New App Monitors Stress By Balancing the Mind and Emotions

A article I wrote for Electronic Products.

HeathMath’s Inner Balance app is designed to get the heart and mind in sync

Everyone’s familiar with those days when everything seems to go wrong and the hours drag on. High stress levels can be damaging to your health, but balancing them may soon be easier than you’ve ever imagined. In just a few weeks, the mobile app Inner Balance, by HeartMath, will be available to harmonize your response to stress.

Inner Balance

HearthMath’s Inner Balance app in action

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BlackBerry Unveils Two New Smartphones

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

Will the Z10 and Q10 get BlackBerry back in the game?

With the release of BlackBerry 10, it appears that BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion Ltd.) is attempting a brave comeback. Competing with rivals like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has been a struggle, and this may be BlackBerry’s last shot at becoming the third viable smartphone competitor in the market.

What BlackBerry is up against

To no one’s surprise, Apple and Samsung dominated the smartphone market together in 2012, making up close to half of global smartphone shipments. Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS held nearly 90% share of the smartphone operating system market. In the cellphone market last year, smartphones took up 49% of shipments, and as for the near future, smartphone shipments are going to skyrocket, expected to take up at least three quarters of the global cellphone market.

So, the clock is ticking for BlackBerry — what makes it stand out?

Firstly, there are two new BlackBerry devices, the Z10 and the Q10.

Blackberry’s new Z10 phone.

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Design houses, bridges, and geometrical figures with your finger

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

Looking for a quick and simple way to design a floor plan? All it takes are a few swipes of a finger with FingerCAD, the app that allows builders and designers to draw and save floor plans, elevations, mechanical components, and geometrical figures on their iOS devices.

How FingerCAD works

FingerCAD is the first CAD (computer-assisted-design) application made for technical drawing with fingers assisted by computer. With this inclusive app, you can draw houses, bridges, planimetry of apartments, mechanical components, and geometrical figures. Basically, you can draw with your finger everything that can be designed with a common PC CAD. FingerCAD presents engineers, architects, surveyors, and designers with unlimited possibilities. Read More

Surround Sound vs 3D Sound

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

What separates these two types of audio technology?

Though they have their differences, surround sound and 3D sound are used in very similar ways. Surround sound involves placing multiple speakers around a room to put you in the center of the action. It makes watching movies and television more realistic. With 3D sound, not only do sounds come from the left and right of you, they also come from above and below you. Basically, it turns things up a notch.

What is surround sound?

Throughout the years that television has been in existence, the two biggest changes to enjoying a program or movie is the clarity of the picture and sound. While the former is well documented, not many know how far sound has come.

In movie theaters years ago, the entire soundtrack was played on one speaker, or a collection of speakers that were placed behind the movie screen. Today, audiences in movie theaters are used to hearing sounds thundering on each side of them. What they expect is surround sound. Now that technology, once only enjoyed in movie theaters, is now common in home entertainment centers.

Typical surround sound system set-up at home.

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Get Ready For SIA

An article I wrote for Chilled Magazine.

After having a love affair with Scotch for 10 years, Carin Luna-Ostaseski decided she wanted to grow her passion into a business. The idea came to her about a year ago, when she was organizing and running Scotch tasting events in San Francisco.

Luna-Ostaseski enjoyed introducing Scotch as a category, and for those who were familiar with it, she presented new brands to them. “One of my biggest joys is seeing how this lights up people’s eyes when they find something they really enjoy,” she said. She collected feedback by paying attention to people’s initial reactions, and from there, began running blind tastings, where she took her blends of existing brands to gather additional feedback. After realizing what the desired flavor profile was, Luna-Ostaseski approached her importer, Spirits Imports, Inc., to begin the search for a distiller, which led her to the independent bottler, Douglas McGibbon & Co. Ltd.

Carin Luna-Ostaseski with her SIA Scotch Whisky

Carin Luna-Ostaseski with her SIA Scotch Whisky. Photo credit: Sarah Peet Photography (www.sarahpeetphotography.com).

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Mobile App Allows You to Speak a Different Language in Seconds

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

Traveling to a different country without knowing the language can be a bit daunting. Mispronouncing words and not being able to understand them can be a hassle. Now there’s an app to take care of that.

Sonico Mobile’s iTranslate Voice

By downloading Sonico Mobile’s iTranslate Voice to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you don’t have to go through the trouble of memorizing certain foreign lingo. For less than a dollar, this nifty app will quickly translate words, phrases, and texts, and it can do so for more than 30 languages and dialects. Read More

Things to Do When Someone is Staring at You

Dog_Stare

Herro. (Note: This image is not mine.)

People like to stare at you for a number of reasons. They like the way you look, they don’t like the way you look, you have something on your face, etcetera. I found myself in this somewhat awkward situation not long ago, as I was standing in line at the bank to deposit a rather puny check of mine. I felt the eyes of another crawling up and down my frame, from the corner to the left of me. With a quick glance I saw her, and then focused my attention to the back of the balding head in front of me. I still felt her eyes. She was waiting for her obnoxious grandmother to dump her life savings into the coin-counting machine. I soon passed my deposit slip and check to the teller, took my receipt, and turned around. My eyes met the young woman’s, and what did I do? I smiled. Lame, I know. I should have done one of the following.

Wink. They won’t see this coming, and will be aware that you know they were staring. They’ll most likely force a quick laugh,  flush with embarrassment, and be done with it. Or maybe this can backfire and they’ll mistake your flick of an eye as a signal to initiate some small talk. It depends on who this person is. Use your judgment.

Have a staring contest. Hold your gaze. Don’t submit to them, even if your eyes are drying up. Fight the blink. You’re better than them.

Pose, pretend to be a model. They won’t expect this from their eye candy. Flaunt it.

Make the craziest face you can possibly make at that moment. Scare them off, you lunatic. They won’t know what to do, but I can guarantee that their eyes will roam elsewhere. That, or they’ll keep their eyes shut for days. This will be especially funny if you make eye contact while creating your monstrous facial expression.

Give them the thumbs-up. Aw. They were praising your body with their eyes. How nice. Let them know you appreciate their existence.

Point, gasp, and run. This will teach them that staring is indeed very rude. Make sure to glance back a few times as you’re sprinting away. After a few seconds, steady your pace and act as if nothing happened.

Flip the bird. This one is daring, but they will most likely be speechless. Or not. (Warning: this may turn violent.)

I’m Still Here

A close friend of mine lost her sweet, four legged friend yesterday. He wasn’t just a dog, or a pet, he was a big part of her family, and he had, and still has, his own special place to curl up inside of my heart. He was always such a ball of sunshine, with his dashing personality. This poem, “I’m Still Here,” by an unknown author, reminds me of my friend and her pug, who will always be a part of our world, and will never be forgotten.

Roxy!

Roxy went crazy for squeaky toys!

Friend, please don’t mourn for me
I’m still here, though you don’t see.
I’m right by your side each night and day
and within your heart I long to stay.

My body is gone but I’m always near.
I’m everything you feel, see or hear.
My spirit is free, but I’ll never depart
as long as you keep me alive in your heart.

I’ll never wander out of your sight-
I’m the brightest star on a summer night.
I’ll never be beyond your reach-
I’m the warm moist sand when you’re at the beach.

I’m the colorful leaves when fall comes around
and the pure white snow that blankets the ground.
I’m the beautiful flowers of which you’re so fond,
The clear cool water in a quiet pond.

I’m the first bright blossom you’ll see in the spring,
The first warm raindrop that April will bring.
I’m the first ray of light when the sun starts to shine,
and you’ll see that the face in the moon is mine.

When you start thinking there’s no one to love you,
you can talk to me through the Lord above you.
I’ll whisper my answer through the leaves on the trees,
and you’ll feel my presence in the soft summer breeze.

I’m the hot salty tears that flow when you weep
and the beautiful dreams that come while you sleep.
I’m the smile you see on a baby’s face.
Just look for me, friend, I’m everyplace!

Secure Mobile App Replaces Your House Key

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

Having a key ring stuffed in your pocket isn’t the most pleasant shape. They can be sharp, bulky, and you’re always checking to make sure it’s there. But like the watches, cameras, and CD players before them, key rings are on their way to being gobbled up by mobile phones.

Thanks to ShareKey, the Android mobile app, leaving the house and worrying about your keys is a thing of the past.

Android app ShareKey replaces your house key.

ShareKey communicates with smartlocks on the door via NFC (near field communication), which allows wireless data to be exchanged across a small range. Read More

Affordable Luggage Tracker Keeps Bags From Being Lost

An article I wrote for Electronic Products.

Losing luggage during a trip and having nobody to tell you exactly where to find it is one of a traveler’s biggest fears. According to SITA, the world’s leading specialist in air transport communications and information technology, about 26 million bags go missing each year from airports around the world. But with the release of the Trakdot Luggage tracker, those worries can (finally) be put to rest.

Trakdot Luggage is designed for the traveler’s convenience. This handy gadget, slightly larger than a deck of cards, includes a palm-sized tracker and easily fits into a checked bag. It’s powered by two AA batteries, and can connect with any mobile Android, Apple, or SMS-capable device to alert its user of its whereabouts. Read More