Is your phone interfering with your life?

Mobile (cell) phone overuse (aka dependence syndrome or addiction), is a recognised condition which is negatively impacting people’s income, sleep, safety, relationships, & other aspects of their lives.^1,2

http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/addicted-your-smartphone-what-to-do

Paradoxically, there’s an app for that:

http://www.nickjrparents.com.au/2015/05/17/adults-app-review-self-control
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¹ “Cell Phone Addiction Is So Real People Are Going to Rehab for It”, http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/cell-phone-addiction-so-real-people-are-going-rehab-it

² “Mobile phone overuse”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_overuse / self-control ruled by your smartphone there’s an app for that exercise a bit more restraint checking your phone recent study parents spend too much time smartphones more negative interactions their kids difficult warning to ignore smartphone habit just that bit hard to break there’s an app for that download app smartphone spending too much time smartphone Self Control for Study app originally designed for students lock out lockout smartphones times programmed diminish study distractions great for students bit of help managing smartphone habit Google Play store more than just study helps me to get off my phone do something productive choose pre-enter timeframes throughout your week open the app immediate lock out lockout locks out of all apps phone function help with self-control programming exception apps lock out time self control help setting boundaries smartphone use /

Android phone General Test Mode

Credit: Samsung/Mashable Australia

Samsung Android Phone General Test Mode has a range of functions, including an IR remote for Samsung TVs, to test the IR LED. Other functions include indicator LED, screen colours (reveals stuck or dead pixels), & sensor test.

Can’t say how many Samsung phones this works with, but I have tested it with a few, including Ace, S3, Note 3 & 4. The number of buttons depends on the capabilities of the phone. Some tests, such as “S-pen Hovering” are applicable only to particular models.

To try it, start the phone app, call up the keypad & type:

*#0*#

No spaces — type just as you would for a phone number.

More about Samsung Android Phone General Test Mode:
http://mashable.com/2014/10/27/samsung-galaxy-hidden-menu/

More useful codes at:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/general/galaxy-s3-useful-codes-to-test-hardware-t1896748

This item indicates that the above works with all recent Android phones:
http://www.redmondpie.com/hidden-android-secret-codes-for-samsung-htc-motorola-sony-lg-and-other-devices/

Thanks to Bryan for this item. /58 key codes Samsung Galaxy S3 SGS3 Samsung Android phone key general test basic current state of phone’s LCD touch-based smartphone Google hidden menu access dialing specific string of characters troubleshoot hardware issues check your phone's functionality tool first spotted Android Central Samsung Galaxy owners menu host of service checks hidden menu open dial pad enter *#0*# no spaces like any phone number this screen pop up numerous buttons run tests vibration RGB colors touch-screen sensitivity speaker output color checks could be useful single out dead pixels menu functions technical ordinary user perform sensor checks accelerometer sensor ensures photos aligned correctly on your phone displayed upright off-axis slanted test phone displays picture sensor button hidden menu screen display raw data your phone's sensors image test function touch-screen tracker traces path your finger speaker test plays song loudly testing /

The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz

Unjust laws exist;
shall we be content to obey them,
or shall we endeavor to amend them, & obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?
— Henry David Thoreau

Just saw this — definitely worth a look.

Spoiler — evil wins — unless we are all prepared to do something about it.



One more good thing that Kickstarter has done
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/26788492/aaron-swartz-documentary-the-internets-own-boy-0/description

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Internet%27s_Own_Boy:_The_Story_of_Aaron_Swartz

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3268458/ / programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz, who took his own life at the age of 26 director Brian Knappenberger writer stars Aaron Swartz Tim Berners-Lee Cindy Cohn Gabriella Coleman Cory Doctorow Peter Eckersley Brewster Kahle Lawrence Lessig Zoe Lofgren Carl Malamud Quinn Norton Tim O’Rielly Elliott Peters Alec Resnick David Segal Stephen Shultze David Sorota Christopher Sogholan Bryan Stevenson Taren Karen Stinebrickner-Kauffman Matt Stoller Ben Swartz Noah Swartz Robert Swartz Susan Swartz Trevor Timm Ben Wikler Ron Wyden Reddit Stop Online Piracy Act SOPA) United States bill introduced U.S. Senat Congress Representative Lamar S. Smith Republican Texas R-TX U.S. law enforcement online copyright infringement online trafficking counterfeit goods conservative engine under the Internet hood world wide web reddit the front page of the Internet /

Motorola Moto 360 (2nd Gen.)

Credit: The Gadgeteer

And … the latest version of Android Wear will be compatible with iOS.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2015/09/03/motorola-launches-moto-360-2-smartwatch/

http://www.androidauthority.com/motorola-moto-360-2nd-gen-specs-price-features-638975/

Vs Huawei Watch
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCkQqQIwAWoVChMI9LjPydzcxwIVwaumCh342Qj6&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gizmag.com%2Fmoto-360-2-vs-huawei-watch-comparison%2F39250%2F&usg=AFQjCNFREyIajSWu9z-KS-Qw1NA5g0YLcw&sig2=xAlZ0O6SGS9y9ln3qVRhrw / Android Wear compatible with iPhones Apple Watch smartwatch revolution Motorola availability pre-ordering second-generation Moto 360 smartwatch new version men’s version two different sizes women’s version sport model Motorola Web site new Moto 360 offer something for everyone men’s version two sizes 46 mm 42 mm ordered with metal bands leather band women’s version smaller 42 mm size sports model silicone band Motorola Web design watch parameters design Moto 360 designed your choice rose gold silver black case yellow stainless steel black gunmetal leather bands battery life estimated 1.5 days mixed use 42 mm version watches are water resistant activity fitness applications heart rate sensor wireless charging wi-fi connectivity ambient light sensor prices range $299.99 to $429.99 /

98% of Tesla P85D owners would buy this car again — Consumer Reports

"98% of Tesla P85D owners would buy this car again.” @ConsumerReports http://t.co/mmrrtPQA6q pic.twitter.com/FFud7lq86k

— Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) August 31, 2015

Test driving my new Tesla with dealer Dan. Love it!! https://t.co/LHLroJ6Acl

— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) September 1, 2015

Oprah — probably in the 98%. / Tesla Motors electric vehicle EV battery lithium ion LiIon charge recharge regenerative braking Supercharger sustainable sustainability Consumer Reports road test testing all wheel drive Elon Musk /

One more reason not to jailbreak your iPhone

Apple’s tight* control over its iOS platform is not without advantages.

One of them is security. Tight control over the hardware, operating system & applications which can be installed, confers a unique level of security.

Some iOS users who evaded two Apple security measures:
1. operating system — by jailbreaking their devices
2. applications — by installing an app from an unauthorized source
have found this out the hard way:

https://recode.net/2015/08/31/malware-targets-jailbroken-iphones-steals-some-225000-apple-accounts/

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34114487
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* some would say paranoid, others megalomaniacal, egotistical ... / malware targets jailbroken jailbreak jailbreaking jailbreak iPhones steals stolen theft thief thieves 225,000 Apple accounts another reason not to jailbreak your iPhone 225,000 Apple accounts stolen malicious software installed unlocked jailbroken iPhones largest known thefts of its kind Palo Alto Networks malicious software KeyRaider pilfered Apple account usernames passwords device IDs intercepting iTunes traffic device victims China made themselves vulnerable to attack jailbreaking device removing hardware restrictions Apple’s iOS operating system OS installed an application from an unauthorized store student Yangzhou University discovered attack earlier this summer amateur technical group investigating reports some users’ accounts unauthorized purchases examining various jailbreaks version collected user information uploaded suspicious site security analyst non-issue small fraction of iPhone users affects jailbroken phones using alternative app stores advise advice advising against jailbreaking devices allowing jailbroken devices corporate environment Chris Camejo senior vice president NTT Com Security Apple did not comment /

Saving the forty-spotted pardalote

Larger image
Credit: Tasmanian times

With only 1500 forty-spotted pardalote in the world, extinction threatens. Assumed causes were loss of habitat, drought & possums, until Amanda Edworthy, PhD student from the Australian National University in Canberra, suspected that parasitic fly larvae were causing the 15% fledge rate in chicks. To test her hypothesis, she spent the last three summers climbing trees to nests to spray with a plant-based insecticide which does not affect the chicks.

Result: 15% fledge rate leapt to 90%.

Next problem: how to protect the chicks without so much tree climbing.

Possible solution: in the Galapagos Islands, Darwin's Finches¹ are threatened in a similar way. Solution is to spray the insecticide onto small balls of cotton-wool, & attach them to bushes with wire. Small nesting birds collect soft, fibrous material to line their nests. When they line their nests with fibres of cotton-wool laced with insecticide, the parasite problem is reduced or eliminated.

Over the next two summers, the cotton-wool method will be trialled with the forty-spotted pardalote.

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4302953.htm

http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?id=5207
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¹ "Darwin's finches", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin%27s_finches / cotton-wool fight to save one of Australia's most endangered animals species new study tiny fly larvae killing forty-spotted pardalote cotton wool prevent the small bird disappearing completely small bird big problem species endangered 1500 left in the world southern Tasmania Amanda Edworthy PhD student candidate Australian National University ANU Canberra last three summers climbing trees studying study bird driven the population down biggest threat that we found parasitic fly adults lay maggot larvae nest eggs larvae burrow underneath skin nestling feed on blood 75 per cent mortality researcher loss of habitat drought possums reaching into nest boxes larvae larva discovery Amanda Edworthy's high-up nests spraying mild plant-based insecticide 15 per cent of nestlings survive fly spray kill off almost all the parasites fledge rate 90 per cent aurvival surviving effective practical search more manageable solution Galapagos Islands fly larvae problem endangered Darwin's Finches Scientists access bird's nests cotton-wool method Sonia Kliendorfer professor animal behaviour Flinders University Adelaide cotton wool method spraying little balls of cotton plant-based insecticide kills lava parasitic fly does not harm birds researches cotton wool intertwined with wire bush tears off small pieces weave into its nest birds naturally search soft warm insulating material conservation behaviour using insights animal behaviour inform conservation cotton-wool method trialled forty-spotted pardalote next two years buy the small bird some time birds hang on in the short-term long-term important to figure out why parasite loads have increased increased manage forests reduce fly populations in general researcher Amanda Edworthy /