Monthly Archives: April 2014

A Place Where No One Knows Your Name

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Photo by Trialx.org.
I love (not really) people who tell me a secret and then threaten that if I tell anyone else they will never talk to me again. First of all, I didn’t want to know the secret. Secondly, why did they feel the need to tell me something that was supposed to be a secret?

Apparently, there is a sub-culture of people who have taken to the Internet to share information that was supposed to be confidential. I’m not sure why people need to share secrets so I asked a psychiatrist friend to explain it to me. She said that when some people gossip it makes them feel special. The fact that they knew the information before others gives them a superior feeling.

For all those who love to gossip but who don’t want get caught, there are apps called Secret and Whisper. They let users anonymously spill their guts and get feedback from those who read the comments. Both apps also feature a private message service so two folks can have a side conversation without revealing their identities. Some people like sharing information without being personally judged.

One of the reasons why I wrote about these two apps today is because they may be great platforms for older people who like to reflect. Not everyone has to be gossipers. They just need a place to air, share, and not get caught.

Double Dose

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I feel the need to share two posts with you today. One is about how to deal with mood swings in the digital age and the other is taking a closer look at the Seinfeld crowd, then and now.

The first story is written by Catherine Shu of Tech Crunch. Catherine suffers from depression. She explains why it is necessary for mobile fitness devices to measure mood swings. It was one of the most sensitive stories I have read in a long time. I think people of our age can learn a lot from her story.

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Jerry Seinfeld in 2014 and 1990. Photo by Wire Image and Getty

Time marches on for all of us. Check out this Seinfeld story from People magazine’s app on my iPhone. Then and now.

Smartphone Attachments

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I think many of us thought about inventing this gadget. We just didn’t know how to do it.

At one time or another, we all just wanted to leave the house with our smartphone, a few bucks, and maybe a credit card or two. Now we finally can.

I just learned about Snap, a 3mm-thick connector that will let you Snap things onto your phone. It will be on sale very soon because it just had a successful Indiegogo fundraising campaign.

The basic ingredient to the Snap attachment system is a circular, low-profile female connector that’s only 3mm thick and 25mm wide. It can actually stick onto any device or case because of its super-strength commercial-grade 3M adhesive. Different types of Snap accessories will simply attach with a quick twist.

The first two products being introduced are an earbud wrap and a money clip, $12 each. Snap is going to introduce many more accessories every year.

Let your imagination run wild. I am sure the inventors of Snap will be thinking along those lines as well.
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Google Updating Street Views

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In case you haven’t heard, Google is upgrading its Street Views this Wednesday so that you can now go back in time to see how roads and streets have changed in recent years. The video above demonstrates how Google will be showing progress in specific locations.

Mashable, the tech site, was one of the first to report that “Google has collected images from its past street view collections – going back as far as 2007 – to create interactive timelines.”

You can now see how buildings and monuments were constructed for the last few years. Or how a street or looked before and after a disaster.

The new feature is only available on the desktop version of Google Maps.

If you want to access past street images, look for the hourglass and a slider on the top left of the screen. It let’s you see the month and year.

The Internet just keeps getting better and better.

Wake Up Call

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Look closely at this painting of Frank Sinatra. Look even closer. It should occur to you that this is not a painting at all.

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This art piece is made up of hundreds of Nespresso coffee cops.

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This piece is in the lobby of the Grand Bay Club in Key Biscayne. There is nothing technical about it. I just thought it was totally awesome the way the whole thing was put together. Apparently, I’m not alone. The luxury high rise can afford to have any painting they want adorning their walls. They opted for this and…..

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a Chihuly

Mini-Mouse

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Say hello to the world’s smallest wearable mouse. It’s so cute and It’s so good for you. No more hurting your fingers or your wrist with a big bulky mouse.

The ThumbTrack just came off of a Crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. It’s ready to go at $119.00.

You can preorder here.

The mini-mouse has a range of 9 feet and a 15 hours of battery life.

This is how it operates:

Press the center button/tracking area for 3 seconds

Navigate – Gently slide your thumb over the main tracking area

Select – 2 touch sensitive buttons and 1 additional button

Scroll – Capacitive Touch-Scrolling for vertical navigation

Switch Off – Press the center button/tracking area for 3 seconds.

Pretty awesome.

No Longer A Dirty Little Secret

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I love to do laundry. I was 35 when I finally got my own washer and dryer but that was only for a part-time second home. My main New York residence, the same one for 38 years, never had a washer or dryer. We had to wash our clothes in the basement laundry room or send it out to a laundry service. We opted for the service.

That may be why I missed the memo on the Laundry Ball, a non-detergent gadget that consist of beads which reportedly “changes the pH balance of the water, neutralize chlorine and kills bacteria and odors.” For those of you who need a little more interpretation, that means It saves water use and energy. That is good for the environment.

The Laundry Ball only costs 13 cents a load compared to the average 45 cents most people spend on detergent. That means the whole year, or 365 loads, only costs $45 as compared to the average detergent use at anywhere from $120-$378 a year.

I just can’t imagine one little ball being used for 365 loads of laundry. I can’t wait to try it. If it works, that means I will not be shopping for detergent every month or so. A whole year’s supply will be in one small container.

That alone is exciting.

Learn more at http://www.greenfestivals.org.

Remotely Control Electricity In Your Home

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I have always been a little jealous of my friends (yes, you Howard) who can turn light, appliances, air conditioning, and heat on/off remotely through their smartphones. They have sophisticated and smart setups. I kept telling myself I was going to learn how to do that one day until I saw the Innovation Insider (Steve Greenberg) on the Today Show this morning demonstrating the Modlet.

I said “I can do that,” and quickly looked up the Modlet on Google. I loved what I found so I decided to share it with you. The ThinkEco Modlet, $50 on Amazon, fits into your standard outlet at home and offers two sockets, each with remote control power measurements. The ThinkEco smartphone app will now allow you to control your devices and keep track of your energy savings from anywhere.

How cool is that?

You can choose one of the pre-configured schedules or create your own. Select when you want your devices to be on and off each day. Then you can have one schedule for all your devices or a custom schedule for each device. As Amazon says, “Set it and forget it.”

When It Rains, It Pours

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Yesterday I wrote about cameras. Today it is umbrellas. Everyone wants to get into the rental business. When you think about it,
renting umbrellas in urban areas throughout the United States, makes a lot of sense. An umbrella is something you don’t need to own.

I don’t know about you, but I never liked getting too close to my umbrella. I always felt like my relationship with my umbrella was very temporary. Either I would misplace it or someone would take it from me when I was forced to leave it by the door in a restaurant or at a party.

Another reason why renting is a good idea, most people don’t have their umbrellas with them when they need them. Let’s face it. If you carry your umbrella with you, it doesn’t rain. If you don’t have it with you, it rains cats and dogs.

Entrepreneur John O’Connor, said:

“The umbrellas will be stored in 500 branded ‘brellabox’ boxes throughout the first city targeted, NYC. Members will have key cards; rentals go from $2.50 for 12 hours, or you can purchase the umbrella for $15. An annual flat fee is also being considered.

“The umbrellas are disposable so if you purchase one, you can toss it when you’re done. If you decide to rent, you return it to a strategically placed ‘brellaBox.’ ”

Right now O’Connor has this all in the planning stages. The smartphone app is still being developed. It will be vital for locations, inventory, and payment for rental or sale.

If New York is successful, brellabox will be rolled out nationally.

Renting A Camera

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The digital camera has changed our lives. Just 15 years ago, very few people took a camera with them when traveling. Today, very few people leave home without it.

Add the smartphone to the equation and now we have an obsession with picture-taking. The camera has become our best friend. My friends spend hours comparing their cameras with others and then shopping for new ones.

What frustrates me the most is that many pals constantly question whether they bought the right camera. They never seem satisfied. That is why I wanted to tell you about a new rental option called Lumoid.

At the beginning, the company is going after wedding-goers, new parents, vacationers and photo hobbyists. Prices range from $5 to $25 per day, per item. One of the main objectives for Lumoid is to get you to rent a camera, so you will eventually buy it.

Read how Lumoid plans to make its business successful in Re/Code.