This may be the perfect item for college students required to attend lots of lectures, and perhaps traveling business professionals. Situations such as these can mean that desktop space is limited, so if a person wants to make notes in a notebook, it can be an annoying hassle. Lappito fits over the keyboard of a standard sized laptop, and has tiny legs that raise it up just enough so that it isn’t touching the keyboard. Seems like it should be easily transportable since it is supposed to fit right inside the laptop bag with the computer. As long as access to the keyboard while making those notes isn’t necessary, this seems like it has the potential to be a rather handy item to have available. This campaign is seeking to raise $38,000 by November 13, 2014. For $20, early bird backers get two Lappitos with free shipping and an expected delivery of January 2015.
Smart locks may have made a splash and added convenience to many people’s home lives, but the fact still remains that they rely on deadbolts to protect your home. It has been proven that deadbolts are an outdated form of protection because with enough force, the blunt end of a hammer and a bump key, or just simply a credit card, those who want access to your home will most certainly get it.
HAVEN is a smart lock that works by being installed at the base of a door and using the house’s own frame as the deterrent rather than a deadlock. Being made from glass reinforced nylon, aluminum and steel allows for far more protection versus other deadlock-dependent solutions, with a door in the campaign shown withstanding brute force kicks, sledgehammers and axes. When excessive force is recognized, HAVEN can turn on other connected parts of your home through Nest and Apple HomeKit compatibility and send alerts to mobile devices in response. When there isn’t trouble brewing, the product’s wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity allow users to digitally share keys and either locally or remotely lock their doors using their iOS or Android smartphone. Lost your phone? An online access portal can help you maintain access of your home. The people behind the HAVEN Smart Lock are looking for $150,00o to make their goal a reality, with significant stretch goals which include an A/C power add-on and wearable gesture support, to entice would-be backers. Interested people can protect their home by pledging $249 or more.
HAVEN is an shot in the arm for the smart lock market. Its robustness in protecting the home along with its connectivity and control options make its involved installation easier to bear. Other smart locks, like the August and the Goji, emphasize the social aspect rather actually protecting the home — HAVEN tells them to put their money where their mouths are.
Every few months, it seems like a new razor hits the market. One with more blades, or with all kinds of bells and whistles that promise a better shave while men continue to struggle with razor burn and other problems.
The Rockwell 6S Razor from Rockwell Razors takes a step in the other direction. Inspired by the classic safety razors used generations ago, the 6S has a classic, minimalist feel to it. What makes this razor unique however is the presence of three double-sided plates that provide a customized shave designed to work on any kind of face or facial hair. Rockwell Razors has set a goal of $12,000 CAD for this project. For $69 CAD, supporters will receive the 6S Razor with all the plates, cap, handle, and blades in December 2014.
Younger shavers may be intimidated by going back to using an actual razor blade to do their shaving, but it’s a method that’s been used by men for years prior to the introduction of the Gillette Mach3. That it uses normal, inexpensive and replaceable razor blades is just the icing on the cake for those who want to save money.
If you haven’t yet seen the YouTube video of a shark shooting out of water as it goes after its prey, you should — it’s a beaut. But that piece of fantastic videography wouldn’t have been possible without the wonders of high-speed imaging, something that would be more widespread if it weren’t for the complex setups and intense memory demands of the equipment necessary to capture it. Just a 1 second video at VGA resolution and 1,000 fps requires an incredible 400 MBytes of very high speed memory — and that’s just on the lower end of things!
Compelled to find a more accessible solution, inventor Graham Rowan labored to create the fps1000, a super portable camera capable of taking videos of between 75fps and 18,000fps. The camera also features a touch screen LCD screen along with the standard C mount so that a wide variety of lenses can be equipped. There are three different versions of the fps1000: Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Their prices range from £349 to £999, which may still seem pricey but is much better than comparable setups. With the campaign having blown past it’s funding goal of £20,000, many seem to agree.
Going to the grocery and dealing with all those bags might be one of the more annoying necessities in life. Toting bags from the car to the house, or perhaps from the store to one’s home can be not only inconvenient, but sometimes a bit rough on the fingers. That’s where Super Bag Holder comes in. The plastic handles are touted as being created from a high-grade, fully recyclable plastic. They appear to clip onto plastic and paper bags easily enough, and are supposed to support a bag weight of up to 30 pounds. In addition, they seem to remain securely in place once attached, and appear to be smooth, compact and lightweight for easy storage in a car glove box, purse or perhaps a jacket pocket. While this does seem like a good idea, there are several similar options from which to choose that are already out in the market. This campaign is seeking to raise $26,000 by November 1, 2014. For $8, backers get one product in time for Christmas. Super Bag Holder hopes to raise $26,000 during their campaign.
Yeah yeah yeah, sitting is bad for us. We keep hearing this over and over. For those who are super concerned about sitting down, try the Refold standing desk. It’s not only a standing desk though, it also folds into a sitting desk, or folds flat so it can be transported easily. Hard to imagine, eh? The reason it’s so foldable is that Refold is actually made out of cardboard. Refold is strong too, featuring a photo of a dude standing on top of the desk. He looks a little surprised that he’s able to do this, however. One will cost backers $160 NZD. Oh, hello, New Zealand. Refold has a campaign goal of $25,000 NZD on Kickstarter.
Standup desks are all the rage these days. StandDesk, ChairBot, and Stealth Rising Desktop, all covered on Backerjack, feature the whole standing-at-your-desk idea. Refold has the added perk of its folded up form. It’s also recyclable, if you’re into that, though drinks are probably a no no on this desk as well as hot laptops. It’s also unclear why anyone would want to carry a desk around with them. However, if you happen to be a workaholic who wants to nab Starbucks’ Wi-fi, but stand at the same time, Refold may just be the product for you. Just be careful with the drink.
3D printing is steadily gaining steam. However, with printers still going for absurd amounts of money and looking like washing machines, they aren’t going mainstream anytime soon. This is the biggest roadblock to 3D printers being thought of in the same vein as fridges and microwaves but as time marches on, cost is reduced and along with that, size. Inventor Steve Middleton picked up on that trend and skipped a few levels with his Indiegogo campaign for his Pocket 3D Printer.
No bigger than an iPad mini, the device is a fully functioning, honest to goodness 3D printer that you can take along with you in a purse or book bag. At first blush, this looks to be impossible, but with the device using photo-polymer resin that is instantly cured using an UV LED at the tip of it’s printing arm. This means no heat is given off nor any cool down period to wait for after you’re done using it! Its 1 button start-up, rechargeable battery, and Bluetooth connectivity ensure users can truly print whenever you want using whichever device they’d like. The campaign is looking for $25,000 to get started with production; potential backers can grab the unassembled version for $249, and the assembled version for $349.
This isn’t the first 3D printer using photo-polymer resin coupled with UV light as we’ve seen the CreoPop before, but it’s the first that isn’t limited to a pen form factor. Potential users will get much versatility out of a product like this — imagine printing out spare parts for a device, a broken purse clasp, etc? The Pocket 3D Printer can be something special provided you don’t end up having to print parts for it instead.
Water damage from flooding or leaks can be one of the most costly home or business repairs. Posiedon is a system that catches small problems before they have a chance to become outrageously costly. Battery-operated, wireless sensors get placed throughout the home in areas such as the bathroom, next to a water heater, dishwasher, laundry room, basement, or anyplace where water would be most likely to leak or overflow. The sensors use two leads, that when shorted with water, will trigger an alarm that is connected to a Web site. The Web site alerts the homeowner through their mobile device and a small wall mounted device. All of this is connected to a central controller that monitors the overall system, which is apparently located in the user’s home. It’s unclear as to how much instillation may be involved, if any, for the central controller and wall mounted unit, and whether or not any special software installation skills may be needed, but this seems like a great idea in the making. This campaign is seeking to raise $45,000 by November 10, 2014. For $240, backers get the basic system of the central controller and one sensor. Larger pledges will include more sensors. Expected delivery is May 2015.
One of the best exercises out there is the squat. It’s a full body move that many personal trainers and gym rats reserve as their favorite for seeing results. The key to a good squat is to keep the feet and knees in line. This prevents injury or awkward movements. The Squat Master works to do just that. Looking much like any other gym tool, the Squat Master keeps the user’s feet and knees aligned with the help of its structure of foam rollers. Handlebars make it easy to squat farther down than without the help of this product. The campaign video demonstrates the limits of a free-form squat versus the range of the Squat Master squat. One of these simple fitness devices will cost backers $179, with two early bird prices of $149 and $164 for delivery in January 2015. Squat Master hopes to raise $10,000 on Kickstarter.
It’s quite true that squats are included in the repertoire of many workout regimes either in the gym or at home. Up until now, regular squats seemed to have worked just fine. Like many other machines that aid athletes in working out, the question remains: Does the help make the workout less effective? By adding handlebars and stabilizers for the legs, it seems like the Squat Master is completely taking away the balance needed to perform a squat which is most of the challenge. This product may be great for older fitness buffs who have knee or ankle trouble, but young athletes could probably do just find without.
Anyone who has gotten used to working on dual monitors is probably not about to go back to a single monitor workstation any time soon. But an extra monitor takes up more desk space, and can be uncomfortable or awkward to transition across displays.
The VEYEM stand, which stands for Vertically Elevate Your External Monitor, is a collapsible metal laptop stand that starts out compact and folded before expanding to a stand that can support a monitor above the laptop screen. The basic shelving principle design behind VEYEM means that it can also hold any other object like a book, smartphone, or tablet. VEYEM has a target of $20,000 in mind to manufacture these stands. The stand will only cost backers $40, with a shipping date of January 2015.
There are plenty of solutions that one can come up with to support an external display, from shoeboxes to simple shelving, but something like this that can travel with a laptop and collapse down conveniently is worth looking into for those that use two monitors. The only problems this creates is how to transport that second monitor with the laptop, as well as the actual large size of the stand itself, which does not fold very flat and has fairly large dimensions.