OrbitKeys quiets jingling keys, looks stylish
To some, key rings are a fashion statement.
To others, they are a necessity only used when starting the car or opening the house.
The OrbitKey is a gadget that kind of combines both, helping you carry your keys in a somewhat fashionable manner while giving you quick and easy access.
When your keys are securely attached to the carrier with the custom-designed locking mechanism, they are secure, hidden and quiet.
The OrbitKey is available in leather or rubber versions and are able to hold up to seven keys, depending on the thickness.
If you only have a key or two in your life, a bottle opener ($7.50) and an 8 or 32GB USB flash drive ($19.95/$34.95) can be added just like keys and can be easily removed as needed.
The system has a D-Ring attachment for carrying larger car keys and it also keeps your keys quiet from that annoying rattling key sound.
www.Orbitkey.com $29.95 for the Elastomer or $39.95 for the leather, extra bands of each in a variety of colors can be purchased
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The Amped Wireless TAP-R3 High Power Touch Screen AC1750 Wi-Fi Range Extender extends your Wi-Fi signal throughout your house with easy touch-screen setup.
I don't know if the touch screen is the first of its kind, but it's the first I've seen. And I'm well aware that the tech world today just loves touch screens.
The 4-inch front-facing screen takes you through all the setup steps. No one really reads instructions and in this case you really don't have to.
Just plug in an Ethernet cable from your existing modem and then run the setup wizard on the router's LCD screen. Once setup is complete, it takes your Wi-Fi signal and amplifies it to help with dead spots in your house.
Dead spots can be caused by doors, walls or distance. Everything can't be a 100-percent signal but the TAP R3 definitely increased my coverage.
You can have up to eight different networks and access can be restricted to specific users.
Inside the unit are 12 advanced amplifiers, two high gain dual band antennas and a fast Qualcomm processor -- just remember that line when you really want to impress your friends and neighbors.
Specific speeds are 2.4GHz 450Mbps, 5GHz 1300Mbps making it great for home surfing, downloading, gaming or watching HD video.
Obviously to hook up the router requires a high-speed Internet line in your house.
www.ampedwireless.com $199.99
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One of my favorite MacBook accessories just got better.
Twelve South has redesigned the BookArc for Apple's MacBook to work with the latest and greatest versions of those laptops.
Many people use the laptops for on-the-go work, but when you pair it with the BookArc it becomes an outstanding desktop unit. All you do is slide the MacBook into the holder to keep it standing vertically, while also giving you valuable real estate on your actual desktop.
The accessory lets you have access to all the ports on the sides of the laptop, enabling any accessory, power supply, external keyboard and most importantly an external monitor connected.
A silicone insert for each specific laptop holds it in place and keeps it scratch free. A cable-catch feature keeps all cables in place and clutter free.
www.TwelveSouth.com $49.95
Gregg Ellman, gadget guru, can be reached at greggellman@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter@greggellman.
This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "OrbitKeys quiets jingling keys, looks stylish ."