Month: October 2016

This robot will rake your leaves and shovel snow

Dan Uff October 18, 2016 1

For anyone who hates yard work, meet your new best friend.

(CNN/Money) A New York startup unveiled Kobi on Thursday, a robot it says can autonomously shovel snow, collect leaves and cut grass.

"We're on a mission to help people not spend time on yard work," said Steven Waelbers, cofounder of The Kobi Company. "We want people to enjoy their free time with their family."

Owners will need to reconfigure the robot's attachment -- similar to how many vacuums work --depending on the task it's carrying out. Before the robot operates independently, an owner must manually wheel it around the yard -- taking it around any obstacles like trees, bushes or mailboxes. By doing this, the robot is taught the perimeter of the lawn, and won't accidentally destroy someone's prized rose bush or start roaming the neighborhood.

Once this setup is complete, and the $3,999 robot has been trained on where to cut grass, rake leaves and shovel snow, it operates without any supervision.

The electric robot navigates with the help of two beacons that must be placed in the yard. Kobi includes a camera and ultrasound sensor that Waelbers said would detect pets and people, and trigger the robot to stop before a collision occurred.

To read the rest of the CNN/Money report, click here.

How to use PiP mode on Mac

Dan Uff October 17, 2016 0

MacOS Sierra comes with the ability to do some neat things. One such thing is the ability to have a Picture In Picture mode while using Safari. This can come in handy when you're learning how to do something by video or want to work on other stuff.

This should work on all Macs that have the ability to run MacOS Sierra.

This article will assume you're using YouTube.com, but it may work with other video services as well.

Here's how:

Go to the video that you wish to view.
Start the video, then press [Control] + [Click the Mouse] TWICE.
This will bring up the correct drop-down menu for Mac.
Select the "Enter Picture In Picture Mode." option.
The video will 'pop-out' and go to a small window on the screen.

For convenience, you can resize and/or move the window to any corner of the screen you wish.

Did You Know: The iPhone 7 has a Virtual Home Button incase Physical Button Fails

Dan Uff October 16, 2016 0

Apple has thought of everything when it came to the iPhone 7.

Because of the fact that the iPhone 7 does not have a physical home button, it can prompt the user if he/she wants to go back to a physical home button incase the virtual one fails. This is a failsafe feature for end users.

This feature was found out by a MacRumors.com user, who posted it on the site's forums. The user was having trouble with their home button. At first, the user rebooted the iPhone, but then the phone began vibrating showing the error message.

Flying? Have a Galaxy Note 7? Don’t do it – or face arrest, fines and more.

Dan Uff October 16, 2016 0

“Airline passengers who try to carry Samsung Electronics Co. Note 7 smartphones on flights will have them confiscated and may face fines under an emergency U.S. order that significantly expands restrictions on the devices linked to almost 100 incidents of overheating and fires,” Mary Schlangenstein and Alan Levin report for Bloomberg. “The devices won’t be allowed aboard passenger or cargo aircraft even if they’ve been shut off, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday. Flight restrictions will be extended to each of the 1.9 million Note 7s sold in the U.S. starting at noon New York time on Saturday.”

“‘We recognize that banning these phones from airlines will inconvenience some passengers, but the safety of all those aboard an aircraft must take priority,’” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. ‘We are taking this additional step because even one fire incident in flight poses a high risk of severe personal injury and puts many lives at risk,'” Schlangenstein and Alan Levin report. “The government urged passengers not to side-step the order. “Passengers who attempt to evade the ban by packing their phone in checked luggage are increasing the risk of a catastrophic incident,” the DOT said in a release. ‘Anyone violating the ban may be subject to criminal prosecution in addition to fines.'”

“The government now considers the Note 7s “forbidden hazardous material” under U.S. law. Anyone observed with one of the phones will be prohibited from boarding an aircraft, the release said,” Schlangenstein and Alan Levin reports. “Consumer agency Chairman Elliot Kaye on Friday also renewed calls to consumers to take advantage of the recall. ‘The fire hazard with the original Note 7 and with the replacement Note 7 is simply too great for anyone to risk it and not respond to this official recall,’ Kaye said in the Transportation Department statement. ‘I would like to remind consumers once again to take advantage of the remedies offered, including a full refund. It’s the right thing to do and the safest thing to do.'”

Read more in the full article here.