It’s
the world of the future today!
I
think they used to say that about microwaves 30 years ago or maybe it was the
Contempra Phone.
Over
the holidays we’ve made electronic purchases that indeed seem futuristic.First of all,
my Husband Tom wanted an iPad 3. Please note we don’t usually venture out into
Boxing Day crows, however, he need this so badly and it was on sale.
He has the iPhone and a laptop- which is not an “I” anything, yet still he firmly claimed-
He has the iPhone and a laptop- which is not an “I” anything, yet still he firmly claimed-
“I
want an iPad Three!”
Who
was I to argue?
I
had an iPad once. It confused me and I sold it at a great loss of revenue to a
friend. I just couldn’t understand it. That’s why I am an Android/Samsung guy
all the way. I’m
not sure what this latest iPad does but he’s been showing me all these
on-screen things since he powered it up.
Boys
and their toys!
Next,
a day or so before Christmas I saw a product advertised in both the WalMart and
Target flyer as well as Future Shop. It is a marvelous little piece of electronic
wizardry called Chromecast.
It
is really just a dongle.
No,
not that kind of dongle, although this one was firm- being made of hard
plastic. To
backtrack some, a year ago we had bought 100 feet of LAN line trying to send
movies and TV shows we watched on our PC to our Big Screen TV. We could get the
video part to work but the audio didn’t, so, we shelved the idea and all that
blue cord has been taking up space on a shelf in the garage. Now,
along comes a dongle called Chromecast. We
fellas all have names for our dongles, this one just happens to be Chromecast. I
don’t suppose Big Boy, Harry the Horse
or Hercules would have worked- marketing-wise, for Google.
For
$29.99 this Chromcast dongle by Google works like a charm and it take minutes
to install. It’s
all wireless and works from the WiFi signal in your home. Just
plug the Chromecast dongle into the HDMI plug on your TV. Download Google
Chrome on your PC or mobile phone. Next, search for Chromecast. It
takes a minute or two to load. The
instructions in video form are on the site.
Easy-Peasy.
In
a short time we were watching Season 5 of Downton Abbey from a website called
Couchtuner. We
even watched the 2 hour Christmas Special. Both
picture and sound are excellent and all for $29.99!
What
a bargain for a piece of the future. I
love it when something is reasonably priced and works like a charm. I
can even send videos and such from my Samsung Phone to the TV screen.
Totally
magic!
Finally,
a day or so ago I was reading a newspaper online when I noticed an ad on the
page for something called a Navdy. See
online ads do work! (A hint for businesses who listen to Swisssh or Starlite or
go to the Swisssh homepage ww.swisssh.ca) I
watched the video. This small device- about the size of a small DVD player,
sits on your vehicle’s dashboard right in front of the driver. When in use, it
projects a screen in front of you onto the windshield. It appears the image is
about 6 feet in front of your car. The transparent screen shows you speed and
GPS. One can also answer calls from a mobile phone with the sweep of a finger and
both read and reply to texts- by voice. It even shows your current position
which in turn you can text to whomever.
I
showed Tom and even he was impressed. Some top of the line vehicles have a
system such as this built in but this Navdy has to be installed and is priced at
about 360 bucks CDN if you pre-order.
We
did.
We
ordered on for each vehicle.
They’ll
be shipped in early 2015.
I
am excited about this. It means hands free calling and you don’t have to take
your eyes off the road to use it because the screen is right there in your line
of vision on the windshield. You give the device the finger and it performs for
you! Hmmm. Sounds like the 80’s but I digress.
It’s
the future indeed in 2015!
The
iPad 3 and the Chromecast are operating as they should. I’ll let you know about
the Navdy when it comes. In the meantime check out the video for yourself. It’s
well done and amusing as well as informational.
