Crowdfunded Gadgets That Talk To Your Home And Charge Your Phone With Wind Power

Editor’s note: Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research, a technology, media and telecom advisory firm, and founder of Backerjack. He blogs at Techspressive. Each week, Backerjack shares three tech-related products seeking funding. 

Talk to your home and have it listen and respond with ALYT

Part of the smart-home dream has always been being able to talk with a place of residence and trust it to control climate, security and sense problems. Of course, for as long as smart-home technology has been developed, it’s been reaching toward this goal without ever getting there.

ALYT is an Android-powered hub that looks like the solution to these problems. By being an open platform operating on just about every imaginable form of wireless data, ALYT allows for voice and video recognition to control virtually any aspect of a home – as long as developers create an app for it. Compatible with iOS, Android, Bluetooth, NFC, Z-Wave, 3.5G and more, the flexibility of the ALYT system opens it up to all kinds of innovative development.

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Open-Me gives you 24-hour garage door access from anywhere

Homeowners constantly have to ask themselves questions about the state they left things in. Is the oven on? Is the front door locked? Did I close the garage door when I left? Now with a combination of some hardware and an app, that last question is a question no longer.

Open-Me is a sonar sensor that can be placed on a garage door that hooks up to a home Wi-Fi network. By checking the app, users can determine if their garage door is open by even as little as a foot, and open or close it remotely. Additionally, using GPS, the app can be adjusted to open automatically when the synced phone or tablet is within a user-determined distance, and to close automatically once that device travels outside of that range.

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Trinity is a miniature wind turbine to keep your gadgets charged

We’ve all been there. Our phones die and we have no access to an outlet. When in public, there’s always the option of trolling for one in a Starbucks, but for those out camping or hiking, there’s little hope.

Trinity is a portable wind turbine power system with USB and micro USB ports. The micro USB port is used to charge the turbine before it can be uses with a 15,000 mAh battery. The mini turbine is powered by a 15W generator. It has three legs that fold out either into a tripod shape or flat on the ground. Trinity is white and the body is 12” long with 11” legs.

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This Week On The TC Gadgets Podcast: Siri Hack, Amazon Smartphone, And Galaxy Gear

Siri was hacked! But don’t panic — it’s apparently a really fun hack that gives Siri access to your other apps. Meanwhile, rumors are swirling over Amazon’s forthcoming smartphone with 3D-gesture features. Plus, we’re taking a good hard look at the Galaxy Gear smart watch equipment from Samsung. Or, more accurately, we diverge into talking about the Galaxy S5.

Also, it’s Good Friday.

We discuss all this and more on this week’s episode of the TC Gadgets Podcast featuring John Biggs, Matt Burns, Jordan Crook, and Darrell Etherington.

We invite you to enjoy our weekly podcasts every Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern and noon Pacific. And feel free to check out the TechCrunch Gadgets Flipboard magazine right here.

Click here to download an MP3 of this show.
You can subscribe to the show via RSS.
Subscribe in iTunes

Intro Music by Mendhoan.

This Week On The TC Gadgets Podcast: Amazon FireTV, Windows Phone 8.1, And The New Start Screen

Another week has come and gone, and with its close, we offer you this Friday Gadgets podcast.

Today we’re talking about Microsoft’s introduction of Windows Phone 8.1, as well as their re-introduction of the much beloved and never-forgotten Start screen. Plus, Amazon launched a brand new media console called the FireTV that includes gaming functionality.

I know, it was a big week.

We discuss all this and more on this week’s episode of the TC Gadgets Podcast featuring John Biggs, Matt Burns, Jordan Crook, and Darrell Etherington.

Have a good Friday, everybody!

We invite you to enjoy our weekly podcasts every Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern and noon Pacific. And feel free to check out the TechCrunch Gadgets Flipboard magazine right here.

Click here to download an MP3 of this show.
You can subscribe to the show via RSS.
Subscribe in iTunes

Intro Music by Mendhoan.

Clear the Table of Gadgets for Attentive, Productive Meetings

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The mere presence of a smartphone on the table can make you want to reach across when you see a notification; even that little LED light can be a distraction. For better meeting etiquette and to be more productive, clear the table of all gadgets, suggests Karen Cleveland of mannersaresexy.com.

Cleveland recommends what she calls "topless meetings." She isn't talking about taking your shirt off, to be sure, but rather keeping all devices off the table to avoid distraction. "It ... does wonders for removing the temptation to squeeze in a text or email when our attention should be on the meeting," she says. "It's similar to grade school: If you don't want to share what you're doing with the rest of the class, then don't bring it."

"Let's have a topless meeting," might not be the smartest words to come out of your mouth, but you should still read some of the other advice in the full article linked below.

Meeting Etiquette 101: Fist Bumps, Going Topless, And Picking Up Tabs | Fast Company

Photo by Highways Agency.

View the Original article

This Week On The TC Gadgets Podcast: Android Wear, Virtual Reality Headsets, And Popcorn Time

It’s been an exciting week in the land of gadgets.

Google revealed a version of Android built for smart watches, and LG and Motorola subsequently revealed their hardware to go along with it. A slew of virtual reality gaming headsets hit the scene, including one from Sony called Project Morpheus. And if that weren’t enough, we discovered the magic of Popcorn Time, for those of you who love Netflix but ran out of content.

We discuss all this and more on this week’s episode of the TC Gadgets Podcast, featuring Matt Burns, Jordan Crook, and Darrell Etherington.

Enjoy!

We invite you to enjoy our weekly podcasts every Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern and noon Pacific. And feel free to check out the TechCrunch Gadgets Flipboard magazine right here.

Click here to download an MP3 of this show.
You can subscribe to the show via RSS.
Subscribe in iTunes

Intro Music by Rick Barr.