Tesla Model S takes on Aston Martin Rapide S in the ultimate luxury saloon drag race

Credit: hybridCARS/ Autocar

They couldn't have made it any easier for the Aston Martin:

• started at 30 mph, minimizing or eliminating the Tesla's biggest advantage: massive low speed torque;
• gave the Aston Martin a start; &
• waited 'till the Aston driver put his foot down.

Race starts just after the 2:30 mark.

/ EV electric vehicle internal combustion engine ICE LiIon lithium ion battery range drag race magazine road test charge recharge range hydrocarbons hydrocarbon petrol carbon dioxide CO2 accelerate acceleration fuel range British American America USA US Great Britain England performance speed traction low speed torque horsepower kilowatt kilowatts handling centre center of gravity minimising minimize minimise /

NSA's secret campaign to crack, hack, trash, & undermine Internet encryption

You've encrypted it so its secure, right?

Wanna bet?

http://www.propublica.org/article/the-nsas-secret-campaign-to-crack-undermine-internet-encryption / The National Security Agency long running long-running secret war on encryption supercomputer super computer super-computer supercomputers technical trickery order court orders behind-the-scenes persuasion behind the scenes undermine major tools protecting privacy communication communications Internet age newly disclosed documents reported partnership between The New York Times Guardian ProPublica based documents The Guardian James Ball Julian Borger Glenn Greenwald Nicole Perlroth Scott Shane Jeff Larson agency circumvented cracked encryption digital scrambling guards global commerce banking systems protect protects sensitive data trade secrets medical records automatically secures email emails e-mail e-mails Web search searches Internet chats phone calls America Americans documents show users assume been assured Internet companies their data safe prying eyes government NSA N.S.A. agency recent successes deciphering protected information among M most closely guarded secrets restricted cleaeance cleared highly classified program code named code-named Bullrun documents provided Edward J. Snowden former N.S.A. contractor NSA has secretly break many types encryption widely used technology impossible read intercepted communications 2010 British document stated encrypted Internet data exploitable British memo brief briefing briefed foreign tech companies introduce weaknesses commercial encryption products backdoor access data users believe is secure deliberately weakened the international encryption standards adopted developers around globe hack hacker hacking hacked target computers snare messages encrypted influence experienced code maker covertly covert introduce weaknesses encryption standards hardware software developers develop development /

Mechanical wizardry behind the teeny, tiny new Jambox

Credit: Jawbone/ Alex Washburn/ Wired

http://www.wired.com/design/2013/09/mini-jambox/#slideid-221151

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/09/14/jambox-goes-mini-while-the-sound-stays-maxi/ / tireless experimenting CNC bit paths Jawbone settled 5 different patterns balanced costs efficiency cost-effectiveness cost-efficiency cool WIRED Jawbone’s first wireless speaker favorite gizmos were being subsumed smart phone phones smartphones Jambox standalone survivor novel music wirelessly box attractive I-wanna-play-with-one-of-those-things I wanna play with one of those things package designer Yves Behar competition competitors improved one exceeded bested audio quality retained undeniable cool factor visibility increasingly crowded category last year Jawbone expanded line dance party-ready Big Jambox Mini Jambox takes advantage all-new manufacturing cool factor Mini Jambox available for preorder today $179 slimmer sharper version rubber that capped the top and bottom; the new gone device cool metal first impressions exudes superior quality complete reinvention purpose sound size Mini Jambox makes good on its name nearly half the size of the original Jambox volumey look minI does feel mini pocket purse backpack important Behar Hosain Rahman Jawbone’s CEO under an inch of thickness room skinny jeans jacket hoody hoody’s pouch manufacture manufacturer manufactured original Jambox drivers passive resistor Bluetooth antenna other guts were housed sealed plastic enclosure package that thin piece of metal stamped with industrial-grade presses speaker beloved texture creating internal seal essential for good sound outer, stamped piece was largely cosmetic Jambox Remix swap in differently colored grills end caps desired Mini Jambox outside integral to the functioning of the inside new version Jawbone moved from stamping to CNC milling streamline internal design of the speaker Mini’s body single piece of extruded anodized aluminum device’s outer shell sealed box for the sound cavity inside too. /

Sony QX Series add on lens for your phone camera

Credit: Sony/ Gear Hungry

Best camera is the one you have with you. That often means the camera in your phone.

On the other hand, camera phones are quite limited compared to all but the very cheapest of point-&-shoots, with small sensors & no manual focus or optical zoom.

Sony's solution is a peripheral with a large sensor (1 inch, 2.54 cm), manual focus & 10x optical zoom.

http://gearhungry.com/2013/09/sony-qx-series-lens-style-cameras.html / smartphone ultrafast processor massive HD high density display memor optics Sony QX Series clip on clip-on lenses WiFi near field communication NFC lens standalone lenses pair Android iOS device snap quality pics physically connect connecting adjustable adapter physically dissociated phone independent camera cameras QX10 18.2 megapixels 10x optical zoom QX100 large 1″ 20.2 megapixel Exmor RCMOS sensor Cyber-Shot RX100 3.6x optical zoom BIONZ image processor dedicated control ring manual focus zoom adjustment /

Sleep deprivation makes us appear unattractive & sad

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/sleep-deprivation-makes-us-appear-unattractive-and-sad/279239/ / research health healthy wrinkles wrinkled fine lines paler pale less intelligent unhealthy health more droopy corners of the mouth droop look sleep-deprived sleep deprived tired University of Stockholm unhealthy less attractive researchers researcher academic journal Sleep doctoral candidate Tina Sundelin team photographed photograph research subjects two separate occasions once after eight hearty hours sleep after 31 hours awake forty people then rated photographs scales fatigue sadness ten metrics of physical appearance perceived sleep deprived sleep-deprived subjects as being sadder having paler skin more wrinkles wrinkle fine lines droopy corners of the mouth Discovery Health recently ran article called 10 Signs You May Be Deprived of Sleep believe Mood swings swing medical problems problem relationship troubles trouble diminished motor skills poor decision making vision problems increased appetite inability to concentrate poor memory inability handle stress practical implications faces contain information which humans base interactions fatigued a person appears may affect how others behave toward them Sundelin press release part innate sense of empathy go easy on this tired person ability identify exploit weakness weaknesses /

Samsung unveils Galaxy Gear smartwatch

Credit: Samsung/ Time

Samsung has just announced their Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

Do you need one?

My take after a few months of using a Pebble is that a smartwatch can provide a useful extra information channel to help take advantage of a smartphone without it getting in the way:

• Incoming calls when the phone is on silent, in another room, or in a noisy environment.

• Is that SMS, email or calendar reminder important enough to interrupt whatever is happening?

• Who's calling?

Inherent in all this extra functionality is shortened battery life, compared to a conventional watch (dumbwatch?) — 10 days plus in the Pebble. Unfortunately, Samsung's Gear has this problem in spades — 1 day of battery life (sic) is a deal breaker for me. YMMV.

Other problems:

• At the moment, it only works with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 & yet to be released Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. There is a question mark over future integration with other phones.

• Price? $300!

More at:

http://techland.time.com/2013/09/04/samsungs-galaxy-gear-is-a-very-samsung-smartwatch/ / big gaudy packed with fancy hardware loaded software features useful usability never use Samsung Galaxy Gear company’s company first attempt modern smartwatch with everything 1.63-inch 1.6 inch AMOLED display 320-by-320 resolution 800 MHz processor 512 MB RAM 4 GB internal storage 1.9-megapixel camera 1.9 megapixel speaker built into wrist strap microphone on board making calls Bluetooth smartphone connection glanceable notification machine informing inform incoming calls texts messages alerts clever integration Samsung’s smartphones so when you take the phone out of your pocket messages instantly appear big screen built-in microphone Samsung’s S Voice virtual assistant dictate text messages set alarms create calendar entries hands free hands-free speakerphone voice connection safety assistance feature sends user user’s location trusted contact within 1.5 meters paired smartphone allows user bypass the phone’s phone lock screen bad news /

10 things your spouse won’t tell you

Lots of surprising information here, such as:

"Nearly one in four Americans say honesty about money is more important to them than honesty about an affair."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-your-spouse-wont-tell-you-2013-08-23/print?guid=AEC4CB50-0C1B-11E3-B473-00212876B3FC / spend more on my lover than I do on you 15% married Americans admit extramarital affair rate stayed relatively steady past couple decades General Social Survey tracks extramarital affairs married couples cheating spending hard earned hard-earned cash on their lovers your hubby’s husband mistress likely spend $125 on her holiday gift compared with just $60 on yours according survey AshleyMadison.com matchmaking site for married individuals looking for affairs women are less likely to buy pricey gifts for their lovers tend to be more cautious about leaving behind evidence affair, says AshleyMadison.com CEO Noel Biderman secret bank account Bernie Madoffs secret bank accounts 15% fifteen percent married people couples joint finances bank account they keep hidden from their partner 2011 National Endowment for Financial Education Forbes study survey reasons secret account innocent enough opened account before they were married haven’t gotten around to closing it yet others intentions far more nefarious married people sometimes like to keep secret bank accounts in the event of divorce pursue expensive hobbies other interests Tina Tessina, a psychotherapist based Long Beach California author Money Sex and Kids Stop Fighting About the Three Things That Can Ruin Your Marriage more common with men may secretly spend on things like like gambling or drugs women keep secret stashes money gifts for the children going out with friends shopping for accessories for themselves home secret account secret-account holders beware most of the time the spouse finds out usually by accident opening a letter from the bank Lisa Helfend Meyer founder law firm Meyer Olson Lowy Meyers Los Angeles fallout can be serious including divorce separation harassment office spouse she remembers your birthday she even knows about the marital troubles your parents are having catch she’s not your wife one in three people has an office spouse colleague he or she is close to platonic survey career site Vault.com role serves working partners someone share office secrets exchange support companions on the job often relationship relationships completely harmless especially when individuals open spouse spouses source of immense jealousy partner thinks spouse sharing too much co-worker psychologist Elizabeth Lombardo author of Happy You Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness women, it may be even worse study published 2010 journal Psychological Science both sexes experience jealousy emotional infidelity women tend to view it as an even worse betrayal than sexual infidelity pretend I never bought cost nearly 35 years Wilmington Syble Solomon educator who helps people deal with financial issues kept many purchases secret from her husband misled him about what they cost Solomon buy new blouse often hide her dresser for weeks husband asked when she finally wore it had it forever growing up mum mom Don’t tell your father not telling one in 10 people say misrepresented cost purchase partner American Express survey motivation avoid conflict partner spouse won’t approve item cost results lying disastrous emotionally financially advised multiple clients felt compelled file divorce discover discovering series secret purchases purchase earn more than you bread winner traditional role depend dependent satisfaction breadwinner /