Tag Archives: interview

New Matter MOD-t 3D Printer

CES 2015, , , ,

New Matter logoPersonally I’m not convinced by the vision of a 3D printer in every home though I’m constantly reminded of IBM’s Thomas Watson and his alleged statement regarding the need for only five computers in the world. New Matter don’t have my doubts and are working hard to produce an affordable 3D printer for the home. Steve Schell brings in some printed objects for Don to admire.

New Matter are building an ecosystem around their new 3D printer, the MOD-t, to make life as easier as possible for owners. No experience of 3D modelling is required, with pre-made models in their online store. Some are free of charge, others cost a fee; it’s up to the designer. All the major 3D model formats are supported so keen owners can create their own designs if desired. It’s a single head printer so only one colour of plastic polymer can be used at a time, though the material can be changed during a print run. If I’m wrong and you want one in your home, the New Matter’s MOD-t 3D printer will be available in the summer for less than $400.

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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OmniMount Takes A Lifestyle View at CES

Accessories, CES 2015, , , ,

OmniMount LogoCES regulars OmniMount decided to approach the show a little differently this year, setting out their products in lifestyle vignettes, with visitors to seeing the products in real and relevant scenarios. Don chats with Bill Ennis, veteran of 31 shows, to hear about a few of OmniMounts latest products.

The first of OmniMount’s new products is the WorkSpace Wall Organiser, a stylish wall-mounted height-adjustable fold-away desk which conveniently creates a mini-office when folded down and hidden away when not needed. $399.95.

Also new and entered for a CES award is an in-wall TV mount that holds up to an 80″ screen almost flush with the wall surface. With the flush mount, the slim bezels of the stylish TVs are emphasised, enhancing the picture frame qualities of the TV. Snappily titled OE120IW, it’s $349.95.

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Oort SmartHub Integrates With Bluetooth

CES 2015, Home, , , , ,

Oort Logo

Smart homes and the Internet of Things are very much in vogue at CES this year with vendors offering a wide range of products, some of which hardly deserve the name “smart” and others that are genuinely innovative. In the latter camp, there is Oort which tries to “make your world smarter”. Don learns more from Radek Tadajewski, Wizard of Oort.

The difference between Oort and many of its competitors is that Oort has been designed to work openly with Bluetooth devices from the start. By using Bluetooth profiles as the integration mechanism, Oort can use any Bluetooth device that has the necessary profile. To get you started, there’s a $350 starter kit which includes the Oort hub, light bulbs, sockets and a tracker beacon though other devices can be added as needed. As you’d expect there’s a smartphone app for Android and iOS which communicates with the hub and the connected  devices. You can view the status of devices and sensors through the smartphone app, whether you are inside the house or sitting in the office, and you can turn devices on and off as needed.

There’s more in the interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Wi-Fi Alliance Looks To The Future at CES

CES 2015, Wireless, , , ,

WiFi Alliance Logo

The 10 billionth Wi-Fi-certified device will be shipping around now. That’s impressive considering that Wi-Fi is still young, going back only 15 years. I remember 802.11b and my first Wi-Fi PCI card which had an antenna the size of a pack of playing cards. Those were the days. Anyway, Don Blaine, the Gadget Professor, gets a little more up-to-date with Edgar Figueroa, President and CEO of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Expected this year is new feature called Wi-Fi Aware which gathers information from the surrounding environment and pushes it to the user (subject to preferences). For example, when in a supermarket, a message might pop up to show the shortest check-out queue or special offers. If combined with the Internet of Things, other clever things can happen such as a garage door sending a message indicating that it’s been open for two hours, or turning the water off if a leak is detected. Sounds like a great technology to make life easier and safer for everyone.

Interview by Don Baine, the Gadget Professor.

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Tablo Takes TPN Award at CES

CES 2014, TVs, Video, , , ,

Tablo LogoDigital video recorders (DVRs) are commonplace but usually they’re integrated with a cable decoder. Tablo’s offering records OTA (over the air) HD broadcasts that are transmitted from local TV stations, free of charge. Still not excited? The Tablo can stream both live and record programmes to any connected device including Android and Apple devices, and set-top boxes like the Roku or AppleTV. Now that’s cool.

The Tablo contains two tuners (with a four tuner option), so can record two broadcasts at once. There’s no built-in storage but there are 2 USB ports for external HDD units to provide whatever space is needed. It’s perfect for cord-cutters. I’d love to see this come to the UK too.

The Tablo is on pre-order for US$219 and will be available in February 2014.

Interview by Daniel J Lewis of The Audacity To Podcast and Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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Gibson Takes TPN Award at CES

CES 2014, Gadgets, , , ,

Gibson LogoCelebrating 120 years of Gibson, Aljon Go shows Jeffrey and Todd the superb Anniversary Edition of the Les Paul Standard.  It’s stunning both in the Ocean Water Perimeter finish, the level of detail and the technology built-in. The sound of the guitar can be changed to mimic the tone of your rock’n’roll hero and Min-ETune will tune the guitar automatically. Amazing – watch the video to see the guitar adjust the keys by itself.

There’s no doubt that this is a premium product – the price for the guitar on show is $2999 – but it’s hand-crafted in the US, taking 30 days produce. Every one is a collector’s item. Sweet.

(Is it not a little bit worrying that Jeffrey’s Google Glasses match the Les Paul finish?)

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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