Local TV News for Cord Cutters; Kickstarter Hits Major Milestone

Posted: November 5, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

One downside for some of cutting the cord is you generally lose local TV news…something handy to have access to, since local events may affect you more than national or international ones. According to techrunch.com, that drought ends today. A company called NewsON, which unsurprisingly is backed by TV stations, gets you local news on your iOS and Android devices, as well as Roku. It makes available video content from 118 stations in 90 markets. You choose local news from where you live or where you are with an interactive map, and can even post real time Tweets about news coverage. The interface is a little kludgy, but the app is free now on iTunes, Google Play, and the Roku Channel Store.

Despite the occasional scam or big delays in getting products, Kickstarter’s 9.5 million users have now pledged over 2 billion dollars to projects. So far, there have been 260,000 campaigns since 2009. Engadget.com reports that the crowdfunder is simplifying its rules for submission, too. Gaming projects have raised the most money, $412 million, with tech related ones #2 at $360 million. I’ve backed several, and only been burned once…for less than 50 bucks. Just this week, two new products I backed..including the Sherlybox private cloud and VPN arrived–it worked as pitched. I’m jazzed about it!

All ‘i’s’ Watching October

Posted: June 6, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The iWatch will be here in October, and have a curved OLED touchscreen. That’s what 9to5mac.com hears from the Nikkei Asian Review, and it’s also being reported by recode.net. Apple expects to sell 3 to 5 million a month! The HealthKit health and fitness app rumored is said to be a big part of the iWatch rollout.

If you’re a bit paranoid about putting all your stuff on the cloud, how about your own? Bgr.com reports that a Kickstarter called Sherlybox lets you create a personal cloud, and control everything about it. It’ll cost $149 for the setup, and you bring your own drive! What if you run out of room, you say? No worries, it supports up to 127 external USB drives!

Cnet.com says that within a year, police forensics could tell how old a fingerprint is! The work is being done at Netherlands Forensics Institute. They are accurate from 1 to 2 days if the print is less than 15 days old.