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IN THE FUTURE, YOUR PHONE COULD USE ELECTRIC SMART PANTS TO STEER YOU AROUND THE CITY

Right now, we all look at a screen to use Google Maps, or any other navigation app when we’re wandering around. Whether it’s a phone, tablet, or smartwatch — we’re looking at it, rather than our surroundings. A team of scientists at the University of Hanover have come up with an alternative to this frustrating, isolating, and sometimes dangerous preoccupation with our phone’s screen. It’s called actuated navigation, and it works by zapping electrical charges through muscles in your legs to influence the direction you take.

Electrodes are placed on the skin, over something called the sartorius muscle group in the top of our legs, and a weak electrical signal is passed through them. The current causes your leg to turn ever so slightly. Yes, the GPS on your phone will have a tiny bit of control over where you’re actually going. It’s possible that these electrodes could be integrated into underwear, giving us truly smart pants.

In a paper on the system, which is appropriately known as Cruise Control for Pedestrians, it’s pointed out that wearers don’t have to follow the direction given by the jolt. We still have full control over our bodies, so there’s little chance of being tipped over the edge of a cliff, or careening out into moving traffic. However, the option is there to succumb to the phone’s wishes, hang the consequences, and just, well, go with the flow.

In the limited tests conducted using the actuated navigation system, wearers said they were surprised at how well it worked, and had no problem navigating through crowded areas, and around obstacles. All said they got used to the feeling of the electrical stimulation, and a high percentage said they would use it in everyday situations. Also, no-one said it felt strange being “controlled by an application,” and always had the option to override the system.

While it’s tempting to concentrate on the frightening notion of our phones controlling us, rather than the opposite way around, the applications for actuated navigation are intriguing. It could be used to guide emergency teams through buildings filled with smoke, locations shrouded in darkness, or wild places where visual navigation clues are minimal. It also ties in with the concept presented in Microsoft's unlocked city project, where future smart cities could enable accurate audio guidance for blind people.

Like Cities Unlocked, actuated navigation isn’t close to becoming reality just yet, and the device is still at the prototype stage. Plus, GPS, local navigation systems, and connectivity will have to improve if it’s to become truly usable on a daily basis. Finally, we’ll all have to get over the fact our phones will be using a pair of electrically charged smart pants to tell us where to go.

YOU CAN NOW CONTROL MICROSOFT POWERPOINT FOR IOS FROM YOUR APPLE WATCH

Microsoft seems to be on a roll when it comes to supporting the Apple Watch. Yesterday we reported that the company was bringing OneDrive support to the device, and now it’s adding a feature that could be quite useful for those in the business world.

An update to the Microsoft PowerPoint app for iPhone and iPad arrived in the App Store today, and aside from a single line mentioning “bug fixes and performance improvements,” the focus is entirely on newly added PowerPoint Remote for Apple Watch.

As the name implies, this allows users to control PowerPoint presentations entirely from their wrist. This includes starting the show and navigating between slides, but it also shows useful information like the time elapsed since the presentation began, the number of slides, and the number of the current slide.

While this is certainly the kind of use that the Apple Watch seems perfect for, there is one caveat: Currently, PowerPoint Remote for Apple Watch only works with the iOS versions of PowerPoint. Considering that the vast majority of PowerPoint presentations are done from a laptop, this isn’t nearly as useful as it could be.

Microsoft has already explored similar functionality in its Office Remote apps for Windows Phone and Android devices that allow users to control presentations on the PC, so it’s clear that the company isn’t totally against this type of thing. On the other hand, the glaring lack of an Office Remote app for iOS when the company has already brought its other apps to the platform leaves us wondering if perhaps we’ll have to wait until Office 2016 is official to see this functionality on the Mac.

A 4K UHD RESOLUTION SCREEN COULD BE FITTED TO YOUR NEXT PHONE

Reports are gathering that Sharp is ready to produce a 5.5-inch IGZO touchscreen with a massive 3,840 x 2,160 pixel resolution next year, meaning the first devices with one fitted could be out before the end of 2016. This would mean the phone in your pocket could match the 4K television in your living room, pixel for pixel.

There doesn’t seem to be an official announcement from Sharp on the subject at the moment, and reports initially started via Japan’s NHK broadcaster on April 10, but with minimal information. Since then, some images from a Sharp presentation on the panel were published .The 3,840 x 2,160 (which is technically a UHD resolution, rather than a full 4,096 x 2,160, 4K pixel count) screen will apparently have a pixel density of 806ppi. To put that into perspective, theLG G3’s 5.5-inch, 2,160 x 1,440 pixel screen has a 538ppi pixel density, and the 5.1-inch Galaxy S6 has 577 pixels per inch. Sharp’s IGZO screens are known for low energy consumption, sharp images, and borderless designs.

Where can we expect a 4K Sharp IGZO screen to show up? Chinese smartphone companies are apparently first on the list, and that could mean anyone from Huawei to Xiaomi, but we should also expect Sharp itself to use one of the panels on a future smartphone. Why will we want it? 4K resolution televisions will only become more common, and smartphones that can shoot 4K video will be one of the primary sources of content for these new screens. It makes sense for the display on the phone to be able to replicate those videos perfectly.

This isn’t the first time Sharp has talked about small, very high pixel density screens. In November last year it revealed a 4.1-inch screen with a 2,560 x 1,600 pixel resolution, returning a massive 736ppi pixel density.

   The All New Nailo Trackpad

The NailO is a tiny trackpad that fits over your thumbnail,allowing you to scroll through content and other functions on a mobile device or a computer through simple taps and swipes on the trackpad with your index finger.

The wireless wearable is the work of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),who see it being used in a variety of situations. Say,for example,you have messy hands while doing a spot of DIY and your mobile goes off.Instead of covering your handset in gunk,you could operate it using your thumb-based trackpad.

Likewise,if you're looking up a dish for dinner but don't want to plaster the ingredients all over your tablets display every time you scroll through the recipe,a little swipe across your thumbnail and you're sorted.

Those who read a lot using their smartphones might also find the gadget useful,as the movement and effort required to push down the page with NailO is far less compared to constantly swiping the display with your finger.For heavy users it could even reduce ligament strain.

To achieve the design,NailO's creators had to squeeze in not only capacitive sensors and a battery,but also three separate chips.Of course it can be personalized too. "From the fashion-conscious ,to techies, and anyone in between,NailO can make a style,art,or a design statement." the team behind the trackpad says on its website.

It also points out additional benefits,such as the ability to discreetly send a text message during an important meeting where such an action might otherwise be frowned upon,or as an extra input surface for mobile devices.

More information of this prototype NailO will be revealed in Seoul next week at the Computer Human Interaction Conference.

Kickstarter for the all new MacBook

Kickstarter to fix the all new MacBook

Planning to buy the new MacBook?It has a problem,like,no ports.So here is the new kickstarter project to fix it out.The new MacBook has the all new USB-C port to which the kickstarter fits perfectly.

InfiniteUSB is a little dongle that plugs into your MacBook’s USB-C port and gives you both a USB-C pass-through socket and either an extra microUSB, a Lightning cable or a female USB port. The idea is pretty obvious: it lets you plug more than one thing into your £1,049 laptop, which seems like a no-brainer, right?

InfiniteUSBs can stack on top of each other too, to give you even more bonus sockets. The cables are colourful, and not all that expensive either. It’s no wonder InfiniteUSB has smashed through its $10,000 goal to earn over $180,000. And it’s not even finished yet. 

Originally it was advertised as a ‘normal’ USB expander for full-size laptop USBs, but the bright entrepreneurs have just added the USB-C version, which is the one you probably need the most if you've sprung for Apple's latest laptop.

There’s just one remaining problem. The pass-through port won’t actually let you charge the MacBook so while charging you’ll still be socket-less. Oh well.

Still interested? You can snag an InfiniteUSB from $16 over at Kickstarter, and the first cables will start flying out in June. 

The kickstarter is also available for other devices which do not have the USB-C  and compatible with android,iphone,ipad etc.

For more information about the Kickstarter visit :

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/668098663/infiniteusb-one-usb-port-unlimited-devices/description

 

Kickstarter to fix the new MacBook

Kickstarter to fix the new MacBook

Cheap 3gb ram phone.

iberry Auxus Beast

iberry  has launched its Auxus Beast smartphone in India that boasts of 3GB RAM for a price at $224.This phone has been considered as the country's cheapest 3GB RAM smartphone, the Auxus Beast sports an HD IPS display and at its heart is a 1.7GHz 64-bit Octacore processor.

 The phone comes with 16GB internal storage which can be expandable up to 128GB through a microSD card.The Auxus Beast features a 13 megapixel rear camera and an 8 megapixel front camera. The Android Lollipop-based smartphone is powered by a 3050mAh battery and offers dual-SIM support along.

It is 8.2 mm thick and sports a matte finish body. The phone is available in Black colour and swappable back panels come in Red, Blue, and White which can be purchased separately.
Other features include 4G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, off-screen gesture sensors and harlequin LED notification.

It is also a pretty tough phone check it out: