Exercise to the music
From Sportline (www.sportline.com) comes the Music Enhanced Training Assistant (META). Much more than an MP3 player, META is designed to audibly deliver real-time heart rate feedback. The product uses a wireless chest transmitter to provide continuous heart rate and fitness-related feedback through the MP3 player so an athlete can focus solely on the exercise routine. During a run or workout for example, the META will advise the wearer through the headphones to increase or decrease exercise intensity based on target heart rate zone selection. The device has the ability to store 250 tunes. It also comes with an exercise timer and uses a rechargeable battery. Included in META’s $89.99 purchase price is a one-year digital subscription to Runner’s World Magazine.
Digital kitchen assistant
The Betty Crocker Kitchen Assistant is a digital, voice-activated cooking tool. General Mills has teamed with Microsoft to create this Windows application which is available free from www.bettycrocker.com/kitchenassistant. The Betty Crocker Kitchen Assistant was designed to enhance how cooks work in their own kitchens. Simply enter the ingredients available and the Betty Crocker Kitchen Assistant will suggest recipes based on that input. The application’s “Cook Mode” displays large-scale recipe photos right next to step-by-step directions. The application is compatible with Windows XP and Vista and is optimized for Windows 7.
Just beat it
The Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 is the first electronic stethoscope featuring Bluetooth technology, which wirelessly transfers heart, lung and other body sounds from the chest piece to Zargis Cardioscan or Zargis StethAssist software for analysis. The stethoscope and Cardioscan software combination is designed to help physicians identify suspected heart murmurs and differentiate between those that should be referred for expensive echocardiography and those that should not. The stethoscope has a state-of-the-art sound sensor which reduces 85 percent of unwanted background noise, plus offers amplification capability when sounds are soft. Additionally, the stethoscope combined with the appropriate software allows a sound to be captured for later playback and sharing with other physicians. The captured digital sound can even be transmitted online to specialists at distant centers for further analysis.
Access to rare books
HP will be making more than 500,000 rare and hard-to-find books available for sale through a new collaboration with the University of Michigan. HP BookPrep — a cloud computing service that enables on-demand printing of books — will make it possible to bring any book ever published back into print. The University of Michigan Library is a true repository for the human record. Its print collection contains more than seven million volumes. Explore the complete HP BookPrep collection, including access to read books online and order printed copies through www.bookprep.com
Transform text to speech
The Intel Reader (www.reader.intel.com) is a mobile handheld device which aims to increase independence for people with reading-based disabilities. The size of a paperback book, the Intel Reader converts printed text to digital text and then reads it aloud to the user. The Intel Reader can help people who have learning disabilities such as dyslexia or vision problems.The Intel Reader’s design combines a high-resolution camera with an Intel Atom processor, allowing users to point, shoot and listen to printed text. The Intel Reader can be used to read everyday items such as restaurant menus or when the Intel Reader is combined with the Intel Portable Capture Station, large amounts of text, such as a chapter or an entire book, can be easily captured for reading later.