enhance

Prius' artificial engine noise demonstrated, explained

The approval of the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act last year essentially mandated that electric vehicles or hybrids running only on electric power--devoid of the actual engine noise that makes pedestrians (particularly the visually impaired) aware that a vehicle is approaching--must now generate some sort of artificial proximity notification noise. However, although the Act mandated that EVs must make a sound, it didn't specify exactly what sound they should make. This means that every EV and hybrid manufacturer is free to make its cars sound like anything.

Toyota has released a video that explains the vehicle proximity notification sound designed … Read more

A beginner's guide to telecom jargon, part 7

The mobile world moves at a breakneck pace, and it's difficult to keep up--even without the technical jargon most industry insiders throw around. And they do love to toss those terms around.

This week, I explain what the difference between a computer chip and chipset is, the difference between regular and Enhanced 911, and why for companies, breaking up is hard to do.

So for some light reading, here are a few terms (and definitions) commonly used by telecommunications experts who assume everyone understands them.

Breakup Fee: OK, so this isn't exactly a telecom term, but it's … Read more

Have a chat with a Verbot

Most of us have encountered online chat robots, virtual people who can hold conversations--at least sort-of--with mixed and sometimes hilarious results. Verbot lets users create their very own such robots. It takes some effort to learn how to use Verbot, and even more to create a bot that's capable of decent conversation. But if you're willing to invest some time, Verbot can be a fun and useful program.

Verbot comes with both an editor, which lets users create rules for their Verbots, and a player, which allows users to interact with their Verbots. Several sample Verbots are included … Read more

How to edit photos in iOS 5

Apple has added a lot of new features in iOS 5, one of them being the ability to edit pictures directly in the Photos app. This feature is very easy to use and almost feels like it has been there from day one, even though it has been noticably absent.

Look through the slideshow below for a step-by-step guide on how to edit photos on your Apple device on iOS 5.

Context menu customizer

Context menus, often called pop-up menus, keep functionality high and clutter low in operating systems like Windows. RBSoft's Right Click Enhancer bundles five free tools for customizing context menus. My Computer Manager adds nondeleting files or folders to My Computer or the Control Panel, while Right Click Tweaker adds up to 10 entries to context menus. Send To Manager let us add new destinations to the Send To command, and Right Click Shortcuts Creator adds shortcuts to files and folders to context menus. The Right Click Cascading Menu Creator is a little bit more sophisticated than the other tools. … Read more

Obscure image editing

There are photo-editing programs for all types of users, from the neophyte who simply needs to crop and resize to the hardcore photo geek who gets her kicks messing with editing algorithms. Image Analyzer is definitely for the photo geek; although it has many of the basic editing tools that would be expected of any such program, what makes it unique is an array of features that might flummox even more advanced users.

The program's interface is plain, with a set of menus and a toolbar across the top of the screen. The typical photo-editing tools are here; you … Read more

At just $4.99, watch the weather unfold on your computer screen with YoWindow! 50% savings.

Not sure if you need your rainboots or an umbrella today? Look no further than your computer screen and YoWindow will not only tell you the temperature, but it will show you what the weather is like outside. There are a ton of desktop weather apps, but YoWindow is a different kind of a weather app that is fun and useful at the same time.

Why? Here is a quick summary of what YoWindow does:

Watch the weather unfold in your city or anywhere around the world--see if it's rainy, sunny, hailing, or snowing outside your house or on … Read more

Follow-up report: President Obama signs Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act into law

It looks like automakers will be required by law to add audible alerts to silent-running electric vehicles to keep sight-impaired pedestrians safe.

President Barack Obama this week signed into law the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841), which will protect the blind and other pedestrians from injury as a result of silent-vehicle technology, said the National Federation of the Blind.

The new bill, sponsored by Senator John Kerry, and 29 other co-sponsors, allows the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) begin crafting standards for an alert sound.

"The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that this critical legislation … Read more

Search party

The great thing about search engines is that they can return pages and pages of results on just about any topic you can imagine. The bad thing, though, is that there's often no way to know anything about those results before you click on them. Are they legitimate, or are they spam, or even porn? BetterSearch is a Firefox extension that gives users more control over their search results by providing previews and other helpful features.

BetterSearch installs easily in Firefox and then integrates seamlessly with the search results of several major search engines, including Google, Yahoo, and Bing. … Read more