Techstination

Here comes a new generation of Power Wheels! Mattel partner Sakar is delivering a new battery powered ride-on line up designed to wow kids once again. Details? SVP Bobby Stewart chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. Protecting yourself on the road. If you don’t have a dashcam…either as part of the vehicle you own or, more typically, an add-on… what are you waiting for. Dashcams, in the event of a mishap, can be really valuable in providing evidence of what really happened. Beyond that, some can help you avoid the mishap in the first place. The 4K Omni from 70mai is a unique model that can rotate 360 degrees, can be hardwired to your vehicle for added protection and has those safety features too. There are audible alerts for lane departures, forward collisions, pedestrians or cyclists…and it will let you know when stopped traffic starts to move. One of the really unique capabilities is swiveling which you can control by voice. More info? Head to 70mai.com.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. The launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at the end of last month is just the beginning. Now the work begins to deploy, test and calibrate the optics and instruments on board before full scientific operations begin. And then? NASA Roman Systems Engineer Mark Melton…

“Roman is designed to answer some of scientists’ biggest questions including how has the universe evolved over time and how have dark energy and dark matter contributed to that. And also how common are planetary systems like ours in our galaxy.”

It will hopefully begin exploring for answers starting early next year. The telescope is named for the late Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first female executive and first Chief of Astronomy.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. By now you have likely heard about the landmark 17.1 billion dollar settlement agreed to last month in a child safety case against Meta. What will be the impact? Teenagers under 18 now face a default cumulative two hour daily time limit across Facebook and Instagram that only a parent can override. Structural product changes block app access between midnight and six a.m. and silence push notifications during standard school hours. Design changes will also curb infinite scrolling and ban cosmetic surgery filters. And while users won’t receive direct cash payouts from the multi-state deal, the penalties will fund state consumer protection, youth mental health and media literacy programs. It is welcome news for families that will hopefully lead to more parental awareness as well.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. More innovation from the folks at Ancestry in helping you learn more about relationships and your family history. Senior Population Geneticist Aaron Wolf says AI is assisting in what the company calls its Match Relationship Predictor…

“This is based on trying to give members the clearest and most precise information about their relationship. We know that interested genealogists will peruse through their match list and try and identify how they are connected to any of these individuals. What we’ve done in the past is we’ve relied on the amount of DNA you share with any to give you a sense of how you may be related. Whether that’s a first cousin, an aunt or uncle, grandparent, etc.”

And AI can help to make the prediction more precise. Also new is the Region Match Filter. Check out our full interview and head to Ancestry.com for more.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. If you are one of the many, many karaoke lovers out there, Newtown Technologies is doing some reinventing with the Seratone Karaoke system. Founder and CEO Jean-Pierre Villeneuve..says it lets you use the speaker system you already have…by adding a little box..

“The actual user experience is just four knobs. Mic volume one, mic volume two, music volume and reverb. And there’s nothing more to it than that. I wanted to create something that my nine year old daughter could use.”

It works with a phone, tablet and even Bluetooth speakers and a range of karaoke apps. The sound quality is impressive. There’s special Kickstarter pricing now, but at 369 dollars it is a bit of an investment. Learn more at Seratone.audio.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. The folks at Sakar’s Incipio brand have created some smart products, Walmart Desk Essentials, to help with organization and more for students…or maybe even for that home office. Such as? The company’s Ezra Laniado..

“So things like headset stands, laptop stands, monitor risers, rechargeable desk fans, the vacuums, instead of using the compressed air cans that you can never find. A wireless universal remote. There’s a lot that goes into it, a lot that went into it. We’re just trying to create that new home environment or that new dorm environment for people with a great brand and great products.”

The rechargeable keyboard vacuum is good for dust and such. Look for the Incipio accessories at Walmart.com.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. Adding more fun for early readers is always a good idea, I think. And Glo Pals is doing just that with a Magic Magnifier that makes books light p and come to life. The battery powered wand illuminates hidden elements when used on the pages of the books. The company and its approach come from a Mississippi State University project co-founders Anna Barker and Hagan Walker worked on. Initially there were light up cubes for the bath that they learned helped children with autism. Barker says, with the books, the idea is to bring more fun to early reading..

“And that really is a big part of our mission, is how do we find ways to engage kids in interactive technology, but in a way that is inherently hands on.”

Success? More than ten million products have been sold. Learn more at GloPals.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 been impressed with the Status Audio Pro X Series from the start. They’ve delivered great sound and style…I especially like how they bring out the vocals. And now, Status is out with the Golden Sound Edition. These feature custom engineered tuning built in collaboration with Imperial College in London and audio reviewer GoldenSound. They are a bit higher priced …at 279 dollars…but the improvements are noticeable when it comes to delivering natural sound and presence. The company worked with the acoustics lab at Imperial College to map how sound travels into the ear. On the style side…the black and gold trim manages to look good but not gaudy. We like what we hear and see. More info? The site is Status.co.

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

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. Back to school search trends? It is that time of year and at Google, trends expert Nick Burns tells us some familiar names lead in the backpack trends..

“It’s interesting. Lilly Pulitzer and K-Pop Demon Hunters are still kind of the top trending brands of school supplies overall in terms of searches over the past month. And it’s probably no surprise that things like three ring binders and notebooks and pencil case continue to spike. We are also seeing search interest in things like stainless steel lunch boxes for kids. Search interest in that actually tripled in the past month. And also lunch boxes with ice packs. So that’s actually really helpful, I think.”

At least some things don’t seem to change all that much. You can learn more about some of the latest at tends.google.com. Try searching for back to school using AI mode for some extra help.

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