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Archive for February, 2011

Aridion by P2i Water Repellant (Simply Amazing)!

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 7:11 PM on February 12, 2011

Todd Cochrane spoke to Dr. Stephen Coulson CTO of P2i. P2i developed a product that uses nano-coating technology with liquid repellant called Aridion. The P2i Web site states “Aridion™ is applied using a special pulsed ionized gas (plasma), which is created within a vacuum chamber, to attach a nanoscopic polymer layer – one thousand times thinner than a human hair – to the electronic device.

This dramatically lowers the product’s surface energy, so that when liquid comes into contact with it, they form beads and simply roll off.” It can be used to coat various products including electronics, foot-ware, military clothing, energy products and filtration. It is applied to the end product and not to the individual components, which according to Dr. Coulson means all components are coated equally. Liquids including water and even oil actually beads up and are repelled. It is applied during the manufacturing process and at this time there is no product made for the consumer market.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Somfy Tahoma – Beyond Home Automation

Posted by Andrew at 7:00 PM on February 12, 2011

Steve Iommi chats to Todd and Tom about Somfy‘s new Tahoma system which takes home automation to the next level. It’s based round the concept of “scenes” – a scene might be “weekday-morning” which has certain set of actions, e.g. open blinds at 7.30am, whereas the “weekend-morning” opens the blinds at 8.30. With a whole a range of scenes, everything from blinds to thermostats can be controlled according to the day of the week and the activities of the owner.

As with all things these days, the Tahoma system is connected to the Internet via the homeowner’s Wifi, meaning that the owner can connect via a web browser back to the system to make any changes that might be needed, say, because of changes in the weather.

The underlying technology is the Z-Wave RF home automation wireless standard, so upgrading a home to for automation doesn’t involving lots of recabling. It’s simply a case of replacing the controllers with Z-Wave-compatible ones.

A basic Tahoma system can be professionally installed for under $2000.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Tom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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Globaltel Media’s Cherple for SMS and Texting Chat

Posted by Andrew at 6:53 PM on February 12, 2011

Tom and Todd get texting with Globaltel Media‘s free SMS chat platform, Cherple. Robert Sanchez, President & CEO, takes them through it.

Cherple is a free web-based SMS texting client, which in itself is not unusual – there a plenty of sites which can send SMS messages. But what makes this a little bit different is that the recipient can text the sender back again, even though the sender is at a computer. A whole text chat can then follow, back and forth.

It’s web-based, so can be used from any web browser, but Windows and Mac downloads are on offer, too.

Cherple currently only works for texts to US-based cellphones, but Globaltel are expecting to setup local Cherple sites in ten countries in the coming months.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Tom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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The iMovee Mobeo

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 6:47 PM on February 12, 2011

Maxel Rapheal, CEO of iMovee, explains a little bit about their product.  This may get a bit complicated, but if you haven’t heard of ATSC-MH then you are in for a treat.  It stands ATSC mobile handheld – the mobile version of watching digital TV.

The upcoming Mobeo product can pull in an ATSC-MH signal and then rebroadcast it over WiFi to your mobile device.  It’s compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 7.  Want to watch your favorite show at up to 160 MPH?  Then check out the video below to get all of the details (there’s a LOT more that I haven’t even touched on) and see Mobeo in action.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News. and Esbjorn Larsen of MrNetCast.com.

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Orb: Getting Your Media Where You Want it

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 6:38 PM on February 12, 2011

Orb

Tom Newman and Jeffery Powers interviewed Joe Costello CEO of Orb. The problem that Orb is attempting to solve is how to get your digital content to your TV and your stereo system. Mr. Costello talked about three solutions that Orb has developed. The first is the Orb music, you connect the Orb device to your receiver or speakers. Run the Orb Caster on your PC or Mac and stream your music collection from your music library to the your stereo. The second is Orb TV, which attaches to your TV and captures any media from your network.

Finally the newest solution Orb BR which uses a disc you put in a media live enabled blue-ray player that is connected to the same network where your media is. All Orb devices can be controlled through a smart phone The Orb Music player is available now for $69.00 the Orb TV is $99.00, the Orb BR should ship sometime in February for $20.00. All these devices not only stream the media on your network but also online media.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of The Geekazine Podcast. and Tom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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DataLocker Protecting Your Data

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 6:27 PM on February 12, 2011

the DLS3 by DatalockerTodd Cochrane and Tom Newman spoke to Peter Whitman Director of Operations for DataLocker, about the importance of encrypting your data, especially when traveling. Peter Whitman talked about DataLocker newest product the DLS3. The DLS3 is an encrypted portable hard drive. It connects to your computer by USB 3.0 technology (it will work on USB 2.0) It use military grade 256 bit AES XTA mode encryption.

The DLS3 drive uses two factors of authentication a RFD card and a pass code. If someone tries to guess the code and enters the wrong code nine times the system will wipe the data. There is rapid secure wipe. It also uses keypad randomization so you can not figure out the code by lifting the fingerprints. It is platform independent so you can use with a Mac or PC. You can use is as a bootable drive and even partition it. It should be shipping in March.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central. and Tom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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Icron: USB 2.0 and 3.0 Extensions

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 6:22 PM on February 12, 2011

nullEsbjorn Larsen and Jeffrey Powers interviewed Robert Haefling President & CEO of Icron of USB extensions. He talked about how normal USB 2 cable can only run up to 5 with the use of Icon technology they can be extended up to 500 meters over Cat5 and 10 kilometers over fiber. He also spoke about their partnership with Intersil a company that specializes in extending USB 3.0.

Together they created a technology that will extend a combination USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 up to 20 meters over copper. He also spoke briefly about how they have successfully combined Display port technology with USB 2.0. Allowing a computer monitor to be used as a full feature docking station. You can then attach a keyboard, mouse or any other USB device directly to the monitor, while putting the computer in another room. It will be interesting to see where this technology goes.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of The Geekazine Podcast. and Esbjorn Larsen of MrNetCast.com.

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GammaTech DuraBook Rugged Notebook

Posted by Andrew at 6:17 PM on February 12, 2011

Paul Kim, VP of Marketing for GammTech demonstrates his rugged laptop to Esby and Jeffrey by giving it some abuse – you’ll have to watch the video to see what he does.

The new D12C is a 12″ convertible, being able to switch between a tablet and notebook configuration. It’s A10F-spec graded withstanding a 3ft drop and spill-resistant – it even has drainplug so that liquid can be let out of the bottom. The exterior of the case is a magnesium alloy.

GammaTech sells plenty of these to the military and the emergency services but they’re also available to consumers via BestBuy and other major stores.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of The Geekazine Podcast and Esbjorn Larsen of MrNetCast.com.

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PureSound Technology and ClarityOne Earbuds

Posted by Andrew at 6:09 PM on February 12, 2011

Todd and Tom tune into Patrick and Dean from PureSound Technology, Inc, who talk about their patented PureSound processor that will shortly be launched within their ClarityOne earbuds. Because of the processor, the earbuds can use 8 ohm impedance rather than the more usual 16 or 32 ohms, giving greater clarity and less distortion.

The range will be extended later in the year with over the ear models for professional studio use.

Available late February /early March for $140 with a 15% pre-registration discount and iTunes gift card for the first 500 orders.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central and Tom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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Andrea Electronics Quality Headsets and Audio Drivers

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 6:00 PM on February 12, 2011

Super Beam HeadphonesBoth Todd Cochrane and Tom Newman had fun trying out the product being shown by Roland Nutter of Andrea Electronics Andrea Electronics has been in the speech recognition market for 15 years, they make quality headsets and audio drivers. He showed off the new line of Andrea Super Beam headsets. The headsets come in two models one with earbuds and the second over the ear kind.

The idea was to eliminate the need for a microphone to be out in front of a person’s mouth. They did this by putting the microphone in the earbuds. In one mode the microphone collects only audio that is created right in front of a person mouth. The background noise is cancelled out. In this mode there are two filters. A light filter that would be useful in a coffee shop environment where there is some background noise but its not very loud. In a more noisy environment like a concert or ballgame you could use the more aggressive filter. The software you use to record, is going to be easy to use for the beginner, but highly customizable for the expert. You can use it conjunction with Skype and remove constant background noise coming in from the caller, such as the noise coming from an air conditioner.

The software works on both Macs and Windows. As you can see in the video, Tom tried the headphones out and seemed quite impressed by them. The earbuds will be $129.00 and the over the ears will be $149.00 and should be available in June.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central. and Tom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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