Headworx

Since my last year's switch to iPhone after the 6-years old Android Blackberry died in October I must say I have zero complaints. Maybe I'm just ageing. But the thing is there is hardly anything to complain about and hardly anything to add or improve. The apps have no lag, the display is crisp, there are tons of connectivity options, including dual/esim, WiFi calling and even satellite emergency. Yes the satellite option is a bit limited, but thinking about it, I still prefer carrying the  Garmin inReach Mini on multi-day remote hikes - it is way more rugged and at 100 grams hardly adds any bulk. On the wish list I only have the visual style improvement of the CarPlay interface (Android Auto is much sleeker) and separate volume settings for different categories of sounds (say loud alarm clock and soft notifications). I understand iPhone 15 is the most expensive and most advanced phone today (not counting the foldables), but still it seems the phones have plateaued. Of course t

Apple has successfully leveraged popularity of its phones to create a global device tracking system known as Find My network. The way it works is you buy an AirTag (an Apple accessory), which is a Bluetooth - based puck the size of a big button, and then you attach it to whatever you want to track. There is an initial setup / pairing process after which the AirTag starts working on its own, generally by periodically broadcasting a Bluetooth signal. There is also a phone app called Find My, which receives the signal. Bluetooth is a short range radio, so if the app receives the signal it means the tracked device is nearby. There are also some additional tracking aids such as you can (from teh app) trigger the AirTag to beep or you can enable another radio in the AirTag (the Ultra Wide Band - UWB) which enables precise direction and distance estimation, so the phone will direct you to look under the couch or in a jacket pocket in the closet. The real power of the system though starts shin

My most remembered bus trip was in 2013 in Cambodia - a night ride from Phnom Penh (the capital) to Krong Siem Reap (the town near the famous Angkor Wat temple complex). The window views were absolutely unreal, as the darkness was impenetrable, with galaxies above our heads and hundreds of violet tubes on the horizon. The tubes were used to attract insects which were then captured and used as a food source. Insects are now considered super food and have been very popular in Cambodia for years. And the popular harvesting method is based on blue/violet light attracting them in the night. Insects' vulnerability to blue light has now become a serious problem. They were not affected by "warm" sodium street lights. But now sodium lights are being upgraded to LEDs, which emit way more cold/blue light which tricks insects. And they are dying . Which is a very, very serious problem. One of the biggest impacts of insect loss is on the many birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish that

ABI research has recently released a comprehensive study covering Bluetooth® technology in industrial applications. The report is titled "How Can Bluetooth Technology Enable Digital Transformation Across The Industrial IoT?" and can be downloaded here: https://go.abiresearch.com/lp-how-can-bluetooth-technology-enable-digital-transformation-across-the-industrial-iot . It is important for a number of reasons. In the past Bluetooth had been associated with simple short range connections between consumer products and accessories. In other words - small scale topologies in not very demanding applications. The ABI paper is one of the first exploring the large scale deployments in demanding industrial applications. The applicability of Bluetooth technologies to industrial applications is not a surprise to those deeply familiar with the technical aspects of Bluetooth - after all this is the most potent low power wireless technology available. Plus it has super long term and ambitious