Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.  Virtuix is the name of a company that has developed an omni directional treadmill for VR gaming and more.  It is called the Omni One.  You are held in a harness…and rather than using a belt…you wear foot coverings that allow your feet to slide while running or walking in any direction.     We’re looking forward to testing this out…but for now you can get an idea how it works watching our full interview.   Founder Jan Goetgluk..

“It’s basically a platform that lets you walk and run around in 360 degrees inside video games.”

Sounds great for fitness.    The unit measures four feet in diameter and includes a standalone VR headset.   Find more…including a link to invest in the company…at www.virtuix.com.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.       Combining great design with solid features is always a winning combination.   Nomad is living up to its reputation again with the Base One MagSafe Charger.   It is a weighted metal and glass charger …available in silver or carbide… that can deliver up to 15 watts of fast charging.   You will have to keep in mind…the power supply is sold separately.   That will add to the roughly hundred dollar price tag.   But Nomad doesn’t skimp..and the company’s product stand out.   Marketing Director Chuck Melber..

“I mean at the end of the day, it’s our attention to detail and the materials we’re using.  We work long and hard to pick out every single little detail that goes into every single product.”

The Base One looks great on a desk or night stand…or wherever you decide to put it and the weighted design means it will stay put.  Very smart.  Find more at www.nomadgoods.com.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.     Ford calls it BlueOval City…a sprawling complex in West Tennessee…that will build the automaker’s next generation truck, code named T3…and also house battery manufacturing.  The company says it will provide six thousand jobs and job training as well.  Electric Vehicle Plant Manager Kel Kearns…

“Our workforce development team has been working in the local community for more than a year now, understanding where the pipeline is, where the people are coming from, which institutions and working with government.   So there’s a Tennessee College of Applied Technology being built on site.”

Ford’s CEO has teased, by the way, that the next gen truck to be built there will have capabilities never before seen.   Stay tuned.

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

Drive like your child is in the back seat. That's one of the surprisingly effective tips from GM distracted driving investigator Dan Glaser for Distracted Driving Month. There's more in his chat with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

How to stop students from using ChatGPT to cheat? Turnitin says technology can help teachers and schools. Chief Product Officer Annie Chechitelli and Distinguished Machine Learning Scientist Zack Bennett chat with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.        The home pizza oven category is hot these days and Solo Stove is giving consumers options.   For those already owning a Solo Stove Fire Pit, there’s the Pi Fire.   It sits on top creating an intense pizza oven.  Then there is the Pi Pizza Oven…and stand alone with a gas burner option. Product Marketing Manager Ty Hancock..

“Just like you would see in Italian ovens of two, three hundred years ago and even today, our pizza oven has a domed interior roof and what that allows the oven to do is trap a hot pocket of air above the topics.”

   The results… delicious.  There is also a very sturdy Pi Stand with useful shelves and caster wheels.   Like everything Solo Stove makes…the oven and stand are well made…we’re talking steel here…with lifetime warranties. 

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

     Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.     So what were the top search trends for the month of March?   The March Madness college basketball tournaments…men’s and women’s dominated the sports category.    Lots of interest.   The Oscars and the return of Succession led the entertainment search trends.   There were lots of searches related to Women’s History Month according to Google search trends expert Marley McAliley….and  also many around Daylight Savings Time…

           “ People were searching when does daylight savings permanently end more than ever.  So people were trying to figure out what happens with daylight savings, how long does it last, do we lose an hour of sleep?  Is there going to be a permanent end?   I know there has been a lot of talk of either ending daylight savings in certain states across the country.”

Also hot…searches for different varieties of pies…to celebrate Pi day…the mathematical variety.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.     Beanz is the name of an award winning publication aimed at kids 8 at up…focused on science, technology, engineering, art and math.  There is a physical magazine published six times a year ….or you can access digital editions.   And publisher Tim Slavin says there is a new push on…through donations…to bring the content to underserved kids …including those in shelters and at risk communities.  The idea is to expand the many copies already donated by beanz…

“People can donate to help us afford to continue and expand our efforts.  If people want to contribute, the URL is kidscodecs.org/donate.”

You can find the magazine at the site as well….and if you have a child or grandchild…it is very worthwhile to invest in a subscription.

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

Techstination Interview: Pies for Pi, Oscars, college basketball & more top March search trends. Google's Marley McAliley chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.