Joy went nuts and tried out half a dozen fitness trackers and smart watches. (One of them came with instructions only in Chinese.)
She liked the cheapest one best: the $30 Misfit Flash, which was waterproof and could track both steps and swimming strokes. Now it’s out in a $20 version called the Flash Link, with most of the old functions plus an app that can control the camera on your smartphone. (Missing is the ability to count swim strokes.)
The Link is the size of a watch. You clip it on clothing or buy a wristband. You can use it without connecting it to your phone or tablet, but the phone/ tablet app makes it more fun and gives you details on number of steps, weekly and monthly totals, day by day comparison and a check on how well you’re sleeping. Yep, it measures tossing and turning.
To take one of those currently wildly popular selfies, set your phone wherever you want, step back and press the button on the Link. (We must confess at this point that Bob has never taken a selfie. He already knows what he looks like.) The device also controls music on Spotify or Pandora, and can advance slides in a presentation; press the Link to advance a slide or skip to the next tune.
The only drawback we saw — and this is true of all Misfit products and a lot of other fitness trackers as well — is it doesn’t have a screen. (You don’t get everything for just $20.) You track your progress by pressing the face of the bracelet to see what percentage of your goal you’ve reached and teeny-weeny lights flash around the perimeter. If 80 percent of the lights around the rim are showing, you’ve gone 80 percent toward whatever goal you set. For a detailed report with real numbers, tap the app and all will be made clear to you on the screen of your smartphone.
MORE APPY WORKOUTS
OneSet is a free exercise app for Android and iPhone users for people to share workouts or find new things to do — like standing jumps onto a three-foot pile of something or other. The yoga videos were enough to scare Bob, and would gladden the heart of any orthopedic surgeon looking for business.
Users can share 15 seconds of their workouts here, just enough time for one set. Videos are organized by categories like “athletes,” “calisthenics” and “core.” Users also share progress pictures and after-workout selfies.
GOLF WHEREVER YOU ARE
Optishot Golf is a $500 simulator that fits in a briefcase and connects with a computer to analyze your swing. Videos and still shots from world-famous courses are projected onto whatever wall you happen to have handy. You can play alone or with two to four companions.
You put the ball on a small pad and as you swing a camera analyzes your style. You use your own clubs to hit real or foam golf balls on a bit of replaceable turf while you watch high definition video on the computer or project it on to a big screen.
It comes with fifteen golf courses ready to display and you can add more for more money. (Naturally.) The latest course to be replicated is the Old Scot, a legendary course and the oldest one in the world.
FREE ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS
PC Magazine recently did a review of leading free anti-virus programs. Their top picks were Panda Free Antivirus, BitDefender Anti-Virus Free Edition, and Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Free. Avast, which we’ve used for years, was number four out of ten. For tough problems needing paid support, we recommend HelpHelpNow.com (with which we have no connection).
WORLD’S TINIEST DRILL
One of the world’s tiniest 3D printers has printed the world’s tiniest cordless drill. It’s less than half the size of your thumb and you can see it in action at Engadget.com.
The drill is powered by a hearing aid battery. Its wires come from a headphone cable. Lance Abernethy of New Zealand, its creator, says the hardest part was assembling all the tiny pieces, printed out by the “Ultimaker 2” 3D printer. The wires kept breaking off, nearly short circuiting the battery.
(Of what use is a drill half the size of a thumbnail, you might ask. But when the ants and the fruit flies take over the world, you’ll wish you had paid closer attention.)
THE NUMBERS REPORT
Data breaches will cost companies $2.1 trillion globally by 2019, almost four times this year’s rate, according to Juniper Research. It’s because we’re putting almost everything that involves money online. The average cost of each data breach will exceed $150 million by 2020. (Remember: cyber-crime is a growth industry.)
INTERNUTS
“21 Wedding GIFs You’ll Love So Much” Do a search on those words to find some hilarious animations, including a swan that takes hold of the bride’s train and won’t let go, and a few toddlers who run amok (that’s what toddlers do).
“A Chinese City Welcomes Its Annual Algae Bloom” Chinese farmers grow seaweed on large rafts and when they clean them off, the algae spread and bloom. People then float on the stuff and have some fun. Later it’s sold for food. Yum.
POLITICS REDUX
Last week we wrote about Countable, a free app for iPhone, iPad and Android, that lets you know what federal bills are being proposed and will send emails to Congressmen, expressing your opinion on the bill. We tried this, of course, and were pleasantly surprised to get information on the pros and cons of each bill; we even got a personal email back from a senator.
Bob and Joy Schwabach can be reached by email at bobschwa@gmail.com and joydee@oncomp.com.