The Cellulon evoMouse is a new way to move the cursor on a computer’s display. It can be used with most any desktop or laptop computer connecting via Bluetooth or USB. With the evoMouse, your finger is your pointer and there is no need to push around a physical mouse. The evoMouse works on most flat surfaces and its infrared “eyes” track the movements of your fingers. Using basic hand gestures you can control the cursor, click and select, double-click, right-click and drag. The evoMouse also features multi-touch functionality including scroll, rotate, zoom, forward and back. It can also be used for handwriting recognition with your finger or a pen. Due to its method of operation, there is some thought that the evoMouse may help reduce repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome. This new peripheral begins shipping in May, retailing for $100. See it in action at www.youtube.com/embed/UZWLwjbJZ-s?rel=0
Plaxo (www.plaxo.com) has announced that it is segueing out of social networking and refocusing on the address book. To mark the return to its roots, the company is unveiling a family of address book-related services including the Plaxo Personal Assistant. This service ensures that your personal address book contains contact information which is always as accurate and complete as possible. Without sharing any of the user’s private information, Plaxo compares contact information from public sources with information in your address book. If it thinks there is new, accurate information, Personal Assistant makes a recommendation that you can accept or reject. Using Plaxo, people can unify their contacts, eliminate duplicates and synchronize across a broad range of platforms and devices — including Outlook for PC and Mac, Entourage, Mac Address Book, and Gmail.
Nuance PDF Converter for Mac, gives Apple Mac users the ability to create, convert and edit PDF files for just $99 - a fraction of the price of Adobe Acrobat. The product uses Nuance OmniPage document conversion and optical character recognition (OCR) technology to turn PDF files back into editable text documents and turn scanned PDF files into searchable PDF files. The product also connects to separate cloud-based services, including NuancePDF.com document conversion for conversion to fully-formatted word processing and spreadsheet documents, and Evernote, a note storage and access service. Download a trial version of the software through www.nuance.com/products/pdf-converter-mac/index.htm
There’s a new online community where parents can connect, share stories, ask questions and engage with experts about the growing trend of eating organic. The Easy Organic Living site (www.babycenter.com/easyorganicliving), part of BabyCenter offers a discussion group, videos, articles, organic challenges and Q&A sessions with experts in health, cooking and family budgeting. Experts featured at the site include:
Pediatrician Dr. Bill Sears, who will discuss how to get children off to a healthy start.
Healthy eating expert and author Robyn O’Brien, who will talk about ways to avoid synthetic chemicals in meals.
Melinda Hemmelgarn, a registered dietitian, will answer questions about the health and environmental benefits of eating organic.
Catherine McCord, chef and founder of the popular blog, Weelicious, will offer cooking tips and recipes for healthy, family-friendly meals.
Valerie Deneen, of the Frugal Family Fun blog, will provide pointers for eating healthy on a budget.
Energizer is expanding its suite of Qi (pronounced chee) enabled products. This new universal charging standard, developed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), gets rid of the electric cords and gives consumers the freedom to charge any Qi device, five watts or less, on any Qi charging pad — regardless of manufacturer. The company has new products including a single-zone inductive charger, the recently introduced iPhone 4 sleeve and the Energizer Micro/Mini USB Adapter. This last item is a slim Qi adapter, which conveniently adheres to the back of any phone, making it instantly Qi compatible.
