Thursday, June 16, 2011

Breathalyzer Watch Tells You How Sozzled You Are

Tokyo Flash's back with the crazy watch concepts, this time with something that alcoholics should probably consider: a breathalyzer watch. It tells the time, sure, but more importantly gives you a blood alcohol reading so you know your true drunkenness.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

North Korea Getting Very Close to Nuclear Missile According to South Korea


According to South Korea's defense minister, North Korea may have created a nuclear warhead small enough to be launched in a missile. This is a first for those nutters, who had previously only detonated two nuclear devices that were too big for rockets.
Today, a typical thermonuclear weapon weighs about 2,400 pounds (1,100 kg), and has a destructive capability of 1.2 megatons of TNT. Compare this to the 0.013 megatons of TNT of Little Boy, the 9,700-pound nuclear bomb dropped by Enola Gay over Hiroshima.
If South Korea is right, this type of warhead would allow North Korea to create missiles capable of reaching South Korea or Japan just few minutes after launch. These nuclear devices can use their current and tested rocket technology, completely destroying a city as large as Tokyo or Seoul.
North Korea is also working on a missile capable of reaching as far as the West Coast of the United States. According to NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) and USNORTHCOM (US Northern Command), Kim Jong Il and his cronies failed on testing such a rocket in April 2009. However, the Guardian later reportedthat North Korea may actually be able to reach Hawaii. Whatever the outcome of those tests was, what is clear that they will not stop at that failure.
Of course, South Korea has plenty of reasons to exaggerate and pressure the international community, but their neighbor's war efforts and defiant attitude is well known. And, not so long ago, the latter launched an unprovoked attack over the former.
What is clear is that, if true, this development bring very dark and frightening possibilities to the world. And Kim Jong Il legally changing his name to Kim Kaboom is only one of them. 

This Is How You Really Unload Trucks


Apparently, if you are carrying certain goods—like woodchip—in giant nine-wheeled trucks, this is how you unload them: Strap them to a gigantic platform. And then tilt them more than 45 degrees until it empties completely.
Being a complete ignorant about logistics, this simple fact amazes me to no end. Not to talk about the photo. Is this the most efficient way to do it? 

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Facebook’s Latest Privacy Settings Shadiness Invades Your Drunk Pics


The Pandora's Box Facebook opened on the privacy issue just keeps spewing forth. This time around they've started changing privacy settings to automatically recognize a user's face in an image ready to be tagged. All without their consent.
The feature is called Tag Suggestions, and Facebook started rolling out the service late last year. It essentially maps your face and detects whether or not it matches us with images amongst your friends' albums. It then nudges them into tagging those pictures accordingly. This would be great for the average beach trip where tagging the same people over and over would be a bother, but it becomes problematic when a well-meaning friend or mistress tags you in something incriminating.
Now Facebook isn't letting users opt out of the feature beforehand, arguing that people would miss out on the functionality if they did. Although you can change your privacy settings back, this move doesn't differ too much from previous decisions they've made that put them in hot water time and time again.
The good news is that it's easy to stop Facebook from from using its facial recognition voodoo on you; Lifehacker's got a complete guide for you here. And the Times notes that the company has admitted some fault, a response on the official Facebook blog saying, "We should have been more clear with people during the roll-out process when this became available to them." But that doesn't change the fact that this misstep is part of a pattern of "change settings and ask questions later" that needs to be fixed.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

PlayStation Suite Makes Lots of Android Phones PlayStation Phones

Sony's starting a new program called PlayStation Suite for non-PlayStation devices—basically, "certified" Android phones and tablets will get PlayStation content. Details are slim, but basically it potentially means better games for baller Android phones. What do  you think of this?

Monday, June 6, 2011

Chips That Make Your Cellphone Battery Last Longer!


A start-up by the name of SuVolta has done what other manufacturers seemingly can't, and created processors that consume less power than before. License the technology to bigger companies, Fujitsu is already signed on as their first customer.
It's not just the design of the chips which has enabled SuVolta to make them more energy-efficient. Somewhere within the actual process of making them, SuVolta has radically changed the process—though they are remaining close-lipped for now about the change.
If all goes well, Fujitsu will start creating chips using this technology next year.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

An Origami Phone You Could Actually Use


A phone made of paper that you can fold and actually use. That's the concept Chengyuan Wei designed when he spent some time thinking creatively about the classic telephone.
Wei took apart a corded telephone and noticed it doesn't use many parts. He did away with the plastic and the over-sized circuitry and fashioned a new handset from paper and a few spare electronics. A few minutes of folding and, voila, a phone. Too bad it's just a concept as the idea is ingenious.