When it comes to top-end dash cams, Nextbase have more or less redrawn the battle lines with the 622GW. It comes with a colossal number of features to entice gadget lovers and those looking to upgrade their existing in-car camera.
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However, the 622 is one of the priciest models we’ve seen on the market. So how does it hold up, and is it actually worth the $400 price tag? 

Price and availability
The Nextbase 622GW is available for $399.99 from Nextbase.com. It’s a big jump in price from the brand’s next model down, the $260 522GW, at $259.99 and other rivals in the 522’s class.

Design & features
The 622GW shares a similar chassis with its sister dash cams, the 522GW and 422GW. But while the latter two feature a black case with brushed metal trim, Nextbase have plumped for a slightly staid-looking battleship gray this time around. It’s not the most exciting design we’ve ever seen, but then again, you won’t be looking at anything other than the back most of the time.

Read the rest of the review at Tomsguide.com

Aldi, of all places, has a real treat for deal-loving gamers over the Black Friday period, offering the Nintendo Switch for £229.99.

Yes, not content with selling rubber kayaks, inflatable Christmas trees and foam softball bats, the budget supermarket will be selling Nintendo's latest console for a whopping £50 off the standard price currently offered by most retailers. The offer was first spotted over at HotUKDeals and we have since confirmed with Aldi this Black Friday Switch deal is legit.

For those who have yet to take the plunge on the Switch, this is indeed a great deal for the base version of the console, which usually sells for around £280.

However, shoppers who love to comb through Aldi's middle aisles won't find it in-store - it's available online only via its Black Friday webpage from Friday 27th November. Eager beavers who don't want to miss out might want to stay up into the early morning hours of the 27th, as the deal may go live sometime overnight.

And with a hefty discount of 18% off the RRP, we're sure this offer will be gone in no time at all. Our tip? Grab a coffee and keep smashing that refresh button. If you miss the Aldi deal, have no fear - we've got you covered with our dedicated page featuring all the best Nintendo Switch Black Friday deals.

Nintendo still reports strong sales of the Switch in 2020, and there have been supply shortages across the COVID-19 pandemic, so it's unlikely you'll find a bigger discount off its base model anywhere else.

However, thrifty customers might want to see what other retailers are doing, such as Amazon, Currys PC World, GAME and Argos.

These vendors usually offer decent gaming bundles, meaning you can likely snag a Switch plus a game or two for not much more than the price of the standard console. These games may include recent AAA releases, including Pokémon Sword/Shield, Super Mario 3D All-Stars or Mario Kart 8.

​"Did you see me f**k up those mother**kers?"

It sounds like a line in a Tarantino movie. But it was said by a police officer in Florida, right after firing a rubber bullet into a protester.

Another officer's bodycam captures the incident that took place at Fort Lauderdale during a Black Lives Matter protest on May 31.

In the footage, the cop boasts to his colleague about hitting the protester, barely able to contain his glee.
He was unaware his bodycam was recording at the time.

Rubber bullets are known as "less-lethal" weapons, often used by law enforcement to help quash riots.​

Less-lethal ammunition first appeared in the 1880s, when Singapore police fired sawn-off broom handles to disperse unruly crowds.

This was later adapted by the British, who replaced the wood for rubber bullets. During the Northern Ireland conflict known as "The Troubles," it's estimated that British soldiers fired in excess of 55,000 rounds in just five years.

For starters, the term rubber bullet can be misleading. As well as solid rubber rounds, other variations exist. These might contain a wooden, metal or plastic core, housed within a rubber shell.

They also come in a variety of shapes and sizes: shotgun-style pellets, cylindrical rounds and those sculpted more like traditional bullets.

Less-lethal ammunition also covers beanbag rounds, lead pellets held in a small cloth bag, as well as sponge grenades, bullet-shaped plastic rounds with a dense foam nose.

And despite their toy-like names, all these weapons can often permanently maim, and in some cases, kill.

Since the George Floyd protests, media outlets have been awash with graphic images of injuries from rubber bullets and less-lethal rounds.

"The main injuries are bruising or contusion-based," says Dr. Jeffrey M. Goodloe, who serves as a Member of the Board of Directors for the American College of Emergency Physicians.

"Some [of the bullets] can have sharper points or edges to them. In those cases we might see lacerations, abrasions or deeper penetrating injuries. And in situations where these weapons are not being fired as originally designed, we get more serious injuries."

Studies show the blunt force trauma inflicted by these weapons can lead to fractures, nerve damage and internal injuries that can be fatal.

A 2017 review published by the British Medical Journal looked at injury data from 1,984 people shot with kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), including rubber and plastic bullets.

Of these people, approximately 3% died as a result of their injuries and 15% suffered a permanent disability.

"We find that these projectiles have caused significant morbidity and mortality... much of it from penetrative injuries and head, neck and torso trauma," report the study authors. "Given their inherent inaccuracy, potential for misuse and associated health consequences of severe injury, disability and death, KIPs do not appear to be appropriate weapons for use in crowd-control settings."

During these recent protests, the seriously injured include:

• Art student Megan Matthews, who suffered a broken nose, fractured facial bones and deep lacerations to her face when a rubber bullet struck her in Denver.
• Activist Derrick Sanderlin, who provides bias training for his local police force, was reportedly shot in groin in San Jose. He needed surgery for a ruptured testicle, and was later told by doctors he might not be able to have children.
• A homeless man in a wheelchair, who was struck in the head in Los Angeles as a street protest passed him.

​Also caught in police crosshairs was photojournalist Linda Tirado. She was covering the protests in Minneapolis when she was shot in the face.

"I was taking pictures of the police when a round caught me in the eye," she says. "I remember a thud on my head, my goggles falling off and my face feeling wet with blood. I knew I'd been hit."

Tirado was led away and driven to the hospital by protesters. "There was so much adrenaline, I don't remember the pain. But I can remember the pressure in my swollen face."

She underwent surgery within an hour of arriving at the hospital, but the incident left her permanently blind in her left eye.

These are just a few of a catalog of reported injuries over the last few months of protests against police brutality.
In a list compiled by Los Angeles researcher Scott Reynhout, at least 60 people have suffered serious head injuries, brain damage, lacerations, bruises, broken jaws and severe eye trauma.

"It's very rare to have internal bleeding," says Dr. Goodloe. "But it's possible if there is a direct impact in the upper abdomen, over the liver or spleen."

There's currently little field data on US police use of less-lethal weapons. Officers are not required to log their use, while national standards do not exist.

This means police departments must set their own rules. Denver PD guidelines state that less-lethal projectiles should not be deployed "to the head, eyes, throat, neck, breasts of a female, genitalia, or spinal column."

The United Nations has also issued guidance on the use of less-lethal weapons, stating, "they should be used only in direct fire with the aim of striking the lower abdomen or legs of a violent individual."

The original idea was to aim these weapons at the ground so they bounce up and impact in the leg or thigh. "When used as designed, they should not cause deep or permanent injury," says Dr Goodloe. However, we're seeing them ricochet in unpredictable ways, especially if the surface ground is uneven."

And from the reported injuries sustained by so many, it is clear that more work needs to be done. These rubber bullets are reportedly being fired in close-quarters, aimed in such a way where they strike the head, neck or chest.

"America is having a realization similar to that of The Troubles," says Linda Tirado. "We're seeing how dangerous these weapons can be."

In recent weeks, physicians and medical organizations, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, have called for an end of the use of rubber bullets.

For now however, the advice to stay safe is to put distance between you and a potential less-lethal weapon. "The further you're away from the bullet, the safer you are in many cases," says Dr. Goodloe.

"If you're not able to do that, then avoid looking directly at where these projectiles are coming from, and crouch down, turning to the side. Protect your face, neck and upper abdomen."

Picture your traditional office leader, rolling up their sleeves at brainstorming sessions and dominating the boardroom table. They are highly extroverted, self-assured and usually the first to speak up.

But their alpha days might be numbered.

A new breed of leader is emerging in the virtual working environment, and they come with decidedly different traits than their office counterparts.

While the Covid-19 pandemic remains at large, organizations of all sizes have had to figure out new ways of working.

Under the lockdown initiated by countries across the world, millions of workers have been relegated to the home office. Before long, an explosion of video conferences had many employees scrambling for a comb and a decent webcam.

And in their many virtual interactions, some may notice a seismic shift in the colleague dynamics at work (from home), particularly when it comes to how they perceive those that lead.

These people are often thought of as backroom operators, working behind the scenes to drive smaller work processes forward. But these are the new leaders who are coming to the fore.

Now, a new study has come to light exploring this phenomenon.

Researchers at the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University (BYM) looked at 220 student teams within two Midwestern universities. These teams either mostly worked virtually, or mostly in person.

The participants completed surveys about their own and their team members' characteristics and behaviors, as well as those they considered to be team leaders.

When combining this data with the transcripts of the group's virtual conferences, the researchers noticed patterns around "emergent leaders".

These were people who lack formal authority, but become recognized as leaders by their peers within their respective teams.

Where traditional leaders were perceived to be extroverted and highly intelligent, in an online environment, those traits were of far less value.

"On a virtual team, it's more important than in a face-to-face meeting to stand out as the one who helps others," says study co-author Cody Reeves and Professor at BYM. "Those who take the time to pause and assist others with tasks are more likely to be viewed as leaders."

These differences between IRL (in real life) and virtual leaders were "stark", says Reeves.

While the ability for leaders to socially connect with others remained important, online leadership was valued by being able to drive small actions, such as monitoring timelines and giving feedback.

"Online, perhaps because there are fewer cues available for human interaction and more opportunities for miscommunication, team members gravitate toward those who take concrete steps to ensure achievement, rather than toward those with charismatic personalities," reports an accompanying comment from BYM.

And while Covid-19 measures are likely to change the landscape of how we live and work forever, there seems to be no end in sight for the virtual working environment.

Therefore, the study's authors note that managers and team members need to understand that alternative leadership traits and behaviors are gaining traction in this new working world.

They also note that companies need to take a step back and re-evaluate who they want to promote within their organization, given that virtual contexts differ so much from those in-person.

"In virtual environments, our actions speak loudly," said fellow study author Steven Charlier, professor of management at Georgia Southern University. "The 'soft' skills that traditional managers rely on might not translate easily to a virtual environment."

Reeves agreed, noting that “a ‘natural leader’ who doesn’t usually engage in these specific leader-like behaviors but always kind of ‘has it’ needs to be extra careful—because those are the types that are at the highest risk of no longer being viewed as a leader in virtual contexts.”

"Now is the time for organizations and employees to gain virtual leadership competencies," said study lead author Radostina Purvanova of Drake University. "These are the skills of the future. Those companies that have already embraced virtuality are now reaping the benefits — and the rest of us must catch up quickly, or else we will simply be left behind."

The study is published in the Journal of Business and Psychology.

Keep your toilet lid closed when you flush - that's the advice being pushed by researchers in their continuing fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
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A Chinese study has revealed what goes down when you flush a toilet, and importantly, what stays up.
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Published in the journal Physics of Fluids, the research showed that when a toilet is flushed, a cloud of tiny droplets is propelled up to three feet in the air.

These micro-particles can then 'hang' in the air for up to one minute - enough time to be breathed in by the next person needing to go.

Recent studies show the Covid-19 virus can survive as it passes through a person's digestive tract, becoming present in their feces.

A flushing toilet is known to disperse other virus and bacteria in the air, in a process known as fecal-oral transmission.

Though person to person transmission of Covid-19 via this way wasn't clearly established by the study, the researchers say it's entirely possible, given the evidence.

The team from Yangzhou University analysed computer models that simulated the water and airflow in two types of flushing toilets.

They discovered that when water hits the toilet bowl, a large amount of turbulence is generated, leading to the formation of vortices. These vortices continue upwards past the bowl and into the air, accelerating droplets of fecal matter to speeds of up to five metres per second.​

"The simulation results are alarming in that a massive upward transport of virus particles is observed," reports the study. "In addition, 40%–60% of particles reached above the toilet seat, leading to large-scale virus spread."

The investigators recommended that people close toilet lids when they flush and practice good hygiene, such as thoroughly washing their hands and cleaning the toilet seat before use.

With lockdown measures easing in some countries, people are now returning to the office and other public spaces such as shops and parks.

However, public and work toilets could still pose a risk for spreading Covid-19, particularly in facilities with no toilet lid to put down.

The study authors note: "Blocking the path of fecal-oral transmission, which occurs commonly in toilet usage, is of fundamental importance in suppressing the spread of viruses. However, to date, efforts at improving sanitary safety in toilet use have been insufficient."

The study authors also recommend manufacturers start rethinking toilet designs to help minimize the spread of other viruses and bacteria when they flush.