Technology

Plantar fasciitis. If you haven't had to deal with it personally, just ask around. Chances are you know lots of people who can describe it in great detail: stabbing heel pain and agonizing steps followed by a frustratingly slow recovery. Plantar fasciitis - an inflammation of the plantar facsia, a thick band of tissue that runs along the arch from the heel to the toes - has become so ubiquitous that podiatrists can practically make the diagnosis before a patient even sets foot in their office.

In a historic feat for the U.S. Navy, a stealthy bat-winged drone was catapulted off an aircraft carrier's flight deck before it soared above the Atlantic and into the blue sky. On Tuesday morning, the X-47B experimental drone was launched from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush as it floated off the Virginia coast. The test flight was seen as a milestone in drone technology and the program, which has been eight years in the making. "Today we saw a small but significant pixel in the future picture of our Navy as we begin integration of unmanned systems into arguably the most complex war-fighting environment that exists today: the flight deck of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier," Vice Adm. David Buss, commander of naval air forces and known as the Navy's "air boss," said in a statement.

Ever wanted to know what your dog was doing all day without having to set up a complicated video camera system? People Power, a Palo Alto software company, has released a mobile app that can easily turn an old iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch into a security camera. The company's free app, Presence, makes it possible for users who have Wi-Fi to set up one Apple device as a video camera and another as a monitor. For instance, a dog owner could take an old iPhone, turn it into a camera and then watch the pooch on an iPad at work.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Even though its ubiquitous Internet search engine practically mints money, Google Inc. was widely seen as a company whose best days were behind it. It was written off as the next Microsoft Corp. - a staid high-tech giant in the shadows of Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. that had lost its sense of urgency and innovative edge. But that sentiment has shifted dramatically over the last year, and when Google swings open the doors to its annual conference for software developers Wednesday, it won't just be showcasing its latest products.

A worrisome abdominal pain drove Jalal Afshar to seek treatment last year at healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente. The Pasadena resident and Kaiser member had lived for years with a rare condition known as Castleman's disease, which affects the lymph nodes and the body's immune system. But this was the first time he experienced such severe symptoms. Kaiser granted his request to see a specialist in Arkansas. But it ultimately declined to pay for his treatment there. By June, Afshar said, Kaiser was arranging for hospice care so that he could die at home.

Basics of over-the-air viewing Channels: For a list of broadcast channels available in your area, go to www.rabbitears.info, click on "searches" and put in your ZIP Code. Antennas: There are a variety of sizes and configurations; finding the right antenna may involve some trial and error. Also, to give your signal a boost, consider buying an "amplified" antenna that plugs into an electrical socket. Prices: They range from less than $5 for a small indoor unit to around $200 for a mountable outdoor device.

Scientists hoping to mimic the life-extending qualities produced by a chemical found in red wine and dark chocolate say they have solved one of the mysteries about how this compound works to combat the effects of obesity, diabetes, certain cancers and a host of other maladies. The findings, published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, could lay the foundation for a variety of drugs that act like concentrated amounts of resveratrol, the compound that has inspired a $30-million-a-year supplement business.

The California Air Resources Board on Thursday banned popular in-home ozone air purifiers, saying studies have found that they can worsen conditions such as asthma that marketers claim they help to prevent. The regulation, which the board said is the first of its kind in the nation, will require testing and certification of all types of air purifiers. Any that emit more than a tiny amount of ozone will have to be pulled from the California market.

When it comes to choosing broadband Internet providers, you can't always get what you want. But with certain limitations, you can get what you need. If you use the Internet regularly, chances are you already have broadband -- that is, a high-speed hookup, usually through your cable television provider or phone company. But are you getting it at the right speed and right price? There are more choices than ever, even though you typically have to go with a provider that serves your neighborhood.

Gardena police are taking law enforcement in a new direction: Instead of just tailing the bad guys, they're tracking the good ones. Using a system like the one used to recover stolen cars, Gardena is monitoring the movement of its patrol cars, prisoner transport vehicle and undercover detectives. It is the first law enforcement agency in the nation to use the high-tech system to follow its police force. "I feel more comfortable using Teletrac," said Officer Nick Pepper.

Fly toy helicopters with your mind. Be a DJ and shift musical tracks based on how you feel. Wiggle robotic cat ears by increasing your state of calm. Astonishing advances in the ability to harness brain waves have made the fantastic notion of moving and controlling objects with the mind possible. Now neuroscientists are grappling with another challenge: Find a "killer app" that will demonstrate the true potential of tapping into brain waves and ignite the neurotechnology revolution.

While Jennifer Clay was at home taking an online exam for her business law class, a proctor a few hundred miles away was watching her every move. Using a webcam mounted in Clay's Los Angeles apartment, the monitor in Phoenix tracked how frequently her eyes shifted from the computer screen and listened for the telltale sounds of a possible helper in the room. Her computer browser was locked - remotely - to prevent Internet searches, and her typing pattern was analyzed to make sure she was who she said she was: Did she enter her password with the same rhythm as she had in the past?

The three-day Milken Institute Global Conference kicked off Monday in Beverly Hills, with media moguls Barry Diller and Rupert Murdoch among the hundreds of business leaders and politicians slated to speak. The annual event, run by financier and philanthropist Michael Milken, will also host talks by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Vice President Al Gore, Magic Johnson and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. There are close to 4,000 attendees this year watching 600 panelists participating in some 140 sessions.

Talk about heat from law enforcement. As thousands of police officers closed in on Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Friday evening, airborne authorities relied on thermal imaging technology to confirm the fugitive's position in a stored sailboat. “We have what's called a FLIR - a forward-looking infrared device - on that helicopter. It picked up the heat signature of the individual," said Col. Timothy Alben of the Massachusetts State Police.  PHOTOS: Manhunt for bombing suspects Bloodied from an earlier gun battle with police, Tsarnaev, 19, had crawled into a plastic-covered boat that was stored in the backyard of a Watertown, Mass., home.

Atwood will appear at the Festival of Books in conversation with Michael Silverblatt at 11 a.m. on Saturday. More information: latimes.com/festivalofbooks If you want a sense of how Margaret Atwood operates, you could do a lot worse than to watch her keynote address at the 2011 O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference in New York. "This is not the kind of thing I usually do," the author begins, speaking in a quiet deadpan, before stepping from behind a podium and moving to the lip of the stage.

In one of the stranger plot twists in Hollywood, BitTorrent Inc., the technology company whose name was once synonymous in the creative community with Internet piracy, is now doing business with the film industry. The San Francisco company is partnering with Cinedigm, a leading Los Angeles distributor of independent films across digital platforms, to promote its newest release, "Arthur Newman," starring Colin Firth and Emily Blunt. Starting Monday, BitTorrent will help promote the film by inviting the 170 million users of its software - which helps facilitate the transfer of large data files - to watch the first seven minutes of the film prior to its theatrical release Friday.

The Los Angeles City Council may soon decide whether to make new technology available citywide that would allow emergency vehicles to control street lights in their path. Early next week, the council is expected to hear a motion introduced by Councilman Richard Alarcon that would instruct city, fire and police department officials to study the feasibility of installing the technology at key, congested intersections throughout the city.

SACRAMENTO - California's $8-an-hour minimum wage needs to go up, says Watsonville Democratic Assemblyman Luis Alejo. And he may be getting the votes he needs to make it happen. But don't count on it; Alejo has tried this before. Alejo is the author of AB 10, which would give the Golden State its first minimum wage increase since 2008. The bill would raise it 25 cents an hour next year, 50 cents in 2015 and an additional 50 cents to $9.25 an hour in 2016. In 2017 and annually thereafter, hourly pay would be adjusted upward automatically, based on the state's inflation rate.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Make no mistake about it, Larry Page has his sights set on the future. The Google co-founder and chief executive discussed his company's big bets such as YouTube, Android and Chrome, but focused on more speculative bets such as Google Glass and Google Fiber during a conference call with analysts to discuss first-quarter financial results. "Companies tend to get comfortable doing what they've always done, with only a few minor tweaks. It's only natural to work on the things you know," Page said.

Leap Motion is partnering with Hewlett-Packard, announcing that its Leap Motion Controller will be bundled with select HP personal computers and that its 3D motion-sensing technology will be embedded in some of the company's devices. The company said the PCs bundled with Leap controllers would be available this summer. It declined to specify which products would be embedded with Leap's technology and when they would be available. "Our focus at Leap Motion is to fundamentally improve how people interact with their devices, and offer as many ways as possible to achieve that vision," Leap Motion co-founder and chief executive Michael Buckwald said in a statement.