Logitech Introduces CREATE for iPad Pro 9.7

Logitech Introduces CREATE for iPad Pro 9.7

Logitech announced the CREATE Backlit Keyboard Case with Smart Connector for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The CREATE Keyboard Case is a toolkit that gives you everything you need to make the most of your iPad Pro; a protective case, backlit keyboard, and integrated holder for the Apple Pencil all in one lightweight package. Whether you are posting an update, watching a video, or drawing a sketch, CREATE empowers you to unleash your creativity and productivity wherever you go.

“CREATE is like the Swiss Army Knife of keyboard cases,” said Michele Hermann, vice president of tablet accessories at Logitech. “It puts all the tools you need at your fingertips, and the keyboard charges through the Smart Connector so you can just set your iPad Pro into a typing position and go. It brings typing on the iPad Pro to a whole new level.”

DJI And uAvionix To Release ADS-B Collision Avoidance Developer Kit

DJI And uAvionix To Release ADS-B Collision Avoidance Developer Kit

DJI and uAvionix Corporation announced Wednesday they will collaborate on an ADS-B based collision avoidance developer kit to help integrate drones into the national airspace system and help keep America’s skies safe.

“DJI and uAvionix share a passion for safety and are motivated by the improvement that real-time air traffic information will provide to our developers using our software development kit,” said DJI VP of Engineering, Darren Liccardo. “DJI developers will now be able to process ADS-B data and close the loop all within an embedded computer onboard the vehicle.”

ZVOX Introduces Smart Speaker that Uses Hearing Aid Technology to Enhance Clarity

ZVOX Introduces Smart Speaker that Uses Hearing Aid Technology to Enhance Clarity

95 million Americans are over the age of 50. And they are the first generation to grow up listening to LOUD rock music – so many suffer from minor hearing impairment. Combine those rock-impaired ears with the puny sound systems built into flat screen TVs and you get an epidemic of people who are constantly asking “What did he say?” while watching TV shows. Millions of people simply can’t understand dialogue on many shows.

The new AccuVoice TV Speaker from ZVOX is the best, smartest solution for this problem. Only 17” wide, it uses a computer processor that mimics the functionality of a hearing aid. It applies an advanced compression/equalization algorithm that lifts voices out of background sounds to create the clearest dialogue reproduction ever. This proprietary (patent-pending) technology is activated only when voices are detected in a soundtrack.

Kensington SD3600 Docking Station Wins North American Office Products Award

Kensington SD3600 Docking Station Wins North American Office Products Award

Kensington announced that its SD3600 Universal USB 3.0 Docking Station was selected as a Best Product in the Technology Products Category in the North American Office Products Awards (NAOPA) 2016. The NAOPA awards were presented at the SP Richards (SPR) ABC show in Washington D.C. on July 21.

The awards were launched in 2010 by Office Products International (OPI) in association with SPR. Now in their seventh year, these awards set the industry standard and aim to find the best business products in North America. They were judged by a panel of leading resellers and the winners were announced during a packed General Session at SPR’s ABC.

Type-C HDD/SSD Enclosure Easily & Conveniently Transfers Data at High Speeds

Type-C HDD/SSD Enclosure Easily & Conveniently Transfers Data at High Speeds

Satechi has launch another Type-C solution to its Metallic Series – the Aluminum Type-C HDD/SSD Enclosure. With transfer speeds up to 10Gbps, the device allows users to access their data faster than ever and to transfer data from a hard drive to a computer anytime, anywhere.

The Aluminum Type-C HDD/SSD Enclosure uses a USB 3.1 Type-C connection, the latest version of USB, to access data. The included tool lets users easily install their 1” or 2.5” HDD or SSD. With its slim, compact form (5″x3″x0.5″), the device makes it easy to take a hard drive with you while on the go – ideal for mobile work spaces and travel.

DEF CON 24: The Official Soundtrack

DEF CON 24: The Official Soundtrack

DEF CON (defcon.org), one of the world’s largest and oldest annual hacking conferences, and Gravitas Recordings are proud to present 2016’s DEF CON soundtrack. This is a free/pay-what-you-can donation based release, where 100% of the generated revenue will be going to straight to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF, www.eff.org/join ), a 501(c)3 not-for-profit dedicated to protecting our Internet freedoms and privacy. The featured artists this year providing cyberstatic anthems for your ears include Dirtyphonics, ill-esha, AMB, bil bless, Psymbionic, Mochipet, Richard Cheese and more! A big thanks to all the musicians involved for donating their craft to the cause.

The 3DRudder controller now supports the Samsung Gear VR

The 3DRudder controller now supports the Samsung Gear VR

3DRudder announces its feet-based VR motion controller can now be used to control movement when wearing a Samsung Gear VR.

Movement is an issue in VR as the user can rapidly become nauseous when he feels he is not in control of movement. Certain games rely on automatic movement with heading being given by where the user is looking at, others on “point & click” where the user points towards where he wants to go and click to get there. Both solutions are disturbing, to say the least.

Microsoft Hosts The Release Of Broods’ Latest Music Video – Heartlines

Microsoft Hosts The Release Of Broods’ Latest Music Video – Heartlines

Electropop artists Broods have collaborated with Microsoft for their latest music video “Heartlines” to produce a new experience for their fans, powered by the Microsoft Band: a device that tracks heart rate, calorie burn, sleep quality, and exercise. During singer Georgia Nott’s performance, the team translated her biodata and energy – as captured by her Microsoft Band – into stunning geometric visuals in the music video. The brother-sister duo wanted to rethink the music video experience and create a deeper, more emotional layer for their second single “HEARTLINES,” co-written with fellow New Zealanders singer-songwriter Lorde and Joel Little.

Simpliday Replaces The SunRise Calendar App on iOS

Simpliday, is a new iPhone calendar app with a mission to replace the iCalendar and serve as a replacement for the Sunrise calendar app that will no longer be available starting next month. The app that combines meetings, reminders and email in one app, recently announced its updated version that incorporates visual invitations that are easy to create and send while making any invite stand out from other mobile calendar invitations. The new version also offers premium ($$) background images, the option to categorize reminders, the option to add multiple email accounts, the option to attached documents to meetings and reminders, and priority support.

Simpliday is also available in a free version that allows for reminder and meeting creation and manipulation, a weekly overview, and the option to turn emails into meetings or reminders.

Calendar invitations, sent through SMS, Facebook or email, offer the easiest way to create customized invites for user’s meetings, workshops, dinners, parties and events.

Simpliday is viewed in day, week or month format with reminders listed within the calendar, making sure no task goes unnoticed. Reminders can be assigned to others, and files, images and descriptions can be included as needed. Files can be uploaded from Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud and OneDrive to reminders and meetings.

Simpliday launched on June 16, 2016 with a free version and included many of the now-paid features. Users who have previously downloaded Simpliday will be able to utilize all of the benefits of the premium version at no cost. Additional features and pricing of the app will be announced in the future.

To download Simpliday for iPhone, visit Simpliday—Meetings, Reminders & Email In One or learn more at www.simpliday.com. 

ilumi Launches Smartstrip on Kickstarter

Expanding its portfolio of smart lighting products, Dallas-based ilumi solutions announces a new series of app-controlled, outdoor-rated and colorful LED light strips. The Mark Cuban-backed and Shark Tank-funded ilumi is returning to the crowdfunding community to bring its Smartstrip to life via Kickstarter.

The ilumi Smartstrip incorporates Bluetooth Mesh wireless connectivity, outdoor-rated materials, and uniquely bright digitally addressable RGB+W LEDs. This combination of technologies enables the Smartstrip to be a flexible and functional lighting strip. Paired with ilumi’s free iOS and Android app, the Smartstrip can be controlled from smartphones and tablets up to 150 feet away without the need for a hub, survive in the outdoors through tough weather conditions, and illuminate any and all colors within the spectrum from bright functional whites to rich hues.

The Smartstrip’s digitally addressable nature enables each LED to be controlled and change color independently of any other, creating dynamic effects and patterns that add interest and atmosphere to homes, bars, venues, workspaces and more.

Additionally, the ilumi Smartstrip utilizes a RGB+W digital LED strip design created by ilumi that overcomes the brightness limitations of white light experienced by competing digitally addressable LED strips. This design allows a user to enjoy any shade of bright white light from warm to cool for everyday use as well as activate dynamic colorful effects.

The Smartstrip comes with an adhesive backing and is IP65-rated for an easy installation process, allowing consumers to effortlessly liven any indoor or outdoor space. For example, users can install the ilumi Smartstrip behind a bed’s headboard and schedule a Maui morning sunrise to wake up feeling relaxed and ready for the day. Users can place the Smartstrip underneath kitchen cabinetry and seamlessly transition atmospheres from bright white light for meal preparation to a warm glow when entertaining guests. Its outdoor rating allows the Smartstrip to be placed around a front or back porch awning. Consumers can create schedules or activate a vacation mode for their lighting to deter intruders, create special lighting affects to celebrate holidays, or show pride for their favorite sports teams on game days.

The Smartstrip works in tandem with ilumi’s family of connected lighting products, and is built with the same patented technology and features, including:

MeshTek Bluetooth Mesh connectivity to make setup easy and scalability to support up to 50 ilumi connected devices

  • Built-in memory and a real-time clock so a user’s schedules and preferences are stored inside every light for the right light, at the right time
  • Enhanced color quality and brightness, emitting 1500 lumens and a range that supports warm white, to cool white, and rich saturated colors
  • Control via most iOS and Android smartphones or tablets through the free ilumi app, where users can take advantage of a suite of exciting and useful experiences to help find, set, and schedule the right lighting to fit the space and the time of day

“We wanted to go beyond the lightbulb while staying true to our mission of helping people unlock the power of light and really achieve good lighting in the easiest way possible,” said Corey Egan, CEO and Co-Founder of ilumi. “The dynamic effects of the ilumi Smartstrip are going to transform people’s homes like they couldn’t even imagine.”

The ilumi Smartstrip is available now on Kickstarter for an introductory price of $59 and will retail for $89 when fully available in December 2016. The base level ilumi Smartstrip kit comes with a universal 24V power supply, in-line Bluetooth controller and six feet (two meters) of the flexible strip. The length of the Smartstrip can easily be extended with extensions in lengths of three feet (one meter) and a Kickstarter exclusive of 13 feet (four meters) and long extensions that are easily connected up to a full length of 10 meters total. Additional pledges for the Smartstrip include packages that offer the entire ilumi family of products, such as the new BR30 Outdoor. The ilumi Smartstrip will begin shipping to supporters by December 2016. For more information, visit www.ilumi.co/kickstrip.

UPDATED: The Social Media Photographer's Shot Kit

UPDATED: The Social Media Photographer's Shot Kit

If you're an online marketing maven, or if you just got stuck managing the social media for your organization because no-one else will - you no doubt have long since realized that photography and video are the leaders in content online. It can be a bit intimidating when you see all the amazing photos online shot by people with the budgets to afford the latest DSLRs with huge, expensive lenses. 

I'm here to tell you - that all that heavy, expensive gear is not necessary. To be honest it never really was. To be fair, I was just as bad as anyone about lugging around loads of expensive gear in multiple backpacks - all essentially to shoot images destined to the web. Well, I've had a change of heart and I'm here to give you some new recommendations on gear if you are shooting for the web. 

Streambox Announces 360 Live Video Streaming to YouTube

Streambox Inc. announced today live 360 video streaming to YouTube. Combining Streambox Cloud Services with the beta release of the Cloud Encoder – 360 gives users a simple solution to the complex problems involved with live 360 streaming. Streambox invites content producers to become beta testers and start streaming live 360 video now.

“Video streaming is a complicated process and 360 video adds another level of complexity with camera stitching, encoding, and streaming. What we are trying to do is make live 360 easy and affordable,” said Alex Telitsine, CTO of Streambox. In order to make a live 360 stream easy to setup and use, the Cloud Encoder – 360 integrates real-time lens distortion correction, video stitching, and compression, eliminating the need to purchase third-party software.

Streambox Cloud Encoder – 360 features automated network bonding technology that uses all available 3G/4G/LTE, WiFi, and internet networks for the highest bandwidth available. ACT-L3 compression ensures the highest quality video at the lowest possible bitrate for a consistent stream even in remote locations. The Cloud Encoder – 360 transmits to Streambox Cloud servers strategically located throughout the world, provide all users with a reliable and fast connection, no matter where they are.

Beyond eliminating the need for additional software Streambox built its live 360 streaming solution to work with hardware commonly available, cameras content producers already have, and a CDN that they are already familiar with to keep costs down and simplify the process.

The only hardware required is a Ricoh® Theta S camera, BlackMagic®UltraStudio Mini Recorder, and an Apple® Macbook Pro. From Streambox Cloud the live stream is delivered straight to YouTube where users can view live 360 content on headsets, browsers, or apps. In the future, Streambox plans to support Facebook® live streaming and other social media web sites.

“If you want full 1080p30 quality and have a MacBook Pro,” Telitsine said, “You can start live 360 streaming for under $500!”

Streambox Cloud Encoder – 360 (with an included cloud account) is available for free trial download now at streamboxvr.com.