Exciting Technology

Smart Halo latches onto any kind of bike and provides an intuitive solution for bikers to focus on the road rather than a map. (Photo : Smart Halo) Enter the smart bike — or rather, a bike with smart capabilities. Developers behind the Smart Halo  are focused on creating a safe and accessible way for urban cyclists to navigate cities through GPS tracking and intuitive design. The flat and round Smart Halo device can turn any bike into a smart bike: all you need is smartphone connectivity and the companion app. A luminescent and transforming halo provides a turn-by-turn navigation system that tells bikers where to go without having to deal with the clunk of an intricate smartphone map. The lighting system is pretty versatile in the information it can give the rider: where to turn, how much to turn, when to slow down and when to stop — all with a simple glance. (Photo : Smart Halo) There's a hoard of other features packed into...

Can an app warn you that you might have skin cancer? Digital health startup  SkinVision  is using smartphone tech and vision algorithms to allow consumers to track changes to their moles. Users of its  iOS  and  Android  apps, which have been downloaded some 200,000 times since launch back in 2011, take a photo of a mole and the app then performs a visual analysis, with the aim of identifying suspicious growths such as melanoma. “Skin cancer grows chaotically and potential suspicious moles are identified based on signs of non-natural growth,” explains CEO Dick Uyttewaal. “The algorithm within the online assessment reviews signs of non-natural growth of skin lesions and is based on an established mathematical methodology in biology called fractal geometry. “The algorithm currently looks at seven different criteria and will be further improved based on the continuous growth in our database (currently in...

Microsoft’s Cortana has many uses including sending emails or checking the weather. One of the best uses though is a simple look-up feature for words and their definitions. Combined with the Hey Cortana voice recognition using Cortana to tell you quickly what a word means is a great hands-free tip. There are multiple ways to get Cortana to define a word. If you have Hey Cortana enabled you can simply blurt out your request: “Hey Cortana what is the meaning/definition of  inchoate ?” “Hey Cortana define  ubiquitously “ You can, of course, also just type in your request e.g “ define beatitude ” although this admittedly takes some of the speed (and fun) out of using the personal digital assistant. For many words, Cortana displays the definition within a card, and OxfordDictionaries or EncartaDictionaries powers it. Sometimes, if Cortana misunderstands you or does not have the definition, the assistant opens up a web page after performing a web search for...

Got an iPhone? Got a dollar? That’s all you need if you want to take one of Samsung’s newest smartphones for  a thirty day, “no obligation” spin . (That’s assuming that you live in the U.S.) The Korean phone maker, which continues to see its growth slip as Android smartphones themselves suffer a global decline, is pinpointing customers of arch rival Apple with this very specific offer,  as CNET first spotted . The trial even includes a free data plan, to get the most from a Galaxy device, which is not restricted to any single operator. While Apple continues to go from strength to strength — its Q3 2015 net profit rose nearly 40 percent year-on-year to reach $10.7 billion — Samsung’s vital financial stats keep moving in the wrong direction. Samsung Mobile’s operating profit sunk 37.6 percent year-over-year to 2.76 trillion won, while its operating profit margin in the last quarter was 10.6 percent, a significant decrease from ...

Almost everyone set password for login to computer. However, people often forgot computer password and locked themselves out of the computer. So people’s concern is how to reset computer password. There are many methods to reset computer password, among which it’s the most practical way to reset computer password with another computer. Step 1: Create a password reset disk on another computer 1.  On anyone workable computer with internet access, download, install, and then run iSumsoft Windows Password Refixer . 2.  Select one media type and insert a USB flash drive or CD/DVD drive into the computer. 3.  Note the drive letter of the inserted flash drive. Then click on the  Begin burning button. 4.  When  burning successfully  dialog pops up, you have  successfully made a password reset disk for another computer . Step 2: Reset password on your locked computer 1.  Disconnect the USB drive or CD/DVD flash ...

Thanks to  Apple updating Boot Camp , that is. If you have had a hankering to try out Microsoft’s latest operating system — and I can recommend at least taking it for a spin — now’s the time. Apple’s  full directions here  are worth your time, but the broad strokes are simple: If you have a Mac no older than ‘mid 2012,’ and are running the most recent build of OS X, you should be able to get Windows 10 running without too much bother. Boot Camp will also let you upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 if you have a prior build running on your machine at the moment. If you don’t have Windows installed already, you will probably have to buy yourself a copy of the code. Microsoft is providing a year of free upgrades, after all, not a free ride for everyone. Here’s the full list of compatible Macs, via Apple: Microsoft likely doesn’t mind Apple making it easier for Mac users to run Windows 10 — after all, it has to reach that billion device threshold. I doubt the...

Carbon3D , a startup building 3D printers for manufacturers, has pulled in $100 million in new funding to move 3D printing out of the prototyping phase and into production. Google Ventures led the Series C round, joined by new investors Yuri Milner, Reinet Investments, and F.I.S., along with existing investors Sequoia Capital, Silver Lake Kraftwerk, and Northgate Capital. If Carbon3D’s printers look like something out of a Terminator movie, it’s because that’s where co-founder Joseph DeSimone  drew the inspiration for the technology . The printers are powered by a photochemical process, rather than the layer-by-layer process of traditional 3D printers, which allows them to print functional parts at 100 times the speed of existing printers. “This is the first 3D printing tech that really has the potential to break out of the prototyping realm that 3D printing has been relegated to until now,” says Andy Wheeler, who led the Carbon3D investment for Google ...

Meet the FrankenBlackBerry. Is it an Android phone? Is it a BlackBerry? No, it’s the new BlackBerry Android phone! If you ever wondered what would happen if you slapped a BlackBerry keyboard onto an average Android phone, look no further. BlackBerry has this device for you. Notorious leaker Evan Blass shared a rendering of the new device  on Twitter . It’s everything you’ve ever dreamed, and probably even a bit more. As you can see on the picture, it runs stock Android. BlackBerry opted for a more traditional 16:9 display instead of its tiny square-ish displays as well. But the downside is that this thing looks incredibly tall. Of course BlackBerry had to tilt the rendering angle a bit so that it doesn’t appear as tall as it seems. But I can’t help but see a gigantic TV remote control. So what’s BlackBerry’s solution to make this device fit in your pocket? A slider! It’s 2005 all over again. Sliders are great. Except that they break, make phones less durable, add weight an...

Silent Circle showed off the second generation of its pro-privacy Android-hardened smartphone, the Blackphone, back in March at the Mobile World Congress tradeshow — touting a summer launch for the device. In the event, it’s still not launched, and the company has now quietly put up a  pre-order page on its website for a September release — sans price tag. The Blackphone 2 updates the original handset in the look and feel department, with an all-glass front and rear, plus a larger full HD display. At 5.5 inches across, it’s generous enough although lags behind palm-stretching phablet offerings. Other updates include a 64-bit processor and more RAM. There’s no further word on the other device Silent Circle has in the works: a tablet, with the unfortunately clumsy moniker: Blackphone+, also announced back in March. Both devices will run Silent Circle’s SilentOS (formerly called PrivatOS): a security focused flavor of Android, and come pre-...

Google today surprised us by launching a router with the help of its partner TP-LINK. The $199.99 OnHub router promises to do away with many of the issues you’ve likely experienced with your existing router: Wi-Fi slowing to a crawl, videos buffering and connections randomly dropping out. That always meant unplugging the device, waiting a minute or so, plugging it back in, and then hoping for the best. Google promises the OnHub router will “give you Wi-Fi that’s fast, secure, and easy to use.” The company says setup is easy and the device automatically scans your local airwaves to find the best channel for you. “A unique antenna design and smart software keep working in the background, automatically adjusting OnHub to avoid interference and keep your network at peak performance,” Google says. The router will also automatically install updates and new features as they are released. Unsurprisingly, the router is controlled by a single mobile app that can run on A...

As a cloud identity management service,  Okta  collects tons of data about how its customers use other cloud products. Today it released its first  Okta Business @ Work Report . Among the many compelling findings was that Microsoft’s Office 365 was the favorite cloud service overall so far this year. Okta is not alone in using the data it collects to generate reports.  ZenDesk  puts out aquarterly report based on customer service data running through its systems. In fact, last year I wrote an article, Actually Every Company Is A Big Data Company with the idea being that data is an artifact of simply doing business. These companies are acknowledging and formalizing that notion by sharing the data with customers. The company found that it was using this type of data to decide where to concentrate its resources, CEO Todd McKinnon told TechCrunch. “We used data to see what apps people were using and the frequency of usage and the...

Everyone wants to be free and standalone. Remember when Facebook Messenger got its own site that maybe people use but we’re not sure because they don’t talk about it? Google Hangouts wanted some of that action, too. Starting today you can go to http://hangouts.google.com to make a phone call or ping a friend: Interestingly enough, the product hasn’t broken away from the Google domain yet. It doesn’t even own Hangouts.com. Domain names aren’t a strong suit of Google. Yes, this is also part of the breaking away that Google+ services are going through, joining the Photos product in all of its “standalone” glory. I use Hangouts in Gmail on the desktop, but I might switch over. Having a big old call button is actually kind of handy. This is also, of course, a massive branding exercise for Google. It wants to build powerful brands to compete with other micro-products coming out of Facebook, Microsoft and Snapchat. Google has Photos and Han...

As any WhatsApp enthusiastic, you must know that there is a Web version of this app which makes things a lot easier all together. You might have your phone charging, or you’re just in front of your computer and you’d rather talk to your friends through a mouse and a keyboard, rather than your smartphone. The WhatsApp team has made this version available to Android and other operating systems like Microsoft, but they didn’t, however, made it available to iOS users. We are sure that the company is working on this issue, because a lot of their customers use an Apple product, but while they get on that, we have to share with you a secondary method on how to get it yourself. This method is unofficial and will require you first having in your possession a jailbroken iPhone, otherwise, this will not work. So the first and most important step is to have your smartphone jailbroken so you can go on to the actual installation of the Web version of the app. If you had your iP...

WhatsApp free download, popularly known for its instant messaging and voice calling services rolled out a Web version earlier this year. This version, known as WhatsApp Web, is meant for use on devices other than mobile phones, among them PCs and tablets. Initially, this messenger was only available on mobile phones. However, after users kept demanding for a PC version to be rolled out, the company instead rolled out a Web version. When WhatsApp introduced the PC version, it was only available on one platform – Google Chrome. What this meant was that for any person to use WhatsApp Web on PCs, they had to first install Google Chrome. This did not however last long as support for more browsers was introduced, but only for those using Firefox and Opera. WhatsApp Web will be compatible Microsoft Edge browser  Despite the additional support of Firefox and Opera web browsers, those using other browsers such as Internet Explorer are yet to taste this application on...

Google has made it a thing to name its Android OS versions after food. Letter by letter in the alphabet (har har). But not just any food — food that’s really bad for you. This version, which has been called “M” until now, had its name unveiled today…. The new “marshmallow” statue was unveiled today on Google’s campus in Mountain View.

A new gadget is promising to turn your standard TV into a touchscreen Android device for just $99 (about £60). Touchjet Wave is basically an Android PC that mounts on to the top of your TV with a motion sensor that looks down at the screen, monitoring your hand movements using an infrared grid so that it can figure out where you are. This is similar to how the first touchscreens worked, before capacitive touchscreens took over. Android KitKat 4.4 (modified with the company's own TouchJet UI) is loaded on to the device so it can run apps from Google Play, as well as receive shared content over DNLA, Miracast or the Touchjet media sharing app. So you can boot up the likes of Spotify and listen to some music, or a drawing app and use your fingers on the big screen. It also comes with a stylus in the box. The company is targeting both consumers and business users - with the above video showing both kids playing with it, and Serious Business People doing some Serious Business....

As of July 29th, 2015, Windows 10 has started its great rollout, leaving in its wake a swarm of  Windows  7   and 8 users just waiting for the upgrade notification to pop up in their system tray. If you’re tired of waiting for the automatic download and upgrade, you could always go and create your very own Windows 10 USB Installation stick. This, of course, leaves the question of how, but that’s what we’re here for, right? Go to Microsoft’s Website Click  here  to go to Microsoft’s website, where you can download a Windows 10 Download/Installation tool. Be sure to select the one corresponding to the architecture (32 bit or 64 bit) that the system you’re using is on. To check what architecture you’re on, open Start, right-click “Computer” and select “Properties.”  On the screen that follows, under “System” you’ll see “System-type” 32 or 64-bit ( For  Windows  8  users : simply open your Start screen and type “See if you have a...

I n Windows 10 the title bar of all the desktop apps is just plain white. Unlike in the previous versions of Windows, you cannot change the title bar color that easily with just a few clicks in the personalization panel. Even though the decision to remove the ability to change the title bar color is part of the design choice, it is absolutely a deviation from the previous Windows options. If you think the white-colored title bar is too light for your eyes, or if you just want to change the title bar color to your favorite color, then you can do that by following the below guide. The procedure detailed below is not necessarily difficult but is certainly messy. So follow through and you can easily change the color of Windows 10 title bars. Note:  this procedure only applies to desktop apps and not to modern apps. This is due to the fact that the developers of modern apps can choose their own colors. Change the Color of Window Title Bars To change the color of Win...