Hasta La Gadget!

I would say that most people these days have a pretty deep relationship with their electronics. I never realize just how much I rely on my “connected” lifestyle until I do something stupid, like leave the house without my iPhone. The world seems to kind of, stand still, and I never get too much done, how could I? All my contacts, addresses and appointments are stored in that thing. I’m also pretty attached to my pictures and videos, I can’t imagine what I’d do if it was lost forever, or worse, if someone stole it!

Well, I guess there’s an app for that! Meet Hidden, a nifty little application that sits “hidden” on your iDevice until you need it. Then, you simply log on to the online tracking control panel (from some other device of course) and activate the tracking, which will awaken the application, enabling you to see where your precious Mac is now hanging out, look at a few screenshots of what its cruising, and then check out some full color pics of exactly who it is thats using it, anywhere in the world!

The Hidden application uses Apple’s already installed Core Location framework which lets you determine current location or the heading information associated with a device. This framework enables someone  to determine a user’s position and heading and then, utilizing iSight, you can actually get pictures of the dirty bas… er,  the person thats holding the computer for you.

The Hidden App is a monthly subscription service, starting at around 15 bucks a year to protect just one Mac or iPhone all the way up to 395 bucks to protect a whole company and up to 100 of their devices. The price includes immediate activation and includes theft recovery assistance… I like it! Find out more by visiting hiddenapp.com
[ Hidden – The App that Sees Who You Are, and Knows Where You Sleep copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Do you feel that the advancements made in the world of video recording has seen us being “treated” to more and more video leaks, especially of celebrities in rather embarrassing or compromising situations? Well, I suppose they had it coming for not being faithful in their relationship or marriage, but that is not what we are focused on today. I would like to bring your attention to a device that turns you into a sleuth of your own, thanks to the discrete looking $39.99 Spycam HD Video Pen Camera that allows you to spy in High Definition glory, and in style, too.

The Spycam HD Video Pen Camera is pretty much self explanatory – it will come with an integrated video camera within the classy looking office pen, and a single battery charge is capable of offering up to 2 hours of recording, with 8GB of storage space being made available to the user. It is a snap to operate, and will be able to hook up to your computer thanks to the built-in USB connector. All video captured will be shown in the AVI format, and if you do not want to capture video, you can always record audio evidence of hanky panky going on, in addition to shooting stills, now how about that?
[ Spycam HD Video Pen Camera copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Sometimes I wonder what the heck is happening to our teens these days and it doesn’t take me long to recognize that as amazing as our technology is, and even with the many benefits it provides, there is no doubt that our electronic lifestyles have offered up a whole new way for our kids to find trouble for themselves. Kids today are met with perils one could not have imagined when I was a kid. What’s a parent to do? and should they do it?

As I post this I am at odds with myself, the technology is there for us to examine every aspect of our children’s lives… check out Sociallyactive.com a Boston based company launching it’s online safety assurance program that among other things, will allow you to infiltrate your kids Facebook pages and see who’s tagging them, who they interact with the most and using special algorithms, determine which of their friends are the most influential. Information the developers say, you simply cant get just from being “friends” with your teen.

All this is supposed to protect your child from online predators, cyber bullying and to guard your youngsters online reputation. The platform is meant to bring your kid’s digital profile into view, allowing you to see not only what the child is putting “out there” for the world to see, but the pictures and activities of all their friends as well.

As another mother on a mission to keep my daughter safe, I can easily imagine wanting to employ every available option to try and maintain complete control over anything that could potentially harm my child. I get it, but at what point have we gone too far, are we setting aside good parenting for electronic surveillance? I’m sure any parent who’s child was harmed by inappropriate online activity would say no, but what about the rest of us? Sociallyactive.com is a subscription-based service available for only 9 bucks a month. How do you guys weigh in on the option?
[ SociallyActive.com – Better than Being “Friends”? copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

I know that many of us are looking forward to 007’s latest adventure later at the end of this year, where it is known as Skyfall. Assuming you love all things that have to do with the world of espionage and mystery, then you would be pleased to hear that Brookstone has announced their latest addition to their collection of gizmos, the Rover 2.0 App-Controlled Spy Tank. From the name itself, you can tell that this will be a successor to its previous iteration, so let us take a closer look and see just what it is capable of offering right after the jump, shall we not?

The new, second-generation form of the award-winning app-controlled spy tank will require you to perform a download of the app from the AppStore or Google Play for free, and any secret agent wanna-be is able to pivot, spin and drive the Rover 2.0 App-Controlled Spy Tank as long as it remains within a 200 feet (unobstructed, of course, needless to say the range drops when there are plenty of physical obstacles around) radius with their iPod touch, iPad, iPhone or Android smartphone and tablet.

The Rover 2.0 is fully capable of generating its very own Wi-Fi connection so that drivers are able to stream audio as well as accompanying visuals from the Rover’s path. So the enemy thinks like Batman by using theatricality and deception as powerful weapons against the uninitiated, but the Rover 2.0 is fully initiated and works great in the dark even though it has nothing to do with the League of Shadows. This is made possible thanks to BaneVision – I made that up actually, it really falls back on its infrared night vision which is fully capable of transmitting video in low lighting conditions.

The Rover 2.0 will arrive just in time for the holiday season. In fact, October might be considered to be too early a date for some, don’t you think so? The asking price for the Rover 2.0 App-Controlled Spy Tank would be $149.99.

[ Rover 2.0 App-Controlled Spy Tank from Brookstone announced copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Does anyone out there remember Inspector Gadget? Where at the start of every episode, Inspector Gadget gets a note containing his next mission, the final line of each of these messages states that, “This message will self destruct in 5 seconds.“  Have you ever been in a situation where you only wished you could self destruct one of your e-mails, texts or an inappropriate picture or two? Phew! I have.

Well now you can, a new app called Wickr saw the need for folks to be able to keep tighter security on their communications. Wickr, encrypts your messages, kills, metadata, lets you remain anonymous, lets you decide who gets to see your stuff, and for just how long they get to see it for (from a mere second or two, to a several days) before your message self destructs, leaving no trace. Boy, I wish I had that a few late night e-mails ago.

As soon as your predetermined “viewing period” is over, the application will write over the nudie… I mean, sensitive visual images with random data. This makes the data unrecoverable, even using special computer forensics software, even by law enforcement officials, even by your soon to be ex-wife or, the IRS, and most especially, your drunken best friend on a Facebook posting frenzy.

So, if you like your privacy and your bothered by the idea that Big Brother might someday like to take a look-see at what you’ve been up to, then there’s a free version of Wickr available at Apple’s App Store, and (thankfully) an Android app on its way. A premium (paid) version of Wickr is being developed that allows you more precise user-controls, like being able to extend the time period before messages are deleted. Check out mywickr.com for more info. Like Wickr says, the Internet is forever… That’s a little scary isn’t it?

[ Wickr – This Message will Self Destruct in 5 Seconds copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]