WATCH

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Wearable Tech Gadget And Gizmo Roundup

1. Metawatch


Made by Fossil spinoff, Metawatch, the Meta is fashioned by renowned designer Frank Nuovo, so it gets a little extra style injection compared to the original version of the timepiece. Features are more or less standard with other smartwatches, so you can pair it with your phone to receive regular notifications. Details include a 126 x 126 LCD panel, a Texas Instruments MSP 430 microcontroller, 64Kb of memory, and a battery rated at seven days of use. No word yet on pricing and exact release dates.

2. Garmin Vivofit

The most annoying part of most existing fitness trackers? Having to charge the darn things on a regular basis when there are more low-maintenance options available. That's exactly what the Garmin Vivofit delivers, shipping with a replaceable battery that can last users up to a year of active use. The rest of the device is pretty standard for all-day fitness monitors, tracking everything from physical activity to sleeping habits. It's also water-resistant and integrates with a cloud-based social component where all your records are automatically logged. It ships in the first quarter, priced at $169.99 for the full version (includes a heart rate monitor).

3. Intel Jarvis

Intel's new wearable takes on a form factor similar to Bluetooth headsets, wrapping around one ear to put a tiny speaker in your listening canals. It works kind of like Google Now or Siri in that you can ask questions and receive answers. Instead of seeing answers on a screen, however, a voice whispers the replies straight to your ear. It's designed to pair with a phone, allowing you to set appointments, cross-check your calendar, set reminders, and perform a whole load of other things by simply shouting out your orders. The geekiest part? You wake the device by piping out, "Hello Jarvis." The Intel Jarvis comes out later in the year.

4. Polar V800


A combo GPS running watch and fitness tracker, it, basically, combines the functions of the Nike Sportswatch GPS with the glut of fitness monitoring contraptions in the market. It comes with multiple profiles for different sports, each one recording your paths, tracking your vitals (including heart rate, at that), and monitoring overall performance. Onboard battery is rated at 14 hours of full-time training use, so it should be good enough to last you an entire day (because, let's be honest, you won't train for 5 hours, much less 14, in a single day). It hits stores in April, priced at $500.

5. Mimo Baby Monitor

Who says only grown people get to partake in the wearable tech world? Babies can now get in on the action too with the Mimo Baby Monitor, a smart baby onesie of sorts. While the idea might sound frivolous, it actually might work, seeing it's essentially a full-time baby monitor replacement. Made by Rest Devices, the tech-riddled onesie bundles sensors for monitoring the child's breathing, body position, skin temperature and activity level, with all of that data accessible straight from an accompanying mobile app. It ships this week, with the Starter Kit (three onesies, one clip-on monitor) retailing for $199.

6. Panasonic A100 Wearable 4K Camera

We're not sure if this is for tactical users, first-person auteurs, or lifecasting diehards. Either way, the Panasonic A100 is a wearable camera that will capture everything in high-detail UltraHD glory. Instead of wearing on a lanyard, however, it mounts on your face (literally, on the cheek right below the ear) using an included plastic mount. It looks positively strange and very conspicuous when worn. Then again, if you're the type to wear a camera on your face for whatever reason, we doubt you're really going to make that a problem.

7. Pebble Steel


The reigning king of smartwatches focuses on style with this new model, which dresses itself in a more refined stainless steel body that should go well with even the most dapper tailored outfits. Everything is retained, from the e-ink display to the 7-day battery life to the generous suite of apps, making for a powerful smart watch fit for the grown-up crowd. It ships January 28th, priced at $249.

8. Kiwi Move


Another in a long line of wearable fitness trackers, the Kiwi Move clips onto your clothing and records data on your physical activity and sleeping habits. To step up the game, however, it comes with a few novel features, such as an onboard mic (so you can voice out commands to your phone), a gesture sensor (it can detect gestures, both preprogrammed and user-defined), and an app that supports using the device to trigger a variety of actions. Possible triggers include voice commands, motion gestures, and various data the tracker's sensors pick up, which you can use to launch apps, perform phone actions, and even activate other connected devices. It's currently available for preorder, priced at $99.

9. Xone

Made by XO Eye Technologies, Xone is a pair of safety glasses aimed for industrial use. It comes with two built-in 5MP cameras (one on each lens) for streaming what you see to remote users, a mic and speaker combo for communicating hands-free, sensors (accelerometers and gyroscope), and a series of LEDs for alerts and notifications. The idea is to for in-field workers to use the glasses while performing their tasks, so they can communicate with personnel in the home office (e.g. managers, specialists), all while giving those same people telepresence capabilities. The glasses will also be used to estimate wear and tear on the workers (using the onboard sensors), tracking their physical activity to gain an estimate of how much physical toil each job takes on them, along with other applications specific to the companies that use them. Obviously, this will be marketed to businesses, so it's not going for cheap. Planned pricing is $400 to $600 a pop, with a $199 a month subscription for the software packages.

10. Basis Band Carbon Steel Edition


Even last year, the Basis Band has already been among the top fitness trackers in the industry, using some of the best algorithms to map out your exercise habits, physical activities, and sleep cycles. The newest version of the wearable builds even more on top of that, boasting a feature called Advanced Sleep Analysis that uses heart rate, rather than accelerometers as other sleep trackers do, to keep tabs on your nocturnal habits, making for a more accurate measurement. All this, of course, on top of a new watch case clad in steel. Called the Basis Band Carbon Steel Edition, the new iteration retails for $199.

11. Sony Core

Technically, the Sony Core itself isn't a wearable. Instead, it's a chip bundling processors and sensors that can be installed in a variety of products, instantly giving those products fitness monitoring, "life bookmarking" and smartphone pairing abilities. Details are scant, but Sony will start by putting the Core into a smartband slated for release in the Spring. Price is set at €99.

12. CSR Bluetooth Jewelry


Not a fan of getting smartphone alerts and notifications on your wrist? You may not need to depend strictly on smartwatches for that soon if CSR's tiny wireless circuit boards make their way onto a whole host of new products. For their CES demo, CSR put the chips inside jewelry items and hooked it up to a multi-color LED that provides the visual notifications, with specific alerts customizable via an accompanying app. CSR doesn't intend to release the actual jewelry, but merely used it to demonstrate potential applications for their tech, which they're hoping will find its way into many consumer products down the line.

13. meMini

 

A wearable camera, the meMini will attach to any part of your clothing and continually record everything going on around you. Since a lot of stuff that goes on probably isn't of much interest, it only saves the last five minutes, which you can then choose to store permanently if you wish to keep video of a special moment for posterity. Details include a 3.1 megapixel sensor, 160-degree field of view, and 16GB of onboard storage. The sucky part is battery life -- only 3 hours on a charge, which isn't exactly ideal for an always-on device. They're running the product on a Kickstarter campaign right now where you can reserve one for $150.

14. Vuzix V720

This is a pair of headphones with an integrated flip-down visor that contains an integrated 720p display for viewing movies and other video content in private. It's, essentially, a full-time desktop replacement, so you simply hook it up via HDMI to phones, PCs, tablets and game consoles to enjoy videos in solitary mode. It comes with 3D support, along with, according to Vuzix, an IMAX-like viewing experience.

15. Avegant Glyph


Similar to the Vuzix V720, the Avegant Glyph is a pair of headphones for enjoying video content privately. Instead of a flip-down design, however, the visor is fixed in place, although they replaced the usually plastic headband with a fabric so the resulting form factor is similar. It uses Texas Instruments' DLP technology, projecting a 1280 x 800 resolution display straight to users' retinas, with adjustable dials to manage focus and distance. Other details include titanium speaker drivers, a control panel on the right earpiece, HDMI connectivity, and full access to your peripheral vision even while wearing the visor, so you're not completely closed off to your surroundings. It's launching on Kickstarter this year, priced at $499.

16. Razer Nabu

A product that combines a smartwatch and fitness monitor -- that's what most people really want on a wearable today. And that's exactly what the Razer Nabu is trying to deliver. It takes on a simple wristband form factor similar to the Nike Fuelband, then monitors a whole host of activity data. It comes with two LED displays set up along the band: a smaller one for simple indicators and alerts; and a larger one for showing detailed information, like text messages and the like. Battery time is rated at 7 days on a full charge. The Razer Nabu is launching in developer-only edition soon for $49, with the consumer version coming shortly after that for a slightly higher price.

17. Martian Notifier


Unlike other smartwatches, the Martian Notifier prioritizes style, so it's a lot less geeky-looking than the lot of digital smartwatches in the market. In fact, the actual dial is analog, although it has a small OLED strip on the lower portion that it uses to display side-scrolling notifications. It supports both Android and iOS phones, pushing all messages that appear in the phone's notification area to the watch's ticker display, so you don't have to configure apps individually. Additionally, it produces haptic vibrations that you can customize for different types of alerts, so you won't even have to check the OLED display to know you just received a new email or got a message on Facebook. It arrives in the Spring, priced at $129.99.

18. Casio STB-1000


My real wish is for Casio to just make a full-blown G-Shock smartwatch already that rivals the Pebble's functionality. In the meantime, though, I guess we'll have to make do with the Casio STB-1000. Armed with Bluetooth LE, it pairs with iPhones to display various notifications directly on the watch, as well as control music playback from your phone. Since their previous Bluetooth watches already did that, though, the new timepiece comes with support for four iPhone fitness apps, so you can display readings from them directly on the watch. As with other Casio watches, it's durable and waterproof, with the ability to run for two years straight on a single cell battery.

19. Mio Link

You want a heart rate monitor in a wristband form factor (yay, no chest straps), but don't want to get full-featured activity trackers that can do that? Well, that doesn't sound like a product that exists. Thankfully, somebody recognized the gap and produced the Mio Link, a dedicated heart rate monitor housed in a wristband form. Like many of today's connected wearables, it supports Bluetooth LE for sharing data with your phone, as well as ANT+ for sharing data with bike computers and other fitness gadgets. It's also water-resistant up to 30 meters, so you can measure your heart rate during swims. The Mio Link comes out in March, priced at $100.

20. Epson Pulsense PS-500 and PS-100


Yep, Epson is getting into the whole consumer wearables business this year. And they're doing it with two products aimed at the fitness tracking crowd: the Pulsense PS-500 Watch and the Pulsense PS-100 Band. Both are fitted with the same abilities to track physical activity, but does most fitness monitors one better by tracking your heart rate sans an additional gadget, too. Since the band doesn't have any display, it comes with LED indicators so you can still use it for monitoring your training in real time. Both are intended to work with Epson's proprietary mobile app, although it's also compatible with many existing fitness software. Both devices are slated for a summer release, priced at $200 for the watch and $130 for the band.

21. June Bracelet


Why does anyone need a sun sensor? Best guess is some people may have reason to be concerned with their amount of sun exposure, but I'm not really sure. Anyway, if that's something you need to do, the June Bracelet is exactly the gadget to make that happen. Designed by Louis Vuitton and Camille Toupet, the device looks more like fine jewelry than some gadget with an obscure specialty function. It pairs with an accompanying iPhone app that records the readings and gives the users corresponding advice.

22. Magellan Echo


Another item in the list, another smartwatch. This one from the longtime GPS maker, however, differentiates itself by being tightly focused on use with various fitness tracking apps. Not only will it stream real-time data from apps like Wahoo Fitness, Strava and MapMyRun, you can control the apps directly using the physical buttons on the watch. You can customize exactly what kind of data it pulls out of the apps, as well as assign custom actions for each specific button. Of course, it can be used to receive notifications and control music playback like other smartwatches, too. The best part? It comes with a standard coin battery, so no regular charging necessary. It's available now, priced at $149.99.

23. LG Lifeband Touch


Similar to the Razer Nabu, the Lifeband Touch attempts to combine the features of a fitness monitor and a smartwatch into one. Clad in a sporty wristband form factor, it houses a three-axis accelerometer and an altimeter, allowing it to monitor a whole host of physical actions (for heart rate, you'll need to pair it with LG's heart monitor headphones). It features a touchscreen OLED display where you can monitor various phone notifications as well as control music playback. It will go on sale in the second quarter, priced at $180.

24. Lumo Lift


Remember the LumoBack from last year's CES? The Lumo Lift is the posture monitor's 2014 iteration. Instead of a belt, however, this one is just a tiny device that clips onto any part of your clothing. We're not sure how this one is able to keep track of good or bad posture, but it supposedly does similar to the original, complete with a vibrating alert when it notices you're slouching. On top of that, it will count steps and measure calories burned, as well as detect whether you're walking, running, sitting, or lying on your back. It's currently running as a crowdfunding project, with pledges to preorder a unit starting at $59.

25. Archos Smartwatch


Archos introduced three smartwatches at CES, each one aimed at a different price segment of the market. The cheap $50 model has a 1.55-inch black and white memory LCD and a battery rated at up to two weeks, while the $100 model steps up to a 1.8-inch color LCD and a battery life of up to 48 hours. The most expensive one costs $130 and gets a 1.8-inch e-ink panel to help you max out the battery life. All three units are unnamed for now, but are slated for a roll out during the summer.

Monday, 7 March 2016

Go fund yourself - Crowdfunding

yourstory_Crowd_Funding 

Crowdfunding is of different types, and it is important for founders to understand the difference between equity or monetary crowdfunding (with expectations of financial returns, often for tech products), charity crowdfunding (altruistic giving for a social cause) or passion project funding (somewhere in between the previous two categories, with art gifts as rewards).
Art has often run on patronage, and crowdfunding opens the door to many donors supporting an art project. Her site has helped raise funds for cultural projects like the first Sanskrit animation film ‘Punnayokti’ (Rs. 41 lakh from 282 funders). 
Advantages for creators
Crowdfunding on an art site has a number of benefits for creators: they have creative control over the project, get a chance to direct sell, engage with the fans, and keep most of the profits for themselves. They do, however, need to entice donors by giving them special gifts in return.
Creators get not just funds and a ready audience but also additional cascading effects, eg. a South Indian actress offered her voiceover services for free for ‘Punnayokti’ after hearing its crowdpitch. Women’s health awareness comics project Menstrupedia caught the eye of Proctor and Gamble, which marketed the product overseas and translated it into languages like Spanish. 
Gifts for funders
The kinds of gifts which art crowdfunders can give donors span a wide range: first access, special reviews, invitations to interact with the creators, autographed works and even the opportunity to collaborate with the founders.
The more creative the gift, the better it can be for donors. One founder even offered to take a photograph of himself doing a headstand in a mall, and email it to donors as a quirky gift!




Founders of Project Ramayan
Founders of Project Ramayan



Marketing begins with you

Founders need to do a lot of the heavy lifting of the marketing for their projects – it is not enough just to list on a crowdfunding site. They must rope in support from friends, family, colleagues, alumni, and related interest groups, as well as market via social media tools such as Facebook Project.
“Your team must be kickass. You have to show your credibility in order to draw trust from supporters,” Effective marketing has helped over 300 projects on Wishberry raise Rs 7 crores from 12,000 funders in India and overseas, via credit card and Net banking payments. 
Be open to feedback
Indians are certainly active and generous when it comes to funding crowd projects, but are strangely shy when it comes to asking for money. They need to overcome their sense of modesty or their fear of receiving criticism, and regard such feedback as actually constructive and useful.
“A sense of shamelessness is paramount for crowdfunding success,” only half in jest. “Have balls,” she urged the audience. 
Understand the donors and target audience
People tend to support art projects out of a sense of empathy for fellow creators, support for an artistic or social cause, preservation of culture and heritage, and the like. The audience can be within India, or overseas.
For example, the project ‘Ramayan’ aims to create an animated version of the Indian epic using ‘Lord of the Rings’ style effects, costumes and weapons, thus taking it to a more global audience. The project ‘Kaamotsav’ wants to break new ground with erotic art inspired by the Kama Sutra. It wants to raise Rs. 4.5 lakh; ‘Ramayan’ is targeting Rs. 50 lakh (both on Wishberry). 
Be unique
Sites like Wishberry prefer to fund unique initiatives rather than me-too projects. “Shock and awe works in crowdfunding,” said Anshulika. “We want you to be first in your category,” she said.
Wishberry looks for original projects in categories like film, music, theatre, dance, publications, comics, board games, photography, art and design. The site does not address tech products.




Erotic art - Project Kaamotsav
Erotic art – Project Kaamotsav

 


Show the product and your progress

Founders should not just describe what they will be doing but actually show their prototypes or mock-ups via a compelling video. This gives the audience a much better sense of what the product or service may look like.
Founders are expected to show the progress being made along the journey, with milestones and status reports. These updates are displayed on the crowdfunding site and also promoted via the founders’ social media and offline channels. 
Metrics
Project heads need to understand the metrics of crowdfunding, or the breakup of funds into number of donors, which in turn maps onto the size of social media marketing campaigns. Founders should get a sense of the average donation amount on a crowdfunding site (eg. about Rs. 5,000 on Wishberry), and use that to figure out how many funders they need to target.
Assuming a two per cent ‘hit rate’ on social media campaigns, they should factor a proportionately large social media outreach, eg. via Facebook ads. Preparing for such a campaign alone can take up to three months. 
Support from the crowdfunding site
Sites like Wishberry look for well-rounded founder teams and offer tips and guidelines on how to do social media marketing, pitches and PR, but the heavy lifting has to be done by the founders themselves (thus opening the door to other startups who can offer such services directly).
Future offerings at Wishberry include data analytics reports, campaign templates, and email marketing tools; the site claims a 77 per cent funding success rate, which could go up with these new services. Wishberry has an ‘all or nothing’ policy with funding delivered only if the full target is met.
“That makes you and I work that much harder for your success – everyone’s ass is on fire! Early funders also become evangelists,” . Future trends to watch are regulatory changes in India which could allow equity crowdfunding, she summed up.




Elements of crowdfunding
Elements of crowdfunding

Wednesday, 2 March 2016

Photoshop the Real World


Entry by wtaggin

Entry 21

Entry by kydlatmijares

Entry 20

Entry by MosinNagant

Entry 19

Entry by ScotianGold

Entry 18

Entry by Mad Mann

Entry 17


Entry by Scarin

Entry 15

Entry by Simp

Entry 14

Entry by ScotianGold

Entry 13

Entry by ScotianGold

Entry 12

Entry by Mitoca

Entry 11

Entry by kstover0929

Entry 10

Entry by Hysterium

Entry 9

Entry by Games4me

Entry 8

Entry by DarrenJames

Entry 7

Entry by Crescentia

Entry 6

Entry by Beiken

Entry 5

Entry by AzISeeIt

Entry 4

Entry by toddgrossman

Entry 3

Entry by AuntieMeme

Entry 2 

 You win money.

Entry 1

Tuesday, 1 March 2016

Websites That Will Put You At Ease

1. The Thoughts Room

The Thoughts Room
Mind cluttered? Brain too full? Type it out. Release everything that is overwhelming you and watch it disappear forever into The Thoughts Room. Try it here.

2. Flow

Flow
Sony
This game’s gorgeous design and stunning soundtrack is calming enough to center and quiet your mind. Though it’s now available for PlayStation, you can still play it online here.

3. Neonflames

Neonflames
Use a vibrant array of colors to create your very own nebula right in your browser. Mysterious, subtle, and unquestionably stunning, this artistic exercise will surely put your mind at ease. Try it here.

4. Calming Manatee

Calming Manatee
Need a loving reminder or a shoulder to lean on? Calming Manatee provides sweet sayings coupled with photos of cute manatees. What else do you need? Try it here.

5. Looking at Something

Feel in control by shifting the weather with just a flick of your mouse. As you move your cursor around the screen, the intensity and direction of the rain will shift with it. Try it here.

6. Simply Noise

Simply Noise
Center yourself with not only white noise, but pink and brown noise, as well. Whether you’re seeking sleep or a little bit of peace, this will be sure to help. Try it here.

7. Rainy Mood

Rainy Mood
Seek refuge in sound by immersing yourself in cascading raindrops and murmuring thunder. A natural and calming soundscape that will put you at ease. Try it here.

8. Do Nothing for 2 Minutes

Do Nothing for 2 Minutes
Still your mind and your hands by forcing yourself to do nothing for two minutes. It’s much harder than it sounds, but you’ll feel so good afterwards. Try it here.

9. Blah Therapy

Blah Therapy
Vent to a random stranger, or let a random stranger vent to you. Either way, it’s just nice to have someone to talk to. Try it here.

10. Weave Silk

Weave Silk
Drag your mouse around the screen to create a lovely and calming display in a series of soothing colors. Meditative, relaxing, and pleasing to look at. Try it here.

11. Calm

Calm
This site leads you through a guided meditation session in increments up to 20 minutes. There are a number of options that allow you to fully customize your experience. Try it here.

12. The Nicest Places On The Internet

The Nicest Places On The Internet
It’s like Chat Roulette, but for hugs, so clearly it’s MUCH better. If you’re feeling down and in need of a pick-me-up, receiving love from random strangers will definitely help. Try it here.

13. The Quiet Place

The Quiet Place
Clear your mind for a few seconds with a little pep talk and relaxation session. It never hurts to disconnect from the world for a little bit. Try it here.

14. Casanova

Casanova
In this online game, you try to stretch a little giraffe’s neck so he can give a taller giraffe a kiss. That’s it. What could put you in a better mood than that? Try it here.

15. Gives Me Hope

Gives Me Hope
Raw, heartfelt, sentimental, and always touching, this website provides a series of anonymous notes featuring moments that gave people hope. Try it here.

16. Soundrown

Soundrown
Easy to navigate with a fun and simple design, Soundrown allows you to create your perfect relaxation soundtrack by mixing calming audio elements. Try it here.