Ringly vibrates when your phone wants to alert you

Most of the new wearable tech gadgets like the exercise trackers and watches have been, frankly, ugly. And male-focused. 

That is why I am especially happy to see this useful and pretty design called Ringly.

My favorite version: $180 Ringly in Emerald (preorder price)

It's a ring you wear that vibrates in a few different patterns to let you know when you have an alert on your phone. You can set it to vibrate for different things, like a call or a text or a calendar appointment.

It looks like a normal cocktail ring with gold plating over brass and a big stone.

You can choose the stone you want from onyx, pink sapphire, moonstone, and emerald. The FAQs say that they are ethically sourced as well.

Don't get too pumped about the quality of the stones, I can tell even from the small pics on their website that the sapphire and emerald are really low grade. There are cracks and opacity and lack of luster. Onyx and moonstone are cheap anyway so those look shinier.
But anyway, this isn't as much about buying a sparkling high carat gem as it is finding a nice consumer-grade accessory.

$145 Ringly in onyx (preorder price)

I really like this idea because it would allow me to keep my phone on silent instead of vibrate, and not worry about phantom bag vibrations.
Also, often I will just not notice the vibration or ringtone if my phone is in another room. With the ring on, I wouldn't miss any calls.

The battery lasts 2 days and then you recharge it by putting in it its box and plugging that into a usb charger.
Looks like you can wash your hands with it on but not soak it, but that's still pretty good.

It works with Android or iOS but not blackberry or windows phones.
If you pre-order now, it will come in Fall.

Cool, no?

Roku channels for me for free

I'm getting more used to our Roku, which I've liked a lot so far.
As I feel more comfortable with it, I am branching out into the wide world of "channels."





You can watch netflix, amazon, hbogo, and other things from your Roku box, but there is a whole other universe of private and public channels that have a ton of other content.

So far, I've installed:
-Netflix
-Amazon
-HBOgo
-Pandora
-AllRecipes
-Chow
-Plex
-NowhereTV
-FunnyOrDie
-Vudu
-Crackle

There are tons of others, as well.

Here are some resources for finding channels:
2013 Roku Private Channel Guide (alphabetical listing of tons)
Private channels sorted by rating (lets you click to install as well)
Roku Channels (official guide, you can sort by subject)
Top 30 Roku channels



There are really channels out there for everyone. There are 4 hunting channels, for example. Channels, not just shows.
There are a lot of yoga channels and sci fi and horror movie channels.
There are some cooking channels.
There is even a private channel that only shows baristas in bikinis. Nope, didn't sign up for that one but thanks.

I still haven't set up my SimpleTV because I just ordered a hard drive for it to load to, and because I am not sure how to connect it to the ethernet here without a wired MAC address. Sigh.
 It's getting harder to "just watch tv" these days.

Bunny light

CUTE


 $100 bunny light

Check out this little guy!

He is a white porcelain bunny with a lightbulb for a tail.

It's hard to tell how big it is- I am not sure at all but I think it might be more nightlight sized than table lamp.
The bulb is LED and non-replaceable and the cord is USB powered.

I wish it was $20 then I would be all over it!

Monoprice noise canceling over ear headphones

These are just over $100 and seem to be a great deal.
They have everything I want in this type of headphone:
-mic on cord
-over ear
-noise cancelling
-cute case for all the stuff
-easily replaceable battery (this one is AAA)
-option on/off for noise cancellation

Here is the headset:



$112.13 Monoprice noise cancelling head phones

"The headphones come with 55" audio cable with an inline microphone and control module, a 58" standard audio cable with a 90-degree connector on one end, a headphone/microphone splitter for use with PCs, a 3.5mm to 1/4" plug adapter, and and airline plug adapter. They are packaged in a luxury "hardshell" zippered nylon storage case, which includes a nylon mesh internal pocket for the included cables and accessories. The carry case includes a D-ring, which can be used to attach a strap (not included) or to secure it to a backpack."

And here are its accessories:






It is nice but unnecessary that it also comes with a splitter (so 2 people can listen) and some converters.

I also personally appreciate that it comes with 2 cords, in case of bunny sabotage to the wire. I know that isn't really why it comes with them, but let's pretend.

Cheap outdoor light strands from Target

For our patio, Ethan wanted strings of lights.
I generally think christmas lights are tacky, but I am trying to find some that pass my class test and also are cheap.

 Here is what I found so far:

$13 Room Essentials globe lights 
25 feet with 25 bulbs
fragile glass bulbs that people say break if you don't remove them before hanging
yellow light
There is also a frosted bulb variation

$24.99 Threshold solar light strings
These are protected by little metal cages so they are more durable, and don't need an outlet to work.
14 feet, 20 glass bulbs

$20 Threshold globe solar string lights
129 feet, 30 bulbs (3 ft apart)
These have plastic bulbs and are really long but get bad reviews.

$22 LED string with timer warm white
10 feet,
Are the lights just little blobs in the string? Not sure if I like that.

iPad Mini netting case

This cool case from Quirky covers the back of your iPad mini with elastic webbing so you can stick stuff into it and keep your it all together.


 $49.99 Web by Quirky

Cool, right?
You can put your headphones in there, or pens or cards.
I don't think the charger would be able to fit, but maybe the cord could.

All the elastic is attached to a plastic rim that surrounds the iPad and snaps on and off.



It is kind of like those notebook bandoliers for an ipad, or the grid-it cases but less bulky.

Solid State external drives

Wired has a review up of solid state drives, which would be what I would get if I was in the market for an external harddrive.

PS- if you don't have an external drive, you should really get one. Imagine how upset you would be if all your work, data, papers, photos, and music disappeared when your computer bit the dust.
Cloud storage is good, but should not be your only backup.

Read the Wired reviews here

The ones they look at are:

$99 LaCie Porsche 1TB SSD
2 year warranty, aluminum case
THIS IS THE ONE I WOULD BUY 
I've had nothing but good experiences with  my LaCie products and I like the look of this one (I am just the kind of fool for marketing gimmicks that they love).


$258 Verbatim Store n Go 3.0 SSD  256GB
2 year warranty, plastic case



$303 IoSafe Rugged Portable SSD 1TB
3 year warranty, heavy, sturdy



$140 OWC Mercury On the Go Pro 1TB
1 year warranty, formatted for Macs

A purse that charges your phone

Everpurse is a company that makes clutches that hold your phone and whatever else, but while they are doing so, also charge your phone.

When you slip the phone into its slot in the bag, it will plug in to a battery within the case and can give you 2 full charges per day.

This is great for traveling. Sometimes when I fly, I land to a dead phone and have to wait for it to charge before doing anything, and this way the phone could be charging while I am on the plane.

They are unfortunately expensive, in my opinion.
If they were $100ish I would be all over it. But they are more like $200ish plus.
Also I don't have an iphone or Samsung Galaxy S III which is all they currently support.
I bet they will be coming out with more models soon though.

You can pre-order them since they aren't ready yet. I haven't seen them in person obviously.

Anyway, here is what they look like, they are 8.5 x 7":


$249 Everpurse Persimmon leather clutch
Simple design, with a wrist strap and zipper on top


$189 Everpurse Aquamarine fabric clutch
You can get this with a wrist strap or a cross-body strap.


$319 Everpurse Emerald Croc pattern leather clutch
Why is this one more than the other leather one? Who knows. Seems weird to me.

If you don't like the clutches, you can have them retrofit your purse with their technology for $600.

Cord Holder Taco

$29.99 for 5 cord tacos

My computer bag has a front pocket. If you dare open that front pocket, you will be greeted with a tangle of a zillion cords from my laptop charger to phone charger, headphones, wifi charger, ipad charger etc.
I have tried different wrapping techniques, but it hasn't really worked.
I also tried using little cosmetic pouches to keep cords separate but then I kept taking the packages out and forgetting to put them back in, so that didn't work either.

Will cord tacos work?
Not sure.

But possibly worth a try?
They look easy enough to use, you just wrap up your cord and snap the leather taco over it.

The pack of 5 comes with 2 large and 3 small cord tacos.
You can get them in black or tan or mixed colors.

How do you keep your cords in line?

Wall dock on Zulily

Attention rabbit owners and others who want to avoid cords:

This wall dock is a good thing.


$9.99 Zulily iphone/ipad wall dock (was $30)

You plug this in to the outlet on the wall and there are NO CORDS to chew on or get tangled or collect dust. And it has a little shelf to keep your device on.

Note that this works with any 30 pin i-device, like iphones, ipad 2, but NOT the ones with the new new charger thing like the ipad mini.

iPad mini envelope sleeves

E. recently got an ipad mini which he is completely in love with.
While accompanying me bag shopping, he saw an envelope purse which I guess he had never heard of before, but he thought it was the coolest thing. I suggested he get it for his mini but it wasn't the right size.

I promised that there were a bunch like it online though, and that we would find him one.

So here are some options!


$43 (33 Euro) Striiiipes suede ipad envelope case
This envelope looks like one of the manila interoffice ones. I like it in yellow for that effect.


$19.99 wool felt envelope protective sleeve for ipad mini
Similar to the Striiiipes one but cheaper and felt instead of suede.

$14.99 Vintage design envelope for ipad mini
This is fake suede and made to look like a mailed package. Cute!


$29 Fabric envelope ipad case
You can have this customized with your name and address and stamps from different countries



$ Brown fabric ipad mini envelope cover
If you aren't into leather or fake suede etc, this option might be nice.



$60 Leather ipad envelope with clasp
I like the old look of this clasp and the leather seems to be good quality from what I can tell.


$51 Leather envelope style ipad mini case
The crumpled leather makes this one look like a package as well.



$45 Wrap tie leather envelope ipad mini case
This one is still an envelope style but the closure is a horizontal flap with a wrap around lace.



$49 Leather ipad mini envelope case
With the decorated silver button and leather lace, this one looks medieval Spanish to me.


$44 Leather foldover envelope case for ipad mini
 This one offers to stamp your initials on a tab inside. It's clean and spare.


$83 Leather ipad mini envelope
This one is very minimalist.


$23 Felt gray envelope case for ipad mini
Similar to the previous one above but in felt


$76 Buffalo leather ipad mini envelope
This cool texture is from washed buffalo leather.
It has a folded over flap but nothing to secure it down, just fyi.

I like all of them!

iPad toilet paper holder

$49.99 Pedestal stand with roll holder for iPad   

Well, World, this is what we've come to. I hope you're proud.

This iPad toilet paper roll stand is being sold by GameStop so I guess the idea is that you don't have to pause for a "bio break" when you are playing "BioShock."

OOOHH good one, Rebecca!
Thanks.

This is something that I bet we will be seeing in hotels soon.
First it was the Bose alarm clock that you can plug your iphone into, and now it's the toilet stand you can plug your ipad into.
Maybe you can even order room service to the bathroom from it.
When you think about it, why move....ever?
Right?

If you are too lazy to hold your ipad on your lap in the bathroom, you're welcome for showing you this crucial advance in technology.

Urban Outfitters Apartment section Sale surfing

$7.99 Hippo toothbrush holder (was $12)
A great accessory for a kids bathroom (or my bathroom) and much cuter than a random metal thing from Target.



$39.99 Zig Zag duvet cover (was $89)
This is a very on-trend look now. And in 8 years when chevrons are dated, you can get a new one knowing you only spent 40 bucks on it.
The review says it is not soft, but since it is 100% cotton, it should soften up with a few washings.



$1.99 Spider Byte cord holder (was $8)
 You unscrew its body and wind your cord around it, then pop the top back on to keep everything from getting tangled. $2 is the right amount to pay for this.



$5.99 Disco ball ear buds (was $12)
Party in your ears! I wonder if they only play disco music.



$14.99 Geometric rug (was $59)
I contend that Urban Outfitters has the best cheap rugs you can find. I have one I really like from there and the patterns and prices are continually surprisingly good.
This one is 3' x 5'.


OK this one isn't on sale but I like it:

$24 Functional Art Bunny
Why didn't they call this "Money Bunny"?!
That is clearly the best name for a piggy bank in the shape of a rabbit. Duh
I want this!

Travel electic toothbrushes

Violight makes some cool electric toothbrushes that look perfect for travel because they come with their own case.


They come with 2 brush heads and a AAA battery so you can use it right away, which I like.


 
$12.66 Violight stripe toothbrush
I think I am going to get this one!

 
$15 Violight bead toothrush
This one is my second favorite design




 
$19.95 Violight brown python toothbrush
Ooh, classy snake pattern, very hip right now.


 
$19.99 Violight Girl power toothbrush
OMG so hideous!
This would be a great bachelorette party favor because it is so tacky, and yet so useful that people will end up bringing it with them on trips and hating themselves for it. 


There are also plain silver and blue and purple ones if you want to be boring.

Bluetooth gloves handset

$69.99 Bluetooth Handset Gloves

Ok, this is hilarious.

These gloves come with bluetooth receptors and a speaker and mic in the fingers so you can literally "talk to the hand" on your phone.

It's kind of impractical because it's not hands-free and you have to still hold your hand up to your face the whole time, but it's a really funny idea.

Especially if you want to hand the call to someone else and say "it's for you!" and just shove your fingers in their face.

You can get them in women's or men's sizes and in gray or black.
Nice work, Thinkgeek!

Here is their description:

Call me!

There are a few fairly universal pantomimes that everybody in the civilized world understands, regardless of culture. Shake your head for 'no,' scribbling in mid-air for 'check-please,' thumb-and-pinky held up to the ear for 'call-me.' While we're not sure exactly when it was that the 'call-me' pantomime appeared in our collective cultural jargonplex, we have it on good authority Bell's assistant Watson would surreptitiously make the gesture to Mrs. Bell, much to her husband's consternation.

It is embarrassing, then, to admit that it took 136 years for us to turn a universally recognized gesture into an actual working way to talk on the phone. Behold the telephone of the future, built right into your Winter gloves! Warm knit gloves woven with conductive fibers let you operate those touch-screen phones like Androids, iPhones, Windowsphone, and Blackberries - but with extra added Bluetooth capabilities!

In the left glove's thumb is a tiny speaker, and in the pinky is a wee microphone. By extending them both in the usual hand-gesture, you can chat with your friends for up to 20 hours on a charge! Gone are the days where talking into mid-air will brand you a crazy-person! Now you can show the world that you can actually talk to the hand, and with excellent sound-quality!

Desk Modification from Ikea

I've been thinking recently about all the cool things you could do with the keyboard trays that you see on some desks (store paper there, or your scanner...) but I don't have one of those.

However, I can get one, and so can you:


$9.99 Summera Pull out keyboard tray
You install this on the bottom of any thick, drillable surface (it says you need 3/4" depth) and then you can a cool sliding shelf.
I wonder if you could even put it in a cabinet and basically double your shelf space.
I guess you would have to store flat things, but spaghetti packages are pretty flat.

 
$6.99 Signum cable outlet kit
This is pretty neat. It's a circular saw drill bit that screws onto your home drill (you have one, right?) and cuts out a nice circle which just happens to be the size of the 3 outlet thingies it comes with!

 See? You can make your desk or table into something that can hold cords.


$10 Signum Cord manager
Here is another little device that can hold your cords and chargers under the table so they are out of the way.
 
 
$9.99 Kvissle Cable box
If your cables have to be out, at least they can be hidden stylishly inside this box