California Cowboy

California Cowboy – Your next favourite shirt

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As tech enthusiasts and tech lovers, we have found a great shirt. A wonderful shirt. A shirt that will make you open your mouth in awe. The shirt that we have found is so good, we almost wanted to keep it a secret. It’s called the California Cowboy and it’s a multi-functional shirt that can do an all manner of things. Don’t worry though, we know what you’re thinking, it definitely has a tech element to it. It’s a wonder that no one has thought of it before! We are now wondering why we didn’t survive our summers without this!

California Cowboy

California Cowboy

California Cowboy: Features

So where to begin:

  • Firstly this shirt is really really comfortable
  • It has a secret pocket to keep all of your gadgets clean and safe from water
  • A sunglasses loop to keep your eye protectors safe
  • Bottle pocket and kazooie to keep your drinks with you at all times (can’t be losing them beers!)
  • Bottle opener (Of course)
  • Conversation card (if it ever gets awkward around your AWESOME SHIRT!)
  • Slim fit
  • Vintage prints (so like flowers and beach type designs, perfect for the streets of california – or margate)
  • Plus THE BEST FEATURE – a built in towel! No need to carry a towel to the beach! You can just wear your shirt, then take it off to swim, then put it back on to dry off!

 

California Cowboy

California Cowboy

 

If this doesn’t get you dizzy, I don’t know what will and we cannot wait to take the California Cowboy to the beach in the summer. It’s going to be a lifesaver!

To purchase your own California Cowboy shirt please click here!

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Listen to the guys chatting about this here! (Link LIVE from May 31st)

Fingbox

Fingbox: Protect your home network

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This is the Fingbox a plug & play network security appliance and mobile app for protecting your home and family online. However it is so much more than just a networking device!

Fingbox: Features

Firstly, for all the parents out there there’s a range of controls that you have at your fingertips. So, all of these controls are available at 1 click so there aren’t any confusing menus to wade through. But, that doesn’t mean that the Fingbox is any less powerful! It’s super powerful and we are very impressed at how much it can do! So, without further adieu, listed below is a pleth

  • Internet Outage Scheduling
  • Device Blocking in 1-click
  • Device Usage & Monitoring
  • Also, track who is home and online

Furthermore there are a whole host of network security features:

  • 24/7 Network Monitoring
  • Event Monitoring
  • Intruder Detection
  • Opened Port Detection
  • Ability to close Opened Ports by UPnP
  • Alerts about Rogue and Evil Twin Access Points
  • KRACK Attack and MiTM Attack Detection
Consequently, if you have ever experienced a slow network and not known why you’re slowing down. The Fingbox will show you a whole host of information about your ISP and give you the following information on your ISP.
  • ISP Outage Monitoring
  • ISP ranking by city and country
  • Automated Internet Speed Tests
  • WiFi Speed Tests
  • Bandwidth Analysis

Fingbox: Benefits

So there are also more benefits the Fingbox will also allow you to:

  • Block any device, such as intruders or unwanted devices with 1 click
  • Pause a user from using the internet in 1 click
  • Alerts: Open ports, malicious threats or vulnerabilities on the network
  • Consequently, use the DigitalFence – detects any device around your Fingbox (even if not connected to the Wifi) See who is nearby your home and block any unwanted intruders.
  • Event logs that everything that has happened in the home
  • Monitor your network anywhere in the world
  • See how fast the Wifi is from every corner of your home
  • Also test the speed of your internet and if you’re getting the speed you’re paying for.
  • Detection of “Evil Twin” malicous access points which are a threat to your network.

 

Most of all, the Fingbox is the digital companion that helps you manage, secure and control your home network and all the devices attached to it. With Fingbox you can manage, secure and control your network, anytime from anywhere.

Also purchase your own Fingbox please click here!

Tesla

Tesla Burning Through Tons Of Cash!

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So, turns out Telsa like spending money as fast as they do making it! A report by Bloomberg suggests that Tesla, if they keep going at the rate that they are, may run out of money by the end of the year! Elon Musk’s electronic car baby may run out of cash and the electronic car revolution finished!

The company fell short of it’s own production targets for the Model 3 Sedan once again. Futhermore another person died in a crash involving it’s assisted driving feature. So it’s not been a great week for Musk or Tesla. Musk himself has entered into a public dispute with safety regulators. Tesla had previously been a high marketed stocked company. This was boosted by a downgrade from credit analysts, yet it has dropped 26% from it’s highest in September. Ouch. Allegedly no one has raised cash and spent it the way that Elon Musk has. While no one has also made a bankruptcy joke on Twitter.

Risk

The company is so young and there is a genuine risk, without any additional funding or financing that the company will go bust. Which will be a shame for a 15 year old company that’s hailed as the company to usher in a new form of personal transportation. According to data compiled by Bloomberg the tech company goes through $7,430 each minute. Free cash flow (this is cash that a company generates after capital expenditures – has been negative for 6 quarters – consecutively. This, has sky rocketed to more than a billion dollars when Tesla reported it’s earnings on May 2nd.

There’s some rough times ahead and we hope that Tesla and Musk can pull through, it’s such a cool company and the future of tech needs Tesla!

This article was thanks to a Bloomberg report where you can see a much more detailed report of how much money Tesla are ploughing through! It even has a counter that predicts how much has been spent since you started reading!

 

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Eufy

Eufy Robovac 11

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We feel that smart homes are going to be more common place in 2018 and beyond. With the introduction of Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home and of course Apple’s Siri, there’s always going to be something new that’s smart or designed to make your life easier. The Eufy Robovac 11 is the latter, an automated robotic vaccum cleaner that will clean your house with the click of a button. With that we were very impressed! We know that robotic vaccum cleaners have been around for some time, but the technology has come a long way!

Eufy Robovac 11

The Eufy Robovac can:

  • 78mm ride depth, allowing the Eufy Robovac to get into areas other vacuums can’t
  • Clean every nook and cranny with the use of versatile cleaning modes
  • 3 point cleaning system: Side brushes, rolling brushes and a powerful suction ensures a thorough clean:Dirt is loosened and  then extracted from the floor, which consequently is vacuumed into the dust collector.
  • 3 Cleaning modes: Edge, Spot and Max.
  • Clean for up to 1.5 hours due the the high-capacity li-on battery
  • Anti Scratch tempered glass cover for protection
  • Infared-sensor for obstacle evasion
  • Drop sensing tech to avoid falls and the ability to ride over rugs and uneven flooring (We were so impressed with this!)
  • Recharing automatically feature
  • Triple-Filter System: two regular filters and one high performance filter

We love the Eufy Robovac 11, the fact that it can clean autonomously is a wonderful little feature. We know that robotic vacuum cleaners have been out for some time now. But, we’ve never tested them ourselves. We wish we had tried them out sooner! We don’t think we’d hoover up without one now, it saves so much time! Especially the Eufy, a great little device!

 

To purchase your own Eufy Robovac 11 please click here! 

 

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Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf – The coolest lights ever?

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We have received some pretty cool stuff into the How To Kill An Hour offices and the Nanoleaf Light Panels are no different! They’re super interesting and really make the office stand out, they’re a lot more than just a set of lights too! They’re smart but, they’re also more than just smart!

Nanoleaf Light Panels are different to other smart lights, like the Philips Hue too. As they’re huge triangles of lights that are modular. Therefore allowing you to personalise them to whatever design you wish. You can wake up to the sunrise, improve your mood with an array of colours while automating your lighting throughout the day!

But there’s more….

Rhythm

There’s a small module attachment, called the Rhythm module. This little device can transform your music into light for the light panels. Simply turn on the device and watch it move with the music.

Nanoleaf Light Panels are:

  • Trianglular Panels of light that can piece together however you wish
  • Easily be mounted on to any flat surface using the mounting tape
  • Fully customizable with the use of the companion app: set schedules, download scenes
  • Activate with the use of Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant
  • If you don’t have a smart system, it can be toggled using a button on the controller
  • With the use of the Rhythm module, immerse yourself in a symphony of light!

 

To purchase your own Nanoleaf + Rhythm module please click here! They can also be purchased without the Rhythm kit, to do so, please click here!

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Listen to the guys chatting about this here! (Link LIVE from May 31st)

chemex

Chemex Coffee Maker

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We love our coffee here at the How To Kill An Hour offices and when we saw this coffee maker, we had to try it out! It’s elegant in design and minimalistic in tech. A little different than what us tech enthusiasts usually use. However, we are a place that’s more than just tech. We’re the place to come to find out the best ways to spend your free time. Drinking coffee is one of those past times that can be done whilst working or when away from the desk! Without teasing too much, we tested the Chemex 3 cup classic coffee maker and we loved it! But how do they achieve this?

Chemex: Taste

It claims to deliver the ‘purest flavour experience’ and it does just that! The coffee from the Chemex coffee maker is absolutely lovely! It certainly delivers a different taste than the coffee that we usually use out of an electronic coffee maker. The way that Chemex deliver such a great tasting coffee is due to one thing. Working in tandem with the Chemex Bonded filters the coffee that’s delivered is pure. Like filtered water. No sediments or any bitter elements like that, just pure gloriously tasting coffee.

Included with the Chemex Three Cup Classic is a polished wood collar and a leather tie, providing great grip. The coffee maker is glass, so it helps prevent a user burn their hands on the glass. All in all a great design that doesn’t look out of place in your kitchen. We were very impressed here at the office!

 

Purchase your own Chemex 3 Cup Classic Coffee Maker here!

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Mikme

Mikme – The Future of audio recording?!

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This is the Mikme Microphone, a supremely powerful microphone that  boasts studio quality sound. From experience, we can tell you first hand that this microphone, really does produce some amazing sound quality! Consequently, in a tiny package too, we were seriously impressed when we reviewed this awesome little device! It’s touted as the world’s first wireless mircrophone and audio recorder in one. Simply press the button and voila, you’re recording. While you’ll need a smartphone to connect it to, to monitor what you’re recording, but other than that, you’re set! However, that’s no stress either! Simply connect your headphones to the Mikme to the reverse of the device to listen to the crispy clear audio!

Features

  • The internal 16GB memory stores recordings anywhere. The 1″phantom-powered, gold-plated condenser capsule delivers 24Bit/96kHz studio-grade audio.
  • Their App receives the audio wirelessly to give you total freedom to move. The patented Bluetooth protocol ensures all samples arrive safe and sound.
  • Also, their App syncs the audio from the device with the video from the iPhone in realtime. Create, edit and publish content in studio-quality on the go. (Credit)

The Mikme is perfect for everyone be that a creative, a musician or a journalist anyone can take use of this amazing little device. Since, no longer is there a need for people to carry around expensive gear. All you need is a smartphone and the Mikme device and you can create content that rivals that of which has been recorded with high end products! Great for on the go, on field recordings!

So, to purchase your own by clicking here!

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Listen to the guys chatting about this here! (Link LIVE from May 31st)

mind control

Will there be Mind Control for real?!

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Well turns out we’re all screwed. We may not even know what free will is even more, mind control could be happening!

Ok enough movie quotes, let’s get on to the real reason as to why we may be seeing Jedi mind tricks in the real world at some point in the future. Hope you’re sitting down for this, scientists have suggested that we humans could tuen into mindless ‘cyborg’ type super consumers. The same technology has been used on rats – successfully. Well, it’s time to turn off all technology. It was nice knowing you!

Mind Control: Shopping

It relates to shopping. A team of researchers working at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology discovered that by stimulating a certain part of a mouses brain. The process triggered a craving, a craving for possessing unnecessary objects. Looking at you impulse buyers! The intended use of the discovery of this process is intended to treat people. The idea is to treat people with brain disorders such as kleptomania or hoarding. However, they also stated that it could be used to ‘control human behaviour’

You may think that craving objects is quite scary in and of itself. Prepare to be bamboozled. The team said that it can control the behaviour with a technique known as MPA-Induced aDrive Assisted Steering. This, when used, made the mice chase whatever is in front of them whenever the same region is stimulated.

Psychological

The joy that we as children got when we recieved a toy from our parents has followed us into adulthood. We experience the same sort of lust for objects – one example of this would be if you have a shopping addiction. Which of course, could be used to exploit us, coroporations couold make us shoppers just grab anything, mindlessly. Though, would mean shops would have access to our brains. Which isn’t going to happen.

Professor Kim noted that:

‘This study provides evidence to treat brain disorders such as compulsive hoarding and kleptomania. ‘It also contributes to the development of technology to control the behaviour of animals and humans using strong innate motivation, and thus could impact neuro-economics, defence and disaster relief.’

So there is some good to the mind control news. Of course, the treatment of brain diseases. But disaster relief could be good if it got more people to safety. But again it needs access to the brain!

 

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Staring at a screen

Staring at a screen won’t make you go blind!

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We are not doctors so do not take our advice! Then mess up your eyes and then sue us. Please take this and use the information about staring at screens damaging or not damaging your eyes at your own risk.

So allegedly according to a report by some scientists staring at a screen all day doesn’t damage your eyes. With the Verge reporting that, Nielsen reports that we spending up to 10 hours a day in front of a screen. So we can all sigh a collective sigh of relief that we all won’t go blind! Yay! However, there is a chance that you may feel uncomfortable after a period of time. That’s due to the backlight. There is also a chance that you will experience symptoms of eye strain and discomfort. Scientists call that Computer Vision Syndrome.

With Dr Rebecca Taylor stating in their video report that “The devices that we use, do not appear to cause any long term eye damage”

The reason we feel some discomfort is due to our eyes blinking less when we look at a screen. Dr Bozung reporting in their video report. That we can blink up to 67% less or slower than we would without looking at a screen.

Staring at a screen: Discomfort

If you are experiencing discomfort, the guys over at the Verge suggest that you can adjust the height of your monitor and/or desk setup to help ease the pain. Could even use moistening eye drops. The Vege also suggest a 20-20-20 rule. (Which we’ve never heard of before here at the How To Kill An Hour office!)

The rule is, for every 20 minutes you stare at a screen, you should stare at something 20ft away for a total of 20 seconds. The Verge also report about some special blue light filtering glasses that can help, but scientists don’t believe in those claims at all!

Our screen’s refresh rate can also affect our eyes, so for example a 60hz refresh rate monitor will cause your eyes to focus more often. Therefore causing you to tire quicker. The faster the refresh rate, the less often your eyes will need to refocus. The Verge are also reporting that positioning of your monitor also can affect your eyes discomfort. A 20degree angle at an arms length away is a good distance to eye health ratio. Brightness and contrast can also have an affect. Also fonts that you use can cause a problem! (Size most often) Lighting and the environment your in also has an affect. So staring at a screen isn’t so simple after all!

Apple have gone someway to combat discomfort in recent years with things such as Night Shift and Truetone, designed to lessen the blue hue in your phone’s screen!

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Alexa Blueprints

Alexa Blueprints

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Alexa is great and is one of our favourite smart voice assisstants available today! However, would you like it if you could make Alexa, just that little bit more personal? Would you like to make your own Alexa commands? Even your own Alexa, voice controlled games? Now you can with a new feature and website from Amazon! Head over to bluerprints.amazon.com to get started on your very own Alexa commands. Furthermore you don’t even have to know how to code! Plus you can make as many different Alexa skills as you like!

Alexa Blueprints: How To

Alexa Skills are just like the apps you have on your smartphone, but are placed on your Amazon smart speaker instead. There’s already loads available on the Alexa Skills Store! You can download apps which help fit your lifestyle, order a pizza, order a cab even pull down the latest football scores!

Once you start using Blueprints you can use templates that are available to you to create your own personal Alexa skill within minutes! You can create anything that your heart desires. Be that custom games, to-do lists, learning! Furthermore you can get creative with them and make things such as a learning and knowledge skill but make it about your family. Such as a trivia game “Alexa, open My Family Trivia”

There are a whole host of skills that you can make, simply browse the blueprints that are available to you in the following categories:

 

  • Fun & Games
  • At Home
  • Storyteller
  • Learning & Knowledge

What skill are you going to make? Let us know by contacting us via our social media pages, we’re @howtokillanhour across all socials!

 

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