A new patent application filed by Apple hints at the fact that their new smartphone, the iPhone 6S is going to be waterproof.
iPhone users have been pining for a waterproof smartphone for quite some time now and it seems that Apple has finally caved in and is giving its clients what they want.
A new patent filing was submitted by Apple in which various methods of preventing core components of the smartphone to become damaged by liquids are detailed and explained. The title of the patent is Methods for shielding electronic components from moisture and after a quick scan over it, it is clear that Apple plants to make their iPhone waterproof by applying a hydrophobic coating to the device’s components.
This particular approach is very interesting, as many of the waterproof smartphones on the market today simply offer the seal-tight approach.
The method that was described in the patent included the use of a chemical vapor deposition technology that will coat water-sensitive components and prevent water damage. This waterproof coating is applied to the electromagnetic interference shield as well as to the printed circuit board in the smartphone.
Also, other circuit boards in the device can be protected through silicon seals that are placed so that they frame electrical connectors.
This is a fragment of the patent application:
Many electronic devices are susceptible to water damage because they are not fully sealed and include various openings for charging, connecting peripherals, and inputting and outputting audio. While bulky cases have had a certain amount of success at mitigating water entry through the aforementioned openings, a protective case is of little or no value once water has entered a device housing.
Samsung’s previous flagship model, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is one of the most popular waterproof smartphones. It has a rating of IP67, which means that you can keep it submerged in water up to 1 meter in depth for a whopping 30 minutes and it will be just fine. It is also dustproof, as no dust particles can enter it. All you need to do is secure the plastic flat that covers the USB port and you’re good to go.
Samsung Galaxy S5 was a hit and it was praised for its waterproof capabilities, yet Samsung shocked the smartphone world when it introduced its newest flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S6 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month and the device was no longer waterproof.
In order for the waterproof iPhone 6S to be a success, it needs to make waterproofing spectacular.
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It was announced by Tinder that the company would introduce new features as a part of their new Tinder Plus service.
The new Tinder Plus service features two brand new paid features that allow users to connect with people in other areas of the world and also undo a swipe.
Tinder is one of the most popular dating applications that uses a very simple principle: if you like someone’s profile (which usually consists of a few pictures and a little caption) then you swipe right, if you don’t like their profile, you swipe left. But it is not uncommon for users to swipe left when they actually want to swipe left, so to undo a swipe is something users have been begging for and it appears that Tinder has finally heard its users. The new feature that allows users to undo a swipe is called Rewind and the feature that allows people to connect from around the world is called Passport.
But there’s a trick that has been causing quite a lot of controversy is the price of the new Tinder Plus service: for people who are over 30 the service will cost $19.99 and for those who are under 30 it will cost just $9.99.
According to the Vice President of corporate communications, Rosette Pambakian, the reasoning behind this decision is simple: older people can afford to pay. She stated:
We’ve priced Tinder Plus based on a combination of factors, including what we’ve learned through our testing, and we’ve found that these price points were adopted very well by certain age demographics.
But many are wondering if that is really the reason behind this decision and are suggesting that Tinder is encouraging ageism with the new Tinder Plus pricing.
Prices will also vary based on geographical location. For example, in developing countries, the fee for the new Tinder Plus is going to be $2.99 a month and if the United Kingdom it is going to be £3.99 for users between 18 and 27 and £14.99 for users over 28.
Tinder has also announced that users who do not wish to sign up for the new Tinder Plus will need to be extra careful when deciding when to swipe right, because it will begin to place limits on how many people they can choose.
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A recent study performed by researchers at Cambridge University and the University of Warick from the United Kingdom, found that oversleeping increase the risk of a stroke. The results of the study were published in the journal Neurology.
The study showed that people who got more than eight hours of sleep a night had an increased risk of developing a stroke, when compared to people who slept 6 to 8 hours per night. It was also discovered that people who changed their sleeping habits from less than 6 hours of sleep per night to 8 hours quadruple their risk of developing a stroke later on in life.
The scientists haven’t really managed to translate the results of the study and explain why oversleeping increases the risk of a stroke.
The researchers used data from a previous cancer study, the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer which was conducted over a decade. The study collected information from 9,500 Brits with ages between 40 and 79, about eating habits, stress levels and sleep patterns and habits, among other things.
The scientists who analyzed the data also took into account other factors that could have influenced the outcome, such as body mass index (BMI), family history, cardiovascular disease, age and smoking.
Researchers found that 350 participants experienced a stroke during the 10 years of the study and 67 people died as a result of a stroke. After careful examination of the data, it was concluded that people who slept more than 8 hours a day had a much higher possibility of developing a stroke. It was also noticed that women who overslept were more predisposed at having a stroke than men were.
Yue Leng, doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge, said that it is apparent from the data collected from the participants that there is a link between sleeping longer than 8 hours and an increased risk of stroke.
It was noted by the scientists study that more research is needed to validate the current results. The main reason is that the study does not prove causation, only correlation. Researchers concluded that oversleeping is also a sign of other health issues, such as neurological deterioration, depression and cancer.
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Until now, the purpose of eyelashes was thought to only be that of protecting the eyes against dust and small debris, but a new study has revealed that the purpose of eyelash length is that of protecting the eyes from frying out. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
David Hu, lead author of the study and researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, was prompted to research eyelashes after seeing his newborn child’s eyelashes. Joined by graduate students and colleagues, he set out to find why eyelashes are the length they are.
The researchers measured the lashes of various mammals and then proceeded to make an artificial eye with lashes which they placed inside a wind tunnel. They also measured the eyelashes of 22 species of mammals that were preserved at the American Museum of Natural History and found that the measurements showed the constant relation to the eye size.
The next step was to create mathematical models of airflow over the eyelashes and after careful examination of the results, they determined that lashes are almost always about one third as long as the eye is wide. This measurement appears to be ideal for diverting the airflow around the eye and helping reduce evaporation. The experiments in the wind tunnel corroborated the mathematical data.
Steven Vogel, professor at Duke, studies related issues in biomechanics and catalogued the results of the study as being terrific. He continued to say that now people know why eyelashes are the length they are.
Guillermo Amador, study co-author and a graduate student at Georgia Tech, stated:
[We] expected that longer eyelashes would be better. Instead, it seems like nature has come to this optimal eyelash length to help protect the eye, and making eyelashes any longer doesn’t really benefit them.
In humans, eyelashes have an additional role in seduction and sex, or to put it bluntly, in performing mating rituals. Dr. Hu said that, while that may be true for some species, the changing airflow around the eyes is so important that the proportion of the eyelash length to eye width does not change, from elephants to rabbits to humans.
Image Source: Pixabay
Barbie dolls have always kept up with the Joneses, that’s why a new model will reportedly be an internet connected version of the worldwide famous doll. In order to make this happen, Mattel will be partnering with US ToyTalk, so as to develop Hello Barbie, the doll that will have two-way conversations with children.
ToyTalk must develop a speech-recognition platform in order to make this happen, but things are going pretty fast, as prototype of the doll has already been presented at the New York Toy Fair on February 14th, among other super smart toys.
“The number one request we hear from girls around the world is that they want to have a conversation with Barbie. Now, for the first time ever, Barbie can have a two-way conversation,” said a spokeswoman for Mattel,”
a spokesman for Mattel explained.
The Hello Barbie model will be able to play games with children and also tell stories and even jokes. But the coolest thing is that the doll will also listen to conversations and be able to adapt to them over time. For instance, in case a child mentions that he/she likes to ride a bike, the doll may refer to this in a future chat between them.
Hello Barbie will be given dialogue schemes based on what kids are most likely to say or ask, and due to the fact that the doll is internet connected, the scriptwriters in charge with its conversational skills will be able to load additional conversations after purchasing the doll. Mattel assures its clients that Hello Barbie will be easily updated with new phrases at some later dates.
Both ToyTalk and Mattel don’t want to stop here, but develop the technology even further, so that the doll will be able to talk to kids regarding their future career dreams and help them decide what they would love to do in life. However the doll can also be used as a regular toy if one decides not to take advantage of its internet connection, or anytime internet connection is unavailable.
The doll will reportedly cost $74.99, but an exact release date hasn’t been offered yet.
An apparent dispute regarding Facebook posts lead to the killing of a 13-year old boy by an 18-year old one. Roberto Madrigal, 18, is charged with first degree murder after shooting a 13-year old boy last Sunday in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood.
According to the Chicago police, Anthony Diaz was shot about 10:35 p.m. on Sunday. Diaz and his two sisters aged 15 and 17 had just left the house after a Facebook confrontation in which the girls had been involved, according to information provided by the boy’s father, Ralph Otero, 47. And while they were confronting some other girls regarding a Facebook issue and Diaz was recording the fight with his smartphone, he was shot in the chest all of a sudden. The boy was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital about an hour later.
This Friday the 18-year-old Roberto Madrigal was charged with first-degree murder for killing Anthony. Madrigal was also scheduled to appear for a bond hearing on Friday afternoon at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building.
“I’m devastated. The mom is devastated. We’re all in shock. My pastors are very devastated, because he’s a good kid. He was a good kid, honors student, and outgoing person. (…) All I ask is for justice. I don’t wish them harm. I don’t wish them anything bad, but unfortunately, we’re on this Earth, and we’ve got to pay for our mistakes,”
Ralph Otero, the boy’s step father said.
But in the meantime scandals are likely to go on, because according to Anthony’s mother, Laura de Domenico, her 17-year-old daughter is in a street gang and has had previous problems with the police. The woman explained how her daughter has a bone to pick with everybody and enjoys getting into fights. She is also afraid because after she learned that her little brother had passes away, the teen girl promised retaliation. Now both her parents are striving to make her change her mind so as to avoid other potential further tragedies in the family.
The mother admitted she was going to cry for her son for the rest of her life.
Neither of the parents know what the fight between the two boys had been about. Otero and his wife were sleeping when they got the call from Anthony’s oldest sister.
Hymalaia is an instrument resembling an icebox with the help of which scientists have been able to determine the exact texture of a comet. And these findings, published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, are pretty reassuring.
The lead author of the study is Antti Lignell, who is a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
“A comet is like deep fried ice cream,”
according to Murthy Gudipati of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who is a corresponding author the recent study.
“The crust is made of crystalline ice, while the interior is colder and more porous. The organics are like a final layer of chocolate on top.”
What happens is that as a comet is getting closer to the Sun, its surface, otherwise rather soft, crystallises and hardens. Thus water-ice crystals form, which become denser and more ordered, while other molecules containing carbon are expelled towards the surface of the comet, resulting in a crunchy comet crust that’s “seasoned” with organic dust.
This is not the first time scientists have announced that comets have hard surfaces and soft interiors. This theory was also confirmed as Rosetta’s Philae landed on the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko last year. Not to mention the Deep Impact mission that looked into the same issues among other things.
Lignell and Gudipati put together a closely resembling model of crystallising comet crust and began their experiments with amorphous (porous) ice, which is by excellence the proposed composition of some of the chilliest comets and icy moons.
The icy comet surfaces are different from the ice we have here on Earth because of the fact that we don’t have temperatures that are so low so as to form amorphous ice on the planet. So the scientists involved in this discovery used the Himalaya instrument in order to slowly warm up amorphous ice mixtures from minus 243 to minus 123 degrees Celsius, thus imitating the conditions a comet would have to go through throughout its journeys towards the Sun.
Both scientists regard comets as time capsules that contain within themselves clues to our planet’s history and to the birth of our solar system.
A US soldier who has just returned from West Africa and was found dead near his Texas base where he has been posted was not infected with Ebola. Army officials have been awaiting the results of more conclusive tests after the initial screening which also showed that the soldier was not suffering from Ebola infections.
Post officials said in a statement said, “There is no evidence of a public health threat or EVD (Ebola virus disease) exposure to community or law enforcement officials involved in the current investigation of the death of a Ft. Hood soldier.”
The cause of death or the identity of the soldier has not been released. The soldier had recently returned to Fort Hood in central Texas on emergency leave, post officials said.
Every soldier who returns after a stint in West Africa have to monitor themselves twice daily and report his status to medical officials.
Killeen police spokeswoman Carol Smith told Reuters on Tuesday, “We are not saying Ebola at all. It’s just that because of the circumstances from West Africa, we are erring on the side of caution.”
The North American Auto Show is scheduled to open on January 12th but it seems Toyota is impatient to showcase next iteration – The Tacoma pickup. Toyota has released the first pictures of its midsize pickup. The beefier-looking 2016 Tacoma midsize truck will be unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday.
The new ‘Taco’ boasts a larger, hexagonal grille, narrower headlamps, and more details imprinted into the doors and tailgate. But the pickup retains the familiar look.
The truck is about the same size as its predecessor and Toyota assures that it will have “new, rugged tech” and that its “off-road prowess is more formidable than ever.”
Tacoma has maintained its position as the best selling midsize pickup in America. However it is not going to be a smooth ride with new entrants into the market like the new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, which offer more power and efficiency than Toyota’s current truck.
A Decade long Diabetes Control and Complications Trial or DCCT which was followed by Epidemiology of Diabetes Control and Complications (EDIC) study reveals that reducing HbA1c to 7% rather as compared to the standard practice to 9% in Type I diabetes reduced the complications from 35% to 75%. It established the importance of intensive therapy as the criteria for care.
At the American Diabetes Association meeting in 2013, researchers had reported that diabetics on intensive therapy had a 46% reduced risk of retinopathy, 39% reduced risk of microalbuminuria and 61% reduced risk of macroalbuminuria.
The trial involved 1,441 ‘type I Diabetic’ subjects with no complications at baseline. The subjects were randomized for both intensive and conventional treatment for an average of 6.5 years and all the data collated from 1429 patients at the end of the follow up totaled 27 years.
The study reveals that the intense control group had significantly lower risk of death. Higher HbA1c levels were associated with all-cause mortality