Features

SAN FRANCISCO –– Motorola announced Tuesday that its flagship Moto X smartphone is heading for Europe.

Moto X will arrive in France, Britain and Germany with the start of February, according to the Google-owned firm.

“At Motorola our roots are deep in mobile hardware — we invented mobile communications,” Motorola Mobility UK general manager Andrew Morley said in a statement.

“Now, as a Google company, we’ve become the kind of company that can build a 4G smartphone like Moto X,” he continued. “It fuses our history of mobile innovation with the best of Google mobile services.”

Prices in Britain will range from £25 ($41) per month on contract to £380 total without a SIM card, according to Motorola.

The price will be 429 euros ($586) in France.

Moto X launched in the United States last year.

A low-cost version of the smartphone, the Moto G, is already sold internationally.

Both Motorola smartphones are powered by Google Android software.

Motorola is pushing all the buttons to regain prominence in the smartphone market, including aggressive pricing, according to chief executive Dennis Woodside.

Woodside, in an interview with AFP last week on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, said the Google-owned unit is seeking to gain ground against rivals including Apple and Google.

Since being acquired by Google, Motorola has introduced the flagship Moto X handset in the United States and the Moto G, a less expensive phone geared to cost-conscious consumers worldwide.

“There will be different phones at different price points but we’re going to be very aggressive there,” Woodside said.

“When we priced Moto X at $399 in the US as a promotion, we sold tens of thousands of units in a matter of eight minutes.”

The Moto X was originally introduced at $599 unlocked, without a contract, while the Moto G was priced at $179 in the US.

Motorola, once among the leaders in the mobile phone market, has been struggling in recent years as makers like Apple and Samsung grab most of the market share and profits.

“This is a business where scale matters and what’s been really important for us to start putting products out there that we’re excited about and get consumers excited about. That’s what we’ve done with Moto X and Moto G,” he added.

Woodside declined to provide specific sales figures but maintained that since launching the Moto X and Moto G, “we are seeing our best days ever for smartphones.”

WASHINGTON –– Are people with kids happier than people without? In the United States, those with and without kids rate their lives about the same, but globally children tend to diminish well-being, said a study Monday.

The results were derived from two major surveys by Gallup that included almost three million people worldwide.

One survey covered nearly 1.8 million Americans from 2008 to 2012 and the other interviewed 1.07 million people from 161 countries between 2006 and 2012.

Participants were asked how close their lives were to being ideal, and what kinds of emotions they felt the day prior. Potential responses included happy, sad, angered, worried or stressed.

Parents reported more ups and downs than non-parents. Those with children at home reported higher levels of all the emotional responses, including happiness and stress, smiling and anger.

But when researchers took into account other attributes that parents tend to have –– higher education, more income, better health and religious faith –– they found similar levels of life satisfaction as reported by non-parents.

On the whole, both US groups rated their lives about a seven on a scale of one to 10.

Adults of all ages with children at home rated their lives 6.82 while the childless came in at 6.84.

When researchers looked solely at people in the prime child-rearing years (age 34-46) they found people with kids rating their lives at 6.84, just higher than those without kids at 6.51.

In the rest of the world, the survey results told a different story: People with kids –– at least those outside the rich English-speaking world –– tended to be less content with their lives.

“Our results for the world as a whole, as well as for Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia are consistent with the most common finding in the literature, that those with children have lower life evaluation,” said the study.

“The higher the fertility rate, the more likely are people living with children to report lower life evaluation than those who do not.”

In poor countries, personal happiness may take a back seat to necessities, like requiring extra bodies to work the farm, the study suggested.

“Because of social norms, or pressure from their own parents and communities, or because of the productive contributions of children, people may have children even when, on a purely personal level, they would rather not do so,” it said.

People were asked to rate their lives for the Gallup surveys, and were later asked a series of questions about their income and whether their households had children in them or not.

They were never asked directly whether their kids made them happy, or how having kids or not having kids affected their view of their lives.

Princeton economist and lead author Angus Deaton said the heart of the matter is the ability to choose.

“The take-home message is ‘Do what you want to do,’” he told AFP.

“If you think children would make you happy, it’s probably true. And if you think they wouldn’t, it’s probably true, too.”

The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

NEW YORK –– Stretching relieves stiff muscles and can boost flexibility in the elderly and inactive but experts are divided on how vital it is for general fitness and preventing injury.

For older adults who lose flexibility through ageing, stretching can improve a range of motion and can make it easier to do everyday tasks such as reaching for items on high shelves.

Flexibility activities can also help reverse the chronically rounded shoulders and hands-on-keyboard posture of office workers tied to their desks.

But Dr Mike Bracko, an exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine, said research indicates that static stretching, which involves holding a stretch for 30 to 60 seconds, does not reduce injury and actually makes the muscle weaker.

“I would say that flexibility in and of itself is not that important a component of general fitness,” he said.

Bracko, a hockey skating coach based in Calgary, Alberta, notes that while activities such as gymnastics and rock climbing require flexibility, others, such as boot camp or cycling, do not.

“A lot of people just doing normal fitness activities don’t need a lot of flexibility. It depends on the person,” he said, adding that muscles tend to get injured within the normal range of motion.

“The classic example is how sprinters strain hamstrings: The leg reaches forward, at some point hamstrings have to contract fast. That’s when the muscle fails,” Bracko explained. “(Stretching) can’t deal with that.”

But he said some studies show that dynamic stretching, which unlike static stretching is not sustained and which mimics the activity to be performed, decreases the risk of injury by preparing the body for the movement to follow.

Stretch Zone Inc., which was founded in 2004 and has studios in New York, Florida and the Caribbean, specialises in practitioner-assisted stretches that are activity-specific and dynamic.

“Nothing is held for more than two seconds,” said Miami-based founder Jorden Gold. “All the studies show little correlation between static, long-held stretches and sports performance.”

The company includes stretches tailored to golfers, backpackers and officer workers, said Gold, whose clients range from the National Football League to musicians.

“With a sedentary lifestyle, the body picks up slack,” he explained. “If, for example, I stretch hip flexors (which move muscles when running and walking), I’ll feel lighter because the body is not fighting itself.”

He said stretching can lengthen a muscle to 1.6 times its resting length.

But Jessica Matthews, a California-based exercise physiologist formerly with the American Council on Exercise, said the science on stretching is still evolving.

“We all agree on a dynamic warm-up,” she said, “(but) research on stretching for injury prevention is still not conclusive enough to make that correlation. There isn’t clear-cut evidence to support one thing or another.”

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends adults engage in flexibility training a minimum of twice a week.

Matthews believes flexibility training is commonly the most neglected component of fitness.

“Flexibility will increase with flexibility training,” she said. “How much is unknown.”

Using a nomenclature intended to mark its lineage from and position as belated successor to the classic E-Type, Jaguar’s sultry soft top is the Britsh marque’s first return to the sports car segment since the 1960s E-Type, and so bears the F-Type designation. In between the two, Jaguar’s other sporting models, were the larger XK and XJS grand tourer coupes, while the limited production 1990-92 XJR-15 and 1992-94 XJ220 were, respectively, a road-going racer and an all-out hyper-car. Capturing much of its distant predecessor’s glamour, chic and feel-good fun factor, the F-Type is intended to instill the modern Jaguar brand with such sporting authenticity.

A classy convertible with dynamic finesse, muscular performance and svelte styling, the F-Type has rightfully been associated with a number of beautiful women in the media, and in a contemporary milieu easily lives up to its E-Type predecessor’s enviable and widely acknowledged status as one of the world’s most beautiful automotive designs, ever. With its seductive style and sense of visceral charisma lending it a crucial advantage over most rivals, the Jaguar F-Type convertible — and upcoming fixed-head coupe — may be genuine sports cars, but are luxurious ones aimed at Porsche offerings and are set to soon be joined by a similar Mercedes sports car.

Fast finesse

With an advanced, lightweight bonded and riveted aluminium structure off-setting it’s full complement of luxury and high-tech safety kit, the mid-range F-Type S weighs in reasonably light at 1,614kg. Offered in a choice of three supercharged engines including a range-topping 488BHP V8 S model and two three-litre V6 models including an entry-level 335BHP version, but it is however the 375BHP S version that delivers the most enticing package and best value in terms of handling finesse, adroit weighting and easily exploitable power. In addition to more power and torque, the F-Type S also receives mechanical limited-slip rear-differential and adaptive dampers over the base model.

Tuned to produce 40BHP more than the basic three-litre V6 F-Type from the same engine, the F-Type S belts out 375BHP at 6,500rpm and churns out 339lb/ft or torque throughout a broad 3,500-5,000rpm range. While it’s 4.9-second 0-100km/h performance sits almost smack in the middle of the base model’s 5.3-seconds and the V8 S’ 4.3-seconds, its combined cycle 9.1l/100km fuel consumption and 213g/km carbon dioxide emissions ratings are however only marginally more than the 335BHP F-Type. With less overwhelming power and torque and the limited-slip differential, one can also better use throttle control and the engine’s sensational high rev abilities for more nuanced and delicate on-throttle cornering.

Consistent and urgent

Using a mechanically driven Roots-type supercharger the F-Type S launches with an electrifying responsiveness and pulls and cleanly surges from tick-over to redline that a consistent urgency that turbocharged engine can’t match. With a progressive, ferocious and eager lunge towards its revvy sweet spot, the F-Type S also benefits from broad and muscular mid-range muscle that underwrites power accumulation. With ever-responsive and flexible mid-range pickup, the F-Type S overtakes with an effortless and versatile verve, with 80-120km/h dispatched in just 3.1-seconds. Indefatigable and in the face of wind resistance, the F-Type S pulled hard into high speeds during track driving, and can reach a 275km/h top speed.

More importantly for driving purists, the F-Type S’ smaller and lighter engine slightly reduces both overall weight and front weighting to provide a crisper, tidier and more eager turn-in through sharp and successive corners. Combined with long-legged and consistently progressive power delivery, the F-Type S is fun, predictable and balanced when cornering at the limit, while a limited-slip rear-differential improves cornering traction and lines by distributing power between the driven rear wheels to the one with best traction and better able effectively put it down. An intuitive eight-speed automatic gearbox uses a smooth torque converter for operating lower and quick concise clutches for decisive on-the-move shifts.

B-road balance

The F-Type S also features adaptive suspension rates to make it firmer and more connected on track or smoother and more supple over imperfect textured roads. Well resistant to body flex over Spanish B-roads, the F-Type S felt structurally rigid, while the upcoming F-Type coupe promises even higher rigidity. With mid-front engine, the F-Type S benefits from ideal 50:50 weighting concentrated within the wheelbase owing to wheels being pushed out to corners. With big-footprint stability, sophisticated and firm double wishbone suspension, the F-Type S was poised, taut through the northern Spanish Navarra race circuit, and displayed high grip levels even in lightly drizzling conditions.

Compact and agile, the F-Type was nimble but stable on track, reassuring during high speed driving and settled and buttoned down on vertical rebounds. Using an adaptive hydraulic-assisted steering system for better more textured feel, feedback for grip limits and road, and intuitive weighting rather electric-assistance, the F-Type S quick ratio steering turns eagerly with concise wrist flicks and bites hard into corners. Driven with the top down in cold conditions, the F-Type S’ wind buffeting was minimal, while the al fresco experience allowed one to better appreciate the seductively snarling, popping, crackling, raspy, barking and urgently howling medley when the active exhaust system was engaged.

Seductive style

Closely following the sinewy and dramatic 2011 C-X16 concept, the Jaguar F-Type’s “skin” is taut over its body, with wheels out to the corners for a confident road stance. Toned and athletic, the F-Type S sporty and muscular fascia, with wide honeycomb grille, sharp air splitters and vertical intake gills, is contrasted with a evocative and suggestive Coke-bottle curves, and voluptuous haunches. A slinky low boot with thin wide rear lights adds to the F-Type’s perception of width, while sporty details include side port, bonnet vents and dual central exhaust pipes. A soft-top convertible, the F-Type features a clean and slender silhouette profile.

Tasteful, luxurious and sporting, the F-Type S’ upholstery and paneling are finished with soft textures, real metal accents and plush leathers. Ergonomic and comfortable the F-Type S’ seats keep one firmly in place and along with the sporty steering are highly adjustable. Hunkered down and enveloping, the F-Type’s cabin is sized well, with decent room even with the roof up, while boot space is adequate. Refined and insulate with the roof up, electric roof operation conveniently takes just 12-seconds at up to 50km/h. Mod cons include numerous safety and infotainment systems, including the ability to adjust the F-Type S’ adaptive throttle, gearbox and suspension settings from the infotainment touch-screen.

Specifications

Engine: 3-litre, aluminum block/head, supercharged, 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 ‘Quickshift’ automatic, rear-wheel-drive, limited-slip differential

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

Final drive: 3.31

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

Specific power: 112BHP/litre

Power -to-weight ratio: 210BHP/ton

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 339 (460) @ 3,500-5,000rpm

Specific torque: 150.25Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight ratio: 285Nm/ton

0-100 km/h: 4.9-seconds

0-60 mph (97 km/h): 4.8-seconds

80-120km/h: 3.1-seconds

Top speed: 275km/h (electronically governed)

Fuel economy, combined: 9.1-litres/100km

Combined CO2 emissions: 213g/km

Fuel capacity: 72-litres

Length: 4,470mm

Width: 1,923mm

Height: 1,296mm

Wheelbase: 2,622mm

Track, F/R: 1,585 / 1,627mm

Boot capacity: 200.5-litres

Kerb weight: 1,614kg

Weight distribution, F/R: 50% / 50%

Suspension, F&R: Double wishbone, coil springs, dampers, stabilizer bar

Steering: Variable power assistance, hydraulic rack & pinion

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 354 / 325mm

Tyres, F/R: 245/45R18 / 275/40R18

PARIS — A jolt of caffeine can boost memory, according to a study published Sunday that provides a scientific motive for students slurping coffee, tea or energy drinks when cramming for exams.

A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, found that caffeine enhances certain memories for at least a day after they were formed.

Evidence for caffeine as a memory booster has been anecdotal until now.

This is because the process of registering memories — say, reading a book ahead of an exam — may happen in conditions where the person is eager to absorb and retain information.

This makes it hard to distinguish between someone’s natural alertness and that derived from caffeine.

To strip out this confounding factor, a team led by Michael Yassa, an assistant professor of psychological and brain science, tried a different tack.

They asked 73 volunteers to look at images of a number of objects — for instance, a plant, a basket, a saxophone, or a seahorse.

Afterwards, half of the group were given a 200 milligramme dose of caffeine — roughly equivalent to two cups of strong espresso — and the others a dummy pill known as a placebo.

Saliva samples were taken one, three and 24 hours later to measure caffeine levels.

The following day, both groups were asked to look at another set of pictures.

Some of the images were the same, others were new, and a few were similar — for instance, a basket as before, but this time with one handle instead of two.

Both groups did well at distinguishing between old and new pictures, the researchers said.

But those on caffeine were much sharper at identifying the “similar” items in the lineup.

The test sought to discern the effect of caffeine on the hippocampus, a part of the brain that distinguishes between patterns — requiring both short- and long-term memory.

“If we used a standard recognition memory task without these tricky similar items, we would have found no effect of caffeine,” Yassa said.

“However, using these items requires the brain to make a more difficult discrimination — what we call pattern separation, which seems to be the process that is enhanced by caffeine in our case.”

The study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, could be valuable in the study of brain cell health.

“Caffeine is associated with healthy longevity and may have some protective effects from cognitive decline like Alzheimer’s disease,” said Yassa.

“These are certainly important questions for the future.”

AMMAN — Large canvases by Syrian artist Omran Younis showing human beings’ fear of life and longing to return to a-safe-from-harm mother’s womb are on display in Amman’s Zara Gallery, bringing Syrian modernism to an enhanced and unconventional level.

Combining contemporary aesthetics with practices passed onto him by predecessors from the 1960s school of Syrian modernism, Younis has been exploring several styles over the years, endorsing an expressionist touch in his latest work, expressing emotional experience rather than reality.

“A mature modern Arab art was born in the 1960s,” art historian Zena Takieddine wrote in the essay “Arab Art in a Changing World”, “The artists’ sources of inspiration converged around issues of freedom, autonomy heritage and celebration of traditional beauty.”

Following journeys to Europe to pursue artistic training in the early 1950s, “Syrian artists were no longer imitators [of Western art] once back in their country, but mature visionaries forging creative art forms to carry meanings relevant to Arab identity.”

In the 1960s, heavyweight Syrian artists such Elias Zayyat and Fateh Moudarress, whose work has been sold at Christie’s, the world’s largest and most prestigious fine arts auction house, became professors at the Academy of Fine Arts in Damascus, paving the way for a new and innovative generation of artists.

Younis graduated from the academy at the end of the 1990s, in an environment imbued with pioneering inspirations.

The 42-year-old artist has been using the accomplishments of his predecessors as a stepping stone to forge his own artistic trademarks, “mixing bold social commentary with an acute sense of observation and a confident command of medium and technique”, critics wrote about his work.

In the exhibition “Human”, which runs through January 28, paintings in red and black hues show quintessential figures of mothers and infants which, despite being near enough to merge into a single body, look as being apart from each other as entities from distant universes.

“In ‘Human’, I face the fear of life that everyone feels often leading to memories and longing to return to their childhood or their mother’s womb,” the artist wrote as he was unable to leave Syria and attend his exhibition due to the ongoing civil conflict.

“Does this desire come from fear or is it perhaps an attempt to search for a new beginning?” the artist asked adding that he was often tantalised by the role played by madness in determining the road we choose to achieve our dreams.

The Lowland
Jhumpa Lahiri
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013, $27.95 (hardback)
P.p 340

In her latest novel, Jhumpa Lahiri takes a giant leap in terms of scope and subject matter, while retaining the elegant immediacy of her prose. Her previous fiction focuses on how Indian immigrants to the US adapt and recreate their culture, and the gaps arising between the first and second generations. The immigrant experience and multiple identities is also very much present in “The Lowland”, but India itself—its history, terrain and traditions — looms much larger than it did in “The Interpreter of Maladies”, “The Namesake” or “Unaccustomed Earth”.

Politics intervene with a vengeance in “The Lowlands” without at all lessening the perceptive rendering of the personal sphere, which is Lahiri’s trademark. With a few well-chosen words, she reveals her characters’ emotional states and pinpoints interpersonal dynamics, whether sexual politics, family ties, friendships or casual encounters, but this time the catalyst of the plot is not personal. It is a young man’s political involvement, which marks the lives of four generations of a Bengali family, stretching from Calcutta to Rhode Island (where Lahiri herself was raised). 

Two brothers growing up on the outskirts of Calcutta are practically inseparable. Close in age, intelligence and appearance, doing everything together, only their dispositions diverge. While Subhash is hesitant, ever mindful of fulfilling his parents’ expectations, Udayan is more daring, ready to challenge the world, including his parents, who love him nonetheless for it. Attending different universities in the tumultuous 60s, their paths begin to diverge. Subhash pursues his scientific studies seriously, while Udayan immerses himself in politics. This is the time of the Vietnam War and, in India, the Naxalbari revolt erupts to champion the rights of peasants who suffer under the feudal system still in place in rural areas. By the time Subhash applies for graduate studies in the US, Udayan has joined to the Communist Party of India (ML), which draws inspiration from the revolt and from China. Udayan opposes his brother’s going to the US on political grounds, but also because he can’t imagine the separation.

While Subhash is pursuing his Ph.D. in Rhode Island, Udayan’s political choices cost him his life. Nothing is ever the same. Their parents’ lives come to a standstill, their dreams for the future dashed, after having staked all on building a house that would accommodate their sons, anticipated wives and grandchildren. Udayan’s widow, Gaudi, a student pregnant with his child, is numb with grief, unprepared to deal with the consequences. All are haunted by the past, unable to live in the present, unable to envision a future. Only Subhash makes an effort to rebuild the family by marrying Gaudi, taking her to the US where she can continue her studies in philosophy, and standing in for his brother as the father of their child, but things don’t work out as he initially hopes. For the greater part of the novel, it seems to be a tale of a family unraveling. As Subhash puts it, “They were a family of solitaries. They had collided and dispersed.” (p. 262)

Many intriguing themes are woven into this family saga. The most obvious is howpeople react to trauma, what it takes to cope and eventually reconstruct a life or create a new version of one’s self. A little deeper, the plot poses questions about the extent to which we control our own lives, and about definitions of parenthood and family.

“The Lowlands” is an intricately structured novel. Rotating between Calcutta and Rhode Island, with a smattering of California, between the past, present and an imagined future, and between the points-of-view of several characters, it all ties together. No detail is superfluous or random; all tie into the development of the plot or characters. There are many descriptions of nature, which make the novel more real, but they are not there just to provide “local colour”. Rather, they serve to reinforce a character’s frame of mind or internal musings. Time and place are more than setting, assuming meaning as the characters struggle to understand how the past connects to the present and future.

In the end, however, “The Lowland” leaves us with a paradox. The thrust of the plot would seem to condemn the path of revolutionary violence chosen by Udayan, for that is what sends the family into a downward spiral. Yet, the novel is replete with facts that attest to the need for political and social change. Perhaps the point is to make the reader ponder other means of struggling for social justice. “The Lowlands” is available at Books@Cafe and Readers.

LAS VEGAS — If you love your iPhone but would prefer a physical keyboard, Typo could be for you.

But you might want to order soon. BlackBerry, the company that made physical typing on mobile devices an addictive craze, is suing Typo Products LLC, accusing it of copying its world-famous keyboard.

The idea’s great: With BlackBerry’s ongoing struggles and the rise of touch-only iPhones and Android phones, physical keyboards on mobile devices were headed to obsolescence. That’s a big loss for people who can use their thumbs to type as fast as 60 words per minute on a physical keyboard.

Enter the Typo Keyboard, a Ryan Seacrest-backed phone case that was showcased at this week’s International CES gadget show in Las Vegas.

How it works

Typo’s keyboard slips over an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S like a protective case.

Its similarities with BlackBerry phones are notable: It has angle-cut keys suitable for thumb-typing. The keyboard layout is nearly identical — for example, with parentheses above the “T’’ and “Y’’ instead of the “9’’ and “0’’ on a typical keyboard. Thick silver bars separate rows of keys.

Physically, there are a few differences. Because the Typo case covers the iPhone’s home button, it added one with the same function on the bottom right. There’s a Bluetooth function on the “0’’ key so the Typo can connect to the iPhone wirelessly. A light bulb key on the bottom left gives Typo’s keys some lighting to use in dark environments.

The dispute

In a federal lawsuit filed Friday in San Francisco, BlackBerry Ltd. alleges that “Typo chose to copy BlackBerry’s iconic keyboard design” and is making money off of BlackBerry’s widespread recognition and goodwill.

Typo responded in a statement that BlackBerry’s claims “lack merit” and that the company is excited about its “innovative keyboard design”.

Look and feel

In my hands, the Typo works fine — just like a BlackBerry — except it is blocked from using Apple Inc.’s autocorrect function while typing. So that means you have to tap misspelled words that are underlined in red later and choose from options to fix them. If you have an iPhone 5S, the fingerprint sensor will be covered up, so you’ll have to resort to inputting a passcode.

Development

Laurence Hallier, the CEO and co-founder of Typo, said testers of the device included BlackBerry users and others.

“We wanted that thumb-typing like the BlackBerry,” he said. “We went out and priced it out. We built prototypes. It took us 18 months.”

Typo Products is a Los Angeles startup co-founded by Seacrest and Hallier.

Availability

Typo sells for $99 and is expected to start shipping on Monday. It works only with the iPhone 5 and 5S, not the 5C or older iPhones.

LAS VEGAS — The techno-chic with a few thousand dollars to spare can sport outfits that can change colour on a whim.

London-based designer Amy Rainbow Winters showed just how in a FashionWare area at the Consumer Electronics Show here on Wednesday.

On display was a dress she made of fabric with fibre optics woven in and sensors in the sleeves. Light travelled through the cloth, which glowed blue. With a touch of a sleeve, Winters changed the colour.

“If you feel like having a purple, the dress will be purple,” Winters said. “If you later feel like having red, you have red. You just look at the sleeve and decide what colour you want.”

Winters designs fabric and clothes, then collaborates with technologists to make the materials needed. She works with many techno-fabrics, including some that react to sound, sun or water.

Nearby she had on display a dress with motion sensors in the cloth that changed colours if the wearer jumped.

Fabric she creates can be made into just about any garment.

“The fabric can be anything; pants, shirts, dresses, hats...” Winters said. “If someone is going to wear Google Glass they might as well wear fibre-optic pants.”

Her creations are custom, and have been used in entertainment productions such as music videos or to catch eyes in ads. She is not in the ready-to-wear market.

“I’ve had some retailers ask me about stocking, but you have to be really careful because they are so expensive to make,” Winters said.

“They are showpieces; but if people have a couple of thousand dollars to spare here it is.”

Fibre-optic dresses cost about $3,000 to make, but the price can rise depending on the design, according to Winters, whose creations are on display online at rainbowwinters.com.

LAS VEGAS — It's not a bird, not a plane. But it could be someone's personal drone coming to the skies near you.

Some of the flying objects being shown at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas include items that are for play, personal photography and other uses which could lead to a market for the products.

The notion of personal drones follows widespread use by the US military and growing reliance by law enforcement on such aerial technology.

Retail giant Amazon meanwhile, has hatched a plan to create delivery drones, and French-based technology firm Parrot unveiled its "mini drone" toy which can be controlled from a smartphone.

"We have civilian drones and now we have toy drones," Parrot's Nicolas Halftermeyer told AFP, describing the Parrot drone as a device designed for teenagers who enjoy a challenge of using a tablet to direct the device.

While one division of the French firm makes fixed-wing drones for mapping and other purposes, this devices, which can be held in one's hand, is purely for play, says Halftermeyer.

"It has plastic propellers, they are not dangerous. With four propellers, it can balance itself automatically."

For more serious uses, Chinese-based maker DJI unveiled its line of flying devices which look a lot like drones.

"We prefer the term aerial systems," DJI's Gabriel Chan told AFP.

Designed for aerial photography, the self-balancing flying devices can access hard-to-reach areas and produce "beautiful cinematography”, Chan said.

DJI's Michael Perry said the groups has established "a platform for any user to create amazing videos from the skies”.

While most of the usage so far has been for personal photography and professional cinematographers, Perry said DJI devices were also used for search-and-rescue operations in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan.

Perry said that in the United States, people can uses the devices to fly at altitudes up to 120 metres but that the Federal Aviation Administration is examining rules governing drones at higher altitudes.

The company offered a test flight of its Phantom 2 Vision which it calls "the world's first consumer quadcopter with a built-in high-performance camera".

The device can fly 25 minutes and send images and location back to a smartphone which directs navigation. It also is programmed to return home if the user loses the location.

DJI says the device can revolutionise photography by getting to places normally inaccessible, like the middle of the Grand Canyon, or close to sporting events. But there could be other uses, such as for disaster relief.

DJI has three other flying devices including one designed for professional cinematography and photography.