Self Destructing Phone

From noses to ears to phones. Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a mechanism that, when triggered, can destroy a Smartphone or other electronic device. The self-destruct mechanism consists of a polymer layer that rapidly expands when subjected to temperatures above 80 degrees Celsius, effectively bursting the phone open from the inside. The mechanism can be adapted to be triggered in various ways, including remotely through a Smartphone app or when it is subjected to pressure.

Once triggered, power from the device's battery is directed to electrodes that rapidly heat, causing the polymer layer to expand to about seven times its original size within 10-15 seconds. This crushes the vital components inside the device, destroying any stored information.

One engineer believes the phone will see adoption in the intelligence and financial communities first, though it can also be retrofitted to existing phones for about $15.

Tech Tidbits

Many people are afraid to charge their phone or tablet overnight because they think it might overcharge and destroy the battery, but modern electronics automatically stop charging and will not overcharge.

Do not leave your gadget in the car or outdoors as extreme heat and cold will harm both your battery life and battery health. Cell phone batteries can swell and be destroyed within hours due to extreme heat. In extreme cold areas batteries run out very fast

Older Nickel-Cadmium batteries had a memory effect that meant you had to drain them every time. Newer lithium-ion batteries do not have that problem. In fact, li-ion batteries last longest when you keep them between 40% and 80% charged.

Whether you shut down your computer nightly comes down to personal preference and the vagaries of Microsoft operating systems. If you never shut down your computer, it tends to slow down over time, so a restart every now and then will keep the speed up.

If your Internet connection is slower than usual, try unplugging both your modem and router from the Internet source for 10 to 15 seconds. This usually works to speed things up. Unplugging many from the power source does not work as they have internal batteries, so using the reset button another way to solve this.

Every Web browser has a private mode. When private browsing mode is on, the browser will not record where you go and it wipes most of the information someone could use to piece together your online travels. However, private browsing isn't foolproof. It doesn't hide your browsing from your Internet service provider, the sites you visit, or any law enforcement that happens to be watching. Companies typically log sites visited. Private just means that it is harder to find.

Geocaching

Do you like to get outside and explore? Want to do something fun? Geocaching is like a scavenger hunt for adults. It is played with your smartphone or GPS device. There is an app for most phones and it works with your built-in GPS on the phone. The phone guides you to the exact location, but then you need to look around to find the treasure.

There are millions of little treasures hidden around the world. Each has an exact location and a short description letting you know what you are looking for, such as a plastic pencil box, tin can, etc. When you find it, you sign the enclosed logbook and if there is a gift, you are expected to replace it with your own item of equal or greater value.

You can also log on to the internet and share your story with the over six million other players. There are even groups in many cities around the world that you can join to share stories.  I looked up my neighborhood and found the location of two caches, less than a half mile away. LINK  Happy hunting.