January 2017 – Page 2

How to Maximize Your MacBook Battery Life

Apple has released the latest generation of the MacBook Pros as well as the newer 12″ MacBook Retina, and in most regards they deliver a slim, lightweight experience while still getting the job done. However, there has been a lot of disruption in the ranks as to exactly how much battery life the units have at their disposal. This is something I suffered with too, until I started monitoring the MacBook’s performance and power usage. By doing so I was able to greatly extend the laptop’s run time. And the tool I used to do this was the free coconutBattery system monitor app.

coconutBattery System Monitor

The coconutBattery app is simple to download and install – just be sure that you get it from a reputable location on the web, as it is with all of the distributed free applications out there. Once you have it installed, you will want to monitor the total Watts that the laptop is consuming at a given time. The goal is to reduce this whenever you can.

Luckily the coconutBattery monitor app makes this easy by letting you put the current watt consumption along with other data right on the toolbar. As you can see, I have chosen to have watts and time remaining displayed for a quick sanity check on power, But you can choose from several options to display. This also gives you back the total runtime left on your MacBook, something that Apple removed in a recent update to the macOS.

In the actual screenshot above of the MacBook Retina laptop that I am using to write this, I am currently using 3.6 watts of energy (leftmost display numbers). This will give me 9+ hours of runtime on my current charge of 87%. Also note that I am running several background processes that also impact battery life, including OneDrive, DropBox, Time Machine, and WiFi.

Monitoring For A Clear Picture

The main thing to do once you get a “real time” power monitor in place is to experiment with what takes the most energy and avoid it. Chrome, for example, hits the power wattage a bit hard, kicking it up to 6+ watts on typical use, At times DropBox will spike usage, but it tends to settle down after a few moments. Microsoft’s Office products on the Mac tend to be rather well behaved, at least with my testing. And Safari, despite the recent Consumer Reports results, is the more economical browser when it comes to power. In fact, I am actively running Safari at this moment and I am still getting strong numbers for battery life.

I know that no two individuals are typically going to have the exact same use for their laptop, so there really isn’t any hard rules. Instead, you should consider downloading the power wattage meter of your choice (I do like coconutBattery) and take a few moments to identify your battery killers. You might be surprised at how much runtime you can get out of your new MacBook.

Ford GT Sports A Digital Instrument Cluster

Greg Chaffins

The Ford GT supercar is not your average daily driver. And the information you are going to need from an instrument cluster is going to change depending on how you are driving the wonderful beast. So how does Ford approach this issue? They built a digital instrument cluster that can change as needed, affording you a quick streamlined information view that is in line with such factors as driving environment and speed at which the car is going.

The GT’s display is about 10 inches across, and displays information based on the current driving mode. This is controlled by a steering wheel mounted control knob, and the driver can select such things as Normal, Wet, Sport, Track, and the exciting sounding V-Max modes. As each mode is selected, the car adjusts accordingly, changing such things as ride height, traction control settings, transmission shift points, and even rear spoiler position.

The display adapts as needed – for example, in Normal mode, the vehicle’s current speed is front and center. In Track mode, the speed is off to the side and the current gear along with engine speed take the prominent positions. And when you are in V-Max, a.k.a. maximum velocity mode, speed again comes to the forefront with supporting information flanking it. The display isn’t customizable, but Ford engineers have put a lot of thought and design into what is displayed for each given mode.

Coming Soon To Other Vehicles

The good news is that Ford is planning to bring the digital instrument cluster to their other vehicles as well. This means that you don’t have to have a Ford GT to appreciate the effort that went into the digital instruments. But to be honest, I don’t know if the instrument cluster is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the beautiful Fort GT Supercar. In fact, I know it isn’t, but it’s still nice to see that Ford is trying to provide the driver with the pertinent information so that they concentrate on job number 1 – driving the Ford GT.

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China Builds World’s Highest Gravitational Wave Telescope

Greg Chaffins

On a spot in Tibet situated over 5,250 meters (17,200 feet) above sea level, China is building a telescope designed to research gravitational waves. The area is ideal, given that it has a clear view of the sky and human activity is very minimal. The telescope, code named Ngari No. 1, is already under construction with an operational date of 2021.

Ngari No. 1, as hinted by the name, is only the first of several such telescopes China is building, The second project, Ngari No. 2, will be built at an altitude of about 6,000 meters and consists of a series of telescopes.

Clearer View of the Universe

Gravitational waves offer a unique way to study the universe, since they are unaffected by typical cosmic noise. They do interact very weakly with matter as they travel through space at the speed of light, allowing their study to be informative about the universe.

Gravitational waves are completely different from standard electromagnetic radiation that otherwise populates the universe. They can be considered a “ripple” in the fabric of space time itself, created by violent events taking place in the universe. Colliding black holes, supernovas, coalescing neutron stars, and even the creation of the universe itself are theorized to generate gravitational waves.

Recent Proof

Einstein proposed the existence of the waves in his Theory of General Relativity, but it wasn’t until February 2016 that scientists could prove their existence. The experiment by Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detected the gravitational waves produced by two black holes colliding over 1.3 billion years ago.

The researchers were able to isolate the the source of the waves to a location near the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy found in the southern Earth sky. The discovery opens the door for new ways to view the universe. As Kip Thorne, a theoretical physicist from Caltech, said,

With this discovery, we humans are embarking on a marvelous new quest: the quest to explore the warped side of the universe — objects and phenomena that are made from warped space-time. Colliding black holes and gravitational waves are our first beautiful examples.

With the construction of China’s Gravitational Telescopes we are seeing the application of the theory. As to where it will lead, this is unknown at the moment. But there is a whole universe out there to explore, so anything could happen.

Casio WSD-F20 Rugged Android Wear Smartwatch

Greg Chaffins

In the past I have worn triple sensor Casio watches with a host of features, and I really liked them. In my opinion, these were probably the first real smart watches that had a practical application. Of course, today a Smartwatch has a slightly different connotation, and it is great to see that Casio is bringing the lineup into the future. Now they have announced the latest in their lineup, the WSD-F20 PRO TREK Smart watch.

GPS Tracking and Mapping

The WSD-F20 is an update from the previous WSD-F10, adding GPS tracking with mapping. What you will still find is the big styling with a large multi-function timepiece and the ever present rubber feeling wrist strap. It even looks durable, all built in an enclosure that is waterproof down to 50 meters. You can even be confident in its durability when you are charging it, since the exposed magnetic port shares the same water resistant design.

The WSD-F20 fully utilizes Android Wear 2.0 with custom Casio extensions to make sure things work as expected. There you will find on the 320 by 300 pixel display custom screens for tide information, barometer, altitude and compass data, arranged in a conveniently accessible manner.

Smart Use Of Android Wear

But you will still find the typical Android Wear 2.0 accessories, such as Google Assistant, Google Music, and third party apps. And to make the watch easier on the battery than a typical Android Wear watch, the WSD-F20 cleverly arranges a low power lcd screen positioned directly behind the high resolution unit. To activate this secondary screen simply cover the watch with your hand for a moment – this could prove to be a valuable option if you are out in the woods for an extended period of time.

Shipping In April

The exact retail price for the Casio WSD-F20 is still unknown at this time, but it is slated to become available starting April 21, 2017. Casio has developed its durable sensor laden watch line into a serious competitor to other smart devices on the market, mostly by leveraging existing expertise with the best that Android Wear has to offer. This is one smart watch that really is a smart design.