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I follow in the footsteps of Galileo and William Herschel. Okay, maybe not in the least in terms of greatness. But like them, I love astronomy with a passion. Ever look into the night sky with awe and wonder at the worlds so far away? Then the Sky Scout Personal Planetarium just might be the thing for you. You simply point the Sky Scout towards the celestial object of your choice, and let the device do its wonder. The 15-ounce machine then reports the object via earphones and a 1x3" backlit LCD screen. The locate feature uses GPS to guide you to the location of any of the 6,000 objects in its memory. 6,000 objects don't sound impressive until you remember that the majority of the trillion upon trillions of objects in the sky are not visible to the naked eye or even small telescopes. Still, that kind of depth can easily keep you busy on every clear night for a very long time. It's an amazing thought that this can point you to Barnard's Star: one of the closest to earth, but far too dim to be seen without a telescope.
The Sky Scout is as handy as it is pricey. At nearly $400, it's not for the casual star gazer. But if you find you own more star charts than pairs of shoes, this device was meant for you. I only wish I had one while I spent three weeks trying to locate the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) through all this urban light pollution. - Subscribe to CoolTechZone.com's Techblog RSS Feed Posted By: Larry Erhard {moscomment}
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Smart Home is offering a few high-tech locks for your front door. They are now offering the 15-User Fingerprint Deadbolt Lock. Yes, you read that right. Fingerprints instead of keys. Well, not completely, as the kit includes a set of emergency keys "just in case." The lock is designed to fit into wooden doors in your deadbolt bore. It accepts 30 fingerprint samples (2x per user, for a total of 15 users). That's pretty much enough for you and your extended family. A set of AA batteries are enough to get you 300 scans by its internal computer. However, it has a few drawbacks. With an operating temperature between 5-degrees and 158 degrees Fahrenheit, those living in cold areas like the upper Midwest, Alaska, Montana or in the mountains will find themselves with a non-working lock when the mercury goes below zero. Not to mention anyone living in the southwest with a south-facing door will be out of luck. My grandparents lived in Phoenix, and objects left in an exposure like that can measly pass 160 degrees.
This is definitely a nice idea, even if the temperature ranges haven't been perfected yet. Since I work in the largest Exterior Door shop in the great state of WA, I'm a stickler for strength and quality of locksets. I'm not going to run out and forsake the strength and durability of a Schlage lockset for this new technology, at least not yet, but the idea of never locking yourself out sure is appealing. Combine the brute strength and style of multi-point mechanisms with the fingerprint technology, and then you'd have a real winner. - Subscribe to CoolTechZone.com's Techblog RSS Feed Posted By: Larry Erhard {moscomment}
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The Motion Lingo Company is soon expected to debut its new Adeo Fitness Companion in April. What is it? It’s a multi-function device to aid you in your athletic training, to put it simply. It has a headphones jack for two reasons: Firstly, it can give you audio updates of your progress during the workout. And secondly, as a nicely added feature, it can also connect to your MP3 player, so you can not only track your progress, but you can also keep rocking to your favorite Aphex Twin songs. To add to the Adeo's usefulness, it has a built-in GPS tracker to keep track of exactly where you're going and how fast you're going there. And to add icing to what already appears to be a nice cake; there is no monthly fee to use the services that Adeo Fitness Companion offers.
The list price of $149 might seem a little out of range. And true, for the weekend jogger or the person who bikes to work it might be a waste. But for someone seriously training, the Adeo looks like an amazing tool. I'm actually training at the moment for the 2006 Seattle Marathon, and let me tell you that the ability to truly track your speed and distance could do wonders for your workout. One of the fundamentals of training for a marathon is to be able to run the 26.2 miles in the first place. And with a handy device like this, you can find out just how far you really do run. Is a sub 3:30 marathon worth the cost of an Adeo? You bet it is. - Subscribe to CoolTechZone.com's Techblog RSS Feed Posted By: Larry Erhard {moscomment}
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Remember the cartoon Futurama, and how Leela always sported a wrist computer/sensor device? Now, would you believe me if I told you such a machine was in the works? Well, believe it or not, it does exist. Recently announced by Eurotech as a concept device, it has a tremendous amount of potential to be a flop or change-the-world device. It apparently has a touch screen, Bluetooth capability and naturally, GPS. At a mere seven ounces, it would be interesting to see the kind of CPU Eurotech has incorporated into the device. Most likely, however, it will be a very underpowered chip. I certainly hope Eudoratech has learned a lesson from Microsoft’s Origami, as it would prove to be a great learning experience for the Wrist PC.
This concept is just way too innovative. Imagine a gizmo that could do all the functions of your PDA but on your wrist. Considering most people wear watches, transitioning over to a computer that you wear on your wrist (I'm pretty sure the screen saver would be a clock) instead would be effortless, hopefully. No bulky Pocket PCs in your back pocket. No real worries about leaving it on the bus. A world of information and connectivity literally at your fingertips... I'm not known for being on the cutting edge with the technology I own, but this is definitely something I would be very interested in getting. If the Wrist PC is done right, we could very well be looking at a computer that would change the world. - Subscribe to CoolTechZone.com's Techblog RSS Feed Posted By: Larry Erhard {moscomment}
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I'm surrounded by a number of left-handed people, and one thing I’ve always noticed is the lack of left-handed peripherals for such individuals. It’s not just computer peripherals either; we are talking an utter lack of corkscrews, can openers and other common household items. Apparently manufacturers don’t have a liking for left-handed customers, or else we would see these things more often. In a nice change of pace, Logitech is introducing the MX610, a cordless laser mouse for the lefties. What I can see that really puts this mouse apart from most is that it's not a neutral shape that can go either way. No, it's ergonomically designed, specifically to fit the hand, and even has various navigation buttons (including e-mail).
Well, it's about time someone made a modern, fully featured mouse for the southpaws out there. Sometimes, it surprises me how biased we are towards something seemingly as trivial as handing. Considering that approximately 10 percent of people are left-handed, you'd think there would be more consideration for them. I hope other peripherals manufacturers follow Logitech's lead soon, and have at least a single mouse for left-handed people in their portfolio. That would be the fair thing to do. - Subscribe to CoolTechZone.com's Techblog RSS Feed Posted By: Larry Erhard {moscomment}
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