Voice of SIRI

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-live-chat-susan-bennett-the-voice-of-apples-siri-today-20131010,0,2326019.story

And in Australia

http://youtu.be/VMbtOo02ALI / Apple iOS iPhone 5s mobile cell phone smart smartphone personal assistant /

Next generation antibiotics could be turned on & off using light

Credit: ShutterStock/solarseven/Gizmodo

In 1st world countries, the revolution in medicine wrought by antibiotics has been largely forgotten. Before antibiotics, pneumonia had a frightening mortality rate. Syphilis killed more people than AIDS has done.

In 1988, a man in Wollongong, NSW, Australia died of a carpet burn! Why the exclamation mark at the end of the last sentence? Because in a first world country, in the antibiotic age, it normally takes an extraordinary effort of neglect for such a minor injury to lead to infection, septicemia & death.

Before antibiotics (pre World War II), prudence required that such a small abrasion be cleaned carefully with antiseptic, & then covered, to prevent entry of bacteria. If this was not done, & bacteria did enter the wound, serious, life threatening infection was possible.

Today, with antibiotics easily available, a carpet burn is likely to be ignored, until there is some sign of infection, at which point, a doctor's script would quickly solve the problem. Few would allow infection to proceed as far as happened in Wollongong in 1988.

However, there are signs that the antibiotic age may be coming to an end. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem.

What causes antibiotic resistance? Evolution. Bacteria are capable of reproducing very quickly. Several generations in an hour. An antibiotic represents a selective force. When exposed to such a selective force, a high reproduction rate allows bacteria to evolve resistance very quickly — around 600 times faster than human beings can evolve.

Bacterial evolution of antibiotic resistance is the essential problem, but it has been exacerbated by various types of mismanagement & abuse. Every time an antibiotic is used, the risk of antibiotic resistance is created. The obvious solution is to minimize antibiotic use. Trivial uses, such as on a minor cut (or carpet burn) are not justified. Cleaning with an antiseptic & covering the wound to prevent entry of bacteria should suffice.

Other abuses include:

• routine feeding antibiotics to animals. When animals are raised in confined situations, such as feed lots, infection risk rises. Antibiotics may be routinely fed to animals as a "growth promotant". Effectiveness of such use is controversial, but is pushed by drug companies, & used by farmers.

• in some parts of the world, antibiotic use is largely or wholly uncontrolled with resultant abuse.

What can you do?

Take all the tablets! A packet of antibiotic tablets, represents a course of treatment which will eliminate the infection. It is not sufficient to take the antibiotic until signs of infection disappear. At this point, a small number of bacteria may remain, with some acquired resistance. It is important to continue treatment to eliminate such bacteria. Failure to do so may result in return of the infection in a resistant form (which is more difficult to treat), or passing it on to others.

What are the drug companies doing? Running a race. There is an ongoing race between antibiotic resistant bacteria & drug companies. One of the measures they are taking is described in the linked article:

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/10/next-generation-antibiotics-could-be-turned-off-using-light/ding / continue fighting pathogens new improved antibiotics antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains threat superbugs CDC staffers current salmonella outbreak more permanent solution stubborn bacteria scientist scientists University of Groningen Holland Netherlands technique tweak tweaks prove viable idea create smart antibiotic respond light heat turn turned on off switch protect healthy bacteria unnecessary damage deactivate residual antibiotics encourage resistance antibiotics designed stick inhibit enzymes keep bacteria alive specific shape bind effectively altering shape lock and key antibiotics researchers quinolones shaped like the letter C tagged light sensitive light-sensitive molecule azobenzene blasted light heat morph letter Z waste products bacteria bulk up against antibiotics pesky side effects researchers’ researcher research researchers coaxing the antibiotics respond ultraviolet infrared light superbugs superbug super bug bugs Nature /

Bigger screen for iPhone 6

Recently, I abandoned the iOS platform, largely because a 3.5 inch screen wasn't big enough anymore, & the tall, narrow 4 inch screen of the iPhone 5 didn't seem like a meaningful improvement.

Apparently, 4.7 & 5.7 inch screens are now under testing for use in the iPhone 6.

And the “iWatch”? — AMOLED display with 320 x 320-pixel resolution.

http://bgr.com/2013/10/08/iphone-6-specs-display-resolution-size/ / Apple iPhone 6 rumour rumors iPhone 5s iPhone 5c debut rumors rumor mill bigge new report well respected well-respected Apple analyst Peter Misek Apple’s next generation next-generation iPhone 6 larger 4.8-inch displa bigger screen next iPhone larger screens Android powered Android-powered iPhone rivals rival next flagship iPhone feature bigger display DisplaySearch analyst David Hsieh, upcoming iPhone 6 more standard high-definition resolution current Retina displays display welcome change many people user users customers customer Hsieh’s report research Apple’s supply chain suggests company test testing 4.7-inch panel 1,280 x 720-pixel resolution 5.7-inch display full HD 1080p resolution DisplaySearch has reported accurate details of unannounced products past earlier report The Wall Street Journal testing various display sizes 6 inches next generation next-generation iPhone larger side panels DisplaySearch Apple testing KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo accurately reported nearly every single detail Apple’s iPhone 5s iPhone 5c ahead unveiling measure 4.5 5 inches diagonally DisplaySearch several products Apple launches over the next year feature increased resolution second generation second-generation iPad mini MacBook Air 12 inch 12-inch panel flat-panel televisions television 55-inch 55 inch 65 inch 65-inch ultra HD 4K displays display Hsieh Apple’s iWatch feature flexible AMOLED display 320 x 320 pixel resolution /

Alien abduction lamp – I want to believe

Credit: Funky Company/The Gadgeteer

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/10/07/the-alien-abduction-lamp-i-want-to-believe/ / lamp lamps Alien Abduction Lamp Daisy Clara-belle Clarabelle Bossie cow abducted tractor tractor-beam wielding aliens aboard flying saucer LED lights high-quality Perspex beam space ship stainless steel black-pearl finish glow in the dark glow-in-the-dark aliens alien antenna toggle power switch toggles lights off on sets pulse mode lamp comes real fake grass cow additional cows purchase purchased separately itself is about $94.00 Funky Company located Australia ship to other countries including USA US offer power adaptors your location little green men LGM /

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review

Credit: Boy Genius Report

Great new phone:

http://www.cnet.com/au/products/samsung-galaxy-note-3/

But, it appears to be cheating on benchmarks:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/galaxy-note-3s-benchmarking-adjustments-inflate-scores-by-up-to-20/ / Android noticed odd thing while testing Samsung Galaxy Note 3 scores really really well benchmark tests quick comparison scores similarly-specced similarly specced specification LG G2 something fishy going on Samsung's 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 blows the doors off LG's 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 Snapdragon different sleuthing Samsung artificially boosting US Note 3's benchmark scores special high-power high power CPU mode kicks when device runs large number popular benchmarking apps Samsung international Galaxy S 4's S4 GPU boost US device disable special CPU mode Samsung's benchmark optimizations scores smoking gun CPU idle speeds system monitor app picture shows how differently the CPU treats a benchmarking app different differently normal app normally Note 3 idling three four cores shut off conserve power battery remaining core drops down low power low-power 300MHz mode load up popular CPU benchmarking app Note 3 CPU locks into 2.3GHz mode fastest speed possible cores ever shut off idle idling affect benchmark scores benchmarks measure performance device Geekbench disassembling benchmarking app package name assemble assembling re-assembling reassembling Android Samsung Galaxy Note 3 OS operating system performance screen size phablet recent flagship devices device feature positively gorgeous displays display plastic hardware typically feels cheap flimsy hype launch rack huge sales numbers BGR boy genius report feature spam features feature focus focusing truly innovative useful hero features offering services lock customers ecosystem new Galaxy Note 3 Samsung gimmick gimmicky features approach /

Intelligent Glasses quickly translate foreign languages in real time

Credit: NTT Docomo/DVICE

http://www.dvice.com/2013-10-1/intelligent-glasses-quickly-translate-foreign-languages-real-time / ordering a meal non English non-English speaking country restaurant illustrations pictures pointing point nod picture read road sign posted notice unfamiliar text overseas over seas sea abroad invention creation NTT Docomo's Docomo Intelligent Glasses pair wearable spectacles translate foreign text native tongue read feature Google Glass needs demonstrated Japan Japanese Japan's CEATEC consumer electronics show Intelligent Glasses translate Japanese Korean Chinese English in real time swathe swath text place placed in front glasses character recognition technology projected image translated text layer layered over original foreign text translation processing time over five seconds prototype alpha beta software app application intelligent glasses manipulate virtual images wearer wearer's field of vision blank flat surface use using ring track tracks hand movements movement glasses wear wearer interact projected image turns surface into touchscreen touch tags see facial recognition feature summon recall personal details viewing range information name job title other personal details pulled up data retrieved retrieve retrieval smartphone's smartphones smartphone remote server develop development developing developers release date 2020 coincide with Tokyo Olympics improvements improve improvement size weight battery life endurance NTT Docomo's goals goal objective intention company glasses result results increase tourist tourism /

Spectacular simplicity of "Gravity"

Credit: Alfonso Cuaron/ Gravity/ The Atlantic

"... special effects that are at once so novel, so technologically ahead-of-the-curve, and so essential to the underlying narrative ..."

Have to see this!

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/10/the-spectacular-simplicity-of-em-gravity-em/280245/ / review movie film motion picture watch view film gravity spatial geometry Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron Children of Men 2006 fascinating experiment hybrid filmmaking awesome display cutting edge cutting-edge special effects compact character drama shot plays play deep space deep-space variation Sherif Ali iconic entrance Lawrence of Arabia supernal slice blue white blue-white Planet Earth space shuttle Sandra Bullock George Clooney Dr. Ryan Stone medical engineer rookie astronaut Matt Kowalski yarn spinning yarn-spinning space veteran final mission routine spacewalk tinker Hubble Telescope figure prominently detonation explosion Russian satellite chain reaction collision collisions massive debris field hurtling toward inadvertent projectiles primary antagonist more elegant title Flying Space Junk opening sequence stunning display pure cinema disengage cargo bay bay's arm pinwheel pinwheels helplessly around shuttle tsunami orbital flotsam twirls axis she's freed arm hurled silent void itself reveal details intermittent success find their way to safety shuttle neighboring space station any port in a storm back to Earth journey home physical spiritual convey visual spectacle spectacularity mathematical equations featuring vectors vector force acceleration customary prose unfolding series terrifying object lessons Newtonian physics spatial geometry cinematography collaboration collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki, alternates between harrowing sublime vertigo vertiginous sequences settle unexpectedly intimate closeups featuring special effects novel, technologically ahead of the curve ahead-of-the-curve essential underlying narrative an argument for 3D demands seen theater largest screen available the silence visual extravagance cast essentially consists Ed Harris voice of Mission Control succinct Peter Jackson story propelled simplest most universal human motivations motivation quest survival uncaring cosmos contribution contribute contributes arguably best work of her career coast limitless charm coasting principal reality life in space disappoint disappointment screenplay Jonas movie's magisterial visuals writing often pinched conventional overwrought unnecessary backstory clumsily executed hinge plot dialogue hoary cliché cliche narrative missteps disappointing easy to correct conversation avoid avoided moments clunky immersion movie theater rather Earth space walk silence air supply flaw genuine wonders big ones dazzlingly unforgettably right /