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Rotofarm is a countertop rotating hydroponic planter for those who want to grow some fresh veggies right in their kitchen

NEWS – The Rotofarm by Bace (Dezeen) is a countertop rotating hydroponic planter for anyone who lacks the space to grow their own food. Heck, I have the backyard space to grow a garden and I still want a Rotofarm! Anyway, this innovative device allows you to grow your own plants in a small amount of space because if its circular design. It only requires a 30 cm footprint to grow 1.5 m of plants. And, because it rotates once per hour, gravity doesn’t have its normal effect on the plants, thus they grow faster.

The water and nutrient reservoirs are located in the base of the unit and the light is placed at the center to allow all the plants access to it. The light emulates that of the sun with a little more of the red spectrum to increase the speed of growth. “The light automatically fades on and off at optimal sunrise and sunset times” (Bace video shown below). Rotofarm allows you to adjust the light settings (dimming and timing) via an app to cater to different plant needs. The light can be a bit bright to some people, so the developers created a magnetic cover to reduce the glare by about 50%.

Toby Farmer, who founded Bace, created the Rotofarm according to Dezeen. He plans “to launch the Rotofarm on Kickstarter in September” (Dezeen), but the price was not revealed. This rotating growing technology was initially developed by NASA to be used on the International Space Station (Dezeen).

Check out the above video illustrating the Rotofarm. And be on the look-out for it on Kickstarter soon. Seriously, I want this!

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Rotofarm is a countertop rotating hydroponic planter for those who want to grow some fresh veggies right in their kitchen originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 29, 2019 at 9:02 am.

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Dress up your Instant Pot to look like R2-D2 because why not?

NEWS – The popular Instant Pot is one of my most used and favorite products that I’ve ever reviewed. Others must feel the same because there’s an Etsy shop called InstantWraps that offers skins to turn your Instant Pot pressure cooker into something that looks more fun than just a cooking appliance. The InstantWraps shop offers wraps that will turn various Instant Pot models into R2-D2 (shown above and below), BB-8, Wonder Woman, and a variety of other patterns.

The wraps are made of non-adhesive waterproof high-quality plastic that wraps around the cooker and attaches in the back with magnets. That means you can easily change out the look of your Instant Pot to match your mood or party theme. Each wrap is priced at $11 and you can see them all by visiting InstantWraps on Etsy.

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Dress up your Instant Pot to look like R2-D2 because why not? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 28, 2019 at 12:00 pm.

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Finally…someone put Alexa into a light switch

NEWS – I admit it I’m a sucker for smart speakers and home products. I like having the ability to control things like my lights and locks, using my voice. I own four Alexa enabled devices, and I use them all the time. Now, iDevices has taken Alexa and put her into the Instinct Smart Light Switch. 

With Instinct, you get all the Alexa goodness without the clutter of cords or hubs. Instinct’s sophisticated design completely hides the technology.  Alexa remains completely hidden until she’s needed. When you say the wake word (Alexa), the familiar Echo-style blue light ring will light up from behind the switches paddle switch. From there, you can ask Alexa to do things like set a timer, add to your shopping list, or get the latest news and weather updates. You can even configure the ring in the Alexa app and use it as a night light.

Instinct features a seamless modern finish and installs just like any other light switch. And it connects to your homes WiFi network.

You can even use Instinct to listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks. Instinct features premium SOEN Audio technology that delivers big sound from inside the small light switch.  Small openings on the Instinct’s paddle switch disperse the sound. The speaker is orientated to amplify sound by taking advantage of the space within your walls, giving you a fuller, rich sound. 

If you like Alexa like I like Alexa, then this is a product and solution worth checking out.

The iDevice Instinct Smart Light Switch is $99 and is available now from iDevices or Amazon.

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Finally…someone put Alexa into a light switch originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 28, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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PSA: Opt-out of Apple Card’s Arbitration Provision

NEWS – If you snatched up a fancy new Apple Card in the past week or so, you might want to take a good look at the terms and conditions, particularly under the Arbitration Provision section near the end of the document.

Therein it states:

By accepting this Agreement or using your Account, unless you reject arbitration as provided below, you acknowledge that YOU ARE GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO LITIGATE CLAIMS (AS DEFINED BELOW) AND THE RIGHT TO INITIATE OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.

That basically means if there happens to be any sort of class action lawsuit against Apple or Goldman Sachs, or if you have a personal issue with the card, you waive the right to have a jury trial or be heard in a standard court.

Fortunately, it’s extremely simple to opt out of this provision, in this case. All you have to do is send a message to Apple through the Wallet app within 90 days of applying.

Simply select your card from the Wallet app, tap on the three dot icon in the upper-right corner of the screen, and tap on the “Message” icon. This will open up a chat window, and all you have to do from there is type out something like “I would like to reject arbitration.” Below is a record of my conversation with the Goldman Sachs representative who is probably dealing with a lot of these requests.

Yep, it’s that easy.

The whole process took all of 5 minutes. I not, however, receive any email or Wallet app notification, so I took a screenshot of the conversation and saved it in a note, just in case.

But it’s nice to see a very quick way to reach support. All in all, I really like the Apple Card so far, especially its unique interface built right in to the Wallet app. If I find any more tips or tricks I’ll have to keep them in mind for a future post.

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PSA: Opt-out of Apple Card’s Arbitration Provision originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 28, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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Instagram Working on Separate Messaging App: Threads. Is This Necessary?

One thing the Internet has brought us is various different methods of messaging. Along with sending a text through SMS, we can also message through WhatsApp, Facebook, and SnapChat, among others. Instagram is developing yet another messaging app: Threads. This app will be a way to share a message with just your closest friends. Do we need another way to send someone a message? Crowded Market Granted, it’s great to have a messaging forum that works the way you want it to. Not everyone prefers SMS, and that’s okay – these people can then use… Read more

Posted by / August 28, 2019 / Posted in News