Lorex Home Video Monitoring System

It seems that home security systems nowadays include new features such as the ability to monitor what’s happening in the home through portable devices such as smartphones, tablets and notebooks. This is especially an important feature for parents who want to monitor kids left at home while they are at work. Lorex has come up with another similar home monitoring system in its Lorex LW2031 LIVE Connect Wireless Video Monitoring System.

The Lorex LW2031 LIVE Connect Wireless Video Monitoring System features a wireless means to monitor a home with a video camera even while away from it. Users are allowed to view through the connected web cam over the internet through Skype. For those at home, this can be done by viewing through a handheld monitor that can also record video and capture still images. Outside the home, the video monitor can be viewed using a smartphone, tablet, or notebook with Skype. The Lorex LW2031 LIVE Connect Wireless Video Monitoring System is available at Amazon for US$400.

Image Source: Amazon

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Motorola Z-Wave Monitoring Service Comes to Verizon Broadband

Verizon broadband subscribers can enjoy the power of controlling their homes while they are away by adding Motorola’s Z-Wave-based 4Home automation system in their existing packing. For a monthly fee of $10, users can monitor their home through wireless cameras, unlock doors for family and guests, and adjust the thermostat all through a web-connected tablet or smartphone.

The basic Home Monitoring Kit will cost you $70, which includes a wireless camera and a single light control. Meanwhile, the Energy Control Kit ditches the wireless camera for a thermostat and energy reader for $170. If you want all of the above, get the Home Monitoring and Control Kit for $220. Additional cameras, as well as door locks and window sensors, are sold individually.

Source: Motorola and Verizon, via Engadget

 

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Bangladesh Announces National Laptop Line

More and more countries are beginning to nationalize its technology as a way to minimize their reliance on foreign countries when it comes to digital modernity. China is developing its own processors, while India is subsidizing a national tablet computer. Recently, the government of Bangladesh (a developing country east of India) has unveiled its own line of very cheap netbooks.

The Doel computers, named after the country’s national bird (the magpie), start at 10,000 taka (around US$130) and run on Android OS. Its graphics may not be as advanced as usual laptops, but the Doel netbooks are more than sufficient in basic computing usage such as web browsing, word processing, and document management.

The computers are manufactured by contractors managed by state-owned telecom ISS. Only 10% of the computer parts are made in Doel at the moment, but ISS plans to produce 60% within six months. The processor and RAM, for instance, are imported.

The 10,000-taka Doel Model 2102 features an 800MHz VIA 8650 processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 10-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution. It does not have internal storage, but there is an SD card slot. Meanwhile, the Model 0703 costs 12,000 taka (around $160) and comes with a better screen resolution, Atom N456 processor, 1GB of RAM, 250GB HDD, and a much-improved webcam. The 0703 runs on “Linux-based OS,” which can be adjusted.

Source: Dot News, via TechCrunch

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Mint Plus Automatic Floor Cleaner

Getting help to clean around the home seem to be no longer limited to asking people out. There are now a number of robotic cleaners that can at least help clean out the floors with minimum human supervision. One of the recent ones to come out is the Mint Plus Automatic Floor Cleaner from Evolution Robotics.

The Mint Plus Automatic Floor Cleaner is a handy robotic floor cleaner that can clean up to 2,000 square meter area on a single sweeping cycle. It makes use of the NorthStar Navigation System using the NorthStar Cube to enable the Mint Plus to determine is location relative to the area it is cleaning. Additional cubes can be used to expand the Mint Plus cleaning area.

The Mint Plus Automatic Floor Cleaner makes use of the Pro-Clean System to clean floors. It makes use of a Pro-Clean micro-fiber cloth attached to a Reservoir Cleaning Pad that dispenses liquid continually throughout the cleaning cycle. This ensures that each sweep area that the Mint Plus passes through is cleaned and swiped efficiently. The Mint Plus Automatic Floor Cleaner is available at the Mint Cleaner Shop for US$300.

Image Source: Mint Cleaner

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