Longevity & the sense of smell

Failing heart, cancer, lung disease are all major risks to life. Even bigger is loss of the sense of smell.

https://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21621702-low-olfactory-acuity-portends-curtailed-lifespan-scent-death / hearts failing lost their sense of smell die within five years if you cannot recognise common smells obviously deadly illnesses illness research study published PLOS ONE Dr. Martha McClintock Dr. Jayant Pinto University of Chicago investigation reseaarch project olfactory problems forewarn neurodegenerative diseases Alzheimer’s Parkinson’s abnormally shortened telomeres caps on the ends of chromosomes shortening implicated in the process of ageing good sense of smell keep people healthy detecting pathogens toxins in the air stimulating appetite aid aiding memory emotions intimacy researchers measuring smell loss predict mortality National Social Life, Health and Ageing Project survey University of Chicago measure measures health well being older Americans participants three minute smell test survey’s researchers special felt-tipped pens scented five common odours fish leather orange peppermint rose volunteers presentation volunteer pictures names four possible answers answer wrong normosmic errors hyposmic smell-deficient anosmic unable to smell 430 of the respondents were dead adjusting for ageolder people gender sexwomen men socioeconomic status richer better educated people greater longevity race ethnicity ethnicities longer lifespan correlation nutrition smoking alcohol use controlled for specific diseases heart failure cancer stroke strokes diabetes researchers relationship severe liver damage stronger predictor of death causal relationship olfaction turnover of stem cells smell general inability to regenerate and renew /

Tesla to unveil "D", 09 October — updated

Credit: Tesla.Yahoo

My guess: "D" is for dual, as in the planned all wheel drive option for the Model S, using dual electric motors, previously mentioned on these pages.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-02/tesla-teases-its-next-big-d

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094732_elon-musk-tweets-tesla-to-unveil-d-on-oct-9th-our-guesses

https://autos.yahoo.com/news/tesla-showing-everyone-d-october-9th-133052927.html

Update 03 October:


Credit: adelman/Tesla Motors Club/Engadget

Zoom in on the badge on the right. "P85D" implies an 85 kWh battery, & so, that speculation about "D" being related to increased battery capacity, is wrong.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/02/tesla-model-s-p85d-leak/ / Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk Twitter tweet tweeted photo caption About time to unveil the D and something else roller letter D shadowy front end Tesla Model S date October 9 Tesla logo retweed retweeted favor favour favorited comments announcement updates new options EV electric luxury sedan vehicle 4WD four wheel drive all-wheel drive option Model X crossover utility vehicle new electronic safety systems adaptive cruise control lane departure warning additional sensor hardware retrofitted existing cars via over the air software updates larger battery pack option rumored 110 kiloWatt hour pack production version /

Soon you will be able to stream Photoshop to your Chromebook

Credit: Google

Chromebooks are low-cost/low-power devices, so how is that platform a candidate to run Photoshop, one of the most processor-intensive programmes available?

This will be a streaming version of Photoshop. Streaming Photoshop, running on the Chromebook connects to a virtualized instance of Photoshop running on Adobe servers. Images are stored on Google Drive. It's Photoshop in the cloud.

Beta testing at the moment.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/191089-you-can-now-stream-photoshop-to-your-chromebook-a-huge-win-for-google

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/adobe-brings-streaming-photoshop-to-chrome-os/

http://chrome.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/adobe-joins-chromebook-party-starting.html / Adobe Google announcement announced streaming version Photoshop Chromebooks Chrome OS Chrome browser Chromebook Big Software killer software suite Chrome OS laptop market Photoshop Creative Cloud suite streaming version of Photoshop Adobe running a bunch of servers running Photoshop Chromebook Chrome browser Windows install Project Photoshop Streaming app connect virtual virtualized Photoshop instances instance connect direct access your Google Drive images saved to loaded from editing cloud screen sharing remote desktop running Photoshop screen-sharing app Chromebook desktop remote computer Google Drive processing locally remotely battery life  GPU acceleration GPU dependent features beta tested Adobe’s education customers North America latency response image quality high-bandwidth link high-res 24-bit graphics Creative Cloud subscribers Chrome OS Chrome for Windows /

Sub $200 Windows laptop — finally (well, soon)

Credit: HP/Engadget

Apparently those promises of a sub $200 laptop are about to come to fruition. HP has announced additions to its Stream range. There will be two new laptops, with 11 & 13 inch screens.

● Centrino processor
● 2 GB RAM
● 32 GB SSD
● 1,366 x 768 pixel display
● optional touch capability on the 13-inch model
● Windows 8
● one year subscription to 1TB of online storage via Microsoft OneDrive
● one year subscription to Office 365

HP's Stream range will also include 7 & 8 inch tablets.

http://www.cnet.com/products/hp-stream-11-6/

http://au.pcmag.com/news/24808/hp-reveals-199-windows-stream-laptop

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/29/hp-stream-laptops-tablets/ / HP Hewlett Packard Stream lineup 14-inch version cheap cloud storage cloud reliant systems Web browser access online services Chromebook added flexibility Windows 8 clamshell laptops HP Stream 11.6 HP Stream 13.3 $199 $229 US £179 £199 UK 1,366x768-pixel displays optional touchscreen 13 inch model low power Intel Celeron processor 32GB SSD flash storage fan fanless design full Windows 8 install SSD applications files colours colors magenta blue budget laptops clamshells 1TB online storage Microsoft OneDrive subscription Office 365 one year Microsoft Store gift card $25 4G antenna 200MB of data per month 4G 250MB 3G UK HP DataPass least expensive Windows 8 laptops specifications specs Chromebook accessing remote cloud based apps services running installed software Windows 8 interface fast responsive optimized optimizing operating system OS CPU extended Web surfing productivity casual PC two slate-style tablets HP Stream 7 Tablet HP Stream 8 Tablet Intel powered tablets /

Gresso case protects the iPhone 6 from bending

Credit: Gresso/The Gadgeteer

If you're still not convinced by the reassurances provided by Consumer Reports on the strength of the iPhone 6 in yesterday's post, you might like to add some reinforcement in the form of a Gresso case. 2 mm of aluminium at top, bottom & sides has got to help.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2014/09/29/gresso-case-protects-the-iphone-6-from-bending/ / iPhone 6 phone bend bending carrying carry pocket phone fron back pocket sit down Gresso iPhone 6 cas CNC machined aluminumbumper style protection around edges 2mm solid back cover rigid rigidity 300 lbs of force bend phone unique clamshell design hing magnetic closure metal bumper cases already on the market /

Consumer Reports revisits Bendgate

You've seen the video of an iPhone 6 Plus being bent, but what does it mean? How much force was actually applied? What about the same "test" applied to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4? Is the force the same? Greater? Less?

Consumer Reports steps into the breach with some objective tests of the the forces necessary to bend iPhone 6, 6 Plus, as well as some comparable top-of-the-line smartphones.

Testing concluded that:

● IPhone 6 Plus is more resistant to bending than the iPhone 6
● Both are more bend resistant than the HTC One (M8)
● Both are scored lower than (in order of increasing bend resistance) LG G3, Apple iPhone 5, & Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

Perhaps most important is Consumer Reports closing comment: "While nothing is (evidently) indestructible, we expect that any of these phones should stand up to typical use."

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/09/consumer-reports-tests-iphone-6-bendgate/index.htm / bent iPhone 6 creasing iPhone 6 Plus bare hands unscientific lab equipment delicate same tests comparable smart phones tougher test stress test phones three-point flexural test supported at two points either end force applied third point on the top measured force high precision Instron compression test machine tested LG G3 Samsung Galaxy Note 3 HTC One M8 iPhone 5 bendgate controversy Apple invited journalists labs stress tests published reports 25 kilograms 55 pounds force test flex increased force 10 pound increments deform engineers screen come loose case results tough more robust our testing deform 90 pounds of force came apart 110 pounds of force outperformed regarded sturdy solid phone underperformed some other smart phones recovered completely each step up in force screen splintered stopped working serious damage phones continued to work screens illuminated functional to the touch call smartphone smart phone carnage significant force damage indestructible typical use /

10 best remote control drones for 2014

Credit: faveable

Mention the word "drone", & most people think of a quadrocopter or a military drone similar to the one in the image above. Actually drones come in a large range of shapes, sizes, capabilities & prices.

● Single rotor, dual rotors, 4, 6, or 8 rotors, or fixed wing

● With or without GPS, gyroscope, gimballed or not

● Camera capability, sometimes accommodating a GoPro.

● Almost any price you want to pay. Prices in the linked article range from $34 to $60,000. The military style drone at the top of this item (a model of the U.S Air Force Predator drone with 5 foot wingspan) can be yours for just $460.

http://faveable.com/articles/74/best-rc-drones / drones buzz curiosity creative sci-fi fantasies drone fascinating expensive tech toys extremely wildlife photographers zoom up close subject aerial views epic landscapes what's other side mountain wall send your drone up scout trail ahead pilot piloting gadgets learning curve beginner tech-challenged newbie mounted camera fun quadcopter GPS capability do it yourself kit helicopter copter ready to fly flight time light frame stable in wind HT-450 Quad RTF with MultiWii STORM Drone 4 Flying Platform ready to fly 2.4Ghz transmitter controller drone carry GoPro camera minutes of flying landing land dragons dragon jet powered jet-powered engine fly 70 mph breathe breathes fire propane tank jet fuel kerosene Flying Fire Breathing Dragon Hammacher Schlemmer UDI RC U816A UFO Quadcopter 6 axis gyro gyroscope Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Quadricopter controlled iPod touch iPhone iPad Android devices live stream 720p HD video smartphone tablet record AR.FreeFlight 2.0 piloting app 4 Channel Predator Reaper Style UAV Drone RC Plane brushless motor replica of the U.S Air Force Predator drone wingspan fuselage flight weight charge DJI Phantom FC40 Quadcopter UAV RC Drone Wifi camera aerial photography DJI Phantom Aerial UAV Drone Quadcopter GoPro detachable first person camera transmitter 984 foot range connectivity 5.8GHz Wi-Fi transmitter GPS flight control learning to fly Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Quadricopter acrobatic DJI F550 GPS Drone NAZA V2 RTF hexacopter six propellers much smoother flight bigger payload recording equipment DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ Quadcopter with FPV HD Video Camera and 3-Axis Gimbal shoot smooth video crystal clear stills built-in camera 5200 mAh battery gps navigation USB port quadracopter quadcopter give you more power /