Categories
Podcasts

The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 10: making music, cooking books, and thwarting thieves

It’s a bit of deja vu as Steve and Ross check out a very different kind of connected lock from the Sesame lock and a MIDI alternatives to Opho Keys, both discussed in Episode 9, In this first double-digit episode, the podcast takes on

  • the Artiphon INSTRUMENT 1, a MIDI instrumen t that not only offers a symphony full of sounds, but a multitude of ways to play
  • a new connected lock and alarm for bicycles and motorcycles called the Nokē U-Lock from the team that successfully funded (but has not yet shipped) the Nokē Lock
  • Rocketbook, a cheap and simple alternative to cloud-connected writing systems like that of Livescribe that lets you start anew by zapping the whole notebook in a microwave oven
Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Imaging

Stesco imaging device captures three dimensions from two iPhones

3D was the laughing stock of the TV industry a few years ago. Despite all the ridicule and lack of content hurled at it, though, all of those 4K televisions  flying off the shelves can support 3D. In addition, new TVs in development promise improved quality 3D without glasses.

For those who’d like to take advantage of the second (or extended first) coming of 3D television using today’s devices, Tel Aviv-based Moebius Industries has created Stesco. The clever pocket-sized bracket  holds two iPhones adjacent so that they can each capture part of a stereoscopic image Its price is so low that the campaign can be forgiven for its gratuitous use of selfie sticks in its videos. The company offers a free app that stitches together the two photos or video streams after establishing a communications link, presumably via the Lightning connector. Moebius seeks to raise £30,000 (about $44,000) by April 13. Stesco costs £8 (about $12) for either the iPhone 5(S) or 6 and should ship in July.

While  iPhone photography add-ons have proliferated, most have focused on the convenience of the device that happens to be in your pocket. Unfortunately for Stesco, few people carry two iPhones in their pocket. And even if you have a friend willing to lend you one, it must be of the same generation to work to the product. While it produces smaller images and costs more than three times as much, Poppy 3D does the 3D capture trick with one iPhone. However, for partners, families, or amateur video crews who have easy access to a matched set of Apple smartphones, Stesco is a ridiculously inexpensive way to create stereoscopic photos and video.