Tag: camera

Put down the phone! Camera flashes on selfies may cause epileptic seizures, study claims

Posted on by Maria Karisa

The act of taking a selfie has become as commonplace as taking a regular photo.

However, experts are warning that the seemingly innocent practice can cause epileptic seizures responses for some.

In one case, a selfie-taking teen had seizure-like spikes in her brain activity after snapping a bright photo of herself.

Canadian doctors determined she likely had a photosensitivity response to these types of photos and this could be a contributing factor to her seizures.

The recent case study determined that those with photosensitive epilepsy can have seizures caused by the bright flash, and called the phenomenon ‘selfie-epilepsy’.

This is the latest allegation against selfies. In the past, experts said the act could cause wrinkles due to the phone’s radiation and self-image issues.

A Canadian teenage girl (file photo) had seizure-like spikes in her brain activity after taking a selfie. Doctors called the phenomenon 'selfie-epilepsy' and said it may cause seizures for people who have photosensitivity epilepsy

The report was put together by pediatric doctors at Dalhousie University in Canada and published in the medical journal Seizure.

The medical experts observed the teenager’s brain spikes while they were monitoring her to gather information about what was causing her seizures.

The girl was being recorded in a lab setting and was hooked up to an electroencephalogram, or EEG.

Doctors noticed that while she was in the dark room she took a selfie, with the flash and the pulsing flashes of red-eye reduction, which caused the unusual spikes in her brainwaves.

These seizure-like spikes helped the doctors diagnose the girl with a photosensitivity response to selfies.

One form of epilepsy is called photosensitivity epilepsy but it’s rare, making up three percent of epilepsy cases.

People with this form of the condition can have seizures triggered by flashing light, natural light and even visual patterns.

It is most commonly found in children and adolescents, becoming less frequent as the child grows older.

The case noted that since this conclusion was drawn from only one patient, there needed to be a larger study conducted to determine if selfies could be a trigger for all patients with photosensitivity issues.

 

Read more: dailymail

Langata Man Caught On Camera Battering Wife Denies Charge

Posted on by Lourraine Chituyi

John Wachira, a man who has recently come into the limelight for beating his 6-months pregnant wife to a pulp, has denied charges leveled against him in court despite the evidence.

According to The Star, Wachira who had been detained for two days, denied the charges before senior principal magistrate Daniel Ogembo at Milimani law courts on Wednesday.

He will be in police custody until Friday, when a hearing for the determination of his bond will take place.

On February 9, police lost a bid told to hold Wachira for three days to complete investigations into the allegations.

City resident magistrate Miriam Mugure turned down their application, saying it lacked merit and asked them to either bond the suspect, present him in court, or release him immediately.

 

5 ways to take your selfies to the next level

Posted on by Michelle Wangari

The selfie craze is evolving daily with the latest trend to hit the internet being the ‘shoefie’ or shoe selfie. Created by Miz Mooz shoes it is literally taking the art of selfies to a new level… your foot. Want that perfect picture but can’t be bother lugging round a stick, drone or 3D printer. Simply slot your phone into the selfie-shoe and voila!

1. Shoefie or Shoe selfie
Not sure you’re quite ready to hoist your leg into the air and snap away? Well here are four other ways you can take that selfie-obsession to the next level.

2. Get yourself a selfie-stick
Let’s start off small. If you haven’t already got a selfie-stick, where have you been? For the selfie-fanatic keen on catching the best shots with a wider view than your arm can give you, it’s a must have. Still, a word of caution – many sporting codes, theme parks and even museums have either banned or considering putting restrictions on them.

monopod-selfie-stick-3
timeslive.co.za

3. How about a selfie drone?
Too cool for a stick? Then how about investing in a drone? Photojojo founder Amit Gupta for instance has posted several videos and Instagram pictures taken using a drone.

4. It’s a drone… on your wrist?
Love the idea of a drone but not sure how you’ll fit it in your handbag? Well for something a little more lightweight there’s always the Nixie – a tiny bracelet you can take off, throw into the air and it takes a video or photo before flying back to you.

5. Go 3D
Everyone’s doing it, so why not the selfie-fanatics? A Dusseldorf-based company, DOOB 3D, can produce a detailed, four-inch figurine of your body – basically you can become your own action figure. Then for good measure you can take a selfie of your 3D selfie with a selfie-stick/shoe.

selfie
timeslive.co.za

-timeslive.co.za

Safaricom gets contract for security camera’s

Posted on by Lourraine Chituyi

The Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government today signed a landmark agreement with Safaricom that will see the roll out of a first-of-its-kind National Surveillance, Communication and Control System, for Nairobi and Mombasa.

The contract signing ceremony for the agreement took place today at Harambee House and was attended by Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government Joseph Ole Lenku; Amb (Dr.) Monica Juma, Principal Secretary, Interior, Dr. Kamau Thugge, Principal Secretary, National Treasury; David Kimaiyo, Inspector General and Bob Collymore, Safaricom CEO.

The development effectively means that Safaricom can now embark on the process of building the secure communications and surveillance network. The solution will also include the installation of cameras in the two cities to provide real-time footage to the National Police Operations Centre.

The Cabinet Secretary Mr. Lenku said the secure communications and surveillance project would greatly enhance security in the country by providing security agents with the capability to monitor and deter crime.

“In July, the National Assembly Committee on Administration and National Security approved the award of the project to Safaricom, setting the stage for today’s announcement. We believe that the level of scrutiny provided over the last five months by the National Assembly and Public Procurement Oversight Authority, among others, is sufficient.

We are keen to see the project go live as soon as possible,” said Amb. Juma. On his part, Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore indicated that this was a pioneering achievement, not just for Kenya, but also for Africa.

“Over the next 18 months, Safaricom will build an intelligent solution that harnesses the power of technology to enable law enforcement officers effectively coordinate and deploy their resources in response to threats to national security and, indeed, emergency situations requiring the interplay of competencies from the National Police Service and various disaster response teams.”

Upon completion, the system will be operated by the National Police Service under the expertise of a core project team comprising senior officers from the National Police Service and communications experts.

The project gets underway following the receipt of all relevant approvals required to complete the installation and management of a communication and surveillance system to help combat crime.

Under the terms of the 5 year agreement, Safaricom will undertake the completion of the KSh14.9 billion project (exclusive of taxes) at its cost and thereafter hand over the operations of the system to the National Police Service.

As part of the agreed terms, the Government will enjoy the use of the service at no cost for the first year of its operation and the Government will only start paying for the solution through a series of annual installments commencing in 2016.