Ever since news of the NSA’s spying capability and extreme reach began to spread millions of Americans have become concerned even more about their privacy online. At this point the NSA still has very few limitations or restrictions but as support continues to grow among the people more and more companies have also stepped into the fight. This week numerous technology giant such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and many more sent an official letter in support of much tighter NSA restrictions.

This is great news for Americans as well as people worldwide simply due to the incredible reach of the NSA right now. Nearly everything online is tracked or monitored by the NSA according to reports and this obviously has many people very upset. The fact that so many people support tighter restrictions is a good thing, the fact that technology companies like these are stepping on board is an even better piece of information. Many experts feel it is only a matter of time before some sort of NSA overhaul or restriction change happens and continued support from companies like this are likely to be the only possible way to do that. More companies are expected to sign the letter in support as well in the coming weeks.

This week Google announced a new feature for Android that will bring relief to millions of Android users, the feature is essentially a way to locate lost or stole phones and it is about time that Google got this set up. For years now Apple has had a “find your iPhone” service that allowed users to quickly and easily locate their device, Google’s service is expected to be very similar to Apple’s.

Essentially the idea is simple, by registering your Android device you will be able to remotely access it for number of functions. First and foremost it will be possible to turn on GPS to help locate the phone. Google has also made it clear that they’re going to make it possible for users to completely wipe all personal data remotely, that way if they suspect the phone has been stolen it will only take a few clicks to remove any sensitive information.

All of this is absolutely great news for anyone with an Android phone because Google is planning to support basically all versions of Android. The new feature is expected to become publicly available in the coming weeks and odds are it will be a huge hit with everyone.

Recycling is becoming more and more important in many industries due to cost of materials and a number of other factors. That is precisely why, this week, DARPA announced that they will soon be entering the recycling world in a completely revolutionary way.

DARPA’s plan for recycling involved satellites that are no longer in use or have failed in some way. The idea is simple, take off any and all parts that might be usable or valuable and rebuild them to be reused. Unfortunately the hard part is that they’re going to be doing all of this work while the dead satellites continue to orbit earth. DARPA is hopeful that their robotics designs will be able to accomplish the task and if they do it may save billions of dollars on future space endeavors. Currently a number of components no satellites cost hundreds of millions of dollars in some cases, by recycling these parts NASA and other agencies will be able to save significant amounts of money.

No word yet on when DARPA hopes to actually start the recycling, but at this point they’re eager to get started. There are apparently as many as 200 satellites that are considered prime targets for this program and will likely be approached first.

Who needs elevators to reach the 103^rd floor of skyscraper when you have a bionic leg? Zac Vawter, a 31 year old amputee accomplished the phenomenal feat. Vawter earned his place in the history books as the first person to climb the 103 floors using a bionic leg.

His spectacular achievement was done as part of “SkyRise Chicago,” on Sunday, a fundraising event that benefits the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

The prosthetic leg he wore was controlled by his mind and marks the first public appearance for the technology. Vawter was able to activate the motors, chains and belts in his mechanical leg in synchronized movements in the ankle and knee simply by thinking about it. The “smart leg” was monitored by researchers as they cheered Vawter on. Its performance was lauded as utterly fantastic.

The climb from ground level to the 103 floor of Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, took roughly 45 minutes. That is approximately 2.28 floors per minute, something many of with both of our natural limbs cannot do.

Technology is making it possible for many like Vawter to lead not only productive lives but athletic ones if they so choose. It makes you wonder just how far we can go when faced with adversity.

Today YouTube announced a revolutionary new feature which will definitely be a much appreciated change to the popular video sharing site. Currently millions of people around the world live in fear of being exposed in the videos they upload and for many this exposure could bring stiff legal repercussions, YouTube now has a solution to this problem.

The new system is basically an automated face blurring technology that gives uploaders the option of blurring any and all human faces present in a video. The goal is that the feature will be used by protesters, vigilantes, political activists, and more, all around the world to spread news and information around through the internet.

Many of these individual activists already upload videos to YouTube to show the world what is happening but for a number of reasons they’re in fear of political retaliation, now that YouTube is going to provide a simple means to block out their face these people will finally be free to upload their informative videos without any threat of political attack.

YouTube has not officially made the feature available yet but it expected to be available in the coming days all around the world. Millions of people around the world will finally be free to upload their opinions and news to YouTube without any fear of being arrested, attacked or punished by governments and regimes in their area.

Cochlear implants are becoming incredibly common among the hearing impaired. Due to the small size and high quality of these devices they have really become the most common hearing improvement method available. Fortunately this week a company came out with a design that will significantly improve the quality of Cochlear implants while also reducing their size.

The biggest improvement of the new design is the appearance. Many people are hesitant to get Cochlear implants due to the externally exposed microphone but this new design will entirely eliminate that. The proposed solution would move the microphone, battery, and everything else into a hidden inner ear location which would greatly improve the reception as well as the appearance of the device.

Medical experts and doctors around the world say this will truly be the future of hearing improvements if it works as planned. The price is expected to go down, the device is going to be significantly smaller, and in nearly every way it will be superior. Millions of hearing impaired people are hopeful that this is going to be the future because it will finally free them from the larger implants they currently have to deal with and that is obviously great news.

This is also great news for anyone that simply suffers from hearing loss due to old age. Cochlear implants were generally reserved for those affected by some sort of disability but this new design will likely bring the smaller Cochlear implants to millions more people that will benefit greatly from them.

Texting while driving and even talking on the phone while driving have been proven to be very dangerous, despite all of the science behind it millions of people continue to do it every single day. Fortunately today the National Transportation Safety Bureau stepped up and made it clear where they stand by announcing that they hope to find a way to ban cell phones entirely while driving.

This would be a major step in the right direction according to analysts because currently laws are scattered and random; certain states and cities have outlawed cell phones or texting but there is no standard currently. Under the NTSB’s proposed plan using a cell phone would be illegal all across the country while driving.

The only drawback to the announcement is that the NTSB does not actually have the ability to make this happen. With the NTSB’s advice there will surely be plenty of lawmakers trying to create a national bill to prevent cell phone use while driving but unless a decent plan is agreed upon it will be quite a while before texting and using a cell phone is illegal while driving all across the country. Still, for now it is simply good news that someone in the government is finally beginning the process to outlaw cell phones while driving in order to save thousands of lives each and every year; many analysts are hopeful that a law will be in effect sometime in the next year as well.

Diagnosis Using Cell Phone

Tanzania is like many other African countries and faces a severe shortage of healthcare workers. This shortage, coupled with the rising rates of HIV/AIDS poses serious consequences to the health of the people in the region. Tanzania’s shortfall on medical personnel has become so serious that they are now trailing other developing countries in the area of medical care and health.

One possible solution to help with this problem is the use of telemedicine. Telemedicine is the practice of capturing images and information of complex medical conditions and then sending it to specialists around the globe using a database called the iPath platform. This would allow the few medical personnel in Tanzania the ability to leverage the diagnosis power of many practitioners around the world and to increase the treatments that could be provided in HIV ravaged Tanzania.

Cell phone diagnosis started in the field of dermatology or skin disorders. Medical personnel began to apply this diagnosis tool in rural Tanzania. In Tanzania many people reside in rural areas where access to health care is unavailable. Health care expertise and resources are found in the bigger cities and therefore, a lack of up to date information and training is found in the rural areas. Telemedicine has come to the rescue of many patients who could not be diagnosed before the use of the cell phones by medical personnel.

The local Church owns 20 hospitals, five paramedical institutions, over 160 dispensaries and health centers, providing for about 15% of the national healthcare in Tanzania. The goal of the program is to have a network of 43 facilities participating in the telemedicine program. Training programs are underway to equip doctors in the use of the ipath database, the digital camera and i-teach for distance learning.

The main challenge is the integration of telemedicine into the current practices of the rural providers, the facilities, billing system and certification and accreditation of workers and facilities. Training will be accomplished with the i-teach application bringing the Tanzanian healthcare worker into this new and exciting method of healthcare treatments. Telemedicine has come to Tanzania and the rescue of many patients who might not be diagnosed otherwise without the usage of cell phones by medical personnel.

A report released this week is showing some improving signs in terms of power usage around the United States. Homes have generally been using about the same amount of power for quite some time but thanks to recent surges in green technology and more efficient heating and cooling it seems the average power consumption is in fact decreasing.

Amazingly the same report indicates that while power usage is generally down, the number of electronics and technological items is actually up. Most homes have significant more technology than ever before but because everything is getting more and more efficient the amount of power being used is decreasing. This is good news for millions of Americans because it will obviously mean a reduction in monthly power costs but at the same time it is very good news for the environment.

Even more amazing is the future predictions available for power usage; nearly all analysts and experts agree that power consumption will continue to fall and throughout the next decade it will begin to fall even more rapidly. Technology really is becoming significantly more efficient which is very good news environmentally; consumers are essentially helping reduce power waste by simply buying new devices and new technologies rather than using old outdated technology. At this point there is not a solid prediction of how much power consumption will decrease in the coming years but nearly everyone agrees that it will in fact be significant enough to make a major difference.

LG and GM Partner to Create Efficient Electric Cars-- Source:Wall Street Journal

General Motors and LG are both very well respected companies in their own right but today the two announced that they will be working together on an upcoming project. The project is, of course, a vehicle that will be designed by GM but LG will have significant input in terms of power and battery technology. Thanks to new technology from LG, GM is hoping to create some highly efficient cars.

At this time the project is still in early development but LG and GM say that this ongoing partnership could help bring incredibly efficient electric vehicles. Of course LG is not new to the automotive game as they already supply GM with power plants for numerous electric or hybrid vehicles that are currently available.

The fact that two major companies like this are finally willing to work together on a major efficiency project such as this is very good news according to environmental analysts. Without help from major corporations it would be nearly impossible to ever have truly efficient vehicles; the hope is that GM and LG together will be the match made in heaven needed to create the newest wave of efficient cars. At this time GM and LG have not announced a possible reveal date for upcoming cars but given the rate at which the electric car market is expanding it seems likely that GM and LG will both be working quickly to get something ready for the market as soon as they can.