Tag: design

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Behavioral Nudges Reduce Failure to Appear for Court (via Science)

Daniel Katz

ABSTRACT: “Each year, millions of Americans fail to appear in court for low-level offenses, and warrants are then issued for their arrest. In two field studies in New York City, we make critical information salient by redesigning the summons form and providing text message reminders. These interventions reduce failures to appear by 13-21% and lead to 30,000 fewer arrest warrants over a 3-year period. In lab experiments, we find that while criminal justice professionals see failures to appear as relatively unintentional, laypeople believe they are more intentional. These lay beliefs reduce support for policies that make court information salient and increase support for punishment. Our findings suggest that criminal justice policies can be made more effective and humane by anticipating human error in unintentional offenses.” Access Full Article.

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Jawbone Up Fitness Rubber Band Review

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A review gallery post with full width featured image enabled. Anyone who bought one of Jawbone’s much-hyped Up fitness bands last year found themselves an unwitting participant in a beta test. The brand-new platform promised to get you up and exercising, help you sleep and eat better, and make you more stylish to boot — and we liked it. But there were some missing features, and some overly simple software for the device.

And then the Up started breaking. Weeks and months after being purchased, our review unit and many others simply stopped taking charges or turning on. Jawbone acknowledged the fault, offered its buyers a no-questions-asked refund (even if you just didn’t like the thing, you could return it), and went back to the drawing board.

Are you dealing in calories and carbohydrates, or points and badges?

I wear my watch almost everywhere, but I take it off when I sit at my laptop. It’s just uncomfortable having the band scratching and scraping around the palmrest, and it forces me to perch my arms awkwardly above the keyboard. That’s not a problem for my watch, which doesn’t need to be worn all the time, but I had to take off the Up as well because it caused the same problems.

Tracking your life

The Up tracks three things: activity, sleeping, and eating. The first is simple, requiring only that you wear the bracelet. Its engine turns the motion of your wrist into calories burned, steps walked, and active versus inactive time.

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UP by Jawbone http://jawbone.com/up

The Up’s vibrating motor is used for two different alarm features, both of which I’ve come to love. When you’re sleeping at night, you can set your alarm, and the Up will rouse you up to 30 minutes before that time based on when you’re in lighter sleep and will wake up feeling better.

Wrap-up

I’ve now lived with both the $99.99 Jawbone Up and $99.95 Fitbit Ultra fitness devices so you’re probably wondering which I would recommend? So am I, honestly.

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Bowers & Wilkins Speakers

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Few simple powered speakers for the PC has been around for a tenner.You do not have to spend much more to give his ears to hear something. But who wants to treat his ears something, you have something to fall deeper into their pockets: From about 80 Euros you get even speaker structure, the “sound of something” that produce audible bass and which still makes listening to music for several hours of fun.

But what gets who spends a multiple thereof, are PC speaker is on the desk, which cost 400, 500 or even 800 euros? You pay all the money only an expensive name and chic design? Or is the difference really audible?

Even turned up they still sound clear and round, without distorting the complex construction pays off.

Since the first would be the Bose Computer Music Monitor, which acts initially tiny. Ridiculous 12.5 centimeters, each of the two boxes high, 6.5 inches wide. That for as little speaker after all supposed to pay about 400 euros, makes me skeptical. Good sound volume needs that everyone knows. And volume have these mini things that fit loosely in my hand, so just do not. As there should arise a useful sound?

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Sound in stealth mode

This is not only the unusual design, that on closer examination can not guess where under the black fabric covering the speakers are hidden.That they are there, however, is perfectly audible in operation. Powerful bass are accompanied here by crisp highs. On the treble B & W is proud anyway. The tweeter is a special construction in which a resonance tube is connected directly to the sound generator. The result should be a particularly good separation of high and low frequencies.

Not so good playing the MM-21 in the central region on the other hand, the person something sounds too washed out.

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Vespa GTS 300 Super Review

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Before content review box and a Vespa scooter is not conventional, but a special kind to ride on two wheels with leg shield. Whether the new technology in the 300 GTS Super blends with the traditional look, clarifies the practical test.

The Vespa GTS 300 Super is not just a scooter.It is the top manufacturer of Italian tradition, the successor to the glorious GS and sellers at the big scooters in Germany.No wonder real hot scooter Vespa or Lambretta times now.The first brand is rather forgotten and the second still successful.

But with the new 300 Sport is respectively sportiness in the foreground, and less racing.

So it first went on the famous Milan ring road towards Linate. On cue, all went – we were now only 18 because the colleagues Ehn and Farkas are demolished because of a (almost) red light – the heads of a. High-speed test. To have, as always, the lightweight overweight chosen for themselves.

The Ancestral Scooter Territory

Thither namely asked us Piaggio for the first test drive with the GTS 300 Super. Super alone was the sight of twenty Vespas outside the hotel, aligned neatly, one black and one white. The Super’s only in these two colors.Since then even the layman knows that there is no 250.But it is also identified on the lateral cooling slots in the rear panel, just like at times the air cooling. Also, there is the racy red spring on the front suspension.

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Finally, because of the increasing afternoon traffic density were the photographers soon more cars and buses and trams, now and again passers-by, as we Scooteristi front of the camera (s). While it all looked in awe at the Vespa horde but not realized that they cause picture interference. So it first went on the famous Milan ring road towards Linate. On cue, all went – we were now only 18 because the colleagues Ehn and Farkas are demolished because of a (almost) red light – the heads of a. High-speed test. To have, as always, the lightweight overweight chosen for themselves.

Conclusion

Even with the Super-Vespa is no room under the seat for a full face helmet. Will not you walk around with his hat in his hand in town and country, you have to take a jet helmet. There’s quite dashing goods, but that is not cheap, as the Vespa itself 5,000 Euronen are not little. But you get something real, which, if it is not too often ghaut to the Earth ‘, his money is worth.

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Light Painting Evolved

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Gif animations included in this post. Add photoreal images, abstract designs, and animation to your long exposure photos and timelapse. Light painting is a fairly simple to do. The first step is to make sure you have the right equipment. Almost every DSLR, and most point-and-shoots, have a long exposure mode.

Pixelstick began as a proof of concept using an arduino and some off the shelf LED strips. We got results, but weren’t happy with the resolution of nor with the durability and usability of the actual device.

It’s as simple as choosing the length of the exposure (from a few seconds to a few hours) and moving a light source within the frame. The process itself is fun and the excitement of seeing what you captured immediately can be extremely rewarding.

The fine detail

Pixelstick reads images created in Photoshop (or the image editor of your choice) and displays them one line at a time, creating endless possibilities for abstract and/or photorealistic art. Taking this one step further, Pixelstick can increment through a series of images over multiple exposures, opening up light painting to the world of timelapse, and allowing for animations the likes of which have never before seen.

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Rainbows are no longer beholden to the laws of physics

The Tale of pixelstick

Pixelstick began as a proof of concept using an arduino and some off the shelf LED strips. We got results, but weren’t happy with the resolution of nor with the durability and usability of the actual device. We moved quickly into custom LED circuit boards, a more powerful ARM microcontroller and a sturdier design made of lightweight aluminum rather than plastic tubing. With the ability to control the density of the LED count while at the same time refining the custom aluminum extrusion, the current version of pixelstick began to take shape.

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Animation to your long exposure photos and timelapse.

Each iteration performed better and was tweaked as we logged more hours with the pixelstick.

The full package contains:

  • LED PCBs (198 LEDs total)
  • Two 3’ aluminum extrusion with connecting bracket & diffusion lens
  • Handle with foam grip and rotating sleeve
  • Controller box with connecting cables and clips
  • Battery holder (AA Batteries not included)
  • Carry bag