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Newstips Electronic Editorial Bulletin Issue # 2010-07c
Outside is almost as hot as the news
In this issue:
Antec Kuhler: you may have to get it to get it... XTR-50 doesn't
look like it should sound this good... Fixmo Speed test also for
WiFi... New Franklin speaking dictionary for kids adds
features... Leak: Iconosys One-Stop ProTextion info... Boogie
Boards as August radio guys' prize... Steadicam Smoothee will fit
more than iPhone... Special Report: Handsets used less as
phones... Reviews: Nite Ize Eclipse, BBQ Meatball Basket, Outlets
To Go 3, Rest Easy bed bug spray, Pill Timer... plus our
commentary on navigators' missing links
Antec Kuhler: you may have to get it to get it
Even if you would never ever open up a PC let alone upgrade it or
build one from scratch, it's still a cool idea to arrange to get
your hands on a new Kuhler CPU cooler from Antec. Here's why: PC
reliability goes down as the temperature goes up, today's
highest-horsepower CPUs can be major heat producers & industry
standards restrict the total inside volume available for cooling
solutions. That's accelerating the art of getting optimum cooling
efficiency to what comes down to arrays of fins & fans. We're
pretty sure that once you take a hands-on look at how this new
Kuhler line embodies that, you'll find a cool story angle (plus
get a coolly geeky gizmo that visitors may see as shelf
sculpture). Ask Veronica. Contact: Veronica Feldmeier, Antec Inc.
(Fremont, CA) 510-770-2150 vfeldmeier@antec.com
http://antec.com
XTR-50 doesn't look like it should sound this good
After you bust your hump bending the rules of physics to make a
really thin speaker system, one big challenge is that people have
no reason to expect a speaker this thin to sound this good. The
1.5" thin Mythos XTR-50 ($699) is an easy decision for flat
screen environments once people hear it, it just doesn't look
like it should sound this good. Would you care to try for
yourself? If you have the ear & the gear to evaluate & review any
Definitive system, Paul can arrange a loan. Contact: Paul DiComo,
Definitive Technology (Owings Mills, MD) 410-363-7148
paul.dicomo@definitivetech.com http://DefinitiveTech.com
Fixmo Speed test also for WiFi
The Speed test function in Fixmo Tools for BlackBerry ($20 with a
year of updates) meters your upload & download speeds both for
the cell signal & for WiFi. When there's a lot to send or
receive, knowing those speeds lets you make an informed decision
about where or when to begin that transfer. Ask Rick. Contact:
Rick Segal, Fixmo (Toronto, ON) 416-414-9726 rick@Fixmo.com
http://Fixmo.com
New Franklin speaking dictionary for kids adds features
First a correction: the SpellEvent at the Essex in NYC is 8/10
(sted 8/20). The KID-1250 Speaking Merriam-Webster's Elementary
Dictionary (street $50) is Franklin's newest & best handheld for
kids. A recorded (not synthesized) voice speaks all headwords &
letters & there's a simplified thesaurus also built in. It's
available & reviewable (cool for your back-to-school) now.
Contact: Aline Boutin, Franklin Electronic Publishers
(Burlington, NJ) 609-386-2500x4434 aline_boutin@franklin.com
http://franklin.com
Leak: Iconosys One-Stop ProTextion info
Iconosys will be integrating the best of its anti-texting
products into a new product called One-Stop ProTextion. The
retail version (under $20) will come on disc & load an
appropriate version of the software into as many as 6 BlackBerry,
WinMo or Android handsets & include free updates for the life of
a handset. You can identify as a driver or a passenger with one
button; for a handset with GPS, it can auto-trigger at driving
speeds. Like earlier Iconosys texting preventers, senders get a
user-configurable auto-reply that says something like "driving
now, catch up with you later". Ask Wayne. Contact: Wayne Irving
II, Iconosys Inc. (Laguna Hills, CA) 949-322-3540 wi@iconosys.com
http://iconosys.com
Boogie Boards as August radio guys' prize
Those of you with radio show who like to make products available
as audience prizes should contact Kevin now to arrange for some
reasonable number of Boogie Board ($35) analog LCD paperless note
slates. Contact: Kevin Oswald, Kent Displays (Kent, OH)
330-673-8784x161 koswald@kentdisplays.com
http://KentDisplays.com
Steadicam Smoothee will fit more than iPhone
The little Steadicam Smoothee ($199, later in 2010) will be good
for more than just shooting with an iPhone when it hits; so far
the list of other cameras already includes Motorola Droid & Flip
Mino, with support for more likely by the time it ships. Ask
Hilary. Contact: Hilary Araujo, Tiffen Company (Hauppauge, NY)
631-609-3216 haraujo@tiffen.com http:/.tiffen.com
Special Report: Handsets used less as phones
This is not definitive, but an informal survey of young smart
phone users shows many of them never or seldom using it for voice
calls, only for texting; for an even wider swath, the screen &
keyboard are getting used far more than the audio paths for a
combination of socialization participation & texting. Individual
text messages or tweets are short enough not to compel a
prolonged focus on a very narrow viewing angle (which might
elevate eyestrain concerns); at the same time, touch typing
doesn't happen & the typing that does happen compels a large
number of small motions in a very cramped area which may take a
toll on finger & hand bones, nerves or muscles. We know that
handset builders are working to make texting easier; we think
that once more official surveys confirm what we learned, that
will accelerate.
Special Report Bonus Review: Nite Ize Eclipse
We didn't quite believe the pitch for the Nite Ize Eclipse
(spelled on the packaging with a capital "clip") so we asked them
to send one for review (they topped that & sent one already
attached to a dummy cell phone. This is intended to be pretty
much a universal clip for securely hanging almost any kind of
handheld gizmo on fabric (to 1/8" thick, so clothes, belts, seat
belts, purses & shoulder bags are all in its range). You might
think it could clip to anything thin enough but these clever,
sneaky people built in a spring-loaded twin claw (a second clip
within the clip) that specifically grabs fabric (press to
release). It uses high-strength 3M VHB tape (dramatically
non-trivial adhesion) to attach to the gizmo. If you carry your
gear "naked" this gives you a lot of don't-lose-it options; if
you have fitted cases or docks, you may want to think about
whether it will handle this quarter-inch bump on the back. Bottom
line: the Nite Ize Eclipse is one of the cleverest ways we've
seen to tote handheld gear securely.
Special Report Bonus Review 2: BBQ Meatball Basket
One very interesting response to our BBQ gadgets editorial call
is the Cooking Enthusiast BBQ Meatball Basket. This is a hinged
(between the top & bottom halves) array of 12 shaped wire
hemispheres ending in a rosewood handle. Load the balls of meat
(we used Judie's secret beef/veal/pork meatloaf recipe modified
with bread crumbs, cream & eggs), set the basket on the grill's
grate & at the right time flip it over. Remember that you'll need
some way (like hot mitts) to open the hot wire carrier
(preferably at the grill, because you don't want to drip a trail
of meat juices into the house) & remove the finished meatballs.
Pork made our test extra demanding (imposes a 170F target &
that's hot enough to potentially overcook the beef & veal), but
it succeeded. Please note that we can't think of anything other
than meatballs that you can use this to grill. Bottom line: the
Cooking Enthusiast BBQ Meatball Basket is a clever grilling gizmo
that makes meatballs even easier to prep than hamburgers.
Special Report Bonus Review 3: Outlets To Go 3
We still love the original Outlets To Go, a bar-style AC outlet
stick with placement staggered on both sides (so they fit almost
every wall wart), a short cord that wraps & plugs into an outlet
to pack & tote in a space smaller than a salami & a blue telltale
in the plug so you know it's in a working outlet. When Monster
Power told us about the new Outlets To Go 3 for laptops, we told
them to get one here pronto. This one has the footprint of a
handset, maybe 2-3 times as thick. There's no cord; the plug
swivels out of the side of the body & just barely lets something
else plug into the duplex outlet above. It offers 2 AC outlets on
one side & one on the other; that other side also has 2 USB-A
charging ports with tons of power available (up to 1.5A each, 3X
the USB spec). There's still a blue LED telltale to confirm the
presence of power at the outlet you plug it into. Bottom line:
the Monster Power Outlets To Go 3 for laptops is a nimble,
capable & welcome traveling companion for people who travel with
more things to plug into more outlets than most hotel rooms make
it easy to reach.
Special Report Bonus Review 4: Rest Easy bed bug spray
One of the stranger responses to our first-apartment tech
editorial call came from Rest Easy spray which, its package
claims, "kills & repels bed bugs". That claim is quite
interesting in light of the ingredients with which it claims to
do that: mint oil, clove oil, cinnamon oil, lemon grass oil &
sodium lauryl sulfate (a detergent used in many shampoos). We
know that bed bugs have grown resistant to many pesticides & that
mint was once upon a time used to ward off bed bugs, but so was
taking a pig to bed (literally, in the belief that the bugs would
prefer a porcine meal & leave the human traveler alone). We could
find no credible reference to bed bug eradication that cited any
of these ingredients; almost all said to engage a professional
exterminator & the lists of countermeasures had none of the spice
rack qualities of this spray. Note that we did not bring any bed
bugs in to thrive or die from this spray, so we can offer no
observation, only opinion. Bottom line: we don't trust Rest Easy
to kill or repel bed bugs.
Special Report Bonus Review 5: Pill Timer
You have to love this one: an electronic timer built into the cap
of a pill bottle that flashes & beeps to remind you when it's
time for your next dose. The MedTimeTechnology Pill Timer counts
down from whatever number of hours you set. The battery is not
user-replaceable but should last for 3 months & anyway a
whole-unit replacement is only about five bucks. Bottom line: the
MedTimeTechnology Pill Timer is a handy gizmo to help people take
pills on time.
Navigators' missing links
We took our recent (bedroom furniture delivery) road trip in the
company of a prototype of a new dashboard navigator from a major
brand; we'll review that soon, but it brought us to some
observations about the category. First, you'd think by now that
they'd figure out that if it's stuck on a windshield it should be
readable even in incident sunlight & even with polarized
sunglasses on; that doesn't happen. Second, if they get real-time
traffic they should also be able to get real-time weather & let
you know when you're heading into a major storm front. Third
-well, you tell us - what do you think needs fixing? Contact:
Martin Winston, Newstips (Novelty, OH) 440-338-8400;
marty@Newstips.com http://Newstips.com
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Newstips Bulletin [Novelty, OH] +1.440.338.8400 http://Newstips.com
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