There’s quite a few hams I talk to every day that use D-star and a Raspberry Pi computer to use D-star even in places where there are no repeaters. The Pi is IDEAL for this as it has low power requirements and is small. This is just one of many uses hams have come up with for the tiny Raspberry Pi.
I use my Chromecast nearly every day to watch YouTube videos and more. The one thing that has not been as easy as I would like has been watching my own videos. That has now changed with Toshiba’s new Canvio Aerocast wireless hard drive, which has very good Chromecast support. Now you can watch almost any video on your Chromecast.
I’ve been looking at WiFi cameras on and off for years. Just within the last few, there have been cameras that have the home monitoring aspect which includes alerting you when something is being picked up on the camera. That’s where the Motorola FOCUS 66 WiFi HD Home Monitoring camera comes in.
Last year I wrote about Keurig’s new version 2.0 K-cup brewer, and how they were including digital rights management like features into it that would prevent owners from using any other K-cup except “approved” ones. This has been worked around by many, but this free Freedom Clip from Roger’s Coffee has managed to make it easy to defeat this technology.
The RaspberryPi is the darling of the maker and hacking culture. This little tiny computer is great. However it is slow. That’s where version 2 comes in and it’s now available today. Version 2 ups the specs so that the RaspberryPi will maintain interest for years to come and it will ALSO be able to run Windows 10.
There are some negative aspects to using embedded software in hardware. A few sites have written that about how phones or tablets still on Android versions below 4.4 are at risk for a vulnerability in the default browser. Don’t blame Google for this; blame the OEMs and carriers, as Google fixed the issue. However, there’s much more to this story.
Today at CES Alcatel has announced it’s 3rd generation of the Onetouch Pixi phone. The Pixi 3 is designed to be OS agnostic and will run Android, Firefox OS or Windows Phone. Screen size will range from 3.5 inches to 5 inches so there should be a size for everyone! Hopefully we’ll hear more soon about this exciting phone that offers several OS choices.
Most of us have several cables we carry or use throughout the day be they charging cables, headphone cables or data cables. Unfortunately, they all tend to create a mess in the bag, on your desk and in your car. Griffin aims to change that at CES with a new collection of cable management accessories.
As I watched the Ohio State Buckeyes face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl, I realized that none of the top-four bowl games have been broadcast on television in the last five years. ESPN has a stranglehold on them, and that brings to light one big reason many can’t cut the cord by moving to live streaming sports.
I was listening to Tom Merritt’s Daily Tech News Show and they mentioned a great site and app that will help you save money while going home for the holidays. It’s called Fuel my Route, and the goal is to show the price of gas along the route you’re traveling. This in turn should help you find the cheapest gas.
In 2003, NASCAR entered into a sponsorship with Nextel, which then merged with Sprint. This was well before smartphones were all the rage. Today NASCAR has announced that Sprint will be ending its relationship at the end of 2015, severing Sprint’s exclusive rights to apps covering the sport which is a good thing.
Working from home I often find myself not wanting to take a break sometimes; with all the comforts of home it can be hard to realize how hard I am working. Recently, I came across GrooveOtter, which is purportedly an app that will help you get things done and not feel exhausted. Well, it’s not an app; it’s a website.
As a person afflicted with obstructive sleep apnea, I recognize when I have had a good night sleep. One issue I struggle with is that I hear my machine as well as other sounds when trying to sleep. On Kickstarter, I came across this interesting project that aims to change that with Hush, the first smart set of earplugs.
When at a conference (or even a holiday gathering), invariably someone forgets their cable and their phone gets low on power. This is where Tego’s Trio Cable comes in. This is an Apple certified cable that is really just a MicroUSB cable with a couple of add ons which will make you look like a hero!
I truly mourned the space shuttle’s demise. You see, Challenger, the second space shuttle, first launched on my birthday. Unfortunately, not long after that launch we lost Challenger. Then many years later we lost Columbia. This week’s launch of the Orion spacecraft signals a return to the capsules of old and in many ways a return to what works.
As everyone prepares for the holidays, one thing that many of us like to do is put lights. Something that would be smart to add to those preparations is a way to help control those lights as well as measure how much energy they take. Well, D-Link aims to make your holiday light display safer and greener with their giveaway.
A while ago I signed up with Tresorit, which is yet another cloud-based back up service. I eventually decided to close the account; in order to do so, I had to act like I was signing up for the service again to delete it! Why? I’m not sure, but that’s what they required.
Software defined radios are radios that are defined, primarily, with software. What does this mean? That means instead of needing a circuit to do the job, a portion of what the radio normally would do has been replaced by software. Want a different mode or even a frequency? Update the software. This has forever changed how radios are built.
Amazon just announced a device called the Amazon Echo. What exactly is the Echo? Well, imagine Google Now or Siri combined with a Bluetooth Speaker and you get the idea. Is it more than that? Yes. Will it make it easier to spend money on Amazon? Undoubtedly. Will it give you the creeps? Maybe, but it depends on your view.
Last year’s Nexus 7 is a great device, but it does have some limitations. Namely, the 16:9 screen is not optimized for work as it’s really short when in landscape mode. The Nexus 9 no longer has this issue, as it has a 4:3 formatted screen just like the iPad.
As a person with sleep apnea, sleep is something that doesn’t always come easy for me. Sleep apnea is when you stop breathing wile you sleep. It affects both how you sleep and a host of other issues. While the new ResMed S+ sleep system can’t help with everything, it can help you fall asleep and monitor how you sleep.