Techstination

Ford's annual trends report finds shifting priorities. Mental health, self care and more. More pets instead of children? Ford's senior trends and futuring manager Miguel Mancilla chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

The Billboard Music Awards, Taylor Swift, Thanksgiving, Veterans' Day, Football... and fatigue among the top November search trends. Google search trends expert Elizabeth Howard chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. The THINKWARE BLUEVENT MUMU has arrived. And while it may sound like a woman’s garment from years gone by…it is actually a great addition for kitchens. The Thinkware Bluevent Mumu is an electronic composter with AI that stores scraps and when the bucket reaches a designated weight for your household, turns on, heats, grinds and vastly reduces the volume. You can use the compost in the garden too. The company’s Billy Alexandre says beyond that..

“One of the smart AI storage mode features that we have with MUMU, it will manage the inside temperature and the humidity to prevent the food from spoiling and becoming rotten.”

Until the composting cycle begins. We have been impressed. The price, about six hundred dollars. There’s more info at www.thinkwarestore.com.

You can find us at Techstination.com. I’m Fred Fishkin.

Former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe is growing the Lingo line of STEM learning kits for kids... while preparing to become a Blue Origin astronaut. The inspirational entrepreneur chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.       Safer headphones for snow sports.   The folks at H2O Audio are continuing to innovate with SnowPro open ear bone conduction headphones that allow users to hear their surroundings and their music as well.  And you can store music on them through what the company calls Playlist Plus.   CEO Kristian Rauhala..

“Playlisst Plus is technology we’ve developed, it’s exclusive to us.  I call it the mix tape of the digital era.  It allows you to record and load audio from your Bluetooth directly into the headphones.”

Very useful…if you don’t want to be carrying your phone while your active…or for when streaming services are out of reach.    SnowPro with Playlist Plus is selling for about 160 dollars.   Find more at www.H2OAudio.com.

You can find us at Techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. The Consumer Technology Association is out with a study on the most popular tech gifts this holiday season. There are some surprises….but not at the very top where smart phones, smart watches and laptops continue to generate the most demand. Gaming is big too. But the CTA’s Jim Fellinger says beyond the expected…

“We’re seeing a big boost this year in CD sales. Now I think most of us have come to think of CDs as almost antiquated technology, really a thing of the past. We’re seeing that nostalgia from consumers is driving a real push in these products around this holiday season.”

And the CTA says there is still a lot of interest in vinyl recordings as well. Find more at www.cta.tech.

You can find us at Techstination.com. I’m Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. There are some fun techie toys for kids this holiday season. At TheToyGuy.com, Chris Byrne says an old friend has returned..

“ Furby is back. Yes, 25 years later, Furby Interactive from Hasbro for 6 and up, 69.99, you can actually say to him, hey Furby, dance party, and Furby will actually dance for you. He’s got five different voice activated modes, super fun and great to play with.”

The Toniebox is also on the hot list,,,with a constantly growing library of add ons and content for the screen free story telling box. And if you love games….the 25th anniversary edition of Cranium is recommended for the whole family. You can check out our full interview with Byrne at our Web site. You can also learn more at www.TheToyGuy.com.

You can find us at Techstination.com. I’m Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. A smart watch with classic watch styling. That’s been the focus at Withings for some time. And the French digital health company’s new ScanWatch 2 takes the tech to a new level. We’ve had some time to spend now with the watch….very comfortable to wear even while sleeping…amazing battery life…that’s a big deal. You get your notifications as with many other smart watches…but not the ability to answer or place calls. Digital health is where the ScanWatch 2 shines…with ECG and SpO2 capabilities…FDA certified…and now temperature tracking. There is continuous heart rate tracking and of course sleep and step tracking as well. If you like classic watch design and the tech too…the ScanWatch 2 is the device for you. The site for more is Withings.com.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.        Some amazing middle school students gathered in Washington this month for this year’s Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovator’s Challenge, held by the Society for Science.  The program promotes STEM programming to 65 thousand students a year.   And the winner of the top prize, which includes ten thousand dollars, was Shanya Gil, a 12 year old from San Jose, who developed a better way to prevent fires…particularly kitchen fires…

“The two main components in the device is a thermal camera and a small computer that I coded onto.  This device can detect humans and fires and from that it can decipher whether a fire is unattended or attended.”

And send alerts when a fire is unattended.  Smart…and perhaps we’ll see it on the market in time for next year’s Thanksgiving dinner.

You can find us at Techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.