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Low Profile Bluetooth 2.1 Adapter Fits in Any USB Port!
The Scosche Industries blueLIFE fits standard USB ports to bring Bluetooth wireless technology to virtually any PC. Once blueLIFE begins transmitting, you’ll be able to connect to other wireless PC accessories, such as a mouse, keyboard, tablet, printers, and more. Stream music from your PC to Bluetooth receivers and headsets. Use a hands-free headset with VOIP software including Skype, MSN Messenger, AIM and to stay connected. You’ll also be able to move files and between your PC and Bluetooth-enabled device including cell phones, cameras and more.
In-LineLinc Relay – INSTEON On / Off Module (Non-dimming) w/ Sense 2475S2 Review
PAUL — WETHERSFIELD, CT Date: 6/18/2010
Review: Works great for front lamppost (that also has outlet), allows use of any old brand CFC candle-style bulb, with no flickering.
PATRICK — GRANTS PASS, OR Date: 6/7/2010
Review: Wire it in, link it — and it works. No hassle and no problems. I’m very happy.
BILL — LYME, NH Date: 4/22/2010
Review: Works as advertised. Easy to install and configure.
DENNIS — TAYLORSVILLE, UT Date: 3/18/2010
Review: These products once set up work extremely well and are doing exactly what I had hoped. The best part of the purchase was the support I received on the phone to program them.
OR
Buy the In-LineLinc Relay – INSTEON On / Off Module (Non-dimming) w/ Sense 2475S2 at Smarthome.com
Apple JailBreakMe Vulnerability
A Revised Taxonomy of Social Networking Data
A Revised Taxonomy of Social Networking Data
I/O Linc – INSTEON Garage Door Control & Status Kit 74551 Review!
NATALE — NORTH BELLMORE, NY Date: 7/19/2010
Review: Once I followed the instructions the garage control worked as described. Linked with a lamp module I can now see if the garage door is open without getting up and going outside.
TIMOTHY — JACKSONVILLE, FL Date: 7/8/2010
Review: Works well. Just as expected. Easy install.
MICHAEL — WALNUT CREEK, CA Date: 4/7/2010
Review: Worked great! MUCH better than the TriggerLinc I was using. Should have an option for using a 4xI/O link instead on a 1x.
ADRIAN — CERRITOS, CA Date: 3/6/2010
Review: I chose to mount the switch on the header above the garage door instead of on the floor. The magnet was mounted on the top edge of the door and comes within a 1/2″ of the switch. This easily triggers the switch. In this location, this made it easy to run the wires along the top of the garage opener track. With I/OLinc’s always on outlet, it was simple to just unplug the opener, plug in I/OLinc, and then plug the opener into I/OLinc. This made wire runs so short that only one of the two supplied wire bundles was necessary. Oh, and so far, operation is flawless.
OR
Buy the I/O Linc – INSTEON Garage Door Control & Status Kit 74551 at Smarthome.com
New Dual USB Home Charger for the iPad!
Charge multiple USB-powered devices at once with the Scosche Industries reVIVE II. This power charger for AC features a 2.1 Amp USB port for your iPad, as well as a 1 Amp USB port for additional devices, so you can charge two devices at once.
High-Definition Audio Video Cable for iPod and iPhone Lets You Take Movies Anywhere!
Use the Scoshce Industries IPAVRGB sneakPEEK HD to stream audio and video from your iPod or iPhone to any television, portable DVD player or other device with RGB/component inputs with the Scosche Industries IPAVRGB sneakPEEK HD. A mini USB cable is also included so you can charge your iPod or iPhone while you play.
The sneakPEEK HD is an audio and video output solution for any iPad, iPhone & iPod that plays video, including, iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPhone (Gen 1), iPod touch (Gen 2), iPod nano (Gen 4), iPod classic, iPod touch (Gen 1), iPod nano (Gen 3), iPod with video (Gen 5).
Prevent Water Theft and Vandalism
The Hose Bibb Lock is designed to prevent both water theft and vandalism to outdoor faucets and hose spigots.
The Hose Bibb Lock’s fitting assembly screws securely onto the end of any standard garden hose bibb, yard hydrant, or vacuum breaker. The cover is placed over the fitting assembly, and locked with any commercial padlock.
The Hose Bibb Lock is designed so that the cover and padlock spin freely around the fitting assembly, preventing anyone without the key from using the faucet.
Water won’t flow – even if the handle is turned to the full open position unless you remove the Hose Bibb Lock.
U.S. electricity blackouts skyrocketing
(CNN) — New York’s Staten Island was broiling under a life-threatening heat wave and borough President James Molinaro was seriously concerned about the area’s Little League baseball players.
It was last July’s Eastern heat wave and Consolidated Edison was responding to scattered power outages as electricity usage neared record highs.
So, authorities followed Molinaro’s suggestion to cancel that night’s Little League games, which were to be played under electricity-sucking stadium lights.
“Number one, it was a danger to the children that were playing out there in that heat, and secondly it would save electricity that people would need for air conditioning in their homes,” said Molinaro, who’d been forced to sleep at his office that night because of a blackout in his own neighborhood.
Throughout New York City, about 52,000 of ConEd’s 3.2 million customers lost power during the heat wave. Triple-digit temperatures forced residents like 77 year-old Rui Zhi Chen, to seek shelter at one of the city’s 400 emergency cooling centers. “It felt like an oven in my home and on the street,” Chen said.
Should Americans view these kinds of scenarios as extraordinary circumstances — or a warning sign of a darker future?
Experts on the nation’s electricity system point to a frighteningly steep increase in non-disaster-related outages affecting at least 50,000 consumers.
During the past two decades, such blackouts have increased 124 percent — up from 41 blackouts between 1991 and 1995, to 92 between 2001 and 2005, according to research at the University of Minnesota.
In the most recently analyzed data available, utilities reported 36 such outages in 2006 alone.
“It’s hard to imagine how anyone could believe that — in the United States — we should learn to cope with blackouts,” said University of Minnesota Professor Massoud Amin, a leading expert on the U.S. electricity grid.
Amin supports construction of a nationwide “smart grid” that would avert blackouts and save billions of dollars in wasted electricity.
In a nutshell, a smart grid is an automated electricity system that improves the reliability, security and efficiency of electric power. It more easily connects with new energy sources, such as wind and solar, and is designed to charge electric vehicles and control home appliances via a so-called “smart” devices.
There are a wide assortment of products available that may make getting through a blackout much simpler such as the Sylvania LED Power Failure Light which automatically turns on in the dark and can also be used as a night light. Another great option is the 3-In-1 Nightlight/Emergency Flashlight which is extremely energy efficient. Lastly, when you don’t feel like carrying a flashlight the Neklight Wearable LED Flashlight is a great accessory that is light weight and bright.
P ≠ NP?
Ant Warfare
Ultra-Quiet, Remote-Controlled HEPA Air Purifier
The Rabbit Air BioGS removes a wide variety of allergens and contaminants from the air, including dust, pollens, dander, odors, and chemical vapors. Its HEPA filter traps and destroys a host of common allergens, such as pet epithelia, dust mites, and pollen. Each filter can last up to three years, based on 12 hours of daily operation, and won’t create secondary pollution like conventional HEPA air cleaners. A washable, charcoal-based activated carbon deodorization filter is also included to remove odors, harmful gases, and chemicals.
Using this air purifier helps protect your health and the health of your family. The filter is coated with anti-influenza virus agent and lowers the viral transmission of H3N2 influenza virus. For added peace of mind, the BioGS traps airborne allergens and contaminants down to 0.3 microns in size 99.97 percent of the time, and features a Nano-Silver pre-filter to help kill airborne bacteria, mold, and viruses.
With its energy efficient design, the BioGS is safe and inexpensive to operate, emitting no ozone and only consuming 33 watts at high speed and seven watts at silent speed. The BioGS also features an inverter control, which means the unit can operate at five different speeds, so it won’t run at a higher speed than necessary.
Ideal for home or small office use, this air purifier covers up to 600 square feet, based on two air changes per hour. It’s also completely silent at low speed, and creates a minimum amount of distracting noises.
Automatically Dial up to 4 Phone Numbers when Problems are Detected!
The United Security Products AVD-2001W combines technologically advanced features, ease of programming and reliable operation in a compact, wireless dialer that is compatible with virtually any security alarm system.
The AVD-2001W features a Power Monitoring System (PMS) that constantly operates in the background. The PMS automatically calls up to 4 phone numbers with a pre-recorded message when any of the three conditions have been detected: AC POWER OFF, BATTERY LOW, or AC POWER RESTORED.
Installation and hookup are quick and easy, whether installed in conjunction with normally open, normally closed dry contact or voltage activation sensors. The unit can also function as a stand-alone device, by simple connection to an ordinary telephone jack.
Mount Handheld Devices in Your Car for Easy Access and Viewing!
The Scosche Mobile Dock-IT Mount is the most convenient accessory for GPS and hand-held devices. It easily installs into any cup holder, while its flex shaft provides a sturdy and easily accessible mounting solution for hand-held electronics. Clamping arms on the mount open up to 4.5″ wide, making it compatible with virtually any hand-held device. A flexible neck can rotate up to 360 degrees to put your device in the best viewing and operating position possible.
Black Hat 2010: Dimitri McKay, LogLogic
This year at Black Hat we never got into our normal swing with microcasts of releasing them the same day they were recorded. On top of that, I didn’t go home after the convention, I went off for another week on the road for work. Which means I’m only now getting to a point of having the energy and time to edit and post. Which is a long winded way of saying “Better late than never”.
Dimitri McKay, the Security Architect for LogLogic. Dimitri and I talk about the Cloud Security Alliance and what it means as well as touching briefly on the new virtual appliance LogLogic has recently release. We talk about why we need an organization like the CSA and even dig briefly into what the ‘Cloud’ is. Not that we can actually define the cloud in less than 10 minutes.
Black Hat 2010: Dimitri McKay, LogLogic.
Ultra-Quiet, Remote-Controlled HEPA Air Purifier
The Rabbit Air BioGS removes a wide variety of allergens and contaminants from the air, including dust, pollens, dander, odors, and chemical vapors. Its HEPA filter traps and destroys a host of common allergens, such as pet epithelia, dust mites, and pollen. Each filter can last up to three years, based on 12 hours of daily operation, and won’t create secondary pollution like conventional HEPA air cleaners. A washable, charcoal-based activated carbon deodorization filter is also included to remove odors, harmful gases, and chemicals.
Using this air purifier helps protect your health and the health of your family. The filter is coated with anti-influenza virus agent and lowers the viral transmission of H3N2 influenza virus. For added peace of mind, the BioGS traps airborne allergens and contaminants down to 0.3 microns in size 99.97 percent of the time, and features a Nano-Silver pre-filter to help kill airborne bacteria, mold, and viruses.
With its energy efficient design, the BioGS is safe and inexpensive to operate, emitting no ozone and only consuming 33 watts at high speed and seven watts at silent speed. The BioGS also features an inverter control, which means the unit can operate at five different speeds, so it won’t run at a higher speed than necessary.
Ideal for home or small office use, this air purifier covers up to 600 square feet, based on two air changes per hour. It’s also completely silent at low speed, and creates a minimum amount of distracting noises.
Would you let your wife track your movement? I will
I make no secret of how much I value privacy. Which is weird coming from someone like myself who spends so much time on social networking, blogging and generally shouting my activities to the world. But I control most of that information, which is what privacy is all about in the digital age. So why am I talking about letting my wife track my every move? Because I received a press release about the Family Tracker application for the iPhone and iPad, and rather than just go on a diatribe about how such a system could be misused, I have decided that for the next few weeks I will voluntarily give my wife the ability to track the location of my iPhone anywhere it goes. And since I’m almost never without my iPhone, it means she’ll be able to track my movement at all times. Besides, she just gave me “the Look” when I asked if it was okay for me to track her movements; allowing her to track me was obviously a healthier choice.
I don’t like the idea of tracking of people, especially if they don’t know about it. The potential for abuse far outweighs the benefits in most cases. Whether it’s a spouse or parent abusing the tracking, someone abusing access to the vendor or law enforcement legally tracking someone, I get very nervous about what CAN happen. So when I got the press release for Family Tracker and an offer for promotional codes, I decided it was time to bite the bullet that is my paranoia and see how a tracking program like this is used in real life.
I travel. A lot. In the next few weeks I’ll be crossing the country several times and I’ll be gone from home more than I’ll be there. I post my travel schedule on several calendars around my office, so which city I’m in is rarely a question and I use FourSquare enough that my location has never really been a mystery anyway. But I’ve always been in control of both of these methods of tracking and giving my family a tool to tell where I am almost every moment of the day is new and interesting experience for me. I suspect that my wife will look me up once or twice and then ignore the application 99% of the time. But she has surprised me before.
I’ve set it up so I can track myself and my iPhone from my iPad, so even if my wife doesn’t want to track me, I can still find out more about what the program is capable off. And unless I do something stupid that involves the police, I doubt anyone else will want to track me. If anyone really wants to know my whereabouts, there’s more than enough information already on the Internet to find me if someone takes the time. This will just make it a little easier.
So through the end of the month my little social experiment will be running. After that, we’ll see. It may be that my wife likes being able to track me. Or she may just say, “Meh. If I want to know where you are, I’ll just call.” I’m almost as interested in seeing how she uses Family Tracker as I am in seeing if she thinks being able to track me is worthwhile. I honestly don’t know which way she’ll decide.
After the break is the information the folks at LogSat sent me when I expressed interest in their product, which covers several important questions about how Family Tracker works.
Hi Martin,
To help you with the review,
allow me to explain a bit more in detail Family Tracker’s GPS settings.
We have 3 settings of operation for the background GPS tracking. In
“Driving Only” mode we are actually not powering on the GPS, as
the location is being retrieved via the cell towers. The location is
updated only when there is a cell tower change (usually while driving).
If you do not need super precise locations, we strongly recommend using
this setting as it allows for huge battery savings, as the power used by
Family Tracker is practically insignificant. As an example, beginning a
3-hour drive starting with the iPhone fully charged results in still
having a 97% charge left after those 3 hours.
The “Always On”
settings instead do keep the GPS radio in the device on at all times.
This results in a better GPS accuracy, but will also result in a lower
battery life (the charge won’t likely won’t last an entire day). With
both the ”Always On 1Km” and the ‘Always On 100m” settings, Family
Tracker will continue to update it’s position even if the phone is
stationary in one position (in 5 minute intervals). This will allow you
to know that Family Tracker is still running on the phone and that the
position being marked on the map is fresh and accurate. This is not
possible to do in “Driving Only” mode.
Going back to the “Driving
Only” mode, a new update (Family Tracker v2.1) recently became
available in the App Store. With this update, when using “Driving Only”
mode, we are briefly firing up the GPS for 20 seconds every time we
detect the phone has stopped moving. This allows us to obtain a rather
accurate position (often within 10-100 meters) as soon as the phone is
still, while at the same time continue to maintain a very, very low
battery consumption.
Now to the tracking functionality. The
“Locate Me” screen in Family Tracker lets you add users who you wish to
allow to track you via the web. If you’d like for someone without an
iPhone/iPad to track you, you can add their email address to that
“Locate Me” screen. When you do that, the user will receive an email
with a link that allows them to track you via the web. Please note that
you (the person tracked) are the one initiating the email with the info
on how to track you.
If you instead wish to track someone using
your iPhone, that is done by adding the person you wish to track to
the ”Locate Others” screen. When you add the email address of another
person running Family Tracker to the “Locate Others” screen, that person
will receive a tracking request popup on their phone. While your
request is “pending approval”, there will be an orange question mark
next to their name. Once they approve the request, you will receive
a notification yourself on your iPhone to let you know they accepted
your request, and the orange question mark will turn into a green
checkmark. In addition, you will also receive an email with a link that
will allow you to track that person via the web. Again it is important
to note that unless the person being tracked approves that initial
request to be tracked, they will not allow you to track them.
regards to security, you will notice that each time a user is allowed
to track another user, we use a unique alphanumeric (36 possible
characters, with a varying length between 16 and 32 characters, allowing
for between 8E+24 to 6E+49 combinations) code to uniquely identify the
tracking request and make it available via the web. In addition the
“tracked” person can remove “trackers” at any time form their “Locate
Me” screen, which will immediately deactivate the tracking alphanumeric
code. Lastly, for privacy concerns we only
store in our database the last location reported by the GPS – we do not
store a tracking history. We have had several requests to include the
speed for that location, as many users have a valid point in asking “I
see they are on the highway, I would like to ensure they are still
moving and did not crash…”, so we may add the speed value as
well in a future version.
I hope this helps,
Roberto
Franceschetti
LogSat Software
Sensor Sends Notification to INSTEON Devices When Refrigerator Fails
The Minotaur Engineering IRF1 INSTEON Precision Refrigerator Failure Sensor provides a way to sense inordinately high temperatures, when the door is left open or the early failure of a residential refrigerator. It interfaces to a standard I/O Linc device (purchased separately) and triggers INSTEON devices based on user settings. Simply place the sensor in your refrigerator and carefully extend the wire leads out the refrigerator door through the weather stripping and attach the wire leads to an I/O Linc. From there, you can have the I/O Linc module send out INSTEON commands to other INSTEON controlled devices such as a LampLinc or an ApplianceLinc to turn lights on in the event that the refrigerator’s temperature rises to an unacceptable level. The Refrigerator Failure Sensor can also be used to trigger other devices on your INSTEON network.
Wireless Safety System Notifies you the Instant Someone Falls in the Pool
The SonarGuard® AG100 Swimming Pool Security System is an advanced swimming pool security system, which creates an “invisible” underwater sonar-net. It has been designed to alert the owners when an object of specific size and shape is detected in unsupervised pools and spas such as a child fall into the pool. The system works on any size or shape pool, and can be fitted on any new or existing pool and/or spa. SonarGuard represents the best solution to pool security and safety for the pool owner. This intelligent system distinguishes the difference between a real event and pool toys, wind, or a dog drinking from the water’s surface. Armed system status is displayed on the remote keypad by a glowing green light. The homeowner uses the remote keypad to put SonarGuard into standby mode when the pool is to be used. Three minutes prior to rearming, the system will give off small beeps as a warning that it is going to rearm. Once the standby mode time has elapsed, the system will automatically rearm.
