How to extend mobile battery life

Cellphone batteries: Few things in the technical school world ar as derided as these tiny, however oh-so-necessary, components. the matter with phone batteries? they are continually dying (and sometimes at the precise moment you would like they wouldn't).


Still, there ar a couple of ways that to delay the inevitable death of your phone's battery and one is remarkably straightforward — simply get an extra battery and add it to the one you have already got. that is the strategy Apple appears to be promoting with its newest product, the "smart" battery case for the iPhone six and 6s. Apple's new case contains a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery that doubles the time you'll be able to use your phone before it goes done for.


Sounds nice, right? however there is a drawback with Apple's newest product: It's reasonably ugly. Gordon Gottsegen at Wired aforementioned the case makes it seem like the iPhone includes a "strange-looking growth on its backside." Lauren Goode at The Verge aforementioned it's like associate iPod that engulfed associate iPhone. however to be truthful, Apple's is not the solely battery case that is large. As Chris Davies at Slash Gear discerned, the favored Mophie Juice Pack Air for iPhone six and 6s is simply as ungainly as Apple's good battery case.


It appears that, if you wish to stay your iPhone wanting lean, you will have to forgo the battery case for currently. however ar there different ways that to increase your battery life that do not involve adding bulk to your phone? affirmative, there is, aforementioned Paul cutting, a chemical engineer at the University faculty London within the uk.


Closing down apps {that arn't|that are not} in use and turning off GPS or Wi-Fi services once you do not would like them — these actions are "remarkably beneficial" once it involves protective battery life, cutting told Live Science. And there ar a couple of different steps you'll be able to go for save your phone's juice, as well.


Your phone uses lots of power simply keeping your apps up-to-date. Turning off the "background refresh" setting on these apps will prevent some battery power. a similar issue goes for notifications. If you do not have to be compelled to be notified each time you get a like on a Facebook exposure or receive a replacement email, then disable notifications for these apps. you would possibly notice that your battery drains a lot of slowly as a result, laptop magazine reports. (Both these tricks may be done by going into "Settings" on your phone.)


But apart from these fast power-saving fixes, there is not a lot of you'll be able to do to prolong your battery's charge. although the net is full with recommendation on the way to properly charge your phone to urge it to carry a charge for extended, these suggestions ar principally "bogus," aforementioned role player Gordon, chief electrical safety officer at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Land of Enchantment.


For example, charging your phone briefly bursts is not getting to facilitate your battery keep a charge for extended, albeit several sites claim this can be the case, Gordon told Live Science. It's true that Li-ion batteries charge a lot of quickly at sure points within the charging method than at others (e.g., charging it once it's fifty % full could also be a lot of economical than charging it once it's thirty % full), however making an attempt to plug your phone into the charger at precisely the right time isn’t definitely worth the trouble, aforementioned cutting, World Health Organization known as the distinction responsible time "negligible."


And perhaps you have detected the previous wives' tale that departure your phone blocked into the charger nightlong can somehow injury your battery? that may not true either, consistent with cutting.


"When the battery is full, it cannot settle for any longer charge," cutting aforementioned. Major cell makers build "battery management systems" into their merchandise to confirm that phone batteries do not charge indefinitely, which might be a heavy drawback if it were allowed to occur. These systems embrace a printed circuit and concomitant computer code, that along function a kind of mini-computer that regulates your phone's battery.


These battery management systems not solely make sure that your phone does not settle for an excessive amount of charge, they conjointly confirm it does not unharness an excessive amount of of its charge. exhausting a Li-ion battery an excessive amount of will injury the battery, resulting in a "reduction in time period," aforementioned cutting, World Health Organization noted that trendy cellphones flip themselves off before the battery drains on the far side now of no come back.


But whereas today's cell battery management systems ar good, the batteries they manage ar still huge, large and almost lasting enough for several users. this can be the matter that corporations like Apple try to unravel with their battery-boosting phone cases.


"Even Apple has come back to the conclusion that, if you wish to own a lot of battery, you are going to own to own an even bigger package. and that is as a result of [batteries] ar already very energy dense. they are operating very arduous already," cutting aforementioned.



If you are holding out for a cell with a super-long battery life, you'll be waiting a jiffy longer. cutting aforementioned future major energy storage breakthrough can probably be the emergence of lithium-air batteries that "breathe" out air as they charge. And body process cellphones most likely will not be on the market for purchase for a minimum of ten years, he said. thus do not hold your breath.

Future of driverless car 5 things

Google recently released data showing that its self-driving cars have been involved in 11 minor crashes over the past six years, which has raised questions about when such autonomous vehicles will be ready for prime time.


The report suggests that most of the crashes were likely due to human driver error, and may not have been preventable, said Steven Shladover, a researcher at the Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology at the University of California, Berkeley.


Still, while some levels of automation are already in existing cars, completely driverless cars — with no steering wheels or brakes for human drivers — would require much more innovation, Shladover said.


"If you want to get to the level where you could put the elementary school kid into the car and it would take the kid to school with no parent there, or the one that's going to take a blind person to their medical appointment, that's many decades away," Shladover told Live Science.


From ultra-precise maps to fail-proof software, here are five problems that must be solved before self-driving cars hit the roadways.


Better software

Driving in the United States is actually incredibly safe, with fatal crashes occurring once every roughly 3 million hours of driving. Driverless vehicles will need to be even safer than that, Shladover said.


Given existing software, "that is amazingly difficult to do," he said.


That's because no software in laptops, phones or other modern devices is designed to operate for extended periods without freezing, crashing or dropping a call — and similar errors would be deadly in a car. Right now, Google's self-driving cars avoid this by having both a backup driver and a second person as a monitor, who can shut off the system at the first hint of a glitch. But coming up with safety-critical, fail-safe software for completely driverless cars would require reimagining how software is designed, Shladover said.


"There is no current process to efficiently develop safe software," Shladover said. For instance, when Boeing develops new airplanes, half of their costs go to checking and validating that the software works correctly, and that's in planes that are mostly operated by humans. [Photos: The Robotic Evolution of Self-Driving Cars]


Better maps

Nowadays, Google's self-driving cars seem to operate seamlessly on the streets of Mountain View, California. But that's because the company has essentially created a kind of Street View on steroids, a virtual-world map of the town. That way, the self-driving cars know exactly how the streets look when empty, and only have to fill in the obstacles, such as cars and pedestrians, reported The Atlantic.


Driverless vehicles, with their current sensors and processing, may not be able to operate as smoothly without such a detailed map of the rest of the world, according to the article, but so far Google has mapped only about 2,000 miles (3,220 kilometers) of the 4 million miles (6.4 million km) of roadway in the United States.


Better sensors

Before people all toss their drivers' licenses, a self-driving car must be able to distinguish between dangerous and harmless situations.


"Otherwise, it's going to be slamming on the brakes all the time for no reason," Shladover said.


For instance, potholes or a nail below a tire are incredibly hard to spot until just before they've been hit, while a paper bag floating across the highway may be very conspicuous, but not very dangerous, he said.


The cars also need to decide in sufficient time whether a pedestrian waiting on the sidewalk is likely to walk into traffic, or whether a bike is going to swerve left. Human brains do a masterful job of sorting and reacting to these hazards on the fly, but the current crop of sensors just isn't equipped to process that data as quickly, Shladover said.


Better communication

Once driverless cars begin to proliferate, they will need a much better way to communicate with other vehicles on the road. As different situations emerge, these cars will need to flexibly adjust to other cars on the roadways, reroute on the fly and talk to other driverless cars. But right now, communication among individual self-driving cars is minimal.


"If they don't have the communication capability, they will probably make traffic worse than it is today," Shladover said.


Ethical robots


And then there are the ethical issues. Sometimes, a driver must decide whether to swerve right or left, for instance — either injuring three people in a truck or potentially killing a person on a motorcycle. Those types of ethical dilemmas would require the software in a self-driving car to weigh all the different outcomes and come to a final solution on its own.


A machine that can do that would be unprecedented in human history, Shladover said. Even drones that target enemies in war are remotely manned by a human who has final say about the killing, Shladover added.



"There's always a human on the other side who has to make that decision about using deadly force," Shladover said.

Computers Are Closer To Copying The Way Humans Learn

The gold standard of artificial intelligence is a computer that can learn the same way we do as humans. For example, if you see just one toothbrush and know its use, it’s pretty easy to identify other toothbrushes. If it’s long, thin, has little bristles and a handle, we can be pretty sure it’s a toothbrush. And since we know it has to fit in a mouth, we can imagine what would be a good tool for the job, and what might not, further limiting what a toothbrush can be.


Getting machines to learn this way has been a struggle, because complex objects, like toothbrushes, have to be explained in mathematic formulas so the computer can understand it. A lot of work in machine learning, which is how we tackle artificial intelligence, is centered around how to best represent objects and ideas so computers can understand them.


New research in Science claims to have come closer to the human method of learning. Their idea: build a tiny computer program for each “learned” concept. These little programs initially explain a small concept that it’s already seen, and generates different ways to get to the same end product.

The best way to explain this is through an example. Right now this only works for very simple symbols, like handwritten letters of the alphabet.


Researchers showed their algorithm examples of handwritten letters from several ancient alphabets and how they were written, and the algorithm memorized those processes in the form of a computer program that explained how each letter was constructed. The researchers call this Bayesian Program Learning, and by showing the algorithm how a character is constructed, it then understands the different parts of each letter. In the future, it can use those parts in different ways to classify or create new characters, much like humans do.


Other computers can already do this with deep learning, a discipline within artificial intelligence that uses networks of mathematic equations to understand ideas within data. However, whereas deep learning techniques could require the machine to analyze dozens to millions of examples, the current method claims to work from a single example of an idea.


This means that one day we could have true facial recognition at any angle from just one good image of a person.


The results claimed with this method are impressive. To test how well the algorithm learned, the researchers tested it against humans. Both humans and machines were given a new character, and had to reproduce it.


Then they asked people (from Amazon Mechanical Turk) to decide which were made by humans, and which were made by machines. And they couldn’t do it. The error rate was 48 percent, just below random chance.
More than anything, this means that we’re still just at the beginning of learning what we can do with machine learning and artificial intelligence. And while this research is important, it doesn't necessarily mean that this is the way all machines will learn in the future. Just as this approach can replace ways of thinking about how computers understand concepts today, it’s entirely possible someone will find a better way next month.

Each step, each paper, and each idea lights another candle to illuminate the massive void in our knowledge of intelligence and consciousness. Today we can better create handwritten characters. Maybe tomorrow it will generating human-like speech, or even recreating art with greater success

Asus may develop its own version of Microsoft’s HoloLens

Microsoft’s HoloLens was the company’s first step towards developing augmented reality hardware. The wearable device projects 3D images in front of your eyes and layers the images over what you see in the real world. Now, it seems Asus is mulling whether to market its own version of HoloLens. Asus CEO Jonney Shih and Microsoft’s vice president of Windows and devices Terry Myerson affirmed to CNET they’re in talks about working on a HoloLens project together, though Asus has said that it is “still evaluating” the potential of HoloLens.


If true, Asus will be the first third-party company to build a version of HoloLens. The Microsoft HoloLens is currently restricted to select audiences and cannot be purchased at retail yet — although reports suggest that Microsoft might unveil a version of HoloLens for software developers at a price tag of $3,000 by the end of this year. As is often the case, the agenda behind releasing it only to software developers is to inspire them to create applications for the HoloLens platform in advance, so that the general public will have a reason to buy in when it becomes widely available.

As the world’s sixth largest PC maker, Asus might come up with a lower-cost variant of the HoloLens. The Taiwan-based manufacturer is well known for its affordable range of products, and if the deal with Microsoft is sealed, then the company will be able to focus on improving and reducing the cost of the hardware while Microsoft handles any software-related shortcomings. If all goes well, then in the future we might see larger audiences going for the HoloLens and incorporating it into their daily routines. Microsoft is hopeful that in taking a cue from Asus, other manufacturers may also chime in with their own versions of HoloLens.


All being said, this won’t be a cakewalk for Asus, as it will be expected to adhere to certain guidelines laid down by Microsoft. It might involve a waiting period of up to five years before making the technology accessible to the general public. Microsoft once mentioned HoloLens as a “five-year journey,” so we assume that Asus might have to wait until the completion of the said period. Myerson mentioned that the HoloLens is a preview of what Microsoft has in store for future, just like the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.


“Everything we’re doing in hardware, we do with the mind of how do we grow the Windows ecosystem,” Myerson said. “That is why we’re investing in creating a category. It’s ultimately up to Shih whether Asus makes its own version of HoloLens.”


Microsoft has yet to reveal whether it might start selling its own less-expensive version of the HoloLens. Early testers praised the original for its version of Minecraft, with many referring to it as a “killer app” for the platform.


Ever since it unveiled the HoloLens, Microsoft has been working hard to develop the technology further. For example, it’s focusing on creating 3D images that are better able to interact with the 

Are health app harmful ?

Increasing your anxiety, raising your risk for a misdiagnosis, maybe even turning yourself into a
hypochondriac — yep, there's an app for that.

Health apps are ubiquitous, but do they do more harm than good? Some doctors are beginning to ask whether these self-monitoring applications are useless — or even dangerous. These doctors argue that scientific support for health apps is slim and that the potential for their misuse is high.

Health apps have a range of goals — some simply encourage people to adopt healthy behaviors, while others actually help people manage conditions such as diabetes or h
igh blood pressure. There are more than 100,000 such apps available, constituting a multibillion-dollar market with tens of millions of users, according to Research2Guidance, a mobile market research firm.

The widespread use of these apps, coupled with lax oversight, has some doctors and lawyers worried. Researchers from Southern Methodist University and Harvard Law School published an editorial last year in the New England Journal of Medicine calling for stricter regulation of apps by the Food and Drug Administration.

These researchers cited numerous examples of manufacturers recalling their own apps for gross failure, such as miscalculating insulin doses for people with diabetes.

More recently, the Federal Trade Commission needed to step in: On Monday (April 13), the FTC fined Health Discovery Corp. nearly $18,000 for "making deceptive or unsupported claims that its app, MelApp, could help diagnose or assess consumers' melanoma risk," according to a statement from the FTC.

In the new commentary, Dr. Iltifat Husain, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, argued in favor of health apps, saying that, although many of these apps are untested or make claims counter to the best medical advice, apps still have "great potential to reduce morbidity and mortality."


For example, some weight-loss apps have been proven to help people reach their dieting and exercise goals, said Husain, who is also the editor of iMedicalApps.com. He concluded that health apps are here to stay, are far too numerous to be regulated, and can work best in the context of doctors being proactive about telling their patients which body metrics matter and which apps are worth downloading.

However, Dr. Des Spence, a general practitioner in Glasgow, Scotland, took a much sterner approach to health apps in his BMJ commentary.

"We should not confuse more medicine with better medicine," Spence told Live Science.

Spence pointed to the overuse of technology in the health field in general. For example, more intensive monitoring of women during labor contributed to an increase in the rate of caesarean sections without improving birth outcomes, he said. Last week, the World Health Organization warned that the overuse of C-sections puts both women and infants at risk.

"Monitoring technologies have led to the overdiagnosis of breast cancer with unnecessary surgery and chemotherapy," Spence added. "The Internet has led to a rise in self-diagnosis and has directly led to the chaotic mayhem of mental-health diagnoses and the overmedication of a generation."

Even seemingly benign health apps, such as those that monitor daily calorie intake or heart rate, irk Spence. He said he gets annoyed because any perceived incongruity in monitoring — a skipped heart beat, a momentary and natural dip or rise in blood pressure, or a variation in oxygen levels — can lead people to feel unnecessary anxiety and pursue unneeded medical tests, he said.

Not only do most people lack the training to interpret such data, but the devices themselves may be unreliable or otherwise not sophisticated enough to do what they claim.

"The app business is focused on marketing, not medicine, [and is] fueled by profit, which is bad medicine for us all," Spence said.

Spence and Husain did agree, however, that people who use health apps must at least be aware of the apps' potential limitations.

7 Social Work

I have always been deeply committed to helping others, especially helping those who come from similar backgrounds such as mine. Several experiences have stimulated my attraction to the field of social work. The first step towards my passion to study social work was formed when I was about four. My parents were unfit to raise my siblings and me, which consequently led to foster care. At age four I had no idea that day would lead me on the path of becoming an effective agent for social work. While in foster care, I met some amazing social workers who went beyond the call of duty. My social workers were talented, committed, and hard working. As I became older, my interest in social work grew. I started asking my social workers how do I become a social worker. In so many words, they explained that I have to do well in school, and go to college. While in college, I can major in the field of social work or closely related field. My social workers were my first insight to what a social worker is and what a social worker does. The fact that my social workers were committed to my well-being and pushed me to my full potentials demonstrated their concern for me as well as their ethical commitment. Secondly, are the three premises on which social work is based on. Which are very straightforward. First is that the person or group is important. The person or group has a problem that may arise from many different factors, and lastly finding a solution to help solve those problems so that person or group can live a better life. Finally, is the range of opportunities for a social worker in the field of social work. Social workers can be found in hospital, schools, community health agencies, and international organizations just to name a few. I give my social workers credit for the knowledge they have shared with me as well as encouraging me to reach my personal goals to become a social worker.

Some people fail to realize the impact of encouraging words to others. I can remember when I was in the twelfth grade my social worker Tameko was picking my sister and me up from school to help us fill out some important paper work for college. On the way home, she explained to us that we are smart and beautiful girls who can be anything we put our minds to. Do not let our circumstances define who we are. That moment of encouragement has not only stuck with me but has changed the way I think about my life. I then realized that I determine my future and should not be ashamed of my parents mishaps. Studies show that the cycle of poverty repeats it self for at least three generations. I new at a young age I did not want to repeat the cycle of abuse, poverty, and addiction so I worked hard to accomplish my goals. In practice, I have had an opportunity to work with Independent Living Program.

I chose social work, but in retrospect, I think social work chose me too. I often wonder what kind of career I would be interested in if I was never in foster care. My own personal background would make me an effective helping person. Growing up in the foster care system I will be able to relate to the youth and families I will be serving. I know what it feels like to be sent to different foster families. I know how it feels being afraid to trust people and being afraid to talk about being in foster care. I believe that children who have been abused and neglected find it difficult to trust people. I believer children in foster care would feel a sense of understanding, being that I have came from similar backgrounds. My personal strengths that I posse are the willingness to help others unconditionally. My social workers were very committed to me, and I want to share that same commitment with others who are vulnerable. My experience has taught me how to be non-judgmental, how to demonstrate empathy, and how my improbable journey can inspire others. In addition, my undergraduate study in Psychology-Counseling has provided me with a better understanding of why people think, feel, and act the way they do. I believe that understanding the behaviors of people is very important tool to posses in the fields of social work. I also understand the importance of volunteering to help improve my community and neighborhood. I am currently a foster care club member as well as an on line message board member for foster care. I also volunteer in the Jefferson County Public School system and Woodhaven Place social committee. Volunteering is one of my most rewarding experiences for me and it gives me an opportunity to help my community as well as gaining skills to better help others. With my experiences during my undergraduate studies and currently I know that social work as a profession is ideal for me.

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