Photography company Hama has announced a wireless card reader that is designed to wirelessly transfer photos to iOS devices. The wireless reader is compatible with SD, SDHC, SDXC, and mircoSD memory cards, in addition to portable USB drives. Users will be able to transfer their files via the free Wi-Fi Reader App. Additionally, users can stream content from the wireless device to the app, thus, allowing for expanded, wireless storage. Furthermore, the Reader can be used as a wireless router when connected to a hardwired network.

For more information on this article, please visit:http://www.gizmag.com/hama-wireless-ios-data-reader/26963/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=a3b03218e6-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

BriCom Solutions has announced a docking device that will transform smartphones into walkie-talkies. The Alianza DxB will work without a network signal on VHF, UHF, and 800Mhz. When a network signal is available, the range of the walkie-talkie extends to anywhere in the world. Additionally, the device features an internal battery that powers the walkie-talkie, and charges the smartphone. Even if the smartphone is dead, the case will still perform walkie-talkie functions. Currently, BriCom is soliciting funding for the device’s development on the website KickStarter.

For more information of this article, please visit:http://www.gizmag.com/alianza-dxb-smartphone-walkie-talkie/27074/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=ed5e00002b-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

Some courts in Hertfordshire, England, are beginning to use video technology to remotely hear evidence and testimony from witnesses and police officers. The implementation of this technology is expected to increase safety and decrease costs significantly.

To read more, go to:  http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/

The Supreme Judicial Court, the highest court in Massachusetts, ruled in March that the state’s domestic abuse laws could apply to relationships developed online or through electronic communications. The case came to the court after the father of a 16-year-old girl intercepted messages between his daughter and a 24-year-old British man.

To read more, go to: http://bostonherald.com/business/technology/technology_news

Civil Rights Defenders, located in Stockholm, has developed an electronic bracelet intended to protect civil rights activists. The bracelet project is entitled the Natalia Project, named after the murdered human rights activist Natalia Estemirova. In the event of an assault, the bracelet’s wearer can send out an alert to the Civil Rights Defenders headquarters. Likewise, if the bracelet is forcibly removed, Civil Rights Defenders will be automatically alerted. The alert will include a timestamp, as well as the location of the assault, and messages will be sent via email, SMS, and social networking websites to others who are signed up for the project.

For more information on the Natalia Project please visit:http://www.gizmag.com/bracelet-uses-social-network-to-protect-civil-rights-activists/26954/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=eaacdb5da4-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email.

A team from Carnegie Mellon University has developed a more secure payment system named PayTango. PayTango allows users to pay for goods by using only the fingerprints of their index and middle fingers. PayTango was first given a pilot run within the university’s dining halls, allowing students to associate various bank, credit, gift, and ID cards with their fingerprints. PayTango’s sign-up process is said to take 20 seconds, and requires at least one credit card, a phone number, and, of course, scanning the index and middle fingers. After sign-up, any magnetic strip card can be associated with a user’s PayTango account. The PayTango developers plan to eventually bring the system to other campuses and retail stores.

For more information on PayTango, please visit: http://www.gizmag.com/paytango-fingerprint-payment/26948/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=eaacdb5da4-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

GIGS.2.GO is a conceptual portable USB flash drive that is designed with the environment in mind. GIGS.2.GO is a recycled paper-based device, bearing an aesthetic semblance to a fast food cup holder. The concept features four perforated tabs that house the individual USB flash devices, and are to be torn off when needed for use. The GIGS.2.GO concept aims to create these flash devices with a storage capacity of 1 GB per stick, and to be fully disposable if the user desires to throw them away after use.

For more on the article, please visit:

http://www.gizmag.com/gigs2go-paper-usb-drive/26890/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=455f61c16b-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

The city of Santa Clara, in the heart of the Silicon Valley, became the first in the country to use wireless, digital “smart meters” on homes as channels for free citywide outdoor Wi-Fi. Currently, residents, visitors and the local workforce can get Internet access throughout the city. Santa Clara’s electric meters are being replaced with high tech ones, which send electricity and water usage reports via wireless network. A separate channel provides free, outdoor internet using the electric meters. To find out more information on Santa Clara’s free Wi-Fi, please go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/northern-calif-city-installs-free-wi-fi-through-upgraded-electric-meters/2013/03/27/afe0532c-96de-11e2-a976-7eb906f9ed9b_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend

New, published research displays accurate estimates of Facebook users’ race, age, IQ, sexuality, personality, substance use and political views based on automated analysis of Facebook Likes. An individual’s Facebook Likes are public by default. Researchers describe Facebook Likes as a “generic class” of digital record, like web search queries and browsing histories. Models provided a good prediction accuracy on sexuality and political status. The researchers also tested for personality traits including intelligence, emotional stability, openness and extraversion. Some Likes had a strong but seemingly odd link with a personal attribute, such as Curly Fries with high IQ. However, researchers believe that the estimations on personal attributes and personality traits can provide accurate personal portraits of millions of users. To find out more information on this research, please go to http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uoc-drc030713.php