Technology

How to Use Your Touch-Screen in the Snow, Without Taking Off Your Gloves

Bringing your cell phone with you to the slopes or to work in a city like Chicago shouldn’t be a problem, for the most part. Most cell phones are designed to withstand extreme temperatures, as long as it doesn’t drop below 40 degrees. However, touch screen phones present a whole new issue: using a touch screen cell phone simply doesn’t work when you’re wearing large gloves. But what if you’re living or working in a freezing environment where wearing gloves is essential to your health?

While you might find it appealing to push your phone to the limits, you don’t want to risk taking off gloves in freezing cold temperatures simply to use your phone. But there is a way you can use your phone without risking frost bite. A new touch screen glove makes it possible for people living or working in freezing environments to use their phones without the inconvenience of taking off their gloves. It’s a brilliant idea, and one that is catching on in wholesale numbers.

It is not often when technology and style merge so harmoniously. These innovative gloves are manufactured by Sun Chi Textile Co., LTD., a professional hosiery manufacturer since 1989. Available for only $4 a pair, these stylish and comfortable gloves are 85.5 percent cotton, 7 percent conductive fiber, 5 percent spandex, and 2.5 percent elastic, which means they are extremely soft and comfortable.

Winter can be extremely cold, especially in places like Alaska’s Arctic where temperatures drop as low as -45 Fahrenheit or colder. This is why wearing the right gear and clothing, including the right gloves, is essential to survival in freezing temperatures. So why not wear your gloves and use your phone, too?

Pleo the Pet Dinosaur Hits CES With a Roar

One thing that all kids seem to share is a love of dinosaurs. Unfortunately, unless “Jurassic Park” becomes a reality, your kids will never have a chance to see their favorite dinosaurs up close. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t have a dinosaur for a pet. That’s the seemingly outrageous claim I heard when I went to Innvo Labs booth at the recent CES show. It turns out they weren’t dealing in DNA cloning but in real robotics, as they had created a robot dinosaur that they say could replace the dog or the cat.

Innvo Labs was showcasing Pleo RB (the RB is for “reborn”) at its booth and the miniature dino was one of the hits of the show. According to its makers, Pleo is just like having a real pet like a dog or cat and in some ways even better. Pleo won’t die and doesn’t need to go to the bathroom outside.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s just a toy. Pleo is able to recognize some voice commands and other react to sensory stimulation such as touch and temperature. It also requires special “food” and sleep. If you don’t treat Pleo well, he’ll be very sad until he gets what he needs.

Innvo Labs said that Pleo is available for a price of about $470, with apps such as the ability to care for your “pet” from afar coming soon. From what I saw, Pleo is incredibly lifelike and it’s almost impossible to tell that it’s a robot. It might not replacing Fluffy or Fido, but Pleo should have dino-crazy kids excited.

“Below are some pictures of the brochures we picked up at CES.”

Wow a $79 Tablet PC at CES! Is this for Real?

Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you; you’re looking at a $79 Tablet Ice Cream Sandwich called the Ainovo Novo7 Paladin. Even though it’s the real deal, there is a catch. If you want to purchase this budget item you will have to do so in China. We ran into this at CES 2012. The Ainovo Novo7 Paladin, designed by MIPS Technologies, is now available in China, which means by the time it reaches your American hands it will cost you more than $79. The good news is that the company promises that a similar product will be coming to the States very soon, and it will be just as affordable. However, at the moment you can also purchase this on Amazon for $129.

While the budget-friendly tablet is no Galaxy Tab, it boasts a solid build. Its seven-inch screen is 800 x 480, ideal for casual gaming and watching YouTube videos. Furthermore, according to Engadget, MIPS said the U.S. version of the tablet might come with a higher resolution. The top of the tablet features three buttons: power, back, and menu. The right side of the table features a jack for the headphones, a mini USB port, volume buttons, and a microSD slot for enhancing the storage. The tablet currently boasts a whopping 8GB.

The interior of the tablet features a MIPS-based 1GHz single core processor and 512MB of RAM. It does not come with any fancy cameras or GPS. Consumers who want something that can handle videos and photographs can purchase the Novo7 basic for $99.

How To Get Affordable Marine Parts

Getting marine parts at an affordable price is an art. Not every boat owner gets his boat part at the correct price. Dealers of boat parts know that many boat owners are ignorant on boat workings and technical details. This is true as many boat owners own them for leisure and they do not bother about the maintenance details. It is better that you ask someone who knows about boats to recommend where to shop for your parts. This ensures that you are looking for the correct part in the first place.

You can choose to go physically to a marine dealer and check out what he has and talk to a salesman face to face, which will give you more confidence. Alternatively, you could shop online for marine engines and other parts. This option gives you the advantage of quicker comparison among dealers for the best prices and payment plans. It is also possible to locate hard to get spares online from dealers in neighboring states. Shopping online gives you flexibility in searching but does not give you the touch and feel of what you intend to buy.

Whatever your choice of shopping method, it is better to be prudent and read on the fine print by the dealer. While some marine parts like Suzuki marine parts will have a good guarantee and warranty plan, you should remember there a lot other bogus parts out there. It is better to be careful than sorry. After all, in the sea your life will be on the line.

100 Booth Babe Pictures from CES 2012

This year at CES 2012 in Las Vegas there were plenty of booth babes. Hot girls are hired by some companies to attract more visitors to their booths and no doubt it works due to majority of the techies being males. There were plenty of hot girls in bikinis, tight dresses, mini skirts and sexy outfits. When I was walking the floor, I spoke to a a few of these girls to find out more about their products, but most were not too familiar with their products and usually referred you to someone else.

Here we bring you 100 pictures of these hot booth babes from CES 2012.

Using GPS Tracking in Your Business

If you have a company where you have to constantly monitor employees, and if those employees are driving trucks all over the Unites States, then you need a way to watch all of the drivers without having to actually get in the cab with each person.  Sounds like a serious dilemma, doesn’t it?  Don’t worry, gps tracking is the answer to your problems. 

You can get fleet tracking and still watch all of the people that work for you without the hassle of leaving the office to meet with people, or having camera installed in the cabs of the trucks.  Another benefit of GPS tracking is that it will keep track of the miles, and also will keep track of the truck for you, so that if the driver takes a wrong route, you can correct him or her before it costs you miles.  You will also know where to find the truck if someone decided to steal it, because the bonus of GPS is that you know where the vehicle is at all times, including if it is no longer in your custody. 

Commercial fleet tracking is something that most large trucking companies should get, because it ensures that you can manage your employees effectively, and that you won’t have to waste money because you don’t know that your employees are being unproductive.  So get into the twenty first century, and get gps tracking, because you want to save money and be protected from loss and theft!

Buying Mercury Marine Parts

Mercury marine parts can be bought both online as well as in an actually boats store. Some people prefer to purchase their mercruiser parts in an actual store so they can see them for themselves while others find it easier to shop online. There is no right or wrong way to go about purchasing the parts due to the fact that the only reason there are two options is to make sure everyone can have their needs met.

When shopping online you have the chance to compare the different parts, such as Marine outboard parts. Sometimes you may even be lucky enough to come across a great discount or free shipping. You can browse and compare prices of the parts at different websites. Some may even throw in something free just for making a purchase from their store.

The internet has been such a great advancement for us all. Not just because it allows you to shop for the parts that you need but also because it allows you to compare the prices of products, their qualities and it even allows you to see what other buyers – like yourself – have experienced with the products.

You will be able to find out whether it is worth the money, if the store has the best deals, and so much more from the comfort of your home. When you buy things at the store there are no reviews written besides the products from customers and , of course, the store reps will tell you anything to make the sale.

LEDs, Lumens & Lux

Many times the brightness of a light is measured by its Lumens & Lux. However, Lumens and Lux only tell you how bright a light source appears to the human eye, not how well it will grow plants. In fact, the human eye is most sensitive to wavelengths of light which plants don’t need for photosynthesis. To the human eye, the colors green and yellow appear much brighter than the colors red and blue. While green wavelengths are reflected by plants, reds & blues are the primary colors used for photosynthesis. Lumen, therefore, can not accurately compare the plant growing capability of grow lights, especially when it comes to a LED grow light.

LED vs. HID
Traditional grow lights such as High Intensity Discharge (HID) have very high Lumens because they are not targeted to specific wavelengths like the LED growlights. Around 80% of the light coming out of these traditional light sources is either not absorbed by plants or is in the form of UV, or IR (heat). HID lighting can reach temperatures of over 1400 degrees F at the surface of the bulb. This excess heat then needs to be ventilated and directly translates into wasted energy that is included in a lumen rating.

Advances in LED technology have resulted in grow lights for indoor plants which follow the necessary photosynthesis activation radiation peaks. These LED Grow Lights exclude colors of light that are useful for human vision but not useful for plant growth. One great example is the 600 Watt LED Grow Light which reaches incredible levels of efficiency when compared to its 1400 Watt HID counterpart. With a power draw of only 480 Watts, this light is able to cover the same grow area with nearly one third of the power consumption.

All About Yamaha Marine Parts

Yamaha marine parts are easily found at PPT where you can find just about any part necessary to repair your boat. You will like the products that you find when you visit the PPT store online. There are many things that you can find when it comes to buying marine parts at PPT. you are able to replace your parts for your engines and find the type of supplies necessary at rock bottom prices. Technical support is always available to help you find the right solution for any problems you might have replacing marine parts on your boat.

You can find mercruiser parts to help you fix your cooling systems and exhaust manifolds at the PPT store online. There are many different replacement parts available for your Mercruiser. That is why many people visit the online store when they need replacement parts for their Mercruiser. There are parts for the Mercruiser engines that will fit your budget making it easy for you to purchase and do the replacement on your own Mercruiser.

When you need marine outboard, parts just bring in the list of what you need and we will help provide the parts for you. You need not waste any time looking for the parts you can find your part and get back in the water before you know it. When you are wondering how to replace the part, we will furnish you with a marine outboard parts diagram that will help you to replace the marine part without any difficulties.

Cloud Computing and its Importance to Our Lives

Many people have heard the term cloud computing, but few completely understand it. There is almost a certain chance that most people today have used or had some sort of contact with a cloud system, even though it does not appear that way initially. The idea itself is very different from conventional computers, but there are only a few important things to understand about the system.

The basic idea behind cloud computing is to make everything portable. In a perfect world, no matter what computer or place the individual accesses the information they get to the same software and the same files. Instead of a single computer server where the information is stored, it is stored in pieces across many systems. This removes the reliance of one machine for a specific user or task, optimizing computing power and storage over a wide array of systems.

Many people are already a part of a cloud system without even knowing. In an effort to provide more email storage space, most providers have adapted a cloud model which has allowed users many gigs of storage. Web based word processors are also a cloud service, which allows for document storage and processing within an account. This allows for a more streamlined lifestyle, relying on a simple online account rather than a specific computer system to organize their digital life.

While there are already many systems that implement this style, the only item that has not had a wide implementation yet is cloud processing. The Chromebook, released by Google, is a laptop computer that has very little local storage. All the programs and file storage is accessed through a web browser, which allows the notebook to be produced for less expensive. The problem as of now is that the notebook still needs good local processing power to run applications and perform thinking tasks.

With these systems comes better service for businesses too. Instead of focusing on the performance of individual systems, IT departments can setup portals to remotely access the systems. This allows for a bug within the software to be corrected once, instead of many times across a wide array of computers. In this setup, the system does not have to be powerful or anything else special besides having a simple web browser that is included with every system imaginable.

The additional requirement is the need to test and maintain the system. An outage can be devastating to a company, so performance testing must be performed for reliability. These tests give an overview of how the server responds to different workloads, and prevents outages and slowdowns from occurring. This is the same for the software itself, requiring mobile app testing to ensure the same experience across the many different types of platforms that access the cloud.

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