Experience life in 3D with the Owl Sterescopic viewer

You’ve probably seen someone in an old movie looking at photo cards using a device that looks like funny binoculars mounted on a wooden handle.  That device is a stereoscopic viewer, and they allow you to see 2D photographs in apparent 3D.  They were quite popular around the turn of the previous century, with many photo cards created covering a huge variety of subjects.  Brian May, Queen’s guitarist, started collecting stereoscopic cards when he was a child, and his fascination with 3D photography followed him into adulthood.  He even used a 3D camera to document the history of Queen from the Freddie Mercury days through the current time with Adam Lambert.

May decided to make reproductions of some of his collection of vintage photo cards available to the public, but he knew people would need a viewer to appreciate them.  He created the Owl, a stereoscopic viewer that folds flat for storage.  He also offers sets of stereoscopic photo cards, and he has written a few books with compilations of the vintage photo cards printed right in the books.  The Owl viewer works with both the individual cards and with the photos printed in the books.

I first learned of these viewers when I heard about May’s book collecting some of the 3D photos he took of Queen, called Queen in 3D.  I received the Queen book for Christmas, and the included Owl viewer works wonderfully well to transform those printed images into a 3D look at Queen.  (I still miss Freddie!)

You can purchase the Owl viewers at May’s London Stereoscopic Company LTD online store.  The store also offers several photo card sets and books covering topics like Diableries – Stereoscopic Adventures In Hell, Crinoline: Fashion’s Most Magnificent Disaster, and the Queen book, of course.  You can also find the Queen book at Amazon.

Posted by / January 24, 2018 / Posted in 3D, News

Nokia is removing a function from their Body Cardio scales by mandatory software update

Owners of the Nokia Body Cardio scale (formerly called the Withings Body Cardio when reviewed by Julie) may have received an email that warned them that Nokia will be removing the Pulse Wave Velocity function from all Body Cardio scales in a mandatory update.

The Pulse Wave Velocity function set the Body Cardio apart from other smart scales that calculated your BMI and measured a few other parameters as they weighed you.  The PWV measurement was, in effect, a measure of how fast your blood moved through your blood vessels, which in turn was a measure of the health of the vessels.  This measurement was based on previous studies, and when it was added to the Body Cardio scale, it apparently wasn’t a test that was regulated by the FDA.  Now, Nokia says of the scales: “We are now learning its capabilities in the area of measurement of pulse wave velocity may require a different level of regulatory approval. In light of this, the decision was made to turn off the pulse wave velocity feature.”  This removal was not prompted by the FDA; Nokia voluntarily removed the function to prevent possible future problems.

This update is mandatory and will be applied January 24, 2018; there is no way to opt out.  No other functions of the Body Cardio scale will be affected by this update.  For the time being, Nokia has announced they have suspended shipments of the Body Cardio scale; in a few months, they will resume shipping the scale without the PWV function.

To compensate their customers, Nokia is offering two options.  You may elect a $30 credit for a future purchase of a Nokia health product at the Nokia store, or you may choose to return your Body Cardio scale for a full refund.  If you refuse both of these options, you will not be allowed to change your mind in the future.

Read more about Nokia’s decision and learn how to ask for your compensation at the Nokia website.

Add a faucet to your laundry room when you buy a new clothes washer

Having a sink in your laundry room would be ideal because it would allow you to start pre-treating stains before laundering without having to then carry soaking wet fabric through the house to the washing machine.  In many space-conscious homes these days, there’s hardly room for a washer and dryer, forget about having room for a laundry sink, too.  The 4.8cu. ft. HE Top Load Washer with Built-in Water Faucet from Whirlpool has a faucet built in, so you don’t need a separate sink.

You can easily pre-wash a piece of laundry using a stream of water from the faucet inside the machine’s stainless drum.  The machine has lots of other features, too.  It has a dispensing system that can hold a supply of detergent, bleach, and fabric softener and dispense the right amount for your selected load.  It has auto load-size sensing, to select the right amount of water, and intuitive touch controls to make selecting from the 27 selectable wash cycles, 4 soil levels, and 5 wash/rinse temperatures easy.  MSRP is $899.00 for the 4.8 cu.ft HE Top Load Washer with Built-In Water Faucet and Intuitive Touch Controls.  Learn more about the features of this clothes washer and locate a vendor in your area at Whirlpool’s website.

Life without Windows, transitioning to iOS only

So, it finally happened. It’s not like I didn’t want to transition, but am I ready. What happened you may ask? My Windows computer crashed after a long hard fought life. To be honest, I was expecting it to happen, the signs were there, really. I woke up every day to a warning message saying my system was destined for imminent disk failure, I was just hoping that I would have a little more time. As a result, I’ve had to push forward with my plans to transition to an all iOS setup.

I have been prepping myself for this transition ever since I purchased my first iPad, but iOS and the iPads themselves just could not handle all that I wanted to do on them. You may ask yourself what has changed besides my loss of a Windows computer.  Two things mainly.

First the hardware, Apple has released the iPad Pro (I have the 10.5-inch second-generation version). Having a device that can handle the workload of a laptop or desktop system is important. I will admit that my iPad can never fully replace the functionality of a desktop or laptop, but it should be close enough to allow me to function without one.

The second reason is the operating system – iOS 11. Apple has continually improved the iOS software to the point that I feel that I can live without a desktop or laptop.

I am not kidding myself, I know this transition will not be without its trials and tribulations, just trying to figure how to set up my desk to best utilize my new set up is a challenge. Before, when I would work at my desk I would basically have two screens. I had an HP Elite L2201x monitor that was hooked to my Windows machine, a keyboard, and mouse. I also had my iPad, my Apple Magic Keyboard and my iPhone with its Qi charging stand. As far as accessories I have BYBLIGHT and my iClever multi-port USB charger. I did most of my writing on my iPad and used my desktop for reference. I have been a two monitor user for many years now and don’t think I could function well without that kind of setup.

My first inclination was to try to replicate a setup similar to my old one using my iPad Pro and my iPhone 6. I have the Apple Lightning Digital AV Adapter and figured I could use that to run my iPad or iPhone into my HP monitor. In theory, I could do this by buying an adapter that would allow me to run my HDMI cable into the monitors DP (Display Port) port. In reality, this was a no go. My thinking was to use my iPhone similar to my desktop, basically for reference and minor research. Mind you I could go out and buy a bunch of peripherals to make things work, but to be honest I may be a little on the cheap side so I would like to try to use what I have on hand.

I had to move to plan B. This plan consists of me using my original iPad 2 and my iPad Pro. The good thing about this solution is that I have my iPad 2 and it works. The bad thing with the iPad 2 is that it is obsolete and is no longer supported. For now, this will work as I really only use the iPad 2 to browse the internet and to look up reference info while I write. Some alternatives that may exist that I am not ready to explore yet are a newer iPad, a Monitor that accepts HDMI input, or a different tablet device I may have access to. For now, I am not prepared to try any of these alternative solutions, so plan B it is.

Plan C, yes I know I said it would have to wait, but while writing this article I had the good fortune to be the recipient of a 2016 iPad. To be honest, I was happy to receive it, my old iPad 2 was a dog, it would work but it was slow. So, now that my base setup was determined and setup it is time to try to function in this matter.

Switching to this new methodology means I will have to look at software and accessories that will help my set up feel more like a real work environment. The first item that I think I will need is a second Bluetooth keyboard. My main keyboard for my iPad has been my Apple Magic Keyboard, and while I love it, it is pricey and to be honest, lacks a little pizazz. I think I found what I was looking for in an Arteck HB030B keyboard (more on this at a later date) the keyboard is backlit rechargeable and priced at $19.99 from Amazon (it has a high user rating). The next item I decided I need is something for power management. I settled on the iClever multi-port USB charger that I had reviewed in the past. The iClever has 6 USB ports, more than enough to charge my iPads and the accessories I use. As far as other accessories, I will be using a BYBLIGHT as my lighting source (it has various brightness and temperature levels), A Cooler Master stand for my iPad (my iPad lives on my desk), The Apple Smart Cover on my iPad Pro (I carry this one around with me), a set of Supertooth Disco Twin Bluetooth speakers (for true stereo sound), and a Thecus NAS server for backup and storage. I have reviewed most of these items and they are linked if you are interested in reading about them.

Software for this transition may be a different animal for me. For the basics, I am happy to use the Apple suite of products (Number, Pages, and Keynote), but for other things such as video and photo editing, I am still looking for the one. For photo editing, I am using a program called Filterstorm Neue. Knowing that we are trying to standardize some things here at The Gadgeteer I am not sure this program will meet my needs (it may also be a little too sophisticated for my rudimentary skill level). The program lets me crop, resize and touch up photos but I am not sure I am getting full use out of it so I am always open to suggestions. Other useful software apps I have so far, are Grammarly, Google Chrome, and Dropbox.

So, what’s my bottom line here? Seeing as I am just getting started on this journey I cannot say for sure. I do not see myself going back to a desktop or laptop so I am basically in the “damn the torpedos full speed ahead mode”. I do like my setup and I seem to be functioning well with it so we shall see. I am always looking for suggestions and feedback so if you have any drop me a note in the comments section.

Foldscope is a real microscope that’s made of paper

One year for Christmas, I received a Tasco microscope set. I loved that thing. It came in a wooden box that had tweezers, eye droppers, glass slides, etc. I would spend hours “playing with that microscope to explore strange new worlds that were too tiny to see with my own eyes. One bad thing about a traditional microscope like the one I had as a child, is that they are too bulky and awkward to take along to other locations to explore different miniature worlds. The Foldscope is a microscope that has been designed to be as portable as it is affordable.

The Foldscope microscope was invented by two Standford University PhD students and is made of a heavy duty water-proof paper and comes in a small metal box with tools for collecting samples, processing samples, preparing slides and collecting data. You can use the Foldscope by itself, or you can use it with a smartphone’s camera using the included universal phone lens mount. The microscope itself has to be assembled and features a 140x, 2um resolution lens.

You can buy your own Foldscope for $39.99. Find out more at foldscope.com and Amazon.