World Introduction of the new Sea Ray SLX 400.

Here's what Sea Ray says about their brand new SLX 400. (I'm added my comments in brackets, like this one.) The SLX 400 was conceived as the ideal entertaining vessel for socializing with large groups of family and friends. (It can sit 16 to 20 people, but keep safety in mind.) It's marketed as ‘the Entertainer,’ because boaters will be hard pressed to find anything this boat can’t do — or store. For those into stand-up paddle boarding, you’ll find enclosed storage for two full-sized boards. Additional storage throughout the boat holds large items, towels and other belongings safely out of the fray. For entertaining there's a well-appointed wet bar with refrigerator, sink and available dual grills. The transom entertainment zone — featuring a stereo, sprayer, and comfy aft-facing seating overlooking the integral extended swim platform. The most remarkable cockpit feature is the innovative new fold-down patio, a brilliantly designed wing of the hull that opens 90 degrees to expand the cockpit all the way to the water. (This is unique, I haven't seen it before in a boat this size. The SLX 400 include Axius® joystick control, for effortless docking and maneuvering in the tightest of spaces. (I've used Sea Ray joystick control on a different 40+ Sea Ray boat and it is amazingly easy to use, especially for leaving the dock and returning.) Raymarine® 14” glass displays let you create your dashboard instrument layout. Below deck there's a private head with shower, luxury sleeping for four, flat screen TV and more. Engine options to power this beauty between 40 and 50 mph. Depending on options it can range up to the $500,000 range.

Giz Wiz Video: https://youtu.be/eAPOZuFS2Sc

Company website: http://www.searay.com/

Calm the seas! But it won't be cheap to do that.

If you own a boat bigger than 30', and you have a fair amount of money, you can control the waves as you boat! Actually, you can't control them totally, but I've seen tests that say the Seakeeper can dampen wave action up to 90%! If you want to own a boat, but get seasick easily, this could come in very handy! SeaKeeper devices have been available for years, but at the NY Boat 2017 they were showing the new Seakeeper 3 Model for smaller boats. This is the smallest and lightest Seakeeper unit yet and the first to run exclusively on 12-volt DC power. There means you don't need a generator or AC power. (Bigger unit do require a boat to have a generator to provide AC power.) But now boats between 30- and 40-feet long, can enjoy Seakeeper's stabilization solution. The unit features a newly designed touch screen control panel allowing users to capture real-time performance information. Now these are very high tech units and when the company says “easy” installation, they mean the unit can be installed and ready to use in as little as two days. And it is not inexpensive. This is the lowest priced model in the Seakeeper product line but a MSRP price of $26,900, not including installation. SeaKeeper 3 will be available starting Spring, 2017. 

SeaKeeper Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdgvfluTouQ

Company website: http://www.seakeeper.com/

One of the most unique gadgets I found at CES.

A quick little side story about this device. I saw two gentlemen examining it, walking all around it and talking to each other in hushed tones. I swear I recognized one of the two men, but I couldn't remember where. I walked around the vest until I could see the name tags. OMG, it was David Copperfield! Maybe they were figuring a way it could fit into an illustion. 

Wearable technology was one of the buzz words at CES 2017. I saw a lot of – probably more than a dozen – fitness bands, but I saw only one wearable airbag. That's right an airbag designed for those who race cars, ride fast bikes, ski, horseback ride, etc. and are looking a way to protect themselves from a nasty fall or accident. A French company In&Motion has been providing technology to professionals for years, but now they want to bring it to a much wider market. They've done testing in the field with thousands of people in Europe and now they're looking for 500 volunteers in the US. The wearable airbag looks like a warm, padded vest, but it's embedded with sensors and predictive algorithms so it can anticipate a crash. If it does, it can deploy in than 0.1 second to help prevent critical body damage. Assuming the jacket itself is not badly damaged, you can swap out the used gas cartridges and be ready for the next spill. There are different versions for different sports and it's available in different sizes and colors. One of the spokespeople at the In&Motion booth said it would cost about $800, a small amount when you consider it could save your life. To get more info, and to fill out the form to enter being a test subject, visit 

Here's a video of the professional version in action: https://vimeo.com/126579683

Who wouldn't like someone to fold their newly laundered clothes?

Or maybe own a machine that would do it.

If you own a home, a washer and dryer is most likely standard equipment. They makes two jobs pretty easy. But then comes folding the clean clothes, not a particularly hard job, but a boring, time consuming one. Well now (or soon) they'll be something new to help with that! The name of the American company is FoldiMate, so that gives you a pretty good idea of what their product does. At three-feet-high this robotic folding machine is probably not good for appartments, but perfect bigger families who have space, or even a dedicated laundry room. The company says the FoldiMate will take crumpled shirts, tops and trousers and not only fold them, but help them look neater with a bit of steam to get rid of wrinkles. This isn't inexpensive, and is is expected to cost between $700 and $850. Considering it's said to take only ten seconds to fold each item and that it can fold 15 to 20 pieces of clothing and deliver it at the bottom of the machine, neatly piled up, it could be worth it. (Evidently this company is not brand new in this area and have been making a commercial version for the past few years, so it makes sense for them to bring their know how to the home market. 

https://www.foldimate.com/ (There's a video on their website, or here:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swNgjX0xHC8

Another air purifier, but it offers something very different.

There are a lot of air purifiers in the market place, and they're all designed to do what they're named for. If you live in a big city, which usually offers a wide variety of pollutants, you might want one. I live in New York City and use an older Oreck Professional which I use to help clean the air in my bedroom, and also as a 'white noise' machine for sleep. At CES 2017, there's a new kid on the window-sill called Sprimo. Normally, this would be a 'who cares' kind of gadget, but it does something that no other air purifier does (that I know of). After you use the Sprimo for a while, you can send the company your used filter so they can test it to find out what irritants or particles are in the air you breathe. If you have health issues, this hopefully could be very helpful. Sprimo is WiFi and Bluetooth enabled and has a variable speed fan and other features you can control from your phone. It can be set to purify the air in your room, or just your personal space. Like the Oreck, which has a retail price of about $400, the Sprimo is expected to be priced in the $325 to $400. range. But, I don't know exact sales plan yet, because it was on Crowd Supply, a crowdfunding website, and did not get the funding they were looking for. So they're have new plans at CES 2017. There's more info and a video here:  

https://www.crowdsupply.com/sprimo/personal-air-purifier