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The Oregon Trail Handheld Game brings you dysentery on-the-go

The Oregon Trail handheld game

It’s an 80’s classroom nostalgia trip in a pocket-sized package! In this handheld version of the classic Oregon Trail, hunt for food, trade with settlers and ford dangerous rivers as you attempt the 19th-century trek from Missouri to Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley.

This game was a treat to play in elementary school, though I think the only thing I learned from it was that I was glad to be shooting at pixelated buffalo instead of contracting cholera in the back of a covered wagon. Playing Oregon Trail is literally all this thing can do, but it might be a fun gift to pick up for a fan of the original game or to inflict digital snakebites, broken limbs and diseases on a new generation.

The game features all the required buttons to make decisions and hunt for food, as well as authentic 80’s sound and graphics. The description on Target’s website lists the difficulty of this game as “easy,” but if memory serves me, I only remember actually finishing this game a handful of times, so your mileage may vary, literally.

You can pick up the Handheld Oregon Trail game exclusively at Target, in-store or online for $25.

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The Oregon Trail Handheld Game brings you dysentery on-the-go originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 16, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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The new Nest Temperature Sensor helps rid your home of hot and cold spots

My house is probably like most houses out there.  There are some rooms that are hotter than I’d like and some that are colder than I’d like, no matter the season.  Because of the location of the thermostat and the long shape of the condo, our bedrooms tend to be chilly in the winter and hot in the summer while our living and dining rooms are uncomfortably hot in the winter and cold in the summer.  Because of the age of the building, the cement walls and ceilings, and the neighbors above and below us, there isn’t much we can do to remedy this situation by rerouting ductwork or moving the thermostat.  The Nest Temperature Sensor will work with my Nest thermostat to help remedy that situation without having to install a new heating system.

The battery-powered sensors can be mounted in various locations in your house to send back information to the Nest thermostat about conditions in those locations.  You can then use the app to tell the thermostats which locations need to be prioritized and when to make those rooms more comfortable.  For example, we could prioritize the living and dining rooms in the early evening, so they’ll be comfortable while we have dinner and then watch some TV.  Before bedtime, we could have the bedroom area prioritized for comfortable sleeping conditions.

The Temperature Sensors will work with the 3rd-generation Nest Learning Thermostat or the Nest Thermostat E.  The thermostat and sensors communicate via Bluetooth LE; the sensors can be placed up to 50 feet away, though construction and interference can impact the range.  You can pair up to six sensors with a thermostat, and you can have up to 3 thermostats with six sensors each in one house.

A single sensor is $39; a three-pack is $99.  Pre-order now at the Nest website.

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The new Nest Temperature Sensor helps rid your home of hot and cold spots originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 16, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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The Pelican S100 Sport Elite Laptop Backpack is at the head of the class

Recently I have been writing a lot of news stories about camera bags and bags that hold camera gear and accessories, but that is not the full extent of my “bag” adventures. Whenever I go anywhere that I know will allow me some downtime, I like to try to edit either video footage or photos, or simply research new gear and equipment on the internet. For this reason, I have invested in well over two dozen laptop bags including shoulder bags, carry-on bags, and most recently, backpacks.

While I am very certain that no design will ever meet my very personal fussy requirements, I did find one that has come close to my needs, at least for now.

The Pelican S100 Sport Elite Laptop Backpack is probably the strongest and most durable laptop bag that I own, and it accommodates my need to carry my laptop, my iPad Pro 12.9”, a second tablet, 3 or 4 different chargers, my mobile hotspot, a couple of bottles of plain water, a bottle of flavored “health” water, a couple of magazines, a few USB drives of various capacities and sizes, and a host of other small techie items that I need with me to satisfy my nerdy gadget obsession.

The hard shell that is built into the back of this bag does an amazing job of protecting my larger tablet or laptop, and the hard shell on the front pocket protects my hard drives and other sensitive gear. The bag is waterproof and fits well on my shoulders. It also has several additional pockets to accommodate every need. The cushions that pad the back of the bag for airflow and comfort work very well, so that carrying this bag for long periods does not leave me with a sweat-soaked shirt at the end of my journey. The adjustable straps are well padded and work well, and the zippers are strong and of great quality. The only caveat I found is that compared to many other backpacks, this one is quite heavy at 7lbs when it is empty.

If you need a backpack that can take a beating and still protect your gear, head over to Amazon and you can pick one up for $169.95.

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The Pelican S100 Sport Elite Laptop Backpack is at the head of the class originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 16, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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Protect your hearing and ornament your ears with the Loop High Fidelity Earplugs

Back in the day, I saw some pretty good concerts.  I saw concerts by Yes, Queen, and Rush, among others.  I loved the concerts, but I suffered from ringing ears and muffled hearing for days afterwards.  I wish I had earplugs like these Loop high-fidelity earplugs to protect my ears back then.

The Loop earplugs have a circular shape with a small opening where sound enters the acoustic channel and passes through an acoustic filter.  The filter reduces the sound level by 20 decibels, but the design insures that the music and speech still sound clear.

Loop includes two types of ear tips for a good, comfortable fit.  There’s a pair of memory foam tips and two sets of silicone ear tips so you can find your best fit.    And unlike those old yellow foam earplugs back in the day, Loop earplugs look like you’re wearing ear ornaments or jewelry.  They are available in matte black, shiny black, gold, red, white, silver, rose gold, and blue.

Loop High Fidelity Earplugs are $29.95, with free shipping and returns, from the Loop website.

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Protect your hearing and ornament your ears with the Loop High Fidelity Earplugs originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 15, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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The Flashpoint Budget Macro Focusing Rail Set will fine tune your macro photography

By now, many of you that have read my news stories can easily see my love for photography and even more, my love for macro photography. The ability to capture amazing images that have an interesting focal point, depth of field, and great bokeh, has become an obsession. When I am in the studio working on macro photography, there are times when my setup involves an object that I mount in a fixed position and a camera on a tripod that is focused on that object.

To get the perfect shot, there is usually the need to make micro adjustments to the distance between the lens and the object, and the left or right position of the camera. Making such adjustments by manipulating the tripod head simply does not work, and after many of my own failures trying to do just that, I purchased the Flashpoint Budget Macro Camera Focusing Rail Set, with 4 way and Fine Control.

I should immediately declare that cost was a major contributor to this purchase since many of the revered focusing rails cost hundreds of dollars. I settled on the Flashpoint rail because it was comparatively cheaper and because it had very good reviews. I must say that it turned out to be a great choice and a great decision. This rail is well built and capable of adjustments that are micro enough to do the job. It stayed in place with a relatively heavy DSLR camera with the extended battery grip with 2 batteries installed, and with the weighty Sigma 105mm macro lens attached. I was able to really get the position between the lens and the object dialed in perfectly and it has remained reliable for every shoot.

If you are in the market for a focusing rail and if you don’t want to put a hole in your pocket, head over to Adorama and pick one up for the bargain price of $54.95.

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The Flashpoint Budget Macro Focusing Rail Set will fine tune your macro photography originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 15, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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