wscenter: ธันวาคม 2007

12/27/2550

12/26/2550

toy

12/13/2550

Tips For Playing It Safe This Holiday Season

As the holiday season kicks into full gear, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles will be scouring toy stores for the perfect gifts for the children in their lives. With the recent wave of toy recalls—including some of the most trusted brand names in the toy world—buyers may be wondering how to make safe choices, but lead-related worries are only one issue in toy buying.

According to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 20 children under the age of 15 died of toy-related injuries during 2005. Half of all fatalities involved choking or asphyxiation related to small toys or pieces that broke off from toys. “When shopping for children under age 3, avoid toys with small parts, which can cause choking,” advises Dr. Edward Barskdale, Division Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. Shoppers should read labels carefully and heed age recommendations: if a toy is labeled ‘not recommended for children under age three,’ parents need to take that warning seriously. “You may think your two-year-old is more advanced than the average child,” notes Kathryn Wesolowski, Manager of the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital Injury Prevention Center, “but even the brightest babies and toddlers explore by placing things in their mouths. Thinking that your child is the exception to the rule can lead to tragedy.”

Of the 202,300 children who were treated in U.S. emergency rooms for toy-related injuries during 2005, more than 1 in 3 cases involved children under the age of 5. Riding toys (including unpowered scooters) were associated with 58,400 injuries—more than any other toy category. “Bikes, in-line skates, sleds, skateboards, and scooters are popular holiday gifts,” says Dr. Gregg DiGiulio, Division Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, “but the gift isn’t complete unless it includes protective gear. Helmets can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent.”

As you do your toy buying for this Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa season, remember these key tips:

• Follow age recommendations when selecting toys.

• Choose toys that suit the age, abilities, skills, and interest level of the intended child.

• For children under age 8, avoid toys with sharp edges and electric toys with heating parts.

• The dollar store may not be the best place to shop for toys—low cost overseas imports have been implicated in many of the recent toy recalls associated with lead-based paint or choking risks. Look for quality design and construction in all toys for all ages.

• Avoid toys that produce loud noises: toy guns and electronic games can permanently impair a child’s hearing.

• Avoid toys with strings, straps, or cords longer than 7 inches; children can be strangled in loose straps.

• Check for recent recalls at www.recalls.gov and be aware that recalled toys may still be on the shelves in some stores. Always mail back warranty and product registration forms for new toys to be sure you’ll be notified of any future recalls.

12/12/2550

How Children Develop Empathy
by Lawrence Kutner, Ph.D

A 3-year-old who cries out, “Mommy! Look how big that man’s nose is!” will probably be politely shushed by his mother and ignored by the man. An adult who makes an equivalent statement, however, might find his own nose swollen and hurting within seconds. The difference is much more than a matter of social graces. We do not expect 3-year-olds to understand how the things they say affect other people’s emotions. They are not empathic in the way adults or even well-adjusted 6-year-olds are.

To empathize with someone is to understand what he is feeling or, more properly, to understand what you would feel like if you were in his situation. It is an extension of self-concept, but it is far more complex. It requires an awareness that others think of themselves in ways that are both similar to and different from the way you do, and that they also have emotions they associate with those thoughts and images.

Unlike intelligence and physical attractiveness, which depend largely on genetics, empathy is a skill that children learn. Its value is multifold. Children who are empathic tend to do better in school, in social situations, and in their adult careers. Children and teenagers who have the greatest amount of skill at empathy are viewed as leaders by their peers. The best teachers of that skill are the children’s parents.

The precursors of empathy can be seen in children within the first day or two of life. A crying newborn child in a hospital nursery will often trigger crying among other infants in the room. Such crying is not a true display of empathy. The newborn infant appears to be simply responding to a sound that makes her uncomfortable, much as she would to any loud noise.

Toddlers sometimes show behavior that is closer to true empathy in their first efforts to connect another person’s discomfort with their own. When a 2-year-old sees his mother crying, he may offer her a toy he’s been playing with or a cookie he’s been nibbling. He is giving his mother something that he knows has made him feel better when he has cried. It is unclear, however, whether the child understands what his mother is feeling, or is simply upset by the way she is acting, much in the way a puppy will come up and lick the face of someone who’s crying.

By the time a child is about 4 years old, he begins to associate his emotions with the feelings of others. While one child says he has a stomachache, some 4-year-olds may come over and comfort him. Others, much to the bewilderment and horror of parents and teachers, will walk over the to child and punch him in the stomach.

Yet in each case the healthy child is demonstrating his empathy for the one who is ill. The aggressive child does not know what to do with the skill he’s been developing. The other child’s pain makes him feel uncomfortable. Instead of running away or rubbing his own stomach, as he might have done a year earlier, he feels frustrated and lashes out.

Teaching Empathy

Although the best training for empathy begins in infancy, it’s never too late to start. Infants and toddlers learn the most by how their parents treat them when they are cranky, frightened, or upset. By the time a child is in preschool, you can begin talking about how other people feel.

The way you show your own empathy, however, may be more important than anything you say. If your 3-year-old cries out, “Look at the fat lady!” and you publicly bawl out your child and say that he shouldn’t embarrass other people, you’re working against yourself. Instead, quietly and gently explain why saying that may make the woman feel bad. Ask him if he’s ever felt bad because of something a person said. Even so, some 3-year-olds may be too young to comprehend what you are saying.

When a child is about 5, he can learn about empathy by talking about hypothetical problems. How would you feel if someone took a toy away from you? How would your friend feel if someone took a toy away from him? By the time a child is 8, he can grapple with more complex moral decisions in which he must realize that someone else’s feelings may be different from his own.

12/11/2550

Digital Underwater Camera

There is nothing more peaceful and beautiful than the world underwater, so for all you young people starting to experiment with photography this Digital Underwater Camera is for you, or would make a great gift for someone you know who enjoys this interest.

Underwater photography has really moved on and this camera beats the dated disposable versions of the past. If you have a passion for underwater photography this model is a good one to start with where you can capture and record your own experiences under the sea.

So when you’re snorkeling on your holidays, remember to take it along with you and you can show off the beautiful sights you have seen to your friends!

12/10/2550

DragonFly

by Lance Ulanoff

With its translucent wings and Styrofoam (actually Expanded Polypropylene) body, WowWee's new FlyTech Dragonfly doesn't look as if it would withstand 5 minutes of flight time, let alone the repeated dives and wall collisions I subjected it to. Yet it did.

Produced by the company that brought you the Robosapien, Roboraptor, and other interesting robo-creations including the king himself, this remote-controlled flying toy is not a robot. It is, however, an impressive piece of engineering that imitates life in its own weird way. The affordable toy is essentially a bug

that can flap its four wings (two up and two down, with a wing-span of roughly 16 inches) with enough speed to launch from your hand or the floor. A rotor on its long tail controls the flight direction. (There's also a spare rear propeller in the package.)
The Dragonfly ships with a rather large but not unwieldy remote that offers three controls. The left toggle is for wing flapping speed, the right one for turning left or right and a dial around the on-off button adjusts the trim, the overall steering direction (in case your Dragonfly always cruises left or right).

Designed for those ages 8 years and up, the toy was fairly easy to set up and use. A charging cable is hidden inside its 0.8-ounce body; press a button to open the hidden compartment and then find something small (like a pencil) to budge the charging cable out of its space. It's not the best design, but I got used to it. The Dragonfly has two glowing blue LEDs for eyes, which pulse gently during the required 20-minute charge. There's also a small magnet embedded into the belly; it pairs with a small magnet on the charger. This is supposed to give the flying toy a secure base to rest on during a charge, but my Dragonfly tended to slip off its perch. Not a big deal, just a little annoying.

Each charge gives you 7 minutes or so of flying time, something that my tests bore out. The contraption buzzes around a room with an insect-like sound that seems to come from the wing motors. WowWee built the Dragonfly to fly both indoors and out, recommending a room of at least 16 by 16 feet for effective inside flight. Outside, the robot can fly to 50 feet away from the remote before losing contact.
It's currently 15° F with a 20-mph gusting wind in the New York area, so outdoor test flights are pretty much out of the question—WowWee generally recommends flying the toy outside only on calm days, anyway. (When the weather hit 30 degrees, my daughter and I gamely attempted an open-air flight. The wind speed couldn't have been more that 15 mph, but the ultralight Dragonfly kept getting blown off course). There's also some conflicting advice in the manual. It discusses flying the toy down hallways (do you know of a 16- by-16-foot hallway?), but a small-print safety warning cautions, "Do not fly near walls or ceilings." In my experience, that's pretty much impossible.

Still, the lightweight toy is surprisingly resilient. As my daughter and I practiced properly finessing the controls, the Dragonfly went headlong into walls and nose-dived into the floor without any ill effects. In fact, even the seemingly flimsy plastic (polyethylene) wings held up to run-ins with a hutch and the room's radiator. This may be partly because of the bug's carbon-fiber framing, which runs as a boom underneath the long tail and in the four wing spars.
Thankfully, the Dragonfly ships with an extra set of wings. They differ in design from the default set and have a bug-like lattice printed on them instead of faux-circuitry. There's also a fabric ribbon tail that you can easily attach to the foam tail. This add-on is supposed to make the Dragonfly easier to control in small spaces. My daughter and I tried it, but found the toy easier to fly without it. The remote has both beginner and expert settings, too. The latter lets you make tighter turns with the flying bug.

I could imagine it taking a few days (possibly a week) to really get the hang of controlling the Dragonfly. By the end of my tests, I had learned how to lift off from the ground (smooth surfaces only—the thin metal legs tend to get caught on rugs) and even gently release the toy from my hand while using the remote with the other. I had it do spirals and some straight flights as well, but it never stayed airborne for more than 10 seconds. I'm sure I could do better and learn faster in a larger space, though.

All in all, it's the most fun I've had with a flying toy since I got my first rubber-band–powered wooden plane. Boy, I can't wait for spring!
Dragonfly is available for preorder at Radio Shack and will go on sale there around the end of this month. Wider availability is expected in April.

12/08/2550

Play Tips

"Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity." – Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
It has been said that parents are their child’s first playmates. Research shows that children who play regularly with their parents, grandparents or other extended family members enjoy the greatest developmental benefits. Here are some great ideas for spending creative, imaginative and quality playtime with your child.

Share a favorite toy, game or storybook from your childhood with your child and create a new memory.

Teach your child a skill. Whether it's playing an instrument, playing catch or even tying their shoe laces, they'll never forget who taught them.

Get moving! Play a game of Frisbee, toss a ball, or engage in some other activity that gets you both up and active. It will help both you and your child stay sharp and fit.

Get crafty! Paint pictures together, knit a scarf, make jewelry or get a craft kit. You can even give the finished products as gifts to other family members for birthdays and holidays.

Plan a game night. Have members of the family of all ages participate. Take turns picking favorite games to play. (You might find a new favorite!)

Explore the world of one of your child's favorite characters. See a movie, read a story or play a game featuring their cartoon or animated hero.

Tell a story about when you were young and have your child do the same.

Create a photo memory book that you can enjoy and pass on to generations to come.

Cook in the kitchen together. It not only helps your child learn reasoning, math and reading skills, but you'll have a tasty treat to share with friends and family as well.

Enjoy downtime. Don't forget to relax and enjoy watching your children playing on their own or with friends.

Selecting Safe Toys

Choose toys suitable to your child's age, abilities and skill level. Toys that are not appropriate for your child's age group may pose safety hazards.
Avoid toys with small removable parts, which could pose a choking hazard to children under age three.
Look for high-quality design and construction. Make sure stuffed animals' eyes, noses and other small parts are tightly secured.
Avoid sharp points or edges on toys for kids under eight.
Avoid electrical toys with heating elements (batteries or electrical plugs) for children under eight. These toys are a potential burn hazard.
Avoid toys that produce loud noises and choose toys that have a volume control mechanism.
Avoid toys with strings, straps or cords longer than seven inches. These can pose a potential strangulation hazard.
Be sure to read the labels on all toys. Be aware of age and safety recommendations and take them seriously.

from Chrissy Cianflone.

12/05/2550

Phones get both weirder and simpler; everything else becomes waterproof

By PETER CROOKES

Boning up on new tech: Call me old fashioned, but I like to hear sounds with my ears. Progress, however, is no fan of nostalgia, and so the bone-induction trend continues. NTT DoCoMo ups the ante with its Sound Leaf Plus keitai (cell phone) accessory, due out in February for around ¥13,000. The device, an upgrade of an existing model, hooks up to your handset via Bluetooth and delivers its sounds as vibrations through the bones of your skull and on to the inner ear. Beyond the novelty, the technology is intended to trump noisy environments, such as bars on Friday nights. Weighing in at just 45 grams, it runs for about 15 hours on two LR03 batteries. Improvements include a softer vibration pad.
Simple works: Keitai are increasingly packed with abilities that we never use. With the ability to surf the Internet, play music and videos, take photos and so on, who focuses on the ability of a phone to make and receive calls? Willcom is tossing away the marketing madness with its stripped-down NICO+. Available in a variety of bright colors, the NICO+ does two things — it works as a phone and sends e-mails. Long may simplicity reign.
Making a splash: Who says electronics and water don't mix? Twinbird's new Zabady digital music player can be immersed in water for up to half an hour, to a depth of one meter. Beyond catering to bathroom frolics, the device is set up to handle CDs and MP3 and WMA files, and it has the neat feature of a USB port that allows it to play back music from a connected hard drive. Costing ¥21,000, the gadget weighs in at 900 grams and its battery is good for about four hours of playback.
Sub in a tub: Diving straight into musical eccentricity is the Submarine Bath Radio. Available in black or yellow (such as Ringo Starr might favor), the dinky sub costs ¥1,838, and there's more information at cataloger.jp The completely waterproof gadget rather leaves the rubber ducky high and dry as a bath-time aid.
Micro music: One of the slimmer new digital players on the market is Evergreen's new Business Card MP3 Player. Weighing just 36 grams, this 1-gigabyte compact music device is about as big as a meishi (business card), and just 2.5 mm thick. It is available from U.S. Web site GeekStuff4U.com for the nicely rounded sum of $126.19.
TV to go: For TV addicts, a 1Seg tuner is undoubtedly on the Christmas list. Buffalo is set to stuff stockings with the DH-KONE/U2V. The USB gadget is Windows Vista compatible and can record TV programs onto your PC, which you can then watch on your keitai, PSP or PlayStation 3. It's priced at ¥11,500.
Robo-clock: Alarm clocks really aren't designed very sensibly. The devices were built for the singular purpose of rousing people from their slumber. Yet at the same time the clocks are hobbled by having snooze buttons installed — the get-out-of-jail-free cards of waking up. Clocks are getting help in the sleepy arms race with a little robot timepiece called Clocky. Not content just to sit there, sound off and wait to be silenced, this critter runs around eluding your groping hand until you surrender to the need to get out of bed. It sports a face complete with button eyes and LCD mouth that give it an endearing look, two big white wheels for speed and costs ¥7,140