New mouse, new possibilities
Ractiv has launched Touch+, a modern day mouse designed to permit users to control their computer from any surface, with natural hand gestures. The goal is to make everyday tasks, such as web browsing, easier, while facilitating more sophisticated interaction, such as typing on a TV without a keyboard. Touch+ is a small bar that connects to any computer and sees the user’s hands, tracking his or her positions with advanced computer vision algorithms. It permits the user to tap or swipe on any surface while seeing his or her fingers on the screen. It is made to clip onto one’s laptop, turning the keyboard into a multitouch surface that the user can touch and type from. The technology behind Touch+ isn’t dependent on infrared, allowing it to enable multitouch at short range and be undisrupted by infrared sources. Touch+ is available on the Ractiv website for $74.99.
Service contracts for tablets
Half of Americans now have a tablet computer or e-reader, with college students a significant part of this growing trend, according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center. These students can’t afford to be without their electronic devices, and more and more are ditching notebooks and pens for portable electronic devices like tablets and laptops. In fact, 48 percent of all people ages 18 to 29 own a tablet in addition to their laptops. It follows that with so many portable electronics in use, accidents are bound to happen. Service contracts can give consumers peace of mind by providing cost-saving coverage that makes it easy to repair or replace damaged electronics, according to the Service Contract Industry Council. In addition to helping consumers save money, service contracts save time and eliminate the hassle of having to search for repair services. For a fraction of the cost of full replacement, service contracts for tablets may cover:
- Drops
- Spills
- Mechanical/electrical failures from normal use
- Screen or touchscreen failure
- Antenna, Wi-Fi or charging port failure
- Battery failure
Consumers who have questions about service contracts for electronics can visit http://go-scic.com/consumer.
Get the facts
SCiO, a tiny spectrometer or handheld molecular scanner that allows people to get instant information about the chemical make-up of nearly anything, can help users understand the physical make-up of their food. For example, SCiO can get nutritional facts about different kinds of foods, see how ripe fruit is through a peel, and even authenticate medications or supplements. When performing a scan, SCiO’s optical sensor captures the item’s molecular footprint, measures how those molecules interact with light, and then converts that into the data it sends to one’s phone. For more information visit The Lampert Report, an up-to-the minute video trend report uploaded every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at www.TheLempertReport.com
Smart wallet for smart consumers
NXT-ID, Inc., a biometric authentication company focused on the growing m-commerce market, features Wocket™, a next-generation smart wallet designed to protect one’s identity and replace all the cards in one’s wallet, with no smart phone required. The Wocket works anywhere credit cards are accepted and only with one’s biometric stamp of approval. Over 10,000 cards, records and coupons, as well as 100 voice commands, can be stored on Wocket™, which protects credit, debit, ATM, loyalty, gift, ID, membership, insurance, ticket, emergency, medical, business, contacts, coupons and more. The smart wallet is available at http://www.wocketwallet.com for $149.99.
Wireless scanner mouse
Design to Innovation recently launched an Indiegogo to help complete the development of Zcan Wireless, a wireless scanner mouse. A scanner integrated into a wireless mouse, Zcan Wireless is designed to enable users to swipe in a zigzag motion across the material they wish to capture. Once scanned, users can directly import to Excel and text, share to social pages or translate to speech. Amenable to immediate document backup with instant scan, the Zcan Wireless scanner mouse can scan the portions of the areas users desire, rather than the entire page as with traditional scanners. Users can scan anything from receipts and business cards to photos and nutritional information printed in a foreign language (which can be instantly translated). Scanned information becomes searchable, enabling users to get rid of their paper versions and box files with backup copies. With Wi-Fi, Zcan can be used on iPads and iPhones. Additional features include:
- Scan to Table. Zcan supports scanning and editing features, designed to convert an entire table into one single sheet in Excel.
- Scan to Text. Zcan edits scanned text, which is faster than typing it entirely from scratch.
- Scan to Speech. Zcan helps users learn how to pronounce a particular word or intonation.
- Break Down Language Barrier. Zcan supports over 199 Optical Character Recognition languages.
- Evernote. Zcan helps track notes and letters, which then can be stored in Evernote with just one click.
- Photos. Zcan allows users to share any scans with family or friends instantly through Facebook, Twitter, Flickr or email.
Protect yourself
Lost or stolen cell phone? No worries. At least, not as many worries for those who follow these tips for protecting their personal information stored in their phone:
- Make sure your phone requires a PIN or passcode for use. Avoid obvious combinations that are sequential or repeat, or are based off of a recent year.
- Back up your information to a cloud service, or export it to an external device like a USB drive.
- Download an app that allows you to locate, lock and erase your phone remotely.
- If your phone is missing, report it lost or stolen to your carrier immediately and contact the police. Request written confirmation from the carrier that you reported the device missing. You are responsible for fees incurred before, but not after you report it missing.
- If you haven’t found your phone within 30 minutes, use your anti-theft app to erase your phone remotely. (The information will still be stored in the cloud.) If you don’t have the ability to erase remotely, call the carrier and have them do it for you.
For more information on protecting one’s identity and personal information, as well as avoiding scams and frauds, and building better credit, consumers can order or download the Consumer Action Handbook from USA.gov.