Author Archives: loiswhitmanhess

Indiegogo Adds Retailing 

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Surprising news from the world of crowdfunding. Indiegogo, an international crowdfunding website that was founded in 2008,  has announced today that they are going into the retail business. Called “Indiegogo Marketplace,” the site will sell products that were crowdfunded on their site, as well as from other platforms.

If you think about it, it’s a natural progression. Many products that were successfully introduced can’t find retail distribution. Indiegogo will now provide them with a place to get started sales wise. I think this is very exciting. Startups will now get a terrific head start to see if the American public really wants their product.

Indiegogo will take between 10 percent, or 15 percent, of the sale price of the product. 

No word from Kickstarter so far, but friends close to the company say they are not interested in becoming a retailer on any level. 

I wonder how many of us will be buying product from Indiegogo in the future? 

“MeToo” Campaign 

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For those of you who are not on social media, you must be wondering what the “MeToo” campaign is all about. Unless you are not watching the news on TV, or reading a newspaper, or even listening to a radio, you had to have heard about the social media campaign that is exposing just how rampant sexual assault and abuse has been for many years.

Millions of women have posted “MeToo” on Facebook or twitter to show the magnitude of all who have been sexually harassed or assaulted.  According to Ebony magazine, a female activist says she’s the original creator of the “MeToo” campaign that has taken over social media in the wake of sexual assault and harassment allegations against film mogul Harvey Weinstein.”

Tarana Burke, 44, says she “created the movement in 2007 to let young women of color who survive sexual assault know that they are not alone.” It was a catchphrase to be used from survivor to survivor to let folks know that they were not alone and that a movement for radical healing was happening and possible.”

Actress Alyssa Milano is being credited for turning the phrase into a viral hashtag campaign last Sunday. She also asked victims to share their stories with “#MeToo.” 

Since then millions of women have responded with their painful stories that have let others know they were not alone. It was very upsetting to see one post after another admitting the attacks that most women want to forget. 

I was surprised that so many women came forward. I am so proud of them. It took a lot of guts.

 

 

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Snore While You Work   

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I love to work in bed. This morning I wrote a new business proposal in the same spot where I slept the night before. I love it. I find it easier to think, create, and finish an assignment in one work session. The more relaxed I am, the better the results. 

Apparently, I’m not the only one who likes to work in a reclined position. A company named Altwork said they are getting a lot of demand for their innovative reclining desk-chair combo that is redefining the workspace. The price of this new type of workstation, $8,500, proves that people like to be comfortable when they need to be productive. You can buy an Altwork workstation right here.

You must watch the video to see this remarkable desk in action. 

The Altwork chair transitions from standing, to sitting, to the lying position. A large metal monitor mount adjusts for the optimal viewing experience. The desk uses magnets embedded in the desk so your computer or tablet stays in place. The desk also features a special affixed mouse pad, and wireless peripherals. 

Altwork declined to comment on how many units they sold, but a spokesman did say the sales numbers are better than they ever expected. 
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Text-Based Clock

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If you love to text, you should know about this clock. It tells you the time in words, just like a text. The time lights up to form a sentence that tells you the time in verbal terms. It’s really a lot of fun to watch.

The bright LED lights spell out the approximate time. Many people don’t care that it’s not precise.. They prefer the feeling of being texted. Many DigiDame readers feel more comfortable with a text, as opposed to a digital display. 

It’s really weird. Telling time has certainly followed the progression of trends in the tech world: analog, digital, and now texting. For people who love words,  this clock is definitely for  you.

 Fans can find it on Amazon for $89.98. 

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Our friends Bob and Alfonso are getting Paris ready for us. This is just one of their several homes. Eliot and I will be in Paris from October 20 to 26. Lucky for us, we get to see our pals in South Beach and now Paris. 

Bob


Alfonso

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Look Ma, No Hands 

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As much as I like to eat, I completely lose my appetite when I see a public salad bar. I get nauseous when I witness someone picking an olive, or a tomato, from the salad and then putting it directly in their mouth. Gross. 

I picture another person sneezing on the salad when no one is looking. I also imagine people touching the salad with their dirty hands. Ugh.

Chowbotics to the rescue. A Silicon Valley start-up, called Chowbotics, has developed a salad bowl robot that will  assemble salads out of precut vegetables stored in refrigerated canisters. Chowbotics hopes to reduce the risk of bacteria and debris in salads by using robots to prepare and serve to the public. 

Called Sally, the robot is designed to prepare food in restaurants, cafeterias and hotels, as well as food courts in airports, malls and hospitals. Sally uses 20 different food canisters to prepare and serve more than 1,000 different types of salads.

Sally is ready for distribution.

More in the New York Times 

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Experiencing A New Dimension     

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I’m not a person who gravitates to roller coasters, ferris wheels, bungee jumps, or ziplines. I can barely go to the edge of my condo’s balcony, 36 stories up. 

I have no idea what possessed me to try the virtual reality headset that was being offered at a recent Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce real estate meeting. Thanks to sponsor Hotwire Communications, a fiber optics telecommunications provider, the Oculus Rift virtual reality system was available for a demonstration.

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer technology that completely immerses you inside a virtual world. Oculus Rift uses a virtual reality headset that  superimposes a computer-generated image right in front of your eyes.

Once you put the headset on you are basically in a different world. You intellectually know that your two feet are on the ground, but you feel the full impact of the virtual world in front of you. Hotwire’s VR journey featured a walk through a new luxury apartment. 

I got lucky. I could have put on a VR headset that had me jumping out of a plane or skiing down a 2,000 foot slope. Walking from room to room in the luxe apartment was challenging enough. I felt off balance and slightly dizzy. Every time I took a step, I couldn’t tell the difference between the VR environment and where I was actually standing,

Eliot, on the other hand, had no trouble at all. In fact, he wanted more action. He would love to experience what it’s like to float in air or rocket to the moon. 

I hope you all get to try a VR experience really soon. Start with an easy one first, and then advance from there. Don’t pretend to be brave. You may find yourself screaming for your mother.

Good luck 

 

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Pull Strings 

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I had to “pull strings” to show you these treasures. Eliot and I discovered them when we were visiting the SoHo, NYC, loft of Allen Hirsch, an artist, sculptor, and creator of HandL phone cases. Allen only wants me to promote his phone cases, so I had to convince him to let me show you a few of his paintings that feature a totally new technique. You are going to think I’m fooling you. 

These are paintings on strings. Yes, the strings contain the paint, not the canvas. One looks at, and through, the image at the same time. You really can’t tell if the paint is on the string, or on the canvas. Allen laughs when I question him if this is a magic trick. The strings of color achieve an image that you just can’t stop looking at. 

A new visual space is achieved by the fact that the viewer needs to change the focal point from the strings to the image within. This new technique of painting ties together many of Allen’s artistic interests over the past 20 years. 

We thought they were magical. Allen’s new line of luxury HandL phone cases are going to be quite unique too. There is nothing like them on the marketplace. I will be showing them to you soon. Enjoy! 

 

Is It A Religion Or A Disease? A Psychiatrist Calls It Audiophilia  

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I was there in the early days of hi-fi. I watched many audiophile writers sit in the middle of a sound room at trade shows or audio salons, close their eyes, and listen to music. Sometimes, they didn’t move for an hour or so. I used to wonder if they were sleeping, or seriously listening to the sounds. 

The audio writers back then loved all of the stereo equipment as much as they loved any treasure. Franklin Karp of Audio Video Systems, emailed me this BBC film today. It’s all about audiophiles in 1959, with tongue-in-cheek humor. 

Critics call it a masterpiece. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It brought back so many memories.
Here it is.

This is dedicated to the audiophile writers who started it all. I will be adding to the list as other audio industry folks remind me of those I missed. 
Harry Pearson • J. Gordon Holt • Julian Hirsch • Hans Fantel • Len Feldman• Larry Archibald • Gordon Sell • Bob Angus • Barney Pisha • Larry Klein • Gene Pitts • Michael Riggs • Ivan Berger • Lance Braithwaite • David Ranada • Peter Dobbin • Ed Foster • Peter Michell • John Atkinson • Robert Harley • Anthony Cordesman, • Dan Kumin •

 
Read the What’s Hi-Fi article that covered the film