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You won’t need an electrician to install a Mr. Beams wireless motion-sensor ceiling light

NEWS – Have a dark closet in your house or a dark garage?  Maybe you could even use a light over your shower, but you don’t want the expense of hiring an electrician to run wiring to install the fixtures you need.  You won’t need to run wiring with the Mr. Beams Wireless UltraBright Motion Sensor Ceiling Light MB990.

This ceiling fixture installs in about five minutes with the included mounting plate and screws.  Power is supplied by four D-cell batteries, which should last about a year with average use of about eight illuminations per day.  The MB990 produces 300 lumens to illuminate about 300 sqft.  Motion detection triggers the light from about 18 feet away; the light turns off after 20 seconds of no motion.

And remember I mentioned a light in the shower?  The Mr. Beams MB990 is IPX4-rated for outdoor and shower use.

There are other styles of Mr. Beams wireless fixtures if this one doesn’t fit your needs.  The Mr. Beams Wireless UltraBright Motion Sensor Ceiling Light MB990 is $29.99 at the Mr. Beams website.

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You won’t need an electrician to install a Mr. Beams wireless motion-sensor ceiling light originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 11, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Cotton Carrier Skout camera sling style harness review


REVIEW – As a photographer, I am always looking for easy ways to carry a camera and have it at the ready, while reducing the stress of carrying it and while keeping my hands as free as possible, The Skout Sling Style Harness seems as if it can be a good fit for moving around while having access to my camera.

What is it?

The Cotton Carrier Skout Sling Style Harness is a camera harness that straps around your shoulder and upper chest and allows you to clip your camera to it in a secure but easily accessible way.

What’s in the box


1 x Skout Sling Style harness
1 x Camera Weather Cover
1 x Aluminum Hub, Spacer, Attachment Screw, and Allen Key
1 x Informational Leaflet

Design and features

The sling harness is made up of a padded cotton pad that includes the aluminum hub receptacle to hold the camera and web straps that go over your shoulder and around your chest.

On the back of the padded section, there is a zippered pouch where you can store small and flat accessories.

The buckles and clasps are made of ABS plastic so they are very strong and should hold the expected weight of a camera and lens without issue.

There is a camera weather cover that is included to cover your camera and lens. The size of my camera and lens seems to put both the cover and my camera and lens under some stress, so below I show the manufacturer’s picture of how it is supposed to work.

Performance

The Cotton Carrier Sling Harness is very easy to put on and very easy to adjust. Once the aluminum hub is attached to the bottom of the camera, it is ready to be clipped onto the harness.

After adjusting the harness as much as it allowed, it was still too slack for the body frame of my model. The pictures below show that most comfortable position that she was able to find. It also shows how awkward a fit it is with a large professional DSLR camera and especially so if the camera includes the extended grip. Since this is her usual camera setup, it was important to try it this way.



As you can see in the pictures above, attaching the larger professional DSLR made the fit a bit cumbersome. Even at the maximum adjustment of the over-the shoulder-section, it was still too long for my model’s comfort. While she did indicate that the position shown above proved to be the most comfortable for carrying that size of camera and lens, it did not feel comfortable enough for her to walk around with for an extended period of time. I do suspect that it would prove to be much more comfortable with a smaller DSLR or a mirrorless camera. It is very easy to remove the camera from the harness with a simple 45-degree turn and then pulling upwards.

What I like

  • The construction of the carrier
  • The concept and design of the carrier

What can be improved

  • Design improvements that would accommodate larger professional cameras
  • Multiple sizes or more adjustment to allow for a better fit for more body types

Final thoughts

I actually like the construction of this camera sling harness, and for a person with a larger frame than my model, it would fit much better. I did try it on myself, and while it fits ok, it did feel awkward once I added my large DSLR. The pictures on the company’s website show that the carrier should be worn with the mounting pad closer to the middle of the chest, but neither the model nor I found it to be more comfortable in that position especially with the large camera and lens. Since I do not own a smaller DSLR, I have not been able to try it with the smaller camera body, but I do intend to do so when I can get my hands on one. For many people with regular consumer DSLR or mirrorless cameras, this harness will work well and will allow them to move around freely while having instant access to their camera.

Price: $79.00
Where to buy: Cotton Carrier and Amazon.
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Cotton Carrier

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Cotton Carrier Skout camera sling style harness review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 11, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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Google Home and Nest are better together – and will save you $100!

NEWS – If you’re looking for a time and for products to start building your smart home system, now is your time, and Google Home Hub and Nest are your products!  Nest is now offering the Google Home Hub, and they are offering you $100 savings and free shipping if you buy a Google Home Hub with select Nest products: Ring doorbell, Nest Learning Thermostat, Nest Cam Indoor, and Nest Cam IQ outdoor camera.

Google Home Hub has a viewing screen built-in which works great with the Nest Hello video doorbell and the cameras.  You’ll be able to see what’s happening inside or outside your house without having to move to a window or door and risk alerting an intruder you’re home.  With the Thermostat, you can check or set your temperature right on the screen of the Google Home Hub.  And of course, with Google Assistant built in, you’ll be able to control everything with your voice: “Google, show me the front porch”;  “Google, make it warmer”.

Bundle prices start at $248 for the Google Home Hub plus a Nest Cam Indoor.  Go to the Nest website and start smartening up your home now!

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Google Home and Nest are better together – and will save you $100! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 11, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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Traveler & More notebook review

REVIEW – Over the years I’ve tried countless task and todo apps like Google Keep, Todoist, Wunderlist, and more. I start out excited to go digital with my task tracking, but I always end up going back to using a good old pen and a notebook because manually writing the task with a little box next to it is something my brain needs as an incentive to actually finish the task at hand. Why? I want the satisfaction of drawing an X in that box and tapping a box with my finger in an app doesn’t work the same for me. That was a long-winded explanation for why I love notebooks and why I also love to review them. The latest notebook on my testing bench is the Traveler & More notebook. Let’s check it out.

What is it?

The Traveler & More notebook is a simple leather notebook cover with multiple notebooks and inserts inside. It borrows the design and style of the popular Midori Traveler’s Notebooks from Japan which I reviewed many years ago and even made a pocket-sized Traveler’s Notebook DIY version of my own.

Design and features

The Traveler & More notebook arrives in a simple thick craft paper package tied with string. I am a fan of minimalism and often get annoyed by flashy packaging that ends up in the trash. The Traveler & More packaging is minimal and will end up in the recycle bin.

The notebook is the spitting image of the Midori notebooks and features one piece of leather that folds around the inserts to create a simple 8.7 x 4.9 x 1.6 inch cover. The leather used to construct the Traveler & More notebook cover is crazy horse leather which has been dyed a rich dark chocolate brown. I still have a Midori Travelers Notebook and find that I like the feel of the Traveler & More leather better because it’s softer and more supple. It even smells better 🙂

The Traveler & More notebook uses elastic bands to keep the cover closed, and a narrow strip of leather protects the edges of the cover from being deformed by the thin elastic cord.

The Traveler & More cover’s elastic band is attached to the spine of the cover instead of the back cover which I never liked with Midori covers. And as you can see from the image above, all the holes in the cover have been reinforced with metal eyelets which not only look a lot nicer but protect the leather. You’ll also notice in the image above, that the Traveler & More logo is stamped into the spine of the cover. Luckily, it’s not too noticeable.

The inside surface of the covers is raw leather which does shed a little bit. At least mine has since I’ve been using it for the past couple of weeks. Not that it’s a big deal, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Each Traveler & More notebook comes setup with 4 separate notebooks and several inserts. The notebooks and inserts are held in the notebook by elastic bands. It’s a simple system, but it works great and is secure. There isn’t a worry that the notebooks or inserts will fall out.

The 8.5 x 4.5 inch notebooks all have the same brown kraft paper/cardboard cover, sewn binding, and 40 sheets/80 pages that have a light cream color. You get a lined notebook, with faint light grey dotted lines.

There’s also a planner or memo style notebook that has a section at the top where you can mark the day of the week and date along with an agenda style list for the rest of the page with 1am – 12pm slots.

The Traveler & More notebook includes a notebook with plain pages for people who like to draw or who just like to have blank pages for their own layouts.

Last but not least, a square grid notebook is included. The paper used in the notebooks is 100GSM paper and it feels pretty thick. I don’t use fountain pens, but I do use ink, both rollerball, and gel pens, and markers, and didn’t notice any issues with the ink bleeding through the pages.

Other inserts include a vinyl card holder that has 1 large slot on top and 3 slots on the back that are sized to hold typical credit cards, business cards, etc.

I’m using mine to hold some journaling tools.

There’s also a zipper pouch that you can use to hold small flat items like stickers, stamps, receipts, etc.

Other storage options included in the notebook are a craft paper envelope.

And a craft paper folder with card slots.

With 4 notebooks and the inserts, the Traveler & More notebook is a pretty chunky setup.

The leather notebook cover is sized large enough to hang over all the edges a bit so nothing sticks out. Some people will not like a notebook this chunky/thick and others seek out notebooks like this one so that they can use each notebook for a different topic. So like many of the products that we review, it’s all about personal preference.

I don’t mind a thick notebook, but I do find that it takes a little more effort to stow it in my bag when I’m taking it to and from work.

One feature that is a must have for me when I’m shopping for a new notebook, is that the notebook has to lay flat and stay open to the page that I’m working on. If it flops closed by itself, or if I have to constantly try to smooth down the pages, it will annoy me pretty quickly. The Traveler & More notebook doesn’t lay perfectly flat but it does a pretty decent job of staying open to the page I’m writing on and I think that with use, it will get better as the notebooks get broken in.

What I like

  • Comes with 4 notebooks and inserts
  • The leather cover is soft
  • Price is very affordable

What needs to be improved

  • Would be great to offer other sizes like A5 or pocket-sized versions

Final thoughts

If you enjoy a rustic looking notebook that you can refill and customize, the Traveler & More notebook is a steal at $32 because it comes with 4 notebooks and inserts that will help you keep “stuff” organized. It’s well made, will only get better looking as it lives with you through your adventures and everyday wear and tear. If you’ve wanted to buy a Traveler’s notebook but didn’t have the money for the brand name version, look no further than this one from Traveler & More. In my opinion, it’s better in every way and significantly less expensive.

Price: $32.10
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Traveler & More.

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Traveler & More notebook review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 10, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Protect your dog from predator attacks with the CoyoteVest

NEWS – Luckily, we don’t live in a coyote area, so I don’t have to worry about my dog being snatched when we take him outside for a walk.  Many people do live in those areas, and their pets may be at risk every time they go out, even for a quick potty walk.  I personally have never taken my dog out without a short leash, so he’s always right by my side, and the coyote would have to go through me and my ballbat to get Teddy.  For dogs that get a bit more freedom, they need something to make them less easy prey.  Enter these vests that make your dog look like an extra from the Road Warrior movies!

The CoyoteVest was created after the designer lost their dog to a coyote.  The purpose of the vest is to slow the coyote attack down and give you a chance to react.  “While nothing can protect your dog completely, the CoyoteVest offers multiple levels of protection that can help. The unusual appearance makes your dog look strange in the eyes of a predator and may cause them to hesitate before attacking. If they do attack, a formidable array of shiny spikes defends the back and the neck – which is where most injuries occur – and the vest is made with stab-resistant Kevlar®  that can withstand sharp canine teeth.”

Of course, your dog isn’t only at risk from coyotes.  Your little dog is at danger from larger, aggressive dogs, and sometimes they can even be snatched by birds of prey.  That’s why CoyoteVest also offers accessories to help increase the protectiveness of the vest.  Both images show dogs wearing vests equipped with CoyoteWhiskers, which are soft nylon bristles that can irritate the eyes and mouth of bigger canines.  They could also make the attacker wary of potentially razor-sharp, poisonous spines.  And if birds of prey are the danger, the HawkShield, made of three layers of stab-resistant Kevlar®, protects your animal from being stabbed in the back by an attacking bird.  The HawkShield can be attached to a Vest and will still allow the spikes and Whiskers to also be attached.

The CoyoteVest is endorsed by veterinarians.  And while they are made for dogs, they can be used to protect any animal that can fit into the vest.  CoyoteVests for dogs or cats start at $99.95.  Learn more at the CoyoteVest company.

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Protect your dog from predator attacks with the CoyoteVest originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 10, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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