Weller SP25NUS LED-lit Soldering Iron review

The Gadgeteer 18 May 2013, 5:00 pm CEST

Like many hobbyists, I rely on a good soldering iron. I’ve been soldering since the 3rd grade, and I’ve had quite a few soldering irons over the years. I’m currently using a Weller soldering station that I’ve had over 20 years (still going strong), so when I had a chance to try a new Weller soldering iron with built-in LEDs, I jumped at the opportunity. I received the 25W Standard Duty soldering iron.

Billed as a high-performance soldering iron for hobbyists, the new Weller soldering irons also received a red dot award for product design.

This is the model SP25NUS, a 25-watt soldering iron.

Three LED lights for limited application shadowing
Round Co-molded soft grip handle design for easy tip positioning
Triangular handle area for maximum tip control
Stainless steel barrel and heater
UL listed – cUL version available
Excellent quality consumer iron 8 1/4″ (210mm) long
Light duty iron, (25watts) for joining 16 AWG wire or smaller
Use on small electrical/electronic assemblies, appliance repair, etc.
IMPORTANT: Use only Weller® tips

Inside the packaging you’ll find the soldering iron, a little user’s guide, and an iron stand to keep the hot tip off your work surface.

Made in Mexico, if you’re curious.

Here’s the iron resting on the stand.

This soldering iron features a rubberized grip and a three-sided shape in the middle.

Here you can see the three white LEDs that light up your work area. Pretty neat! There’s no on-off switch, which is just fine. Bonus: When the lights are on, the iron is also on! Yes, I’ve burned myself brushing my hand against a still-hot iron!

You’ll also notice the triangular shape a little better here. This really helps prevent the iron from rolling away at the worst possible time. Fantastic!

I found the new Weller SP25NUS LED-lit soldering iron comfortable and practical. Sure, the included stand is a little light-weight, but at a price of $14.99 to $27.99 (about $16.99 as shown) for the soldering iron, you can afford to get a decent soldering iron stand. I won’t be giving up my veteran Weller soldering station, but this will be my go-to second soldering iron.

Product Information

Price:	$14.99 to $27.99 ($16.99 as shown)
Manufacturer:	Weller
Pros:	Three LEDs help illuminate your work Rubberized grip and anti-roll triangular shape are very practical
Cons:	Included soldering iron stand is pretty basic

Filed in categories: Do-It-Yourself, How-To, Reviews

Tagged: soldering iron, Tools

Weller SP25NUS LED-lit Soldering Iron review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 18, 2013 at 11:00 am.

Joss Whedon Talks Scarlet Witch And Quicksilver For Avengers 2 and the Fate Of Tony Stark

Nerd Approved - Gadgets and Gizmos 18 May 2013, 4:30 pm CEST

The rumor mill is grinding away in regards to Avengers 2, specifically who’ll be added to the team and who might be returning.

Joss Whedon confirmed that brother/sister team Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will be a part of Avengers 2, but he’s not saying how they fit into the bigger picture.

Per his interview with Eric Goldman of IGN:

“You know, they had a rough beginning. They’re interesting to me because they sort of represent the part of the world that wouldn’t necessarily agree with The Avengers. So they’re not there to make things easier. I’m not putting any characters in the movie that will make things easier.”

As to who may or may not be returning, there’s been talk that Robert Downey Jr. has been playing hardball with Marvel now that his contract with them is up for negotiation. Couple that with how things were left in Iron Man 3 and it might lead people to question whether Tony Stark will be back.

IRON MAN 3 SPOILERS AHEAD:

On that note, Joss had this to say:

“Well, I feel like in Iron Man 3, even though he said, ‘I’ve changed’ — he blew up his remote suits, but I don’t think anybody thinks he doesn’t have one anymore. The question is, if The Avengers are called, does he show up? And the answer is, ‘Yes!’”

(via CinemaBlend)

Self Balancing Electric Unicycle

Coolest Gadgets 18 May 2013, 2:00 pm CEST

Since Father’s Day is around the corner (all right, so it is sometime in June, but it never hurts to be prepared in advance) and you are sick and tired of thinking of the perfect gift as dad already has numerous ties, shoes, vests, cufflinks, belts, and leather wallets. Is there nothing out of the ordinary that you can give dad to bring a smile to his face? A luxury watch might be a good idea, but it is not unique. Enter the $2,700 Self Balancing Electric Unicycle, where you might have visions of grandeur of Tony Stark’s briefcase suit, as this is a briefcase-sized electric unicycle which allows one to be perfectly balanced at all times thanks to the help of gyroscopic sensors.

The Self Balancing Electric Unicycle is suited for both urban commuting as well as suburban recreation, where all you need to do is just to stand on its two folding feet pads. The integrated gyroscopic sensors will be able to detect a rider’s subtle feet movements, all the while taking into consideration a shoulder-slung backpack or bag for its center-of-mass calculations. All you need to do is grip the handlebar and lean forward, resulting in a steady acceleration without jolting, and if you want to slow down or stop, just lean backward.

Turning is a snap, where you control it with side-to-side balance and turn around with subtle leaning. The unicycle will be powered by a 500-watt electric motor that can propel a 160-lb. rider up to 13 mph for two hours, and it will take a three-hour charge to juice up its integrated lithium ion rechargeable battery. It certainly seems like a dream ride to have, and I do wonder about the requirements to ride this in public. Urban commuters would definitely find this to be a boon, especially when your destination is just a few blocks down the road.

[ Self Balancing Electric Unicycle copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

An Experience To Savor. Create and Name Your Own Personal Whiskey Stock.

If It's Hip, It's Here 18 May 2013, 9:00 am CEST

Do you have an idea for a great whiskey? Want your own custom whiskey for your bar or restaurant? You and some buddies want your own label for the hunting camp? Want an amazing one-of-a-kind Father's Day, holiday, graduation or wedding gift? Here’s your chance.

The Mississippi River Distilling Company in LeClaire, Iowa will custom make a 30 gallon barrel of whiskey for you. You pick the grain bill, the yeast, the barrel, the age and the proof. You even get to name it. When it’s done, you get all the whiskey in the barrel and the empty barrel to display proudly.

above: Mississippi River Distilling Company Owner Ryan Burchett talks whiskey Their inaugural “My Whiskey” program is a unique experience that will have your fingerprints on it from beginning to end. Below tells you, in their words, how they help you craft your unique creation.

So how does this all work? First of all, you must understand that we are responsible for following the very stringent federal and state laws regarding the manufacture and sale of distilled spirits. So while some of this may seem a bit convoluted, there is a strict system in place that your spirits will travel through between our distillery and your door. First step is establishing the recipe. We have four grains at our disposal: corn, wheat, rye and barley. These grains are purchased directly from the local farmers who grew them. When your bottle is complete, we will be able to tell you the names of the farmers who grew every grain that went into your bottle. THE MASH BILL We will work with you to establish a mash bill appropriate to the flavor you are trying to achieve. Corn is rich and sweet. Wheat provides a light sweetness and fruity flavor. Rye is peppery and spicy. Barley is mild and takes on a significant portion of its flavor from the yeast. BOURBON

If you wish to make a bourbon whiskey, you will use predominantly corn. By law it must be at least 50% corn. Typically, bourbon is 70%-80% corn. For a secondary grain, you can choose wheat or rye. Most bourbons use rye for the secondary grain. However, we use wheat in our Cody Road Bourbon which provides a sweeter flavor. The secondary grain usually accounts for 10%-15% of the mash bill. Finally, bourbon typically includes 5%-15% barley. But as long as you have 51% corn, you can call it bourbon and mix out any other combination of grains for the second 49%. RYE WHISKEY

To be a rye whiskey, the mash bill must be at least 51% rye. Mash bills vary greatly from rye to rye. Some have as little as 55% rye. Others like Cody Road go all the way to 100% rye. We can do anything in between to suit your tastes. MALT WHISKEY STYLE

Scotch and Irish Whisky is made from malted barley. The roasting or smoking of the barley accounts for much of the flavor in scotch. We do not have malted barley at our disposal from local farmers. So we use an unmalted barley. We do have a malt whiskey yeast that creates a very nice flavor similar to an Irish Whisky. But this would still be a unique American take on it. MIX AND MATCH Want to come up with a mash bill that is all yours? Feel free. You can mix and match the grains and yeasts in any way you choose. YEAST SELECTION

Next we need to select your yeast. The yeast has a significant role to play in the flavor of your whiskey. We can help you choose an appropriate yeast for your project. Here are the three choices. GRAIN WHISKEY YEAST This yeast is designed for bourbon and rye whiskey production. It imparts a robust flavor of the grain and will leave rich aromas and flavors from the grains. Expect the spice notes of the grains to be a bit stronger and the sweetness to be somewhat subdued compared to the sweet whiskey yeast. MALT WHISKEY YEAST This yeast is designed for a Scotch or Irish Whisky style. Expect the mild barley to be light and smooth with this yeast. Might be an interesting yeast to experiment with non-traditional mash bills. SWEET WHISKEY YEAST This is a very vigorous and flavorful yeast. We use this yeast in both Cody Road Rye and Cody Road Bourbon. Expect the sweet and fruity notes from the grain. Delicious for lighter whiskies and shorter aged whiskies. AGING & PROOF How you barrel the whiskey and for how long will have a great impact on your final product.

THE BARREL Your whiskey will be age in a new 30 gallon charred oak barrel. These barrels are roughly half the size of a traditional whiskey barrel. That gives the whiskey more wood to interact with so it will grab the oak flavor faster than a traditional barrel. We suggest a minimum of 9-12 months in one of these barrels. You may want your whiskey to attain a much longer age. We suggest checking on your barrel periodically. While longer aged whiskey is always fun, in a smaller barrel the oak can take over. Whiskey has life cycles in the barrel. At first it may taste bitter and charred. In a few months, the sweetness can blossom. A few months later, the oak tannins start to increase. Also, the longer the whiskey is in the barrel, the more you will lose to the “Angels Share” which is what we call the whiskey that evaporates or soaks into the wood. You can expect to lose 2%-3% of the volume of your alcohol per year to the Angels Share. So before you automatically decide on aging your whiskey for eternity, understand that it might be a better whiskey at a younger age than you think. Our whiskies all age 1 year in these barrels. There are 5 char levels that we can put your barrel in. We have tried different char levels and find that a medium char (char level 3) seem to impart the most balanced oak flavor for these smaller barrels. We recommend going with a char 3 barrel, but will be happy to order a different char from the cooperage should you so choose. THE PROOF The proof at which you barrel and bottle your whiskey will dictate how many bottles you have at the end. If you bottle your whiskey at 80 proof, you can expect about 160 bottles. If you raise the proof, that will give you more alcohol in each bottle and will reduce the number of bottles that come out of your barrel. As a rule of thumb, for each 10 proof you increase the bottling, you’ll have about 20 fewer bottles. We recommend barreling your whiskey about 20 proof higher than you plan to bottle it with a maximum barreling proof of about 120 proof. MAKING THE WHISKEY Once you have your recipe all nailed down, you will contract the production with us. We will charge $3,000 for the production of your whiskey. This charge is simply for the manufacturing of the whiskey. For legal reasons, the whiskey remains in our possession for the duration of the aging. You will purchase the whiskey from a licensed retailer once it is finished aging and bottled. But during the aging, it is still owned by us and stored on our licensed premises at the distillery. We will plan to put your whiskey into production within six weeks of your payment. You will receive notice of the mashing and distilling. We will send you pictures and updates of the production via e-mail. Once in aging, we will be able to allow you to periodically taste the whiskey to see if it is ready for bottling. We will need at least 48 hours notice if you want to come check on your barrel so we can pull it out of storage. Remember that the more you check on it, the less you’ll have at the end. NAMING YOUR WHISKEY

All formulas and labels for spirits sold in America must be approved by the federal government. So while this is your whiskey, it will have to go into a bottle and label that has been pre-approved by the government. We will handle all of that paperwork and filing when the whiskey is produced. This process takes several months. So we will need to know what you want to call your whiskey when we produce it so the label approval can proceed while your whiskey is aging. It will go into a custom labeled bottle that will say, “Mississippi River Distilling Company presents: Joe’s Awesome Whiskey” or whatever you decide to call it. The bottles will have the legal government warning, barcode and batch notes included on each bottle detailing the grain used, the date distilled and who it was commissioned by. They will be hand signed by the distillers. FINISHING AND RECEIVING YOUR WHISKEY Once you determine that you would like to pull your whiskey from the barrel and have it bottled, we will schedule a blending and bottling. Your whiskey will all be bottled at the specified proof all at one time. We will not be able to accommodate multiple bottling from the same barrel. Once the whiskey is bottled, it will be shipped to a licensed distributor who will then deliver it to a licensed retailer. We will set all of this up for your pickup. We prefer to have you pick up the whiskey in the Quad Cities. We do have retailers who would be able to ship your whiskey, but it will be a significant cost to do so. To pick up your whiskey, you will be charged $3,000. That will be payable to the retailer, not to the distillery. You will receive your empty barrel along with your cases of whiskey. At this point the whiskey is your to do what you choose with.
ANY QUESTIONS? Have questions that they haven’t answered here? Drop them a line. They’d be happy to discuss your vision for your very own whiskey. You can call the distillery at 563-484-4342 or e-mail info@mrdistilling.com. Sincerely, Ryan & Garrett Burchett Owners & Distillers Mississippi River Distilling Company Mississippi River Distilling Company

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HTC Pledges To Pump Up ‘One' Production While Samsung's New Flagship Ships Like Crazy

TechCrunch » Gadgets 18 May 2013, 3:33 am CEST

Oh HTC. You’ve produced one of the finest Android smartphones ever (seriously, just look at all these reviews), but you’ve faced more than your share of challenges when it came to actually pumping your top-tier One smartphone. As it happens, that may all soon change.

FocusTaiwan reported earlier today that HTC is preparing to pump out more of its wonderful Ones in short order — Jack Tong, the company’s North Asia president, noted that this month’s production capacity for the flagship device is twice that of April, and that surge will only continue into June.

Sounds pretty yawn-worthy, right? Normally I would spend too much time dwelling on the finer points of production capacity, but here’s a device that was launched to widespread praise by an underdog smartphone company some people have written off, and HTC has basically been getting screwed thanks to part shortages for the One’s Ultrapixel camera and a brief injunction due to the HDR microphone it uses. It’s like a perfect storm of headaches for a company that really, really doesn’t need it — one look at its Q1 financials and it’s clear that HTC needed this launch to go as smoothly as possible. It didn’t.

For what it’s worth, HTC hasn’t disclosed how many Ones it’s shipped since it launched earlier this year. Meanwhile, rival Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has become the Korean electronics giant’s fastest moving smartphone — Samsung shipped 6 million units in just over two weeks, and it hopes to cross the 10 million unit threshold by the end of this month. Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that Google’s Hugo Barra showed off a version of the S4 at the company’s I/O developer conference that runs a version of Android that’s unfettered by the software bloat that many a reviewer took umbrage at. Company representatives were careful not to call it a Nexus — even though it seems to harbor many of the advantages inherent to the Nexus line like a clean Android build and access to frequent software updates.

As I noted towards the end of my HTC One review, the wireless industry isn’t a meritocracy — the well-executed device doesn’t always wind up saving the day. Hopefully now that some of these production woes have been ironed out we’ll see HTC live to fight another day, but that’s still far from a given.

Switchboard Mixes Multiple Internet Connections: With Your Powers Combined, I Am Faster Bandwidth!

Technabob 17 May 2013, 9:00 pm CEST

I’ve often wished that I could combine the speed of my cable Internet connection with my phone’s data connection to form one ~~supercharged~~ slightly above average connection. If you’ve been wishing for the same thing my wish buddy, take a look at Switchboard. It’s a subscription-based cloud service that will let you tap into multiple Internet connections at once.

connectify switchboard cloud service

The Switchboard service is currently being developed by a company called Connectify. The company claims that its servers can spread the packets that you upload or download across multiple Internet connections. All you have to do is link your computer to these connections; the Switchboard software and Connectify’s servers will do the rest.

Switchboard is actually similar to one of Connectify’s other apps called Dispatch. Dispatch can also send data to and from your computer through multiple Internet connections. The upside to Dispatch is that it doesn’t need to pass through a server. That means you only pay once – just for the client software. But Connectify says that Dispatch is only good for applications or processes that use multiple sockets at once, such as web browsing or peer-to-peer connections. Programs that use single sockets like Netflix and Hulu will gain nothing from Dispatch. Also Dispatch doesn’t have a Mac client, whereas Switchboard will have one.

Pledge at least $60 (USD) on Kickstarter to be one of the first to try out Switchboard. But with great speed comes great expense. Not only is Switchboard a subscription service, its plans also have data caps. The limits range from 10GB to 2TB per month depending on your plan. I’m not saying that’s unreasonable, but now I have another wish: I wish that future computers had this functionality baked in.

[via Tom's Hardware]

Wish Pearl – Harvest a Real Pearl, without Getting Wet!

Coolest Gadgets 17 May 2013, 8:21 pm CEST

I always held true to the old adage that tells us it’s the thought that counts, but that being said, I’ve had a lot of great thoughts… but they’re not at all better than getting some extravagant present. However, when I cant afford extravagance I like to go for something so unique or bizarre that the recipient exclaims “where did you find that!?” Hence my family has some pretty weird stuff.

My daughter must have my genes because for my birthday I got a Wish Pearl, sounds simple enough, if it werent for the fact that you make your own pearl necklace from a pearl you harvest yourself, out of a mullousk-in-a-can. Yes its true, with no guarantees as to pearl color or size, you simply make a wish, then dig your pearl from the long dead (however well preserved in alcohol) oyster ,and the can warns you not to eat the oyster or drink the liquid it comes in. Thank goodness for that, as I had my cocktail sauce at the ready.

After following the instructions I was able to retrieve my pearl from its animal home and learn what meaning its color revealed by the information on the box. Also included in the kit is a beautiful 18K white Gold tone plated Flower shape “cage” to house your pearl with an 18k white gold tone plated necklace thats about 18″ long. Simply pop in your newly harvested pearl and voila! a beautiful necklace.

So I love my little pearl necklace and I love that my daughter took the time to find something fun and interesting to get me, and its going to last a whole lot longer, and cause a lot less pain than the 5 pound box of chocolates she got me last year! There are several different kits to choose from, all for under 20 bucks at amazon.com

[ Wish Pearl – Harvest a Real Pearl, without Getting Wet! copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

League against Cancer: Cancer Tweets

I Believe in Advertising | ONLY SELECTED ADVERTISING | Advertising Blog & Community 17 May 2013, 8:08 pm CEST

Leo Burnett Colombia created “Cancer Tweets” for the Colombia’s League against Cancer to raise awareness about the importance of addressing the signs our bodies give us. The prevention campaign created awareness on Twitter so people could feel the silent way in which cancer acts and how easy it is to ignore it.

Seven accounts for the most lethal cancer types (breast, colon, prostate, cervical, lung and stomach) were opened on Twitter. The virtual cancers followed thousands of common people and sent subtle messages that were initially ignored, but as time passed, the cancer grew stronger and got tougher. Those who detected the messages early were able to control it and the virtual cancer stopped following them. But those who ignored the messages received final awareness advisories about how ignoring the symptoms could result in the progression towards terminal stages of cancer.

The act reached millions of people and got the entire country talking about cancer awareness. More than 9,733 social media users and even political leaders like Barack Obama suffered a virtual cancer.

Using the #CancerTweets hashtag, the campaign raised awareness about the importance of early detection because the best way to control cancer is to stop ignoring it.

Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, Bogota, Colombia Global Chief Creative Officer: Mark Tutssel Executive Creative Director: Fernando Hernández, Mauricio Sarmiento Creative Director: Carlos Oviedo, Alexis Ospina, Rafael Reina Managing Director: Fernando Hernández, Mauricio Sarmiento Account Director: Natalia Valencia Art Director: Rafael Reina, Andres Lopez Copywriter: Andrés Salamanca, Alexis Ospina

Puzzling Smartwatch Apps

Yanko Design 17 May 2013, 7:13 pm CEST

These perplexing time apps were created for the much-raved about I’m Watch smartwatch, and transform the basic resting face of the device into the time-telling puzzle of your choice. No ticking hands, no big numbers… hit the jump to see if you can figure out each without reading how to decipher them!

Tritime – uses twelve color triangles to represent hours and twelve smaller triangles to represent 5 minute sections.

Timenine – hours are shown in big color numbers while minutes are displayed in 6 groups of 9 dots, each dot representing a single minute — after 10 minutes the group transforms into a single square — after 30 minutes a long rectangle is formed.

Timegrid – surprisingly fast, simple time reading is made possible by graphing hours in a rectangle that grows as time goes by — minutes are shown in the middle of the board grid

Designer: Albert Salamon

- Yanko Design Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world! Shop CKIE - We are more than just concepts. See what's hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design! (Puzzling Smartwatch Apps was originally posted on Yanko Design)

Michigan Tech Sponsors A 3D Printers For Peace Contest

TechCrunch » Gadgets 17 May 2013, 5:46 pm CEST

5718001276_3d2f29199a_o_preview_featured

Now that Defense Distributed is on the defensive, it’s time to think a bit harder about what 3D printing really means. To that end, Michigan Tech is sponsoring a Printers For Peace contest that is encouraging designers and engineers to make amazing stuff using a 3D printer that can change the world for the better. “Unfortunately, the only thing many people know about 3D printing is that it can be used to make guns,” writes Dr. Joshua Pearce, founder of the project.

“This is an open-ended contest, but if you’d like some ideas, ask yourself what Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, or Gandhi would make if they’d had access to 3D printing.”

The deadline for the contest is September 1st and they’ll announce winners on the 4th. They are looking for designers to build things that will help, not harm, people.

low-cost medical devices tools to help pull people out of poverty designs that can reduce racial conflict objects to improve energy efficiency or renewable energy sources to reduce wars over oil tools that would reduce military conflict and spending while making us all safer and more secure things that boost sustainable economic development (e.g. designs for appropriate technology in the developing world to reduce scarcity)

The winner of best project will win a Type A Machines Series 1 3D Printer and the runner-up gets a simpler RepRap Prusa Mendel 3D printing kit.

With all the press attention on 3D printing is the gateway to firearms anarchy, it’s refreshing to see someone take a different path. By backing 3D printing engineers into a corner, DefDist and the government are simply using fear to achieve competing goals. The results will be both needlessly draconian legislation and a variant of the Streisand Effect that will spread these arguably faulty plans far and wide. When the government outlawed DVD decryption code you could buy a T-shirt with the code printed on it. The same will happen in this case, although this code, when run, could take off fingers and give legislators more ammunition for a full crackdown on home 3D printing.

Let us know if you enter and good luck. We need more weapons against poverty and fewer weapons against each other.

[Image via Thingiverse]

StewartStand RFID-blocking Card Case review

The Gadgeteer 17 May 2013, 5:00 pm CEST

I once saw a TV show where a woman was walking down a busy sidewalk, not doing anything in particular, not even bumping into the people she passed. She seemed innocent, but she had a RF reader in her bag that was scanning the RFID-enabled cards inside the wallets of everyone she passed, and she was able to use the information she gleaned walking down the street to make purchases against other people’s cards. Who knows what information about you is floating around out there just because you have one of those easy-pay credit cards or keychain fobs or because you are carrying your passport. I’ve written a lot of news posts about various RFID-blocking wallets, but most of those seem to be designed for men. This Card Case from StewartStand is in their Women’s line, and it, like their other accessories, incorporates stainless steel in the design to protect your information from RFID readers when you don’t want it read. How well does it work?

All images can be clicked for an enlarged view.

The Card Case is available in Black, Cobalt, Red, and Tan. Although these card cases are shown in the Women’s line, I think they would appeal to men, especially in the black and tan colors. StewartStand says these cases are made of Italian leather and their stainless steel woven fabric. The stitching is straight and even with no loose threads. The leather on this side of the case is stamped with the StewartStand name.

The case measures 3.8″ X 2.6″ X 0.2″ and weighs 0.95 ounces on my digital kitchen scale.

You can see quite a bit of the stainless steel fabric in this view. I would think that a metal fabric would be rough and scratchy and likely to snag clothing, but the fabric used in this card case is as smooth as silk. It doesn’t catch on my clothing, even when I tried rubbing it over a knit fabric. The metal fabric is cooler to the touch than the leather is. It is a medium-light gray color with a reflective sheen, but it’s not shiny – you won’t be signaling planes with this or checking your reflection before going to a meeting.

This side of the wallet has one outside pocket.

This side of the wallet has two pockets. You can fit a card behind the leather panel, and another card behind the slip of metal fabric, too.

The stainless steel fabric and the leather piece are all lined with a light tan twill fabric.

You can also see the interior of the middle pocket in this picture. The full length of both sides of this pocket is made of the metal fabric. The black tag is stamped “Genuine Leather” and “Made in India”.

This is a compact case, and I was only able to fit four cards in, with two in the center pocket and one each in the outside pockets. I might have been able to squeeze another one in, but I didn’t want to make it too difficult to remove them. Not all of your cards are going to be RFID cards anyway, so you can store only those that need to be shielded in this case.

I don’t have an RFID card, and my state doesn’t have driver’s licenses with that functionality, either. My husband has an ID card key for work, and I thought I’d try it with this case. The card could be read in the case, and my husband confirmed that the security system doesn’t use RFID. Luckily, they do use RFID technology for other things where he works, and he asked a coworker if he could test the case with some of their in-house equipment. The coworker had checked other RFID-shielding wallets in the past, and he didn’t seem to have a lot of hope that this thin little leather case would work any better than the metal wallets he’d seen.

He placed a few RFID tags inside the wallet’s center compartment and used the scanner to read them. He got nothing, despite trying several scans from different angles. He pulled an RFID tag out of the wallet, and it read immediately. He pressed on the ends of the case to cause the center pocket to open a bit to see if he could read the tags that way, but he still couldn’t get a reading. He then tried putting some tags inside each of the outside metal pockets, and once again, he couldn’t read them while they were inside the Card Case. He was only able to read a tag when it was pulled partially out of the case. The StewartStand case worked perfectly to prevent reading any tags stored inside the metal-fabric pockets.

The StewartStand Card Case is a simple, compact little case that does just what it promises – shields your RFID-readable cards from unauthorized access. It’s attractive and well-made, and it’s small enough that you could perhaps fit it inside a larger wallet to hold just those cards that need to be shielded. StewartStand has other card cases that they include in their Mens’ line, but I think this case would work just as well for a man as for a woman, especially in the black and tan colors. They have many other styles of wallets and card cases in both their Women’s and Mens’ lines. Some cases are more utilitarian and compact and others are bigger and more decorative, but they all incorporate the stainless steel fabric that protects against RFID skimming. I’ve seen similarly-sized card cases for less, but they don’t shield against anything. Consider it a $49.50 insurance policy to protect your information.

Product Information

Price:	$49.50
Manufacturer:	StewartStand
Requirements:	RFID cards you want protected
Pros:	Compact Attractive design with stainless steel fabric Protects cards from being read
Cons:	I don't see this as a con as not all your cards will need to be protected, but it only holds 4 or so cards

Filed in categories: Gear, Reviews, Wallets

Tagged: Card Case, RFID shielding, Wallet

StewartStand RFID-blocking Card Case review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 17, 2013 at 11:00 am.

This Week’s Nerdiest Deals Include Mario Backpacks, a Joker Robe And Game of Thrones Hoodies! [Deals]

Nerd Approved - Gadgets and Gizmos 17 May 2013, 5:00 pm CEST

This is the biggest deal we’ve seen on the complete BSG Blu-ray 21-disc boxed set—only $94.99. That’s 68% off the list price!

We’ve got a great batch of deals for you this week. Doctor Who Plush, Star Wars books, Battlestar Galactica DVDs and a not too serious Joker robe round things out.

See all the deals after the break…

Get beach ready with these Star Trek Beach Towels available in red, blue or gold for 37% OFF at $25.04.

Get to work building your own Millennium Falcon with Star Wars: The Blueprints for 40% OFF at $59.99.

You are Iron Man with this Costume Apron for $19.95 at 20% OFF.

Drift off to sleep with Finn and Jake in this Adventure Time Sleep Set for 30% OFF at $16.98.

Cylons and humans can both agree that Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series on Blu-Ray is a steal for $179.96 at 40% OFF.

Make sure everyone knows which side you’re loyal to with this Firefly Browncoat Baseball Hat for $19.99 at 20% OFF.

You can pick up all sorts of great Gamer and Comic-Themed Leggings at ROMWE at up to 66% OFF for $19.99 but only through Friday, May 17th.

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David Bowie Is

Materialiste, Le Magazine Elégant 17 May 2013, 4:17 pm CEST

La première rétrospective internationale de l’extraordinaire carrière de David Bowie. Rien que ça. Forcément, l’événement a fait courir le tout Londres au Victoria and Albert Museum, qui a du coup enregistré la vente d’entrées la plus rapide de son histoire : 50 000 billets achetés avant même l’ouverture ! On y était.

Baptisée « David Bowie is », cette exposition retrace donc les 50 ans de carrière de l’icône britannique aux 140 millions d’albums.

Plus qu’un artiste, David Bowie a véritablement révolutionné son époque en la marquant d’une éternelle empreinte avant-gardiste, et cette odyssée le montre bien.

Pour mener celle-ci a bien, le Victoria and Albert Museum a profité d’un accès exceptionnel aux archives du chanteur, qui par bonheur n’a jamais rien jeté au cours de sa carrière. Résultat, une sélection minutieuse de plus de 300 objets, rassemblés pour la toute première fois.

Textes manuscrits, instruments, costumes originaux, illustrations, vidéos musicales, disques mythiques, paroles célèbres griffonnées… On se penche ici sur l’intégralité du processus créatif de David Bowie sur cinq décennies.

Parmi plus de soixante costumes de scène exposés, le manteau aux couleurs du drapeau du Royaume-Uni créé par Bowie et Alexander McQueen pour la couverture de l’album Earthling, les créations que de Kansai Yamamoto pour la tournée d’Aladin Sane… Edifiant !

Guidés par les plus grands titres du chanteur ainsi que par ses propres commentaires, nous évoluons parmi ces archives, qui mettent en perspective aussi bien les différentes collaborations de l’artiste que sa vie personnelle.

Les fans constateront d’ailleurs qu’on découvre certaines pièces pour la toute première fois, comme la mythique combinaison multicolore inspirée par le film Orange Mecanique de Stanley Kubrick, et utilisée pour l’album Ziggy Stardust.

On entre également plus dans l’intimité du chanteur avec textes de chansons manuscrits, des dessins, des partitions, des story-boards inédits et autres annotations, qui témoignent des multiples identités de l’artiste connu pour son sens de la métamorphose (tout comme le titre la rétrospective, David Bowie is, qui invite au jeu des réponses).

Clou de l’exposition, cette dernière salle plongée dans le noir, dans laquelle on découvre de nouveaux costumes, des dessins et des maquettes de scène, mis en perspective par un immense écran projetant des extraits de concert. De quoi s’imprégner véritablement de l’univers polymorphe de David Bowie.

Heureux hasard ou malice du chanteur, celui-ci a fait son grand retour en mars dernier, après plus de dix ans d’absence. Son album intitulé The Next Day fait déjà carton plein en Grande-Bretagne.