Apple Watch

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Gadgets

The Apple Watch is likely the most popular gadget of the year. People are still figuring out what benefits excite them about the watch. It seems to me the potential is huge but this initial effort is not quite amazing.

[Apple broke the link, so it is no longer available 🙁 jeez even companies with spending hundreds of millions on marketing don’t have people in charge that understand that web links must live.]

I embedded Apple’s promotional video for the watch which is obviously a sales piece but they do a very good job of showing what the watch offers.

There are many good reviews of the watch: The Apple Watch (Daring Fireball) – Apple Watch Review: The Smartwatch Finally Makes Sense (WSJ) – A Week on the Wrist: The Apple Watch Review (Recode) – Apple Watch Review (Verge

My opinion is it is very expensive for what you get. But I can see the potential for some very wonderful things down the road. The health kit options I think will be a killer feature (maybe not right away but within a couple years).

Another feature that will be quite valuable are paying with a swipe from the watch (which seems to be less than perfect so far), but it will be very nice. Apple Pay is a very smart system given the relative ease at which consumers credit card details continue be stolen using conventional means (Apple Pay doesn’t turn over you credit card number so hackers can’t get it from poor IT systems at retailers).

The quick interactions with friends I think will be a big feature, again it may take several interactions to get this to be wonderful. The “tap” notifications seems to physically be done very well. Figuring out the right settings to properly filter what should generate that touch seems to take a bit of work (and not surprisingly apps are defaulting to too much bothering the user).

Being able to just speak to leave yourself notes is a nice feature, though my guess is one that isn’t used as much as people would think it would be.

Personally I see more potential for the watch that I see actually delivered thus far. I am more positive about the long term success of the watch today than I was when it was first announced.

I stopped wearing a watch years ago. And I don’t have any plans to start again anytime soon. But if I do, the Apple Watch is a likely candidate. It sure isn’t cheap but hopefully I can just use a bit of profit from Apple stock when the time comes to pay for one.

Save on Phone Charges When Traveling – Sim Card Savings

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Gadgets

Roaming charges on cell phones are ludicrously expensive. When I travel I normally just get a local sim card but that does have hassles (you don’t have your normal cell phone number attached to your phone).

A new service provides much better roaming rates by directing your roaming traffic to their network instead of your cell phone carrier. The cool gadget that allows this is a sticker applied to your sim card.

You phone must be unlocked for this to work. It works with iOs (iPhone and iPad), Android and other systems and all sim types (micro, nano and mini).

There is an option to get a local number to let people easily call you locally.

When applied to your home SIM card, the KnowRoaming sticker can detect when you are at home or abroad. When abroad, the KnowRoaming Sticker takes over and switches you onto the KnowRoaming network, enabling you to connect to our local partner networks worldwide. After returning home, the KnowRoaming sticker switches you back to your home mobile network and remains dormant.

They take your balance after 15 months of no activity which is unnecessarily hostile to customers. But for the right people it might be worth looking into if this option would benefit you.

Canon PowerShot SX60 HS Digital Camera

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Gadgets

I am fairly cheap. I bought a Canon Powershot SX-60 HS camera today (with 64 Gb card, backup battery and comfortable strap) for $550. I think that is the 2nd most expensive thing I bought this year (an iPad mini I think was more expensive). In the last 5 years the only other thing I can remember buying that was more expensive was a MacBook Pro.

I am very happy to have a new camera. I started looking more than 6 month ago, at that time the updated version of the Powershot was already 6 month overdue (with no explanation from Canon) so I decided to wait. I am glad I did (though I was annoyed not to have a new camera for my trip to Hong Kong, Guilin, Yunnan and Shanghai earlier this year.

The old camera was ok, if you don’t consider how much better things have progressed in the last 5-10 years. But that is a big thing to ignore. I think the Canon SX line is the most awesome camera for people that want something better than a smart phone (by far the biggest issue for me is zoom though it is also better for various things such as low light, taking lots of photos and video without running out of room on your camera…).

The photo shows the LCD screen extended which is actually a nice feature at times (normally I just fold it into the back of the camera).

The Powershot SX 60 has an amazing 65x optical zoom (21mm–1365mm). This is just amazing. Much more expensive cameras can’t come close to competing with this. The Canon SX 60 is DSLR-like but not a DSLR. It looks like one but isn’t. It really straddles the area between DSLR and non-DSLR in my opinion.

You can watch at Curious Cat Travel Photos and see if you notice a big leap in the quality of the photos now that I have a new camera.

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PulsePoint App Gets Medical Help Where Needed Quickly

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Gadgets

Ok this isn’t really a gadget but it is my blog so I get to do what I want 🙂
PulsePoint is a crowdsourced iOS app that locates nearby help for a cardiac arrest and helps get help to those in need quickly.

view of PulsePoint screen cardiac notification

Life-Saving Crowdsourcing App Expands Reach to Stop Cardiac Arrests

[PulsePoint] on his phone warned him that someone nearby needed CPR. Brawner reportedly raced around the gym, trying to find the victim, before heading to the parking lot, where he saw a man sprawled on the pavement. He began giving the man CPR until fire and rescue units showed up.

The man’s survival wasn’t just a blessing for his family, it was a huge victory for the PulsePoint Foundation, a Bay Area nonprofit whose app is making it easier to alert CPR-trained people that someone nearby needs help.
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PulsePoint’s free app connects to local 911 call centers and alerts users when there is someone nearby in need of CPR. PulsePoint users get an alert the same time as local emergency responders.

It also shows the location of the closest automated electronic defibrillator (if there is one nearby) as well as a reminder about how to do CPR, just in case the user has an adrenaline-induced brain-freeze.

Very cool. It is great to see us find ways to help improve the health care system.

Polaroid Cube Camera

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Gadgets

Introducing the Polaroid Cube lifestyle action camera—water resistant, shockproof, mountable (1080p HD video, 3MP CMOS sensor and 124° wide angle lens).

The Mobius Action camera is another option (that doesn’t look quite as cool, but has good video quality in a small package at a cheap price – $90).

Night Vision Contact Lenses

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Gadgets

University of Michigan engineering researchers have developed infrared technology that doesn’t need bulky cooling equipment to work.

“We can make the entire design super-thin,” said Zhaohui Zhong, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. “It can be stacked on a contact lens or integrated with a cell phone.”

Infrared light starts at wavelengths just longer than those of visible red light and stretches to wavelengths up to a millimeter long. Infrared vision may be best known for spotting people and animals in the dark and heat leaks in houses, but it can also help doctors monitor blood flow, identify chemicals in the environment and allow art historians to see Paul Gauguin’s sketches under layers of paint.

Unlike the visible spectrum, which conventional cameras capture with a single chip, infrared imaging requires a combination of technologies to see near-, mid- and far-infrared radiation all at once. Still more challenging, the mid-infrared and far-infrared sensors typically need to be at very cold temperatures.

Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, could sense the whole infrared spectrum—plus visible and ultraviolet light. But until now, it hasn’t been viable for infrared detection because it can’t capture enough light to generate a detectable electrical signal. With one-atom thickness, it only absorbs about 2.3% of the light that hits it. If the light can’t produce an electrical signal, graphene can’t be used as a sensor.

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Google Glass for Fitness

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Gadgets

I am not a big fan of Google Glass or running (basketball is my sport, and I also swim to stay in shape) but this is a pretty cool product combining those two things (you can also use it for biking and skiing): Race Yourself.

You can have your previous runs added into your view using Google Glass. This product is in development.

Turn Windows Into Sound Cancelling Filters

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Gadgets

Sono is a conceptual gadget to turn windows into sound cancelling filters (similar to noise cancelling headphones). A microphone listens to noise coming in and then a speaker sends out sound waves to cancel the noises that have been set to cancel. In this way they are even cooler than noise cancelling headphones as you can tune the filter to let in birds singing and filter out car alarms, etc.

diagram of pieces of the sono device

Very cool, I hope this becomes a gadget we can buy (it is only conceptual now). Read more at Dyson design award site.

Noise canceling works not by blocking sound but by using properties of the wave pattern of sound to send sound waves that add to the existing sound waves to effectively eliminate the sound wave – thus we don’t hear anything. This is know as Active noise control or active noise reduction. It isn’t blocking the noise but adding other sound waves that combine with the noise you want to filter to eliminate the sound wave – it actually doesn’t eliminate it, as countering the sound wave exactly is not likely possible, but it results in a very limited sound.

Active noise reduction is best for low frequency sound (due to the nature of waves – low frequency has longer wave lengths). My guess is this will mean this product has difficulty blocking high frequency sound nearly as well as it will do with low frequency sounds.

Gadget to Hold Things In Place

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Gadgets

Nite Ize Gear Ties let you hold things in place using bendable wire coated in rubber. Available in 3″, 6″, 12″, 18″, 24″, and 32″ lengths in various colors.

[Video link broken, so I removed it]

I think the coolest advantage of these ties is using the rigid nature to hold things in place – such as holding your flashlight at the right angle while you reach into a small space with both your hands free.

Make Your Own Chalkboard Paint

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Gadgets

photo of colored chalkboard paint

How To Mix Chalkboard Paint in Any Color

Supplies: 1/2 cup acrylic paint (choose any color you like, or mix colors together to make the perfect shade!), 1 tablespoon unsanded grout (this can be purchased at most hardware/home improvement stores, we got ours at Home Depot), mixing cup or bowl, spoon, paint brush and an object or board you plan to paint on.
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Once your chalkboard has fully dried be sure to slate the surface before using it for the first time. To slate a chalkboard lightly rub chalk along the surface and then lightly rub it off.

Very cool. I suppose paint might stretch the definition of a gadget but one of the nice things about having your own blog is you get to decide what fits. This is a pretty cool idea so I included it.

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