The claim that binaural beats simulate the effect of recreational drugs enjoys little scientific support. But Dr. Sargan Al Meheini of the United Arab Emirates’ Police Sciences Academy says the dreamy, weirdly rhythmic music should be dealt with like cannabis and ecstasy .
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"Police scientist" in UAE: binaural music is "digital drug", ban it
Microsoft would just love it if you used OneDrive for all your document storage needs, but let’s face it: loyalties to rival cloud services run deep. That’s why, in the spirit of compromise (or acknowledging user demand), the folks in Redmond have inked a curious deal with Dropbox . Over the coming weeks, you’ll be able to access your Dropbox files from your Microsoft Office apps, and edit those Office documents from within the Dropbox mobile app. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, too, as Dropbox is working on connecting its website to Microsoft’s Office Online tools and prepping a Dropbox Windows Phone app for a launch within the next few months. It might seem a little odd for Microsoft to so openly embrace an apparent rival, but the company can’t deny the facts. Dropbox currently has over 200 million users dumping their files into accounts all the time, and Microsoft isn’t trying to beat them over their heads with word of OneDrive’s superiority this time. No, it’s meeting people on their cloud-based doorsteps with a terribly useful feature, and it just might win some new fans because of it. Comments Source: Dropbox Blog
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Microsoft Office will soon tap into your Dropbox
Add / Remove This is part of a series of articles that looks at entrepreneurs hoping to get their ideas off the ground through crowdfunding. At the time of writing, each of these innovations is currently seeking funding. Running out of smartphone battery is a perennial problem that can range from being a small annoyance to leaving victims stranded without a way of contacting anyone. In the past we’ve seen entrepreneurs develop numerous ways for consumers to charge their phone on the go, but a new Kickstarter project is taking a different tact. Talkase is an ultra-slim device that acts as a secondary mini phone when the battery runs out on your main one. The size of an average credit card, the Talkase device features a small screen and keypad. If your phone runs out of battery, the micro-SIM can be taken out and inserted into the Talkase to act as a backup. Otherwise, users can simply place a second SIM inside. Since it has a lack of non-necessary features, its battery life spans much longer than a smartphone’s at up to 100 hours, although owners could just keep it turned off until they need it. Talkase comes with an iPhone case that fits the phone into the back, along with space to hold a sim and a hook to get the SIM out of the phone. Talkase looks more like a calculator than today’s smartphones, and indeed it has a calculator mode so users can simply flip their iPhone over to do some quick sums. Alternatively, Talkase can sync with existing phones via Bluetooth. This option enables owners to duplicate their smartphone and take the cheaper, lightweight version along with them on sports activities or other locations where they’d rather not get their smartphone damaged. Watch the video below to learn more about Talkase: Talkase can be purchased along with an iPhone case through Kickstarter from USD 39. The campaign ends on 20 November. Are there other ways to tackle the problem of constantly draining smartphone batteries? Kickstarter: www.kck.st/1r9jixZ Website: www.talkase.com Contact: hi@talkase.com
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Credit card-sized phone is a backup when your battery runs out
The subprime lending market that plunged America into the Great Recession is back and as unscrupulous as ever. Instead of mortgages, this time a bubble has formed around auto loans , and reliably ruthless Uber is in the thick of it. Two “partners” in Uber’s vehicle financing program are under federal investigation, but Uber hasn’t slowed its aggressive marketing campaign to get drivers with bad credit to sign up for loans. Read more…
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Uber and Its Shady Partners Are Pushing Drivers into Subprime Loans
US EIA A few years back, when I got my first LED-based lightbulb, it seemed natural to stick it into a wattmeter to get a sense of its efficiency. At under 15 Watts of power drawn, it clearly beat any incandescent bulbs I’d ever put into the same lamp. But I was disappointed to find that it wasn’t any better than a compact fluorescent bulb. Based on the graph shown above, my experience was hardly unique; in fact, it was decidedly average. Although the technology behind LEDs had the potential to be far more efficient than any other lighting source, the complete LED bulb package wasn’t doing that much better at the time than the far more mature fluorescent bulbs, which output roughly 60 lumens for every Watt put in. After some small boosts in 2013, however, a new generation of more efficient LEDs hit the market this year, raising the typical efficiency to nearly 100 lumens per Watt. The increased efficiency is coming at a time when prices for the bulbs continue to drop; given their expected lifetimes, they’re now far and away the most economical choice for most uses. Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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LED bulb efficiency clearly pulling ahead of compact fluorescents
After rumors swirled for months regarding SoundCloud’s pending licensing deals with major labels, Warner Music Group is the first to sign on. As part of the agreement, the German audio-streaming site will shell out funds each time one of the labels’ songs are spun. What’s more, it seems the crux of the deal was that SoundCloud would guarantee it’d be launching its own subscription service — which is said to happen during the first half of 2015. The label will get a kickback when parts of its catalog are used in mashups too, but it doesn’t have to open its entire library for access. Warner also nabs a small stake in the site, a stipulation that was reported to be somewhere between 3 and 5 percent back in the summer . Right now, SoundCloud and its apps are free, but pack in ads to bring in revenue from its 175 million monthly users. Artists who upload their work in bulk have to fork over a monthly fee, but that’s for sharing only, as musicians don’t see any money in return. Lastly, it seems that talks with both Universal Music and Sony are on-going, per the Wall Street Journal report. Filed under: Internet , Software Comments Source: Wall Street Journal
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SoundCloud inks its first major label deal, eyes streaming service in 2015
It may be hard to believe, but there are big cities in the US where 30 to 40 percent of residents have no Internet access at all. And among those who are online in America’s worst-connected cities, a sizable percentage get by with only cellular Internet. That’s according to 2013 census data compiled by Bill Callahan, director of Connect Your Community 2.0 , a group promoting Internet access for residents of Cleveland, OH, and Detroit, MI. Callahan published charts on his blog yesterday showing how many households lack Internet access in the 25 worst connected cities in the US (out of 176 that have at least 50,000 households). In Laredo, TX, 40.2 percent of the 65,685 households have no Internet access, not even mobile broadband on a phone. Detroit was second in this list with 39.9 percent of households lacking Internet. In all 25 cities, at least 29.8 percent lacked Internet access. The 25 cities varied in size from 52,588 households (Kansas City, KS) to 255,322 households (Detroit). Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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In Detroit and other cities, nearly 40 percent go without Internet
Tinder is about to help you fix the biggest mistake you ever make on Tinder: Swiping left instead of swiping right. But if you want that magical power, you’re going to have to pay for it. Read more…
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Tinder Is Finally Getting an Undo Button (For a Price)
Since its launch as a top-down, sprite-based crime simulator in 1997, the Grand Theft Auto series has always taken place strictly from a third-person perspective. That’s set to change on November 18, as the previously announced re-release of Grand Theft Auto V hits the Xbox One and PS4 with a series-first optional first-person perspective. The new first-person mode goes a lot farther than unofficial mods that have tried to add a behind-the-eyes perspective to GTA games in the past. “You have to change pretty much everything,” GTA V animation director Rob Nelson told IGN in a promotional interview talking about the new feature. “I mean, if you want to do it right. We have a very solid third-person animation system, but you don’t just put the camera down there and expect to see the guns, aim, and shoot. All those animations are new when you switch to first-person, because it all has to be animated to the camera, to make it feel like a proper first-person experience that I think people would expect. All the timings have to be re-evaluated.” Other little details added for the benefit of the new view include recoil on weapons, view-restricting goggles and helmets when piloting certain vehicles, and a cell phone menu that your character now actually holds in front of his face. The official trailer for the new mode seems to show the perspective automatically swiveling around to view important story and character moments. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments
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GTA V’s new console/PC re-release to add optional first-person view
Say goodbye to the days of monochrome night vision footage , folks. Sharp recently unveiled an infrared security camera that captures color 720p video, even in absolute darkness. The trick is an imaging sensor that uses near-infrared for illumination; unlike virtually every other competitor, this camera doesn’t have to resort to conventional lights (and thus give itself away) to get a vivid picture. The device will likely be limited to corporate and government customers when it goes on sale in late November, but it could have a big impact on your safety. Building managers will soon have an easier time identifying intruders, not just spotting them — while the technology might not stop a break-in, it should increase the chances of catching thieves before they strike again. Filed under: Cameras Comments Source: Sharp , CEATEC
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Sharp’s night vision camera records color even in total darkness