Top 10 Apps Every Car Owner Should Have - http://clapway.com/2015/06/29/top-10-apps-every-car-owner-should-have/

The Top 10 Apps Every Car Owner Should Have

Owning a car is a decision filled with responsibility, more so than one might imagine at first. Especially if the car you own is your very first car. To help out car owners and travelers alike, Neil Tohill, Director of Southside Motor Factors, has compiled a list of FREE apps every car owner should have. These apps help owners keep their car in check and their eyes on the road. His list is made up of everything you never thought of but should have. From tuning your engine to picking the perfect jams for your road trip, Tohill has you covered!

1. Scout – iOS and Android

Scout is a GPS app that gives you real time traffic updates while guiding you to your destination using the most efficient route possible. It also suggests the best time for you to leave your destination based on estimated drive time. This is definitely an app every car owner should have!

2. iOnRoad – iOS and Android

This app uses your phone’s camera and sensors to recognize and warn you of potential accidents up ahead. All you have to do is mount your phone and the app will begin monitoring for you. It also has car-optimized interface so you are able to see your speed and the weather conditions. Don’t worry — you’ll definitely still be able to access your music and contacts!

3. Find My Car – iOS Only

I’m sure this is an app we could all really use. I hate leaving Central Market with all my groceries and realizing I can’t remember where I parked. This app is exactly for that. By using GPS, this app can help you find your car so you never have to wander the parking lot again!

4. Torque – Android Only

This app is a car performance diagnostic tool that communicates with your engine via Bluetooth. My car actually has something like this built in, but I have to sign up online and pay a fee (of course) so it’s so convenient that this app is available and free.

5. iWrecked – iOS Only

Let’s face it. Sometimes accidents happen. This app is perfect for logging all the information you need when an accident happens to you. You can make direct calls from this app to your insurance provider, record photos and details, and export all the information into a PDF. Your photo count is unlimited and the PDF generated is professional and can be sent directly to your provider as well.

6. Vlingo – iOS and Android

This is another app every car owner should have and would definitely benefit from. This amazing app was created to minimize distractions while driving. It allows you to dictate text messages, make a call, check Facebook or Twitter, and search the web for business information or driving directions. It even has a profanity filter in case someone on the road cuts you off while you are speaking!

7. Fuel Log – Android Only

This app gives you a detailed account of your fuel consumption, mileage, and services. It calculates useful statistics from fuel mileage to maintenance expenses and reminds you when you need to have it checked out. It’s a great app to help you remind you to change your oil and get your car inspected.

8. Dashboard – iOS and Android

This app has a simple widget that shows your speed, altitude of travel and direction. It has a head-up display so you can set it down on your dashboard or console and it will project that information on the windscreen.

9. NavFree – iOS and Android

This guy is a “crowd powered” navigation app. It matches other navigation apps with turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance. It’s also great for walking directions and can store maps directly on your phone, so no need to constantly use your data connection.

10. TuneIn Radio – iOS and Android

By far the most important app every car owner should have, this one lets you listen to more than 50,000 radio stations from around the world. You can browse by location, music genre, or language. The pro version allows you to pause or rewind a station and lets you set one for your morning alarm if you prefer to wake up to music!

These apps are all great tools for you to use on your road trips or even just commuting to work. We definitely advise getting them set up and ready to go before leaving, or while stopped to fill up your tank. We all know you shouldn’t be using them while driving! Thanks, Neil, for providing us with ways we can have a safer and more informed driving experience — complete with beautiful infographic:

For the full image, please click here!:

Top 10 Apps Every Car Owner Should Have – Clapway

---

Along with the apps every car owner should have, you’ll need to keep your smartphone fully juiced. Lepow Poki External Battery Charger can help!:

Top 10 Apps Every Car Owner Should Have

Out with the old, in with the new--renewable resources, that is. - http://clapway.com/2015/06/29/germany-oldest-nuclear-power-plant-shuts-down-in-ongoing-movement-towards-renewable-resources-234/

Sustainability and renewable resources are the keys to repairing the damage that we have caused to the earth, and to ensure that we cause no further harm to this planet we plan to preserve for future generations. It is with this set of ideals that Germany shut off its oldest nuclear power plant on Saturday in an ongoing to effort to generate almost all of its energy by renewable sources according to a timeline, according to which they hope to have 80% of their energy come from renewable resources of the year 2050.

Germany leads the way in the initiative to use renewable resources

It is a slow process converting a country from non-renewable to renewable re-source utilization as high as 80%, but the commitment to change Germany exhibits puts them at the forefront of the battle against climate change. Part of the reason that Germany’s goals are very feasible is the expected population decrease in the country.

According to research conducted by population experts, Germany’s total population is poised to decrease by as much as 10 million by the year 2050 when they have said that they will meet their renewable energy goals. “A sudden drop in population due to many factors including a decrease in birth rate, and increase in the elderly who cannot remain independent, makes the ambitious goal of renewable energy within reach, especially when the country has already made so many strides towards lowering non-renewable resources.

Progress in Germany as of Today

By early 2014 28.5% of Germany’s overall energy sources were renewable up over 5% from the previous year, but Germany hopes to steadily increase these figures until they reach 40-45% renewable resources by 2025, and 55-60% by the year 2035.

While the ideas seem straight forward enough, experts including Hans-Werner Sinn who believes that by decreasing the use of non-renewable resources in one area of the world, they increase in another essentially making it almost not worthwhile to make the effort to increase the amount of renewable resources until the renewable resources are depleted. Most believe in the positive efforts Germany is putting forth, but it remains to be seen the actual long term effects that the plan will have. Hopefully many more will follow in the path of Germany, and set goals for total renewable resource usage in the near future.

---

 

Other things that belong in our future include MUSIO. Check out our Clapway Trends review here:

Germany: Oldest Nuclear Power Plant Shuts Down in Ongoing Movement Towards Renewable Resources

How many kills does your cat accomplish when you"e out? - http://clapway.com/2015/06/29/london-study-finds-cat-owners-are-in-denial-about-their-cats-killer-instincts-234/

A new UK study estimated domestic cats hunt, stalk, and kill millions of wildlife each year, yet cat owners are in denial about their cats regarding the instinctive predatory behavior.

Study Focuses on Cat Owners Attitudes towards Claims of Killer Cats

Researchers at the University of Exeter and Queen Mary University of London have found that cat owners have a rather specific attitude of denial when it comes to pinning wildlife deaths on their feline friends. The study was published in the journal of Ecology and Evolution.

Cat owners, according to the researchers, failed to realize the impact their domesticated cats had on wildlife at large in their communities. Researchers have estimated the animals killed by pets reaches into the millions, though cat owners tend to give a different story.

The research focused on 86 cats from 56 households in two UK villages, Mawnan Smith in Cornwall and Thornhill near Stirling. Researchers based the cat owners’ view on their cats’ predatory behavior by comparing the owners’ predictions of prey to the actual prey return.

Despite Evidence, Cat Owners Don’t Believe Cats are Harmful to Wildlife

The researchers found that while cat owners were aware of their beloved cat’s ability to prey on animals, the owners with a predatory cat were unaware of the number of kills their precious Fluffy had orchestrated.

The majority of owners did not agree that cats posed a threat to wildlife, no matter how many tiny bodies of evidence their feline deposited on their doorsteps.

Many cat owners appeared to shun suggestions of keeping their cats inside as a control measure. However, they did consider neutering their pets, which researchers point out is more associated to cat welfare than preservation of wildlife.

Management Strategies Target Cat Welfare

Though the cat owners as a whole weren’t as receptive to sequestering their cats to inside their houses, researchers believe that management strategies focused on cat welfare would be generally accepted and utilized.

Dr. Jenni McDonald, the lead researcher from Exeter’s Penryn Campus, believes the study can help pinpoint the best wildlife preservation strategies. Rather than suggesting that cats are a threat to wildlife, strategies can emphasize the role of cat welfare to cat owners.

By de-emphasizing the role cat predation plays in wildlife deaths, and highlighting the importance of cat welfare, cat owners will be more active in management strategies.

---

 

If you’re worried about Fluffy’s behavior, Blink Wireless Home Monitoring System can keep tabs on his hunting while you’re out:

London: Study Finds Cat Owners Are in Denial About Their Cats" Killer Instincts

"Strictly speaking, a day lasts 86,400 seconds. That is the case, according to the time standard that people use in their daily lives." - http://clapway.com/2015/06/29/nasa-determines-tuesday-june-30th-will-last-one-second-longer-than-normal-234/

Most struggle with finding enough time in the day to get all the things that they need to accomplish done, before it’s too late. It’s a common problem among all kinds of trades, jobs, and hobbies, but on June 30th there will be one less thing to complain about. The world can learn how productive a day that lasts one second longer can be. NASA has determined that on Tuesday June 30th the day will be one second longer. The real question now: What are you going to do with the extra time you’ve been given?

Why will Earth receive an extra second?

It’s what’s called a “leap second”, and it’s based extraordinarily reliable electromagnetic transitions according to NASA, “Strictly speaking, a day lasts 86,400 seconds. That is the case, according to the time standard that people use in their daily lives – Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC. UTC is “atomic time” – the duration of one second is based on extremely predictable electromagnetic transitions in atoms of cesium. These transitions are so reliable that the cesium clock is accurate to one second in 1,400,000 years.”

It’s an extremely predictable phenomena, and it’s caused in part by the Earth’s slowing rotations due to force from factors outside of our control. Earth is actually gradually slowing down slightly over a period of time due to a pulling between the sun and moon, creating a stopping power. However there are other factors that work towards slowing the Earth’s rotation, and changing the length of days such as El Niño when there are changes in the atmospheric pressure of the planet.

Changes in the time it takes Earth to rotate over time

Time for one full rotation of Earth is constantly changing, as it has been since the planet existed with no life on its surface. Scientist Daniel Macmillan describes that way that the time of the days due Earth’s rotation have changed over a period of time, “At the time of the dinosaurs, Earth completed one rotation in about 23 hours,” says MacMillan, who is a member of the VLBI team at NASA Goddard. “In the year 1820, a rotation took exactly 24 hours, or 86,400 standard seconds. Since 1820, the mean solar day has increased by about 2.5 milliseconds.” The adding of extra seconds to the atomic clock to compensate for the longer earth days was started in 1972 when two seconds were added, and the last time any extra seconds were added to a day was back in 2012. We’ve all been given the gift of an extra second in our lives, the question now remains how are you going to use it?

---

 

 

Tomorrow, June 30th means one second longer to sleep, but if you want to use it to its maximum potential, SensorWake might do the trick:

NASA Determines Tuesday June 30th Will Last One Second Longer Than Normal

University of Illinois in the running for Hyperloop design competition. - http://clapway.com/2015/06/29/university-of-illinois-students-create-functional-scale-model-of-hyperloop-design-234/

Elon Musk is changing to way we think about travel not only into space, but here on Earth as well. Musk’s idea for the super-fast and efficient Hyperloop transportation system has inspired students at University of Illinois to make a fully functional scale version of the Hyperloop design, making the concept one step closer to being no longer just a concept, but a fully functional mode of transportation and a part of our everyday lives.

Hyperloop is more than just a science project, it will change the way we travel

The Hyperloop design works in part by reducing the friction that various other forms of transportation experience, and thus increasing the speed at which it is capable of travelling. This has be theorized to eventually be accomplished by train like cars hovering over magnets, which will be transporting passengers in vacuum like tubes with reduced or airless tunnel systems in order to almost completely reduce friction, and reach speeds as high as 760 miles per hour. There is some debate over the cost effectiveness of the Hyperloop design, but Musk estimates that a track running from San Francisco to Los Angeles would cost around 7.5 Billion to implement.

University of Illinois’ Hyperloop agenda

Since Musk announced that he would not have the time to pursue the Hyperloop project, he has a created a competition in which teams are competing to design the best possible prototype design of the futuristic transport.

A senior design team from the University of Illinois took it upon themselves to attempt the ambitious effort, and building on the work of their senior predecessors successfully completed a 1:24 functional scale model of the Hyperloop.

University of Illinois’ ongoing project is offered to senior level students interested in having the opportunity to eventually build a prototype to test at the SpaceX Hyperloop testing facility in California. Thanks to the team of students at University of Illinois, the incredibly innovative Hyperloop transportation system is one step closer to moving us where we need to go everyday safer, and faster than we have ever been moved before.

---

 

Students, wake up to design your Hyperloop with SensorWake:

University of Illinois Students Create Functional Scale Model of Hyperloop Design

What can chimp morality do for human morality? - http://clapway.com/2015/06/29/study-reveals-chimps-understand-right-from-wrong-much-like-humans-233/

Chimpanzees may understand concepts similar to human morality according to Swiss researchers. In the study, 17 chimps from two Swiss zoos exhibited qualities of knowing right from wrong within the social norms of aggressive behavior.

Study Examines the Question Do Chimps Understand Morality?

Researchers believe that chimpanzees may have a similar concept of right and wrong as humans. In a recent study published in the journal Human Nature, researchers observed 17 chimps from two Swiss zoos in Gossau and Basel. The primates watched film clips which showed animals engaged in either neutral or aggressive behaviors.

Neutral activities included chimps simply walking, while the violent activities ranged from a typical social aggression behaviors to a scene where a group of chimps hunted and killed a colobus monkey. Within the acts of aggression, one particular clip captured their attention for much longer. It involved chimpanzee infanticide and had held the chimps gaze for four times longer than any other clip.

Scientists carefully ruled out other factors that could have attributed to the increased attention for the infanticide clip, including the infant’s screams. Other videos featured similar noises to act as a control group while measuring the behavior of the animals.

Chimps Know Right From Wrong

Researchers believe this close scrutiny was due to the chimps viewing the infanticide as an activity that falls outside of normal aggressive behaviors.

“This result is consistent with the idea that severe aggression against infants did not match chimpanzees’ social expectations of a certain tolerance normally afforded to infants,” said lead researcher Claudia Rudolf von Rohr from the University of Zurich.

In other words, the chimps knew this particular behavior, the brutal slaying of a chimp infant, was not right.

Chimps Show No Emotional Response

The longer times spent watching the infanticide clip didn’t vary between male or female chimps. All groups and all chimps paid more attention to that particular scene. However, the scientists made an interesting observation about the chimps’ emotional arousal response. Mainly, the chimps showed no increased emotional response to the video.

The scientists believe their emotional distance was a result of not being able to empathize with the victim, an infant not part of their own group.

The results still point to their detection of a social norm violation says Rudolf von Rohr. Though the chimpanzees did not react, she believes an emotional response would be readily elicited if the act was occurring within their own groups.

Did Human Morality and Social Norms Evolve in Humans?

While researchers have concluded that chimps can in fact tell right from wrong, or at least discern a break within social norms, the question of whether social norms in humans have evolved over time remains unanswered for now.

With such varying cultures and beliefs, the answer may still be too diverse to pin down quite so easily for humans. However, researchers are hopeful for future studies that examine the evolution of human morality, especially with this new evidence seen within the study of the chimps and their understanding of right and wrong.

---

 

 

Be as healthy as your chimp counterpart with Nutribullet. Clapway Trends reviews this infomercial sensation:

Study Reveals Chimps Understand Right from Wrong Much Like Humans

NEW HORIZONS ON FINAL APPROACH TO PLUTO - http://clapway.com/2015/06/28/new-horizons-on-final-approach-to-pluto432/

The teams in charge of the interplanetary satellite New Horizons are burning the midnight oil in an attempt to correct the spacecraft’s trajectory and flight time. The ETA for these corrections was June 14th, so hopefully everything turns out okay when it reaches Pluto.

The director of space navigation and flight dynamics for KinetX Aerospace, Dr. Bobby Williams said this series of course corrections was just an early part of three advanced planned activities.

WHAT WILL NEW HORIZONS DO WITH PLUTO?

Every day, NASA releases images of Pluto, but the upcoming flyby means that New Horizons’ Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) camera will finally be able to photograph the closest images ever taken of Pluto. This will be at a distance of approximately 7,750 miles from Pluto’s frigid crust. As such, Williams explained, these will be the most clear and focused images of Pluto ever, and things are only going to get better.

BUT WE DIDN’T COME HERE JUST FOR THE TOUR

New Horizons will also assist scientists hoping to estimate the mass of Pluto and its moons, a subject of long-standing curiosity among scientists. The only spacecraft that have been farther away from Earth are the twin probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, launched in the 1970s to study the outer-planets and the edges of our solar system. One passed by Jupiter and Saturn, only to slingshot up out of our solar system in a vertical vector, while the other followed its curve out, passing by Uranus and Neptune before wandering out into that massive abyss. The two are still transmitting data by radio.

New Horizon’s mission upon arrival is to investigate the unknown surface of Pluto, supplying more data with which to hopefully quell the decades-long debate about the categorical status of the little planet (many scientists believe Pluto to be too small, and with too little mass to qualify as a planet).

WHAT CAN WE LOOK AT NOW

We have been informed that the newest photos reveal a bright spot on Pluto’s polar cap. The meaning of this luminescence is still under investigation. Hopefully, the Plutonians are not alerted to New Horizons’ presence.

---

 

Want to make your kids future astronauts and researchers? Get them into space science with the Space Scouts Summer Adventure Review.

NEW HORIZONS ON FINAL APPROACH TO PLUTO