Faroese archipielago

Faroe Islands – a group of small islands in the North Atlantic Ocean between Scotland and Iceland. In the archipelago, which consists of 18 volcanic islands with a total area of ​​1,400 square kilometers, now live 50,000 people.

the Winter

Banquet in China

Livescribe Sky

The humble smartpen gets Wi-Fi and Evernote integration in its latest outing.

We have long been fans of Livescribe’s Smartpens at PC & Tech Authority, and the latest version may be the best one yet, thanks to integrated Wi-Fi and a new partnership with Software developer Evernote.
For those who are unfamiliar with Livescribe, it makes pens that contain an ARM processor, special camera and audio recording functionality. By using special notebooks you write normally, and the pen syncs audio to your notes. You can then access a digital version of the notebook, within which you can select a note and hear what was being recorded at that point in time.
For those who do a lot of notetaking, like journalists and students, the smartpens are a wonderful solution. In the past the resultant output was accessed through a piece of software called Livescribe Desktop. However the Sky now outputs to the highly popular cross platform Evernote software, meaning that you can access your content on Android, iOS, OS X, Blackberry and the various Windows platforms.
Setup is a breeze. The Sky syncs to either a Wi-Fi hotspot or directly to your mobile device. This process is handled by using the pen with a special control panel printed on the front of the included starter notebook (there are also stickers that enable this functionality on older notebooks). This allows you to enter passwords, although the Pen won’t pair with Wi-Fi networks that require login through a webpage or the like. If you don’t sync to the network, data remains stored on the pen until the next time you join one, at which point it is uploaded to Evernote.
When you then open the Journal saved to Evernote it pushes you to a web-based Livescribe player, which allows you to navigate through audio recordings by selecting text. The initial experience feels somewhat clunky, but we found after time the sheer power of having synced audio and handwritten notes accessible on all our devices outweighed the annoyances.Livescribe already makes excellent, highly useful, products. With the Sky it has made a big step forward, and the partnership with Evernote is a natural – if for the moment slightly awkward –  fit. For those who rely heavily on note taking and recording in their work or study, the Livescribe Sky is a fantastic compromise between the paper-based and digital worlds.

Maximo iSpO2 Connects to the iPhone and Measures the Amount of Oxygen in Your Blood

If you’re the sort that always wants to know how your help is at any given time a new accessory for the iPhone has turned up that will let you see how much oxygen is in your blood. The device comes from a company called Masimo and is the iSpO2

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The device plugs into a 30-pin connector on the bottom of an iPhone or iPad and interfaces with a free app. While pulse oximetry technology is used in hospitals around the world to determine how much oxygen is in the blood of people who are sick, Masimo says this device isn’t for medical use. Instead, it’s suggesting the device for hikers, climbers, and pilots who want to know how much oxygen is in the blood at any given time.
The company has stated US FDA 510 (k) clearance is pending. Whether or not that means it will be appropriate for medical use after that approval is given is unknown. The device sells for about $250 and the app will store your readings and export them in various formats to share with other apps or your doctor.

Leap Wireless and MetroPCS Announce Handset Financing Options

There are many good things about no contract carriers like Leap Wireless and MetroPCS. The biggest benefit is that you don’t have to sign a contract and you can cancel whenever you want. The big downside to wireless carriers like these is that you have to pay the full purchase price of the handset up front.

That means if you want something like the iPhone 5, you could pay as much as $500 upfront. That can be a lot of money to come up with for many people. Both Leap Wireless and MetroPCS have announced that they are now offering handset financing programs. Metro PCS is working with Progressive Finance and BillFloat. Leap Wireless is working with Progressive Finance.
The financing services require no credit check as long as the buyer has an active checking account the finance companies can access for monthly payments. Users can finance any combination of smart phone hardware and accessories $200 and over. With this plan, users could walk in and get an iPhone 5 with the first month service for only $105 out-of-pocket. Accounts paid within 90 days get no interest charged but the buyer can take up to nine months.