End Fat Wallet Syndrome with NU Lifestyle

I love gadgets. Sometimes they are things I will use for work, sometimes it is software. Sometimes it’s just something fun – or that I “always wanted”. But rather than keeping it to myself, I thought I’d share it with you – as part of my Gadget Weekend posts.

At the beginning of each year I investigate my wallet. After 12 months of action it’s usually inches thick, bursting with paper, cards, receipts and so on (I’d like to say cash). At new year, I pull out the receipts, cards and extraneous bits of paper. I get rid of the credit or membership cards that I never use and begin the process of replacing the cards that have been damaged or cracked from constant use/wallet wear.

I am always amazed at how much more comfortable it is to carry my slimmer, more manageable wallet.

But these days, our credit, debit and membership cards are “smart” cards – storing personal information in the chips embedded into the fabric of the cards. And while this is convenient, it also represents a security risk. Advanced card skimmers can tap into the RFID information contained in your card and the details revealed.

One solution to these problems is the NU Lifestyle card holder with RFID blocking protection. An Indiegogo project, it’s been designed to simplify the most complex wallet – trimming it down to the most essential of cards and a bit of cash. It has some other cool features:

  • RFID blocking through the creation of a Faraday Cage (yep, it’s a real thing)
  • Aircraft grade aluminium for strength (and to reduce drag during hot eBay bidding)
  • Ass-hugging design (believe it or not, it fits very nicely into your rear pocket)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JwK7W4KKAXU

As usual with Indiegogo projects, there are a range of options. You can support the project by pre-purchasing:

  • Nu Chroma: the non-RFID blocking card holder for $25
  • Nu DuoChroma: the base level RFID blocking card holder for $40
  • Nu Persona: the premium aircraft grade aluminium RFID blocking card holder for $90

There are also personal editions, limited editions, gift packs and and a promo pack which may be perfect for your next customer swag bag.

With an estimated delivery date of May 2013, it could make it just in time for my birthday.

What’s Your Daily Digital Diet?

Each day we seem to add yet another device, application or website to our menu of favourite (or most useful) digital items. It’s as if we consume them in our hunger for the next-new thing. But our digital diet changes over time – sometimes on a daily basis, with one new application supplanting another. Think Foursquare during a conference. Then think Twitter back at the office.

John Johnston compiled a list of digital devices that he uses on a daily basis. A number of people have shared their digital diet in the comments. But because it is such an interesting idea, I thought I’d publish my own list and then track it over time using a new Digital Diet category. So from time to time I can track how my daily digital diet changes. It may give me a sense of the trends as they occur. Time will tell.

Here’s what I use daily:

Lenovo T60 Notebook Desktop PC
BlackBerry Pearl Canon 450D Camera
Xenyx 502 Mixer Logitech webcam
Dell Mini Netbook with inbuilt 3G Gmail
Google Apps (mostly docs) Saasu
iTunes Skype
Adobe Connect Facebook
TweetDeck PeopleBrowsr
Outlook Live Writer
Microsoft Office Google Chrome
Twitter TwitterBerry
WordPress Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Acrobat Adobe Dreamweaver
MyPhpAdmin YouTube
Feedly Flickr
Canon MP560 Printer TiVo
JVC video camera Union XR bike computer

There are other things that I use, though not EVERY day. What about you?