The 12 Best Free Entertainment Services and Apps of 2012 Whether you consume it or create it, entertainment is likely a huge part of the reason you love tech. You probably already have a subscription to big names such as Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, or Netflix, and those are all good services, but they’re not free. Crackle, on the other hand, is totally free, and you can stream its offerings from just about every desktop computer, phone, tablet, Internet video streaming box, or modern game console. Crackle doesn’t have a huge selection of films and TV shows, but it does have some heavy-hitting movies and series such as Talladega Nights, The Professional, and Seinfeld.
The Egg Author's Note: The Egg is also available in the following languages: The Egg By: Andy Weir You were on your way home when you died. It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. Accessibility lost in the mobile app race Managers in information and communications technology need to combat the ‘gold rush mentality’ that has caused mobile app developers to release products that are unusable for people with a disability, a report argues. Released by the OneVoice for Accessible ICT Coalition, the report Moving together: mobile apps for inclusion and assistance presents a number of key issues facing the growing populations of older people and people with a disability when using mobile apps. Apps or applications are pieces of software that can be downloaded and installed on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
Religious Experiences Shrink Part of the Brain The article, “Religious factors and hippocampal atrophy in late life,” by Amy Owen and colleagues at Duke University represents an important advance in our growing understanding of the relationship between the brain and religion. The study, published March 30 in PLoS One, showed greater atrophy in the hippocampus in individuals who identify with specific religious groups as well as those with no religious affiliation. It is a surprising result, given that many prior studies have shown religion to have potentially beneficial effects on brain function, anxiety, and depression. A number of studies have evaluated the acute effects of religious practices, such as meditation and prayer, on the human brain. A smaller number of studies have evaluated the longer term effects of religion on the brain.
Tool Roundups I’ve been curious about tracking physical activity since I was an undergraduate. I remember traveling to a local middle school with a researcher interested in how physical activity was taught in low-income Native American communities. Back then, the best we could do was have the children wear simple electromechanical pedometers to count their steps during their physical education classes. Fast forward about ten years and I’m still working with pedometers and physical activity sensors – but much better ones. Quantified Self toolmakers are experimenting with many upgrades to the old digital pedometers, including new ideas about syncing, more fashionable design, and – of particular interest to self-trackers – integration of optical heart rate monitors.
The gargantuan mountain of cash that separates the rich from everyone else Below (center pic) is a diagram representing the different annual income levels of all Americans in stacks of cash. At the very top are the super-rich (see the tiny box?). At the bottom are the poor and the 'middle-class' (see the little box in the lower corner?). Everything in-between is inhabited by various ranks of millionaire. Notice the little pink block at bottom left in the left-hand image? That's where 96% of Americans like you and me live.
Experts meet to review next round of #newschallenge apps Photo Credit: Jose Zamora Today in Miami, 19 experts are reading and voting on the projects moving on to the next round of the News Challenge on Networks. We’d like to thank the following people who are dedicating their time and energy to helping us with this process: Hannah Eaves/LinkTV Cody Elmore/University of Nebraska Still Looking For Paradise? Maldives - justpaste.it - StumbleUpon Double chain of twenty-six atolls… The Republic of Maldives, or simply the Maldives, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. It consists of approximately 1,190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls, along the north-south direction, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometers, making this one of the most disparate countries in the world.
Smile Into Your Organs: “A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks” Charles Gordy I love the idea that smiling is used as a healing and meditation practice by many ancient cultures. Taoists believe that holding a smile on your face and directing it inwards towards your organs and inner body, is the key to good health and longevity. Traditional Balinese healers know that a smile washes away bad energy and recommend smiling meditation as a simple way to calm the mind and bring health to the soul. The inspirational Thich Nhat Hanh has always encouraged us to smile as part of our daily practice for a more peaceful world, and as an essential ingredient in any walking meditation. Photo by stuck in customs:
Woman Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman. A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories. Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life. Imagine a woman who believes she is good. A woman who trusts and respects herself. Cured 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Next > [Editor's Note: Since we conducted and posted this interview in 2009, there have been many developments in the story of Timothy Ray Brown, formerly known only as the "Berlin patient." In addition to this article, we encourage you to read "Tentative HIV 'Cure' Presents a Guarded Sense of Hope" for an update on Brown's condition as of late 2010, as well as the perspectives of two of our HIV-positive bloggers -- Ibrahim (who is encouraged by Brown's story) and Thomas DeLorenzo (who remains more skeptical).] Up until now, we've never been able to say that a person infected with HIV/AIDS has been cured. As I said, up until now. You see, in 2006, something incredible happened in a hospital in Berlin.