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Coffee makers, bags, drones, SCOTTeVEST jackets and more – Weekly roundup

It’s that time of week again where I give you a list of everything that we posted this week on The Gadgeteer. Click through, take a look, and read any of our news and reviews that you may have missed.

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Coffee makers, bags, drones, SCOTTeVEST jackets and more – Weekly roundup originally appeared on on March 18, 2017 at 5:18 pm.

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Comedic actress Amy Poehler and Lenovo join forces to teach kids to program

SNL’s Amy Poehler and her Smart Girls organization have teamed up with Lenovo to use gaming as a vehicle to help teach kids (boys and girls) to learn to program for free.

Lenovo’s Game State site allows kids to learn code development at their own pace while having fun at the same time. To advance through three immersive worlds and 142 levels, kids learn to code in languages like Python, JavaScript, Lua and CoffeeScript in real time.

Explains Nick Winter, Co-Founder/CEO of Code Combat:

“Kids who become part of the Code & Play online community at LenovoGameState.com cover most of the programming concepts from the first two computer science courses for CS majors from many universities. They may be middle or high school students, but with game-based learning, they’re motivated to obtain even higher levels of knowledge.”

They won’t just learn programming skills, but they can win prizes too. Each level they complete counts as an entry in a contest to win $5,000 in prizes, including a $2,500 scholarship to a coding school or camp, and Lenovo products.

If your children would like to try this free, learn-to-code-while-you-play resource, sign-up at LenovoGameState.com between now and March 31 which is the deadline to enter for a chance to win the Grand Prize Drawing.

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Comedic actress Amy Poehler and Lenovo join forces to teach kids to program originally appeared on on March 18, 2017 at 4:21 pm.

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VAUX sets the Amazon Echo Dot free from its power cord shackles

The Amazon Echo Dot is a gadget that really makes you feel like you have a true digital assistant in your home that is always waiting to do your bidding. The only downside to the Echo Dot is that it’s always tethered to a wall outlet because it’s not battery powered – till now. VAUX from Ninety7Life adds two much-needed features to the 2nd generation Echo Dot: battery power for portability and a larger speaker.

The VAUX is a speaker with a storage compartment on top that has been designed to hold the second generation version of the Amazon Echo Dot.

The Echo Dot rests in the top of the VAUX and a micro USB connector and a 3.5mm headphone style jack plug directly into the Echo Dot for power and audio.

The rechargeable 5000 mAH Lithium-ion battery inside the VAUX has enough capacity to power the Echo Dot for up to 6 hours and it can be used while it’s charging.

The VAUX will be available in black and white versions so it will blend in with any decor.

One slight bummer is that the VAUX is not weather or water resistant. It’s been designed for indoor use only. Of course, there’s no one that will stop you from taking it outdoors on a nice day. You’ll just have to make sure you’re in range of your WiFi router.

You can pre-order a VAUX for $49.95 with free shipping due early next month (April 2017). Visit Ninety7Life for more info.

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VAUX sets the Amazon Echo Dot free from its power cord shackles originally appeared on on March 17, 2017 at 3:00 pm.

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Rule your own solar system with models from the Little Planet Factory

Usually, I write about a specific product in my news stories and reviews for The Gadgeteer. But recently I came across a website that blew me away with their models. The Little Planet Factory builds models of our solar system including realistic meteors (or small bodies as they are listed on the web page).

These models are made using 3D printing and are incredibly detailed. Besides the Solar System models, the Little Planet Factory also have some novelty type items such as an Earth in a bottle or a Solar System in a bottle but maybe one of the most interesting novelties for me is the Lowellian Mars model with the Martian canals. All the models are highly detailed and most come in various scales.

Prices start as low as £12 (approximately $15) to £700 ($865) and up for full Solar System models. So, if you are interested in this sort of thing or just want to see the incredible 3D printing work that the Little Planet Factory is doing you should check out their web page.

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Rule your own solar system with models from the Little Planet Factory originally appeared on on March 17, 2017 at 1:01 pm.

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Velv will let you oxygenate young wine in no time

An unexpected visit from an old friend and an unopened bottle of Caymus. If you’re amongst the fortunate few to have old friends and a bottle of Caymus you surely know how tragic this event is. But wait! Don’t despair! There’s a gadget to the rescue!  The newly available Velv Wine Oxygenator will develop that bottle’s best bouquet in no time, using 99.5% oxygen to imbue a soft, silky taste and optimal aromatics in three to seven minutes, depending on the varietal.  The Velv uses an oxygen capsule in the handle and a long wand with a sintered tip to disperse microbubbles of oxygen into the wine, even within the bottle.  The manufacturers claim that by increasing the amount of Oxygen, reactions that alter the bouquet are completed more quickly and therefore occur before aroma and taste are lost due to the traditional decanting process. Intrigued? Curiosity will cost you – the starter kit costs $300 and includes the Velv Wine Oxygenator, one Velv PUREOXYGEN capsule, and a Velv Protective Case. Each capsule can prepare approximately 5 to 10 bottles of wine, and additional 2-packs of capsules are available online for $25. For more information, visit www.velvwine.com.

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Velv will let you oxygenate young wine in no time originally appeared on on March 16, 2017 at 6:55 am.

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