reading →
