Sitting at your desk could be killing you. If your job requires a lot of sitting, you could be putting your health at danger. Here are some steps to avoid this. Sedentary lifestyles are often in the line of fire in a lot of health studies, but this one is pretty scary: The American Journal of Epidemiology did a study in 2010 on the correlation between sitting and an individual's physical health. In the study, 53,440 men and 69,776 women were queried on time spent sitting and physical activity. The subjects were all disease free at enrollment. The authors identified 11,307 deaths in men and 7,923 deaths in women during the 14-year follow-up. The findings: Women who reported sitting for more than six hours during their leisure time versus less than three hours a day had an approximately 40% higher all-cause death rate, and men had an approximately 20% higher death rate.
(Well, now's a fine time to get this information. So what can you do to combat this if you have to work for a living at a job that requires a lot of sitting? In Eye Control, A Promise To Let Your Tablet Go Hands-Free : All Tech Considered. Hide captionThe open-source software produced by the Gaze Group uses infrared light to track the pupils of users' eyes, allowing them to control the cursor on a mobile or desktop computer. Gaze Group The open-source software produced by the Gaze Group uses infrared light to track the pupils of users' eyes, allowing them to control the cursor on a mobile or desktop computer. Forget touch screens and voice recognition — what if you could control your computer just by looking at it?
Gaze-based interaction has been around for 20 years, used mainly by people with disabilities. But the technology could be available to the masses soon, allowing users to move a cursor with their eyes, or turn the pages of an e-book without lifting a finger. In Denmark, an eye-control research group has just turned itself into a business, hoping to be part of the next wave of usability.
"But not everyone gets it," says usability expert Sune Alstrup Johansen, of the Gaze Group at the IT University of Copenhagen. Leap Motion demo video. Leap Motion. Body sensors from Cambridge firm poised for market. Google’s ‘Project Glass’ Augmented Reality Glasses Are Real And In Testing. After weeks of speculation and rumors, Google has officially pulled back the curtain on what they have come to call Project Glass — a pair of augmented reality glasses that seek to provide users real-time information right in front of their eyes. “We think technology should work for you — to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t,” wrote Babak Parviz, Steve Lee, and Sebastian Thrun, three Google employees who are part of the Google X skunkworks. “We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input.” Something tells me that they won’t be hurting for feedback. To call these things glasses may be a bit of a stretch — early rumors noted that glasses bore a striking resemblance to a pair of Oakley Thumps, but the demo images on Project Glass’s Google+ page (one of which can be seen above) don’t look a thing like them.
[via The New York Times] More From TechCrunch On Google’s Project Glass: The Next Workplace? Behind The Wheel : All Tech Considered. Hide captionThe 2013 Bentley Mulsanne features drop-down iPad workstations. More cars are being outfitted to operate as mobile offices. Bentley Motors The 2013 Bentley Mulsanne features drop-down iPad workstations. More cars are being outfitted to operate as mobile offices. Brad Hines is a building contractor in Los Angeles who spends a good eight hours a day in his 2008 Dodge Ram. He talked to us from his truck — hands-free, of course. "I do everything in my truck. The idea of the mobile office is far from new — Willy Loman; the Avon Lady; plumbers; electricians.
Hide captionAttendees walk through the Los Angeles Convention Center floor during the L.A. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images Attendees walk through the Los Angeles Convention Center floor during the L.A. Hines is not alone. How Business Is Done "This is the biggest tool in their toolbox," says Bob Hegbloom, director of the Ram truck brand. The trucks his company is showing off at the L.A. Why would anyone need all this in their truck?