Category Archives: Gadgets

My First Chicago Geekfest Meetup

Gadgets, Internet, , , , ,

Geekfest Visitor BadgeI experienced my first Chicago Geekfest Meetup yesterday. The meetups take place every Tuesday at the local Groupon offices. Yesterday’s session was a series of lightning talks:

Video recordings of the presentations should be up soon on Vimeo.

Finding The Perfect Folding/Travel Keyboard for My iPhone

Gadgets, , , , , , ,
The Three Folding Keyboards

The Three Folding Keyboards

Much as I like my iPhone, I miss having an actual keyboard – something that I can actually type on and see the full screen. Something that I can use my than just one finger to type with. For the past few years I have waited for what I thought would be the perfect folding keyboard…

http://youtu.be/Ss9Vd4lukDs

This could have been the Jorno. A folding Blutooth keyboard with an engaging design. However, the keyboard is still in prototype stage even though it was fully funded on Kickstarter back in October of 2012. Many of the backers are irate, and asking for refunds. The original design (which was the most exciting feature) has been greatly simplified. If it ever gets shipped I doubt that this will work terribly well.

iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard

iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard

So I have been looking at alternatives. I still have my old iGo Stowaway Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard that I bought back in 2006. This works well, but is not entirely ideal – it does not lie entirely flat on a table, and the number keys require pressing the function key to work. The technology is impressive, but using it can be painful. I wanted to see if there was something better out there.

GEYES GK108 Folding Keyboard

GEYES GK108 Folding Keyboard

On Amazon, I found the GEYES GK108 Folding Keyboard. This is essentially the old Targus PA830U Stowaway Portable Keyboard, but with a USB cable interface. This will work with an iPhone 5 providing I use an Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit and a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter. The GEYES GK108 uses a proprietary USB cable which I worry about losing. This is by far my favorite keyboard to type on, but having to carry the cable and adapters makes this an option I am less likely to use.

Reudo Folding Keyboard

Reudo Folding Keyboard

This is going to be my keyboard of choice. The Reudo Folding Keyboard is not quite as pleasant to type on as the GK108, but it is almost as good. The Reudo Folding Keyboard is not quite as compact as the Stowaway, but it is almost as good. It comes in a little case, with a folding stand for iPhones and small tablets. The notable ways in which it is clearly better than the competition are the shortcut keys on the keyboard that work extremely well on the iPhone, and the fact is uses Bluetooth 3 and did not need a PIN. This will be coming with me everywhere I take the iPhone (or a tablet).

Folded, Bagged and Tagged

Folded, Bagged and Tagged

Update: Geyes Bluetooth 3.0 Triple Folding Wireless Keyboard

Geyes Bluetooth 3.0 Triple Folding Wireless Keyboard

Geyes Bluetooth 3.0 Triple Folding Wireless Keyboard

Brandon Davis emailed me to say that he had found a Bluetooth version of the GK108 Folding Keyboard on Amazon. This looks like it comes with a pouch and a phone stand as well. This could be a better option than the Reudo for my uses. Thanks Brandon!

Brandon also suggested the Vivitar 60316 Compatible USB Cable as a replacement cable for the one that comes with the GEYES GK108 Folding Keyboard.

Interactive Moto X Advert in Wired Magazine

Gadgets, Mobile, , , , , , , , ,

Wired

I am a Wired Magazine subscriber. The somewhat asinine aspect of this is that you still have to receive the paper magazine in the mail even if you just want to read via the iPad app. For this reason, the physical magazines typically end up getting recycled (or given to a friend) without being read. However, in an idle moment I flipped through an old issue and saw a rather nifty advert for the Moto X….

Moto X Advert (Before and After)

Moto X Advert (Before and After)

What looked at first to be a simple image of the smartphone was in reality a page in which you could change the colors of the ‘phone cover by pressing a button on the page. My curiosity go the better of me, and I pulled apart the page to see how this worked. Sandwiched between two pages was plexiglass, LEDs, four batteries, and various wires and contacts (buttons). The buttons allow you to change the back of the  Moto X – the LEDs able to shine with eleven colors. 

The guts of the advert

The guts of the advert

Apparently about 150,000 readers received the advert, so this was not cheap for Motorola to put together (but Google has the cash). Whilst I cannot say that this made me think more favorably about purchasing the Motorola ‘phone,  I did think it amusing that the interactive advert of the Canon EOS 70D (a paper wheel, that fell off the page rather than spinning) looked somewhat shabby in comparison.

Canon EOS 70D

Canon EOS 70D

The “designed by you” campaign reminds me too much of “The Homer” – the car designed by Homer Simpson…

The Homer

The Homer

Another Genuinely Useful Gadget: The Mu

Gadgets, Travel, , , , ,
The Mu

The Mu

I will be heading back to the U.K. for two weeks later this year, and I was getting some of gear together that I intend to take with me. Amidst the various cables and adapters was The Mu. This is another genuinely useful gadget. The U.K. electrical plug is an impressive piece of technology, but has two notable features.

  1. More painful then Lego to step on barefoot.
  2. Cumbersome to pack, with a tendency to scratch or destroy everything else it is packed with.

The Mu makes the U.K. electrical packable with some amazing folding action.

I have the original, but I am looking out for the new version that sports two USB ports, with enough output to properly charge a tablet.

Pocket Tripod: A Genuinely Useful Gadget

Gadgets, Mobile, Travel, , , , ,
Pocket Tripod

At first glance, an ordinary piece of plastic

I will cheerfully admit to owning more than a few gadgets. Most are a clever idea, but poorly realized and of little longterm value. However, every-so-often you come across something that is genuinely useful….

Pocket Tripod

A few twist and turns. Now we have an iPhone stand…

Last year, I supported the “Pocket Tripod” on KickStarter. This was to be a credit-card sized piece of plastic, that twisted and contorted into an iPhone stand. Typically, the travel iPhone stands are frustrating – small, lightweight, but ultimately useless.

Pocket Tripod

Pull it apart for widescreen use.

This particular gadget (the Pocket Tripod) is actually well-machined, and does the job as it should. On those occasions when I need to prop up the iPhone on a desk (to use with a Bluetooth keyboard) or to play music, this does the job. Very easy to carry around, and a particularly ingenious design. I recommend it.

Google Glass: Part 1

Gadgets, Internet, Mobile, , , ,
Google Glass

Google Glass

This is going to be a short post… I received my Google Glass a few weeks ago, and I although I set up the various Glassware applications and started wearing the device at work (but not in public), I have done little in the way of testing.

I am going to start to post observations and test from here on.

I was thinking of seeing how well the video camera would work for recording lectures, and have quickly discovered that this is not particularly feasible. After about 20 minutes of recording, Glass alerts me that the battery is running low. I had about 29% battery left at that point, and will see how long I can record with a fully charged device.

Voice command work largely well. Using the gestures is sometimes an easier way to accomplish a task though.

Overall, the device fees like a solution is search of a problem. The technology is extremely impressive, but needs developers to make Glass more than a novelty.

More later….

Innovative Advertising

Gadgets, Internet Marketing, Online Learning, , , ,
Stukent Advertising

Open, and magically a video starts playing automatically.

I received a rather nifty package at work yesterday, one of the the more interesting examples of advertising I have seen for some time…

In the same way that some birthday cards play a message or tune as you open them, this mailer started to play an advertising video. A hidden magnet detects whether the cover is open or closed, and plays the video on a loop when open.

 

I was impressed.

Ad

The mysterious “Ad”

I don’t really have need of the service (stukent.com/special), but I started to experiment with the package. At the bottom of the mailer I could see a Mini-USB port. Connecting a cable allowed me to see that the device showed up as external storage (Ad), with a video directory. Providing I replaced the existing video file there with nothing larger than 97.4 MB, I could play my own videos on the device. Neat.

When I have more time to kill, I am going to cut away the cardboard exterior, and see how I can repurpose this. Possibly in a small frame. Could make for a clever animated wallhanging.

Thank you mysterious stranger for sending me this. I hope you get some business out of this…

Mini-Recording Studio Wishlist

Gadgets, Online Learning, , , , , ,

Earlier this year, I requested some equipment at work. Basically what I wanted was a room in which faculty could walk in and record reusable video content for online and hybrid classes. Something simple, yet flexible. My wishlist is below. This all could be accomplished using a Windows Surface Pro with Camtasia installed, but I think ScreenFlow is a better editing package. Having a dedicated room allows for more flexibility in presentation style, with faculty able to stand in the room (adjustable camera and desk), or sit at a stool.

I have been experimenting with the combination of ScreenFlow, Open-Sankoré, and the Wacom Cintiq tablet. So far I am impressed. Open-Sankoré  is prone to the occasional crash, but this might be down to my testing on older equipment.

Item Details Notes Cost
Mac Pro Quad-Core and Dual GPU 2,799.00
Snowball Mic Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone Not ICE Model 59.00
Pop Filter Blue Microphones The Pop Universal Pop Filter 28.99
Microphone Stand PylePro PMKS15 Universal Compact Base Microphone Stand with Adjustable and Extendable Boom $35.05
Webcam Logitech C920 Cam 69.99
Microphone Stand for Webcam On Stage MS7201B Round Base Microphone Stand, Black 21.95
Wacom Tablet Cintiq 22HD Creative Pen Display 1999.00
Table (Adjustable Height) Tubular Steel Adjustable Drawing Table with Multiple Supply Drawers – CraftMaster $149.97
Adjustable Height Cabinet Adjustable Height Cabinet Table with Casters 156.90
Stool Balt Trax Stool, Model 34430 (Black) 182.00
External Drive Portable Hard drives
With thunderbolt docking station		 654.95
Surge Protector Belkin Pivot Wall Mount Surge Protector with 6 Outlets 14.49
Softbox Lighting Kit ePhoto Digital Video Continuous Softbox Lighting Kit and Boom Stand Hair Light with Carrying Case H9004SB 109.99
ClipWrap http://www.divergentmedia.com/clipwrap 49.99
Monitor Acer B296CL 499.99
ScreenFlow http://www.telestream.net/screenflow/ 99.00
TOTAL $6930.26