Standing desks are said to help you burn more calories than sitting on your butt behind a traditional desk, so it’s perfectly conceivable that a standing video game system will enable you to burn more calories than playing games from your couch. That means that buying this beautiful VPcabs Vertigo Pinball system is the equivalent of buying a piece of exercise equipment. Right?
Unlike other retro styled arcade and pinball systems, this one takes up far less space due to the unique vertical design that stands 76.5″ tall, 20″ wide, and 25.25″ deep.
The Vertigo system features a 32″ 1080p LED connected to a computer with an Intel processor, NVIDIA graphics, WiFi, Windows 7, a joystick, and a trackball, all housed in a custom made CNC-cut cabinet.
The Vertigo system comes pre-installed with over 40 high-quality pinball games and you can also download and install all your favorite classic arcade games from the 80’s and 90’s like Centipede, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Galaga and many more.
The VPcabs Vertigo game system is pricey at $3,495.00, but can you imagine how many calories you will burn playing your favorite games? Do it for your health! Visit virtualpinball.com for more info and check out one of their exclusive pinball systems only being offered on Hammacher Schlemmer.
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Do you ever feel like you waste money on food each week because it spoils before you eat it? One solution is to shop for only what you need each day, but that can be too time-consuming. Another solution is to try a food storage system like the Vacuvita. They sent me their complete kitchen package that includes the Vacuvita Home Base, several containers, and bags. Let’s take a look.
What is it?
You are probably familiar with other food storage systems like FoodSaver. We’ve used one for years to save leftovers in bags that we then store in the freezer. The Vacuvita food storage system can also vacuum pack food inside special bags, but in addition to that, it has a Home Base unit that sits on your counter to store food items that you need frequent access to and can vacuum pack food in containers that you can keep in the fridge or cabinet.
What comes with the complete kitchen package?
Vacuvita Home Base
AC adapter
1 large container
1 medium container
2 small containers
40 bags (20 large and 20 medium)
Vacuum adapter
Quick start guide
Manual
Design and features
The Home Base is a large storage chest that has been designed to be left out on the kitchen cabinet. You can buy it in a variety of colors from the green that you see here, to white, black and blue and orange.
The home base is 18.5 x 12 x 8.25 inches. That means you will need to devote significant space on your counter top for it and consider that it needs some clearance for the opening lid too.
Pressing the latch on the front of the Home Base will cause the lid to unlock and open by itself to reveal a roomy storage area.
The storage area inside the Home Base is about 16 x 7 x 6 inches which is large enough to hold a loaf of bread and other items. It can be used to store items that you want to access frequently like bread, crackers, chips, cookies, cereal, and other dry food items that don’t require refrigeration.
An easy to clean filter is located on the back wall of the Home Base. Sometimes you will need to remove the filter to clean it.
According to the manual, the liner of the Home Base can be removed and washed either by hand or in a dishwasher. But I wasn’t able to remove it from the unit and didn’t want to try prying it out with a screwdriver.
On the back of the Home Base is the socket for the vacuum adapter.
This is where you plug in the adapter and hose that are included with the system. The adapter is used to vacuum pack food in the Vacuvita bags and the Vacuvita containers.
The containers are made of microwave and dishwasher safe BPA and BPS free plastic.
Notice the QR code on the side of the container? If you like, you can use the Vacuvita app to keep track of the food that you store in the containers and the app will alert you before the food expires.
Scanning containers with your phone might sound a little goofy, but since the containers are not see-through (except for the tiny frosted window on the front), it’s going to be tough to remember what’s in each container unless you label them or open them, which of course breaks the vacuum seal.
The containers can be used to hold dry or wet food items and can even be stored in the freezer.
The only thing I didn’t like about the containers were the ribs on the lid and hump on the bottom of the container which made washing wet foods a little more work than if the lid and bottom of the container had a smooth surface.
When you plug in the Home Base, the latch will light up and the air inside will automatically be sucked out. The vacuum process can take from a few seconds to about 45 seconds if the container is mainly empty. The Home Base continuously checks the vacuum inside the unit and will suck out air as it needs to as time goes by. The vacuum process does make some noise, but it’s not terribly loud.
When the vacuum adapter is plugged into the socket on the back of the Home Base, a LED capacitive button appears on the lid.
Pressing the capacitive button will initiate the vacuum process through the adapter. You use the adapter with the Vacuvita containers and the bags.
A rubber flap in the container’s lid can be lifted to release the vacuum so that you can remove the lid.
Unlike FoodSaver bags, the Vacuvita bags have a zip seal the top and can be resealed and reused several times.
You can freeze the BPA free bags and even use them to do sous-vide cooking. With sous-vide cooking, you place the food (usually meat) in the bag with spices and marinade. Then you vacuum out the air which rapidly infuses the food with the flavor of the marinade. You then cook the food right in the bag by placing it in hot water.
The vacuum adapter removes air from the Vacuvita bags when you hold the adapter over the designated area on the bag and press the button on the home base to start the vacuum process.
Just like with the Home Base and the Vacuvita containers, the vacuum process will (should) automatically stop when all the air has been removed from the bag.
Using the Vacuvita food storage system
Using the Vacuvita to store food in the Home Base, containers and bags is not difficult. But there were a few times when I had some issues with the vacuum adapter. The main issue that I had was either getting the vacuum process to automatically stop or actually suck the air out of a bag or container.
I also noticed that the vacuumed bags would not hold the vacuum for more than a day or so when leaving the bag out on the counter. But if I placed the bag in the freezer there was no problem. On the other hand, the containers seemed to hold the vacuum a lot longer than the bags.
Does the Vacuvita keep food fresh 5 times longer?
Does it keep frozen foods vacuum packed in the Vacuvita bags fresher 5 times longer than foods not in vacuum packed bags? I can’t say for sure because I’d need to check the foods in a few months, but since the bags feel similar to the FoodSaver bags that we’ve been using for years, I’m confident enough to say that yes, the bags do keep food fresh longer when you freeze them because the bags protect the foods from freezer burn.
Does the Vacuvita keep foods fresh longer in the bags when not frozen? From my limited testing, I would say no. The bags do not hold the vacuum longer than a day or so.
Does the Vacuvita keep dry foods fresh longer in the Home Base? Yes, from the limited amount of testing that I’ve done with loaves of bread, chips, cookies and even some fruits, I do believe that it does help keep those items fresh longer than when they are just sitting out on the counter.
Does the Vacuvita keep foods fresh longer in the containers either in the fridge or on the counter? Yes, I believe it does. I was able to store some deli meats, and homemade soup in the refrigerator longer than I typically would store them without using the Vacuvita. I was able to eat them days later than I ever would without the Vacuvita and since I’m still above ground, I didn’t succumb to food poisoning which is a good sign
See it in action
Final thoughts
The Vacuvita food storage system is well made and easy to use. If you don’t mind the price and the space that the Home Base requires on your counter, it is a handy way to keep food fresher for up to 5 times longer than normal.
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Vacuvita. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.
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WaterField’s new Bolt Crossbody laptop bag is being marketed as a travel bag for Microsoft’s new Surface laptop, but I’m thinking that it would be great for the 12″ MacBook I recently purchased.
Available in three sizes and 6 color combinations, the vertically oriented Bolt Crossbody bag is constructed of either waxed canvas or ballistic nylon and has leather accents. The bag has a padded laptop compartment that is secured with a zipper. Several smaller organization pockets are also available to hold accessories.
The small version of the bag is large enough to hold a 9.7″ iPad or similarly sized tablet and the medium size can accommodate the 12″ MacBook, The 12.9 in iPad Pro, Dell XPS 13 and many other laptops. If you go with the large sized Bolt bag, you’ll be able to use it with Microsoft’s just-announced Surface Laptop and other 14-15″ laptops like Apple’s 15″ MacBook Pro.
Priced at $199 – $219, the Bolt Crossbody laptop bag is available now. Visit Watefield Design for more info.
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Even though I’ve reviewed all of Blue’s headphones and noted their differences, they still look almost identical when placed side-by-side. Not anymore. Introduced at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last January, Blue has released the Satellite wireless Bluetooth headphone with active noise canceling. But there’s more. Along with Apt-X Bluetooth 4.1, Satellite features a built-in audiophile amp and two separate pairs of drivers to ensure a high-fidelity experience while achieving ultimate portability with foldable construction.
When discussing the unique dual driver setup, John Maier, CEO of Blue, said, “Traditional noise-cancelling headphones use one pair of drivers for both audio and ANC, which compromises sound quality. Satellite uses separate, dedicated ANC drivers so that our dedicated audio drivers and audiophile amp can deliver high-fidelity sound for no-compromise wireless listening.” Instead of using one pair of drivers for both audio and ANC, Satellite incorporates two separate drivers in each ear cup—one dedicated to high-fidelity audio, and one dedicated to noise canceling. This patent pending design eliminates noise without degrading sound quality while minimizing the distractions of your environment.
Similar in concept with other Blue wired headphones, Satellite utilizes a built-in, all-analog audiophile amplifier to deliver a hi-fi experience via any phone, mobile device or laptop. Satellite’s proprietary amp is perfectly paired with 44 mm dynamic drivers helping to deliver detail from music. Satellite’s compact form factor folds down and slips into the provided protective carrying case for easy portability and storage.
Satellite comes with a 9 ft. audio cable for conveniently connecting to mobile devices, vintage audio gear or to watch a movie in flight. Satellite offers the ability to listen with the amp ON, accessing the power of the amp, or OFF for a passive, power-saving experience. Satellite delivers 24 hours of wireless use and up to 8 hours of powered, high-fidelity sound with active noise-cancelling.
The Gadgeteer will be doing a full review of Satellite in the coming weeks.
The Blue Satellite is available now in both black and white from Amazon for $399.99 US. It will be available worldwide beginning in June. For more information visit: www.bluedesigns.com/satellite.
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After a week of rumors and leaked images, Amazon today unveiled the Echo Show, the first Echo device with a screen.
The Echo Show is the latest entry to the Echo line of devices following right on the heels of the Echo Look style assistant. The Echo Snow is a fully enabled Echo device that also allows you to watch videos, make video calls, scroll music lyrics and monitor your baby.
The Echo Show has a 7″ touchscreen, a 5-megapixel front facing camera, dual 2-inch speakers and eight microphones. The device is powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor.
The added functionality of a camera and touchscreen is coupled with some new features for the Amazon Alexa app. The most interesting new feature is the ability to call or message anyone with a supported Echo device or the Alexa App. The call and messaging features are free and you can also use an option called Drop In.
Drop In differs from video calls in that once it’s enabled on a device, any approved Alexa user can “drop in” to the device. This is like a video call that is automatically accepted and is useful for monitoring a baby, checking on an elderly relative or making announcements to family members.
With the addition of a touchscreen, Amazon has opened up the uses for the Echo Show exponentially. From recipe viewing in the kitchen to bedside CNN videos to video calls in the living room, Amazon is making a strong case for having a number of Echo devices throughout your house. At the very least, it will be nice to have a display of the weather every morning as I listen to my favorite news station stream over the Show’s speakers.
Along with the other Echo devices, the Show will be compatible with a number of smart home devices. Having the option to present information on a screen should add a lot of power to the Show’s home control abilities.
The Echo Show can be preordered today for $229.99, it comes in black and white and will be shipped on June 28. Amazon is also currently offering a deal for $100 off the purchase of two Echo Shows with a code. Visit Amazon for more info.
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