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It’s a fast paced world out there and you need all your faculties to keep up. Take too long, and it’s “Next please!” while you’re still standing there. Imagine how much more difficult it is if you do have a learning disability or condition such as Asperger’s and you just need a little more time. To help people in this situation, the NOW Group has created an app that asks people for “Just A Minute”. The JAM Card app shows staff in retail outlets, transport and other areas of public life that the person needs “Just A Minute” of patience and time when interacting with them. The smartphone app is based on the original concept of a plastic card and was the idea of people with a disability who said they often felt under pressure when they were out and about in everyday life. They wanted a discreet way of letting people know that they needed a little extra time. The app is available for both Android and iOS (search for “JAM Card”). At present the app only caters for four specific conditions though they hope to extend it to more over time. The app also allows users to score retail stores and transportation for their helpfulness towards people with disabilities. For more information, listen to my interview with NOW Group’s Jayne at NICON 17.  If you like what the NOW Group are doing here, you can vote for them over at Digital DNA and help them become a partner charity.

Learning is best done when fun and what’s more fun than play? Sam’s Curious Cars fall right into this sweet spot and Todd gets an interactive demo from Joachim. Sam Labs have created a series of component-based toys (think chassis, wheels, motors) that can be built up to make a vehicle – in this instance a car. The components are compatible with Lego bricks, so builders can really express themselves. Once constructed, the car can be controlled by other components, like a switch for power and a slide for left and right. The car can also be controlled by an app and for advanced learners, the cars behaviour can be built up using control blocks in the app. It’s designed to introduce some of the key concepts of programming without actually having to code. There’s a series of six different sets, priced from US$99 and the Curious Cars are $199. Additional sensors and motors can be bought separately. Available now from the Sam Labs shop and other good retailers. Todd Cochrane is the host of the twice-weekly Geek News Central Podcast at GeekNewsCentral.com. Become a GNC Insider today!

The technology to measure physiology is becoming commonplace: any smart watch worthy of the name can record heart rate. The trick now is to incorporate these sensors into other useful gadgets. A good example here is the Owlet Smart Sock which brings reassurance to parents that their baby is sleeping normally. The Owlet Smart Sock monitors a baby’s heart rate and blood oxygen, alerting parents or carers if either measurement causes concern. The Owlet Smart Sock system has three components; the smart sock or bootie which is worn by the baby on its foot, a monitoring unit and the companion app. The bootie communicates with the monitoring unit via Bluetooth and if there is a problem, parents are notified by visual and audible alerts on the Owlet unit and smartphone(s). The app is available for both iOS and Android but check compatibility before buying. The Owlet Smart Sock is available now for $249 direct from Owlet. Todd Cochrane is the host of the twice-weekly Geek News Central Podcast at GeekNewsCentral.com. Become a GNC Insider today!

A personal whistle may seem like a fairly old-fashioned thing to bring to an event like CES. But PapaGo’s new Geko smart whistle is anything but old-fashioned. Todd met with Paulina from PapaGo who listed out all of the features of this award-winning product. The Geko smart whistle connects to a user’s mobile device via Bluetooth. If the user triggers the whistle, either by blowing thru it like a standard whistle, or pressing a button built into the whistle, the whistle sends a signal to the user’s phone, which in turn contacts three different people by text, e-mail, and telephone (phone calls available on Android devices only). These messages are predefined to let the recipients know that the sender is in trouble, along with a map of the sender’s location. When the whistle is triggered a second time, it sends an “all clear” message to let recipients know that the user is now safe. The PapaGo Geko smart whistle is already available for purchase for $49.99. The whistle will send up to 30 messages for free, but users can purchase more messages if needed.  

There are plenty of drones that can be used to take videos from the air or to take aerial photos.  That’s great for photographers, but doesn’t do much for gamers.  Drone n’ Base has created The Gaming Drone.  Use these little drones to play augmented reality video games. Todd spoke with Matus, who explained what The Gaming Drone can do.  There are two styles of video game that you can play with The Gaming Drone.  One is an augmented reality game where you play against a computer.  You control your physical drone and battle the computer’s drone that is inside the game. The other video game is a multiplayer race and battle.  Each player places a game board on the floor, and flies his or her drone over it.  This enables the player to race and battle with other players in the video game. The Gaming Drone by Drone n’ Base is priced at $199.  Each package comes with one drone, one base, and two batteries.

For most computer users, a mouse is a pretty boring input device that has probably two buttons and maybe a click wheel installed. But there’s a whole world of high-end computer mice out there, many of them aimed at the gaming market. Todd spoke with Grant from SwiftPoint about his company’s latest gaming mouse known simply as Z. SwiftPoint’s Z Mouse has more buttons than a typical mouse, allowing for up to 50 different click-based actions. Z Mouse has a built-in gyroscope that makes it easy to control things like pitch and yaw used in flight-sim games, replacing the need for a joystick or other type of controller. Z Mouse is being brought to market thru a successful Kickstarter campaign. Once the campaign is fulfilled, the mouse is expected to make it to the retail market in March of this year, where it’ll retail for $229.

Avido has created something that many people have been wanting.  The Avido WiBa is a contactless power charger that you can take with you when you travel.  Todd spoke with Kevin about this amazing new charger.The Avido WiBa is a CES 2017 Innovation Award Honoree.  It is the first of its kind. The Avido WiBa wireless charging power bank does not require cables.  It is very simple to use.  First, put the Avido WiBa portable power bank onto the charging dock.  In just a few seconds, the power bank begins to charge wirelessly.  Put your phone on top of it, and it instantly begins to charge.  The portable power bank and the phone charge at the same time. The Avido WiBa is priced at $79.95.  It comes with everything you need to get started, including the power plate and the Avivo WiBa itself.

Aerial drones and quadcopters have been mainstream items for a few years now. It seems like every day, amazing new videos are posted online of landscapes, cities, or large events. While everything happening on the ground is being recorded from the air, there’s another part of the planet that’s being completely ignored: Under water. Todd had a chat with Merlin at the PowerVision booth. Merlin talked about his company’s impressive new underwater drone. This drone uses a 100-foot tether that can go up to 30 meters deep. The drone comes with integrated lights and a 4K video camera that can take 13 megapixel photos. The drone also has a built-in sonar to help find fish. There’s even an attached fishing hook that can carry bait to help lure hungry fish to the drone’s location. PowerVision’s new underwater drone will go on sale at the end of next month, and begin shipping in the spring quarter. Pricing has not yet been announced.

With the arrival of the Internet of Things, installing antivirus software on a PC isn’t going address malware lurking on a smart home control unit. A different approach is needed and Bitdefender’s BOX might be the solution. Dan talks to Todd about what Box offers over traditional security products. The Bitdefender Box is a small hardware device which is connected into a free port on the main router – it’s similar in size to the control units for SmartThings or Hue. Once configured via Bitdefender’s Central Account or the companion smartphone app, it monitors the network traffic for suspicious activity. Box provides several layers of security over and above standard antivirus with everything from URL filtering to anomaly detection. Bitdefender Box is available now for US$129 in the first year, with an annual subscription of $99. The next gen Box is expected in the summer, priced at $199. Box is currently only available in the USA. Todd Cochrane is the host of the twice-weekly Geek News Central Podcast at GeekNewsCentral.com. Become a GNC Insider today!

We tend to think of new technology as something that everyone can use. Not so! Sometimes, the hottest new technology is inaccessible to users who are low-vision or blind. Todd spoke with Sean at Cyber Timez who has a product called Cyber Eyez which is designed for people who are low-vision or blind. Cyber Eyez is an application that runs on Smart Glasses. It is completely hands free and very easy to use. It has 3 buttons or voice commands to control it. Cyber Eyez can magnify up to 15 times resolution. When it comes to text, they also have an OCR engine that’s on the device – so no internet needed. It reads text in over 100 different languages. Cyber Eyes can be very useful for people who are visually impaired or blind.

Thunderbolt-based docks are turning into big business thanks to recent developments in computing hardware (mostly on behalf of Apple). Docks have been used for years to make it easier to use laptops in desktop situations. But what if your desktop already has a computer on it? Todd met with David from IOGear to gett the answer to that question. David showed off the new Thunderbolt 2 KVM/Docking Station from IOGear. This dock is more than just a standard port extender for a laptop computer. Here are some details: * Built-in KVM switch allows you to connect two computers to the dock at the same time * Two Thunderbolt 2 inputs * Thunderbolt expansion port allows for connecting up to 5 additional Thunderbolt devices * 4K 30hz video output * Analog and optical audio I/O * eSATA connection, USB 3, and USB 2 connections for storage * Gigabit Ethernet port This new dock/KVM device is available for purchase now at a price of $399.95.

One thing every attendee of CES 2017 must have noticed is how large the show is. Todd spoke with Allison from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) about how the show has grown and changed over time. Allison pointed out that CES 2017 had 2.6 million net square feet of exhibit space which, she helpfully explained, equals about 45 football fields of innovation. This explains why some people came out of CES 2017 feeling as though they had done a whole lot of walking around!

Synology is a real innovator when it comes to computer networking. The company is well known for its NAS devices but Synology also makes routers. Last year, Synology showed off its RT2600ac router at CES. And they’re back this year with an updated version of that same router. Todd spoke with Chandra at the Synology booth. Chandra shared some of the new RT2600ac’s features: * QOS layer * Control bandwidth of connected devices down to the application, not just the device * Router can function as VPN * VPN+ software package allows for VPN cloaking * Two built-in USB 3 ports for connecting storage devices * Built-in SD card slot * Synology CloudStation software runs right on the router * 1 WAN port and 4 LAN ports The new version of this router will be released later this year. Retail pricing has not yet been determined.

One of the best things about motor shows are the preposterous concept cars that will never see the light of day and serve only to showcase the manufacturer’s technology. Razer are verging into this territory with a bonkers triple 4K screen laptop, codenamed Project Valerie, where the three screens combine to give a whopping resolution of 11520 x 2160. And get this….the screens will automatically expand and collapse – so cool. Aimed at the (very) serious gamer or esports player, it’s totally awesome and no doubt will have a price tag to match when (if?) it goes on sale. Todd Cochrane is the host of the twice-weekly Geek News Central Podcast at GeekNewsCentral.com. Become a GNC Insider today!

Witti are reasonably well-known for their Beddi collection of stylish bedside clocks and lights which both help the sleeper doze off and wake them gently in the morning. Expanding their product portfolio, Witti is introducing Sleepi and Todd finds out from Alfred what it can offer snoozers. Sleepi is a sleep monitoring system, comprising of a bedside light and clock, a sleep tracker that goes under the mattress and the obligatory smartphone app. The app tracks sleep and wakefulness, providing a report in the morning. What makes Sleepi different is that it works with smart homes to figure out what interrupted the sleep, e.g. the room was too hot, and then adjust the temperature automatically. That’s smart. A Kickstarter launch is planned for Sleepi, with shipping towards the end of 2017. Expected retail price around US$149. Todd Cochrane is the host of the twice-weekly Geek News Central Podcast at GeekNewsCentral.com. Become a GNC Insider today!