Monthly Archives: December 2015

Smart Talking Street Lamps 

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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rWcffadDNdM&feature=youtu.be

   
Images from GE Reports 

I’m the type of person who dislikes street lamps that talk. Everytime I go past one that starts talking, I freak. It’s like someone has snuck up behind me ready to commit a robbery.

I better get used to them because General Electric is going after every city in America to repurpose thousands of LED streetlamps with real-time sensors and microprocessors. GE has a Predix cloud-based Industrial Internet software platform that can make streetlamps generate and analyze data so that it will be able to notify folks about open parking spaces, air quality and traffic. 

GE Reports. a company newsletter, also explains that the lamps will even be able to provide information to first responders if an emergency occurs. GE, and its new energy startup Current, recently partnered with the public safety company SST, “to embed its ShotSpotter detecting technology in the LED streetlamps. The lights can then detect gunfire in real time and alert police patrol cars and 911 operators with the precise location of any shooting incident.”

GE has already installed talking street lamps in Jacksonville, Fla., and San Diego, Calif. Your city could be next.  

Thank you Neil Plakcy for giving me the lead on this post. 

In The Blink Of An Eye

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I have always wanted a home monitoring system. I have a lot of service people going in and out of my apartments in New York and Miami, so I always feel like I have to monitor the premises to make sure no one  is overstaying their welcome.

I never bought a home monitor system because they were complicated to install and use. They were also very pricey. 

I came across Blink4Home because my friend Steve Greenberg featured it on several of his TV innovation shows.  Coincidentally, a former client is an investor in the company as well.

Click here to see Steve demonstrate Blink on Seattle NBC TV.

I am definitely going to buy Blink4Home because you can place the video monitors anywhere you want to. No wires, no plugs. A year long battery allows you be totally flexible and versatile for your own personal monitoring needs.

It features HD video technology directly to the Blink4Home app on your smartphone. It so affordable, I just may get extra monitors to be on the safe side.

$79 Two-camera system
$139 Three-camera system
$189 Five-camera system

Blink4Home recommends  “a system that covers your entryways and windows, monitors the garage, or keeps a watchful eye over the kids’ rooms (or even the cookie jar).”

Very cute but the suggestions gets you thinking what else you need to watch over. 

Smart Gloves 

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Five million people in the U.S. are affected  by a stroke every year. Finally, someone has developed a solution for stroke patients who need to learn how to reuse their hands. Neofect, Korean tech company, has created a smart rehabilitation glove that has been designed “to induce neural plasticity in the patient through specific and customized exercises.”

It’s pretty amazing to see the Rapael Smart Glove by Neofect help stroke patients regain movement “through repeat hand and arm movements in a virtual reality-type setting.”The Neofect glove has built- in sensors that are connected via an app.

Watch the above video. It really shows you the possibilities.

I hope no one reading this post ever needs the Rapael Smart Glove. However, it’s very comforting to know that such a device exists. This kind of rehabilitation can make all the difference in the world. 

Click here for more information. Forbes magazine 

The Flying Hoverboard 

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Just when you were ready to eliminate hoverboards as a product that you may try in your future because of all of the explosions, along comes the “ArcaBoard.” The new product is a fan-powered rectangle that can lift a person off the ground by almost a foot. It’s a six minute flying machine. 

I have to admit that it would be pretty awesome to be able to fly. I doubt I would try it, but many of my friends would.

The ArcaBoard gets its power — 430 pounds of thrust, or 272 horsepower from 36 electric fans. Watch the video that company provided. 

Dumitru Propescu, ArcaSpace’s CEO, is the one riding the hoverboard in the video. “For the first time, every person will be able to fly anytime, anywhere. The world, your world, will change forever.”

At a  $19,900 price tag for the flying hoverboard, there better not be too many of these in the air. No traffic jams please. Arcaspace has no idea when the product will be introduced in the retail marketplace. 

If you want more information about this product, click here. The Verge, the tech site, really spells it out.

Williams Lucena Holiday Party 

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Meet Whiskey Blue, a miniature poodle. The six-week old puppy belongs to Jenn and Scott Greenberg, fifth picture below. It’s now 1:32am. I am just returning from my friend’s holiday party. Williams Lucena, the host, is the fourth picture down. The party started at 8pm and everyone was engaged in so much conversation that we didn’t realize it was the wee hours of the morning. I’m too bushed to write about digital stuff. Thank you Williams for a perfect party. You cooked for two days and we all loved every bit of it. You had the best party. Thank you! 

Ruth Greenberg. to my left, Whiskey’s grandma and Myra Greenberg.

  

Whiskey is waving

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Eliot, Steve Greenberg, and Howard Greenberg

  

Williams Lucena with Milegro

  

Jenn and Scott Greenberg

  

My two pals to the right, Marco and Carlos Alayon

  

Nito, Todd and Mike

  

Mark, Kim and Eliot

 

Spot The Panda 

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If you’re on social media, you have seen this illustration a number of times over the last few days. Many folks are passing it around because everyone is on the hunt to find the panda in a sea of snowmen. 

Hungarian artist Gergely Dudás, professionally known as Dudolf, recently posted the image of the snowmen on his Facebook asking his friends to find the panda. 

Many reported that this wasn’t as easy find.

A more friendly image was posted by Dudolf a few days ago of a cat hiding in an army of owls. This one was much easier to find.

Have fun!!!

 

WARNING: Spoiler. Click here.

Spontaneous Combustion

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The older I get, the more impatient I get with people.

The other day I was walking along Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, Florida, when I saw a 10 year old boy practicing to ride a hover board.    

I refused to believe that his parents, who were standing nearby, would allow their son to be placed in such danger. For the last few weeks, newspapers and TV news shows everywhere, have warned Americans about the dangers of hover boards. Some of the hover boards are literally experiencing spontaneous combustion.

Hover boards are no longer allowed on major airlines, including Delta and JetBlue. Amazon has pulled them from their “online shelves. ”  It seems that the lithium batteries are the cause of fires. 

Watch the video above for a quick explanation of what is going on. The next person you see on one, yell “fire.” You won’t regret it.

 

Presidential Candidates Tweets 

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Since many DigiDame readers are not on Twitter, I thought it would be interesting to post the tweets of the two leading Presidential candidates. I tried to do an equal number from each, but Trump tweeted more often in a 24-hour period. 

It’s interesting to see how Twitter has become the official platform for comments. In many cases, Twitter has replaced press conferences, media alerts, and the distribution of official statements. 

It’s just too simple to tweet.