The Gadget Thread

[Rommie]

Starting a new thread here so we can stop derailing another when it comes to new gadgets and observations on them. Summary of the other one was, I believe, that Chromecast is awesome.

On another gadget note though, I got a roomba! Who am I to say no to having a robot servant running around and doing my most hated chore, right? (Seriously, vaccuming sucks and I have an irrational hatred for it- for whatever reason I don't mind other stuff half as much.) Finally set it up a few days ago and a few observations-

- The "saving time" factor hasn't really come into play much yet as I keep watching it. Once I'm confident that it can go about my apartment just fine and clean everything I guess I'll set it up to run during the day, but for now I keep an eye on it figures its thing out.

- Roomba is ok with most cables but did eat my laptop cord that was dangling on the floor, and got stuck under the radiator in the kitchen. Also cannot quite work out once it goes into the kitchen that it should get up from the 1" rise between hardwood floor living room and kitchen tiles- perhaps it eventually can but I haven't waited that long.

- It actually also just makes you keep a tidier house as it can't clear clutter off the floor, so you can't just throw your backpack down or whatever. So maybe there's more than one reason it keeps your house clean!

- As a friend noted who stopped by, the floor does indeed look much shinier and cleaner. So I guess it's doing something, but real trial IMO is how well it does the job in a year or so.

- It was kinda funny as they say you need to clean the rollers more often if you have pets, which I don't so I was all "oh, it won't be so much!" Apparently I forgot that I shed worse than many a person's pet (literally, a ball of hair after I shower is normal type thing) so those suckers were covered. My hope is it's one of those "it finds more the first time(s) you run it and there will be less from now on" type things.

- It looks like it follows a random path more than anything, TBH, but I was impressed to watch it perfectly follow a large circular plate I have under a potted plant just perfectly. Also for experimental purposes I put a balloon out on the floor to see how it deals with that versus furniture- interestingly the roomba knows it's not a solid immovable object and will slow down, but go through it.

[Swift]

I wonder what our cats would think of one... I suspect they would freak.

[pumpkinpi]

I love my new Surface Pro 3. I've used it mainly in laptop mode, with the kickstand up and the keyboard attached. One of the main complaints I read was that it didn't fit nicely on your lap as a laptop, but it's perfectly comfortable on mine!

I love having this tiny thing I can slip into any bag and carry around, and have access to all of my work files as long as there is wifi. I switch between MS Word, Xcel, and a web browser, so it is powerful enough to keep up with all I need to do. It does drag a bit when I am using the remote desktop connection to access my office files, but I can just grab what I need and put it on OneDrive, then switch back to my Surface and work on it there.

I think this will keep me happy for years to come!

[Thumper]

I wonder what our cats would think of one... I suspect they would freak.

Pretty sure our cats would freak. And if it was set to work while we were gone during the day, pretty sure we'd find it in about 100 pieces after the dogs got through teaching it a lesson.

[SciFiFisher]

I wonder what our cats would think of one... I suspect they would freak.

Pretty sure our cats would freak. And if it was set to work while we were gone during the day, pretty sure we'd find it in about 100 pieces after the dogs got through teaching it a lesson.

we have two very small poms. I have thought about getting one just to watch them run from it.

[geonuc]

OK, can someone give me the idiot's explanation of what Chromecast is, does and why I need it? Please.

I have Comcast cable wired directly to my TV, a Blu-Ray player which also gives me access to NetFlix, Hulu and Vudu on the TV, a couple of Apple laptops with two (yeah, two) wi-fi routers in the house.

What additional good stuff can I get or do with Chromecast?

[Rommie]

Basically Chromecast is great because it's super small (like the size of a USB stick) that just sticks into your TV, no wires, you can run it from your mobile phone, and costs all of like $35.

So if you already have all that other stuff on your blu-ray player, I don't know if you need it too. But for those of us that didn't, it's a great option and well worth the investment.

[SciFiFisher]

The primary purpose of Chromecast is that it lets you access streaming entertainment through your TV without hooking up a lot of devices. As Rommie observed it is about the size of a USB thumb drive and just plugs into your TV. A nice review of the device can be found here.

There are also the ROKU and an Amazon device that do similar functions. One of the attractions to these devices is that you can use your connected smart phone with them to create all inclusive media access to your movies, music, and in some cases even your photos. All of which can be watched from your 60" High Definition TV.

Of course the TV manufacturers are also starting to compete in some small way by creating Smart TV's which have a lot of this functionality built in. The challenge is the price point. Amazon, Roku, and Google have priced their gadgets between $30-$99. While a smart TV will cost you upwards of $2,000 if you get the larger screens.

[geonuc]

OK. I guess if my Blu-Ray player breaks, I can use this to access NetFlix. Thanks.

[Loresinger]

i love kitchen toys (surprise). Got myself a juicer and am using it to make fresh juices for everyone as fruit goes on sale. The taste difference is amazing and you can use the leftovers for sauces or ice cream etc.