CES 2014: The Brick is Back (kind of)

The Brick, from Binatone brings the '80s backThose of you in your 30s like me likely remember early cell phones from TV.  Huge brick shaped things with no battery life that were hugely impractical but were the only portable option short of the suitcase phones that Motorola first launched.  The folks at Binatone have brought back the basic design with a modern battery that can last up to 3(?) months on a single charge.  In addition to being able to be used as a very basic cell phone with any SIM card, it can also function as a bluetooth handset, allowing you to make and recieve phone calls without the distraction of a smartphone when you don't want it around.

I don't know if the idea will take off, ut I have reached out to the folks at Binaphone for a demo unit to see how it works. 

 

You Can Have a Zack Morris Brick Phone Without Going Back In Time:

You Can Have a Zack Morris Brick Phone Without Going Back In Time

 

CES 2014: Sphero announce newest addition to line of smartphone controlled robots

Sphero today announced the upcoming release of their newest connected toy, the Sphero 2B.  Sporting dual wheels instead of their previous ball, the newest addition should add some great new games and features to their ever growing catalog of interactive toys.  Check out the video and information below for more details.

 

Sphero 2B: The newest addition to the Sphero family of connected toys | Sphero Robot Ball:

Introducing Sphero 2B THE NEWEST ADDITION TO THE SPHERO FAMILY OF CONNECTED TOYS

 

Tonight's Drink: Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel

The only single barrel bourbon bottled in bond, this is a bourbon with proud tradition. It also was named American Whisky of the year for 2012, no small feat it a ever expanding bourbon culture.

The nose has creamy caramel and tobacco notes, with hints of citrus and leather.
It starts hot on the palette, rapidly fading to honey and sweet corn with a smooth finish that leaves you with a faint taste of copper and green grass.
This is an amazingly complex whiskey that hits all of the right notes while remaining as pure and uncut as it's long history.

93/100

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Review: FitBit Force Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband

FitBit's newest activity tracker, the ForceA few years ago a company called FitBit decided to take old school pedometers to the next level by connecting them to web services to make exercise social.  Several different devices have followed, and this year it has all culminated in the release of their best product yet, the FitBit Force.

The original FitBit was about the size of a pack of gum, and clipped onto your pocket, or with an optional holder your belt to track the steps you take and the number of calories burned by measuring the periods of higher activity in conjunction with motion.  That device required a base station which connected via USB to your computer, sending your data to their web portal whenever you were in range of the antenna, allowing for a "gamification" of your workouts.  You could link up via social networks with other friends using the device, and compare your activity with theirs.  While the portal remains largely unchanged over the years, the device has evolved from a large clip-on device that needed nightly charging and it's own base station to the Force, which connects via your smart phone's bluetooth connection, and is worn like a bracelet.  

Last year they released the Flex, which was a bracelet with just five lights showing you your progress towards your step goal for the day.  The flex which began shipping this week now has the OLED display from the FitBit One in the Flex's easy to wear form factor, and I think they have finally nailed the design here.

I have had mine for a few days, and have worn it constantly with no irritation, often times even forgetting it is there unless my jacket tugs at it.  At night I hold down the button on the side to tell it I am going to bed, and it tracks how well I sleep, the number of times I wake up, and several other metrics.  

Through the iOS app I can log food intake, water intake, and track my step totals.  I can also input types of exercises done to further help it determine the number of calories burned for the day, giving me a good snapshot of how I am doing along the way.

If you are in need of, or simply want this type of tracker, FitBit has been in this space the longest and really has their product down.  I have used every version they have released, and this is by far their best offering yet.

Review: SkyDog Smart Family Wi-Fi Router

When SkyDog launched a KickStarter campaign in April, it struck a cord with families.  A Web-controlled router giving you very targeted control of al devices and people accessing your wireless network.  They raised 162% of their requested funding in just over a month, and their product just released to the public this week.  I got a-hold of their Skydog Web App and Smart Family Wi-Fi Router to try in out house, and I'm not ever going back to a normal router.

Powercloud Systems, the company behind SkyDog has built a very well thought out and functional product.  I get a text alert and email any time an unknown device connects to the router.  I can then ban it if it is unknown, leave it with the default security access on the router, or assign it to a known user so that it receives the limits I have set for that person.  

While that may not make sense to all of you, here is an example that will:  My son connects to the wireless network with his Xbox to play a game.  I have already set his access to limit use to certain times of day, and to further limit his access to appropriate sites during the time he has access.  As soon as the xbox connects it gets the default access level (family safe browsing/streaming) for the network he is attached to, and as soon as I tell the router it is the boy, his access increases during allowed hours, and is turned off during limited time slots.  If he wants to stay up a little later than usual because there is no school tomorrow, I can override his turnoff time for just tonight by hitting the override button and setting a time limit.  Here is what his access profile looks like:

What makes this even better is that I can set up multiple virtual networks and limit the ammount of our internet bandwidth each network can access.  In real world application the network is set up like this:

So my wife and I connect to the main network with 75% of the bandwidth.  All of the streaming boxes except for the sons XBox connect to the main network as well.  The kids are sequestered to their own virtual network, where I can make sure that their usage doesn't interfere with anyone's TV watching.

In all there is much more control than this, and we may dial things down even more in time.  The big thing is how easy it is to use this system, and being able to put so much control into anyone's hands to limit access to their home networks.

I highly recomend this router to anyone wanting to make sure they know what and when their kids are on the internet.