Earbuds Designed to Be Worn All Day Like a Necklace

     We all have had that issue of trying to wear our earbuds while performing other everyday tasks and often times it ends in lost earbuds, constant tangling or trying to get them in and out of your pocket or fit them into a bulky carrying case. Steven Lamar's new earbuds are designed to change all of that with his new product Ropes from the new start-up audio company Roam.

These high-end ear buds are created for a more hands-free, comfortable and simpler listening experience compared to the average earbuds. The earbuds simply can be worn around your neck all day and to put them in your ears you simple just grab your necklace and boom you're in business. Ropes has a bluetooth transmitter located on it so that you simply pair to your smart device once and you never again have to shuffle to plug in your headset when you get a sudden phone call or you want to listen to music every thing will simply be around your neck for immediate use.

     Ropes are going to have a pre-order price point of $299 which is high for a pair of ear buds but Lamar states "We've been programmed to accept the audio quality in these earbuds we get with our phones," and that they tend to compete with the Shures of the world more than Apple's chintzy EarPods. There will also be a new app that is included with Ropes so that they can tune the ear buds to sound how they desire. "Whether it be on a phone call, or listening to music, or watching a movie, we all hear things differently," says Lamar and "We heard things differently out of each ear. We're going to give you a tool that communicates directly with the drivers in the earphones to adjust the sounds dynamics however you want."

     Suddenly these don't seem like your everyday earbuds that you can pick up for $20 and not care if you lose them, but I guess that's why you can keep them around your neck! Obviously this is not a product that everyone will appreciate but again it is technology in wearable form and this is meant to be worn as if it were part of your everyday wardrobe. These earbuds are definitely not meant to be worn to look cool, but rather are to be worn because its more practical than digging around in your pocket for your headphones or untangling them out of the carrying case. In a world where our lives are becoming more saturated with digital audio it may become more practical to have a pair of earbuds on your person at all times. Until you realize they need to be charged with a micro USB after six hours of use to keep the wireless working.
     Yet if we look forward wearable technology is becoming more common on a daily basis with new technologies or existing ones being re-formatted to fit into our daily lives products like Ropes are going to be in demand because they won't be just a set of headphones used to stream Pandora and Spotify but rather a needed daily accessory.

Sources: ROAM
               Engadget
               Wired

Toshiba Unveils $330 Chromebook2 That Will Make You Re-think That MacBook Air

     In today's world of computers we are used to thinking that a computer needs an Operating System (OS) like Windows, but the Chromebook 2 is changing this way of thinking with a fully browser reliant system that utilizes the Google Drive system and all of the web based applications that Google offers such as Google Docs for a fraction of the price of what you would pay for a full OS laptop of any other brand.

     As you can see the $330 Chromebook 2 sports a sleek, slim and familiar design with chiclet-style keyboard and silver matte finish is bears a remarkable resemblance to the MacBook Air. The Chromebook 2 comes with a 13-inch 1080p IPS display, Skullcandy-branded stereo speakers, 2.5GHz Intel Celeron Processor with 4GB of RAM and a 0.76-inch-thick chassis. Weighing less than 3 pounds and offering many I/O features  for it's price: USB 2.0 port, USB 3.0 port, HDMI out and and SD card reader. They even included a 720p webcam built in and all of this for $330 when fully loaded.
     The most high end configuration will come with a 16GB solid-state drive and 100GB of Google Drive storage, which you may utilize for 2 years for free. Also contains a 4.0 bluetooth connectivity system in addition to the 802.11ac Wi-Fi and 9+ hours of battery life per charge.
     If you are someone who is on the run needs their documents to always be accessible with ease this Toshiba Chromebook may be for you. The Chromebook with a light-weight sleek design combined with the Google Chrome Store and the many applications that come out for browsers on a daily basis points us to a new future for computers. The Toshiba Chromebook 2 is set to release October 5, 2014 with the fully loaded sporting a cost-effective $330 price tag or for a step down you can purchase one for $250. The future of computers is just beginning.

Sources: Wired
               Toshiba

Recording Athletes in a Whole New Way

     When we think of technology we think of computers, social networks, websites and essentially complications. However, when you combine technology with things like the environment, sports and everyday life you can do so much more than just create a new program or build a computer.
     Catapult Sports is one of the companies combining technology with the everyday of sports. With their newest product OPTIMEYE G5, S5 and X4 models a device used to track the movements, activity and overall workload of soccer players. These products are working to revolutionize the way professional soccer players train and the algorithms in these products are designed to track dives, leaps, sprints and quick recoveries tracking essentially every move of the individual wearing the device.

     To the left is an image of the G5 model and it is meant to work strictly with goal keepers as it is a bit larger than the other models because it has a lot more required of it. This tracks every motion of the goalie and allows for coaches, doctors and even players to review the statistics to see not only how they are performing but also let them see what they may need to practice more.
     As these products are still only in testing in Europe with various soccer teams they are still working out any problems that may arise however, they have already started to make various improvements and discoveries. For example they added a function that not only tracks when you jump or dive but also how high you jumped, what your air time was and even run speeds. This will help individuals compare themselves to one another but also allow teams to compare themselves to one another.
     Products like this are just small steps into what is to come and with this technology we are only going to see the world of sports improve as the training of individuals will improve as well. In my opinion we may even see future FIFA, Madden and NFL games utilize this device to get exact readings on players individual stats such as acceleration and speed. Just another form of wearable technology which we will see utilized in the years to come.

Sources: Wired

Fully Transparent Solar Panels Could Make Windows a Power Source

     The researchers at Michigan State University have created a full transparent solar panel which essentially could be used as typical glass for windows or screens. The research leader Richard Lunt stated how many settings this solar panel could be placed in "tall buildings with lots of windows or any kind of mobile device that demands high aesthetic quality like a phone or e-reader."

As you can see in the picture to the left this is actually a truly transparent solar cell and although other solar cells have claimed to be transparent in the past but typically cast a shadow or some sort of awkward colorful shadow when the light hit them making them not full transparent at all.
However, Michigan State researchers used a different technique for collecting sunlight and it has yielded a true fully transparent solar cell that could actually be used and seen through by the naked eye at all times.
     Now that this technology is available I believe that it should be immediately taken advantage of as their are so many uses that could come from this. Anything from car windows to your iPhone screen could be created with this technology and not only provide green energy but also save the users money and time by not having to hook their phone up to a charger as often or not having to gas up the car all the time.
     It's amazing that with technology although we may not be working with the environment directly we help to slow the pollution that we add on a daily basis and take advantage of the pure resources around us. I see a bright future for this new technology and cannot wait to see what uses come about in our everyday lives for it.

Sources: Extreme Tech
             

Google Chrome 64-bit Available: Faster and more Secure

     We all are constantly looking to download the best browser to enhance our online experience and Google Chrome 64 bit has delivered. With not only faster speeds on sites like youtube.com but also improving security and stability in many ways.
     Tasks such as decoding HD video have proven to be 15% faster under the 64-bit version of Chrome. Mozilla Firefox who is one of Chrome's leading competitors has been working on a 64-bit version just like Google but Google but Mozilla won't pull the trigger on releasing it to the public unlike Google. This may cause us to see a release of Mozilla's Firefox 64-bit in the near future if they want to enter this part of the market.
      Google has also said that it has seen an average improvement of 25% in graphics and multimedia content. This means less buffering for high quality video, less crashes and an overall better performance coming out of the browser. In addition the crash rate of Chrome 64-bit has been tested and shown to be half of that experienced in Chrome 32-bit.
     However there is one small downside to the new 64-bit and it's the fact that Chrome 64-bit does not support of a few of the not so popular plug-ins that are available for Chrome 32-bit. It is offering support for most of the major plug-ins such as Silverlight, Java and Flash which have all been updated to 64-bit furthering the increase in performance with this browser.

     To check if your google chrome is up to date to the 64-bit version go to the "about google chrome" selection from the drop down menu on the top righ-hand side of your Chrome browser and you will be able to update your browser if needed. If you are already up to date it will tell you "Google Chrome is up to date" or you will notice you have Google Chrome 37.
   

      Now it seems like a no brainer to go with the new Google Chrome 64-bit browser and that is because as of now it really is the best browser available. Until Mozilla releases a 64-bit version of Firefox overall this new version of Chrome has the best security, speeds and stability which is really what we want out of our browsers to begin with. At this time Google Chrome 64-bit is only available for Windows 7 64-bit and Windows 8/8.1. To download the new browser and test these claims yourself: Download Chrome 64-bit for Windows. Be sure that you see "For Windows 8/7 64-bit" below the Download Chrome button as shown below.

Sources: Extreme Tech
             Chromium Blog

Good Idea or Bad? GoPro Dog Mount Harness

     We all know that people are treating dogs more and more like one of the family in this day and age, some people even consider them to be their children and would do anything for them from spending thousands on surgeries, buying outfits for them and even feeding them food off their own dinner table. Is it to the point where we want them to start video taping for us so we can see what it's like to live in the eyes of a dog?
   
     This product is definitely designed for a certain niche of people and although we may not see it a dog with a GoPro attached to it's back often it is something that is out there now. This is meant to analyze whether this idea is a good/profitable one or whether it will take a belly flop and be a waste of time.
   
     GoPro was first created for users who participated in extreme sports to record their awesome skills and allow them to share it with others while not having to hold a video camera or worry about it breaking. I then think to myself what is a dog doing that needs to be recorded besides exploring the backyard, playing with people and eating. I personally may not understand it, but when I go and look on facebook with all of the videos and pictures of dogs on there it may not be such a bad idea after all.
   

     This product is designed for dogs from 15lbs - 120lbs and enables the owner to later watch what their dog has been up to all day. Their are practical uses for it for example if your dog was constantly getting out of the backyard you could use this to see where they are getting out and prevent it from happening in the future or perhaps the dog has been acting oddly after coming in from the backyard and you find out that they have been finding and eating mushrooms in the backyard. This may not be an idea to provide the ultimate extreme video or share brilliantly taken videos but rather a way to find out more about your own dog and show what a day in the life of your dog looks like.

     This product is only $60 so it's not something that you need to break the bank to purchase if it interests you, but I definitely don't see a large future for this product unless dogs can start making purchases with their kibbles and bits. Just like many products out there this is meant to target a certain niche of people If you're bored of watching humans create video this is a great option for you!

Sources: Wired Article

Gadget Designed to Make Sure Doctors Wash Their Hands Enough

     Biovigil has introduced a new gadget to the healthcare field and it is designed to make sure that doctor's hands are always extremely clean before interacting with a patient. Around 75,000 patients died last year from healthcare associated infections (HAI's) and cost hospitals over 30 billion dollars. This gadget is designed to sense the amount of bacteria on the doctor's hands before helping patients. The doctor simply puts their hands up to the device which is wearable and if the hands are clean the light will remain green, if their is bacteria detected on the hands then the light will either turn yellow or red to notify the doctor you must wash your hands before proceeding further with the patient.

   
     If the light goes yellow then the doctor must wash their hands and then re-test for bacteria and upon completion the light will turn green. If the doctor was to ignore the yellow light then after several minutes it will glare red indicating that the doctor ignored the yellow signal and essentially will not only show the doctor that they still need to wash their hands but also indicate to the patient that the doctor is not yet fit to work with them.
     This device not only applies to the healthcare field in the long run because there are many professions that require the user to have clean hands including those who work in the restaurant industry. This device definitely has the capability to expand its uses throughout the world where cleanliness is a must. By utilizing this device many infections and diseases can be prevented from being spread in workplace environments of all kinds.
     Personally i think that this device is a must have now that it exists because it allows not only the doctor to double check themselves but also for the patient or customer to double check them because clearly they do not want to interact with bacteria ridden hands. In the future I see this product moving into any industry that deals with food or health to ensure maximum cleanliness at all times.

     As you can see the Biovigil gadget is extremely small and has a simple easy to understand UI that will benefit many people for years to come. It also has a simple clip on the back which can be used to put in on the pocket of a shirt or strap on your belt. I see this being a pinnacle of health in workplaces at least for users hands and am excited to see where Biovigil takes this product in the future to help all of us feel a bit more comfortable in many situations.

Sources: Biovigil Gadget