Lifestyle

Watch TV, read horizontally with prism glasses

I always applaud innovations in the art of laziness, and the gadget elves at Thanko are masters at it.

Take Gorone de Megane, the latest eyewear to come out of Thanko's Tokyo workshop.

As the name suggests, these "napping glasses" let you read a book, watch TV, or use your smartphone while remaining completely horizontal in bed or on the couch.

Prisms in the specs reflect light into your peepers, leaving you perfectly positioned to nod off into a blissful snooze. … Read more

A breath test for... obesity?

Researchers have been exploring breath tests for all sorts of uses -- from sniffing out everything from lung cancer to heart disease to diabetes. But testing for obesity? Could that really be possible?

According to a new study in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the bacterial overgrowth that can be caught by a standard breath test may also reveal one's body fat percentage.

Apparently when one's microbiome (the complex infrastructure of good and bad bacteria that live in and on us) gets out of balance, with the bad bacteria outperforming the good, … Read more

The 404 1,235: Where we charge you just for browsing (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Jeff's review: Using Appetize at a concert.

- The end of "just browsing:" Australian store charges $5 browsing fee.

- How the P2P era of SEO-baiting, intentionally mislabeled MP3s changed our taste in music.

- Hollywood embraces the Tweaser on Vine.

- T-Mobile finally gets the iPhone.

- T-Mobile launches 4G LTE network.… Read more

Get that song out of your head the scientific way

To date, my method for banishing the dreaded earworm is to sing a song I actually like in an attempt to "trump" whatever piece of pop fluff is driving me batty. Apparently scientists at Western Washington University, led by psychology professor Ira Hyman, have discovered a much better way.

The trick, it seems, is to solve puzzles -- sudoku, for example. But by far the most effective puzzle was five-letter anagrams. … Read more

The 404 1234: Where we trade in our books for Bioshock Infinite (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Jeff's Bioshock Infinite review: in a class by itself.

- Get that tune out of your head! Scientists find out how to get rid of earworms.

- I rewatched this video over the weekend and it blew my mind.

Bathroom break video: Eastern Wayne Harlem Shake fail.… Read more

FAA ready to power down paranoia over devices?

Your Kindle could finally be liberated during take-off and landing on flights in the U.S. by this time next year.

Many of us have had the experience of doing a double-take when the flight attendant asks us to power down an e-reader, even when it's already in airplane mode. My old-school Kindle isn't even backlit -- there are probably more emissions coming through the fillings in my teeth; perhaps I should stow those under the seat in front of me as well?

I'm guessing that might freak out the federal air marshal aboard my next flight.… Read more

9-year-old girl's Kickstarter for coding camp is crushing it

Mackenzie Wilson, 9, may just be the youngest Kickstarter rock star to date, and if all goes as planned she'll be a coding superstar one day as well.

Wilson teamed with her mom, Susan Wilson (to respect Kickstarter's official ban on minors owning crowdfunding projects) to launch a campaign to raise $829 to cover the cost of attending a weeklong role-playing design camp for 9- to 12-year-olds.

"I love computers, video games, apps, and role playing games - especially Magic the Gathering and Borderlands 2 that I get to play with my Dad (because my 15 & … Read more

The 404 1,233: Where we stick a fork in it (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Bill Gates will grant you $100,000 to invent a next-gen condom.

- "Now That's What I Call Music" documentary coming soon.

- Dongle jokes and a tweet lead to firings, threats, DDoS attacks.

- And of course, a silver lining: http://forkmydongle.com.

Bathroom break video: NHL celebrates 20-year anniversary of NHL '94 in awesome throwback fashion.… Read more

Stroke patient gets by with a little help from a bot

Turning to robots for speech and physical therapy may not be everyone's idea of high-quality, personalized health care. But for stroke patients -- particularly those in rural, isolated areas -- therapists can be difficult and expensive to come by, and rehabilitation can be elusive.

So a speech language pathologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is studying the interactions of stroke patients with the uBot-5, a child-size humanoid robot with arms and a computer screen through which therapists can interact with people. And for at least one stroke patient, the bot appears to be doing a stand-up job.… Read more