Technology

We've all lost our keys at some point or another. But now there's a way to avoid having the locksmith make a house call: KeyMe, a new app that stores an image of a physical key. The image can then be used to create a new key at the local locksmith. ... The app requires the user take a photograph of the front and back of their key using the camera on their mobile device. Photographs must be taken within four inches of the key or the backup won't work properly. Once acceptable photographs have been taken, KeyMe stores them in the cloud. It then calculates the key type and the corresponding serial ... (view more)

Xerox has admitted that some of its scanners mix up numbers. It's a problem that could prove costly for business users. Surprisingly, the problem isn't related to optical character recognition, which turns a scanned document into text; instead, the ... mixed-up numbers are right there on the scanned image. David Kriesel, a computer scientist in Germany, discovered the problem when scanning construction documents. The documents Kriesel scanned were related to three rooms of different sizes. However, after making the scan Kriesel found the document showed all three rooms as the same size -- a clear ... (view more)

Clean drinking water is a precious resource. As the world becomes more polluted, the demand for healthy water only increases. But now there's some good news on this front: a new invention from Sweden turns sweat into water that can be safely ... consumed by human beings. The device, which has not yet been named, was developed by private researchers and Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology. Andreas Hammer, who helped to design and build the sweat-conversion device, says it will be used by the United Nations and Unicef to help give people access to clean drinking water. Recent studies have shown ... (view more)

For many Americans, camping is the best kind of vacation. It's a simple and cheap way to unwind and 'disconnect' from the busy working world. But there are drawbacks to heading into the bush on a hot weekend in July -- for one, there's a good chance ... you'll be 'eaten alive' by merciless, blood-sucking mosquitoes. Until recently, keeping the bugs at bay meant lathering one's self in smelly sprays and lotions. But a new, high-tech patch could make you practically invisible to bugs for a full two-day period. Special Patch Blinds Mosquitoes It's called the Kite Patch and it uses a mixture of non- ... (view more)

A security researcher says hundreds of millions of mobile phones could easily be hacked with nothing more than a specially crafted text message. The hacker could then intercept calls or use the compromised phone to make cash. Karsten Nohl says the ... problem is with SIM cards, which are used to tell a phone which account to use and the number on which to send and receive calls and messages. He says many SIM cards still use an outdated algorithm for encryption to stop other people accessing information about the account. (Source: srlabs.de ) Nohl says his testing found a major flaw with these SIM ... (view more)

What's the extent of America's addiction to smartphones? A recent study shows that most Americans keep a smartphone nearby, while nearly one in ten have used such a device during intimate encounters. The study, which is being called the '2013 Mobile ... Consumer Habits Survey', was carried out by Harris Interactive on behalf of mobile credit card validation company Jumio. The survey included more than 2,000 people from the United States (of which 1,102 were actual smartphone owners) and was carried out in mid-June 2013. (Source: latimes.com ) Most Smartphone Users Keep Their Device Nearby -- All ... (view more)

Despite fresh hardware designs and a completely new mobile operating system , Canadian smartphone company BlackBerry is still having trouble selling its devices south of the 49th parallel. That's why several retailers have now drastically reduced ... the price of the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. According to reports, Amazon.com and major electronics retailer Best Buy have both slashed the price of the BlackBerry Z10 -- a touchscreen device that resembles the iPhone -- to $49 with a two-year contract. The device, which went on sale just four months ago, originally cost $199 with a contract. ( ... (view more)

Waterloo, Ontario-based Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) and BlackBerry recently took the stage at the Telematics Detroit conference. Their focus: showing people how they plan to bring a new generation of high-tech tools to the 'connected' car. ... IMS' major unveiling involved its 'DriveSync' device, which effectively turns any car into a connected car. 'Black Box' Tracks Driver Behavior How so? IMS' DriveSync involves a driver connecting a small black box to a vehicle's on-board diagnostics systems. From there, the device gathers critical information, including vehicle location, speed, ... (view more)

Google's engineering director thinks new developments in technology are bringing us closer to a world where human immortality will become a reality. Ray Kurzweil made that bold statement at the recent Global Future 2045 Congress in New York City. ... The Global Future 2045 Congress each year brings together the world's top scientists. The topics of discussion: important advancements in biotechnology research and human life expectancy. Russian Multimillionaire Seeks Immortality The event is held at New York's Alice Tully Hall and is funded primarily by Dmitry Itskov, a 32-year-old Russian Internet ... (view more)

Lockset manufacturer Kwikset has introduced a keyless front door entry system. Called Kevo, the two-part system connects a mechanical door lock with a smartphone app for easy access. Once an individual has changed over their current deadbolt to the ... one provided by Kevo (a process that takes about 5 minutes to complete), they program their smartphone app to create an administrator account. From there, the owner can sync the phones of other family members to the Kevo deadbolt, granting them access to the front door. Users Tap Smartphone for Access Anyone who has an administrator account can ... (view more)