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Cellphone’s slosh and rattle reveal its contents
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Cellphone users could soon tell when their handset is running low on juice or laden with new messages simply by reaching into their bag or pocket and giving it a quick shake.
A new system uses a phone’s speaker and vibrator to make a device feel and sound like it contains liquid when it is running out of power. The same technique can be used to indicate when new messages have arrived, by simulating the sense of balls rattling around inside a box.
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Homeland Security Agent: “How much liquid is in that phone?”
You: “None. It’s virtual liquid.”
Homeland Security Agent: “It sounds like at least a few ounces.”
You: “Virtual liquids have neither volume nor weight.”
Homeland Security Agent: “Do I look stupid to you?”
You: “Can I take the fifth on that?”
Homeland Security Agent: “That’s Mistake Number Two, bub. Quoting from documents concerning the governance or liberties of American citizens is suspicious activity Level Blue. Ever heard of Ron Paul?”
You: “Uh, sure.”
Homeland Security Agent: “You’re under arrest.”
‘Kerstman personage uit bijbel’
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Ruim elf procent van de Nederlanders denkt dat de Kerstman een personage uit de bijbel is. Dat blijkt woensdag uit een onderzoek van de website Vergelijk.nl onder ruim 2700 respondenten.
Commercieel concurrent Sinterklaas vindt zijn herkomst volgens bijna twee procent in de bijbel.
Meer dan de helft van de ondervraagden meent dat de Kerstman oorspronkelijk is gebaseerd op Sinterklaas. Een kwart heeft geen idee waar de Kerstman vandaan komt en de rest zegt dat hij is verzonnen door Coca Cola.
Wells Fargo to take $1.4 billion charge for bad loans
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Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), the second-largest U.S. mortgage lender, said on Tuesday it would take a $1.4 billion fourth-quarter charge largely related to losses on home equity loans as the nation’s housing market deteriorates.
The company, which is also the fifth-largest U.S. bank, said it also was significantly scaling back making home equity loans through brokers, citing a need to tighten lending standards and reduced demand from investors to buy the loans.
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“Wells is one of the most conservative and strongest lenders,” said David Olson, co-founder of Wholesale Access, a Columbia, Maryland firm that tracks the mortgage industry. “If Wells is taking this big a writeoff, others will need even more serious writeoffs.”