The Virtual Coach

Yes that’s right.  No longer will you have to spend $$$s on a personal trainer, thanks to the NordicTrack Fusion CST with iFit for just $1,599 (plus $39 monthly subscription).  And if one day you really feel you can’t make it, you can control the times you do it. Featuring built-in iFit Coach technology and seven levels of fitness it also comes with prerecorded instructor-led routines and a whole lot more.

Group Fitness

Don’t want to go to that fitness class but know that you’ll benefit from it ultimately?  Problem solved.  With the Flywheel Fly Anywhere Bike you can now be in a class without actually showing up. Get on to your bike and enjoy live and on-demand rides with Flywheel’s Energy Bunny instructor.  With 42 nationwide studios you can also join the actual group if you want.  And, everyone has the ability to select their preferred streaming method.

Artificial Intelligence

True you can ask Siri or Alexa what song is good for a workout routine or how many  minutes you have been doing sit-ups, but how about asking for directional assistance within the actual exercise in which you are engaged?  With Vi Headphones (retailing at a mere $99 from Amazon), notes are taken; movements are recorded and feedback provided to really fine-tune your exercise.  Log your specifics (how long something took or how you felt) and then Vi will assist you even further.

Fitness trackers can be a good start.  In the form of sporty smartwatches, or pedometers are a good way to stay on track and reach exercise targets.  Next, a smart scale will help with really ensuring you are eating what you think you’re eating.  All too often we assume we are eating healthily or dieting when in actual fact we’re eating way more than we meant to.  Electronic food diaries can really help with this as well.

What about eliminating bad habits?  Pavlok – the wearable which delivers an electric shock from 50 to 500 volts – pledges to do this.   For a mere $179.97 it even claims to help you break your addiction to heroin.  Hopefully you won’t need to try this as it’s just minor resolutions you committed to on January 1, 2018!

Sometimes though it seems simple is best.  Getting  back to basics is what a lot of end up doing; as Qualle said, she always goes back to her knife.  She believes that a good cook always requires: a high-heat spatula, and a good set of tongs.

So the question remains, is it really worth clogging up our kitchen cupboards with one-time-use-only gadgets?  Which ones can we truly take benefit from?  Do we absolutely, 100% have to have the pickle picker?  Perhaps not.  Maybe the pizza scissors are better for those busy moms who often serve up a few slices to hungry kids at dinner.

In other words, when deciding what deserves high value real estate in your kitchen closets, consider again perhaps the necessity of that macaroni maker.  Perhaps say “no thank you,” to the Chef ‘n Banana Slicer for the days you simply cannot use the knife in your drawer.

Instead, get a simple microwave that just heats and defrosts (you don’t need one that is going to play The Star Spangled Banner every time your peas are defrosted), the three items Qualle says are useful and a kettle.  The rest as they say, is commentary.

Stream audio through Bluetooth and enjoy the integrated 4GB* Dash music player. You can also silence any surrounding sounds but still hear the environment around you with the audio transparency feature. You know you’ve put them in correctly when it lightens up. Tap on the earbud to get it started. No on-off button and no wires!

These earbuds retail at $299.

So what is there that’ll make mom and dad smile? Is there anything in the way of gadgets for the older generation? Apparently there is. The gift may not be ready quite in time for the turkey dinner but when everyone sobers up by New Year’s, you should have it if you order fast.

Here are some top rated grandparent gizmos. A FitBit Charge is good to get mom and dad out of their couches and moving again. Yes they are designed to track movement, but think about it, they also – by default – track lack of movement. It’s a good way to encourage them to get a bit more active if the record from the FitBit indicates the need.

Next up is the TV Fire Stick. This is great for the older generation who “don’t want to bother” with all that smartTV stuff. A little stick converts their comfortable old TV to a smart one! In addition, you don’t have to call in Harry the Handyman as no installation is required. All you need to do is plug the stick (a bit like a USB stick) into the HDMI port of a standard TV and voila! Netflix, Amazon Video and more are easily accessible. It’s very user friendly too.

The Power Bank is a cool gift for anyone. What’s great about this is that you can re-charge your phone no matter where you are. You don’t need an outlet and it’s small enough to fit into mom’s purse.

So don’t worry if you’re not bringing anything but your gorgeous little offspring to mom and dad’s for Christmas….help is at hand and their cool new gadget will be in their hands if you place your order now.

Well we do want to try and enjoy the summer even if it’s hot. There are the beaches, the outdoors, the pools, etc. But there must be a way that gadgets can alleviate the heat, make the sunshine more bearable and overall the summer holidays a more pleasurable experience? Well, yes, there is. And in this article we look at just a few.

First, there is the SuperStar BackFloat. This waterproof floaty can be used at the beach, in the hot tub or even the bath when the colder nights descend. It has a speaker with shockproof casting that can cope with even the craziest of weathers and adventures, and its built-in Bluetooth speakerphone can be used for those who can’t bear to be disconnected for longer than 10 minutes.

Next up are the BackBeat Fit wireless headphones from Plastronics. These wrap around one’s neck and weigh hardly anything. They also stay in place no matter how crazy your activity is. Their battery life is very long – between 5 and 9 hours – and retail at around $150 from Apple.

Finally the Connected Bikini is pretty cool. Featuring a smartphone app and UV sensor no need to worry about forgetting to reapply sunscreen or seek out cooler climates. You’ll get that reminder from this gadget and it’s not even a one-size fits all get up as it is programmed to identify all types of skins. Manufactured by Spinali Designs and retailing at around $170.

Rather than use pasta to make, well, pasta, today we can now use vegetables. Huh? Often known these days (in the UK where they call zucchini courgette) as the courgetti, one takes a zucchini and “spiralizes” it so that it takes on the look (and sort of the consistency too) of a traditional string of pasta. Throw some pesto sauce over that or finish off with your standard sloppy joe (spaghetti Bolognese in England) recipe and voila! Pasta, but without the carbs! What could be better.

Indeed, it is also a great way of adding color to your plates (according to dietitian, nutritionist, and certified specialist in sports dietetics, Rebecca Turner, one should always go for: red, orange, green and white on their plates for optimum health and antioxidant power) without even feeling it.

And it’s proving popular. In 2014 a spiralizer was branded by the Hemsley sisters, sold out at Selfridges in weeks – indeed 27 times more than they thought they would sell. So if it’s health, color, fun and ease you want to bring to your kitchen, table and your kids’ plates, check out the spiralizer; you’ll wonder why you ever used anything but cauliflower to make your pizza base again!

If you’re wondering how you transform your vegetables into spaghetti, reach for the latest must-have gadget, the spiraliser. If the verb “to spiralise” has not yet entered your lexicon, get a grip. Last year, the Hemsley sisters branded their own spiraliser, which was sold through Selfridges and sold out in weeks – as did Lakeland’s, which went on sale this year. “We knew it would be a hit, but not to this extent,” says Wendy Miranda, Lakeland’s customer ambassador. “By the end of March, we’d sold 27 times more spiralisers than we’d estimated for the entire spring and summer seasons. I can’t think of another gadget that’s flown out this fast.”

Designed by Princeton University PhD Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering grad students Gilad Arwatz and Carla Bahri, the idea came about as the two felt that there had to be “a better way than turning the archaic knob that always reminded me of dial phones and old car windows.”

Another way of helping to preserve the environment is by ordering the “Green Green” reward featuring a refillable container and refill pouches.  This reduces up to 90% plastic waste.

They discovered and invented one. With the LED built in light for personalized color, a smartphone connection to remind one to keep themselves fresh daily and a score saving of how much plastic is no longer being wasted with the old applicators, ClickStick seems to potentially be the E-future of deodorant.

First, there is the Gordini Stash Lite Touch Mitt, which is a pair of very lightweight mittens. The touch-screen strip on the fingertips and thumbs lets the user simply swipe the smartphone. One can use them for taking a picture or checking the weather. Lots of typing may prove somewhat inaccurate but for the basics it’s really great. And it’s especially good when it starts getting cold and your extremities are suffering.

There is also the iGlove which allows the user to talk through their hands! The Bluetooth talking gloves enables the user to talk while keeping their hand warm! There is a speaker that is sewn into the thumb and a microphone in the pinkie of the left hand glove. The glove comes in two sizes and features a battery, microphone and speaker.

Once at home and your gloves are off, what happens when you need the bathroom and it’s cold in there? The toilet seat warmer makes sure your behind doesn’t get cold. Or, you can go for the pajama warming pouch that makes your pjs warm before you are ready to get into them.

1. Most classrooms use frontal learning where children stay in their seats most of the day and listen to a lecture or other activity in the front of the room. Even with the advent of computer screens, most kids are still at their desks most of the day. One important idea that could help children is the standing desk. With a standing desk, kids can at least get more circulation into their legs and also burn off some of their extra energy.

2. Schools should certainly have some type of tool to limit what students can find on the internet. A company like NetSpark, for instance, has web filtering tools that protect children from inappropriate content while still allowing for access to research and various websites. Such controls are an important part of any school’s technology plan.

3. Children should continue receiving plenty of time for fresh air and exercise. Just because they can now sit all day on computers and look at phones does not mean that they should be in their seats all the time. Teachers and educators need to make sure that they have plenty of time for outdoor activities and for physical activities.