drag2share: Motorola's smartphones can now alert your close contacts in an emergency

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/13/motorola-alert/

You'll usually want to call emergency services if you're in truly dire straits, but the odds are that your friends and family also want to know if you need help. How do you reach them quickly? If you pick up the Moto E or Moto G LTE, you'll have Motorola Alert at your disposal. The new app lets you trigger an emergency mode that sends regular alerts and location updates to important contacts. You can also tell people to meet up (at a shelter, for instance), and you can define your home or workplace to let people know that you're in a familiar area. Alert won't work on the Moto X or original Moto G until an update arrives in the near future, but you can still get a peek at it on Google Play if you're curious.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google, Lenovo

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Via: Phone Arena, Mobile Syrup

Source: Google Play

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drag2share: Nikon's latest high-speed mirrorless cameras come to the US

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/14/nikon-1-j4-and-s2-in-us/

After a (thankfully brief) wait, Nikon's super-speedy J4 mirrorless camera is coming to the US -- and it's bringing along a low-cost counterpart, the S2. You should see the J4 arrive later this month for $650 with a standard 10-30mm zoom lens, or about $50 more than the outgoing J3. It'll also be available in an $850 kit with a more flexible 10-100mm lens, and a $1,050 bundle is on tap if you want both the 10-30mm glass and a long-range 30-110mm telephoto lens. As you'd expect, the hardware hasn't changed in the few weeks since Nikon first unveiled the J4. You're still getting the new 18.4-megapixel sensor and Expeed 4A image processor that, combined, let you pump out photos at a steady 20 frames per second with advanced autofocusing (171 contrast detection points and 105 phase detection points). You'll also enjoy relative luxuries such as a touchscreen and WiFi photo sharing.

Not surprisingly, the S2 makes quite a few sacrifices to cater to the budget-minded crowd. While it still includes the J4's all-important 20 fps shooting rate, you'll have to settle for a 14.2MP sensor with fewer autofocusing points (135 contrast, 73 phase); the touchscreen and built-in WiFi are gone, too. If you can live without those creature comforts, though, your wallet may thank you. The S2 ships in June for $450 with an 11-27.5mm lens, or $700 in a bundle that adds the 30-110mm telephoto.

Filed under: Cameras, Nikon

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Source: Nikon

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drag2share: ENDLESS ELECTRICITY: They Figured Out A Way Of Turning America's Roads Into Gigantic Solar Panels

source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/viljur6c6U4/solar-roadways-profile-2014-5

There are approximately 31,251 square miles of roads, parking lots, driveways, playgrounds, bike paths, and sidewalks in the lower 48 states. 

If Julie and Scott Brusaw have their way, they will all someday be replaced with solar panels.

For the better part of a decade, the Idaho couple have been working on prototyping an industrial-strength panel that could withstand the weight of even the largest trucks.

They now appear to have cracked the formula, developing a specially textured glass coating for the panels that can not only bear tremendous loads but can support standard tire traction. 

By their reckoning, at peak installation, their panel-ized roads could produce more than 3x the electricity currently consumed in the U.S.

The material could also be able to power electric vehicles, through a a "receiver" plate mounted beneath the EV and a "transmitter" plate is installed in the road.

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Article: Flying drone can '3D print' with foam, help carry away hazardous objects

Flying drones with 3D printers attached to their body: it was only a matter of time until the two technologies met. Such a thing now exists, although we're not quite sure it's earned its printing qualification yet. Developed by a team at the Imperial College London, the "3D printing Micro Aerial ...

http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/13/flying-3d-printer-mav/?ncid=rss_truncated

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drag2share: What you need to know about smart guns

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/12/smart-gun-explainer/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

It's increasingly difficult to have a rational discussion about gun violence. Thankfully for us, we're not here to do that. We're here to explain what the concept of a smart gun is, beyond what you've seen in hit Sylvester Stallone film Judge Dredd. Lost amid the shouting and hand-wringing of American politics are a bevy of technologies that aim to skip the argument, instead aiming to decrease gun violence through advanced technology. Barring a dramatic shift in American culture or politics, however, it seems the smart gun concept may wither and die. So, what are smart guns?

WHAT IS IT?

The term "smart gun" is trademarked by the company Mossberg, though it's generally understood to refer to any firearm that is designed to allow only the owner to pull the trigger. How exactly a weapon accomplishes that doesn't matter, so long as some form of authentication is required.

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