glitchnyc’s blog

clipped from www.csmonitor.com

Americans may fret that Wheat Thins cost 15 percent more than a year ago but in poor nations, such price hikes aren't taken lightly.

In Haiti, four people were killed in protests last week over a 50 percent rise in the cost of food staples in the past year. From Egypt to Vietnam, price rises of 40 percent or more for rice, wheat, and corn are stirring unrest

The food price hikes may not be temporary, according to the UN World Food Program, which sees long-lasting causes, such as spreading deserts and more demand for grain-fed meat.

clipped from www.abc.net.au

It's 2.55 pm You have an appointment across town at 3.30 pm. Should you leave now? Are you already late?

Your best answer to such time-related questions is usually an educated, probably overly optimistic, guess.

But a prototype watch that uses a calendar, a route planner, navigation applications, GPS and wireless internet could help get you where you're going on time.

This watch tells you which bus to catch to make your appointment, even if there are delays

For the perpetually late, the Just in Time Watch could improve punctuality and, its inventors hope, bring wristwatches back into fashion.

Frey, who developed the hardware and coded the software for the watch, equipped the device with the capability to connect via Bluetooth to mobile phones.

This gives the watch access to the internet and can thus synchronise it with appointments and access web-based navigation, timetable and traffic information services.