Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.    With Them Front Lines is a game designed by gamers for gamers…with a bit of a twist.   The co-founders of the company, ORE Systems, include military veterans who are telling their stories…and the stories of other veterans as part of the game play.    Managing Partner Shawn Piatz..says the aim is to promote mental health among veterans….

“ The thing we’re doing that’s different from other people is we’re using real characters in real situations.  Our intention is to put into it medical therapeutics.  We have some custom algorithms and wearables that we’re integrating inside of the game, opt in only, that will create a data set for researchers to understand what the triggers are for PTSD and some of the other things veterans suffer from over time.”

And hopefully…be able to help.   Learn more at www.withthem.co.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.   An update from Bird Buddy…maker of a camera equipped smarter bird feeder.  The company hit Kickstarter last week  with both a smart hummingbird feeder and a smart bird bath….and within two hours raised a million dollars, ten times their goal.   CEO Franci Zidar says it uses the same high quality rugged outdoor camera for video and still images..that has won many fans for the original..

“It’s beautiful.  It is exciting.  I think we blew through our goal in the first ten minutes.  This shows the passion, the momentum that’s behind this beautiful hobby…which is backyard birding.  And I think we have a really fortunate place to be a brand in this place kind of crafting the future of that.”

You can find the campaign and order at a discount…and learn more about the original Smart Bird Feeder at www.mybirdbuddy.com.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.   Ford is bringing more connectivity and over the air updates to the new Ranger mid sized truck line.    Ranger Raptor Marketing Manager Gretchen Sauer…

“So one of the things that we’ve got going on this year in the 2024 Ranger is an embedded 4G LTE modem.  So keeping up with emails, social media, all of that goodness when you’re out on the trails.    We have over the air updates, which are scheduled fixes, little updates that will shoot out to your truck so you can keep it updated, keep it fresh and always up to date on the latest and greatest.  Think of it just like your iPhone.”

Tech also enables Pro Trailer Backup Assist and there’s also an available 360 degree camera.  Storage compartments are well thought out too.   The new Ford Ranger ships late summer.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.       A couple gift ideas for Father’s Day for Dad’s who love to read.      The Heart of the Wild … Dispatches From Landscapes of Wonder, Peril and Hope is a new title from science and nature writer David Quammen.   He worked with a collection of his writings for National Geographic…telling tales of long treks through Africa with explorers like Mike Fay and the wonderous Jane Goodall …who learned how to use duct tape to combat blisters from Quammen..in the Congo…

“Twelve kilometers through the swamp and the forest to get her to this remote place.  She was wearing a cheap pair of plastic market sandals and her feet were torn up by the time we got to the camp.”

The title again… The Heart of the Wild.   Other recommended books .. Adam Gopnik’s The Real Work on the Mystery of Mastery….and Dr. Michael Roizen’s latest…The Great Age Reboot.

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

Reliefband continues to innovate with tech to combat nausea. The latest is the Reliefband Flex. How does it work? CEO Rich Ransom chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Here comes summer. For parents there are more concerns about screen time and online safety. Google technology and safety expert Alex Joseph chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.        OtO is the name of a smart watering system for your lawn or garden that is powered by a built in solar panel.   It can also automatically mix in nutrients or other solutions that the company sells.  A single OtO can cover up to 28 hundred square feet and is priced at about 340 dollars.   We found set up to be simple…attach a hose…set up WiFi and then an app lets you control where the water is delivered and when.  CEO Ali Sabti says …the connectivity is important here..

“So it’s going to be looking at the rain, wind, all of those different weather parameters and making judgements about how much water to put down and when to put it down.”

The one down side is…this is more of a stream of water than a spray …but there are work arounds since you can pinpoint the stream.   Find more at www.oto.lawn.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.      Around the house innovations.  AirHood is the name of a company that has designed a clever portable exhaust fan for cooking.   It pulls in smoke, fumes and has a filter for grease as well.   It is handy to use with portable burners..or maybe in RVs and there are even models that work on rechargeable batteries.    It sits alongside the cooking area and features an activated charcoal filter.   The price..about 160 dollars.   Find more at www.airhood.com.   Another interesting innovation comes from Fold-N-Pack.   It has developed a Smart Hanger with a mechanism to make it easy to fold a shirt to fit in a carry on bag…without removing it from the hanger.   The price …about 20 dollars at www.foldnpack.com.

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