2014-11-14

As developers for tablets and smartphones we like to keep abreast of the latest mobile technology developments . This is a daily digest of mobile development and related technology news gathered from the BBC, the New York Times, New Scientist and the Globe and Mail to name a few. We scour the web for articles concerning, iPhone, iPad and android development, iOS and android operating systems as well as general articles on advances in mobile technology. We hope you find this useful and that it helps to keep you up to date with the latest technology developments.

Microsoft Releases Windows Phone 8.1.1 Build 14203

As many expected after the Battery Saver update on Wednesday, Microsoft released Windows Phone 8.1.1. Build 14203 to Preview for Developers users yesterday.  The update of Battery Saver mentioned a build 14203 which did not exist which led to the speculation.  That, along with it being three weeks since the last update, and it being Thursday which is when these updates are traditionally released… yeah, there is a lot of tea leave reading. Anyway, the update it out and it is mighty impressive.  There seems to be a significant number of performance improvements and stability enhancements that make Build 14203 a

The post Microsoft Releases Windows Phone 8.1.1 Build 14203 appeared first on Clinton Fitch.



The Insane New Technology Harnessing The Ultimate Green Energy Source: The Human Body

Forget about your smartphone or your Google Glass: The most sophisticated piece of machinery that any of us tote around on a regular basis is the human body. But despite their valiant attempts — we will always have a soft spot for our mood rings and our hypercolor shirts — scientists haven’t always found the most useful way to interface with the spectacular human machine.

Until recently, that is.

Thanks to breakthroughs in biochemistry, brain science and nanotechnology, scientists and inventors have unleashed a new, promising wave of tech that harnesses the body’s powerful energy. We partnered with Lenovo, whose tech always adapts to you, to find the most insane ways science is pushing responsive technology.

The Extremely Portable Air Conditioning Unit



It’s the oldest cause of disagreement between couples. You like it gaspingly cold; they like stiflingly hot. Your power bill, caught in the middle, suffers.

Researchers at M.I.T. — where else? — have a very personal solution for those with differing internal temperature gauges. In 2013, they unveiled the Wristify Thermoelectric Bracelet. It operates on the proposition that the human body isn’t entirely rational when it comes to temperature. Humans sharply register changes in temp but adapt pretty well over time. (That’s why the first step in the pool is so bracing.) So Wristify tricks the body: it monitors external and internal temperature and sends micro bursts of heat and cold faster than the body can adjust.

Jedi Prosthetics



A lot of tech is inspired by movies, but far fewer are actually named after them. Meet the DEKA-Arm, a mind-controlled prosthetic arm affectionately nicknamed “Luke” after Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker.

The DEKA Arm is a fancy bit of engineering developed by the Pentagon’s advanced research group and Dean Kamen — the guy who invented the Segway. It works by reading the electrical signals sent from the brain to the muscles of the remaining arm. The DEKA’s onboard computer interprets the signals and moves accordingly. And it’s not any Jedi mind trick: 90% of amputees that used the DEKA-Arm quickly learned to perform activities impossible with traditional prosthetics, like using keys and manipulating zippers.

Pay With Your Veins

Paying with a pound of flesh is an idea that goes back to Shakespeare. Luckily, vein-scanning Biyo Wallet doesn’t require that the pound of flesh be removed during the transaction.

It was conceived as a device to bypass the middleman — in this case, the smartphone. Instead, the user swipes their credit card, then places their palms on an infrared Fujistu vein scanner. (Like fingertips, each individual’s veins are unique.) After the initial pairing of card and vein, a user only needs to slap their palm on the scanner to check out. Its success rate — at least so far — is a remarkable 99.9992 percent.

Appliances Operated By Your Mind

For everyone who ever suffered through a bad show because the remote was just too dang far away: You’ll want to pay attention to this one.

A consortium of electronics manufacturers and app-makers have unveiled an interface system that would actually let a user think their television off or on. Although still in early stages and requiring an Emotiv Insight — a reportedly uncomfortable headset that reads the user’s brainwaves — researchers have shown that a telepathic blast can indeed affect the physical world. Light bulbs, televisions and computers are all fair game.

The really heartwarming news is that this tech was specifically developed to help patients rendered immobile by ALS. So far the prognosis is good.

Foot Power

It’s the high-tech version of the Flintstones: devices powered by your feet. But at least this version allows you to wear shoes.

For the last few years, scientists have been experimenting with capturing the power released by each human footstep. Separately, each footstep doesn’t amount to much. But when tiles were installed in a heavily-trafficked Tube station during the London Olympics in 2012, they surprised everyone by capturing enough to power a lightbulb for up to 52 hours.

Footfall-capturing may prove most useful as a supplement to solar panels on cloudy days. One company, Volta, has installed prototype kinetic/solar panels that provide enough juice to power nearby cellphone charging stations.

Body Batteries

If you’re just a little bit squeamish about feet, there may still be hope for you. Scientists have found that there is more than one way to capture the energy of motion — including just keeping a charger in your pants while you walk.

Unveiled this year by Georgia Tech scientists, the “body battery” consists of a series of rotating discs that capture static electricity generated by a person’s movement. (Actually, anything that causes the disc to rotate will generate power — even dunking it under running water.) Even swinging the device by hand built enough electricity to power an iPhone.

The Wizardly Wristband

Who hasn’t wanted to control things with the merest flick of the wrist? Well, hold on to your wizarding hat: The real world may have finally evolved to meet up with movie magic.

In a few years, the Myo Armband may well be remembered as the thing that made the computer mouse extinct. It reads and interprets the electrical signals sent as muscles move in the arm, then it translates those signals into actions on a screen. Suddenly, every screen is a touchscreen. Maybe most amazing is that the device is already here. 40,000 units of the $150 device have already been preordered — and support by Google’s anticipated Google Glass has further escalated interest.

China's Alibaba eyes first bond sale

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba to meet with investors next week as it considers issuing its first bond sale after a record public listing.

VIDEO: White House security lapses detailed

An official report has found that an intruder who got into the White House was able to do so because of a series of technical and organisational security failures.

VIDEO: Samsung's new smart watch on display

The BBC’s Richard Taylor looks at Samsung’s just-released Gear S smartwatch

S&P gives Twitter debt 'junk' status

US ratings agency Standard & Poor’s gives social media giant Twitter’s debt “junk” status, which is three notches below investment grade.

Come on feel the noise?

The bike saddle that plays music from the bottom up

Translation tech talking business

How language services are turning to tech to improve

U.S. Using Fake Cell Phone Towers On Planes To Gather Data: WSJ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An agency of the U.S. Justice Department is gathering data from thousands of cell phones, including both criminal suspects and innocent Americans, by using fake communications towers on airplanes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
The program run by the U.S. Marshals Service began operations in 2007 and uses Cessna planes flying from at least five major airports and covering most of the U.S. population, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the operations.
The planes use devices made by Boeing Co that mimic the cell phone towers used by major telecommunications companies and trick mobile phones into revealing their unique registration data, the report said.
The devices, nicknamed “dirtboxes,” can collect information from tens of thousands of cell phones in a single flight, which occur on a regular basis, according to those with knowledge of the program, the Journal said.
It said a Justice Department official would not confirm or deny the existence of such a program, saying such discussion would allow criminal suspects or foreign powers to determine U.S. surveillance abilities, but that department agencies comply with federal law, including by seeking court approval.
The program is similar to one used by the National Security Agency which collects the phone records of millions of Americans in order to find a single person or a handful of people.
The Journal cited the people familiar with the program as saying that the device used in the program decides which phones belong to suspects and “lets go” of non-suspect phones.
Although it can interrupt calls on some phones, authorities have made software changes to make sure it doesn’t interrupt anyone calling the 911 emergency number for help, one person familiar with the matter said, the Journal reported.
It also bypasses telephone companies, allowing authorities to locate suspects directly, people with knowledge of the program said.
The Journal quoted Christopher Soghoian, chief technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union, as calling it “a dragnet surveillance program. It’s inexcusable and it’s likely, to the extent judges are authorizing it, they have no idea of the scale of it.”
The newspaper said it was unknown what steps are being taken to ensure data collected on innocent people is not kept for future perusal by authorities.
(Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Eric Beech)

How One Man Made an Extra $1,000 Teaching What He Knew

In my last post, I spoke about how the U.S. Postal Service is leveraging its existing expertise in the delivery business to begin a two-year grocery delivery test in San Francisco, CA, and how you can emulate them leveraging your existing skills by teaching what you already know.

There are a number of ways you can start this endeavor, such as by starting a YouTube Channel, a podcast or your own blog. While those are great avenues, I want to introduce you to three new ways to capitalize on your unfair advantage (teaching what you already know). This is by far the best way to earn side hustle or full-time income.

I recently interviewed Nick Loper of SideHustleNation.com. He wrote a best-selling book, Work Smarter: 350+ Online Resources Today’s Top Entrepreneurs Use To Increase Productivity and Achieve Their Goals, which generated $1,400 in 30 days on Amazon. Because he kept getting asked the same question from readers on how they could replicate his success, he decided to teach a course on Udemy.com.

In his Kindle Launch Plan: $1400 in 30 Days & an Amazon Bestseller, Loper teaches you how to lay a foundation on Amazon and then how to successfully launch your book even if you don’t have an audience yet.

Check out these three platforms for teaching online:

Udemy.com – Based in San Francisco, CA, Udemy offers more than 20,000 courses in every genre you can possibly think of. The best thing is, you get to set your own price, come up with your own topic and if you help to market your course, you keep 100 percent of the profit. If Udemy markets for you and brings in people, you keep 50 percent of the profits. The average instructor makes $7,000 on Udemy. Ninety-six percent of instructors make sales.

Skillshare.com – This is an online learning community. So not only can you take some amazing classes for free, you can also become a teacher on the platform and earn side income based on what you already know, love or are passionate about. Do you have expertise in design, gaming or programming? Then teach it. They have over 750,000 students, 35,000 student projects and have paid their teacher over $3 million dollars. The average teacher makes over $3,500. So what are you waiting for?

Dabble.co – If you are more of the hands-on type when it comes to teaching, then this is the platform for you. Depending on where you live, you sign up to teach classes in your own community. You can teach in a coffee shop, restaurant, you name it. Classes can be taught by anyone (which means you). You can attend a class, teach a class or host a class and let someone else do the teaching.

So now that you have the tools, it’s time to start building. If you’re still feeling a little hesitant, I’m sharing my insights about this very topic in an upcoming course I’ve titled “Teach Online: How to Create Side Hustle Income Leveraging Your Existing Skills.” Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Americans' Cellphones Targeted in Secret U.S. Spy Program

The Justice Department is scooping up data from thousands of cellphones through fake communications towers deployed on airplanes, a high-tech hunt for criminal suspects that is snagging a large number of innocent Americans, according to people familiar with the operations.

Video Game Industry Adds Billions to US Economy

Known more for remarkable advancements in technology and innovation than for jobs and commerce, the computer and video game industry is proving to be a bright spot in a slowly-improving American economy. According to a new report, “Video Games in the 21st Century: The 2014 Report,” released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) this week, the industry added more than $6.2 billion to the U.S. economy in 2012. Approximately 146,000 individuals are directly and indirectly employed by the video game industry.

The new report reinforces the growing role video games play in our economy. Our industry drives technological and societal advancements that help Americans lead healthier, happier and more productive lives. It is also one of the nation’s fastest growing sectors, providing tens of thousands of high-paying jobs to hardworking Americans across the country. Here are four examples of why games are such an economic powerhouse:

The video game industry outperformed the U.S. economy by more than four times. Video games are a 21.5 billion industry in the U.S. The industry significantly outpaced the overall economy from 2009 to 2012, growing more than nine percent compared to the U.S. economy’s 2.4 percent.

Game developers and publishers expanded while other industries contracted. Employment in video games grew at an annual rate of nine percent from 2009 to 2012. For comparison, a number of U.S. industries, such as newspaper production and aerospace manufacturing, either lost jobs or increased them by less than one percent over the same period. In fact, employment at computer and video game companies grew more than 13 times the growth of the U.S. labor market (nine percent vs. 0.72 percent, respectively).

The industry’s job market is spreading across the country. While California continues to rank first in terms of having the most video game industry personnel in the nation, its share of total industry employment remained essentially flat from 41.27 percent in 2009 to 41.40 percent in 2012. This slow growth stems in part from aggressive efforts by other states to lure high-paying, digital economy jobs with robust tax incentives. Today, 21 states and Puerto Rico offer digital media incentives. The seven states with the greatest number of entertainment software industry employees — California, Texas, Washington, New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Illinois — collectively employ 32,652 workers; nearly 80 percent of the total direct employment for the U.S. video game industry.

Compensation continues to rise. Employees in the computer and video game industry earned an average of 94,747 in 2012, up from90,000 in 2010. In comparison, the average U.S. household income in 2012 was 51,759.

With more people enjoying video games around the globe through consoles and mobile game play, the industry shows little sign of slowing down. Curious about how well your state stacks up against the rest? Read the individual state reports to learn more. Interested in working in the industry, but not sure how to get started? Check out my take on the nearly 400 higher education institutions that offer video game design programs.

US Homeland Security issues alert about iOS' 'Masque Attack' flaw

The US Department of Homeland Security has issued a formal alert warning people about the Masque Attack security hole discovered in iOS. Although mostly reiterating claims by research firm FireEye, DHS describes the hole as allowing malware “under a limited set of circumstances,” and sets forth three basic steps for dodging problems. These including avoiding apps from outside the App Store or a person’s own organization, not clicking “Install” on third-party webpage pop-ups, and tapping “Don’t Trust” if launching an iOS app spawns an “Untrusted App Developer” warning.

7 Ways Technology Can Improve Your Happiness!

Have you ever found yourself on a vacation, a date or a great party with beloved friends and family when suddenly, out of the blue, and for no good reason, you develop an irresistible urge to check your Twitter, Facebook, texts or emails? You’re not alone. Here’s why: The urge to check social media is stronger than the urge for sex, according to research by Chicago University’s Wilhelm Hoffman.

How does this happen? The answer is simple. We thrive on connection with others. Research shows that connection is what brings us the greatest fulfillment and joy, it is the secret to lasting well-being and even health and longevity.

So the question is: Does technology really help us connect? Is it worth the irresistible urge? In some cases no: one study showed that it actually makes use more lonely. In other cases, the research says yes. So what determines whether technology makes our day or gets us down?

It depends on your tech-usage style. Here are the do’s and don’ts of tech-happy people:

1. Send Affectionate Notes Often.

A recent research study on couples and texting showed that texting to express affection is associated with higher connection between partners.

2. Contribute Often.

A Facebook study showed that, when we are actively sharing and posting, then Facebook makes us happier, presumably because we are reaching out to others and, in turn, receiving feedback from them, creating a two-way street of social connection.

3. Inspire and Uplift Others.

Why are Facebook pages like PurposeFairy, UpWorthy and FinerMinds so popular? Because they aim to uplift, inspire and brighten people’s days. We can choose someone who brings more sunshine into people’s lives. Research shows that altruism and helping others makes us happier, healthier and can even lengthen our lives.

4. Reach Out (You May Just Save a Life).

Dan Caddy, a veteran responsible for a military humor Facebook page called “Awesome Sh*t My DrillSargeant Says” one day received a message from a military servicemember about his buddy who was suicidal and locked in a place by himself with a gun. His cell phone was off so no one could locate him. Caddy posted up a notice that said that all jokes were off and that help was needed. Hundreds of comments flew in through the night, people starting getting in their cars and driving in the direction of the suicidal soldier. By 4am, after 100s of people had joined the effort, the soldier’s commander had been located and his life saved. Dan Caddy has since started a nonprofit called Battle in Distress To see him speak, see our joint talk at Facebook Headquarters here.  You may think you’re just sitting at home browsing pictures of friends’ dinners, weddings and kids, but you may also be the first to notice that something is wrong, that you can help them in some way and that you can even save a life. A study shows that one out of every four people has no one to talk to. You never know who could use a kind gesture.

5. Connect in Meaningful Ways

Together with Arturo Bejar and the Facebook Compassion Team we are working on creating apps and improving opportunities for connection, empathy and kindness through Facebook interactions. Countless acts of violence and bullying can happen on social media, for all to see, and with real consequences that have even sadly led to teens taking their lives. However, we can reach out and do something to help them. Research on compassion shows that helping others and altruism is the best kept secret to happiness and well-being. Facebook presents countless opportunities to check in with loved ones and friends and be there for them if something seems off. Similarly, social media is a place where you can express need for support.

6. Close Your Computer, Set Down Your Phone and Look Someone in the Eyes.

Research by Paula Niedenthal shows that eye contact is the most essential and intimate form of connection. Social media is primarily verbal while the root of intimacy is not verbal but is transmitted through the most minute facial expressions (the tightening of our lips, the crows feet of smiling eyes, upturned eyebrows in sympathy or sorry) and posture. Mirror neurons in our brain are dedicated to reflect the actions of others so that we can internally feel what is happening with others – this ability is the basis for compassion and is the reason we feel sorry when someone cries or back away when we sense someone’s anger. How much of this can be transmitted through a text or even a staged selfie? It can’t. Look up and meet someone’s eyes instead of a screen.

7. Log Onto A Well-Being App:

Destressify — teaches exercises to calm the mind, achieve emotional balance, relax, get energized and find joy

Centered — helps manage stress with a holistic wellness program of clinically validated mindful meditation sessions

Happier — on-the-go gratitude journal to record happy moments both big and small -a scientifically proven way to feel more positive and optimistic

Lift — helps you put your goals into action

Happify —  empowers you to live a happier, more fulfilling life through a set of personalized and research-based activities

Day One — helps you record life as you live it. From once-in-a-lifetime events to everyday moments

Wisdom by Sri Sri — delivers daily wisdom quotes to uplift you and keep you inspired

Lumosity – -offers a training program to challenge your brain

Calm — helps you cultivate greater calm in your life

2 Awesome Upcoming Apps:

Fulfillment Daily — Inspiring and practical science-backed tips for a happier life delivered to your phone!

spire.io — tracks your physiological activity and teaches you to breathe your stress away

Already know all this stuff? Interested to learn more? Want to get in the game or already in it? Then check out the Happiness Apps Challenge – a contest for the most happiness-inducing apps!

No Jail Time For Man Who Took Photo Of Rehtaeh Parsons's Alleged Sexual Assault

A teen who admitted to taking a picture of a girl allegedly being sexually assaulted by a 16-year-old will serve no jail time and will also avoid probation.

The 20-year-old, who was 17 when the crime was committed, was sentenced to a conditional discharge and will also have to give a DNA sample, according to the CBC’s Blair Rhodes.

Slate has background on the case:

In an agreed statement of facts read in court, the man acknowledged that nearly three years ago, when he was 17, he threw a small, booze-fueled party at his house with three other teenage boys and a 15-year-old girl. That night, he took a photograph of one of those boys, then 16, penetrating the girl from behind. She was naked from the waist down and was leaning out of a window to vomit onto the ground. The 16-year-old boy was smiling into the camera, holding the girl’s hip with one hand, and giving a thumbs up with the other.

Police had previously determined that there was not enough evidence to pursue sexual assault charges against the teen involved in the sex act.

Victim Rehtaeh Parsons was bullied for more than a year after the photo circulated amongst the boys’ friends, according to CNN.

Parsons tried to hang herself in April, 2013 and died three days later after she was taken off life support.

Before handing down his sentence, Judge Gregory Lenehan said the defendant’s actions led Parsons to “fall into a deep dark hole of despair from which she could not extricate herself.”

But Lenehan also said the defendant “is not as morally blameworthy as an adult would be.”

“This is not a court of retribution. It is a court that seems to reform and rehabilitate the young person,” the judge said.

The Huffington Post does not usually reveal the name of sexual abuse victims, but Parsons’ parents have spoken out on behalf of their daughter and her supporters have used her name to help spread her story.

Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact The Author

Kazeem Owonla Arrested After Impersonating Montana Attorney General In Online Dating Scam

A Nigerian resident faces charges that he set up an online dating profile using a photo of Montana’s attorney general and falsified stories about overseas business problems to scam several women.

Felony charges against Kazeem Owonla were filed last month in Indiana, where one woman reported sending more than $100,000 to a man who represented himself as John Tony Hagan, an electrical engineer who was working in Egypt. Owonla, 44, was arrested Wednesday when he got off an airplane in Atlanta and waived extradition to Indiana Thursday during a hearing in Clayton County Magistrate Court. Clayton County records did not indicate if Owonla has an attorney.

His bond in Indiana is set at $150,000 cash, enough to cover the women’s losses, Kosciusko County prosecutors said.

The Indiana woman who first complained said she met “Hagan” online in January 2014 and by the next month he was asking her for money.

The woman said Hagen told her he needed money to replace his stolen tools. She said she sent him $5,600. The woman also responded to requests for $12,000 to pay his workers and for $25,000 to replace money that was supposedly stolen when his interpreter was stabbed after they made a bank withdrawal. In June, the woman provided investigators with receipts showing she wired or made bank transfers totaling more than $100,000 to the man she believed was Hagan, court records said.

“It got pretty intense fairly quickly,” the woman told WNDU-TV in July on the condition the station not use her name because she was embarrassed that she fell for the scam. “Lots of passion and attention.”

A deputy found the bank transfers from the woman were ending up in an account owned by Owonla, who was in the U.S. on a visitor’s visa last year.

The investigation also turned up a $1,550 bank transfer form an Ohio woman who told a similar story. She met a man online who identified himself as Henry Tesone, an electrical engineer in South Africa who was headed to Egypt to work. He also used stolen tools and other similar reasons to get the Ohio woman to send him a total of $11,590.

The deputy’s investigation turned up a third bank transfer of nearly $8,200 from a woman who may be another victim. He is still trying to locate her.

The photo used on the Hagan profile was taken from Montana Attorney General Tim Fox’s campaign website without his permission.

In August, Fox’s spokesman, John Barnes, said the attorney general was upset his image was used in the same. He noted the con artist chose the photo of someone who oversees consumer protection and warns citizens of scams.

How to Change Your E-mail Address Without Losing Your Mind

“Change my e-mail address? No problem,” said no one ever.

Why the reluctance to take on what can be an important chore? Because tracking down all the parties to notify and web sites to update can feel like a staggering task. Not to mention the nagging fear that, no matter what you do, someday some important communication (a notification, perhaps, from the IRS?) isn’t going to reach you because the sender didn’t know your new address.

Given those negatives, why even consider wading into the water?

• You’re tired of regularly picking through piles of spams just to rescue the occasional legitimate e-mail that your spam filter inadvertently blocked. As I explained in How One Simple Mistake Turned Me Into a Spam Magnet, that’s why I recently changed my address.

• You hate the email address that you created back when you were a lot friskier online (Think: Luv2snuggle).

• You need to change your e-mail provider, having finally decided to jettison your 20-year-old AOL address or ditch the .EDU address you started using in school.

If you’ve got a good reason of your own, but have been stalling because the whole affair seemed too overwhelming, here’s some good news. I have just finished changing my own e-mail address and found that, with a little planning and organization, you can do the job relatively painlessly and without disrupting your online life. (If you’ve been following my spam problem, here’s an update: The cumulative spam count for my old e-mail address has passed 14,000 and grows by roughly 200 per day).

Ready to give it a try? Here’s how to do it:

Getting started

Create a new address. Use a free e-mail service, such as Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook.com, etc. Don’t use an address assigned to you by your employer, school or Internet provider, because you’ll be forced to drop it when your circumstances change.

Don’t delete the old e-mail address! You’ll need both your old and new addresses for awhile. After creating the new address, add it to the e-mail apps on your phone, tablet or laptop.

Test run. To make sure you can send e-mail OK using your new address on all your devices, use each device to send a test e-mail to your old e-mail account. To make sure you can receive e-mail OK at the new address, reply to each of those test messages.

Make a checklist. Make a list of all the sites and online services that use your old e-mail address. This will come in handy later as a checklist to keep track of which sites you have updated and which you still need to work on.

The list will probably be longer than you expect, especially if you have accounts with more than a few of these types of online services: Retailers, social networks and discussion groups, videoconferencing services, publications, banks, credit card companies, electronic payment services, entertainment services, phone services, health care providers, insurance companies, greeting card services, airlines, hotel chains and car repair shops or dealerships.

Getting the word out

Test the waters. First use the new address to notify close friends and relatives about the change. Once you feel comfortable using it, send similar e-mails to everyone else who needs to know (using BCC to respect each person’s privacy), such as those on your contact lists and those with whom you communicated using your old e-mail address. If you use a “white list” to filter spam, check that for additional people to notify.

Keep monitoring your old e-mail account. Do it for at least a few weeks to spot mail from people and institutions you may have overlooked. Don’t forget about contacts that communicate with you infrequently, such as services that renew annually.

Update your online accounts. This will probably take more than a couple of days, so be patient. To get a feel for the process, begin with a few key sites, such as Amazon and your favorite social network. After those, update the most important sites on your checklist.

On each site, you’ll need to sign into your account. If you have forgotten your user ID or password, most sites will, upon request, send e-mail to your old address to help you. Once you’ve signed in, click on My Account, Settings or Profile to find the page where you change your e-mail address. Be sure to save your changes.

To verify that the change took effect, sign out of your account and back in (Remember: Your user ID for that account may now have become your new e-mail address). Verify that your account settings have changed, if necessary. Most sites will send e-mails to both your old and new e-mail addresses confirming the change. Be sure to read them because some may require you to take action.

What could possibly go wrong?

Not all sites handle an e-mail address change well. Here are some glitches I’ve encountered and how to overcome them. Don’t be surprised if you run into others:

• After you change the e-mail address, the site keeps sending e-mail to your old address. If you can, unsubscribe from the site’s e-mail list and re-subscribe using your new address. Or contact the site’s customer support.

• When you try to reset your password at the site, it won’t let you re-use your old password. There’s no way around this one; you must make up a new one. Before you do, see my report The Big Password Mistake That Hackers are Hoping You’ll Make.

• The site won’t accept your new e-mail address as a valid user ID. This happened to me when a site required at least one numeric in the e-mail address, but mine didn’t have one. I was forced to use a different user ID.

• Don’t forget to change the e-mail settings or user IDs in computer software such as Quicken, as well as in all devices and apps you use. Otherwise, like me, you may sit down to stream a movie at home one Saturday night only to learn that you forgot to change your user ID in the streaming device.

Cutting the cord

All things must end, even your old e-mail address. But if you just can’t bear to give it up even after the new one is running smoothly, set up an e-mail Autoresponder on the old account which tells others that the address has been discontinued and suggests contacting you “by other means,” but without disclosing any contact info (you don’t want to give spammers your new address).

If, even after reading all of this, you’re still squeamish about changing your e-mail address, relax. Take a deep breath. And do it.

21 Ridiculously Hot Products That Every Ridiculously Cold Person Will Want

In many parts of the country, winter has already arrived in full force, slamming states in the Midwest and the Rockies with up to 18 inches of snow. What’s worse: It’s only November, which means frigid temps aren’t going away for a long time.

During these trying, cold months, we will do anything to avoid the chattering cold that is the outdoors, because the cold life is a struggle.

And we want to make this life easier, so we’ve found 21 heated gadgets that will help you cruise through all your blistering cold days ahead. Soon enough, you’ll be feeling like you’re vacationing on a tropical island, sun, sand and actual time off work not included.

Behold, a day in the life of someone who is never cold.

1. Start your mornings off right with this ToastyMUG. It simultaneously warms your hands as you sip your tea.

Credit: Photographer: Enrico Gordi

2. After you get out of your shower, keep things cozy by wrapping yourself in a towel from this towel warmer.

3. Apply some heated lotion to your skin from this Conair Heated Lotion Dispenser.

4. Throw on these battery-heated pants.

5. Bundle up your feet in these heated socks.

6. These battery-powered heated gloves may be for people who ride bikes and motorcycles, but you’ll be happy to have them for just walking outside.

7. Now, zip up this heated jacket and head out the door!

8. When you get into your car, your hands will stay warm thanks to this heated steering wheel cover.

9. Pick up your friend and let them enjoy the pleasure of sitting on a heated car seat.

10. Once you get to work, wear this heated shawl. It’s powered by a USB cord!

11. Then plop yourself down on this vibrating heated office chair.

12. Click through your day with this heated mouse.

13. Place your feet on this heated footrest.

14. And when lunchtime rolls around, eat your steaming hot soup from this portable Crock-Pot food warmer.

15. Once you return home, slip on these heated slippers.

16. Remain warm with a heated toilet seat.

17. Relax beneath this luxurious Sunbeam Sherpa/Mink Heated Throw.

18. Better yet, wrap your whole body up in this Venture Heated Clothing Huggie Buddie Robe.

19. Keep your hands warm as you binge-watch Netflix with these super-cute Smoko Toast USB Handwarmers.

20. And keep the back of your neck warm with Dr. Bob’s Neck Wrap Heating Pad.

21. Finally, drift off to sleep on this heated mattress pad.

The Case For Social Media and Hashtag Activism

Social Media: Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking

Activism: The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change.

My husband is one of those individuals who have chosen a life of complete abstinence from social media. Well almost complete — he has a LinkedIn account. It is a practice that I admired and at times am even jealous of. However, it wasn’t until I saw how unaware of the atrocities occurring in Gaza he was that I began to revisit my envy towards his social-media-free lifestyle. That’s when I became exceedingly appreciative of Twitter and Facebook.

People are on social media for very different reasons. I initially joined Facebook to keep in touch with family members in Europe and Pakistan. It wasn’t until I joined Twitter last year that I saw the potential power of social media and started using it as a tool for my activism. As an activist, I saw social media as an opportunity to spread the word about various causes at a faster rate, and to a bigger number of people, than through traditional methods.

With the advent of computers and the internet, there were many skeptics who believed that email would never become an integral part of society. While hand-written letters are still considered a charming method of correspondence, in the United States and other developed countries, email is the primary source of communication. But the two cannot be fairly compared; each has its uses. People never thought banking could be done online or even that paper newspapers would be nearly extinct. We still have reporting, but the medium has changed. No one quite predicted the extent that these new methods would basically cancel out the old ones.

I propose that the use of social media as an instrument for activism will follow, if not already is, the same trajectory. Social media is one of the most powerful forms of activism, and (dare I say) a catalyst for change. Here’s why:

1. With social media, you can send more messages to more people, more quickly.

It allows us to connect with people all over the world. According to The Cultureist infographic created in 2013, 500 million people log into Facebook every day and 175 million tweets are sent around the world daily. This is why large corporations are now on Twitter – they are dealing with customer service issues and even buying tweets to promote their companies. Businessweek reports that companies like Dell, GM, JetBlue and others realize the power of microblogging (such as Twitter) as a means to stay in touch with their customers. Because of the sheer number of people that can be reached, Twitter and Facebook ads are also used by companies to promote new idea and products.

2. Social media has the potential to bring to people fair and balanced news coverage with little or no bias of mainstream corporate media or propaganda, thereby becoming the de facto news.

Facebook and Twitter posts have the capacity to provide truthful, fairly unbiased, unedited stories and photos with an organic system of checks and balances, where the high number of people who are able to see posts at any given moment refute information they believe is false, helping to ensure that fictitious stories are nipped in the bud. Twitter and Facebook are also filled with reputable independent journalists who are on site and usually reporting stories firsthand. The 140 characters of Tweets are not sufficient to tell the full story, but enough to give initial report and provide links to full reports, otherwise inaccessible.

Social media also has its disadvantages and is still subject to a certain level of bias. However, it may be the closest thing we have left to a true form of news. It is a whole new structure of how we learn about the goings on of the world.

After NBC correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin was pulled out of Gaza for reporting on the killing of four Palestinian boys playing soccer on a beach by the Israeli Defense Force, the hashtag #LetAymanReport was created to bring attention to the issue. Within 24 hours he was on his way back to Gaza.

Thanks for all the support. Im returning to #Gaza to report. Proud of NBC’s continued commitment to cover the #Palestinian side of the story

— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) July 18, 2014

3. Social media gives people the power to call out injustices, inaccuracies and misrepresentations and brings about better understanding of other cultures and people.

Alice in Arabia was a show created by Brook Eikmeier, a woman “who previously served in the U.S. Army as a cryptologic linguist in the Arabic language.” She decided her time in the Middle East gave her carte blanche to tell a story that didn’t belong to her, not to mention one that perpetuated many stereotypes. It was a Twitter hashtag campaign, #AliceinArabia that highlighted the many issues people had with the show, such as perpetuating a stereotypical story of oppressive Arabs/Muslim men and the lack of using people of color as writers in the industry. Many demanded the humanizing of the “other” and in fact called out the network for perpetuating the “otherness” of Arab/Muslims.

The hashtag campaign created enough pressure and ultimately led to ABC pulling the show. Mediums like Twitter give people the platform to amplify their concerns, demand authentic storytelling, and create dialogue that may eventually dispel stereotypes.

4. By organizing, creating and supporting hashtag campaigns, people from all over the world can get involved in important conversations.

Hashtags have the power to bring attention to and mobilize a large population. Petitions, protests, letters to politicians and those in power are disseminated through social media, but what brings attention to a movement or a hashtag is the high number of mentions of a hashtag, which is what brings it worldwide attention. Twitter, and other social media platforms, has an analytics system where they track and follow hashtags. They are able to give followers the top ten hashtags in the world, in the U.S., or in chosen the area of the follower, as well. On the home page, twitter displays the “trends” for all to see and click on.

Twitter, more than Facebook, is more sophisticated than we think. It is more intelligent, in fact. (Facebook now uses the hashtags first used on Twitter, as well.) The use of hashtags (the hash or pound sign used to identify messages on a specific topic) is the most vital part of social media activism.

Hashtags have long been seen as a lazy, yet creative, way to clump up our thoughts and add to the end of our social media posts. Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon even did a skit on the overuse of hashtags. By tweeting (a posting made on the social media website Twitter) and retweeting (repost or forward a message posted by another user) these Hashtags start to trend (a Hashtag-driven topic popular at particular time) and become more visible which brings attention to a certain topic.

Another example is #WeneedDiverseBooks and #SupportWNDB hashtags created by a group of writers who were concerned about the lack of diverse representation of protagonists in books. Because of the hashtag campaign, a website dedicated to diversity in literature was launched, and the #WeNeedDiverseBooks organization was a part of the BookCon Diversity Panel, which was held on May 31, 2014 in New York City. It is an ongoing project with a goal and a group of people dedicated to bring about change in literature.

5. Social media is a more accessible way of activism for those who cannot leave the home.

Individuals with certain disabilities, caretakers and those with young children can be involved in activism and not be limited by their inability to physically mobilize. This gives opportunity to highlight that which was previously unheard and unseen — making the voices we hear more diverse and a more true reflection of reality.

6. Social media equals power, as demonstrated by certain countries banning or controlling access.</p

Show more