Look Who I Found In Synagogue

Well, this was quite a surprise in the hip Magen David Synagogue today.

I captured this amazing Pokemon. 

I can’t say that I actually saw him davening (praying) in shule. 

But he was on the way down to the kiddush (blessing and meal) after services. 

No virtual apps needed for this Pokemon.  

He was right there over the chulent (bean and meat stew)–Oh, that must’ve been another week. 

Anyway, this Pokemon is ready to defend in the next battle of good and evil. 

Thanks to Nintendo, Pokemon goes these days where the rest of our leaders are afraid to endeavor. 

Hence the search for Pokemon far and wide…it’s a true craze. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Cabs R Colorblind

This was funny when a cab pulls up to the curb in Washington, D.C. 

And some people walk out from the building and get in. 

Call them and they will come.

It’s a black and deep orange vehicle. 

On the side of the cab is the name, “Yellow Cab Company.”

Now why would you paint yourself a (fleet of) orange vehicle(s) and call yourself a yellow cab company?

At least back in New York City, taxis really were yellow–and they were really taxis and had a medallion to prove it!

These days, car ride services like Uber drive around with “U” sticker in the window, where the U is practically closed at the top. 

And Lyft cars have that cute, but ridiculous mustache on the front grill.  

Taxi services are desperate to get a brand that customers will recognize and want to call. 

No more lifting you hand and index (or middle) finger on the street curb to hail one of a blizzard of cabbies racing down Main Street.

Now it push button easy to ride a yellow, blue, red, or orange cab–with or without mustache–anywhere you want to go.

But the more things change, the more they don’t stay the same—Next stop already is driverless cars. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Answer Your Watch

So I did it and took the plunge into a smartwatch. 

For over a year, I thought the technology just wasn’t there yet. 

Too clumsy, too difficult to use with such a small device. 

First, I considered just a Fitbit for tracking activity, but I quickly ruled it out, since you can get so much more with a full smartwatch.

Then, I looked into the Pebble, in particular the latest model the Time Steel, which runs between $200-$250. 

But I watched a review that pointed out the the Pebble does not have a touch screen, and everything are the buttons–okay, I immediately ruled that out. 

Next, I looked to old trusty, Apple…they have never failed me yet, and I tried on their various smartwatches. 

I settled on a simple sports model, since I figured as the technology continues to evolve or as the watch gets beat up in daily use, I could simply upgrade to the next great thing. 

Also, I figured if I really don’t like how it works, it wouldn’t be such a great loss monetarily. 

Well, the verdict is in–I really like it!

Easy to set up by simply syncing with the iPhone. 

And then all your major apps just show up on the colorful apps panel. 

In no time, I was checking the 10-day weather forecast, reading news headlines, tracking my activity, using the GPS locator, looking up calendar events, checking email and replying with easy voice dictation, sending text messages, and even calling family and talking to them into the watch!

I even started the music on my iPhone from another room by using the smartwatch. 

Oh yeah, I almost forget, it tells the time too!

Except for taking photos, which would be really cool with the watch, but it doesn’t do–it did most of the basics that I wanted it to. 

For not a lot of money, I felt that I was getting a lot of convenient functionality, and I am now encouraging my wife and kids to get it too. 

Apple, you still got it–so even though Google surpassed you in market value this week, I am still hopeful that you got some decent mojo left in you. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

What Smart Glasses Are Really All About

Sorry, but Google botched the Smart Glasses it called, Google Glass. 

Why?

– Geeky-looking

– Privacy issues (e.g. videocameras in bathrooms)

– Apps lagged with practical applications

However, I am certain that computers wearables or implants will take off–although probably not through this first iteration of the Apple Watch either–still don’t know a soul who bought into this!

Until then, what about really smart glasses?

No, not the type that will provide apps and virtual reality superimposed over everything you see.

But rather, glass that medically allow you to see under any and all conditions. 

– It’s a “one time prescription”–that adjusts with you as your eyes change. Like the machine the optometrist uses to change the prescription this way and that asks you which is better, only these glasses automatically adjust to whatever your prescription is that moment, day, or year. 

– Autofocus and zoom–want to see what’s going on from the bleachers at the game or can’t see the sign in the distance, simply focus on the person or object and voila you can see in zoom. 

– All Terrain–and no more bifocals–wherever you look–near or far–that is where the prescription adjusts to.

– All Weather–sunny days or cloudy skies–the glasses adjust to the light and conditions automatically–no more polarized shades. 

If you ask me, these are functionally smart glasses–and you don’t need to go to the likes of Pearl Vision and get gouged on new glasses every year. 

Hey, and if your fashion conscious, you can still pop ’em out and fit them snuggly into another new frame with some designer’s name on it, all made in China for about a buck! 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Snapchat, Eat Your Heart Out

As so many of you app users know, Snapchat allows you to send texts, drawings, photos, and videos, but with privacy, knowing they will disappear in a few seconds.

Disappearing messages is certainly not a new idea–in spycraft or for kids. 

Remember the disappearing ink (or maybe you’ve forgotten because it disappeared)?

Well, this is a photo of disappearing-disappearing ink!

Someone apparently stole the disappearing ink right out of the packaging in the store–it has truly disappeared. 😉

(Source Photo: Rebecca Blumenthal)

Apple Watch M~A~N~I~A

The Apple (Smart) Watch doesn’t go on sale for another 2 weeks…

But the Apple stores are streaming with excited customers already.

There are displays lined with the watches from the sports model to the stainless steel and even the 24-karat gold ones.

Ask the Apple salesperson and they’ll set you up at the next table for an associate to help you try on the watches including the 38 cm and 42 cm displays and various fashionable bands. 

They have this cute little rag to shine up the watch displays before you try them on over these black mats, just as if you are in a fancy jewelry store sampling diamond rings or something. 

I’ll tell you, while there is plenty of well-founded skepticism about these ranging from their not being a killer app to their inherent obsolescence (the battery is like 6 quarters thick on this version), and the watches are NOT intuitive to use, people are STILL going to buy these just to be stay current with the changing technology. 

Right now, I’m pressing down on the display (in my mind) and sending my heart beats to Apple for another transformative technology move.

One of my favorites on this watch is using the voice control to send text messages…Dick Tracy eat your heart out. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Shining A Light On Your Privacy

Check out this special report…

~Half a billion~ downloads of the top 10 Flashlights Apps–the ones we all have on our smartphones–and guess what?

All/most are malware/spyware from China, India, and Russia that are spying on you!

Your contacts, banking information, even your location, is being intercepted by hackers abroad,

The cybersecurity experts Snoopwall (that conducted this study and are offering a free opensource “privacy flashlight”) are recommending that you don’t just uninstall these flashlight apps, because they leave behind trojans that still are functioning behind the scene and capturing your information.

So instead doing a backup of key information and then a factory reset of the smartphone is advised.

Pain in the you know what, but these flashlight apps are shining a light and compromising your personal information.

Snopes points out that the flashlight apps may be no more vulnerable to spyware than other apps you download and that perhaps the screening process from the app stores help to protect us somewhat.

When the cyber hackers decide to exploit those apps that are vulnerable, whether for political, military, or financial gain, it will likely be ugly and that flashlight or other app you use may prove much more costly than the download to get them. 😉

(Thank you Betty Monoker for sharing this.)

Remembering Every Moment

I saw a frightening movie a while back about a girl that had been drugged and brutally raped. 

In the movie, the girl is eerily warned, “You won’t remember, but you will never forget!”

That line leaves an indelible mark–that something can be so horrific, so scaring that you can’t recall it, and can’t forget it. 

Now there is a new device coming to market that helps you recall everything.

Memoto is a 5 megapixel tiny camera (36 x 36 millimeters) with an embedded GPS that is worn around the neck, like a necklace. 

When clipped on, it starts taking the phones and when put down or in a pocket it shuts off. 

The Memoto takes 2 photos a minutes (1 every 30 seconds or nearly 3,000 a day if worn all the time).

The photos are stored in an accessible cloud app that uses GPS to sort the photos on a timeline with a date and location stamp.

Photos are private by default, but can be shared using traditional social media, such as to Facebook or Twitter. 

The battery lasts about 2 days and is rechargeable by connecting to your computer at which time the photos are uploaded to Memoto’s servers. 

Wear, photograph, recharge/upload and repeat. 

Privacy issues abound with a device like this–imagine wearing this into the bathroom, locker room, bedroom, or even a private corporate meeting–lots of embarrassing and compromising no-no’s here!

At the same time, imagine all the precious or memorable moments in life that you can capture and enjoy–it’s the realization of the photographic memory you’ve never had, but always wanted. 

Also think of that rapist or other criminal approaching you–getting photographed, caught, and punished–so that the victim really does remember, and can forget with a new peace of mind. 😉

Sign Language That Really Talks

There are over 40 million deaf or hearing disabled people in the world.

Many of these people suffer from not being understood by others and feel isolated. 

Four Ukranian graduate students have created the answer for them called Enable Talk–these gloves translate sign langauge into sound. 

The gloves have sensors including compass, gyroscope, and accelerometer that captures the wearer’s sign language. This is then transmitted via Bluetooth to an smartphone app that matches the sign pattens to those stored (and which can also be programmed/customized) and translates it into words and sounds. 

Enable Talk gloves won the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2012 student technology competition, and was named as one of Time Magazine’s Top 25 Best Innovations of 2012. 

For $175 these gloves are an amazing value for the hearing impaired who just wants to be communicate and be understood by others. 

This is a great advance for the disabled, and I’d like to see the next iteration where the gloves have the translation and voice mechanism and speakers built in, so the smartphone and app isn’t even needed any longer–then the communication is all in the gloves–simple, clean, and convenient! 😉

Better A Rock Than A Pebble

Pebble is coming out with a Smartwatch that connects via wireless Bluetooth to either iPhone or Android devices.

It can be used for getting messages, including from Twitter and Facebook, as well as for caller id, music controls, GPS, and more.

And you can download more apps from the watch app store.

Pebble uses a high resolution ePaper display technology, has a vibrating motor, microprocessor, accelerometer, and the battery can run for up to 7 days.

It has been crowdfunded through Kickstarter website and has since April sold, pre-order, approximately 85,000 watches at a $115 pop.

While I like the idea of being able to get information in more convenient form factors whether as a watch, glasses (like Google is working on) or other device configuration, I think the Pebble has a way to go in terms of it’s particular design.

Honestly. the Pebble looks cheap and chincy to me. The device looks too plasticy. The colors seem more geared towards kids.

Additionally, the screen looks way too small to be very useful except for the most basic alerts, but maybe this is all to make lighter and more mobile.

I plan to wait for something a little more substantial and with a larger screen.

A ruggedized version would be especially appealing including water, shock, and dust resistant and so on.

Perhaps the crowdfunding model has worked for this smartwatch for people looking to get the latest technology or even make a fast buck, but I think a little more crowdsourcing, in terms of customer requirements and feedback, would make an even better product for all.