Features

NEW YORK — Apple isn’t saying much about its next iPhones, but there’s been plenty of speculation that the giant Plus model will have two camera lenses side by side on the back.

Why? A second lens could make photos sharper or give amateur shutterbugs blurring techniques more common in full-bodied SLR cameras. Apple isn’t revealing anything until its product event in San Francisco next week. For now, though, people can look at how a few other smartphone makers are using two lenses.

Motorola Moto Z

The three Moto Z phones get amazing zoom with a second lens that comes in the form of an optional attachment. Motorola unveiled its third Moto Z model and the attachment, called Hasselblad True Zoom Mod, at the IFA tech show in Berlin on Wednesday.

An accessory normally wouldn’t count, but in this case, it’s an integral part of the phone once you attach it with powerful magnets. The Moto Z has a mix-and-match design that makes it possible to remove its back and replace it with a speaker, a projector or a zoom lens that offers 10-fold magnification — better than what many point-and-shoot cameras offer.

You’d be wrong to think smartphones already offer zoom capabilities by pinching out on the screen. That’s just a software trick that leaves images fuzzy. The camera lens itself is fixed; you need an attachment for true zoom.

With it, a statue of Alexander Hamilton in New York’s Central Park looks as sharp from afar as it would closer up. By contrast, the same statue taken with the regular lens from afar looks dull. It’s possible to make out a New York University logo on a bean-bag toss game board shot with the second lens from across the lawn; with the regular lens, it’s just a blob of purple.

This functionality will cost you, though. The module alone will start at $250 when it comes out in mid-September, or at the high end of what point-and-shoots cost. That’s on top of $400 for the cheapest Moto Z. Motorola says the attachment will appeal mostly to photography aficionados, but the company believes that’s a sizeable market.

The results are indeed remarkable, but not flawless. It takes a second or so to focus and shoot, enough to miss a moving subject. Faces can look distorted near the edges of the image, and the second lens doesn’t do extreme close-ups, known as macros. That’s one thing stand-alone cameras still do better.

And the attachment is about as heavy and bulky as a point and shoot.

But the module gives you amazing zoom shots that you can easily share via the phone. That’s not a simple task with most cameras.

LG G5

The G5’s second lens offers an impressive 135-degree wide angle, compared with 78 degrees on the normal one. That’s the difference between getting the entire Colosseum in Rome into a single shot, as opposed to just some of it. At St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City, the wide angle gets you not just Michelangelo’s dome but also the ornate columns holding it up.

With most cameras, you’re shooting as though you lack peripheral vision. With a wide angle, the photo frame expands to almost match your real-life field of view.

Wide angles aren’t always desirable. If you’re shooting an elephant in front of you, you want more of the elephant and less of its surroundings. But wide angles are great when you’re shooting a large landmark or a large group of people from close up.

As with other wide-angle lenses, though, LG’s produces distortion around the edges of the image. Think of how warped fisheye shots look. Columns inside St. Peter’s Basilica look curved rather than straight. Distant objects look even farther away.

The regular lens is what you’ll want most of the time. Of course, you can get something close to a wide-angle shot by installing apps or using built-in panorama features, but it takes time to pan across the landscape, rather than snap once. That software approach also doesn’t work for video.

Huawei P9

One lens captures images in colour, the other in black and white, or monochrome. The dedicated lens produces sharper monochrome shots than you can get by letting software bleach out the colour from an ordinary image. Huawei says it also lets in more light.

In practice, though, the differences are subtle. Images of colourful street art in New York often look cleaner, with better contrast, using the monochrome lens than by running comparable colour shots through a black-and-white software filter. While this will matter to artists, it probably won’t to most users, especially since people rarely take black-and-white shots anyway.

But that monochrome lens promises to help colour shots as well. By using sensors for the two lenses in conjunction, the phone can restore some of the detail and light lost to filters in the colour sensor. The result is a camera that’s among the top in the class — though recent iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones do just as well or better with just the colour lens.

And despite promises of better lighting, the Galaxy S7 often produced better night shots than the P9.

The dual lenses offer one neat trick: They sense depth, so you can blur out the background to highlight something in the foreground, mimicking an SLR technique done by adjusting the lens aperture.

The P9 isn’t available in the US yet, but Huawei is taking a similar dual-lens approach with the just-announced Honour 8.

Launched late last year, the second generation Jaguar XF is a high-tech and focused executive saloon successor to the model that, in 2007, pivoted Jaguar’s design ethos from traditionally inclined to its contemporary sleek, sophisticated and modern aesthetic. Evolutionary in design, the new XF gains the British brand’s lightweight aluminium architecture and features extensive and advanced driver and dynamic assistance and infotainment technology systems.

Driven in currently top XF-S 3.0 Supercharged iteration in rear- rather than optional four-wheel drive, Britain’s great hope for the traditionally German-dominated executive saloon segment is sportily agile, smooth, balanced and refined. Using 75 per cent aluminium content including suspension components for reduced unsprung mass, the 28 per cent stiffer and 11 per cent lighter new XF makes ride refinement, handling precision, performance and efficiency improvements.

Ridged and rigid

With sharper lines, more sculpted surfacing and snoutier jutting honeycomb grille, the new XF is distinctly more defined, chiselled and broader, emphasising a classic cabin-rear look and more assertive road presence. A more chiselled and ridged yet sleek and swept back design, the new XF features moody squinting headlights with “J” style LED elements, larger and deeper air intakes, sharper lower lip and a dramatic bulging bonnet power dome.

Trailing off from a more muscular bonnet, the new more aerodynamic XF’s waistline is more prominently ridged yet classier, levelled and lower for improved visibility. Meanwhile, its taut and arced roofline rakishly descends towards and seamlessly integrates with its powerful haunches, creating a sporty and urgent sense of momentum, enhanced by a short front overhang and more elegantly long rear overhang.

Riding on double wishbone front and integral-link rear suspension with softer bushes and stiffer camber and castor settings, the XF reconciles and enhances ride quality, roadholding, body control and cornering responses. Supple, smooth, fluent and refined on imperfect road surfaces, standard passive dampers feature improved low-speed ride while optional adaptive dampers automatically become more compliant for comfort or stiffer for better cornering body control.

Consistent and confident

Beneath its sculpted bonnet, the XF-S is powered by Jaguar’s now familiar 3-litre direct injection V6 engine, which with mechanical-driven supercharged forced induction delivers instant off-the line responses and a broader, cleaner and more consistent sweep through it rev range than a gas-driven turbocharger. Rear wheels are driven through a slick and quick shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox with stylish rising metal rotary selector and paddle shifters for concise manual mode gear changes.

Driven in the more potent of two states of tune available to Jaguar’s supercharged V6, the 1710kg XF-S produces 375BHP at 6500rpm and 332lb/ft peak torque by 4,500rpm, set to subtle visceral induction noises under heavy throttle load. Swiftly sprinting through 0-100km/h in 5.3 seconds and able to attain an electronically governed 250km/h top speed, the XF-S return low for its class 8.3l/100km combined fuel consumption and 198g/km CO2 emissions. 

Pulling consistently and muscularly hard through a broad and versatile range from tick-over to redline, the XF-S delivery may be abundant and confident, but is tuned for an urgent build-up to peak torque and power rather than being a flat and featureless curve. Linear, progressive and indefatigably urgent in delivery, the XF-S entices one to reach higher towards it rev limit and provides precise throttle response.

Connected and committed

Following an initial session feeling out the limits of its grip and electronic stability control system’s intervention thresholds and on slower, narrower and tightly winding inclines, the XF-S proved to be satisfyingly connected yet sublimely reconciling ride fluency with handling balance and finesse. Devoured the following long stretch of sprawling northern Spanish B-road switchbacks the XF-S settled into an intuitive rhythm and eager fluency.

An instinctive and fluidly rewarding drive through winding roads, the XF-S turns in tidily, with linear, direct and responsive steering while lateral weight transfer is progressive but well controlled. Balanced through a corner with near ideal 50:50 weight distribution, the XF-S finds a happy medium between outright grip from its large optional 255/35R20 tyres and engaging and alertly intuitive on-throttle adjustability, allowing one to pivot weight out to tighten a cornering line.

Committed and poised through corners, the XF-S responsive throttle control 

Allows one to dial it exact increments for it to hunker down and power out of a corner, but without unintentionally overpowering rear grip and traction. At speed the XF-S is reassuringly stable and quiet, and settled and buttoned down on vertical rebound, while road texture imperfections are soaked with supple grace, despite optional low profile tyres.

Tastefully high tech

Plush and refined with low wind noise, the XF’s cabin features uncluttered, user-friendly layouts and design clarity combined with quality leathers, metals, woods and soft textures. Supportive, comfortable and well-adjustable seating provides an alert driving position, while boot volume is generous at 540 litres. A 51mm longer wheelbase provides better ride stability and rear legroom, in addition to a 27mm rear headroom improvement, both despite slightly shorter overall length and lower roofline.

Extensively semiautonomous features include emergency braking, lane keeping, sign recognition, semiautonomous parking assistance, 360° camera, reverse traffic detection and adaptive cruise control. All-Surface Progress Control — derived from similar Land Rover sister systems — is like sure-footed low-speed cruise control over low friction surfaces at 3.6-30km/h. Meanwhile, heads up display proves useful, but in certain lighting conditions, causes a slight reflection from the projection unit onto the windscreen.

User-friendly and advanced, the XF’s infotainment suite includes standard InControl Touch 10.2-inch touchscreen system with gesture and voice control and text-to-voice tech. The optional smartphone-like InControl Touch Pro features quad-core processer, 60GB solid-state drive, Ethernet connectivity and interactive sat-nav able to position the vehicle even without a GPS signal. Convenience features are numerously and include automatic boot operation and four-zone climate control.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3-litre, supercharged, in-line V6 cylinders

Bore x stroke: 84.5 x 89mm

Compression ratio: 10.5:1

Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, continuously variable valve timing, direct injection

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

Ratios: 1st 4.714; 2nd 3.143; 3rd 2.106; 4th 1.667; 5th 1.285; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.839; 8th 0.667

Reverse/final drive: 3.317/3.23

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 375 (380) [280] @ 6,500rpm

Specific power: 112BHP/litre

Power -to-weight ratio: 219.29BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 332 (450) @4,500rpm

Specific torque: 150.25Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight ratio: 263.15Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 5.3 seconds

Top speed: 250km/h

Fuel economy, urban/extra-urban/combined: 11.7-/6.3-/8.3-litres/100km

CO2 emissions, combined: 198g/km

Fuel capacity: 74 litres

Wheelbase: 2,960mm

Track, F/R: 1,605/1,594mm

Boot capacity: 540 litres

Kerb weight: 1710kg

Suspension, F/R: Double wishbones/integral link

Steering: Variable electric-assisted rack & pinion

Turning circle: 11.61 metres

Brakes: Ventilated discs

Tyres: 255/35R20 (optional)

WASHINGTON — The federal government on Friday banned more than a dozen chemicals long-used in antibacterial soaps, saying manufacturers failed to show they are safe and kill germs.

“We have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water,” said Dr Janet Woodcock, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) drug centre director, in a statement.

Friday’s decision primarily targets two once-ubiquitous ingredients — triclosan and triclocarban — that some limited research in animals suggests can interfere with hormone levels and spur drug-resistant bacteria.

The 19 banned chemicals have long been under scrutiny, and a cleaning industry spokesman said most companies have already removed them from their soaps and washes.

The FDA said it will allow companies more time to provide data on three additional chemicals, which are used in most antibacterial soaps sold today.

The agency told manufacturers nearly three years ago that they must show their products are safe and effective. Regulators said on Friday that they either did not receive any data from industry supporting a chemical’s use, or the data did not meet federal standards for proving safety and effectiveness. In the case of triclosan, regulators said they didn’t receive either human or animal studies showing the drug is safe or effective.

“Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread of germs,” Woodcock said in a statement. “In fact, some data suggests that antibacterial ingredients may do more harm than good over the long term.”

Most of the research surrounding triclosan’s safety involves laboratory animals, including studies in rats that showed changes in testosterone, oestrogen and thyroid hormones. Some scientists worry that if it causes such changes in humans it could raise the risk of infertility, early puberty and even cancer — though no connection has been established.

Because the chemicals are known to kill some bacteria, even if they are no better than soap, experts also worry that routine use will help allow drug-resistant germs known a superbugs to emerge that cannot be killed by antibiotics.

FDA division chief Dr Theresa Michele said these potential risks outweighed the potential benefits of the chemicals, since manufacturers were unable to document any.

The FDA ban comes more than 40 years after Congress asked the agency to evaluate triclosan and dozens of other antiseptic ingredients. Ultimately, the government agreed to publish its findings only after a three-year legal battle with an environmental group, the Natural Resources Defence Council, which accused the FDA of delaying a decision on the safety of triclosan.

“Consumers have waited a long time for this sensible safeguard,” said Mae Wu, an attorney with the group.

Wu and others point to research by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention that found triclosan in the urine of three-quarters of Americans tested for various chemicals. However, the agency states on its website out that many chemicals show up in urine without having any effect.

The FDA is now undertaking a sweeping reevaluation of soaps and washes used by consumers and health professionals.

The American Cleaning Institute, a cleaning chemical association, disputed the FDA’s findings, saying in a statement “the FDA already has in its hands data that shows the safety and effectiveness of antibacterial soaps”.

The group’s spokesman said companies are planning to submit data on three chemicals currently used by industry: benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride and chloroxylenol. The FDA delayed making a decision on those chemicals for one year.

The FDA decision does not apply to hand sanitisers, most of which use alcohol rather than antibacterial chemicals.

SAN FRANCISCO — A California start-up has developed a portable technology that will allow consumers to test their food for gluten on the go.

“Even when you go out and see these labelled menu items, you are still playing Russian roulette,” said Shireen Yates, co-founder and chief executive of NIMA, which was founded in 2013.

Designed in San Francisco by a team from MIT, Stanford, Google and Nike, NIMA can analyse any type of food or beverage for gluten down to 20 parts per million, the Food and Drug Administration classification for gluten-free products.

“There is still cross contamination, there is miscommunication, you just never know,” Yates added.

An estimated 15 million people in the United States have some form of food allergy or sensitivity, a statistic that is on the rise, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Users of the device are instructed to fill a disposable cartridge with a pea-sized sample of food and then load it into the device, which is about half the size of a smartphone. 

Roughly two minutes later, after the device measures the chemical reaction between antibody proteins and gluten, the screen will display a happy face if no gluten was detected.

Conversely, a wheat icon and text that reads “gluten found” will appear if any gluten is detected.

According to Yates, the antibodies bind to the presence of gluten if it is present in the sample, triggering a change that a sensor picks up on, Yates said.

To date, the company has raised $14 million in total with the help of a $9.2 million Series A round of venture capital funding earlier this year.

The funding, Yates said, will drive the company’s next generation sensor, which consumers will be able to purchase as soon as 2017 if they want to detect milk and peanut allergens in their food as well.

Yates is launching an iPhone application to complement the device, allowing users to share their results.

The first orders of the gluten device, priced at $199, are expected to ship out to customers by the end of the year.

The Hidden Light of Objects
Mai Al-Nakib
Doha: Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, 2014
Pp. 237

This collection of ten interlinking short stories is Kuwaiti author Mai Al Nakib’s first book. It is no surprise to learn that it won the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s 2014 First Book Award, for her writing is extraordinary. It would be inadequate (though not wrong) to describe her prose as lyrical. With singular word choice and unpredictable syntax, she creates situations and images that are both electrifying and evocative. One suspects it is not only her mastery of the writing craft, but her vision, her way of viewing human experience, that makes her prose so luminous, so full of emotional impact.

It is this evocative quality that connects the book title with the characters’ emotional lives — their memories, their impulses to live to the hilt, to love passionately, to write, which are often triggered by an innate object which takes on a life of its own. Evocation is Nakib’s strategy for illuminating the magic in the mundane, and for structuring the collection. Objects and characters appear and reappear in successive stories, from different angles or times, but always emotionally charged. Sometimes the connection is quite straightforward, like for the narrator of the first story who has collected objects since she was a child, concocting stories about them: “I don’t necessarily have to save, own, or touch the object. Spotting it, even fleetingly, is usually enough. But once in a while I stroke the object methodically, my fingers creating an invisible grid around it, then cradle it possessively in my arms to feel the story enter me directly.” (p. 7)

In other stories, the role of the object is more oblique. Sometimes, it creates an enigmatic aura of myth or legend, though the stories are all grounded in reality. In all cases, the objects denote emotional ties among people, even ones they may be unaware of. “Story objects are cobwebs across space and time. When you think it has never happened to anyone else ever before, a story object proves you wrong… Most people’s stories are hidden away. Objects may provide the only chance — unlikely, impossible though it may be — to unravel kept secrets”. (p. 10) 

In “The Hidden Light of Objects,” many of Nakib’s characters dance on a precipice between exhilaration and despair, jumping to seize a moment of joy but always in danger of falling back into the morass of dullness or sorrow, “the hidden light” having eluded them, their dreams dashed. Some are children still full of wonder; others are teenagers seeking love or thrills at half-elicit, Western-style parties; still others are middle aged and saddled with regret. Many are outsiders due to having transgressing social norms, or striving so hard to escape the ordinary, or by virtue of events beyond their control. 

Some don’t seem like outsiders at all, but they have a secret side, like Mina, a particularly bright, sensitive girl who stumbles into being a writer by recording random objects that attract her attention. “By the time Mina turned fourteen, the diary was her second skin, her life lived twice”. (p. 61)

She began to craft real and imaginary encounters; writing became essential for carving out the life she wanted for herself. “I must create a life to look back on, a life I can search for in the future… I must live my life then write about it. Or maybe I should write my life then live it.” (p. 64)

But she was “a young girl living at cross-purposes with a crusty society”. Chronicling her real perceptions, be they fact or fiction, presented her with an unsolvable dilemma. (p. 68)

Though politics is not the subject of these stories, it is the ever-present context, which Nakib obviously cares deeply about. Early on, she locates her stories “in our corner of the world, shattered in shards”. (p. 2)

There are frequent references to war, to smart bombs that target babies, to the pollution of burning oil that kills fish and causes cancer. A whole story is devoted to the pain of a family whose mother is kidnapped and imprisoned in Iraq at the end of the 1991 war, which is posited as a turning point in Kuwaiti lives. Another story highlights Kuwaitis’ (and by extension, Arabs’) conflicted relations with America, while two others centre on Palestinians who, contrary to most of the other characters, might crave a life of normality, but are caught in an endless cycle of violence. 

The story behind the stories is the loss of innocence involved in Kuwait’s transition from a traditional desert society with a trading port open to the world, into an oil-driven economy where profit alone trumps tradition. Thus, modernity rushes ahead in material terms, while social change and personal freedom lag behind. “The Hidden Light of Objects” is a brave, powerful and original way of linking the personal with the political.

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft is putting its machine brains into a Liebherr refrigerator.

The US technology giant and Liebherr are collaborating on a new “SmartDeviceBox” that take the kitchen appliance beyond cooling comestibles to reminding people what they need at the market, Microsoft principal data scientist T.J. Hazen said in a blog post Friday.

The box is an internet-connected module that fits inside refrigerators and freezers.

Microsoft is putting machine vision capabilities to work to enable boxes to recognise milk cartons, ketchup bottles and other food inside refrigerators, according to Hazen.

The SmartDeviceBox uses cameras and object recognition technology to track what is in a refrigerator, keeping an inventory list, so that can be accessed through applications tailored for smartphones powered by Android, Apple or Windows software, Microsoft news centre staff member Athima Chansanchai said in an online post.

 “In the near future, Liebherr refrigerators will help you shop and plan meals through intelligent food management,” Chansanchai said.

WASHINGTON – Used incorrectly, laser pointers can damage the retina of the eye and may cause some irreversible vision loss, according to researchers who treated four boys for these injuries. 

Doctors, teachers and parents should be aware that this can happen, and limit children’s use of laser pointers, the authors write.

“This was initially thought of as a never event, that never happened,” said senior author Dr David R. P. Almeida of VitreoRetinal Surgery, PA, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “But we have four cases so it does happen sometimes,” though it’s still unusual.

The authors report on two 12-year olds, one nine-year-old and one 16-year-old who came to a medical centre with central vision loss and “blind spots” within hours to days after looking into or playing with a green or red laser pointer. 

In one case, the boy looked at the reflection of a laser pointer in a mirror. Two others simply pointed the lasers at themselves, and the fourth was engaged in a “laser war” with a friend.

The researchers report in Paediatrics that three of the boys had potentially irreversible, although relatively mild, vision loss. One boy’s vision continued to worsen two weeks after the injury and eventually decreased to 20/40 best corrected visual acuity in both eyes, which is at or close to the limit for obtaining a driver’s license in most US states.

“Long-term outcomes for these patients will be pretty mild vision loss,” Almeida said.

“Males may horse around with things more, or we just happened to have boys in our series,” Almeida told Reuters Health by phone. Injuries could be just as likely for girls.

He advises parents to be careful about where they buy laser pointers, as some retailers may not list the power rating or may list it incorrectly, and to limit use for kids under 14. 

Most consumer laser pointers fall under Class II or Class IIIA level of safety according to the American National Standard Institute, with a power output of five milliwatts or less. But Class 3B or Class 4 level lasers may emit up to 500 milliwatts or more and these lasers may cause immediate eye hazard when viewed directly, Almeida and his coauthors write. 

Retinal tissue in the back of the eye leads to the brain, and it has no ability to regenerate after tissue loss, Almeida said.

“One patient developed bleeding and needed an injection in the eye,” which can be particularly unpleasant for children, he said.

Kids may use laser pointers as long as they avoid improper use, Almeida said. 

“Unsupervised use of these laser pointer devices among children should be discouraged, and there is a need for legislation to limit these devices in the pediatric population,” he and his coauthors write. 

Focusing only on one sport, year-round, can increase kids’ risk of injury and burnout, according to a clinical report from the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP).

Authors of the guidance document, Dr Joel S. Brenner and the AAP Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, advise paediatricians and parents to keep in mind that the primary focus of sports for young athletes should be to have fun and learn lifelong physical activity skills. Playing multiple sports, at least until puberty, decreases the risk of injury, stress and burnout, they add.

Specialising at a later age, perhaps in the late teens, may be a better route to accomplishing athletic goals than specialising earlier in life, upping the odds of lifetime sports involvement, lifetime physical fitness and potentially elite participation, the report concludes.

“As they note, early specialisation is in most instances unnecessary and can contribute adversely to social, emotional, and physical (eg. chronic over-use injuries) development,” said Shane V. Caswell, professor of athletic training at George Mason University in Manassas, Virginia, who was not involved in the report.

Kids who have specialised in a single sport should discuss their goals with parents or coaches, according to the guidance statement published in Paediatrics. Taking at least three months off their specialised sport per year, and one to two days off per week, allows for physical and psychological recovery.

Young athletes who train intensively should be closely monitored for physical and psychological growth and nutritional status, the authors recommend. 

“This article highlighted the darker side of youth sports, the overuse injuries that we’re seeing from children simply doing too much,” said Dr Avery Faigenbaum, professor at The College of New Jersey, who researches exercise interventions in public schools.

In recent decades, kids have started to specialise in one sport very early in life in hopes of playing professionally, but the science says that diversifying sports participation makes kids more likely to be successful and to stick with the sport, Faigenbaum, who was not involved with the report, told Reuters Health. 

“That message from science and practice is not reaching patients,” he said.

Sports should be fun and help kids make friends and learn new skills, he said. Specialising too early can decrease creativity, he said.

“If you only play baseball, and get really good at baseball, the same muscles, tendons and ligaments get stressed over and over again,” leading to overuse injuries, which are fully preventable, Faigenbaum said.

“It’s a sign of bad training, the child was doing too much, not exposed to a variety of activities with adequate rest,” he said. 

It’s an incredibly powerful combination. Computer processors, advanced audiovisuals, virtually infinite storage of data everywhere, advanced programming languages and of course global networking, both cabled and wireless, the possibilities that their combination generate are limitless.

Applying the above ingredients to the recipe, new applications — or apps if one prefers — are introduced every day and one has hardly the time even to read about them. Some are short lived while others become global phenomena, depending on public acceptance and usage.

Alongside huge success stories like for instance WhatsApp instant messenger and the exponentially growing dependence on cloud storage usage, the most striking, the trendiest apps are those that rely on surveillance cameras. 

Thanks to falling prices, to greatly improved image quality and simple connectivity to all networks, surveillance cameras are everywhere. With the typical, average model costing between JD40 and JD60, terrific high definition image, infrared night vision so efficient that the camera can virtually see in near total darkness, consumers and professionals just love them.

At home or at work, indoor or outdoor, in most public places, whether surveillance is justified or not, there is a clear invasion of these cameras everywhere; not forgetting police traffic surveillance units that are found on most streets today, for speed or for security control.

The networking alone is priceless. From your smartphone, and wherever you may be in the world, you can see a live feed of the images captured by the camera you installed in your house living room. It’s simple, easy and inexpensive. And of course it can be noise or motion triggered so as to work only when there is a threat of any kind in your house or anything unusual going on.

However, there is even trendier than trendy “dummy” surveillance cameras. Intelligent cameras are on their way to impress you even more and take you faster to the future of high-tech.

It is actually not the camera itself that is becoming brainy, but the software post-processing that it performed on the images after they are taken.

In a first phase images are analysed, faces recognised and the entire scene decrypted, including context, location, background, sound, language detection, and so forth. Most of the technology is already available. Facebook for instance has instant, automatic face recognition and geotagging.

Once images are analysed and understood by the app, as surely as if not better than a human being would, decisions and actions are taken — and this where the truly futuristic part comes in.

An example. An intelligent surveillance camera installed in your living room will be able to tell who in your absence has entered the house, at what time of day, and what the person is doing, before alerting you with a message or a prompt on your smartphone. A burglar trying to crack a safe or to force-open a drawer will not trigger the same alert as a relative of yours (that the camera would of course recognise) coming to water the plants. Eventually the camera may send a red alert to the nearest police station in the first and just a gentle text message of information to your smartphone in the second.

The variations are open to imagination. In the streets such analysis and possible subsequent action will help detect abnormal activity and prevent crimes, for instance.

Giant groups like Time Warner Cable and Huawei have solutions that can be purchased and implemented now, not tomorrow.

Intelligent surveillance cameras are nothing but a step further towards improved implementation of artificial intelligence in its broad meaning, and towards real-life, consumer domestic robots.

This month I arrived at two personal milestones simultaneously. One was that I had now lived for six continuous years in the same city- Amman, and the second, that I completed 300 weeks of writing my column — Talespin. Both the landmarks occurred for the first time in my life, and filled me with sheer and utter delight. 

In our wonderful age of abbreviations, a few months after I began Talespin, some of my readers started referring to it as TS. I had to carefully scrutinise the letters to make sure it was not called BS, the full form of which is exactly what your imagination implies. 

Initially, the feedback was slow. The reason was that not too many people got to read it because the online version of the newspaper was erratic. Subsequently, the technical team at the office smartened up, and got the website running smoothly. I also learned, after several patient tutorials by our daughter, to attach the link on my Facebook wall.

Soon, this self-deprecatory piece, detailing the life of an expatriate woman in an alien country, caught the fancy of my friends in the social media — mostly my school and college mates. The enjoyment they got out of reading my column almost matched mine, at writing it. The outpouring of commentary that came my way thrilled me to bits. They not only identified and empathised with it but every week, gave me fresh ideas, for the next one. It was almost as if, without even asking for it, an entire community was assisting me in a joint brainstorming exercise. It amused and scared me at the same time. 

At one point, when I wrote about the loss of my mum, TS became practically like an interactive medium. I got such long e-mails from readers recounting their own individual tragedies that I became a part of their lives and relived those moments with them.

Over the last six years, the only time I missed a deadline happened when I was hospitalised with high fever. Even then, I asked the nurse to pass me my laptop, but she thought I was hallucinating, and struck an intravenous needle into my wrist instead. As the infusion of medicines reached my bloodstream, I stopped fighting the drowsiness and slept off. 

In one instance, I was writing a travel piece on an airplane, literally in the middle of my journey, when an airhostess surprised me with a glass of champagne. Those days I had a picture byline which made it easier for the readers to recognise me. She loved TS she said, and the joy this unexpected praise gave me was better than the effervescent tumbler of bubbly she gifted me with. 

How would I be celebrating TS’ anniversary? I don’t know but I will definitely start by thanking some of my loyal readers who are scattered all over the globe. I would not be inspired enough to write week after week without their steady motivation. To this vast extended family, I express my most sincere gratefulness. 

“Did you know TS is six years old today?” I asked my spouse over lunch. 

“Who is this?” my husband was surprised.

“My creation,” I declared. 

 “Your child?” he was stunned. 

“You can say that,” I smiled. 

“You adopted a baby? Holy Saint!” he exclaimed. 

“Not HS! It’s TS!” I corrected him. 

“Talespin?” he guessed. 

“Exactly,” I giggled. 

“Happy birthday TS,” he heaved a sigh of relief.