Category Archives: Home

Ever Wanted to Chat with Your AC? Now You Can with NETATMO!

CES 2018, Gadgets, Home

NETATMOIn the smart home security space, one of the leaders is NETATMO, which offers a full line of both security and home automation products. The devices have been controllable by the company’s mobile apps, as well as several of the popular voice assistants. This year, however, the company has given users a whole new way to interact with their NETATMO devices.

Welcome the Netatmo Smart Home Bot, a Facebook Messenger bot that allows you to use Messenger to control your IoT devices from anywhere, on any device. Whether you’re sitting at your desk, on your phone or tablet, you can simply type to the bot something like, “What’s the temperature in the living room?” or “Show me my cameras.” and the bot will perform the requested actions.

The chat bot is available now worldwide, but currently only supports English. The company does plan to release additional languages in the near future. The best part of the bot? It’s completely free to use, so if you’ve got a NETATMO device, get to experimenting!

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.
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Outstanding Innovation in Neurological Therapy Devices

CES 2018, Health, Home

NEOFECT USANEOFECT USA offers therapeutic devices that are designed for patients with neurological conditions. These items not only assist with their rehabilitation in really unique ways, but they make it a lot more fun while also providing a great way to track their progress. Their innovation creates a new and really exciting way to approach occupational therapy. The company currently offers Smart Boards, Smart Gloves and Smart Pegboards.

The Smart Board is for stroke patients. It assists with short movement rehab by improving muscle memory. It’s all about neuroplasticity, with repetitive motion that allows the brain to get through the process of relearning specific skills. It uses games, like Treasure Hunt, to help with fine motor skills in the hands. Through repetitive actions provided in the tools in the games, the patients not only get better but are also provided with feedback that is specific to their levels of progression.

The Smart Glove is a real time biofeedback device that is also designed with stroke victims in mind. It allows patients to play games, as well as perform functions while going through virtual processes like pouring wine or squeezing an orange. The glove also keeps track of their specific progress and shows whether you are improving, stagnating or regressing.

All of their products can be ordered without the need for a doctor’s prescription by visiting their website. Price points are in the $1000 range.

Coming soon: NeoMono, which will hit the market later this year. It’s a wearable robot, worn on three fingers, that helps restore hand function. Check out their entire line at neofect.com.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.
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Filegear is the New Way to Store and Access Files

Computers, Gadgets, Home

FilegearDo you ever have issues storing all your vacation pictures and 4K videos from years of memories along with documents from work and school? It all adds up and can take up a ton of storage and can really cost you. Filegear has one goal in mind and that is to fix the economics of storage while still offering the accessibility of an online cloud service. Filegear is the better alternative to using multiple hard drives by managing files online and offline without pay the ridiculous prices like most online storage services. You can store all of your content onto one device and you can access it wherever you are from your phone or computer.

This little box is built like a personal cloud storage system with CPU memory, an operating system, and a file sharing management system. It also comes equipped with many different ports where you have the ability to plug in other drives, SD cards, and USB devices for convenience and speed. One of the ports is a network port that connect you to the world.

Free up your space on all of your devices just by purchasing the Filegear device at a onetime price of $300 or you could pay $50 a year and receive a free box. Filegear is expected to launch in October so keep an eye out for their Kickstarter for promotions. Get more information about Filegear by going to their website.

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Viewing a Home Doesn’t Have to be a Dreary Experience

Home

Visually HomeReal estate tends to be a very restrictive industry that has been doing things the same way for years. Even though there are new websites that allow purchasers to search for and view available listings, there is no consistency in the types or quality of the photos/videos within those listings. Visually Home has set out to be the next dynamic shift in the real estate market.

Visually Home is the only App-based Visual Real Estate Marketing service in the world. They offer professional photography, aerial video and photography footage and matterport 3D rendering, along with the newest thing… virtual staging. Other services include brochures, flyers, mailers, yard signs, window perfs, and vehicle wraps.

Pricing for the photography services are greatly reduced per listing and are combined with a monthly subscription that is based upon each agent’s specific needs. This gives independent agents all the clout of the larger brokers and teams. They are able to customize their individual package while offering consistency and the best quality visual package to every seller, regardless of the listing price. They also offer packages to the “for sale by owner” sellers.

You can learn more about their services by visiting their website

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An Exciting New Anti-Virus for GPS

Computers, Home, Mobile

GPSdomeJust in the last few years there has been an increase in the problem of GPS jammers. Personal privacy is the main reason jammers are used but they create a lot of collateral damage. GPSdome has been created to nullify the jammer.

GPSdome is easy to assemble and use. It attaches between the receiver and the 2 antennas, which are set 4″ apart and pointed in any direction away from the ground. In essence, you “set it and forget it”. It also overcomes spoofers.

This isn’t made or available for the phone but it may be within 3 years. The cost right now is just under $2000. and will eventually be reduced to $400-$600.

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The Ultimate in Social Media Reach with IceBr8kr

Home, Mobile

IceBr8krMy bubble or yours? Now you can take social media encounters to the next level with the new IceBr8kr app. This app definitely brings the social aspect back to social media. It monitors a 100 yard bubble around you at all times, allowing you to see and interact with others on the app who are in your same proximity. Thus giving you a chance to break the ice with those you’d like to meet without that blind and awkward first hello.

It makes it so much easier to meet new people as you are able to send messages to each other through the app. However the goal is not to just be another platform for text chatting, it’s to actually meet and interact with new friends. To encourage this human interaction, the app allows 8 “volleys” within the app itself before it times you out with that individual for an hour.

The app also contains various features to allow you to customize your visibility and experience at any given time. Settings include notification preferences, and three different “pins” to show varying degrees of anonymity. So you can interact with others on your own terms based upon your mood at that time. And don’t worry, you can even block the users that you may no longer want to interact with.

The developers are currently gearing up and getting people on and acquainted with the app, which is perfect for university settings, conferences and festival settings. And they have multiple ideas for future updates that may include networking features and possibly even interactions with businesses to offer special deals and discounts while users are interacting within the stores, and so much more. The possibilities are truly exciting and we are looking forward to watching this app take off.

You can download the app on Apple Store and Google Play and for more information, check out their website.

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DopaApp is a Welcomed and Innovative Addition to Rehab

Health, Home

DopaAppDrug addiction is a constant and growing problem that has reached epidemic levels in the United States. Statistics show that the total number of drug rehab patients outnumber the amount of available inpatient rehab beds by staggering ratios. The founders of DopaApp are working hard to not only take a huge strain off of the traditional rehab industry but also make the therapy easier and more accessible to the patients as well as the care providers.

The app, which is available at the Apple App Store and Google Play, combines traditional addiction therapy with a social platform to empower patients, families/support and care facilities by offering increased functionality in a flexible and intuitive format. It’s a virtual treatment center that connects addicts with authorized caregivers. The founders like to consider DopaApp the “13th Step” in the traditional program because of the added support and capabilities that it offers. Features include complete patient profiles, text and video chat, knowledge resources, relapse indicator and more. Patients are able to receive all of this assistance while still maintaining full anonymity by utilizing avatars as well as emotion detection technology for all face to face encounters.

Phase 1 of their operations is focused on getting the app to care facilities for use in conjunction with their current treatment plans to offer to patients as part of their initial and ongoing therapy. Phase 2 will then focus on reaching more new patients to help connect them to authorized care providers.

We found this venture to be fascinating and applaud their efforts to bring technology to help fight the ongoing battle of drug addiction. One of our favorite features is the functionality that allows patients to have a 24/7 life support line with former addicts who have been sober for 10 years or more.

You can get more information about this groundbreaking app on their website.

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You and Fido Will Love The Dollar Pet Club

Accessories, Home

The Dollar Pet ClubIf you want to show your sweet fur babies all of your love, it’s time to start thinking inside the box. But don’t settle for just any box. Choose the one that is easily customizable and won’t break the bank. The Dollar Pet Club has made it their “doody” to help you out by delivering boxes full of goodies right to your front door.

The DPC offers only the best for your fur babies. The boxes contain natural treats and high quality toys that are all hand picked and tested for quality assurance. They even go so far as to research which treats aren’t a good choice for your pet, based upon breed. Not to mention, they are super easy to order and have choices to fit any budget. You can start off with a $1.00 box that includes a dispenser and a month’s worth of free poop bags, and then work your way up to the pre-selected boxes that are designed for cats, small breed dogs and large breed dogs with prices starting at $22.95. Or you can get a custom box and choose each item that goes inside. Right now the site offers choices for cats and dogs, but if are in need of a box for a different type of pet, no problem, just give them a call and let them know what you’d like. They’ll get you hooked up.

Another thing we love about this company is their commitment to giving back. They are currently involved with animal shelters in Louisiana where they sponsor a pet monthly and when that animal gets adopted, they cover the adoption fees for the new owner. They are also looking forward to hopefully working with the V.A. in the future to assist with service dogs for Vets with PTSD.

To order your own box or to get more information, visit their website. Check them out soon to take advantage of their Collision Special of 20% off by using the coupon code Collision2017.

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The Battle for Wireless Charging is Over and the Winner is Qi

CES 2017, Home, Wireless

Wireless Power Consortium Qi StandardIt’s always a pleasure to speak with John at the Wireless Power Consortium booth and see the advancements that Qi wireless technology is making year over year. We’ve been fond of this technology from the very beginning and it’s been great watching it take off right in front of our eyes.

The consortium is proud to say that Qi has now been adopted into the mainstream of technology. It’s available in hotel rooms and lobbies worldwide, as well as fast food restaurants and stadiums. Consumer adoption has been quite impressive with over 60 million new users per year and over 200 million phones in the last 12 months that include wireless charging. There are many new players coming into the market with over 900 registered products for numerous different applications.

One of the most impressive areas of growth has been in the auto industry. The number of cars with wireless technology went from 15 last year to over 60 currently. Most major car companies have included Qi wireless charging as either standard equipment or as an option. This technology in vehicles has almost limitless possibilities. We look forward to the day that we adjust our personal settings in the Qi app and when we enter our vehicle and insert our phone into the charging station, everything gets automatically set to our preferences, such as seat position, lighting, music and so much more. We can also be automatically connected to the most important features on our phones without removing them from the charger through either the car’s steering wheel or via voice command. It’s so exciting to know that this type of synergy exists between our phones and our electronics with bigger and better applications on the horizon.

Check out some of our favorite Qi Wireless products at Amazon.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

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A Safe, Simple and Inexpensive Smart Home System

CES 2017, Home

Merkury Innovations GeeniSmart home systems have taken the country by storm, and every year there are more and more companies entering the arena. It gets to the point that you start to feel that if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. But Geeni by Merkury Innovations made us do a double take for sure.

Their smart home components are much simpler to use and compared to most other systems out there as they do not require hubs and they don’t break the bank. They are the perfect way to enter into this type of technology. You can get started with one or a few of pieces or you can build an entire system for your home. Either way, you access the components via one easy to use app and control everything from your smartphone or even with the Amazon Echo.

The product line starts with single wall plugs that fit into your standard wall outlets that allow you to turn your existing appliances on/off remotely. There are also surge protectors that allow each plug to be controlled independently. All you have to do is plug these in and they will quickly and automatically connect to your home’s Wi-Fi and be available on the app. Next up are the line of smart lights that have all of the energy saving features of current LED bulbs with the added bonus of smart connectivity through the app. The bulbs range in size to easily replace all of the bulbs that you currently use and come in white or fun changeable colors.

Another amazing addition is the line of home security cameras. Color choices are white and grey and come in both 720P or 1080P High Definition models that all record to SD cards. Monitoring is a breeze with the sharp and clear images. You’ll also get alerts to your phone whenever any motion is captured on the cameras. You can access the Geeni app and live stream whatever is happening in the home at any time of the day or night. And you can set the sensitivity to fit the specific needs of your household. The app offers snapshots on a timeline so you can easily choose the scenes that you want to watch without having to sort through hours of footage. Set up is easy as well. You can place cameras anywhere in a room: flat surfaces, the wall, or even the ceiling. Multiple cameras can be added and they will all work together on the same Geeni app.

We’re really excited to see where this company goes from here. The products will begin rolling out at the end of the 1st quarter with some coming in the 2nd. Prices for the light bulbs range from $25 to $35, the plugs range from $25 to $20 and the cameras start at $69.99. To get more information and to purchase, visit their website.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology for the Tech Podcast Network.

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