Wearing your cellphone on hip weakens pelvic bones.

Wearing your cellphone on hip weakens pelvic bones 

October 31 2009 | Times of India Bangalore 

Accra: Are you wearing the cellphone on the waist belt If yes, think twice.
In a new research, health experts have warned that wearing a cellphone on ones belt could lead to decreased bone density in the area of the pelvis that is commonly used for bone grafts.

The report, carried out by Tolga Atay and colleagues of Suleyman Demirel University in Turkey, is one of the first to document bone-weakening effects of cellphone use.
However, the researchers said that the findings were preliminary , said GNA. Even though findings have not been conclusive, the World Health Organisation and scientists have called for precaution in the use of cellphones.
It would be better to keep mobile phones as far as possible from our body during our daily lives. With long-term exposure , electro-magnetic fields from cellphones could weaken the bone, potentially affecting the outcomes of surgical procedures using bone grafts , the report said.
The report said the researchers measured bone density at the upper rims of the pelvis in 150 male cellphone users who carried their phones on their belts. Out of the 150 men, 122 carried their phones on the right side and 28 on the left side and they had all used cell phones for an average of six years. PTI

Drive your car simply by using a smartphone.

Drive your car simply by using a smartphone
October 29 2009 | Times of India Bangalore

Sydney: Want to be James Bond Well, you can imitate him to a certain level thanks to a newly developed iPhone app that allows a driver to control a full-fledged passenger car just via his or her smartphone.
Created by German university researchers to take part in an American military driverless car challenge, the amazing automotive app can let a user drive a vehicle remotely via one of the clever phones. Although the iPhone controlled car has been under development for some time, it is only now that the researchers have released a YouTube video featuring the remarkable app in full action. 

 
The clip shows an iPhone screen featuring a steering wheel and brake and accelerator buttons, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. ANI

Now, machine helps to have breakfast in bed.

Now, machine helps to have breakfast in bed
October 29 2009 | Times of India Bangalore

 
London: For all those who feel too lazy to prepare their own morning meals, scientists have come up with a machine in the style of Wallace and Gromit that automatically cooks breakfast, including an omelette, toast and freshly squeezed orange juice. 

 
The 15-metre long device was created by Yuri Suzuki, 26, a design teacher in London, who worked at the Royal College of Art, along with Masa Kimura, 28. The gadget, developed in the Platform 21 exhibition centre in Amsterdam, saw contributions from scores of helpers and designers. It cooks up omelettes from scratch before toasting bread, which it can butter and add jam to depending on taste. Also, the early morning pick-me up of coffee is available at no extra effort as well as freshly squeezed orange juice. 

Suzuki, who was born in Tokyo and has lived in Hackney, east London , for three years, said that Hollywood films had inspired him to come up with the device. He also said that it should be possible for lazy people to come up with their own version of the device. If someone wanted to make one for themselves it might not leave you that out of pocket, the Telegraph quoted him as saying.
We bought a lot of the stuff from a car boot sale, so it didnt cost that much in total the project was probably 900. When you look at movies like Pee Wee Herman and Back to the Future , there are breakfast machines in them.
It was completely automated, it worked on its own.
It is absolutely massive and is 13 metres by three metres and in total took 88 hours to build, spread over 11 days it was an incredible effort, he added. ANI

New midair threat: fire from batteries in gadgets.

New midair threat: fire from batteries in gadgets
Christine Negroni | October 28 2009 | Times of India Bangalore

Battery fires in personal electronic devices can be scary. But if a battery ignites on a plane, the risks are much greater.
With more people traveling with an assortment of portable electronics sometimes a plane has more devices than passengers fires are occurring on airliners with increasing frequency. More than half of the 22 battery fires in the cabin of passenger planes since 1999 have been in the last three years. One air safety expert suggested that these devices might be the last unrestricted fire hazard people can bring on airplanes.
This month, the Federal Aviation Administration along with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued special advisories to airlines about yet another gadget: the credit card readers that many have begun to issue to flight attendants to ring up sales of food, drinks and other amenities. 

While airlines have used portable credit card readers for several years, the FAA said earlier this month that they needed approval from the agencys hazardous materials division. Like the majority of hand-held consumer electronic devices, the readers are powered by rechargeable lithium batteries, which the government considers hazardous.
While no fires from credit card readers have been reported , the list of spontaneous combustion events with other devices reads like a thriller. Last month, a portable DVD player was dropped on an American Airlines flight, causing a fire. In March 2008, a United Airlines employee placed a flashlight in the storage compartment of a Boeing 757 at the Denver airport. A report said the flashlight exploded like gunshots , turning the on-off switch into a projectile.
In 2004, an ABC News camera exploded on a plane being used by presidential candidate John Edwards. A seat caught fire, causing an emergency return to the airport. Even more events go unreported, authorities said. NYT NEWS SERVICE

Malware within: Hackers embed PCs at point of sale.

Malware within: Hackers embed PCs at point of sale 

October 20 2009 | Times of India Bangalore

Washington: Tens of millions of US computers are loaded with scam security software that their owners may have paid for but which only makes the machines more vulnerable, according to a new Symantec report on cybercrime. 

Cyberthieves are increasingly planting fake security alerts that pop up when computer users access a legitimate website. The alert warns them of a virus and offers security software, sometimes for free and sometimes for a fee.
Lots of times, in fact theyre a conduit for attackers to take over your machine, said Vincent Weafer, Symantecs vicepresident for security response.
Theyll take your credit card information, any personal information youve entered there and theyve got your machine, he said, referring to some rogue softwares ability to rope a users machine into a botnet, a network of machines taken over to send spam or worse. 

 
Symantec found 250 varieties of scam security software with legitimate sounding names like Antivirus 2010 and Spyware-Guard 2008, and about 43 million attempted downloads in one year but did not know how many of the attempted downloads succeeded , said Weafer. 

In terms of the number of people who potentially have this in their machines, its tens of millions, Weafer said.  

 
It was also impossible to tell how much cyberthieves made off with but affiliates acting as middlemen to convince people to download the software were believed to earn between 1 cent per download and 55 cents. 

 
TrafficConverter.biz, which has been shut down, had boasted that its top affiliates earned as much as $332,000 a month for selling scam security software, according to Weafer. REUTERS