I feel that the TV and tech industry has finally had a breakthrough. After years of failed attempts from both Apple and Google to create a device that bridges the gap between PC/mobile and the television. Google creates the Chromecast. Funny that it would come in such a small device. While we are not quite to the point at which you can just swipe your current content from your mobile device and have it seamlessly appear on the television. Google has done a decent job at making streaming content as painless as possible.

I remember years ago trying to setup a media server in the house so that my roommates and I could watch the latest anime in HD. It was such a pain and never seemed to work exactly as I planned. Now with the Chromecast and streaming services such as Hulu and Crunchy Roll I can keep up on the latest shows with little to no effort!

When wearables first hit the market my initial reaction was “Not something I would ever actually use”. Now after wearing the Gear Fit for more than a month my opinion has changed. First off you should know that I am a person that wears watches regularly. If you don’t normally wear a watch then the utility of having one may not become that apparent at first. The Gear Fit extends the standard functionality that normally comes with a watch (i.e telling time) with things like notifications, pedometer and media control. I use the heck out of the notifications feature. It is nice to be able to glance at your emails or messages without pulling out your phone. Less used features are the heart rate monitor and media controller. While I do often run, the heart rate monitor just seemed clunky to me. I think there are probably better solutions out there for this. I do however use the media control feature. It is nice to be able to change tracks or adjust volume from your wrist while you have your phone tucked away and are running.

I do have some gripes however. First off, its not actually running Google Wear. This makes me sad Samsung. I was looking forward to possibly developing features for a wearable device. I don’t understand Samsungs need to move away from the Android platform. Seriously who wants to develop for Tizen. The other big gripe I have is the “Wake up gesture”. It just plain dose not work well. I would rather have a double tap on the screen to wake the device. I end up having to press the button on the side in order to check the time. Gripes aside I can now see how a wearable device can fit into my everyday load out. The Gear Fit works well for now but I will keep an eye out for advancements in the wearables field for the future.

After having a blast messing around with the original Raspberry Pi I decided that it’s time to pick the B+ model. The Model B+ is the higher-spec variant of the Raspberry Pi. It replaced the original Model B in July 2014. Compared to the Model B it has:

• More GPIO. The GPIO header has grown to 40 pins, while retaining the same pinout for the first 26 pins as the Model A and B.
• More USB. We now have 4 USB 2.0 ports, compared to 2 on the Model B, and better hotplug and overcurrent behaviour.
• Micro SD. The old friction-fit SD card socket has been replaced with a much nicer push-push micro SD version.
• Lower power consumption. By replacing linear regulators with switching ones we’ve reduced power consumption by between 0.5W and 1W.
• Better audio. The audio circuit incorporates a dedicated low-noise power supply.
• Neater form factor. We’ve aligned the USB connectors with the board edge, moved composite video onto the 3.5mm jack, and added four squarely-placed mounting holes.

Ultimately I plan on turning this Pi into a NAS system. When BitTorrent released the BitTorrent Sync Alpha a few weeks back, I decided to see what kind of options I had for using the program with my Raspberry Pi. I also came across Owncloud (open source) to provide me with a web interface for accessing my files from any computer, including my mobile phone.