CultCast #265 - Worst gadgets of CES 2017!

The CultCast

This week: the worst gadgets of CES 2017! Yup, we run through the gizmos no one on the earth actually needs. Then we spice things up with our most hotly anticipated tech of 2017. And finally, we’re gonna be real with you guys… Apple had a rough 2016. But that’s all behind us now. It’s a new year. It’s a fresh start. We discuss what Apple needs to get right in 2017.

On the show this week

@erfon / @bst3r

This episode supported by

Build a beautiful, responsive website quick at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off. Squarespace—Build it Beautiful.

BlueApron - a better way to cook! Get your first 3 meals free with free shipping at BlueApron.com/CultCast We also want to give Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com a thanks for the great music you hear on today's show. This week’s intro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iozxkxTMSLI Flow is a wearable that helps you avoid nasty air pollution https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/04/plume-labs-flow-air-sensor-hands-on/

• It can measure dust, exhaust fumes and other harmful gases, as well as the household chemicals you might encounter indoors.

Smart hairbrush tells your iPhone if you’re not brushing properly http://www.cultofmac.com/460920/smart-hairbrush/

• Every year at CES, there’s one gadget that epitomizes the crazier side of Silicon Valley’s “connected tech” smart devices mania.
• To do this, the smart hairbrush relies on motion sensors for monitoring your brushing patterns, conductivity sensors for spotting whether your hair is wet or dry, and a microphone for identifying “manageability, frizziness, dryness, split ends and breakage.” The brush also vibrates if you use it too vigorously.
• All this data gets sent to your iPhone, where an app gives you a hair quality score, tells you which parts of your brushing need work, and offers hairstyling products to buy.

OWC’s gigantic dock adds more ports to the new MacBook Pro http://www.cultofmac.com/460947/owcs-gigantic-dock-adds-ports-new-macbook-pro/

• OWC teased a new accessory called the DEC dock for MacBook Pro at CES
• it's a slab that sticks to the bottom of the laptop to add up to 4TB of additional flash or SSD storage, an SD card slot, full-sized USB 3.0 ports and an Ethernet jack for wired internet.
• The downside is that it makes your new laptop as chunky as the 2012 model. From a depth of around 0.6 inches, you'll now have a machine that's almost an inch thick. OWC chief Larry O'Connor said they've been developing the concept for over three years and feel like the time is right to release it.
• The company doesn't have a release date and pricing info for the DEC yet

Griffin connects your toast to your phone https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/04/griffin-connects-your-toast-to-your-phone/