Technology

These women entrepreneurs are revisiting simpler days of childhood by reviving traditional Indian games

By Gertha Selvidge 3 weeks ago

Gone are the days when children made Sunday plans to compete in games of spinning tops, marbles, or other spirited outdoor sports. Today, their free times is spent glaring at mobile and computer screens, hosting virtual games where screams of excitement are being typed as emojis. Most elders reckon these as signs of changing times and some even go along with flow.

Today, many mothers leave their children at the hands of gadgets so that they are not disturbed or even so that they eat without any fuss. Some of the adverse health effects of using these gadgets include diminished social communication skills and reduced quality of sleep. Additionally, for older children, time spent online also means physical inactivity that is imperative for mental and physical growth.

As the younger generation leans towards being more tech savvy, these women entrepreneurs are bringing play into their lives by giving them a

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Historic home gets modern updates | News, Sports, Jobs

By Gertha Selvidge 3 weeks ago

This French chateau-style home started out as a Victorian home but has transformed itself once again with modern amenities and inspired interior design. LORENA BENIQUEZ/West Branch Life

With so many architectural jewels on Williamsport’s Grampian Boulevard, it is tough competition to standout — but one French chateau does just that. Located at 235 Grampian Blvd., the historic home recently got an update with new technology and daring design.

“It has a modern floor plan that preserves the historical features,” said Fish Real Estate Agent Denise Reis, who is familiar with the home.

Built in 1898, the home has a storied past with prominent families such as the Plakenhorns and Lundys residing there. “This is a landmark home because when the Plankenhorns bought it, they bought a lot of acreage around it,” said Reis. That land later grew to become the residential community of Grampian Hills.

Originally, the home was a

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This Watch Isn’t as Futuristic as it Looks

By Gertha Selvidge 3 weeks ago

Curvy, yes. Advanced? Eh, not so much.

Curvy, yes. Advanced? Eh, not so much.
Photo: Victoria Song/Gizmodo

A curved AMOLED smartwatch sounds like the stuff of science fiction, and the Nubia Watch has certainly been described as futuristic—including by yours truly, who has used the word to explain the watch to coworkers and friends. But after wearing one for over a week, it’s more 2016 than 2020, much less like anything from the future.

You wouldn’t be able to tell how old-school it is just by looking at it. After all, as advanced as the Apple Watch and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 3 are, they still look like what you’d expect from a smartwatch. Meanwhile, the Nubia Watch is a curved 4.01-inch flexible display that wraps around your wrist. It’s sort of like someone took the concept of a smartwatch being a smartphone for your wrist extremely literally, and then made it a reality.

Like many

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Stone storytellers: Little Falls Granite Works continues tradition, incorporates technology

By Gertha Selvidge 3 weeks ago

The business of telling life stories in monuments in Little Falls continues a tradition going back to the 1800s and now harnesses modern technology to meld art and stone. For the people behind Little Falls Granite Works, crafting a memorial for a loved one becomes part of the healing process after a death and the granite becomes a lasting legacy.

“Both Todd and I grew up in the business,” Scott Nagel said of his brother. Their father, Ron Nagel and partners Ray Calhoun and Howard Garry purchased the Little Falls Granite Works in 1963. The business stretches back more than 100 years in the city. Now Scott and Todd Nagel and Calhoun’s son Don, who was out of town during the Dispatch visit to the business, continue the tradition established when Little Falls city streets were traversed with horse and buggy.

Scott (left) and Todd Nagel, along with partner Don Calhoun stepped into the family business continuing a tradition in a company that has been around for more than 100 years. Renee Richardson / Brainerd Dispatch

Scott (left) and Todd Nagel, along with partner Don

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Upgrade and enhance your VR experiences with these gadgets

By Gertha Selvidge 3 weeks ago

Gallery: Best true wireless earbuds 2020 for wire-free Bluetooth audio (Pocket-lint)

Best true wireless earbuds reviewed

True wireless earphones have become much more popular over the past couple of years. While completely wire-free earphones existed before the AirPods first launched in 2017, there’s no denying the impact Apple has had, bringing momentum to the big breakthrough in wireless audio tech.

Since then, countless other companies – including the best audio brands around – have entered the market and we’ve tested all the big-name options to bring you what we think are the best wire-free earphones available to buy.

If you’re not yet convinced you want to gamble on wire-free, this list may change your mind. 


Sony WF-1000XM3

Sony’s first pair of noise cancelling wire-frees were received with a somewhat mixed response, but the newest generation is super. Where these are set apart from their rivals is in ANC. You’ll

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Johnson Controls Smoke Detection Technology Meets 2021 UL Standard

By Gertha Selvidge 3 weeks ago

Johnson Controls’ TrueAlarm sensors provide earlier detection, better fire type recognition and fewer nuisance alarms, the company says.

Johnson Controls, a technology company, has launched its new smoke detection technology which meets UL 268 Standard for Safety of Smoke Detectors for Fire Alarm Systems 7th edition testing requirements coming in June 2021.

The UL 268 sets forth requirements for smoke detectors to be employed in indoor locations in accordance with the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, NFPA® 72. To satisfy the new requirements, Johnson Controls has introduced advanced smoke sensors built upon the performance of its flagship TrueAlarm technology.

The UL 7th edition polyurethane tests better represent the type of smoke and flames produced in modern building fires due to the increased use of synthetic furnishing materials that can ignite and burn faster than other materials, says the company.

The new TrueAlarm sensors provide earlier detection, better fire type

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‘Startups should develop teaching aids for blended learning’

By Gertha Selvidge 3 weeks ago

Startups should develop aesthetically appealing teaching aids for teachers to enable blended learning in the post-Covid scenario. There should be more apps to make the job of teachers and administrators’ easier while reducing the dependence of students on gadgets and devices, according to educational experts at the 63rd Rajagiri Round Table conference held via Zoom Meet on the topic “ How Edu-startups can help schools with blended learning”.

Suma Paul, Principal of Assisi Vidyaniketan and CBSE ICT award-winning teacher, said that edu-startups can develop a variety of solutions to enable teachers to correct pronunciations and grammatical errors in vodcasts . What is required is customised solutions not to readymade software. Startups can focus on providing support to teach coding, develop virtual labs and augmented reality solutions. “Each teacher has a different pedagogy, and they need to impart individual learning experience for students,” she added.

Loyola Antony, Principal of St Christopher

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Bahamas: New $5 banknote released as part of second series of CRISP Evolution technology

By Gertha Selvidge 3 weeks ago

Hover to zoom.

The Central Bank of the Bahamas has released (23rd September) their newest $5 banknote (U.S. $5.00), which is the seventh denomination in their CRISP Evolution family of banknotes. The new note replaces the previous issue released in 2007. The Central Bank’s latest $5 note release combines modern design perspectives with innovative security features to create the new and current banknotes. Part of the new creative perspective is the reverse side which like all other denominations in the new series is designed with a vertical format. This banknote, like the $1 released in 2017 under the CRISP Evolution concept, is printed on durable Hybrid™ substrate, a product developed by banknote and security printers Giesecke + Devrient in Munich, Germany. The product, which is a cross between cotton-based paper and micro-thin polymer film coating that allows the notes to remain in circulation longer with a lesser degree of wear

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I tried a hand sanitizer-spraying watch and have never felt less clean

By Gertha Selvidge 4 weeks ago

The coronavirus pandemic has made hand sanitizer a precious commodity — difficult to obtain, but necessary for the comforts of modern life. While it’s not a perfect solution, and no substitute for a hand-washing, it can help tide you over between soapy clean-ups when you inevitably have to touch door handles or stair railings, etc. So it’s natural that hand sanitizer-based gadgets will have sprung up to offer new ways of dispensing this liquid gold. The WatchOut, a wrist-mounted sprayer, claims to be the first hand sanitizer wearable.

While this is one of the more… low-tech products I’ve ever been given, I’m not opposed to giving a product like this a fair shake, and given the current state of the world, it might be very useful to some. So I tried it out for a couple of weeks, to see if it improved my life at all.  The WatchOut, which

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Grain Surfboards’ New GreenRail Technology Enables Eco-Friendly Boards at More Affordable Prices

By Gertha Selvidge 4 weeks ago

Based in Maine, the master craftsmen behind Grain Surfboards have been building wooden surfboards since 2005 as well as teaching workshops and producing surfboard-making kits for the DIYers among us. This summer they launched their GreenRail construction, combining their traditional wood building techniques with 100% recycled PET plastic. I sat down with Mike LaVecchia, founder of Grain Surfboards (virtually of course), to hear a bit more about their process for building a surfboard and what this new GreenRail construction is all about.

Mike said the material they use in all of their boards is Northern White Cedar.

“We actually design the process around cedar as it’s a nice stable, rot-resistant, weather-resistant material,” says LaVecchia. “As well as the fact that it’s kinda local and we know where it’s coming from, and it’s being managed at sustainable levels is all pretty important to us.”

It also works beautifully with the simple

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