daylight

Paul Anderson, an inventor based in Oregon, has created an iPhone accessory called the Daylight Viewfinder, which blocks out stray sunlight and improves your ability to see images on the screen when framing your shots.

The device is made up of two components: an eyepiece attachment and a dedicated camera app. Users first need to launch the app, and then affix the eyepiece attachment to a specific part of the iPhone screen via a suction cup. … Read more

It may not be terribly surprising that many of us find our moods dipping over the course of the day, and that by nightfall we light up again. Or that our moods are perkiest on weekends, regardless of which days our weekends fall on (i.e., Fridays and Saturdays in the United Arab Emirates).

What's of note, according to an analysis of 2.4 million tweets in 84 countries by researchers out of Cornell, is that these mood trends hold steady across cultures and borders, hinting at some sort of deeper trend whose basis is in being human, not … Read more

Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad yet again had difficulty adjusting to daylight saving time.

Frustrated U.S. iDevice users on Facebook, Twitter, and Apple forums griefed over the weekend that their gadgets fell back an hour instead of springing forward.

This means many alarms went off went off at incorrect times yesterday and today, making people late for appointments, church, and whatever else people do on Sunday mornings (as for me, just don't wake me up).

"Thanks iPod Touch and iPhone for making me late to work! DST is not working properly," Twitter user iSiC_XXIII wrote.

Wrote Twitter user meemnoonwowrah: "Wife's iPhone needed a reboot to fix DST time switch. My Android phone was automatic. Even MS has that fixed. Come on Apple. Step ya game up."

The fix is easy, according to PCMag.com. "Either power the phone off and turn it on again, or go into the device's settings and switch Airplane Mode on briefly, then flip it off." … Read more

EarthView offers a look at the globe in real time. With simple controls and a crystal-clear satellite view, this is a fun addition to any desktop or screensaver.

EarthView's interface is a user-friendly affair that allows you to customize your view of the globe. Controls are unmistakable and fun to tinker with. In addition, there is a Help file for anyone still feeling confused about this basic program. Viewing Earth is not difficult, but choosing which view may be a little more work. The program's controls provide simple access to the entire globe. Clicking a few buttons will … Read more

Daylight-saving time really messes with the guys of The 404. Today, we realize how old we are when compacts discs are 30 years old. Obviously, teens prefer MP3s over CDs; audiophiles die a little. Another teen creates Muziic, a program that lets you build a music library from YouTube. And finally, Walgreens starts to sell sex toys.

With music, pictures and now your documents living online, it's not going to be long before your pr0n collection moves there. Justin feels pretty compelled to write guidelines on how to do this. As a matter of fact, he's become quite the expert on how to do it in your \System32\ folder on your Windows partitioned, disguised as a temporary cache.

Congratulations to Elizabeth for winning a copy of House of the Dead: Overlord for the Nintendo Wii. Right now, "The Nerdy Dirty" is leading our contest for a 404 motto, but we're waiting to see what our community comes up with the phrase "Not found." As always, call in at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Or send us an e-mail at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. We've got more giveaways coming up--I know, it sounds like we're bribing you, but you gotta do what you gotta do to get those listeners.

Remember that month in 2007 when everybody was talking about the Daylight Savings changes? You do? Well, so did Microsoft, which is why they released updates to address the changes. Now, if you're running an older system without the benefit of Automatic Updates, or if you just like to stay "off the grid," there's this handy tool to ensure your aging or isolated system doesn't spring forward too late, or fall back too early.

This is the simplest of tools. There's no installation--just run the downloaded file. There are only two buttons, so even … Read more

Perhaps it's because we're often doing a rapid scan of a bajillion or so headlines before the sun comes up, but we missed a story in last Wednesday's Wall Street Journal about what happened when some laggard counties in Indiana finally got around to adopting daylight-saving time. As it turned out, flipping the switch to DST actually added to the state's collective electric bill by about $8.6 million, contrary to conventional wisdom and the exhortations of politicians. (Tip o' the nightcap to Slashdot for bringing the story to our belated attention.)

Enlighten yourself at WSJ.… Read more

The Philips Dynamic Daylight Window opens a window (pun intended) to an innovative idea. It's almost like the Transitions eyewear folks had a Vulcan mind meld with Philips' Ambilight engineers: The result is a window that lets you control how much lighting you want to let through, with part of the adjustment creating an artificial window-blind effect, according to Coolest-Gadgets, and the other adjusting the light itself so the sky can look a different color. Besides everyday use for homes in sunny climes, it could help with such setbacks as jet lag and Seasonal Affective Disorder. The only catch … Read more

When daylight saving time came two weeks early this year, there was concern that there might be a host of problems. There were some, but like the Y2K bug, there was not widespread mayhem and chaos as the movie-of-the-week industry might have hoped.

But Congress didn't just spring forward a little early this year. It's also is making us wait a week longer to fall back. Instead of changing this past weekend, we don't go back until next weekend. I thought most of the gadgets would know, but it appears not all of them got the message. … Read more