HOMEOWNERS JUMPS ON THE KEYLESS ENTRY OPTION SIMILAR TO VEHICLE THEY DRIVE AS DIGITAL LOCKS ARE BECOMING THE NORM–OPTING FOR CONVENIENCE SAKE–AS SAMSUNG AND YALE ARE POPULAR DIGITAL LOCK MAKERS

Home owners are increasingly opting to go keyless not just for their vehicles, but their homes as well, as the popularity of digital locks has surged over the past three years.

With features such as keycard access, fingerprint scanners, password entry and even phone-app unlocking, digital locks are changing the game for an otherwise enduring invention.

Digital locks have been on the market for almost a decade. But their popularity among home owners, particularly those staying in Housing Board flats, has exploded in the past year, according to Mr Ivan Lee, director and co-founder of An Digital Lock. The retailer's sales have increased by 25 to 30 per cent year on year over the past three years, he said.

Most users cite convenience as the main reason for opting for a digital lock over a traditional one, as they do not need to carry a set of keys around with them. Neither do they have to worry about forgetting to lock their doors, as such a lock will automatically latch itself when the door is closed.

"I wanted to get a lock which would reduce the amount of hassle when I come home," said Mr Andy Wee, 33, who works in a tuition agency. He installed a Samsung digital lock at his Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) apartment in Yishun last July.

"Many times when I return home, I would realise that I had left my keys at my workplace or in the car, and would have to go back to get them," Mr Wee said.

My Digital Lock founder Ronn Teo said his number of installations has jumped significantly this year, but declined to reveal figures.

Half of the digital locks are installed at HDB flats, particularly new Build-To-Order or DBSS units, he said. His firm's clientele comprises mostly young, just-married couples, with a "few people in their 40s".

The other installations are split evenly between condominiums and office spaces.

Both Samsung and Yale are popular choices here due to their strong brand name and brand association, said Mr Teo.

But brands such as Kaba, Evernet, Gateman, Mykey, Hyundai and Virdi have also been making headway, giving consumers a wealth of options in terms of design, functions and looks.

Installation of digital locks is generally quick, with qualified contractors typically able to finish the job in less than two hours.

The basic tier of locks start from $299, such as the Yale YDR3110, and function as add-ons to existing locks on doors. Such locks offer either PIN access or key card access, or both.

http://www.straitstimes.com/tech/cards-codes-fingerprints-the-new-key-to-home-security

TESLA MODEL S IS BEING VOLUNTARY RECALLED SINCE ONE FAULTY PASSENGER SEATBELT WAS INCORRECLY MANUFACTURED FROM THE 90,000 TOTAL WORLDWIDE SALES

ELECTRIC car company Tesla has issued a worldwide voluntary recall to every single Model S on the road, around 90,000 in total.

But this isn’t because of some huge manufacturing defect — it’s a result of just one single report from Europe that a seatbelt wasn’t assembled properly.

The fault was found after the person sitting in the front passenger seat turned to talk to other passengers in the rear seats and their seatbelt became disconnected. Officially, Tesla said that, “a bolt that connects the outboard lap pretensioner, which pulls the seatbelt tight in the event of an accident, wasn’t assembled properly.”

There were no injuries as a result of the incident and there have been no other reported examples. Tesla also says they haven’t been able to replicate the issue on its assembly line or on any of the other 3000 cars they have tested.

The US government agency that looks after automotive safety, the NHTSA was notified of the incident but didn’t order Tesla to issue a recall, they did that themselves.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/tesla-issues-voluntary-recall-over-a-sing-seatbelt-incident/news-story/4655b73662c45504650e2fc724d90d80

ANOTHER THAAD SUCCESSFUL TEST IN THE WAKE ISLAND OF THE WESTERN PACIFIC ALONG WITH THE AEGIS SYSTEM TO DEFEND THE WESTERN SHOULDER OF THE USA FROM ANY COMMUNISTS WHO DARE MAKE THE SURPRISE FIRST STRIKE ATTACK SIMILAR TO THE DAY THAT LIVES IN INFAMY PEARL HARBOR OF WW2–AS MULTIPLE THREAT MISSILE ATTACKS COUNTERED WITH MULTIPLE DEFENSIVE KILLS

The United States successfully conducted the latest test of its ballistic missile defense system early this month, with the THAAD and the Aegis systems working together to intercept multiple targets as intended in a layered defense design, according to a congressional report.
The test was conducted in the vicinity of Wake Island in the western Pacific Ocean on Nov. 1, the Congressional Research Service said in a report on the Navy's Aegis ballistic missile defense program, citing the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
In addition to the MDA, other participants included the Ballistic Missile Defense System Operational Test Agency, Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, the U.S. European Command and U.S. Pacific Command, it said.
"The test stressed the ability of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense weapon systems to negate two ballistic missile threats while Aegis BMD (ballistic missile defense) simultaneously conducted an anti-air warfare operation," the MDA was quoted as saying.
"This was a complex operational test of the BMDs which required all elements to work together in an integrated layered defense design to detect, track, discriminate, engage and negate the ballistic missile threats," it said.
Assets involved in the test included a THAAD battery consisting of a THAAD Fire Control and Communications unit, THAAD launcher, and an AN/TPY-2 radar in terminal mode; a second AN/TPY-2 radar in forward-based mode; Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications; and the USS John Paul Jones Aegis BMD-configured ship with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar, the agency said.
The test, which was formally designated "Flight Test Operational-02 Event 2a," began when an Air Force C-17 aircraft launched a short range air launch target around 11:05 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Oct. 31.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20151116000231

CALIFORNIA’S WATER DISTRIBUTOR THE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IS NOT OUT TO GET MORE WATER BUT LOOKS TO BE OUT FOR RESTRICTING THE USE THEREOF FROM LAND OWNERS LIKE FARMERS –AS THE WATER AGENCY GOBBLES UP LAND IN THE PALO VERDE VALLEY TO STAKE ITS WATER CLAIM TO THE DISMAY OF THE LOCAL FARMERS WHO DESPERATELY NEEDS WATER FROM THE COLORADO RIVER

The nation's largest distributor of treated drinking water became the largest landowner in a remote California farming region for good reason: The alfalfa-growing area is first in line to get Colorado River water.

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's play in Palo Verde Valley, along the Arizona line, tapped a deep distrust between farm and city that pervades the West over a river that's a lifeline for seven states and northern Mexico.

Farmers recall how Los Angeles' modern founders built an aqueduct a century ago to bring water hundreds of miles from rural Owens Valley, a story that was fictionally portrayed in Roman Polanski's 1974 film, "Chinatown."

"Are we going to dry up our rural, agricultural communities just to keep Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego growing? I think it would be a sad state of affairs," said Bart Fisher, a melon and broccoli farmer who is board president of the Palo Verde Irrigation District.

Metropolitan tried to calm nerves by sending its chairman in September to a public forum in Blythe, 225 miles east of its Los Angeles headquarters. It pledged to honor a 2004 agreement that caps the amount of land it pays farmers to idle at 28 percent of the valley.

That agreement, which expires in 2040, is hailed as a model for farms and cities to cooperate. Metropolitan pays farmers about as much as they would profit to harvest - $771 an acre this year - to bring foregone Colorado River water on its 242-mile aqueduct to 19 million people in the coastal megalopolis it serves.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_FARM_VS_CITY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-11-21-10-57-44