Control Time with Dropcam’s Timelapse Feature

Dropcam Gets Timelapse Capability

Everyone loves timelapse photography, right? But no one wants to actually have to take the time to really set it up, take thousands of photos, then process them into a video. Except the folks at Dropcam!

That’s right, if you have a Dropcam you can now log into your account, select a time period, and turn it into a timelapse! You can even choose the length of the clip, and it also has a “smart” feature which will slow down the periods of the video where there is motion detected.

Once your timelapse is processed they’ll let you know and you can share with the world! And remember, we currently have 9 public Dropcams so you can watch all the action at our current office as well as at the new Geek House while its under construction!

MacBook Air Gets Spec Bump and Price Drop

If you’ve been holding off buying a MacBook Air, this might be a good time to do it. Apple announced a processor upgrade to slightly faster Intel Haswell processors, and reduced the price of all models by $100. The base-model 11″ and 13″ machines are now $899 and $999, and the higher-end models are $1,099 and $1,199.

The Sound Power of Mighty Dwarf

Some of you may remember when we unboxed the Mighty Dwarf Blue II Bluetooth speaker a few weeks ago on the Live show. I’d never heard of it before it showed up, but I took a wild guess that it had some sort of noise conduction thingy built-in.

After the show I stuck it on our table and paired it with my phone, and when I turned it on I freaked out! In fact, after that show, basically everyone in the building came over to check that thing out.

Best of all, the little speaker is also a speakerphone! So if you’re going to carry it with you for music and stuff, you might as well also use it for conference calls. Just stick it on a table and let ‘er rip!

The Blue II is $100 on Amazon, and it’s so awesome that I’m giving it an Editor’s Choice award! I would highly recommend picking one of these up if you want a tiny little device that can produce an extraordinary amount of sound. There isn’t anything else in its class available right now, and if nothing else you can win enough bets with your friends to easily pay for this little sucker! Just tell them your little speaker sounds better than their bigger one!

USB Type C Promises a Simpler Cable

Ok, who else hates all those stupid USB cables? Lets see, we’ve got micro, mini, the square kind you put in a printer, some cables are charge only, and some are data + charge… OH! And if you manage to dig out the right cable, you still have to plug it in right side up! Try doing that in the dark…

But fear not! A new USB interface is on the way! It’s called Type C, and it includes a new reversible connector! Not only does it offer the same connector on each end, and both ends can be inserted any way you want – the cable is capable of transfer rates up to 10 Gbps!

The new specs should be finished in a couple of months, so my guess is that we’ll probably start seeing the first product hitting the market around the holidays this year, with widespread adoption over the following 12 months or so. USB Type C should also fit nicely with the EU’s new edict that ALL phones must share a common cable type. So I’m guessing Apple will finally be forced to adopt a USB standard.

The Electric VTOL Future of Air Travel

Nothing ruins a nice peaceful walk outdoors quite like the roar of an airplane overhead. Well, inventor and entrepreneur JoeBen Bevirt is looking to change all that with his VTOL electric airplane!

The S2 is a new design that will take off vertically, like a helicopter, and then convert to aerodynamic flight, like an airplane.

He hasn’t actually built one yet, the team has built about two dozen 10-pound models to demonstrate the concept. And now NASA is funding the development of a 55-pound version.

Simulations indicate that a full sized 1,700-pound S2 could fly two people about 200 miles in an hour on 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is the equivalent of 1.5 gallons of fuel. That would make the electric aircraft about five times more efficient than your standard gas burner.

The concept is pretty simple. Rather than using a couple of big hungry motors, just use a bunch of small ones! Hmm. I wonder what would happen if I bought about 20 of those little consumer quadcopters and strapped them all together…?

Future Tech for Battlefield Wounds

A new product called XStat was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of gunshot and shrapnel wounds on the battlefield!

One of the biggest problems that can occur in combat situations is obviously sustaining a gaping wound. But something like… oh, I don’t know… 90% of soldiers die needlessly!

Hey, we don’t let facts get in the way here. The bottom line is that it’s not the wound that kills most people, it’s the bleeding out part. And it can be really hard to stop a gushing wound, so RevMedX invented the XStat.

The XStat is like a giant needle that you shove in a big hole, squeeze, and deposit a bunch of sponges that expand and swell to fill a wound within 20 seconds of contact with blood.

This creates a temporary barrier to blood flow and provides hemostatic pressure. It’s a brilliant idea that could save a LOT of lives. I just hope no one ever needs to actually use one.

Is This The End for Google+?

Which reminds me, one last story for today! The Death of Google+!

I don’t know about you, but Cali and I have been hearing a ton of rumors about Google reallocating most of the Google+ staff and basically calling the platform a failed attempt. Which could explain why Vic left the company.

If they walk away from Google+ like they have other stuff I’m going to be REALLY pissed! So tomorrow, Cali and I are going to talk about what we’re hearing is going on, and what the implications might be.