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Add a video doorbell to your Scout alarm system

NEWS – Scout has just added the Scout Video Doorbell, expanding their security system to be more all inclusive. While there are plenty of smart doorbells out there, this is a great move to simplify their own user’s experience by being able to stay within a single app for home security.

Here’s some of the feature set Scout has built into their new doorbell…
– 1080HD recording in any lighting
– 2-way audio for talking to your visitors
– Play a pre-recorded message if you’re unavailable
– Notifications when people approach your door
– Connects to your existing 16-24v analog or digital wiring installation

Its narrow and slender design should look at home by your entrance and with it’s three included faceplates (white, silver, black), one is sure to blend in with your color scheme.

It’s available now at $99 for the analog version or $105 for the digital version which includes the power kit. Alternatively you can bundle it with a security system build if you’re in the market. Hop on over to Scout for more information.

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Add a video doorbell to your Scout alarm system originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 23, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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Kano lets kids build their own Windows 10 laptop

NEWS – The new Kano PC isn’t just a kid-friendly laptop with a colorful orange keyboard. It’s a laptop that kids can build themselves with easy to assemble modules and cables that require no previous knowledge of electronics or soldering.

Kano is the same company who makes the Computer Kit Touch tablet that I reviewed last fall. The Kano PC is a similarly designed kit that comes with easy to understand step-by-step instructions for kids ages 6 and up. Partnering with Microsoft, Kano is offering a fun way for kids (and adults too – I won’t tell!) to build their own Intel Atom based touch screen Windows 10 computer with a detachable keyboard. Kids can then use the Kano PC to learn how to program.

The Kano PC is priced at $299.99 and will be available at the end of October. For more info head over to kano.me for all the details and to pre-order.

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Kano lets kids build their own Windows 10 laptop originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 22, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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Polar’s new Ignite fitness watch puts a fitness coach right on your wrist

NEWS – Polar recently announced their newest fitness watch, the Polar Ignite. The Ignite is a GPS fitness watch that tracks your walks, runs, bike rides, heart rate, and offers advanced metrics, training recommendations right from your wrist, and five days of battery life. Other new features include:

  • Sleep Plus provides insight into the amount and quality of sleep and tracks how you cycle through light, deep, and REM sleep stages of sleep and then assigns an easy-to-understand Sleep Score.
  • Nightly Recharge takes the Sleep Score and then combines it with daily recovery information from your body to let you know how well you are recovered from your workouts and offer tips to help adjust your daily plan so you can continue to improve in the coming nights, and ultimately improve your performance and fitness.
  • FitSpark is a daily training guide that provides athletes with personalized, adaptive guidance based on their fitness level, training history, and Nightly Recharge measurement. The watch suggests and guides you through exercises within cardio, strength training, and performance categories right from your wrist.
  • Serene is a guided breathing exercise from the wrist that can help balance body and mind, recover better, and even help with better sleep.

The Polar Ignite is available with a black or silver case and 3 watch band colors. It’s priced at $199.99 and is available now through Polar.com or Amazon.

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Polar’s new Ignite fitness watch puts a fitness coach right on your wrist originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 22, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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Use Alexa to solve a small town murder in the new board game “St.Noire”

NEWS – I loved playing board games when I was a kid, as an adult not so much. The only time I play them now is on occasion with my young nephews. Let’s face it they haven’t changed much over the years, and they’ve just lost their appeal. However, a new type of board game may change all that.  St.Noire, is a new board game created by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell that is powered by Alexa. The game is a voice-controlled Murdermystery board game. Alexa provides the games atmospheric background and cinematic voice performances. There are over 2,500 lines of dialogue that are performed by 12 different characters.

The basic gist of the game is that you have seven days to solve a murder in the small town of St.Noire. As a detective, you have to gather clues and question suspects as you piece together the events on the night of the murder. Using Alexa, you can visit various locations around town and question suspects.

On every turn you can choose to either:

  1. Examine a location for evidence.
  2. Choose to question a townsperson about where they were and who they saw on the night of the murder.
  3. Accuse a suspect.

Winning the game is done by figuring out “who done it” before the end of night seven. But, If you make two incorrect accusations or make a wrong accusation on night seven, the killer skates free. Don’t worry it doesn’t take seven days to complete the game. The game only takes 20-30 minutes to play. Perfect for today’s short attention spans. And you can play by yourself or team up with friends to solve the crime.

The game should have good replay-ability. No two games are the same because storylines, endings, victims, and killers are all randomized.

The game, of course, is an Amazon exclusive and comes with everything you need to play except The Alexa speaker itself. But everyone has at least one of those in their house by now, don’t they?

If you’re a fan of murder mysteries and immersive gameplay you can order St.Noire from Amazon for $40. Although it does appear the game is currently sold out.

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Use Alexa to solve a small town murder in the new board game “St.Noire” originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 21, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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2020 Corvette goes mid-engine and high-tech

NEWS – Chevrolet has finally announced the long-anticipated 2020 Corvette with a brand new mid-engine design.  Moving the engine behind the seats changes the overall weight and balance of the vehicle for better overall performance.  This has long been the case in exotic supercars like Ferrari and McLaren for the well-healed that can afford $100K – $250K or more for their daily driver.

Chevy is bringing this new supercar to American consumers starting at about $60K.  The C8 Corvette car is all-new with a claimed single part carried over from current C7 design. The new 6.2L LT2 V8 produces 450 HP and is expected to produce 0-60 MPH runs in under three seconds. The Z51 performance package should up that to 495 HP and 470 lb-ft of torque. The engine sits on glorious display under a rear hatch window. The new powerplant

Storage is improved with enough room in the back for a couple of golf bags  Moving the engine behind the seats allows for additional storage up front, a “frunk”. This means that the new Corvette should be practical for limited weekend travel.

The all-new cockpit is driver-centric and offers great Bluetooth phone connectivity along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.  A squared-off steering wheel improves visibility for the electronic instrument cluster and a color heads-up display.

Having owned a 1985 Corvette myself, I can tell you that speed bumps and driveway curbs are evil and will destroy the low front-end air dam.  The 2020 Corvette has a high-tech answer for that with GPS-aware front lift!

For the driving enthusiast, the standard performance data recorder (PDR) can track all aspects of your drive along with dashcam video.

Like other performance cars, the drive mode is selectable for sport, touring and so on.  The new Corvette adds “Z-mode” and “My mode”, where the driver can completely customize all the performance characteristics and return to their favorite settings in a click.

Delivery dates have not yet been announced, but since other 2020 models will be available later this year, it shouldn’t be too long before these beauties will begin hitting the road.

To learn more, and to design and reserve yours, visit Chevy’s 2020 Corvette page here.

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2020 Corvette goes mid-engine and high-tech originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 21, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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