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Light up your landscape with solar-powered lights that look like flaming torches

You’ve got your indoor bulbs that look like a gas flame and a Bluetooth speaker that looks like a flaming torch, now you’re ready for outdoor lighting that also looks like flaming torches!  You’ll get a set of two Solar Garden Lights from Dikaou, plus accessories to set the lights up for wall mounting, using them as a table lamp, or for staking them into the ground for landscape lighting.

They are made of high-duty ABS plastic, and they have LED lights that mimic a flame.  You won’t have to worry about batteries because the torches are solar-powered.  The lamps will turn on automatically at night, or you can power them off when you don’t need them.  And with an IP65 rating, you know they’ll stand up to rain.

Get a set of 2 Dikaou Color Garden Lights for $69.99 at Amazon.

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Light up your landscape with solar-powered lights that look like flaming torches originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 6, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

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Make bath time for your dog less ruff with Aquapaw

If you’re a dog owner, one thing you probably dread is giving your furry friend a bath. Whether using the cup method in the bathtub or using the high-pressure garden hose outside it’s never an easy task and unless your dog loves water (mine does not) it’s not usually fun for them either. Aquapaw to the rescue.

Aquapaw is a wearable sprayer slash scrubber that you can turn on or off just by making a fist, giving you a free hand to better control your dog while the other does the scrubbing and rinsing. It has little rubber scrubbers that are soothing to your dog and the spraying power is more gentle than that of a typical garden hose yet more effective than a cup bath. Because you wear it on one hand like a glove Aquapaw lets you wash your dog in the same way that you would pet them. 

Included quick-release adaptors let you easily attach Aquapaw’s flexible 8′ hose to either a shower head or garden hose, so, you can bath your dog indoors or out.

The Aquapaw pet bathing tool is $24.95 and available at The Grommet.

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Make bath time for your dog less ruff with Aquapaw originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 6, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Meccano Erector M.A.X. Robotic Interactive Toy with A.I. review

I have two young sons, 7 and 5, who are obsessed with building.  Legos, old sets of Lincoln Logs, boxes, whatever.  They are constantly building and creating things.  Recently my 7 year old started getting into robots so when I saw the Meccano M.A.X. robot erector set I knew it would be a hit.  I was correct.

What is it?

Well, the product name and title of this review pretty much says it all.  MAX is an artificial intelligence robot erector set.  There is a 66 step instruction guide to assemble MAX and there are a lot of parts, motors, bolts, nuts, etc. everything you would expect in an erector set.  What makes MAX different is that once assembled, it is a fully interactive toy for your kids.  Or for you if you end up not wanting to share it with the kids, or for those of you who just love building things and robots, no judgment here, this thing is pretty cool!

Hardware specs

  • 12″ tall when assembled
  • 332 parts
  • 2 hand tools
  • 1 AC/DC wall mount charger (10.4W)
  • 1 rechargeable Ni-MH 1800mAh battery
  • Recommended for kids 10+ (like I said mine are 7 and 5 so they needed my help but it was a great project for us)

What’s in the box?

332 pieces, 2 hand tools (all you need to assemble), instructions, stickers for decorating MAX and a wall charge

Design and features

The build process is like most any other erector set or similar project.  The pieces are dense plastic so I don’t worry about it breaking after a week of play like other products.  The instructions are actually very well thought out and easy to follow, which is a great thing when you are looking at a pile of 332 pieces!

 

Once assembled you have to download MAX’s brain software onto the brain module.  Then MAX comes to life.  Once your child (or you) brings MAX to life he starts asking you questions to learn about you.  This process takes about 10 minutes.  After that, MAX begins to learn.  It has commands that are in the instruction book that allow you to interact with him, some of which are unlocked after a period of time of interacting with it.  It has built-in infrared sensors to help it avoid obstacles when it is moving around.  You can ask MAX questions, ask it to deliver something using its gripping hands, ask it to tell you something interesting and a number of other things that my kids have just loved.

MAX is a great project to challenge young minds interested in S.T.E.M subjects and a great introduction to engineering and robotics projects.

What I like

  • Great project to work on with my kids
  • A toy that learns as you play with it
  • The sense of accomplishment my children (and I) got when MAX was built
  • Very reasonable price (on Amazon for $119.99 with a MSRP of $149.99)

What needs to be improved

I am not sure why you have to download the brain software after receiving it rather than it coming preloaded with it.  That was a little annoying but not an issue, just delayed play time a little after building it while I installed software.  Maybe Meccano is making changes to the A.I. software so when you download it you are getting the latest version, but I don’t know.

Other than that, I don’t have any complaints.  We really enjoyed the build process and the fun playing with MAX and watching it learn.

Final thoughts

As with any erector set, building it is part of if not most of the fun.  In the case of MAX, building it was a blast to work with my kids on but seeing MAX learn and its abilities grow has been really fun in the time we have had with it.  I work a lot so I am always looking for fun projects to work on with my kids so we can spend some quality time together.  When that quality time also engages their minds and imaginations and nurtures their interest in building, robotics, and science, well that’s a home run for me.

I definitely can recommend this product for kids of any age who this product fits their interest but would definitely recommend sticking with the 10+ age recommendation if they will be working on it alone.  With adult supervision, it can be fun for kids of all ages but you may have to take a lot of breaks because 332 pieces is a lot for one sitting with a 7 and 5 year old!

Price: $119.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Meccano.

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Meccano Erector M.A.X. Robotic Interactive Toy with A.I. review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 6, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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The 27″ Angler Port-a-Cube LED Light Tent should be on your camera gear wish list

One of the most technical challenges that photographers and filmmakers face, is the perfect lighting for their scenes. This is especially the case when there are environmental effects that are uncontrollable.

In the world of studio photography, where lighting can be controlled, the challenge of perfect, even, and flattering lighting still exists. While uneven light and shadows are sometimes useful for portrait photography to create interest and different looks, they are not much help when shooting product photography or even controlled object photography where even and “full” lighting is desired for the object.

In my pursuit of the perfect lighting for product photography, I have tried numerous lights and flashes, and even a photo box with external LED lamps. One day I decided to take a trip to B&H Photo Video to get a first-hand look at what was available to meet my needs and to possibly get to try them out in the store to help me to decide. Luckily, it was not so busy in that section on the day I visited, and I was able to get personal attention from a sales person, and I got to try multiple photo boxes.

The one that I loved and eventually purchased was the 27” Angler Port-a-Cube LED Light Tent. It checked all the boxes of size, portability, and stunning 5400K daylight from the 150 built-in LED lights. The internal panels are reflective, and it comes with 4 inserts; black, gray, white and chroma green. Since buying this light tent, I have retired all my previous contraptions and setups for product and object photography. This is my “go to” in-studio box and I could not be happier.

If you are in the neighborhood, you can head over to the B&H Photo Video store and check it out. It is available for purchase for a great deal at just $99.95.

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The 27″ Angler Port-a-Cube LED Light Tent should be on your camera gear wish list originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 6, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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Don’t worry about the safety of your ring or your finger with the Enso silicone ring

Wearing a ring while working at some jobs or engaging in some activities can be dangerous.  Yes, demanding physical activity can damage your ring, but more importantly, it can damage or even cost you your finger.  You may have heard about Jimmy Fallon’s hand injury some time back, where he caught his ring on a countertop as he fell and suffered a ring avulsion injury.  (Warning:  gruesome photos if you do a Google search!)  Avulsion injuries happen when the ring doesn’t slide off, but instead gets pulled down your finger, leaving nerve and muscle damage in its wake or even de-gloving your finger (yes, just what it sounds like!).  These injuries often results in amputation.  With the Enso ring, you won’t have to worry about remembering to remove your ring before engaging in risky activities because Enso silicone rings are designed to break apart if they are placed under stress.

Enso has a variety of styles and colors available, and they even have a line of Elements rings that are infused with real metals or minerals and are designed for use as wedding rings.  The Elements collection are available in a Classic width (6.6mm wide x 1.75mm thick) or a Thin width (4.3mm wide x 1.75mm thick).  These rings are available in copper (infused with real copper), rose or yellow gold (infused with real gold), silver (infused with real silver), black pearl (infused with real pearl), and peacock quartz (infused with quartz).  These rings have airflow channels on the inner surface to keep your finger cool and dry under the ring.  All Elements rings are $39.99, regardless of the infused material or the width of the bands.

Enso also offers other silicone rings without the metal infusion.  These rings are available in various fashionable styles and colors; they range in price from $12 to $25, with one style on sale for $6.00.  Check out all the colors and styles at the Enso Rings website.

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Don’t worry about the safety of your ring or your finger with the Enso silicone ring originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 6, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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