Today on DT Daily: a biometric smart wallet, get easy As in math with your smartphone, and will a real hoverboard be ready for Back to the Future’s most famous date?
Apple’s Apple Pay system is big news these days, but if you’re not quite ready to join the touch-to-pay future, well, we’ve got a wallet for you that’s almost as high tech.
Ironically called the “iWallet,” the hard-shell device features a fingerprint reader and is available in either aluminum or carbon fiber. After setup, just glide your finger over the reader to open it. Oh, and if you leave it at the bar and walk away, your smartphone will let you know. Conversely, the wallet can tell you if you forget to grab your smartphone after that third drink.
The iWallet costs about $600 depending on options, and we strongly suggest George Costanza look into getting one as soon as possible.
Do you fondly remember all those math tests from school days gone by? Yeah, we don’t either. But kids today, they’ve got it easy, especially if they have a smart phone and the PhotoMath app.
The app solves math problems by taking a photo of the problem and, using OCR technology, translates it into digits your phone’s computer can understand. Seconds later, you’ve got the answer. It makes those fancy graphing calculators look like they’re from the stone age. App designer MicroBlink claims they’re not trying to help students cheat, since the app also shows the steps it took to solve the problem.
They say it’s designed to be a tutor for kids who might not be able to get a math tutor. Looks to me like just one MORE thing us parents will have to forbid their kids from installing on their phones.
In case you missed it, this past Tuesday notched the one-year mark in the countdown to Back to the Future day, or October 21st, 2015.
That’s the date Marty McFly ends up travelling to in the flux-capacitor-powered Delorean in the 1980’s sci-fi film’s first sequel. And what does he do when he gets there? Out-rides the bad guys on a hoverboard, of course. Now, there’s a kickstarter project that is working on making a real-deal hoverboard, but it’s still not quite as versatile as the one star Michael J. Fox rides in the film.
The Hendo Hoverboard works with magnetic repulsion, but you have to be above a metal flooring of some sort for it to work. But hey, at least it does work. Hendo wants to develop a metal-floored skate park for their creation, and you’ll need to pony up $10,000 to get your own hoverboard. But, they also have some neat swag you can get for smaller pledges. When will it be available?
The target date is October 21st, 2015, naturally.
Your host today is Caleb Denison
