Happy holiday weekend to all my American readers. As you enjoy this long weekend (hopefully with great weather) take a moment to recap what has happened this week in tech.

From (Almost) Felonious to Scholarship Winner

A couple of weeks ago Kiera Wilmot made an honest mistake and allegedly ignited a chemical explosion on school property. As a result, she was expelled from her high school and police even tried to throw away her life with a felony. After her community stood up for her, the charges were dropped, and she was allowed to move on. But now even better things have happened for Kiera! The young lady has received a full scholarship to the U.S. Space Academy, courtesy of a NASA veteran who, as a teenager, was accused of starting a forest fire during a science experiment.

How do you feel about how the situation ended?

Apple Used its Creativity on Something Besides Technology

This week the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee of Investigations claims that Apple didn’t pay taxes on at least $74 billion in overseas income by setting up subsidiaries in other countries. In a comic that came out today it is illustrated how this scandal is affecting Apple’s image (see above).

The New and Improved Baby Monitor

Remember when baby monitors looked like the ones above? Well as always there’s a new and improved baby monitor that was introduced as part of Microsoft’s annual Imagine Cup, a global student technology competition. A group of students from Winona State University, who call themselves “The Miracle Workers”, came up with a high-tech baby monitor that not only hears a baby’s cries, but it also measures and logs a baby’s heartbeat, breathing, and movement.

The device consists of a sensor-filled pad placed on top of a mattress in the baby’s crib. Normal ranges for heartbeat, breathing, and movement are pre-programmed for different ages (0 to 3 months, 3 to 6 months, etc.). If the baby strays from the normal ranges, the pad alerts the parents via a Windows Phone or tablet. It can also alert the baby’s doctor, if the option is selected.

Currently, the sleeping pad costs $150 to manufacture. However, if the product goes into mass production the cost can go down quickly.

Any parents out there willing to buy this monitor?

Until next time…

Xo Deena