I’m sure we’re not the only ones having the “it’s to warm in here” argument at bedtime. It happens a lot, mostly during the summer months, my husband loves the heat and sadly, I hate it! In his defense, in the winter time I like it pretty warm. Of course then he starts complaining, its a no win situation, but suffice it to say I usually win, but only because he’s afraid of me.
Well here to restore marital harmony to millions of at odds couples like us is the ChiliPad, using water technology to cool or heat your mattress in dual zones, both you, and your beloved can snooze the night away at temperatures below 60F and above 110F. 110? That should be hot enough to shut the, I mean, to satisfy my wonderful husbands tropical sleep habits.
Developed by the nephew of the guy who invented the waterbed way back in the 60′s, the ChiliPad is a patented system designed to give anyone with temperature related sleep issues a much needed solution. Folks with arthritis, menopause symptoms, or other injuries or illnesses can find comfort in the ChiliPad.
Chili Technology offers both a wireless thermostat-controlled mattress pad and an obviously more expensive complete mattress option. Both pad and mattress utilize water circulation in order to regulate your sleeping surface temperature in single or dual zones, and have separate controls for both you and your partner.
The ChiliPad sells for under 400 bucks with the ChiliBed starting at 2,199 which seems in line for a quality mattress and well below what you might have to pay for a divorce. Get yours at chilitechnology.com and sleep well.
[ Chili Pad – So your Bed can be “Just Right” copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Have you watched the Fast and the Furious 6? So far, initial reviews and feelers on the movie have proved to be massive, and while the show continues to defy the laws of physics and gravity, it has managed to retain one characteristic – it is a franchise that has its timeline all screwed up, and yet is capable of drawing in the viewers never mind that they want to hear Vin Diesel do his mumbling act. Well, you might be wondering just what you can do in order to spruce up your ride’s capabilities on the road, and apart from making sure that it is well serviced all the time, how about throwing in a fair bit of electronics to get the ball rolling? The $159.99 ScanGauge II Advanced Multi-Function Vehicle Monitor does seem to be a pretty good place to start as you can now begin your journey to drive a whole lot smarter, while monitoring your performance and improving your fuel economy.
It is capable of reading as well as resetting engine trouble codes for easy identification, and best of all is, there are no pesky tools required for you to install this puppy. After all, you being a geek at heart would always want to have access to as much data and statistics as possible, and the ScanGauge II Advanced Multi-Function Vehicle Monitor gets the job done, where it is also capable of tracking your 0-60 and quarter mile time. It comes with an automatic delayed power-down after engine shutoff and automatic power-up when the engine starts, and both user and vehicle settings are saved automatically for added convenience.
[ ScanGauge II Advanced Multi-Function Vehicle Monitor copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Whenever someone throws out a superlative word, you cannot help but wonder just how the heck did they arrive at such a conclusion. Was the label warranted just because of some in-house tests, or has it been independently verified? That is the big question that we have concerning the Razer Blade, but since Razer has been pretty much a reliable company for the longest time in the world of gaming, it goes without saying that to see Razer slap on the label of “The World’s Thinnest Gaming Notebook” on the Razer Blade is a trustworthy saying. In fact, the Razer Blade comes across as thinner than a dime, sporting a 14” HD+ display, running on a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, alongside NVIDIA GTX 765M as the graphics card of choice.
Just how thin is the Razer Blade? If you have a dime in your pocket, you get an idea on how amazingly thin it has become, where it measures in at a mere 0.66” thin – making it thinner than your regular smartphone for most of the case, unless you settle for one of those models from Huawei or ZTE that are obsessed with the thickness (or rather, the lack of it) of your smartphone. With that kind of dimensions, the Razer Blade is hands down the winner when it comes to packing in more power-per-cubic-inch compared to any other laptop in the world.
Underneath the hood, you will find that the Razer Blade packs in a future 4th generation Intel Core i7 processor, the most recent NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M GPU that ensures the kind of graphics which pop out from your machine is top notch and minimizes dropped frames, while taking advantage of today’s modern solid-state storage technology where it boasts of boot speeds of up to four-times faster compared to the traditional 5400-RPM notebook hard drive. Of course, since this is a gaming notebook, it is imperative that the display itself ought to be worth its salt considering the amount of time you are going to spend looking at it, hence the Razer Blade boasts of a stunning 14” LED-backlit HD+ display, with a custom-designed trackpad and backlit gaming grade keyboard to get you going right out of the box, all crammed into a rigid all-aluminum chassis. 8GB RAM is accompanied by a choice of either 128GB, 256GB or 512GB SSD. Pricing for the Razer Blade starts from $1,799 onwards as it is made available for pre-order from June 3.
Press Release
[ Razer Blade is thinnest gaming notebook in the world copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Throughout my relatively short life, there is one lesson that I have learnt – never argue with a lady whenever she is mulling over whether to pick up that particular pair of shoes or handbag, never mind that she already has umpteenth pair of shoes and countless handbags back home. Assuming you are a geek, you might want to take your “revenge”, so to speak, in a more subtle manner by telling here that when it comes to gadgets, there are just certain items on your list that you will never compromise in not purchasing those – and one of them would definitely be a USB hub. After all, you can never have enough USB ports lying around to plug in your ever growing collection of USB-powered devices, so you might as well get the best USB hub possible at that particular point in time, no? Enter the Satechi 7-Port USB 3.0 Aluminum Hub that would certainly not look out of place in any home or office.
One thing of note though – Apple users would seem to be more suited for the Satechi 7-Port USB 3.0 Aluminum Hub, since it has the kind of external looks that are ideal for the Mac and MacBook. Boasting a sleek, compact design and additional connectivity for multiple USB-based devices that will include (but are not limited to) flash drives, printers, digital cameras, and external hard drives among others, the Satechi 7-Port USB 3.0 Aluminum Hub sports a slim, strip shape design which takes up as little room as possible on your desk, and the way it is laid out makes life a cinch when you want to plug in or remove devices in a jiffy.
Do bear in mind that the plug and play 7-Port USB 3.0 Aluminum Hub would be accompanied by its own power supply, where that would deliver speedy data rates of up to 5Gbps, which is 10 times faster compared to USB 2.0, making it a snap to transfer photos, music, and HD movies. If you are interested, the Satechi 7-Port USB 3.0 Aluminum Hub will come in a white or black trim where it will be sold for an introductory price of $54.99.
[ Satechi 7-Port USB 3.0 Aluminum Hub copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
You know something? When Apple came up with their iPad, it was definitely a watershed moment for the world of tablets. Sure, Microsoft might have come up with the tablet PC a fair number of years before that, but it really was the iPad that kicked off the tablet craze. You can more or less say that the iPad can be used without having to have a stylus or other similar accessory, as your finger is more than good enough. Here is something that you might want to consider after the iPad has gone through a few generations – the $169.95 iPad Pen.
The iPad Pen comes across as a wireless stylus which would make taking down notes on the iPad a cinch, as though you were performing handwriting using pen and paper. In fact, it is said to be comparable in size and feel to its ink-filled cousins, and you will be able to use it with free downloadable apps including IdealNotes or FlyNotes, alongside the included wireless infrared receiver. All your work can then be saved as JPEG images on the iPad, so that you can edit them later on at your convenience. Each iPad Pen will be powered by a couple of SR41 batteries and accompanied by a replacement tip.
[ iPad Pen copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
I think everyone but me is looking forward to summer. I mean, I’d like summer if all I had to do was relax poolside and swill a few beers… but even that’s not as much fun as it could be, with a sweaty little beer bottle warming itself in the sun. Beer has gotta be cold. Really cold. What’s a girl to do?
Check out the Chillsner, made by the same folks that brought us the Corkcicle, the Chillsner is the first ever drink-through beer bottle chiller. You simply grab your Chillsner and freeze it for around 45 minutes, suffer through a sip of your lukewarm beverage (in order to make room for the Chillsner) and insert the frozen wand into your beer, making sure to form a tight seal… and voila! A frosty cold brew.
The Chillsner is made of stainless steel, with a proprietary cooling gel and it contains specially designed flow vents in order for your beer delivery to be smoother, colder and more consistent. The sturdy seal allows for an airtight connection, so you can drink without dribbling, and they come in sets of two, so you can freeze one, use one, in a never ending cycle of frosty goodness.
The Chillsner is great for backyard barbecues and picnics, for impromptu get togethers or just for people like me, who like their beer as cold as you can possibly get it without it being an ice pop. So get set for summer and grab a set for under 30 buck over at amazon.com. Hmm.. beer ice pops, am I onto something here? Didn’t think so.
[ The Chillsner – Coolest BEER Gadget copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Have you ever used a steam mop before? Those are really effective devices when it comes to ensuring that all those nasty, unseen bacteria get mopped up for good, in addition to having your floor feel nice and clean along the way. Well, here is an idea – how about miniaturizing the steam mop into something that will help you clean those hard to reach grill grates? This is where the $69.99 Steam Cleaning Grill Brush comes in handy, where the device itself sports a chamber within the handle that can hold up to a couple of cups of water within to get some hot and steamy action going on in no time at all.
This grill brush will also carry a spout that is set within the bristles to release water onto hot grill grates, resulting in the ability to create steam which subsequently, removes burnt-on food and grease without requiring you to break a sweat. The steam itself is capable of loosening even the most stubborn of stains, enabling the two heads of rigid, double-gauge stainless steel bristles to quickly clean the grates. The frame itself is made from durable alloy aluminum, where it measures 18.25″ in length so that you can reach all areas of the grill while enjoying optimal leverage.
[ Steam Cleaning Grill Brush copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Sony is certainly serious about making a mark in the Ultrabook market, and they took the opportunity to make an announcement of the Sony VAIO Duo 13 slider hybrid Ultrabook at Computex 2013. It is not Sony’s first foray into the Ultrabook market, and I am pretty sure by all means that this too, will not be the last either. In a nutshell, you can say that the VAIO Duo 13 slider hybrid Ultrabook will be able to offer a multitude of new use solutions thanks to its unique form factor in addition to delivering accurate and versatile pen solutions.
I guess you can more or less say that the highlight of the Sony VAIO Duo 13 would be its unique Surf Slider design which enables one to enjoy a quick and seamless transition between slate and keyboard modes. For starters, you can slide the screen back while it is still in slate mode so that the hidden keyboard is revealed, where it will be accompanied by a touch pad. If you opt to return it to its original position afterwards, the VAIO Duo 13 will be in slate mode, where touch and pen manipulation are preferred as the means of navigation instead.
The Sony VAIO Duo 13 boasts of innovative standby technology which is touted to deliver its fair share of advantages. For instance, the VAIO Duo 13’s constant connection to the internet, even when it is in sleep mode, would allow it to update applications and ensure that your inbox is always up to date without missing a beat. Not only that, waking up the VAIO Duo 13 from sleep takes under a second, letting you be a whole lot more productive than you normally would with other Ultrabooks.
Other hardware features include an 8-megapixel camera with the “Exmor RS for PC” image sensor, an OptiContrast panel allows for a more accurate and natural writing experience, TRILUMINOS Display for mobile with a full HD display, and an audio enhancing ClearAudio+ mode among others. No word on pricing, but it should be available from this month onwards.
Press Release
[ Sony VAIO Duo 13 announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
When it comes to portable speakers, I guess you can say that this particular segment of the market has grown tremendously over the years simply because of a greater degree of mobile device adoption among the masses, not to mention better battery technology which naturally results in superior battery life, in addition to the advancement and proliferation of Bluetooth capability embedded in just about every modern day mobile device like smartphones and tablets. Having said that, the portable wireless speakers of today are what boomboxes were to a previous, bygone era, and Cambridge Audio intends to usher in a new reign of such portable wireless speakers by announcing the availability of the Minx Go.
The Minx Go is a high performance, portable Bluetooth speaker that is capable of delivering deeply expansive, crystal clear audio. Similar to other Cambridge Audio product, the Minx Go will carry the company’s design DNA thanks to their design team who are based in London. The Minx Go will come acoustically loaded with an array of five premium quality speakers as well as the latest Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology, ensuring that your ears will always be treated to massive power at all times, without taking up too much space no matter where you are. What would most probably be the most impressive feat of the Minx Go would be the amount of detailed bass that it is capable of pumping out, and this is made possible thanks to the Bass Radiator that has been neatly integrated into the rear panel.
Just how long can the Minx Go last? Well, it boasts a battery life of up to 18 hours, which is lengthy enough for an entire day out, even stretching into the wee hours of the night. From a flat battery, it takes just a couple of hours to juice up fully, and while it is being recharged, it will even allow you to charge a tablet or phone thanks to the integrated USB charging port. You will be able to choose from high gloss black or white colors for the $149 Minx Go.
Press Release
[ Cambridge Audio announces Minx Go copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Father’s Day is just around the corner, so you might want to ensure the entire family has something special for dad. After all, hasn’t dad busted his back over all these years to do his level best and provide for the family? Assuming it is your family tradition to perform a cook-out each year on Father’s Day, and dad being the main cook of the home as he makes the best hamburgers, how about a present that he needs not wrap around his neck (aka the dreaded tie), but rather, the $49.95 Marinade Infusing Meat Tenderizer?
It should be a gizmo that he will appreciate, as this particular meat tenderizer will be able to infuse food with marinade. This is made possible thanks to a built-in plunger which will release marinade into meat through a trio of needle-like applicators, where it will quickly saturating the interior of food with flavor enhancing ingredients. A total of 27 seven stainless steel blades would do the job of severing tough connective tissue, softening the meat in the process. Capable of holding up to 3 oz. of marinade (which for the kitchen challenged, is enough to flavor 2 lbs. of flank steak), the tenderizing blades will feature two depth settings to deliver optimal penetration of thick roasts or steaks. Not only that, when it goes up and about its job, it will not alter the meat’s thickness.
[ Marinade Infusing Meat Tenderizer copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Over the years, I have tried many different ways to make coffee, from cowboy percolators to French press carafes to Chemex drippers. As I’ve moved through the years, however, the reduced acids of espresso have attracted me, and I happily settled on espresso for my java.
If you have tried conventional espresso machines, you are familiar with the grinding, the hissing, and the pumping that accompanies every cup. With the advent of the ROK espresso maker, all that goes away. With this truly portable device, now that perfect shot of espresso can be had wherever there is hot water — at the office, at your campsite, or just in the peace and quiet of your own kitchen!
Every morning, I use a Porlex hand grinder to reduce my beans of choice to fine fragments while my water comes to a boil. As the cylinder preheats, I am entranced by the curl of steam rising past the connection arms. Slowly raising the arms allows the water to drift past the plunger, and I gently press to heat the portafilter and my cup. Although it wasn’t designed for the task, the bottom of the Porlex works very well to tamp the grounds into the portafilter, and I’m ready for my espresso. Refilling the cylinder and raising the arms once again, I quietly and firmly press a perfect double shot of espresso!
On those days when milk is desired, the ROK comes with a hand-pumped milk frother. Although you can get your beverage hotter by frothing warm milk, you’ll find the foam is denser if you froth cold milk before heating it in the microwave.
Cleaning the ROK takes very little effort. For the most part, a quick rinse is all that’s necessary. Though some users will let it drip-dry, the ROK should be toweled unless you don’t mind water spots.
There are many alternatives on the market, and a devoted aficionado could easily spend $3000 for a high quality machine. Although they will all give you an excellent cup of espresso, they share two shortcomings: They all must be plugged in, and they all make noise.
With the ROK, the whole brewing process, start to finish, takes less than 10 minutes. Ten quiet, meditative minutes before I launch into the day!
Disclosure: I have happily owned and used the Presso, the earlier version of the ROK, for more than a year.
-- Conan Cocallas
[Here's a 90-second video introduction to the ROK espresso maker. -- Mark Frauenfelder]
ROK Espresso Maker
$187
Manufactured by ROK
Barricade Fire Gel is a foam that you spray on your house before a wildfire. It stays wet for 48 hours and keeps burning embers from igniting the house. It easily washes off and, unlike most compressed air foam (CAF) systems, is EPA certified as nontoxic.
I tested it on cardboard held over a gas stove flame, and it didn’t ignite in 10 minutes. Also, I applied it to the outside of my home, over a very dry Labor Day weekend, and it stayed put and wet for 48h. (A bear licked some of it off, so it doesn’t taste like petrochemicals.) As the pictures from the vendor’s site show, Fire Gel comes in 1 gallon containers, and you attach a garden hose and an eductor-jet pump to it. What this means is that a small person can lift it and apply it. In other CAF systems, there’s a huge amount of heavy equipment that depends on different power supplies, and it’s heavy and complex. The foam is relatively cheap on those systems — the applicator is expensive. Barricade took a different tack, and put expensive engineering into the foam, which is very effective and tastes good to bears.
Here in the mountains of Boulder, Colorado, Barricade Fire Gel is one part of my fire plan. This is only one part of a fire plan, and I’d urge anyone who buys FireGel to go to a workshop with your local fire department to maximize your chance of coming out unscathed. Another motivation to become more involved in fire protection is that in recent fires here, folks found out that they were woefully underinsured, and can’t rebuild their old house. Less than 10% were adequately insured to rebuild in the mountains, and we’re talking an educated affluent population.
-- Robert Hastings
Barricade II Home Fire Defense System
For $326, you get a kit that will cover a typical house.
After nearly a lifetime of getting Costanza’ed in the bottom by my wallet, I began to use this 35¢ tool and have never looked back, so to speak.
It firmly clamps bills and even cards in place until use, is easily removable and has caused much envious conversation.
The only drawback is that I bought a box of 12 (the smallest I could find) and am still using the same one after six years.
Appropriate technology rules!
-- Mark Kiemele
Ideal Document Clamps
$4 / 12 clamps
Available from Amazon
This tablet case is perfect if you want to leave your tablet in your car or any other place where it could be a tempting item to be stolen. Looks like a manilla envelope and has faux postmarks and address labeling (with some minor comedy to boot). It has a little padding and a flap lined with velcro.
-- Lenny Diner
Undercover Secret Tablet Sleeve for iPad, Xoom, Sony S1, Galaxy Tablets
$20
Available from Amazon
When I was editor of Craft magazine, I always looked forward to Wendy Jehanara Tremayne’s next “Re-Fitted” column, which profiled a waste-conscious maker and included a how-to project by that person. A few of the projects included making textiles out of plastic bags, turning used clothing into a quilt, and building a beautiful outdoor fence with found branches and tie wire. Even more inspiring than her articles, however, were our phone conversations between magazine issues. After chatting about her next article idea, she’d briefly enchant me with her snippets of how she and her husband, Mikey, left their high-powered jobs in New York and moved to Truth or Consequences, NM, to live as waste-free and off the grid as possible. Always in a rush, I would hang up and then wish I had gotten more details.
Six years later, I was finally able to read about Tremayne’s “decommodified life” in her fresh-off-the-press book, The Good Life Lab: Radical Experiments in Hands-On Living. Captivating right from the start, Tremayne’s tale of quitting her job as creative director of a marketing firm to “live in the waste stream” describes her bumps and triumphs in turning an RV park into their homestead and living a rich life spending almost no money. Both from the city, she and her husband learn as they go, using found and tossed materials to build structures on their property, driving a car that runs on vegetable oil, growing their own food, concocting homemade tinctures from local plants, and landscaping with homemade compost and free dung from a local camel named Stanley.
Tremayne weaves her narrative with colorful charts, beautiful illustrations by different artists, and loads of how-to projects (DIY biofuel, roasting coffee with a popcorn maker, building a decorative fire barrel, making mead, and constructing a sturdy and handsome papercrete dome, just to name a few). Whether for inspiration or as a road map to creating your own off-the-grid homestead, Tremayne’s book is a must read for any maker who fantasizes about stepping off the consumer-centered treadmill and into a life that is connected to nature, unhurried and meaningful.
The Good Life Lab: Radical Experiments in Hands-On Living
Wendy Jehanara Tremayne
2013, 320 pages
$13
Available from Amazon
Sample Excerpts:
