Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell & film's Zai Ortiz have partnered to create Virsix Games.  Their latest..Star Audition..is on Kickstarter... and integrates smart speakers with game play.   Come along for a visit to Nolan's dream garage for tinkerers!

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.   Tax returns may be more complicated for many people this year as a result of the pandemic.  With job losses and unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, side jobs, increased self employment and more…there are so many questions.  At TurboTax…they have geared up to help….in both the free versions of their software and the paid versions.  TurboTax CPA and tax expert Lisa Greene-Lewis says live help is just a click away…

“On every screen if you decide you have a question, you could connect to our TurboTax Live tax experts to get your questions answered.”

You can use a phone, tablet or computer.  New this year is the option to fully hand over your taxes….to have them prepared by a TurboTax expert.  Find more at www.TurboTax.com.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  EnergyX Solutions is a Toronto based company that is making a big difference for many consumers and businesses….even though the name probably doesn’t ring a bell.  What they do is provide solutions to utilities throughout the U.S. and Canada….that enable their customers to cut energy usage and bills.  CEO Nashaant Sangaavi…says utilities typically rebrand the platform and apps for consumers to make use of…

“So that they understand what the best measures are around their home to take action on and then at the same time, facilitate that entire process, so homeowners and business owners can actually realize savings.”

It can be a win win….with consumers saving money….and utilities needing to build fewer expensive new power plants.  Find more at www.energyxsolutions.com.

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

Last Gadget Standing founder Robin Raskin launches the VEG Group.   What's that?    Robin joins Fred Fishkin for a Techstination interview.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.        Amazon has teamed up with Georgia Tech and Pharrell Williams…on an initiative called Your Voice is Power.   The idea is to teach middle and high school students coding…through music…and also teach the importance of racial justice.   At Georgia Tech, Dr. Roxanne Moore says learning coding through music is assisted by software called Ear Sketch..

“Ear Sketch was designed at Georgia Tech to bring together music in a really authentic way …really cool music like Pharrell’s song Entrepreneur and these computing constructs that otherwise might seem kind of dry to middle and high school audiences.”

Kids use coding to remix the music…and can compete for prizes as well.      Find more info at www.amazonfutureengineer.com/yourvoiceispower.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  Forget chocolates …..what your valentine really wants is a great way to make beer at home.  Hey…you can always try.  The Beermkr home brewing system …is designed for true afficianados…who may be experienced or absolute beginners.  The Beermkr machine is designed to be fool proof…using ingredients sold in kits…or purchased on your own….  Add them into the brewing chamber….along with water….get things going with the Beermakr app….and it is all automated from there.  Co-Founder and CEO Aaron Walls… says the app keeps you informed as the process goes along…

“We built in a lot of sensors into the system so it knows how much CO2 is being produced by the yeast.  It will show you exactly what stage the fermentation is in.  It will manage the temperature by the fermentation.”

All the tricky stuff handled by the countertop machine.  And you can customize the recipe to your heart’s content.  Very smart.  Find more info at www.beermkr.com.

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

Techstination Week is a compilation of this week's Techstination reports with tech journalist and host Fred Fishkin.

Accell's Air USB C 4K Driver Less Dock arrives. How versatile?   Co-founder and marketing VP Tenny Sin chats with Techstination.

Ranking EV charging stations: umlaut partners with ChargedEV.  umlaut U.S. Managing Director Hakan Ekman in Techstination interview.