Candy Gram

Motion-activated, Star Trek-inspired door chime sounds red alert when you have visitors.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/16/2711747/star-trek-door-chime-thinkgeek

Cable going a-La-Carte?

By Shawn Knight

Cable operators are said to be mulling over the idea of offering channels “a la carte” in an effort to combat increasing popularity from online video streaming providers and regain lost subscribers. Such a move would represent a massive shift in how providers have traditionally offered programming to customers, as reported by Reuters.

Consumers have been asking for such a model for as long as I can remember but providers had little reason to oblige. With no competition in the market in terms of alternate delivery methods, programmers were free to bundle channels together, forcing the customer to subscribe to channels they didn’t necessarily want in order to have access to a few that they were interested in.

But with new online delivery methods, higher programming production costs and a slow economy, cable operators may have to force programmers to unbundle networks and let customers subscribe only to the channels they are interested in. Comcast and Time Warner Cable collectively reported a loss of 1.2 million video customers in the last year ending on June 30.

"We feel that some of those expensive channels should be offered a la carte so only those people who want to watch them actually pay for them," said Jerry Kent, chief executive of Suddenlink, which has 1.3 million cable customers.

Allowing customers to opt out of certain channels in a package could save viewers a lot of money. For example, EPSN is the most expensive channel in the US at around $4 per subscriber. Customers not interested in sports could nix this and other ESPN channels from their lineup.

Home WiFi trouble?

Many people have trouble connecting their WiFi all throughout their homes.  There has always been a way to correct this but not alot of people know about them, I mean sure, you can tilt the antennas, put some tin foil behind the antennas or maybe just move the whole thing all around the room.  But there ARE alternatives to these older methods. 

First, if you are still using wireless "G" it's time to get off of it.  Get down to your local store and spend the money on a newer Linksys router that will allow both wireless G and N at the same time.  Now there are 2 kinds, the ones that allow either N or G or can handle both at the same time.  Spend the extra money and get the one that does both.  Several older devices around the home and on your mobile device are most likely G and having the option for N will give you better speeds and much more range.  And if those don't work you can try some of the powerline alternatives that will use your electrical system to transmit the internet signal.  Try this link for more info

iZon Room Monitor

Got teens?  Ever wonder what's going on at home when your not there.  Want to see if someone is messing with you?  For a mere $129 you too can have piece of mind.

You may want to put it into use however you see fit because of it's small size.

LINK

Fossils new watch passes the FCC

One of the coolest watches we've seen pass our desks here at 30ish HAS to be the Fossil Meta Watch.

Comes in either Digitsl or Analog and syncs to your Android phone.

And on Sept 29 be ready to drop $200 for this bad boy.

LINK

The Stance

From the "about damn time" category comes the Stance. A adjustable stand for the cup holder for you car, exc4ersize equipment or anything that has a cup holder.  The case can be removed from the stand.  It has 360 degree swivel and compacts enough to take with you in your bag.

Also good for keeping kids quite on long trips.

LINK

Holy Crap!

LINK

Asus Padfone

I cannot BEGIN to tell you how pleased(?) I am to say that our very own ed Special had made this prediction.

Asus has just announced their plans and prototype of their Padfone.  Take your existing smartphone and just plug it into the back of the keyboard and monitor.  No one has used it yet, but just by the looks and their planned specs it shoulddn't nearly suck as much as the Motorola Atrix does!

LINK

Exoskeletons are ready to help

Rex, the Robotic Exo

New Zealand has been working on a pair of robotic legs that will assist the handicapped in walking.

Video and Press Release are here