sleep

Power management hot keys in OS X

Many system functions in OS X are accessible not only through menus and utilities, but also through hot keys that can be invoked from the keyboard. Often these can be found by perusing the menus and observing the keyboard shortcuts next to the various commands in them, but in addition to these there are a number of hidden keyboard shortcuts that can be used for managing specific functions.

When it comes to power management options in OS X, such as restarting or shutting down, people often access the Apple menu where Apple keeps these options; however, if your mouse is … Read more

Your sleep patterns, now in soundtrack form

I had that dream again the other night. The one where I (oops!) forgot to go to class all semester and it's time for the final, and OMG, but wait, maybe somehow I can fake my way through it?

Apparently, this dream plans to dog me no matter how far away from college I get. I've had it so many times it deserves its own soundtrack. And now, it turns out, it can get one.

Computer scientists from Finland's University of Helsinki have developed software that makes music out of sleep patterns. … Read more

How to prevent sleep in OS X

System sleep in OS X systems is convenient to have for saving power without interrupting your workflow, especially for laptop systems. This is easy enough to set up in the OS X system preferences; however, there may be times when despite having sleep enabled you might have an important task running and wish to prevent the system from going to sleep.

In past versions of OS X, the system would not enter sleep if applications were running and writing files to disk or running lengthy computational tasks, but this has changed in the latest releases of OS X, where programs must invoke a power assertion … Read more

Troubleshooting sleep in OS X

System sleep in OS X is a convenient feature that saves power while preserving your work flow. This option has been available in Macs and other PC systems for years, and is especially useful for laptops where you might wish to conserve battery power. While computer sleep is nothing new, there are some details of how it is implemented in OS X that may help you troubleshoot situations where sleep does not behave as it should.

For Mac systems sleep is governed by the system management controller (SMC), which has a number of variables it uses to manage when disks … Read more

FAA may change in-flight gadget rules

Keep your seat belt fastened for Tuesday's tech news roundup:

The Federal Aviation Administration has formed a committee to reconsider its policy on when electronics can be turned on during a flight. But this does not include making a cellphone call, so no worries about noisy neighbors. This group will look into how (or if) today's smartphones and tablets interfere with communication and instruments, and perhaps future electronics could have some new certification standard that marks it as safe for use during a flight.

Android users might have to thank the Apple vs. Samsung trial for speeding up … Read more

Alarm app makes you get up, take photos, stay awake

We've seen quite a few diabolical alarm clocks. One of the cleverest so far has been the Ramos clock, a device that makes you get out of bed, locate the disarm panel, and type in a code to shut it down. It's awesome, but also a little expensive, starting at $160.

For the price of free, you can get an Android app that has a similarly evil plan in mind for your morning. Sleep If U Can uses a photo matching system to make the alarm shut up. … Read more

The 404 1,097: Where what kind of man dresses like a bird (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Apple patents game controller.

- Check out Shellrazer, out now and available for everyone.

- Spelunky is a 2D platform game for Xbox Live Arcade and PCs that demands patience and a lot of time.

- The Verge has bad news about your favorite game.

- Subscribe to Polygon's gaming podcast The Besties, featuring Russ Frushtick. … Read more

The 404 1,095: Where we hang onto the bar (podcast)

Last week's show with the Sleep Doctor Michael Breus answered a lot of questions about how to stop snoring and sleep better, and Dr. Breus generously donated a Renew Sleep Clock to give away. The contest starts today, so head over to our 404 SubReddit and tell us about your craziest dream for a chance to win!… Read more

Podtime: Napping tubes for pod people

You want to take a nap, but you don't want it to be just any old nap. You want to nap in sci-fi style in a nearly indestructible polycarbonate tube with frosted doors. You want to nap in a Podtime Sleeping Pod.

A $2,100 Podtime comes with a mattress fit to the tube's dimensions and "outstanding air circulation." That boast probably won't help if you're claustrophobic, however.

The sleeping pods fold down into flat packs for portability. Since each pod weighs about 220 pounds, you won't want to haul it along on your morning commute, but it could be moved around on occasion as needed.… Read more

The 404 1,092: Where we wake up screaming (podcast)

The Sleep Doctor Michael Breus is back in the studio to solve all our snooze-related questions, and he also brings us a new toy! He's showing off the Renew SleepClock by Gear4, a sleep management tool that knows when you're sleeping and takes careful measurements to record your sleep patterns.

It also works as a tailored alarm clock that wakes you up at the lightest moment in your sleep cycle, so you'll arise super refreshed. Dr. Breus also gave us one to give away on a future show, so be sure to tune in to find out how to win.

As usual, the Doctor also answers questions from our listeners. Today he'll respond to inquiries about the correlation between memory and sleep, and whether or not we can learn things like languages and facts just by sleeping.… Read more