Emerging Technology News

Mechanical security locks date back thousands of years, evolving from wooden contraptions to more sophisticated time locks and combination locks, and it is safe to say that designing security locks has become an art form. Now electricians and security technicians work with locksmiths to create technologically advanced safety and security locks for use in the home and office. But is a high tech lock really a better “pick” than a good old-fashioned deadbolt?

There was considerable excitement among Balham residents last week, and if you had asked a Tooting estate agent why long, jostling queues of shoppers were forming, they would have told you that the newly revamped Sainsburys in Balham was being officially re-opened. This is great news for shoppers looking at houses for sale Balham, as convenient Sainsburys supermarkets and hypermarkets are known for their focus on high quality products.

With 537 supermarkets and 335 convenience stores currently in operation, Sainsburys is the UK’s second largest supermarket chain and also offers an online shopping service. Sainsburys is also active in the finances sector, Sainsburys Bank operating in partnership with HBOS. Now Sainsburys is offering an iPhone application to make the shopping experience even smoother for their consumers.

When travelling to China without a firm grasp of the local dialects, interpreting even the most basic phrases can seem as complex and daunting as legal documents translation. If you feel like you need the services of a court interpreter just to ask for directions, the Apple iPhone offers an elegant solution that will make your trip that much easier. The Pleco Chinese Dictionary allows you to simply point your iPhone camera at the words you wish to translate, and let the Camera Recogniser feature do the rest!

For those of us who live and breathe music, one place that most of us enjoy listening to our favourite tunes is in the car. For some of us, listening to our iPod shuffle through our earphones whilst we are driving can be dangerous and car manufacturers have realised this problem and have combined our iPod music selection with their cars advanced sound system. Here are three cars on the market that implore iPod technology, letting you leave your iPod accessories at home.

Anyone who keeps up with South African current affairs will know that rhino poaching has reached a disturbing high in South Africa and Zimbabwe, endangering black rhino and white rhino populations in Kruger Park lodges and other South African wildlife reserves. Poaching of rhinos for the purpose of selling their horns on the black market has caused rhino populations to drop severely worldwide. Ask any conservationist from the Arathusa Safari Lodge or Elephant Plains Game Lodge and they’ll tell you that wildlife poaching poses a serious threat to the endangered animals of South Africa, now more than ever.

Poaching methods, brutal as they are, have become increasingly organised over the years, with poachers targeting rhinos from helicopters and using state-of-the-art weapons, night-vision technology and specialised drugs. While it may seem that the villains have technology on their side, a new anti-poaching drive from WESSA (Wildlife and Environment Society of SA) will allow you to use technology to play your part in combating poaching.

Solar panels are an innovative and sustainable way of harnessing energy in an eco-friendly manner – but one has to admit they are hardly the most attractive pieces of green technology. Colourful LED light bulbs can add to the ambience of a green home, but solar power panels are primarily practical rather than being aesthetic. This could soon be changing though, as solar panel manufacturers in the UK and Europe are working on transparent solar cell technology – the thin film containing solar cells has a slight tint but is otherwise totally transparent.

As we all know, Apple pretty much have their fingers in each and every pie that they can find and now, Apple is once again embracing fitness with their Apples smart bicycle system which will include their iPod products. There has been much confusion over the source of the system as some reported that the bicycle was an actual bicycle called the iBike whereas others say it is a bike accessory that will incorporate your iPod.

Most people who don’t actually own an iPhone or an iPod Touch won’t actually be able to tell the difference between the two unless they were specifically told which is which. The only real difference when it comes down to it is that the iPod touch doesn’t have 3g network capabilities which enable one to make phone calls. But this will soon change according to rumours that are currently doing the rounds…

Any Streatham estate agent would be forced to admit that crime in the neighbourhood can be a problem. House hunters looking at flats for sale Balham may be deterred by the recent headlines which all seem to be about criminal activity. There is good news though; social networking is helping to unite residents and increase the sense of community in Balham and surrounding neighbourhoods.

The trendiest fitness fanatics will tell you that your MP3 player can greatly improve your workout – and not just through the motivational magic of power ballads. If you connect your iPod Nano, iPod Touch or iPhone to the Nike+iPod Sports Kit, you can track the time taken, distance covered and calories burned during your workout.

This Sports Kit is arguably one of the most useful iPod Nano accessories on the market, as it integrates the user’s fitness routine with the technology that is part of their everyday lifestyle. The collection and analysis of personal fitness data serves as a powerful motivation, and a growing number of people are using the iPod Nano or iPhone to track their fitness with Nike+ technology.