Monday, August 23, 2010

Eating berries may activate the brain's natural housekeeper for healthy aging

Source: http://www.physorg.com/news201789781.html

Scientists today reported the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging brain stay healthy in a crucial but previously unrecognized way. Their study, presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), concluded that berries, and possibly walnuts, activate the brain's natural "housekeeper" mechanism, which cleans up and recycles toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline.

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Clinical trial confirms effectiveness of simple appetite control method

Source: http://www.physorg.com/news201793368.html

Has the long-sought magic potion in society's "battle with the bulge" finally arrived? An appetite-control agent that requires no prescription, has no common side effects, and costs almost nothing? Scientists today reported results of a new clinical trial confirming that just two 8-ounce glasses of the stuff, taken before meals, enables people to shed pounds. The weight-loss elixir, they told the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), is ordinary water.

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Five Ways To Download Torrents Anonymously [Privacy]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5617891/five-ways-to-download-torrents-anonymously

privacy-bto.jpgWith anti-piracy outfits and dubious law-firms policing BitTorrent swarms at an increasing rate, many BitTorrent users are looking for ways to hide their identities from the outside world. Here's an overview of five widely used privacy services.

The services discussed in this post range from totally free to costing several dollars a month. The general rule is that free services are generally slower or have other restrictions, while paid ones can get you the same speeds as your regular connection would.

VPN (paid / free)

Hundreds and thousands of BitTorrent users have already discovered that a VPN is a good way to ensure privacy while using BitTorrent. For a few dollars a month VPNs route all your traffic through their servers, hiding your IP address from the public. Some VPNs also offer a free plan, but these are significantly slower and not really suited for more demanding BitTorrent users.

Unlike the other services listed in this article, VPNs are not limited to just BitTorrent traffic, they will also conceal the source of all the other traffic on your connection too. Ipredator, Itshidden and StrongVPN are popular among BitTorrent users, but a Google search should find dozens more. It is recommended to ask beforehand if BitTorrent traffic is permitted on the service of your choice.

BTGuard (paid)

BTGuard is a proxy service that hides the IP-addresses of its users from the public. The service works on Windows, Mac, Linux and as the name already suggests, it is set up specifically with BitTorrent users in mind. Besides using the pre-configured client, users can also set up their own client to work with BTGuard. It works with all clients that support "Socks V5″ proxies including uTorrent and Vuze. In addition, BTGuard also includes encryption tunnel software for the real security purists.

After these words of praise we're obligated to disclose that BTGuard is operated by friends of TorrentFreak, but we think that should be interpreted as a recommendation.

TorrentPrivacy (paid)

Torrentprivacy is another proxy service for BitTorrent users, very similar to that of BTGuard. It offers a modified uTorrent client that has all the necessary settings pre-configured. The downside to this approach is that it is limited to users on Windows platforms. TorrentPrivacy is operated by the TorrentReactor.net team and has been in business for more than two years.

Anomos (free)

"Anomos is a pseudonymous, encrypted multi-peer-to-peer file distribution protocol. It is based on the peer/tracker concept of BitTorrent in combination with an onion routing anonymization layer, with the added benefit of end-to-end encryption," is how the Anomos team describes its project.

Anomos is one of the few free multi-platform solutions for BitTorrent users to hide their IP-addresses. The downside is that it's not fully compatible with regular torrent files as Anomos uses its own atorrent format. Another drawback is that the download speeds are generally lower than regular BitTorrent transfers.

On the uTorrent Idea Bank, more than 1,600 people have asked for the Anomos protocol to be built into a future uTorrent build, making it the second most-popular suggestion overall.

Seedbox (paid)

A seedbox is BitTorrent jargon for a dedicated high-speed server, used exclusively for torrent transfers. With a seedbox users generally get very high download speeds while their IP-addresses are not shared with the public. Once a download is finished users can download the files to their PC through a fast http connection. FileShareFreak periodically reviews several good seedbox providers.

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Sad Steve is a Minimalistic, Ad-Free MP3 Search Engine [Music]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5618097/sad-steve-is-a-free-minimalistic-mp3-search-engine

Sad Steve is a Minimalistic, Ad-Free MP3 Search EngineWe've featured more than one MP3 search engine before, but most nowadays are filled with ads and confusing layouts. Sad Steve is a plain but effective MP3 search engine and player, complete with profiles on new bands to get you started.

Since Sad Steve is not out to make any money, the site is completely devoid of ads and other intrusive features, separating it from the dime-a-dozen MP3 search engines out there nowadays. It's just a simple engine from which you can search, download and stream a ton of different songs (even fairly obscure stuff). The site also hosts profiles of new indie bands on the site, and you can pledge money to bands that you like and would like to see succeed. It also has a nice "Percolator", which randomly generates a 20-track playlist every 20 minutes, so you have something to listen to even if you don't know what you're in the mood for.

Sure, it isn't the best-looking site around, but its simplicity gives it an ease of use that other sites don't quite have, and the lack of ads all over the place is a really nice change of pace. It won't give you the powerful playlist-crafting abilities something like Grooveshark or Mixtape.me will, but if you're just looking for a few tracks (or for a few new bands to check out), it's a pretty good place to start. Hit the link to check it out.

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Five Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks [Hive Five]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5618881/five-best-places-to-buy-cheap-textbooks

Five Best Places to Buy Cheap TextbooksAs if college weren't an expensive enough endeavor, textbook prices tend to range from shocking to outrageous. Save on your textbooks with these five great places to buy cheap textbooks.

Photo by a composite of images by vierdrie and Leonardini.

Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite place to find cheap textbooks. We compiled the results and now we're back to share the five most popular places Lifehacker readers go to save on books.

Chegg

Five Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks
Chegg offers a nice compromise between buying the overpriced textbooks at your local bookstore and shopping for iffy-quality used books online. At Chegg you don't purchase your books; you rent them for a semester. The Chegg discount, compared to retail prices, is anywhere from 30%-80% off, with most book rentals falling around the 50% mark. You rent them a semester, a quarter, or a 60-day rental window and then ship them back for free with a prepaid UPS label. You won't be able to find books at pennies on the dollar like you can by scrounging for used or out-of-print editions elsewhere, but you do get a 30-day "any reason" return policy and free return shipping.

Amazon

Five Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks
No one should be surprised to find out that Amazon has their hand in the textbook business. The book superstore originally offered textbooks mixed in with the rest of their book offerings, both new and discounted through their third-party marketplace. Now Amazon has a dedicated student/textbook section with enhanced textbook search and student-centric features. They even offer a free Amazon Prime membership to anyone with a valid student email address (even if you have an Amazon Prime account already, they will refund you the remaining balance and extend your Prime membership a year into the future). With careful shopping you can find textbooks anywhere from new with a slight discount to heavily-used and extremely discounted.

AbeBooks

Five Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks
AbeBooks is a massive online marketplace for new, used, and rare books. They have a bustling textbook section with new and used books that average 50% off retail—we found quite a few books in our test searches that crept up in the 75-90% range, however. AbeBooks has a 30-day return policy and an easy-to-use sell-back program—plug in the ISBNs, print off a free mailing label, and ship them back for cash in your pocket.

Half.com

Five Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks
Half.com, an eBay subsidiary, offers cheap media and books including textbooks. Like a giant used bookstore/record store equivalent of eBay, Half.com is a great place to find cheap textbooks. Low prices aside, one of the strong selling points for textbook shopping at Half.com is their Buying Wizard. Using the Buying Wizard you can search for the books you need and the wizard will search all the deals on Half.com to find you the best combination of prices and combined shipping to get your textbooks faster and cheaper.

BIGWORDS

Five Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks
BIGWORDS is the textbook website that put seller/shipping optimization on the map with their Multi-Item Price Optimization services. When you search for textbooks at BIGWORDS, they scan dozens of other textbook retailers and resellers to find you the absolute bargain basement prices. When the semester is over you can use the BIGWORDS engine in reverse to sell them all back or donate your textbooks through Better World Books to help fight illiteracy in developing nations.


Now that you've had a chance to look over the five most popular contenders for the best place to buy cheap textbooks, it's time to vote for your favorite:



Which Place to Buy Cheap Textbooks Is Best?online surveys

Have a favorite spot to grab cheap textbooks that wasn't highlighted in this Hive Five? Let's hear about it in the comments.

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Attach Your Camera to a Microscope for Super Close Macro Photography [DIY]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5619011/attach-your-camera-to-a-microscope-for-super-close-macro-photography

Attach Your Camera to a Microscope for Super Close Macro PhotographyWe've looked at a few methods of macro photography, whether making your own macro photography tube out of a Pringles can or replacing your cameraphone's lens. DIYer Ben Krasnow takes it to the next level with a microscope.

Attach Your Camera to a Microscope for Super Close Macro PhotographyTo attach his new Lumix GH1 to his microscope, Ben used a homemade adapter using pieces from old equipment he had lying around. The barrel of the adapter fits inside the microscope's tube, and the other end attaches to the camera's lens. Coupled with previously mentioned software CombineZM, Ben was able to stack multiple photos to create a crystal clear shot of microscopic objects, like the above grains of pollen. Hit the link for more details, and let us know your favorite camera hacks for taking unique photos.

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Google Mobile Brings True iPhone Push Notifications for Gmail and Google Calendar [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5619730/google-mobile-brings-true-iphone-push-notifications-for-gmail-and-google-calendar

goog-push.pngiOS: Google just updated their Google Mobile app to bring push notifications (previews included) for Gmail and Google Calendar to the iPhone.

The free app from Google is an impressive search helper, capable of searching your phone and the internet by voice, but the addition of push notifications for new Gmail messages and Calendar events in the latest update adds a nice bit of supplemental functionality that most Google die-hards will most likely love—particularly because getting true push notifications (with message previews, for example), previously required some sort of third-party tool standing in the middle.

The update also adds as-you-type search results. Google Mobile is a free app in the iTunes App Store. The update is supposed to be available now, but so far the late version hasn't shown up for me. If it's not there yet for you, either, it should be sometime today.

Google Mobile App [iTunes App Store via Google Mobile Blog]

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A Dual-Booting Android/Windows Tablet Could Make ViewSonic Less Boring [Tablets]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5619359/a-dual+booting-androidwindows-tablet-could-make-viewsonic-less-boring

A Dual-Booting Android/Windows Tablet Could Make ViewSonic Less BoringViewSonic is one of those companies that makes my eyes droop and dribble escape from my mouth, but according to a press release they just issued, they'll be showing off a 10-inch dual-booting Android/Windows tablet at IFA.

We've seen a few dual-booting tablets now, but it's always a pleasure to hear of another one—even if it is from ViewSonic. Let's not forget that VTablet 101, pictured. Actually—let's forget it. We don't want to have nightmares again.

As well as showing off the elusive dual-booter at IFA, they also plan to unwrap a 7-inch Android tablet, which has 3G, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, Bluetooth, a G-Sensor, USB port and microSD card slot. [TechRadar]

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HTC's Tablet Could Have Touchscreen Tech From Microsoft-Invested N-Trig [Tablets]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5619396/htcs-tablet-could-have-same-touchscreen-tech-as-microsoft-surface

HTC's Tablet Could Have Touchscreen Tech From Microsoft-Invested N-TrigWhat would you like to see in a HTC tablet? Something running Android? Chrome OS? A touchscreen built by N-Trig, the same guys who were behind the Microsoft Surface? UPDATED

According to Haaretz.com, HTC has employed the services of Israeli manufacturer N-trig for its tablet's touchscreen tech—the very same technology that was used in Microsoft's Surface* table, along with other products such as the Dell Latitude XT. This tablet is supposedly on track to launch on November 26th, and will be offered "in cooperation with the US telecommunications company Verizon." Hmm.

The "GPad," as it's been called before, is almost certainly not Chrome OS if it's going to be available this side of Christmas, even with the Download Squad reporting last week that it could be running Chrome OS when it launches on Black Friday. My gut feeling is Android for this particular HTC tablet release, but if you know any better, please do get in touch. [Haaretz and Download Squad via CrunchGear]

*Worth mentioning that while the Surface table was touch-sensitive, it wasn't actually a touchscreen—instead using five cameras to capture motion from objects (and fingers) placed on the table.

Also, while Microsoft invested money into N-Trig earlier this year, N-Trig's website states that "N-trig was not involved with Microsoft's Surface computer, which uses optical technology. That is, infrared cameras and a projector behind its touch screen, which helps explain the Surface computer's high price and large size. In comparison, N-trig uses a capacitive touch sensor. The circuitry is located along two sides of a thin, transparent screen sensor, which allows N-trig to implement the technology inside a thin laptop or tablet display." Headline changed from "HTC's Tablet Could Have Same Touchscreen Tech as Microsoft Surface" to reflect this.

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Virtual Router Hits Blistering 40GB/Sec Speed Record [Networking]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5619681/virtual-router-hits-blistering-speed-record

South Korean researchers have created a software-based router that leaves similar devices in the dust. The virtual box can transmit data at 40 gigabytes per second—compared to the typical 2 or 3—and runs on cheap, store-bought components.

Virtual routers work by emulating the proprietary components of a hardware router on inexpensive, easily procured chips—what's known as commodity computing. In this case, the team used computer GPU cards to break down complex, resource-hungry networking tasks. The hope is that virtual routers such as this could drastically reduce the number of physical boxes needed—to run data centers, businesses, and even the internet itself. "We can expect killer apps out of this," explained a professor involved with the project. "Ultimately, you can experiment with new protocols that are not used in today's Internet." [MIT Technology Review]

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Stress Test Your Hardware to Troubleshoot Problems and Keep Your Computer Stable [Hardware]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5619743/stress-test-your-hardware-to-identify-problems-and-keep-your-computer-stable

troubleshooting.jpgGadget blog Tested explains how to stress test your computer's most important hardware—and likely pain points in a buggy system—in order to diagnose and fix hardware problems that can commonly crop up in software errors and system crashes.

Photo by kennymatic.

There's no worse time for your PC to hit the fritz than when you're in the middle of some sort of heavy-duty computer task, but for some reason you computer doesn't seem to care. Tested's guide walks through the tools to stress and monitor your system to hunt down and diagnose possible hardware problems with your CPU, RAM, and graphics card. On the monitoring side of things, they're using HWMonitor to keep an eye on temperatures (it's the same app we suggested when we explained how to prevent your computer from overheating) and previously mentioned SpeedFan. On the hardware stressing side of the coin, they're using Prime95 (the app Whitson used in his primer for overclocking your Intel processor) for your CPU, previously mentioned Memtest86+ for RAM, and FurMark for GPU testing.

Hit up the guide at Tested for a full walkthrough, and if you're a serious stress tester or you consider yourself a skilled hardware bug-hunter, let's hear about your favorite methods and tools for the job in the comments.

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Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/kodaks-playtouch-1080p-pocket-camcorder-and-easyshare-m590-anno/

Kodak just kicked out a pair of devices with its Playtouch pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 point and shoot. Kodak's $229.95 Playtouch is capable of shooting image stabilized 1080p video with stereo audio to SDHC cards. A 3-inch capacitive touchscreen gives you plenty of room to edit your video (or extract a still) on camera before flipping out the USB arm for a quick PC transfer. Otherwise, an HDMI jack lets you pump that digital keepsake right to the living room television without the PC assist. Rounding things out are an external microphone jack and Share button that makes it easy to push those memories to YouTube or FaceBook, or send via email if that's your preference. Kodak's rather mundane $199.99 EasyShare M590 is being billed as the world's slimmest digital camera with 5x optical zoom. Otherwise, things simmer down with a 2.7-inch LCD, some kind of image stabilization, face recognition, unspecified HD video capture, and microSD card support. And as you'd expect, the M590 also features a Share button that makes tagging and uploading photos and video to social media sites like Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube a snap. M590 image and press releases after the break. Expect both cameras to ship sometime in the fall.

Continue reading Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced

Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba Smart Pad imagery emerges, claims to be the real deal

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/toshiba-smart-pad-imagery-emerges-claims-to-be-the-real-deal/

Technically speaking, we already know what Toshiba's Smart Pad will look like. It was waved around in Australia briefly, and these shots seem to match it perfectly, but corroboration for their validity is otherwise light on the ground. Should you opt to trust them, after the break you'll find visual confirmation for the HDMI and USB ports already promised by Toshiba, along with a memory card reader and a pleasingly slender profile. The four touch buttons on its right side just scream Android as the operating system, and the whole thing again reminds us of the Compal tablet we saw back at CES and subsequently accused of being a Toshiba-in-waiting. Notebook Italia expects this bad boy to step out of the shadows properly at IFA this year, and we already know Toshiba is cranking hard on bringing us a tablet of some description by the end of October. Fun times ahead, eh?

Continue reading Toshiba Smart Pad imagery emerges, claims to be the real deal

Toshiba Smart Pad imagery emerges, claims to be the real deal originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia N900 does real-time face tracking for verification (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/nokia-n900-does-real-time-face-tracking-for-verification-video/

In a world where smartphone unlock patterns and PINs can be easily gleaned from display muck, and computer passwords can be deciphered from the telltale audible clicks of the keyboard, it's any wonder that research is funded for alternative identity verification schemes. One promising technology is face verification -- technology we've already seen implemented in webcams, laptops, and more recently, Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360. Where we haven't seen it broadly deployed is in the easy-to-lose smartphone, at least not with the level of sophistication achieved by the University of Manchester (UK). Using an N900, the research team developed a prototype that quickly locks and tracks 22 facial features in real time (even when upside down) using the Nokia's front-facing camera. The Active Appearance modeling technique was developed for the EU-funded Mobile Biometrics (MoBio) project as a means of using face verification to authenticate smartphone access to social media sites. Unfortunately, there's no mention of how long Manchester's face-verified login actually takes. Nevertheless, the video, apparently shot in a steam room full of hot man smudge, is worth a peep after the break.

Continue reading Nokia N900 does real-time face tracking for verification (video)

Nokia N900 does real-time face tracking for verification (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashdot  |  sourceUniversity of Manchester  | Email this | Comments

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Seagate's 3TB GoFlex Desk hard drive reviewed: hot, in more ways than one

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/seagates-3tb-goflex-desk-hard-drive-reviewed-hot-in-more-ways/

Just under two months ago, Seagate pushed the capacity envelope once more by introducing a $250 3TB hard drive meant to be used by archivists the world over. It all sounds peachy on paper, but AnandTech managed to uncover a dirty little secret about the drive that serious power users should know about. For starters, the crew cracked open the case to find a 3.5-inch, five platter Barracuda XT -- that's a drive that Seagate doesn't intend to sell for internal use until the end of the year, but it's available now if you're willing to spring for its enclosure. Reviewers actually fell for the overall design, but they noticed right away just how little ventilation options there were. Needless to say, that point came back to bite the drive once data had been transferring over for a few hours, as temperatures soared beyond the 140 degree Fahrenheit mark and transfer rates plummeted. Seagate affirmed that those high temperatures were within spec, but critics felt that running it as such for extended periods may harm the longevity; it's obviously a gamble you'll be taking if you need this much space within a single drive, but we'd recommend hitting that source link before making a decision that could burn you down the road.

Seagate's 3TB GoFlex Desk hard drive reviewed: hot, in more ways than one originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feed! s.

Permalink   |  sourceAnandTech  | Email this | Comments

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