Month: February 2016

Categories
Pets Wearables

Chord Collar cuts cords and leashes to keep furry ones healthy and safe

Pets may be cute and cuddly, but make no mistake: they require tons of attention and work to keep happy and healthy. At the end of the day, doing so cultivates a relationship unlike any other — even if owners start the day with a kitchen floor full of garabage or an unexpected, ahem, suprise in a spare corner of the home.

The team behind the Chord Collar wants to keep pets happy, healthy, and engaged while reducing the aspects of pet ownership that are annoying or inconvenient by leveraging a bit of connected technology.
The Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-connected collar allows owners to consistently provide rewards-based training in combination with its companion iOS and Android app, alerting owners to what needs to be worked and exactly how to do so based on the pet’s movements during the day. Health is also a big focus. The Chord Collar tracks heart rate levels and movement, letting owners know when the pet might be under the weather.

Continue reading “Chord Collar cuts cords and leashes to keep furry ones healthy and safe”
Categories
Health and Wellness Wearables

The FitPal keeps tabs on your ticker, hearts you a lot

In no other time in history has the heart been so well documented. This is due to the glut of wearables on the market, most of which do a decent job of monitoring heart rate. The biggest problem is usually their size and effectiveness: most are ungainly with questionable methods of data generation, leading consumers to search for smaller, more dependable alternatives.

The FitPal is a thin, flexible Bluetooth LE-enabled patch worn 24/7 on the torso or chest that keeps constant tabs on the heart. It looks at everything from heart rate variability to heart rate zones and resting heart rate, interpreting all this information to monitor a person’s calories burned, steps taken, and skin temperature along with larger attributes like exercise readiness stress levels, and sleep quality, making it a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to wearables.

Continue reading “The FitPal keeps tabs on your ticker, hearts you a lot”
Categories
Networking

EBlocker lets you block online ads, tracker software

Online ads and digital trackers continue to be an annoying -– and potentially costly or even dangerous –- part of using the Internet, especially when it’s kids who are the ones surfing the Web.

patent-claimedEBlocker is a small, white plug-and-play smart device. It automatically blocks online services that are secretly collecting information about computer users while they’re using any devices in the home to access the Internet. EBlocker can also cloak the device that is being used to access the Internet –- whether it’s a computer, mobile device or game system –- and make it appear that a different device is being used to access the Internet to fool dynamic pricing engines. Once connected, all online traffic is routed through eBlocker for analysis.

The patent-pending eBlocker ships in June at about $217, although early bird Kickstarter backers can get one at pledges starting at about $108. Its makers are looking to raise $81,700 by Feb. 17.

eBlocker must address whether its protection of all home Internet devices justifies buying it instead of just relying on filtering programs and services that perform some of the same blocking functions. One advantage it has is that there is no software to install, a feature that will likely be appealing to many consumers. But buyers will have to cough up more money –- at least $59 — to continue using eBlocker after the first year or they will not get automatic  updates anymore. Future pricing of eBlocker Pro automatic updates start at $59.

 

Categories
Cooking Robots/Drones

No cooks needed in the kitchen with OneCook auto multi-cooker

Depending on who it is, cooking can either be a fulfilling experience or an absolute chore. Usually, what makes it the latter is a chronic lack of time due to the busy, demanding lifestyles that are prevalent today.

OneCook is a godsend for students, full-time workers — basically, anyone without time. By outsourcing the entire cooking process to the fully automated multi-cooker, people can step away from the kitchen at the touch of a button, avoiding minor injuries and never whipping up a tasteless chicken parm again.

Continue reading “No cooks needed in the kitchen with OneCook auto multi-cooker”
Categories
Lighting Smart Home

Deter dodgy types from the home with the ComfyLight system

While traditional home security systems are no doubt comprehensive, they only really serve to alert homeowners and authorities after a home is compromised. What good is a security system if it doesn’t actually prevent intrusion and burglary in the first place?

The team behind the ComfyLight connected light bulb design it to address this failing. Embedded with Wi-Fi connectivity and motion sensors allows the ComfyLight to automatically turn on and off when entering or exiting a room. Over time, it learns a homeowner’s patterns to replicate when they’re out for the night, for example, to deter would-be burglars.

Continue reading “Deter dodgy types from the home with the ComfyLight system”
Categories
Health and Wellness

PediGlide your way to a less sedentary workday

The idea of sedentary sickness continues to gain track. The idea that sitting for eight hours a day adversely affects the body and increases the likelihood of heart problems and diseases like colon cancer is fueled by the largely inactive lifestyles most people lead as part of their daily routine.

While attempts to address the problem by incorporating a bit of standing have come in the form of campaigns such as the Stance Desk and  Stealth Rising Desktop, the PediGlide asserts that they at best introduce minor relief and other forms of back problems.

Continue reading “PediGlide your way to a less sedentary workday”