February 27, 2014September 23, 2018 by Kush Sharma

WowWee – MiP: Tiny Robot with dance moves

Gadgets
controlled, cool, mip, remote, robot, tiny, wowwee
2 Comments

This was introduced at CES 2014, which took place recently in Las Vegas, MiP is basically a very well balanced robot, a Bluetooth-controlled balancing two-wheeler with gesture sense technology and an app controlled environment. Like us humans, this robot from WowWee has been given a chirpy personality, offering endless fun, i.e. gameplay, dancing, balancing acts, etc. Developed at the University of California, MiP can be easily controlled using your Android or iOS device with the help of an application available on these platforms. In addition, you can control this robot using hand and object movements.

In the box there’s an attachable tray, which allows MiP to carry objects around while still balancing upright, and it can even support the weight of another MiP. If you’ve got a group then they can be linked into a coordinated dance mode, keeping in time with each other like small, glowing line-dancers.
If you’re feeling competitive and have more than one MiP in the room you can enter battle mode to box each other, using the app, until one loses its balance.

MiP, which stands for Mobile Inverted Pendulum is actually the product of a collaboration between WowWee and the Coordinated Robotics Lab at the University of California, San Diego. The result of that partnership is a few nifty innovations that, technology-wise, lift the little robot above other recent robot entries like RoboMe (also from WowWee) and Zoomer the robotic dog.

The black and white body, round head and emoticon eyes is quite different. It stands roughly 7-inches tall and has no feet. The base instead features two large wheels. The torso includes a mode light and two pose-able arms. This robot has useless appendages and arms simply serve no purpose. You can’t even pose them to hold MiPs tray — MiP has a slot on its chest for that.

First of all MiP can, without human intervention, balance and move quite effectively on those two wheels. Give MiP a push and it will right itself. The two-wheel locomotion makes MiP highly maneuverable. It’s also incredibly easy to connect MiP to your mobile phone via the free app.

When connected to your smartphone, MiP’s chest glows green. The app doesn’t look like much, but once connected to MiP, it gives you impressive control over the robot. Using two thumb-driven virtual joysticks, one to control direction and the other speed (as well as whether it’s traveling forward or backward), Then you will be able to maneuver MiP around obstacles with ease — it can responded smoothly to the slightest thumb movement.

MiP is not the best toy robot, but it may have the most potential. If WowWee continues working with the researchers and adding features to this app, we may soon discover that MiP has a whole new set of capabilities. Is the battery-powered robot worth $99.99? It’s a bit more expensive than Zoomer, but the technology inside may be more sophisticated. Plus, you get that app. On the other hand, MiP does need work. Its autonomous modes are confusing and somewhat disappointing. It can only stack if you drive and those arms are an embarrassment.

Final Conclusion

Pros:

The self-balancing technology is impressive.
The remote-control app is spare, yet easy to use and makes driving MiP a breeze.
It really can balance and carry a load.
Epic synchronized dance.

Cons:

Modes are not engaging.
Arms are useless.
Needs more polishing.

February 1, 2014February 1, 2014 by Kush Sharma

XBOX ONE vs. PS4: Who won the battle?

Gadgets, Showcase
4, battle, comparison, microsoft, one, play, sony, station, vs, xbox
9 Comments

The great debate of our time, it could be a destroyer of friendships or a sponsor of new. This is what makes boys out of men. It doesn’t get any better than this, does it? Loyal fans will have already made their choice, while open-minded gamers might very well pick up both systems. But no matter your preference, there’s nothing quite as stimulating as a (hopefully civil) argument over who to claim as the victor.

Hardware

Based on AMD Jaguar APUs, there’s a very thin dividing line between the graphical quality of games. However, there’s no doubt that on paper the PS4 has a slightly better GPU than the Xbox One’s. PS4 also provides removable hard drive which should be at least 160GB.

RAM:

XBOX: 8GB GDDR3
PS: 8GB GDDR5

CPU:

XBOX: 8 Core Microsoft custom CPU
PS4: Single-chip x86 AMD “Jaguar” processor, 8 cores

Peak GPU Shader Throughput:

XBOX: 1.31 TeraFLOPS/s
PS: 1.84 TeraFLOPS/s

Controllers

PlayStation fans like their parallel analog sticks just the way it is; while the Xbox controller’s diagonally distant analog sticks work as well, if not better. Both the Xbox One controller and the DualShock 4 are incredibly comfortable, treating you right even after marathon gaming sessions.

The Xbox One’s impulse triggers and PS4’s touchpad both leave a lot of room for interesting growth, whenever developers decide how they want to incorporate them into their games. When it comes to either system’s input devices, there’s very little to complain about.

XBOX: Xbox One Wireless Controller(included) [Batteries: Rechargeable (built-in)]
PS4: DualShock 4 (included) [Batteries: AA (2). Rechargeable battery packs (sold separately)]

Motion Controllers

Nothing to debate here. Microsoft’s Kinect wipes the floor with PlayStation’s Move controllers. When Microsoft released Kinect, it ended up surprising itself and selling over 8 million units in the first 60 days of its release. It still holds the Guinness Book record for the fastest selling consumer electronics device.

Exclusive game titles

It’s still early days in the lives of these spiffy new “next-gen” consoles, but the Xbox One has clearly stolen a march on the PS4, in terms of exclusive game titles on offer for their respective fans and what’s due to come in the next few months. While Sony’s failed to announce any new exclusive game for the PS4, Xbox One fans are eagerly awaiting Titanfall – an exclusive that’s giving gamers all over a wet dream. Some exclusive titles:

XBOX: Dead Rising 3, FORZA motorsport 5, Titanfall, Halo 5
PS4: Killzone: Shadowfall, Infamous: Second Son, Uncharted 4

Backward compatibility

Due to the 7-8 year long wait before Sony and Microsoft decided to refresh their respective consoles, gamers on either side of the chasm are facing the prospect of having their beloved gamer’s collection being reduced to nothing but dead plastic. Totally outrageous, of course! But try selling that to Xbox fans – which is what Microsoft did, in a way by declearing that the Xbox One won’t be compatible with X360 games, despite promises of a cloud feature to enable the same.

Neither Xbox One nor PS4 will play previous generation games. That means you’ll need to keep your Xbox 360 and PS3 in order to replay Halo 4 and Uncharted 3. Same with Sony and the PS4, a Real bummer!

Remote play And Sharing

This is one feature that both Xbox One and PS4 deploy, but where SmartGlass only works as a companion app- similar to PlayStation’s app for smartphones and tablets – the PS4 has the added bonus of beaming a live game onto a PS Vita. This is a cool differentiator.

The fact that you can easily stream your gameplay from a PS4 gives it the edge, letting you share your experiences with the world in real-time. The Xbox One’s sharing functionality in the Upload Studio is impressive, with the ability to add voice-over to your videos and easily access them from a computer. But when it comes to showing off your gaming accomplishments to your friends, the PS4 comes out on top.

Online network

Purely concentrating on gaming content the Xbox Live online service had an early advantage over Sony’s PSN. But Sony’s ramped up PSN with PlayStation Plus subscription with a ton of games on offer – for free. PSN offers game trials, automatic demo downloads, including exclusive downloadable content, store discounts and early access to PSN games.

Indie games

Sony got out in front by supporting independent game developers, attracting names like Supergiant Games, Red Barrels Studio, and Young Horses at the time of its E3 press conference.

At first, Microsoft maintained that Xbox One games would require be fronted by a publisher. That changed recently when the company is announcing that not only would it allow self-publishing but also every console acts as a development kit.A free dev kit sounds appealing, especially when PS4 developer kits cost thousands of dollars.

Sony has the indie developer crowd right now, but such pricey technology for tomorrow’s basement-run teams could decrease the company’s indie following over time.

Connectivity

XBOX: WIfi – Direct, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 & 5Ghz)
PS: Bluetooth 2.1, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi

Power Supply

XBOX: External (power brick)
PS: Internal

VERDICT:

The new PS4 is our pick; it is slightly better centered around gamers than the Xbox One. But then again Microsoft console you get the potential of more than just games console, but an entertainment hub. The ultimate choice, as always, is yours.

Top reasons to pick a PS4

It’s much smaller than an Xbox One
It doesn’t have a separate power brick
It already has iPlayer
It’s a bit cheaper
The PS4 is more powerful
Remote Play for Vita is awesome
PS Plus’s free games plan is great
The PS4 controller is better

December 3, 2013December 5, 2013 by Kush Sharma

Google Chromecast review

This is an interesting little device that should be high on your gadget gifts list as it effectively connects your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop PC to an HDMI enabled HDTV – without connecting wires, too. The Chromecast seamlessly lets you beam content from your handheld smart device onto your big-screen TV – watch YouTube videos, Netflix, Google Music, Google TV and Movies. When you’re doing this, your phone or tablet becomes the TV remote. Its beta screen mirroring feature – which lets you beam your Chrome browser session to a large screen – is still restrictive, but it’s only a matter of time before Google keeps adding more apps to the Chromecast party.

Design

The whole thing is a little under 3 inches long, and it’ll stick out about 2.5 inches when plugged into an HDMI port. There’s a short HDMI extension cable in the box to provide extra clearance if you can’t fit the Chromecast against the back of your TV, but you might need something longer depending on your setup, as the extension really just makes everything stick out more.

Chromecast is so small it could easily be mistaken for an oversized USB thumb drive with a little more heft to it. That contrasts with Apple TV and the “buddy boxes” that run Google TV. These devices that are filled with more audio and video ports than users know what to do with: component, S/PDIF, Ethernet, multiple HDMI connections, you name it.

Chromecast doesn’t have an HDMI port, it just fits right into one.

Setup

The setup can be remarkably easy if you follow Google’s directions and download the setup app on your computer or mobile device. On the back there’s an LED, a button, and a Micro USB port, which is how the Chromecast gets power. Yes, power — Google actually recommends that you use the included external power adapter to plug the Chromecast into the wall. Once you’ve got the Chromecast plugged in and powered, the next step is getting it on your Wi-Fi network.

The Chromecast is basically a small Android computer that can connect to the internet and play video files. When you hit the Cast button in a supported app, the Chromecast directly connects to the internet and streams the video itself — it’s not streaming from your device.

Since there’s no single, definitive place to control the Chromecast, it’s easy to find yourself watching a video without any immediate way to pause, rewind, or mute — you have to remember where the video came from and open that app. It’s not a big problem, but it’s added complexity. Google really needs to add basic playback controls like play, pause, and mute to the Chromecast setup app. Google also desperately needs to add in some basic password controls; right now anyone walking by can grab control of your Chromecast and send video to it. That makes it super easy to use, but also opens up a world of elaborate trolling.

You can set up multiple Chromecasts on the same Wi-Fi network, and the setup app even lets you rename them, so you can label each HDTV and room. By default they’re called “ChromecastXXXX” (with different four-digit numbers to identify them), but you can easily change them to “Living Room” and “Bedroom.”

Digging

There’s a “cast” button that is uniformly built into the top right of all of the compatible mobile apps: YouTube, Netflix, Google Play Music, and Google Play Movies & TV. The same goes for the Chrome browser extension on computers, but not Chrome on mobile devices, which have been left out of the media extending picture.

Pressing “cast” causes the Chromecast to start pulling an app’s video and audio to the TV on its own. This conveniently frees up your computer, phone, and tablet to fine-tune the streaming content’s timeline, audio settings, or make other selections within the app.

Chromecast can act as a second screen in a couple of cases, letting you browse the internet or do something else on the computer while a tab with your Gmail, Twitter feed or a video is running in a “casted” background on the big screen.

But don’t make a mistake thinking that this can be a dedicated second screen option for work; it’s just an extra screen to watch.

The Chromecast tab extension is also limited to Chrome at the moment and may never work outside of the Google-owned browser. That means FireFox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera users are out of luck if they had hoped to “cast” using their favorite browser. If Google opens up the Chromecast API, that could change in the future instead of forcing everyone to use Chrome for this one reason.

Downside

The Chromecast’s biggest limitation, of course, is content. Right now, the system only supports video from YouTube, Netflix, and Google Play Music & Movies on mobile. Having only rarely used Google Play’s VOD service and owning a variety of other devices with which to watch YouTube and Netflix, the novelty of the Chromecast’s app streaming functionality wore off quick. But Google promises more apps are on the way, and given the company’s clout, I’m inclined to believe them.

Though generally painless, there are scenarios when the Chromecast can be challenging to configure. For instance, if your TV is somewhat far or a few rooms away from your router, the Chromecast can struggle to maintain a connection.

Wrap-up

I can say that it has easily become my favorite way to watch Netflix and YouTube, which makes up a big part of my TV viewing these days. But Netflix and YouTube are clearly just the beginning for Chromecast. Hulu, Vimeo, HBO Go and others have already pledged their support, and a small army of independent developers has started to hack away and bring their own apps and games to the device. All of this means that Chromecast will get substantially better over the coming months.

Bad Stuff :

Not enough apps yet, Windows Phone not supported
Mirroring limited to browser tab
Weak Wi-Fi range
Chrome is the only supported browser

Good Stuff:

Streams Android to a big TV
Works with iOS, Macs and PCs
Easy to setup and transport
Cheapest media adapter
Supports multiple Chromecasts on the same network.

November 8, 2013November 8, 2013 by Kush Sharma

Beta Inkless Pen : Write without ink

Gadgets
beta, endless, ink, less, metal, pen, without
2 Comments

Imagine getting your hands on a pen or pencil that doesn’t rely on timber, ink or graphite and is therefore more eco-sensitive than any pencil you’ve ever used? Well, that’s exactly what the Beta Inkless Pen is. It has a lead tip and feels heavier than most pen or pencils that you might have used, so getting used to it is tricky. It’s design is the revival of an age old artist technique of writing in metal! The tiny metal tip is made of lead (so do not put it in your mouth) and will write notes forever. However, with an optional anodized aluminum or cherry wood exterior, this is not just a pen but one hack of a style statement. The pen leaves a grey imprint when scribbled on paper and needs no refill as – get this- it has no ink. Fancy writing with a streak of pure oozing metal anyone?

Use it and you will stop contributing to the grinding away of trees by sharpening away wood pencils. The Beta Inkless Pen will be your favorite writing instrument. Use it for a new experience. It lays down a grey line that doesn’t smudge or erase. It never needs sharpening and doesn’t run out. The shaft of the pen is available in anodized aluminum which is cool to the touch. If you prefer a warm and an airy feel, select the cherry wood finish.

The pens can be used on most paper surfaces, at any temperature or in any weather condition and will never need to be sharpened. In actuality, writing with lead is pretty unique, as is the Inkless Metal Pen, which sheds minute particles of lead as you write. How minute? The Inkless Metal Pen works so well that it will pretty much never need sharpening or a refill, and it’s “ink” is also solid, so you never need to worry about it exploding like a pulverized squid in your pants pocket. It doesn’t smudge either.

Features & specs:

Dimensions (standard – silver, black, or cherry): 6.25″ x 0.375″ diameter
Dimensions (keychain): 2.25″ x 0.375″ diameter
Special alloy metal tip
Anodized aluminum or cherry wood barrel
No dulling, no smudging, no leaking, no refills
Warning: Not intended for children (due to small amounts of lead in the tip)
Keychain version includes a metal gift tin and keyring

There’s no way I’d switch to a Beta Pen as my main writing instrument (I’ll use Uni-Ball pens until my stockpile runs dry), but it’s a nice go-to pen to throw in a bag or even on a key-ring for unexpected note-taking, when you don’t want to worry about sharpening a pencil or running out of pen ink while on the go.

May 14, 2013May 9, 2013 by Kush Sharma

YotaPhone : Dual Screen Android

On the left, a regular Android 4.1 display. On the right, a power-saving e-ink screen. (Credit: James Martin/CNET)

To borrow from a popular meme, the Russians are doing it right as far as the YotaPhone is concerned. It’s a dual-display smartphone with a very interesting twist. Sporting a 4.3 inch 720p LCD display on one side of its face, the YotaPhone has an e-ink display of the same dimension on its backside. The idea is to read on the e-ink display and watch videos and movies on the crisper LCD screen. Why? It’s all about battery savings. E-ink conserves more resources than color HD displays, so if you’re just reading a long article or a book, use the low-power e-ink side. Innards are pretty sweet as well with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon s4 chip , 2GB of RAM, NFC, 4G LTE connectivity, a 12-megapixel camera, and it’ll come with either 32GB or 64GB storage space with Android Jelly Bean support.

There are two ways to get content onto the back display. The first is to simply mirror what’s on the screen by swiping down with a two-fingered gesture. That will give you a static image of a map, for instance, or a shopping list.

The second way to program YotaPhone’s e-ink display is to use apps built for that specific purpose. Yota starts out with a few, like an RSS reader, an alarm clock, and Twitter, but plans to open up the SDK so developers can create their own compatible software. Transferring data with these apps was seamless over a strong Wi-Fi connection, just by tapping an onscreen control.

A series of specially made apps enable you to put your own messages on the screen, or it can show your Twitter feed, news or at its most helpful – SMS messages, missed calls, the weather, time and location data. E Ink screens are more commonly found on e-readers like the Kindle, and as you’d expect, e-books can be read on the YotaPhone’s second screen. Because it’s E Ink, the YotaPhone’s rear screen can be read in direct sunlight, making it easier to see important information quickly.

Yota has been working on the technology in partnership with E Ink for two years and is just now producing its first “working” prototypes. The phone is pretty large; it’s almost exactly the same width and thickness as Nokia’s chunky Lumia 820, but doesn’t hide its heft as well. It’s also pretty tall, thanks largely to a gesture area beneath both of its displays. It’s at this point that things get a little tricky, because the rear screen isn’t entirely touch sensitive. Only the bottom part of the rear panel is capacitive, and currently not all apps will respond to gestures in that area. That means you wouldn’t currently be able to flip the page in a Kindle book, for example, or a click on a tune in a Spotify playlist. But the Yota guys say they’ve had a lot of feedback on this and other points and are already working on solutions — and we’re totally ready to believe them.

I’m also still a little dubious about the convenience of flipping the phone over at intervals to use first one side and then another — even though one use case is to use the e-ink side when you’re on the phone’s final battery legs. For me, at least, chargers are nearby, I become loathe to switch up what I’m doing, and I can’t see myself wanting to leave the comforts of a rich, colorful screen to gaze upon an image that reminds me of an old, faded newspaper.

So where does Yota go from here? The company says it’s in talks with carriers worldwide, but wouldn’t reveal any specifics. It’s aiming to release the phone in June / July this year in its native Russia, but an international launch isn’t likely until Q4. Start saving as this phone/reader’s retail availability will begin in a couple of months.

May 9, 2013September 23, 2018 by Kush Sharma

Sonic Screwdriver Universal Remote

Gadgets
driver, gadget, remote, screw, sonic, universal
3 Comments

Doctor Who fans, you simply have to get this gizmo. Non Doctor Who nerds, this will appeal to you as well. Resembling the fabled Sonic Screwdriver from the cult british show (or a mysterious glowing probe), this programmable universal infrared remote lets you interact with any TV with gestures. With 13 supported gestures and 3 memory control codes. Enough to control most Earth-based “low-tech” consumer devices, we reckon.

The sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs. It is a multifunctional tool used by The Doctor. Its most common function is that of a lock pick, but can be used to perform other operations such as performing medical scans, remotely controlling other devices and tracking alien life. It can, with the exception of a deadlock seal or wooden lock, open any type of lock and operate many computers, whether their origin is alien or human. Though all this was only limited up to TV but still you can show off your über cool Screwdriver as a Universal Remote.

Here is sneak peek of how the original Sonic Screwdriver work :

Compatible with almost all home entertainment equipments, such as iPod docks, TVs and Blu-ray players.

Guided Setup: teaches you how to use it with spoken prompts.
FX Mode: thirteen authentic special effects sounds from the universe of Doctor Who.
Bright illuminating tip: lights up in use and pulses when in standby.
Advanced gestures recognition technology: thirteen gestures multiplied by three memory banks means up to 39 remote control codes can be stored.
Hand polished: copper plated, high quality, die-cast metal construction.
Special features: Personal Lock Code facility and secret communication to discover.

It is packed with advanced electronics that help make it the most realistic Sonic Screwdriver ever built.

Electromagnetic emission: The sonic Screwdriver gets its classic green glowing tip courtesy of a hyper-bright green LED. however, as the tip in this also has to emit the infrared pulse of a remote control, a multi-wavelength solution is needed. The result is a custom manufactured, three-chip 5mm LED: one IR indium gallium nitride chip and two green gallium arsenide chip, encapsulated in a single transparent epoxy lens.

Motion Sensing technology: at the heart of this, a tiny state of the art three-axis accelerometer constantly measures the forces acting on the device so that the embedded microcontroller can determine if the Sonic Screwdriver is being moved. The silicon MEMS sensor is so sensitive that it can detect and measure 1000th of the force gravity. The accelerometer is fabricated from single-crystal silicon by deep reaction ion etching (DRIE) process and protected from the environment by a hermetically sealed cap at the water level.

One more thing is this gizmo comes complete with its own protective and attractive display case Fabricated from engineering grade ABS, the tough, crystal clear cover fits snugly over an analogue of the TARDIS console. The stand is decorated with authentic Gallifreyan script and provides the perfect containment, mounting and presentation for a Sonic Screwdriver of this quality.

March 30, 2013 by Kush Sharma

War Gadget : .338 Lapua Magnum – A Linux Powered Gun

Gadgets
gadget, gun, Magnum, Precision Guided Firearm, war
2 Comments

Geeks are a very predictable bunch. If you ask them for their ideal lives, you would probably get a roughly even distribution between Matrix and James bond movie environments. Favorite games would probably throw up Quake, Call of Duty and the ilk. What if we told you that there are parts of above fictional worlds that are coming to like ? And they are powered by your favourite operating system Linux? Please wipe that drool off your face, you might drop some on the page. So here is a setup that has an iPad that would pair with your gun’s scope, and would allow you to actually ‘lock’ on your targets, take all-weather conditions into account, and fire a shot so jaw dropping

Please wipe that drool off your face, you might drop some on the page. So here is a setup that has an iPad that would pair with your gun’s scope, and would allow you to actually ‘lock’ on your targets, take all-weather conditions into account, and fire a shot so jaw dropping awesome that you absolutely cannot miss. As an added benefit there is always the good feeling of living like an open source soul, even if it will cost you $22,500, although that is not way off creating the same setup yourself.

The XS1 is the largest-caliber Precision Guided Firearm (PGF) available today. It offers the longest Tag Track Xact™ effective range of any PGF.

Its performance is driven by a bolt-action, .338 Lapua Magnum Surgeon™ XL action. The 27-inch, Krieger™ cut-barrel is fitted in an Accuracy International AX chassis with detachable Picatinny rail pieces.

The image displayed on the scope isn’t a direct visual, but rather a video image taken through the scope’s objective lens. The Linux-powered scope produces a display that looks something like the heads-up display you’d see sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet, showing the weapon’s compass orientation, can’t, and incline. To shoot at something, you first “mark” it using a button near the trigger. Marking a target illuminates it with the tracking scope’s built-in laser, and the target gains a pip in the scope’s display. When a target is marked, the tracking scope takes into account the range of the target, the ambient temperature and humidity, the age of the barrel, and a whole boatload of other parameters. It quickly reorient the display so the crosshairs in the center accurately show where the round will go.

Image recognition routines keep the pip stuck to the marked target in the scope’s field of view, and at that point, you squeeze the trigger. This doesn’t fire the weapon; rather, the reticle goes from blue to red, and while keeping the trigger held down, you position the reticle over the marked target’s pip. As soon as they coincide, the rifle fires.

The XS1 delivers our longest effective range: Tag Track Xact (TTX) to 1,200 yards. And it features our longest parallax-free zoom: 6 to 35X.

The scope streams video to Android and iOS smart phones and tablets. Wind speed is the only data you’ll manually input to the scope, using a toggle button.

The XS1 uses 300 gr. Sierra™ Open-Tipped Match XactShot™ ammunition by Barnes®, loaded to +/- 10 fps standard deviation muzzle velocity.

Included with your PGF System

Integrated Networked Tracking Scope, Guided Trigger, and Tag Button
Advanced Armament Corp.™ (AAC) Blackout™ 90T muzzle brake, installed
200 rounds of 300 gr. Sierra™ Open-Tipped Match XactShot™ ammunition by Barnes® (+/- 10 fps standard deviation muzzle velocity)
Harris™ bipod with Larue quick-detach mount
Custom Pelican™ 3300 hard case with TrackingPoint logo
3 batteries and chargers
Scope cover
Cleaning kit
Instructions

So a good deal, all in all. If any of you would actually like to have one of these, you should be looking at www.tracking-point.com.

January 20, 2013January 20, 2013 by Kush Sharma

Victorinox Presentation Master : Swiss Army Knife

victorinox-presentation-master-flash-drive

Gadgets
AES, army, blutooth, encryption, knife, presenter, Swiss, usb
3 Comments

This is one Swiss Army Knife and USB drive combo that is perfect for James Bond. However, if you aren’t the famed MI6 agent, but a salesman who travels a lot and cares an awful lot about your data’s security, you can think of buying the Victorinox Presentation Master, too. Apart from a small knife, nail file and scissors, this Victorinox tool comes with a 32GB USB drive that enjoys AES 256-bit hardware and software encryption. It also supports plug-in-play Powerpoint presentation slides. If your presentation skills don’t blow away your audience, may be the act of plugging in a Swiss army knife into a PC or projector port will.

The explanation for the Presentation Master name is that there’s built-in Bluetooth so you can control PowerPoint presentations with the forward and back buttons. A button on the opposite side controls a handy laser pointer.Write speeds of 5.6MB/s aren’t great, but read speeds of just over 20MB/sec are impressive.

Test Notes

Setting up the drive for the first time can be daunting—you’ll have to capture images of all five fingers on one hand and the drive seems a bit finicky about what constitutes a “good” image of the digit—but once you do, it will reliably unlock with a quick finger swipe.
The Demolition Man hack—cutting off a finger or an eye—won’t work on this. The fingerprint scanner checks the oxygenation level of the blood flowing through your finger as you swipe. No living tissue, no access.
The drive also recognizes brute force attacks—and responds by feigning being cracked, displaying dummy folders filled with innocuous files—as well as increases in voltage or current.
The only way I could make this more secure is to handcuff it to my wrist.

The fingerprint reader is a tad fussy. It took about eight tries before our swipe was accepted. Were we done yet? Nope. The software asks for a second, backup fingerprint to be recognized, and it has to be from your other hand. (In case of emergency field amputations, one assumes.) Again it took no less than eight swipes for the print to be accepted.

The final, and possibly most mind blowing feature is an actual self destruct feature. If the drive detects someone trying to hack their way into your files, it will physically blow itself up. Obviously, this doesn’t involve explosives, but the developer of the Swiss Presenter had a unit with him that had deliberately been blown up, and the memory chip really is blow to pieces inside its case.

Victorinox are so confident that they have developed the most secure USB drive in the world, that they were offering a $100,000 prize to anyone that could access the data stored on a drive at their CES booth. As the show came to an end, nobody had succeeded in hacking their way into the drive.

December 26, 2012June 7, 2013 by Kush Sharma

Cool Bluetooth Gadgets Worth the Money

Who doesn’t like surrounding themselves with Bluetooth accessories for their electronic gadgets? We celebrate this fact of human nature

How Convenient would life be if everything turned wireless? In the present world that sees technological advancements every minute, it wouldn’t be wrong to believe that everything can be present at our fingertips. Let us discuss some of the cool Bluetooth-capable gadgets, that are now your wireless puppets.

Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer

We’ll start with my favourite. The Polaroid’s PoGo printer(Rs.3835) prints 2×3 inch-colored photos under a minute directly from your phone or digital camera. It runs on ZINK( Zero Ink) Technology. The photo paper has microscopic crystals that are activated by heat in the printer to produce color. The device has a range of over 35 feet, and the rechargeable battery runs for about 15 prints. The photos are smudge proof with a glossy finish. They are also water and tear-resistant.

InsecDroids

This one is for the smart kids. A company named D-RED came up with a new OS app called InsectDroids, for children of ages 5+. It is designed to control small plastic bugs of the same name. You can make these insects scamper about on the floor using your iPhone or iPad. It comes with a rechargeable battery. This toy will cost you close to Rs.2500

Medisana TargetScale

The Medisana TargetScale is a Bluetooth-capable weighing scale that shows you accurately your body mass index(BMI), body fat and water, plus muscle and bone mass aside from your weight. The “smart scale” has flashing rings which gives it a futuristic look, more like the Star Trek transporter. It works in conjunction with a VitaDock app, and sends data to your iPhone or iPad so that users can analyze their progress on the go. It will cost you USD 130, and it isn’t available in India.

Qi-wear Streo Bluetooth Sunglasses

It has Streo Bluetooth connectivity and eye protection in one package. The Q-i-wear stereo Bluetooth Eyewear by iharmonix is designed with dual microphones to cancel ambient noise for clear communication and noise-isolating ear-tips to reduce noise levels by up to 42 decibel. It has on-frame controls and can deliver up to 4 hours of talk time, 8 hours of music playback and up to 7 days on standby when fully and replaceable lenses in clear, gray and amber. It’ll cost you USD 300.

Cobra Tag

How often do you forget your car keys, on your smartphone when you leave the room? Cobra Tag is designed to hang on your keychain, and use the Bluetooth technology so you never lose your phone or your keys. It creates a two way separate alarm between your android or BlackBerry smartphones and the tag. If you walk away with your phone, and the connection is broken, both your phone and the tag start emitting a high-pitched noise reminding you to come back for the keys. If that’s not enough, the Cobra Tag app can send you a text message, email or tweet to inform you that you’ve lost your belongings and for the unmindful people like us, it sends a map to locate the whereabouts of your device. Take note that this device will cost you close to Rs.3200.

Beam Bluetooth Toothbrush

Now flash your tooth, with Bluetooth. It is true that for most of you, brushing your teeth would not be on top of your priority list. Beam Technologies came up with this high tech toothbrush with sensor, that monitors your oral hygiene habits and sends analysis to your smartphone via Bluetooth. To lure people into brushing for 2 minutes, it also allows you to play music while brushing. Parents can keep a track of their child’s brushing habits by pairing all Beam Brushes to same smartphone. Later versions will track how much time you spent in scrubbing certain areas of your mouth and help improve your oral hygiene. So, there’s no way out for the sloth in you. What’s next, Bluetooth floss? It costs USD50.

Lego Mindstorm NXT Robot Kit

This Shows the real potential of the Bluetooth technology. The Lego Mindstorm NXT 2.0 for you geeks features 32-bit microprocessor, a large matrix display, 4 input and 3 output ports, and Bluetooth and USB communication link. It has ultrasonic, touch and color sensors and 3 motors to make your robot alive. Basically, it is a bunch of electronic parts, motors, gears and cams that can be put together to create different robots that respond to programs you create and transmit via Bluetooth. Once it’s together, you can wirelessly tell your robot to move, spin, make noise and even pick up a ball with its claw. It can be easily programmed using software on your Mac or Windows with an intuitive drag-n-drop interface. The programs are transmitted to the robot from up to 25 feet away. Show off your creation, or take it apart and start over. There’s no limit to what you can build with this kit. Go ahead and buy it just for Rs.19000.

Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard

It’s compact, it is wireless and it takes full control of your home entertainment PC setup. The keys are twice the size of BlackBerry, but it encourages thumb-typing. The control pad lets you change from touch-pad-style control to directional up-down-left-right controls by sliding a small switch. The keyboard has 45-feet range and its battery should run for two weeks of on-and-off use. The diNovo Mini is also compatible with the PlayStation 3, but lacks Apple and xBox360 support. A well-integrated mouse-pad, backlit keys, multiple connectivity options and media buttons make the diNovo a valuable asset. Buy it for just Rs.5000.

OnStar FMV

Once found only in General Motors vehicles, the OnStar FMV-“For My Vehicle” is now available as an add-on rear view mirror for a wide variety of other cars. Who knew safety could come in this little a package? The GPS enabled device offers accurate turn-by-turn voice directions, hands-free phone calls and all sort of vehicle assistance. Sync your phone via Bluetooth and make calls without taking your eyes off the road. OnStar FMV provides Automatic Crash Response, 24×7 emergency services, stolen vehicle location assistance and roadside assistance. It will be your favorite assistant on road. This behind-the-wheel peace of mind costs you USD 300 plus installation charges, about USD 200-300 a year for the OnStar services. Unfortunately, we don’t have this service in India as of now.

November 21, 2012December 26, 2012 by Kush Sharma

Nexus 4

The new smartphone from Google

With your favorite Google Apps, an amazing Photo Sphere camera, cutting edge hardware, and access to your favorite entertainment on Google Play – Nexus 4 puts the best of Google in the palm of your hand.

Google’s Nexus (ten points to anyone who can tell us if Nexi is the correct plural) smartphones have always set the standard when it comes to a pure Google experience.

The first Nexus One was a true geek device. Sold only through Google directly (apart from a brief flirtation with Vodafone), it never achieved massive sales. But it gave the world the true raw power of Android without the bloatware of other variants. As of January 2010, the ball was well and truly rolling.

We’ve had several now – and everyone, it seems, had a go: HTC, Samsung, Asus and LG – though strangely, not Motorola, which is now part of Google itself.

The design of the LG-made Nexus 4 is very much an iteration of the Galaxy Nexus. That is, you kind of can’t tell the two apart if they’re sitting next to one another on a table. It’s when you get closer that you begin to notice the differences — and there are many significant differences.

For starters, the device is made mostly from glass. Gorilla Glass. The screen is coated smoothly from edge to edge, and it almost feels like the glass is melted over the sides. Google’s head of user experience Matias Duarte claimed that the curved sides helped swiping left or right on the phone, and much to my surprise, it did seem to make things easier to shuffle around near the edges of the screen. The back is flat glass with a holographic stipple pattern which you can’t always see, but looks playfully futuristic in the right light. The two glass surfaces are joined by a soft touch band which wraps around the entire device, giving it a solid, weighty feel in your hand.

Performance and Battery Life

Google says the Nexus 4 is the fastest phone around right now. Whether that’s true or not, I can say that performance and responsiveness on the device is second to none. It’s a very speedy phone that barely ever hesitated or failed to respond to my touches or commands. In particular, multitasking between a number of applications was no issue for the phone, buoyed up — I presume — by that generous 2GB of RAM.

Battery life was also top notch. I’m used to getting just about a day of use on my Galaxy Nexus (that’s taking it off of the charger around 8AM or 9AM, and putting it back on around 2AM). Some days it doesn’t quite make it that long, depending on my workload. The Nexus 4 fared much better. At the time of this writing, I’ve had it off of its charger for 10 hours and 30 minutes and it’s still got 45 percent battery life. Yesterday before I plugged it in, I’d had it off the charger for 16 hours, with 18 percent of its juice left. To say it’s holding up for full work days would be an understatement; even with heavy use, this battery more than pulls its weight.

Specifications and Display

Inside, the Nexus 4 shines with an impressive set of specs. The phone’s beating heart is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro clocked to 1.5GHz, which Google says makes this the fastest phone on the planet. I’m not sure that’s an empirical fact, but the device was extremely snappy. It also houses a healthy 2GB of RAM, and is available in an 8GB or or 16GB version (I tested the 16GB version). There’s no SD slot here, so you’re stuck with a relatively small amount of onboard storage, especially on the cheapest version. There’s also a non-removable 2100 mAh battery inside.

You’ll find the typical compliment of Wi-Fi radios here (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and interestingly, built-in support for Google’s newest accessory, a wireless charging dock that looks a lot like the Palm Touchstone. One thing you won’t find, however, is LTE. The device comes equipped with HSPA+ radios, which will work just fine on T-Mobile or AT&T here in the States, and on the majority of carriers in Europe and the rest of the world. There are no plans at the moment for any other variations of the phone that I know of.

GOOD STUFF

Improved build quality
Android 4.2 is fantastic
Excellent price for a device of this caliber

BAD STUFF

Lacks LTE
Screen a bit washed out
Glass backing breaks easily
No expandable memory
Camera could be better