Powermat expands wireless charging

I was quick to applaud Starbucks when the company announced a deal with Powermat that would put wireless charging stations in its stores.

That's how life with a mobile phone should be - just place your phone on a designated hotspot and it gets refueled while you get refreshed.

Powermat also teamed with General Motors to bring wireless charging to many GM vehicles. And earlier this year, Powermat said it would begin supporting the Qi standard for wireless charging devices, which would make them compatible with the technology adopted by Apple for it's newest phones.

Don't be surprised to see Powermat's chargers turning up in other vehicles, appliances and devices. Powermat's inductive wireless charging has also been adopted by Duracell and AT&T.

The company is focusing on partnerships with other manufacturers and retailers that cater to mobile phone users - and that covers just about everybody. Powermat's charging disks can be found in airports, sports arenas, malls and restaurants. Earlier this year, the company said it had 12,000 charging spots in the US and Europe and it's technology is being embedded in millions of cars and smartphones.     

For more details on how Powermat's wireless system is expanding, check out the Business Solutions section on the Powermat website.

By: Ric Manning On 7/05/2018

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These computers are built to go to war

Some years back, I was allowed to tag along with a US Army unit during combat training in the Mojave Desert at Fort Irwin, the Army’s National Training Center.

Long before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the NTC was the place the Army brought its troops, weapons and computers to see how they could perform in an environment of intense heat and persistent dust.

I’m guessing that the NTC is also the kind of environment the people at Chassis Plans have in mind when they build the company’s line of rack-mount computers and servers.  

Chassis Plans says its computers use aircraft grade aluminum to provide the optimum ruggedness with minimal weight. The systems also incorporate their SysCool Intelligent Adaptive Fan Control System for “optimum environmental performance and minimize fan noise.”

The US-built computers use motherboards or backplanes containing a variety of chip sets and processors including Core i5/i7 and 4/6/8/10/12 Core single and dual Xeon processors.

To get a closer look at their lineup of rugged computers, displays and keyboards, visit the Chassis Plans website.

By: Ric Manning On 11/30/2016

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UK company delivers high-tech inks

Almost every time our daughter comes for a visit, she searches our pantry and refrigerator checking the expiration dates on our food items and their packages.

I also look at those date stamps, but my brain is wondering how they got here and who came up with an ink that can be safely applied directly to the skin of an apple or an orange?

It turns out that a lot of the ink used to mark food and food containers comes from Needham Ink, a British company that sells a wide range of specialty inks, including food-grade inks that can be applied to metal cans, glass bottles and flexible plastic bags.
 
Established more than 50 years ago, Needham sells inks to companies in more than 73 countries across Europe, the US and Asia. The company’s products include inks, markers and paints for all types of industrial applications, including all those dot-marked dates and numbers you see in the supermarket and in your kitchen.

For more details on their products and services, visit the Needham Ink website. 

By: Ric Manning On 11/30/2016

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My favorite casino? The one where Frank, Deano and Sammy played

I’m not a regular online gambler, but I occasionally write articles about Internet casinos and sometimes I take a seat at one of their Blackjack tables. When I visited the bgo online casino recently, I got to thinking about the first time I gambled in a Las Vegas casino. It was in the early 1990s when I went to Vegas to attend Comdex, the huge trade show for the personal computer industry. After exploring the booths and exhibits all day, a friend and I would stop at the Sands to play a few hands of blackjack.

The Sands was an iconic hotel and casino with a name that was known to people who had never been to Las Vegas. In its early days, the Sands was linked to Vegas mobsters like Meyer Lansky and at one time it was owned by famously reclusive businessman Howard Hughes. In the1950s, Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack buddies Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. performed and hung out at the Sands. The 1960 movie Ocean’s 11 was filmed there and photos of the Rat Pack stars still decorated the walls 30 years later.

By then, the place was in a downward spiral and by 1996 it would be imploded to make way for the Venetian. But but it was just right for us. With the tourists hitting the glitzier casinos, we could easily find a low-stakes blackjack table and our favorite dealer, Nick, who was talkative and helpful. He explained when to take a card, when to stand and how to split, double down or buy insurance. We gave him a nice tip and he gave us coffee mugs. They probably had a lot of them to unload before the dynamite crews arrived.

When I return to Las Vegas in a couple of months, I’d like to be more prepared to gamble than I was when I was a newbie at the Sands. And unless I can find another Nick to teach me the finer points of Roulette, Craps and PaiGow, I’ll be practicing at some of the many online casinos that now populate the Internet.

I recently checked out the BFC Playground where I got some free chips to get me started after I registered. And I tried the BetCoin Casino where I could use Bitcoin cryptocurrency to play a number of traditional and exotic games. But bgo seemed to have something for everyone. It offered many of the same games I see in Vegas and it gives new players free spins on its Starburst slot when they sign up.

The bgo casino looked like a great spot for slots players. The site lists more than 200 different slot games including Wheel of Fortune and some others that I remember from strolling through Las Vegas casinos. Wandering around the bgo website, I also found Bingo rooms, where new rounds start every few minutes, and plenty of table games. Poker comes in 14 flavors (Dueces Wild, Jacks or Better, etc.), some Blackjack versions I’ve never heard of (Double Attack, Pontoon) and 16 styles of Roulette.

While I drop in at Internet casinos mostly to work on my meager gaming skills, I’ve encountered more skilled players who say they earn a nice side income in the digital world. Many online casinos offer something that you can’t get in a real-world casino: the ability to play multiple table games simultaneously.

Multi-tabling lets players view several card tables or roulette wheels on their computer screens at the same time. In a way, it’s like how my Aunt Mildred played Bingo at the church with four or five cards. It reminded me of the time Backgammon expert Paul Magriel came to town and played me and about 20 other people in the space of about 15 minutes. And no, I didn’t win.

Playing multiple games, especially at low stakes, can increase the chance of multiple wins. An article posted at The 405 said “there are a number of people playing on 20 tables at the same time and making a tidy profit in the process.”  But another article at Online Betting warns that there is a thin line “between increasing your profitability through multi-tabling and wiping it out altogether.” Other sites suggest that multi-tabling might be best suited for games like Roulette where there are few decisions and less strategy to think about.

I might be tempted to try multi-table Roulette, but I will probably just stick with the version of multi-tabling that I already understand: splitting a pair of face cards at the Blackjack table.

By: Ric Manning On 10/03/2016

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This machine does laser engraving on a desktop

If you’ve ever seen a logo, barcode or an intricate type font engraved on a metal surface, like me, you probably wondered how they did that. The answer is with a laser and a computer.

The manufacturing industry has been using lasers to etch serial numbers into metal parts for years, but today, laser engraving machines have become more accessible and affordable. Some laser engraving machines are not much bigger than a computer printer and almost as easy to use.

The MLMe fiber laser system, for example, can be programmed and controlled from desktop or portable computer using a simple USB cable connection. The MLMe, made by Cincinnati-based Tykma Electrox, uses the Minilase Pro SE software package to laser mark text, barcodes, serial numbers and graphics.

The machine apply engravings on a variety of surfaces including aluminum, brass, copper and painted metal. It also works with plastics and other substances.

The MLMe is sold by Needham Coding, which offers detailed information about the machine on the company’s website.

By: Ric Manning On 9/05/2016

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StackJobs posts free IT job openings in the UK

If you have computer programming skills, you probably know how to find a job in the US. But what if you would like to work in the UK?

A new website called StackJobs is loaded with listings for IT positions with both large firms and small startups.

Companies seeking employees can post an opening for free to appear on the site and in other IT recruiting channels. A typical listing includes a description of the position, employee benefits and a list of required skills. Some listing also include pay ranges.

The listings on StackJobs are tagged according to the skill sets sought by employers. Some of the top-trending skills include JavaScript, SQL ,HTML, .NET, C++ and Agile software development. Here's an example of job listings for Python coders.

The site is also free for job seekers to use. To check out the latest listings or to browse openings that match specific skills, visit the StackJobs website.

By: Ric Manning On 7/09/2016

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Fun with Kickstarter

It's tempting to view Kickstarter as an online store where you can find cool and unusual gadgets and place advance orders at discount prices. That's pretty much what attracted me to the website.

Browsing the listings recently, I found a phone charger that can fit on a keychain, a temperature sensor that plugs into a smartphone, and a device that turns a conventional speaker into a Bluetooth speaker.

But Kickstarter says that would be missing the point. The website notes that Kickstarter is not a store and that backing a project is more than just giving someone your money. "It’s supporting their dream to create something that they want to see exist in the world. People rally around their friends’ projects, fans support people they admire, and others simply come to Kickstarter to be inspired by new ideas."

Read more about Kickstarter in my column at MyWell-Being.com.

By: Ric Manning On 4/18/2013

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Andrew Prell readies second season of Startup Icon

When I first met Andrew Prell in the 1990s, he was living in Louisville and pursuing his dream of building a virtual reality arcade game. By 1993 he had arcade games in several high-profile locations, including the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

But while his games never matched the popularity of Ms. Pac-Man or Space Invaders, his quest brought him into the orbits of several high-powered entrepreneurs. His company, Agora Interactive, counted among its backers Computer Associates founder Charles Wang and Nolan Bushnell, the legendary founder of Atari.

Today, Prell divides his time between Louisville and Silicon Valley where he is the brains behind Startup Icon, a project that merges business and entertainment in a web-based competition that has been called an "American Idol for startups."

I ran into Prell at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and caught up with him again last week at a Highlands coffee shop. He filled me in on his plans for the second season of StartUp Icon, which is currently lining up contestants for this year’s competition. The playoffs will start later this spring. 

You don't have to be an entrepreneur to participate. Anyone can sign up to try out the competitors' apps and products and provide feedback in the website forums. Once the playoff is under way, the audience can also get in line for gifts and prizes.
 
To get more details about the show, check out my interview with Press at High Gain Blog.

By: Ric Manning On 4/01/2013

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