Some Unnecessary Pieces of Technology You May Want to Know About

In today's age, we live in a world where almost everything is infused with technology. Our phones are powerful mini-computers that we bring along and keep in our pockets, and we can stream movies and shows directly to our smart TVs. We can even converse and learn different things from virtual assistants named Alexa and Siri. We have advanced so quickly that we're now living in a technological future. However, this reality isn't actually a good thing all the time, because sometimes, we take it too far.

Below are some tech products that don't have the need to be technological at all.

Sensoria Smart Socks

When was the last time your gym sock judged your jogging style? Never? Thought so. If in case you wanted some advice from your sweaty footwear, you need to get Sensoria. It has the data-tracking socks that you may be looking for. The socks' sensors connect to a clunky-looking anklet that sends running information regarding your step count, altitude, and distance straight to the smartphone app. Not to mention these pair will cost you around $200.

Sunrise Touchscreen Faucet

There are tons of different kinds of faucets out there, and some of the rare ones can be challenging to use. So what we definitely don't need is a faucet operated by a touchscreen to confuse matters even further. That's what this unnecessary piece of tech from DORO Design is. The Sunrise Faucet looks like a hammerhead shark, does nothing a tech-free faucet can't do, and is guaranteed to confound your guests. With that said, it's better to leave this unnecessary piece of tech behind.

Numi Toilet

Toilets are relatively simple appliances. Through the ingenious combination of a tank, bowl, pipe, and a couple of valves, these essential furnishings make modern life possible. So why complicate something that works so perfectly?

With its Numi Toilet, Kohler thinks it has improved on the traditional toilet. You'll feel like royalty on this high-tech throne, as the lid automatically opens at your approach, the toilet seat warms your skin, and they even put some effort to make it to play your favorite music. The catch? The whole thing costs over $6,000, and that's not counting the touchscreen remote control, which you need to buy separately.

Quirky Egg Minder

If running out of eggs tends to be a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions for you, you'll want this Quirky Egg Minder. Place your eggs in it, download the app, and you can check how many eggs you have in your fridge from anywhere in the world. Neat, huh? It also keeps track of how old each egg is, which might come in useful if you don't eat eggs very often. But if that's the case, then why would you want this at all?

Hidrate Spark smart water bottle

Just like with the other items in this list, the Hidrate Spark smart water bottle is a regular item with a sensor in it that tracks information and sends it to an app on your phone. The information here is how much water you've consumed, which is perfect for people who don't know how to count. It also glows when it thinks you need more water, in case you don't have enough distractions in your life at the moment.

Samsung Smart Suit

In the rush to make just about everything and anything smart, Samsung has come out with something it calls the smart suit. Apparently, it allows you to transfer your contact information to another smartphone through a button on your sleeve, or a shirt that measures your comfort. Samsung even plans a Welty-like belt called the "Welt" (not sure if they checked the English meaning of this word), but in any case you can't wash these items -- they all have to be hand washed.

While the idea sounds good, the problem is in the care. Most of use don't have the time in our busy lives to individually hand wash our garments. That makes the current iterations of "smart clothing" a little inconvenient.

AromaCare

Sure, we all like to make our living spaces smell good, but when you can get a bottle of Glade for less than $5, does AromaCare's $100 "connected" air freshener make sense? Yes, it's got connectivity that allows you to precisely control the scent and strength, but there are many non-connected air fresheners will do just as good of a job, and at a fraction of the price.

There's also the problem of proprietary cartridges. While the company hasn't yet specified pricing (it is set to release later this year), we think it's safe to assume that even the cartridges alone will be more expensive than a traditional bottle of air freshener.

If you want a little bit more in the way of automation when it comes to air freshening, look at the devices made by Glade and others. Some feature motion sensing and timed release, and are less than a quarter of the price of AromaCare.

Free Backup Tools that Can Save You Big Time in Case Something Bad Happens to Your Computer

Regularly backing up all your important files is often the only thing that can save everything when a hard drive failure or otherwise catastrophic PC crash occurs. If your files go poof, then they’re gone forever and no amount of magic or incantations can bring them back.

Ideally, the best way to back up is to have two backups, one kept at home, presumably in an external hard drive, and one stored off-site like with cloud solutions. There are also various backup tools you can use that are awesome and just totally free. Remember to back up all your personal files because that’s really the most critical stuff you want to save. Computers and operating systems can be replaced, but treasured photos and accounting documents will be lost forever.

Easeus Todo Backup Free

When you start Easeus Todo Backup Free, its Smart Backup function kicks into gear, immediately backing up your Documents directory, the favorites from your web browser, and any files on your desktop. It makes a full back up once a week by default, with differential backups every half an hour if changes are detected. It’s an ingenious feature that immediately takes some of the hassle out of protecting your data, and you can customize it later to back up other files when needed.

AOMEI Backupper Standard

AOMEI Backupper Standard includes a simple wizard that makes the work straightforward, even for complete beginners. It suggests which drives to back up and where to store the resulting image, whether it’s a local drive, an optical disc, or a network attached storage. Give the image a name (ideally including the date) so you can find it easily later, create a schedule so the process is repeated at regular intervals, and click “Start backup.” For day-to-day backups, AOMEI lets you save whole partitions or selected directories, with a simple drop-down menu enabling you to choose between full, differential, or incremental backups. Again, these can be scheduled to take place at regular intervals, making it a simple set-and-forget affair.

Genie Timeline Free

Sneakily, Genie backs up your files quietly in the background, an unobtrusive approach that’s welcome, but wouldn’t be possible if it was creating an image. It’s not mentioned in the interface, but all backups are incremental, making them as fast as possible. The restore tool is similarly straightforward: simply select the backed-up files to restore, choose where to restore them to, and whether to overwrite existing files with the same name, and click “OK.” Genie has its own iOS app, which provides status updates on your scheduled backups. It’s a welcome addition for those of an anxious disposition, and a modern alternative to the e-mail notifications offered by some other backup tools.

Knowing the Pros and Cons of Wearable Technology

We can all say that wearable technology is here for good. Whether it be because of the buzz behind a ridiculous collection of shoes that can detect radiation and record conversations or Will.i.am's second wearable tech which is a voice-activated smartwatch, wearable tech is definitely making a splash.

What exactly is wearable tech?

Wearable technology is clearly gadgets you wear, but there are important distinctions from each other. Wearable tech isn't a trendy pair of headphones, for example, or a digital watch. The new age of wearables tap into the connected self -- they're laden with smart sensors, and make use of a web connection, usually using Bluetooth to connect wirelessly to your smartphone. They use these sensors to connect to you as a person, and they help you to achieve goals such as staying fit, active, losing weight or being more organised.

How do you wear them?

Most wearables are wrist worn, but an increasing number can be clipped to the body and hung around the neck. Wearables are quickly blending with jewellery, and are worn in the same way. Watches, rings, pendants -- you name it, there's a wearable that does it.

So what are the advantages and the disadvantages of using wearables techs?

PROS:

1.    Hands-free user experience

Most consumer and enterprise wearables can receive messages, communicate with others and provide visual aids, all the while the user's hands remain free for use. Part of the advantages lie in the ability to better filter messages, alleviating users from the need to constantly draw their smartphone and check. Moreover, this gives users the opportunity to receive visual assistance in real-time while performing a certain action. This hands-free concept is very lucrative in the enterprise setting, especially for hands-on industries such as manufacturing and the oil and gas industries.

2.    Personalized information

Many wearables today have the ability to retrieve different physiological parameters about you as a user. This gives way to drawing personalized health and fitness information that can revolutionize the health & fitness industries by allowing individuals to be better aware of themselves and possibly keep better track of possible ailments.

3.    Personal assistant

Wearables on many levels were created in an attempt to simplify our daily functions. The idea is that analyzed data and critical information will be at the user's immediate disposal, simplifying daily functions dramatically and making us more productive and efficient than ever before.

4.    The gateway to the Internet of Things (IoT) world

Wearables are set to become one of the more integral devices in the IoT vision. The idea of connected devices will be ever more realistic and necessary once individuals will have a "personal assistant" that will be able to speak with the surrounding environment and devices. This "personal assistant" will be able to help the user remotely control other devices and therefore will become that much more essential.

CONS:

1.    Data accuracy

One aspect that needs to be better developed in many wearables is the actual accuracy of the physiological measurements. It seems that wearables in general and smartwatches in particular, just haven't been able to retrieve and measure the data with sufficient accuracy. Sensors will need to be better positioned or used and data better analyzed.

2.    Usability barriers

Since many wearables are still very much a concept in development and fairly new to the market, usability drawbacks are a natural part of the process. These drawbacks include uncomfortable design of the device and a user experience or user interface that isn't as intuitive as expected. However, since wearables are such a personalized and frequently used instrument in the nature, device manufacturers will have to learn quickly how to adjust any usability issues since this parameter is undoubtedly key for adoption. Users do not want to feel that their wearable is an intrusive alien object on their body, but should be an extension of themselves.

3.    Charging

The wearable charging mechanism and battery life are one of the more critical challenges for various wearable devices. Device manufacturers are aware of this and therefore should search for new ways on how to prolong their device's battery life on one hand, while providing a natural charging solution on the other. Currently, many wearables are coupled with uncomfortable dongles and other charging cables that are irritating for users to handle. Wireless charging for wearables is becoming the inevitable reality as users are becoming impatient to other alternatives (cables, dongles, and other weird attempts) that are simply impractical. With wireless charging, device manufacturers will also be able to create a truly waterproof wearable by getting rid of the need for a USB port altogether.