Techstination

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. What kind of a year has it been for consumer technology? Google, Apple and Samsung continued their head to head battles …bringing great camera technology into their smartphones. SpaceX satellite communication has begun to arrive in phones too. But the biggest news has been the continued advancements in AI on many fronts…

“The story of the year is generative AI. It’s made such a difference. It’s embedded in more and more products and more and more software. And it’s moving along affecting not only consumers, but the workplace.”

Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro, who is looking for more groundbreaking announcements at CES next month.. And the advancements in autonomous mobility at companies like Tesla and Waymo were also remarkable this year. Stay tuned.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. Continuing our look at the advances in AI this year. For Microsoft 365 subscribers…there is more and more automation and assistance available through Copilot …and it’s become more conversational..

“Good morning, Fred. What can I do for you?” Well I’d like you to tell me if you can, what are some of the latest capabilities in Microsoft Copilot? “Microsoft Copilot aims to boost productivity and creativity across Microsoft 365, integrating deeply into tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. It’s all about using AI to help draft content, create summaries and even analyze data insights in a more natural and intuitive way.”

Microsoft’s Ignite 2024 conference provided some real life examples of AI agents and their impact on productivity.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. Brava smart ovens …with their latest software update…is one of the most everyday useful additions to a smart home that we have seen this year. Using light, the oven can cook multiple dishes at once….say potatoes, chicken and vegetables…all to perfection…controlling the heat to each section of the cooking tray independently. And the app, that let’s you watch what is going on inside the oven…now gives you full control as well. Director of Product Management Zac Selmon…says there is a WiFi connection..

“The oven uses that for all the connected features, streaming the video and all that and for downloading updates. But the oven can function not connected to the Internet, all the recipes live on the oven and you can use it even when you’re not connected to WiFi.”

The Brava Smart Oven is an investment, but one that with the updates, gets better over time.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. It’s never too late for a last minute gift these days….thanks to online gift cards that can be sent instantly to anyone, anywhere. We hope you get to enjoy the holiday surrounded by family and friends. And the topics of conversation…well they may reflect what was trending on Google Search this year. Google’s Jennifer Jones..

“Election 2024 dominated our news as far as searches this year. Election was actually the number one top result on Google search. Number two was actually President-elect Donald Trump and number three is surprising. A sneak in of Connections, which is the New York Times newest game in their online gaming portfolio.”

Move over, Wordle. Wishing you and yours holiday cheer…and a very happy New Year from all of us at Techstination.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.     With a little tech…you can eat  healthier over the holidays.  Abbott’s Lingo business…that’s an over the counter continuous glucose monitor…has recipes and more at HelloLingo.com.  Lingo nutritionist and famed marathon runner Pam Nisevich Bede…

“What we’re about at Lingo is finding a way to eat in a way that is metabolically healthy.  So maybe it’s just some small tweaks to your familiar favorites and also tools like Abbott’s Lingo continuous glucose monitor.  It’s a CGM, it sits on the back of your arm for up to 14 days.  It’s over the counter.  And what it does is, the biosensor is going to pair with the Lingo app on your smartphone.”

It’s iOS for now.   More info? The site again is HelloLingo.com.   Happy Holidays!

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. Looking for a last minute chat with Santa? ChatGPT has brought Santa into the world of generative AI. You …and maybe with the kids on hand…can have real time conversations….even ask him for stories or jokes. Jackie Shannon is Advanced Voice Mode Product Lead..

“It really feels like this natural, magical experience talking with Mr. Claus himself. And the reason why it feels so natural is that our voice mode is just really easy to talk to. It feels just like talking with a co-worker and a friend. That’s because it uses our 4.0 model that’s natively multi-modal.”

”Life at the North Pole is simply magical. The snow glistens like diamonds and the reindeer prance through the frosty air.”

You can try for free at ChatGPT.com. Happy Holidays.

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

1More is getting into the Smart Glasses category while continuing to innovate with new WiFi connected headphones and open ear earbuds. The latest? 1More's Timothy Hsu chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. Look at all the tech in some of the hottest toys this holiday season. There’s Hero the Sound Sensing Robot from Thames and Kosmos….it reacts to sounds and can locate you. Best part…kids have to build it. Younger kids will love Poe…the AI Story Bear. It can tell stories in 20 different languages. And The Toy Insider editor Ali Mierzejewski says for creative fun, there’s the Hue Animation Studio..

“It comes with this camera that you can just hook up to any device that has a USB function. The box itself opens up an turns into a studio. You can make your very own stop motion videos. So it comes with this great book that teaches you how to make different things, how to move them, different things about camera angles and sound.”

Great creative fun. Find more, year round, at TheToyInsider.com.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.   I’m Fred Fishkin.     We’ve seen some impressive deals on security cameras during the holiday season and it really pays to shop around.   We’re fans of what Eufy has done with the S330 kits that work with the HomeBase 3 for local storage without the need for a subscription.  And the cameras can work in conjunction with Eufy’s great outdoor lighting products.     Reolink, at last look, still has some very significant discounts on its line up of smart security cameras.   Their cameras can also work with a Home Hub eliminating the need for cloud storage.   And at Wyze…we like that they’ve created an inexpensive floodlight plug in mount for installing wired cameras where you may not have a junction box using an outdoor outlet instead.  That can be a money saver and is perfect for the company’s Floodlight v2.  

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

Integral AI STREAM will allow you to create a video game and play it on the fly. And that's just the start. Founder and CEO Jad Tariffi chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.