Microsoft Going After Smartphone Fragmentation in Windows 10 Mobile

Windows Phone isn't as fragmented as Android, but there are still a subset of users who don't have the latest operating system updates for their devices. That's not due to an issue on Microsoft's part about wanting to keep smartphones updated. It's quite the opposite: Microsoft is keen to get the latest updates to as many devices as it can. Often times, it's the carriers themselves that are log-jamming the update process. Or, in some cases, preventing them entirely.

Just take AT&T's treatment of the Denim update to Windows Phone, which still isn't available on a handful of AT&T smartphones even though Microsoft announced the update late last year. Or consider Verizon's treatment of the previous OS update, Cyan whitch it continuously rejected up untilthe carrier jumped straight to Microsoft's Denim update. That's quite a wait for users who were stuck dealing with an older operating system while Verizon allegedly pressured Microsoft to fix compatibility issues between the operating system and Verizon's own apps.

Smartphone app used to scan blood for parasites

"A smartphone has been used to automatically detect wriggling parasites in blood samples.  It is hoped the customised device could help in programmes to get rid of parasites in parts of Africa.

In certain regions of Africa, two parasitic diseases – river blindness and elephantiasis – are a major health problem affecting millions. Both of these diseases can be treated with a drug called ivermectin.

But if you give somebody ivermectin and they also have high numbers of a less harmful parasite called Loa loa (African eye worm) inside their body, it can trigger potentially deadly side effects.

This has hampered large-scale ivermectin treatment programmes aimed at eradicating river blindness and elephantiasis in some areas,  as people need to have time-consuming tests for Loa loa levels before they can be treated.

The new device – a standard iPhone hooked up to a specially designed lens module – allows people with minimal training to quickly measure Loa loa levels in a sample of blood.

This study found the device performed similarly to standard, more time-consuming, laboratory tests performed by trained technicians.

But this was a small pilot study in just 33 people, and larger studies are needed to confirm the technique's accuracy.

The development of a technique that could be carried out quickly in the field without much specialised equipment could be an important step forward in treating these parasitic diseases.

The researchers speculate the device could also be used to detect other moving disease-causing parasites in the blood. 

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of California, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US, the Centre for Research on Filariasis and other Tropical Diseases, and the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon and the University of Montpellier, France.

It was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of California, the US Agency for International Development, the Purnendu Chatterjee Chair Fund, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Some of the researchers hold patents or have applied for patents relating to this new approach, and two hold shares in the company that developed the device.

Posted by www.anymobilesmartphone.co.uk

Smartphones could one day detect earthquakes

A new device for detecting earthquakes might be right in our hands. Researchers believe that smartphones have the capacity of informing us on seismic movement.

Could it be possible for you smartphone to be used for something that might sound impossible? Experts stated that your smartphone can warn people about early seismic signs.

It seems that the sensors from the GPS that exists in the majority of smartphones, can detect the very first signs of earthquakes with a magnitude of seven degrees or higher.

The information collected by the GPS could be handled to warn people a few seconds before the earthquake reaches their area.

The lead researcher of the study, geophysicist Sarah Minson, stated that the GPS we have on our phones is amazing. For example, if we were to change the position of our phone and move it a few inches to the right, the device will know exactly the new position of it.This is what made researchers to believe that the accelerometers that are built inside a smartphone could help detect seismic movement.

One role of the accelerometer is to inform the phone about its position, whether it is held vertically or horizontally, and trough this it adjust the position of the screen.

Minson and her team created a fictional data set of mobile phone readings that would have been intercepted during an earthquakes of 7 degrees in the north of California, on the Hayward fault.

After that, they looked at the data intercepted by the state of the art GPS seismic sensors from Japan, during the 9 degrees earthquake that occurred in 2011 in Tohoku. However, the information provided by the Japanese sensors was much more detailed, than what a standard smartphone would provide, so scientists choose only the information they consider would be meaningful for a smartphone.

Having this two sets of information to study and compare, scientists wanted to check if a smartphone could manage to detect a seismic wave when occurring, determine its location and its magnitude.

The most challenging part when it comes to smart phones and earthquake detection, was the fact that these devices are mainly in motion as we carry them on us when we are out or on the go. In this situation being able to tell if the ground is moving or not, can be quite difficult.

Researchers found a solution for this issue, that would make the distinction between an earthquake motion and any other type of motions.

Using the fictional data form the Hayward fault, they though that if a smartphone along with other four phones around it would intercept the same amount of movement at the same time and 100 other phones in the area would act the same, then the scientist’s early warning system would acknowledge that an earthquake had taken place and would warn the rest of the people.

The new technique was found slightly unbelievable by geodesist Yehudi Bock, from UC San Diego, even though he admitted that the information on paper was logical.He stated that he was quite skeptical whether the system would actually be efficient in a real life situation and he believed that it would falsely alarm people.

Researchers explained that it is possible for the system not to be as exact in real situations as it is on paper, but future real world tests will determine if that is true or not.

Posted by www.anymobilesmartphone.co.uk

Save The Bee's Smartphone App

There are 267 types of bee in the UK - a quarter of which are at threat of extinction. Sadly 20 types of British bee have already become extinct.

Bees are in decline - but they play a key role in pollinating crops for our food supply

Bees play a vital role in pollinating the crops used to make the food that we eat, but the insects are under threat from loss of habitat, pesticide use and climate change.

That’s why conservationists are calling on the British public to help make their gardens as “bee friendly” as possible to try and reverse their decline.

At the same time, UK residents are invited to help carry out a bee “census” by taking photos of the ones they spot and uploading them via a dedicated app.

You can download this app from the Apple app store or Andriod.

Posted by www.anymobilesmartphone.co.uk

What Ever Next Bullet Proof Glass On Your Smartphone

Yes we have it on cars so why? Not on your Smartphone. There is a new kind of glass that is similar to your regular glass on your Smartphone bit this is bullet proof  and is unbreakable.

The US Navy has invented a transparent material that is far more durable than glass and could revolutionize smartphone screens, laptop screens and camera lenses, by preventing them from cracking or breaking. After ten years of research, scientists from the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have managed to use synthetic powder clay to produce a transparent glass-like material called "Spinel," which is stronger than bulletproof glass. But unlike traditional bulletproof glass, which is manufactured by combining alternate layers of plastic sheeting and glass, Spinel does not block the infrared wavelength of light, making it suitable for applications in camera lenses and smartphone screens. Spinel, which is actually a mineral called magnesium aluminate, can also be molded into almost any shape, making it suitable for use in curved smartphone displays.

NRL succeeded in producing transparent Spinel by using a process called sintering, which is generally used in 3D printing and involves a layer of crystal particles being pressed together. This difference in the production process as compared to the method for manufacturing glass ensures that a display screen made from Spinel will only chip if subjected to damage, as the hard crystals in the material can deflect the crack.

The researchers from NRL hope that Spinel can be applied to protect naval technology, like the windows on its laser weapons, as well as create transparent armor for military vehicles and protect sensors in space satellites. Spinel will initially be produced for military use, but could find application in smartphones and tablets for consumers at a later stage.

Posted by www.anymobilesmartphone.co.uk