An “electronic tattoo” containing flexible electronic circuits can now record some complex brain activity and could also provide a cheap way to monitor a developing fetus. This was appeared in 2011 at the University of California, San Diego by Todd Coleman. Applied to skin like a temporary tattoo, these could be used to monitor electrophysiological signals associated with the heart and muscles, as well as rudimentary brain activity.

To improve its usefulness, Coleman’s group has now optimized the placement of the electrodes to pick up more complex brainwaves. They have demonstrated this by monitoring so-called P300 signals in the forebrain. These appear when you pay attention to a stimulus. The team showed volunteers a series of images and asked them to keep track of how many times a certain object appeared. Whenever volunteers noticed the object, the tattoo registered a blip in the P300 signal.

For now, the group is focusing on optimizing the tattoo for use in conditions such as depression and Alzheimer’s disease, each of which have characteristic patterns of neural activity. People with depression could wear the tattoo for an extended period, allowing it to help gauge whether medication is working. Micron Associates thinks that the number one advantage of this is the medical ease of application.

Because its electronic components are already mass-produced, the tattoo can also be made very cheaply.
That means it might also lend itself to pregnancy monitoring in developing countries. With help from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Coleman’s group is working on a self-effacing version of the tattoo that monitors signals such as maternal contractions and fetal heart rate.

The Apple’s iTV will have, according to one analyst as he detailed very specific components, an iPad-sized second screen on which to watch media, and a ring you wear on your finger that acts as a remote control.

Apple’s iTV is a nickname adopted by the public but it isn’t actually an Apple TV. It is Apple’s little digital streaming box that is similar to a Roku. iTV would definitely make its way for Apple to make it in the living room because unlike Apple TV, the iTV would be a full television. It is a gigantic untapped market and the objective of just about every new device from the Steam Box and Ouya to 3D printers and tablets. Currently, as BGR calls attention to, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White has been meeting with Apple supply chains in China and Taiwan and engaged as much information about the iTV as he possibly will, counting its size, unique remote control, and killer feature.

White noted that Apple will be launching the iTV sometime toward the end of this year, and said that the unit will include “a major innovation that will revolutionize the TV experience” in a letter to investors. While that wording is enticing, we’ve undoubtedly heard it all before regarding a number of products that didn’t bring out on the words. Still, White said some interesting niceties. Foremost, though there is a possibility Apple will also launch a 50- to 55-inch model, he expects iTV to be a 60-inch television. But this could be a problem to those living in a small room for it will make it harder to watch the in the television.

The mini iTV is not a full tablet that only has a very basic device with the main purpose of watching media from your iTV. Not to forget about the iWatch, White expects the technically-not-confirmed smartwatch will be integral to the iTV experience. Having this will you to interact with your fancy TV on the go. White thinks the iTV will range between $1,500 and $2,500, just around the cost of a decent MacBook Pro or iMac. Though, the price will vary based on the amount of mini iTV devices that are included in the package, despite the fact that one mini iTV is expected to be included by default.

These details are from the result of one informed analyst’s expectations and not any kind of official announcement that align with current trends. If the target launch ends, details about the iTV will also come soon.

The statement laid out Dell’s case for shareholders accepting a $24.4 billion offer, led by its founder and CEO, Michael Dell, to take the PC maker private. Michael Dell has joined with private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners to buy the company, with Silver Lake in turn tapping Microsoft for a $2 billion contribution.

Michael Dell’s proposal has been threatened by recent counter-offers from private-equity fund manager Blackstone and a group coordinated by investor Carl Icahn.

In the proxy, Dell also blamed other factors for its troubled PC business, including “unexpected slowdowns in enterprise Windows 7 upgrades,” as well as a lengthening PC replacement cycle and a rush to the bottom toward lower-margin systems. The Round Rock, Texas Company also cited the widely-reported shift in consumer dollars from PCs to tablets and smartphones.

Dell acknowledged that it’s not playing in the hottest technology markets, admitting that it sells only “limited quantities” of tablets and doesn’t manufacture smartphones.

While the blame placed on Windows 8 was not a surprise — reports of sluggish sales have dogged the operating system since its launch in October — Dell’s naming Windows 7 was.

What’s striking is that Dell is better known for selling PCs to enterprises than to consumers. Slowing sales of Windows 7 machines at Dell may indicate that corporations have largely completed their migrations from Windows XP.

If accurate and an industry-wide trend, Microsoft could face even tougher times ahead. The company has regularly touted Windows 7 penetration in the enterprise — in January, Peter Klein, Microsoft’s CFO, said 60% of the world’s enterprise desktops were running Windows 7 — and asserted that sales of the popular OS would continue.

Dell remains a major PC maker — the world’s third largest, according to IDC, with a 10.6% share of the market in 2012′s fourth quarter. And its personal computer and associated products and services, what the proxy dubbed the “end-user computing” (EUC) business, account for 65% of company revenue. Michael Dell, however, wants to push a strategy to de-emphasize the EUC business and transition to a model reliant on higher-margin services to enterprises.

In due course, driverless cars could redesign our perception on what it means to possess a car. Jut take this for a instance, you could just dial up a car to pick you up and drop you off when you need it instead owning a car that is unused for 22 hours on many days. Google foresee that driverless cars could lessen the overall number of cars by 90 percent.

See in your mind’s eye a long road trip where you can purposely fall asleep “at the wheel” — and arrive safely the next morning.

But perfecting the technology is not enough. This new tech leads to many questions and many changes in law and lifestyle. Governments and courts will have to form out lots of new legal and regulatory issues. If a driverless car crashes, who’s liable? One big question we need to be deciding first.

“It’s absolutely the case that after the first accident involving an automated vehicle, there will be an automated ambulance chaser following,” says Robert Hartwig, President of the Insurance Information Institute.

The auto industry is aware of the legal risk. “We have great exposure as an industry in terms of product liability,” says Dan Gage, of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “And I think as an industry … most of us suspect that there will always be someone in that driver’s seat.”

Jeff Dial, an Arizona legislator, introduced a bill last year that would update Arizona law to cover driverless cars.

“After I introduced the bill, then suddenly all the insurance companies started approaching me with the questions of the liability,” he says. “The more you deal with this issue, the more the issue grows and grows.”

As driverless cars alter transportation yet again, adding up levels of flexibility, safety and convenience, the car will become a kind of mobile room, just a place to spend time while the rest of our lives are going on. And let’s admit it, some people likes driving cars, it some kind of a stress-reliever, some way to relax and forget for a while. Whatever the options may be the choice is still yours. Technology is good as long as it wont harm us and the environment.

If you’re considering applying for a more in-depth Extended Validation certificate, consider the features in this Micron Associates EV SSL guide, to confirm whether it is the right certificate for you. There are others available, should you wish to compare them all before parting with your cash.

There are two choices to be made in terms of Extended Validation certificates – Secure Site Pro and Secure Site. Secure Site EV includes a vulnerability assessment, while Secure Site Pro includes the extra bonus of SSL encryption with SGC.

Security Features

•Up to 256-bit encryption which protects your data to the highest level. With Secure Site Pro, encryption with SGC (Server Gated Cryptography) means that even the older browsers are capable of maximum encryption.
•a green browser bar which provides a clearly visible indicator of site security
•Extended validation – the highest level of authentication currently available on the market.
•Full organisation authenticity – complete verification of your business giving confidence and trust that you are who you say you are.
•Vulnerability Assessment, including automatic scans of web pages and a report of any security issues.
•An Extended Warranty of 1.5million USD, protecting you against any losses suffered from a breach by VeriSign.
•The Norton Secured Seal, clearly visible and one of the most recognized trust seals in the world.
•Seal-in Search, displaying the Secured Seal next to your link in search results
•Daily scanning for malware
•Customer support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Certificate Authority Features and Benefits

Key Features

•Certificate Authority vendor-agnostic SSL certificate discovery capabilities
•Configurable network scans across different parts of the network
•A comprehensive, interactive dashboard with a rich, intuitive user interface and drill-down capabilities
•In-console alerts and email notification
•Detailed reports and audit trails
•SSL security rating
•Symantec Certificate for Mobile available on Apple iPad®
•Secure cloud-based service, integrated with Managed PKI for SSL console

Key Benefits

•Reduce risk and help ensure business continuity by avoiding unplanned certificate expirations and eliminating rogue SSL certificates
•Increase operational efficiency with automated discovery of all SSL certificates on the enterprise from any Certificate Authority
•Maintain compliance with detailed intelligence and security alerts
•Minimize overhead with the convenience of a central, cloud-based SSL management service
•Increase business agility with actionable intelligence anyplace, anytime

Plus, financial needs can be a struggle for single mothers too. Here are some tips that can aid to that problem.

Track income and spending. Single moms are often afraid to even look at it, they pretend to be blind and spend money just on a daily basis, thinking everything will be okay. Don’t let fear stop you from facing financial facts. Let this be in your mind, assessing your situation is the first step to ease financial concerns. Record every expense for a month to see where money is going then compare the total with income. If you notice that there is nothing left for savings and other essentials you might just have to trim down on the budget. Until this is unclear you won’t go any further than usual.

Some single mothers only rely on life insurances on their work but do not assume that you are sufficiently protected by your work life insurances because those policies are for small amounts. Assess how much your family would need if, God forbid, something happened to you and you died. And an important point is that get life insurance quotes from highly rated insurers.

Next thing you must consider is your heath, because women are more prone to disability. Works’ insurance often not enough coverage for families. One big medical emergency can lead to bankruptcy. Get health insurance for you and also check to see if your kids qualify for free or low-cost health insurance coverage through the Chidren’s Health Insurance Program.

Take Advantage of Income Tax Deductions. “Child-care deductions can help lower what you pay in taxes,” says financial planner Edward Wacks. “If you qualify for head of household status, you can get a more favorable tax rate than if you’re filing single.”

Build an emergency savings fund, in case of job loos or other emergency it is always better to be prepared. Plan for the future, it is always a good idea to organize and save money. It is also important that you teach your kids about the importance of money on an early age, this will pay off afterwards. And always remember health is very important, take care of the family, take care of your job and take very good care of yourself.

An unnamed 25-year-old man at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. According to the Micron Associates, the man — reportedly Lebanese — was waiting to board a flight to Dubai when authorities acting on a tip subjected him to a search. The Hawks, South Africa’s elite police unit, arrested him after a body scan revealed his stomach contained 220 gemstones.

“At this stage it would be unwise for us to speculate about what exactly he had done,” Hawk spokesperson Paul Ramaloko told the MA. “We do not know whether he had swallowed the diamonds before he came to the airport or during arrest.”

South Africa is one of the biggest diamond producers in the world, and Johannesburg is one of the planet’s main diamond cutting and trading centers. The diamond industry there dates back to the 1870s, following a diamond rush sparked by the discovery of the 83.5-carat Star of Africa diamond in 1869 and has since expanded to the continent’s other southern countries, including Namibia, according to the World Diamond Council.

But where there’s diamonds, there’s been crime. The airport arrest comes just days after an AFP report alleging that since 2008, military officials and government ministers in Zimbabwe have illegally exported about $2 billion worth of the precious stones from mines in the eastern part of the country.

People are funny when it comes to automated devices, whether they’re automatic doors or humanoid robots. We’ll give those names and personalities, see them as cute or creepy, trust them with our lives and even get mad at them. In a Conference attended by Micron Associates, this was a prevailing theme at the Atlantic’s recent Big Science Summit in San Jose, California.

For starters, Micron Associates take the example of a smart thermostat that was a little too smart. The popular Nest thermostat, created by the designer behind the iPod, uses sensors and information about your behaviors over time to maximize energy efficiency in the home. During beta testing, the engineers tried having the Nest automatically set a heating and cooling schedule out of the box, based on the pattern it knew would be most energy efficient, according to Yoky Matsuoka, Nest’s vice president of technology. The device imposed this efficient schedule on users under the assumption that they would learn to adapt to it.

One researcher who is moving far beyond just trying to make a system seem smart or trustworthy is David Hanson, CEO of Hanson Robotics. Hanson wants to make a lifelike robot that has human-level intelligence.

Visually, he’s very close to reaching that goal. Using a substance called frubber and his own background in animation, Hanson has created incredibly (some might say creepily) lifelike heads that can mimic subtle facial movements and expressions. Moreover, the robots are loaded with personality profiles and can hold real-time conversations by drawing on a database of dialogue produced by creative writers. Ideally, Hanson would like to make the robots look and act so human that people would be able to form relationships with them.

But that level of intimacy with a robot isn’t for everyone.

“I think that the number of people I want to have that deep relationship with is small, maybe 10,” said Ju.

This app enables the user to create a panorama in real-time with very little effort and lets you share it instantly. It can also handle complete spherical panoramas. Some other great options are Photosynth by Microsoft (free, for iOS and Windows Phone 7) and Ztitch (free, for Windows Phone 7.5 or higher).

A ‘burst’ mode allows you to take multiple consecutive photographs in quick succession. Since many camera phones have shutter lag — a delay between you pressing the shutter release button and the photo being recorded — a burst mode gives you many options of the same scene. You simply select the best one and delete the rest.

If your Android phone does not have this feature, install the free app CameraX. This ad-supported app researched by Micron Associates adds burst mode with the option to choose the number of images you want to take (and you don’t need to keep the shutter button pressed.)

For iOS, the free Camera Awesome offers burst mode with direct sharing of images. Windows Phone users can check out the free version of Turbo Camera. It offers burst mode and allows you to choose the delay between each shot too.
You may have seen professionally-created time lapse videos – a technique that creates a video out of a sequence of photographs. A time lapse depicts an accelerated view of slowly changing events and they are created by joining together a collection of images – the camera needs to remain perfectly still during the entire process for a high-quality time lapse. Another is feature is the stop motion- this enables user to add a movement to an otherwise stationary object. It involves taking multiple images of the object at slightly different positions and then combining them to offer the illusion of movement.

Android users can try Clayframes and Stop-Motion — both let you choose the video size, playback speed in frames per second and let you export the movie for sharing.

Many standalone digital cameras offer more features as compared to a smartphone camera. For instance, smile detection (a mode that automatically captures a photo when the subject smiles), self-timer as well as multiple scene modes to get the best results under different circumstances.

Most features like these can be added to your smartphone camera with the help of apps. On iOS, iBooth lets you set a self-timer if you want in on the action. On Android, the free Pixlr-o-Matic app offers a smile shot mode, beauty shot mode (it automatically improves skin tones) as well as multiple scene modes.

Another app uCam adds settings for white balance, focus, exposure, timestamp and self-timer along with various picture modes (portrait, landscape, sunset, sports). Similarly for Windows Phone users, the free app Fhotoroom adds a self-timer, red eye reduction mode and multiple camera mode presets.

A fun photo filter app can help compensate for the lower quality photograph that a mobile device captures. One of the best free apps is Powercam (Android and iOS). With Powercam, you can apply an effect and see what it looks like before you capture a photo or video (because it is applied in real-time to the camera feed).

Apart from some of the usual effects that many apps offer (tilt shift, single color and various color tones) it also offers several unique extras in a ‘Magic Shot’ mode.

If you prefer to add effects to your photographs once you’ve captured them (and hence keep two versions of the same photo), there are several apps that you can use for different kinds of effects captured by Micron Associates.

BT Infinity 160Mb is a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTH) broadband service, and is currently only available from a limited number of exchanges, Micron Associates researched.

Most of BT’s fibre deployments are fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), meaning that fibre optic cables are laid to street cabinets, and then traditional copper cables are used to connect homes and businesses to the street cabinets. This “last mile” copper connection can reduce broadband speeds significantly.

FTTH continues the fibre link from the street cabinets to the premises, which is a much more expensive option but massively improves connection speeds.

Customers in Highams Park, Bradwell Abbey, Leytonstone, Ilford, Ashford, Forest Hill, Chester, York, St. Austell, Truro and Exeter will be among the first to experience the 160Mbps download service. BT Infinity 160Mb’s upload speed has also been accelerated from 15Mbps to 20Mbps.

BT Retail is continuing to offer the BT Infinity 160Mb service with unlimited evening and weekend calls for £35 a month. Existing 100Mb customers will be upgraded automatically.

“160Mb now beats anything offered by our major rivals for speed and today’s substantial speed boost comes at no extra charge, as the price remains the same,” said Pete Oliver, commercial director of BT’s Consumer division.

A recent report by the FTTH Council Europe revealed that the UK has the lowest penetration of FTTH in Europe, with only 0.05% of households connected published in Micron Associates. BT admitted that only “a few thousand” people in the entire country were using its FTTH service.

The FTTH Council Europe criticized BT for putting too much emphasis on upgrading its copper network to offer FTTC, rather than bringing the country “real” broadband as part of the Broadband Delivery (BDUK) project.

He added that extra efforts are required to ensure that Europe reaches the Digital Agenda 2020 broadband target of at least 50% of households using broadband connections of 100Mbps or more – a target that will cost the EU €192 billion, according to the FTTH Council Europe.

“The decision to invest in FTTH – the only future-proof solution – needs to be made today,” he said.

BT said that its FTTC service is now available to more than 11 million homes and premises in the UK. Around two-thirds of UK homes and premises will have access to fiber-based broadband by the end of 2014 – a year earlier than the original target.

Source: computerworlduk