‘Tis the Season: Tech Toys for the Holidays 2023

Episode Notes

Transcript

Intro: Before we begin, we would like to thank our sponsor Nota.

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Male: Welcome to The Digital Edge with Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway. Your hosts, both legal technologists, authors and lecturers, invite industry professionals to discuss a new topic related to lawyers and technology. You’re listening to Legal Talk Network.

Sharon Nelson: Welcome to the 189th edition of the Digital Edge Lawyers and Technology. We are glad to have you with us. I’m Sharon Nelson, president of Sensei Enterprises an information technology, cyber security and digital forensics firm in Fairfax, Virginia.

Jim Calloway: I’m Jim Calloway director of the Oklahoma Bar Associations Management Assistance Program.  Today, we are doing our favorite podcast of the year Tech Toys for the Holidays 2023 in which Sharon and I offer up some of our favorite tech toys, some serious and a few not so serious.

Sharon Nelson: Well let’s get this party rolling, Jim. My first tech toy isn’t really a toy at all, but it is brand-new something of a miracle and it’s free. It’s called Permission Slip and it was invented by Consumer Reports.  It is available for both Android and iOS, and the new app allows you to easily contact companies that may be collecting, sharing or selling your data and demand that they stop with the tap of a button.  You’ll be amazed at how much of your data is being collected and you don’t even have to do the work, Consumer Reports privacy experts will act as your agent and work with you to tell companies to stop selling your data.  Using Permission Slip you can even delete your account with a click of a button.  You can also stay protected by allowing Permission Slip to contact data brokers and telling them to stop selling your data so get started on taking back control of your data.

Jim Calloway: Well, as you know, Sharon, I’m from the Sooner State Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plains so I want to introduce you to the Weathermen Umbrella.  It is a collapsible umbrella that folds up into a carrying case, but this umbrella will only fold up when you want it to, it is engineered to withstand up to a 55 mile per hour wind when open.  I’m not sure if that means it’s safe for small children to use this umbrella or not, Sharon but my fellow Oklahomans it comes in our state’s primary fall colors red and yellow-orange available on Amazon for $74.00.

Sharon Nelson: And all the links will be on the website so that everybody will have the links available to them so my next toy here, it’s the Echo 2 Smartpen.  It records everything you hear, say and right while adding your audio recordings to your notes.  You can quickly replay the audio with a simple tap on your handwritten notes.  The Smartpen connects to your favorite electronic device and supports Android, iOS, Windows and Mac.  It’s from Livescribe and it’s $149.95.

Jim Calloway: I’ve had one of those before, Sharon they work quite well.

Sharon Nelson: Oh good, good recommendation.

Jim Calloway: The pocket tripod is one of those gadgets that you really have to watch the video demo to appreciate but this folds up to a credit card in size but then allows you to unfold and position your phone for hands-free use in a surprising number of ways.  It’s only $35 plus $5 shipping and you really won’t know that you need this until you see it in action.

Sharon Nelson: Yeah, I was up going to look at that video.  Okay my next toy is the MW08 active noise-cancelling, true wireless earphones.  It’s a leap forward and sound and design.  It’s crafted from ceramic and stainless steel and it’s true wireless ear buds feature hybrid active noise cancellation.  A streamlined form designed for comfort and a new wind reducing top solution with six microphones.  These innovative active noise canceling wireless earphones will transform any listening experience.  It is available for Master & Dynamic at $299.00.

Jim Calloway: Well I asked a few people if they have any suggestions and was surprised when more than one person suggested to me the Surface Arc Mouse.  It is designed to conform to your hand with the arc and yet it’s snaps flat to fit easily in your computer back.  It connects via Bluetooth.  It is a surface arc mouse is slim, lightweight and ready to travel with the ability to scroll both vertically and horizontally between $75 and $80 and available in several colors.

Sharon Nelson: And I’m going to recommend the Rocket Book Core Reusable Smart Notebook.  This Smart Notebook transfers handwritten notes to the Cloud for safety and security before the pages are wiped clean for repeated use.  It’s a number one bestseller at Amazon with a very modest price of $32.18.

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Jim Calloway: Whether jogging, running or biking we’ve now learned that noise cancelling ear buds or headphones can be a safety risk.  The newest concept of headphones is the open approach which means you have great sound received through the bone connections, but your ears aren’t covered so if you’re running to a nice park or just walk into a nice park which it’s probably more likely for me, you can hear the birds, but more importantly you can hear a vehicle or a bicyclist approaching you from behind.  These are $129 but that’s a safety tool that’s going to be very useful for some people.

Sharon Nelson: Well and there’s so many people who are crazy out there when they’re driving, I think the safety measures are really required today.

Jim Calloway: I certainly agree.  Before we move on to our next segment let’s take a quick commercial break.

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Sharon Nelson: Welcome back to the Digital Edge on the Legal Talk Network.  Today our subject is Tech Toys for the Holidays 2023 and Jim and I will continue to host our tech party so I’m going to recommend the Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2, it’s a compact voice control dash cam which automatically records in crisp 1080.  What does P stand for Jim?

Jim Calloway: Points?  P, it’s just one word.

Sharon Nelson: It’s one word okay, high definition with a 140 degree field of view.  It also features a parking guard feature to monitor activity around your parked vehicle.  It’s from Amazon for $100 and it’s a great idea for anyone who doesn’t have one because all those drivers are crazy out there and if you get side striked or just hit from the rear you want evidence.

Jim Calloway: You know, I’ve been told that in Russia you cannot file an insurance claim if you don’t have video of it, the insurance company will just deny you so maybe we’ll get to that point hopefully not.

Sharon Nelson: Well, let’s hope not, Jim.

Jim Calloway: In March 2020 a month we’ll all remember, when it became evident that more video conferencing was in the future and it was likely that a lot of supplies would sell out, I bought a razor chip webcam.  I primarily purchased it because it included a light rain I could reach up and adjust as it set on my laptop screen.  My home office really needed better lighting and when I didn’t need or want a light, I could turn it off or turn it down.  The latest version is the razor chip pro streaming webcam full HD 1080p, Sharon.  It does have a light rain because it’s adaptive light sensor adjust to take great pictures in low light.  It’s also HDR enabled and given my experiences with its predecessor I’d say this has to be a great deal on Amazon for only $89.

Sharon Nelson: Sounds good to me.  I’d like to have you consider monitoring and controlling your garage door from anywhere and receive real-time notifications with the myQ app.  John and I do this actually, add a camera to record and observe the door openings and or delivery personnel while they are in your garage and that’s what we do.  Many, many people including us prefer garage deliveries to the risk of porch thieves.  The price is $79.99 for the camera recording there.

Jim Calloway: Okay yeah as you know, Sharon every hotel room has an iron and ironing board.  They may not have the other things we want but they’ve got an iron and ironing board.  In my theory is that it’s easy to do because no one would ever steal an iron and ironing board and they last forever since hotel guests rarely use them but I have to admit I’ve had a few experience cursing the airlines as I unfolded the hotel ironing board in my life.  Today the solution is to invest in a travel ready, foldable steamer like the steamer for clothes portable handheld from Amazon for only $45.  Steamer for clothes portable handheld, do you think the Brandy Department all was out sick today when they named this product, Sharon?

Sharon Nelson: I not only think it I’d bet good money on it.

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So for my next tip spend $20 a month if you haven’t already and get ChatGPT version 4.0 which also gets you access to Bing so that you get current information.  I have to note that you may need to sign a waitlist that was very recently imposed by Open AI because the surge in usage has for now exceeded the capacity to serve more subscribers, but it’s well worth the price and you also get Dolly as well so that you can create images so we’ll talk about that but using ChatGPT 4.0 you can write an article and ask for suggested additions, corrections of grammar, et cetera.  If you’re looking for a catchy title for an article, a podcaster or a CLE you’re giving, GPT will get you a list of them so the images you can make from Dolly you can use in your PowerPoints or social media, on your website or anywhere else.

There’s no copyright attached to those images that you “create” and yeah, it’s a toy as well as a research tool.  Take my word for it and try it out at https://openai.com.  It is downright addictive.  Every horse I ever drew as a child looked like a pig but now I create art.  Today I made a vibrantly colorful flying pig you might ask why because it will be on a PowerPoint slide, which asked the questions when will Congress get attacked together and regulate AI?  The answer of course is when pigs fly hence the wonderful image.  Thank you GPT.

Jim Calloway: Well instead of buying a new phone because your current phone is low on storage check out the flash drive for iPhone, 256 GB, phone stick thumb drive USB that allows you to use it as a basically a network hard drive for your phone only $31.99 much cheaper than buying a new phone.

Sharon Nelson: And from Satchel & Page a beautiful leather satchel to carry all of your tech cables, air pods, USB drives, external hard drives, battery pack and pens.  It has a tobacco suede lining.  It’s very classy.  The dimension is ten and a half inches by seven and a half inches.  It has a lifetime warranty and it’s made in Italy which is pretty cool and of course being made in Italy and having all this nice looking stuff, it’s $185, but it’s functional and it sure does look classy and it comes from Satchel Page.

Jim Calloway: When I was a kid you really had to be persistent deep to cajole your parents for something like a microscope, even the beginner level and toy microscopes were expensive and now you can buy a digital microscope for only $59.80.  This portable handheld microscope plugs into your computer and has from 400 times to 800 times magnification and high-quality lens and six adjustable LED lights.  There’s a two inch screen that you can view on the device but to get a good look at things you want to hook it into your computer.  Before we move on to our next segment, let’s take a quick commercial break.

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Sharon Nelson: Welcome back to the Digital Edge on the Legal Talk Network.  Today our subject is Tech Toys for the Holidays 2023 so Jim, let’s wrap this party up.  I’m going to talk to you about the core meditation trainer.  Lawyer wellness is such a popular topic these days that it is clear that many layers are distinctly unwell, so I had to find a wellness gift and this one is called the meditation device for relaxation, stress and anxiety relief.  Soft vibrations and lights guide your breathing and help you focus while the biosensors measure your heart rate the core app offers a library of over 300 guided meditations and breathe training sessions and music meditations.  It’s available in Amazon for $158.

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Jim Calloway: Time’s changed, Sharon.  What we once would have deemed the raving of a paranoid person now makes people think hmm, maybe I should guard against that.  One of the dangers in society today is becoming an involuntary YouTube or TikTok star so maybe it’s time to spend $59.99 for a detector for hidden cameras and eavesdropping devices in each room of your house.  Often this device can tell you exactly what model that is being used and other information about a hidden camera as it leads you to it.  The hidden camera detector, bug detector, RF detector, GPS tracker detector is less than $60 from Amazon.

Sharon Nelson: I always look for something unique for my last gift so how about gifting a Titanic wreckage epoxy resin art night light.  It’s pricey but it sure does draw attention to itself and it is stunningly different from your everyday night light.  It is $369, not inexpensive but of course it’s handmade.  It is not precisely the size of the Titanic as one might expect.  It is made of resin wood, LED PLA and has a USB cable.  It’s width is 12.6 height is 3.54, depth is 3.54.  Gift wrapping is available and I pretty much guarantee that your gift will be seen as unique by the receiver and that’s from etsy.com.

Jim Calloway: There’s no doubt about this?

Sharon Nelson: No there is not.

Jim Calloway: Well for those of you who’d like to boldly go for your final trick into toys, an AI pen has been launched for $699.  Of course you have to also pay $24 a month to have cellular connectivity and full access to a suite of AI powered features which use ChatGPT.  In lieu of a screen the AI pen has a laser link projector so you literally could hold your hand out in front of you and project many use on your hand that you can then manipulate with your fingers.  It’s pretty interesting device.  Not everybody will want to pay $700 for something like that but we’ve included a link to the PC Magazine review in the show notes just you can see the many things that this device does do well.

Sharon Nelson: Well it sounds like fun to me, Jim and well Jim it’s been many years ago that you burst into my hotel room and told me you had a great idea.  The year was 2010 and before I knew it you and I were podcasting together as the host of the Digital Edge.  You even roped in my husband, John Simek to be our sound engineer.  I have to tell you that the whole ride has been a ton of fun and along the way the three of us became very close friends.  A friendship which will no doubt continue long after our podcasting journey with a fast-talking Yankee girl and a slow talking drawling Okey there was no way we weren’t going to succeed.  All good things come to an end but I want you to know how much I have loved working with you for all of these years.

Jim Calloway: Sharon, I agree this has been the best professional partnership of my career and I’m proud of the number of guests we showcased over the years including many leaders in the legal tech community and some innovators who were just getting started that we could give a showcase to.  We’ve always tried to make sure our guests had a fun experience and we also got a lot of our friends over the years to be a guest on our podcast.

Sharon Nelson: It was a lot of fun doing all of that and we’d be remiss if we didn’t think our brilliant sound engineers Nathan Todd Hunter and Adam Lockwood you two are great and for giving us this opportunity we thank Legal Talk Network CEO Adam Camras as well as executive producer Lawrence Colletti, network manager Evan Dicharry and producer Kate Netting.  Thank you one and all for your friendship and for your continuing support.

Jim Calloway: My best decision was convincing you to be my podcast teammate but a close second best decision was accepting when the Legal Talk Network invited us to join their network and letting John retire as our sound engineer.  The Digital Edge is ceasing production but I encourage you to check out the many other fine podcast offered by the Legal Talk Network.

Sharon Nelson: We wish all of our listeners happy holidays and thank you for listening to Digital Edge for so many years.

Jim Calloway: I join Sharon and wishing our listeners happy holidays and thank you to the listeners for following us all these years.  It was always such a thrill when giving silly presentations in other states and afterwards people would come up just to thank me for the podcast and also to say how many years they’ve been listening to the Digital Edge.

Sharon Nelson: I did that here and that does it.  For this final edition of the Digital Edge Lawyers and Technology, archives of the Digital Edge will continue to be available from Legal Talk Network.

Jim Calloway: Thanks for joining us.  Goodbye, Ms. Sharon.

Sharon Nelson: Happy trails, cowboy.

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Male: Thanks for listening to the Digital Edge produced by the broadcast professionals at Legal Talk Network.  Join Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway for their next podcast covering the latest topic related to lawyers and technology.  Subscribe to the RSS feed on legaltalknetwork.com or in iTunes.  The views expressed by the participants of this program are their own and do not represent the views of nor are they endorsed by Legal Talk Network, its officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, shareholders and subsidiaries.  None of the content should be considered legal advice as always consult a lawyer.

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