alarms

Zeo sleep tracker goes mobile

Health and wellness firm Zeo's labeling of sleep problems in America as an "epidemic" might not be hyperbole. Some 64 million of us grapple with sleep issues every night, and another 49 million struggle at least a few nights a week, according to the firm's analysis of U.S. Census data.

Zeo, which first caught our eye in 2005 under the name Axon Labs with an alarm clock called SleepSmart, now offers a highly evolved mobile sleep system that employs a wireless headband to track all known sleep phases, including Light, Deep, and REM sleep.

The Zeo Sleep Manager then sends the resulting sleep data directly to the user's mobile device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and soon Android-based smartphones), which then syncs to the user's online Zeo account, where a ZQ sleep score that summarizes sleep quality is calculated. (It used to be transmitted to an SD card and then had to be manually uploaded.)… Read more

Phew! Defusable alarm clock won't actually detonate

Say, that bomb looks familiar. It looks like almost every movie bomb every made--destined to have the proper wire clipped with exactly one second remaining.

This particular bomb is actually an alarm clock called the Defusable Clock. It has all the usual alarm clock features like a beeping alarm and snooze function, but it also has a 10-second detonation countdown.

Four wires stretch across the top. Trigger the detonation sequence and start clipping. The clock randomly assigns two wires to do nothing, one wire to set off an immediate detonation, and one wire that stops the countdown. The detonation is actually a visual explosion of red blinking lights.

The wires are easily replaceable so that you can scare the pretend wits out of yourself over and over again. A kit for the clock that contains just the electronic parts will be available this fall. You'll have to make your own fake dynamite sticks.… Read more

CNET Roadside Assistance 016: A hot compact sedan and a grocery getter to boot (podcast)

It's all about your email, calls, help & how-to around the high tech device that is today's car. Today we field car advice questions and we answer the age old question about turning right on a red light.

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ZoneAlarm reboots home security suites

Armed with some strong test results and new features, ZoneAlarm's latest consumer security suite revamp released today is a solid effort to attract new users and retain older fans. Available exclusively from CNET Download.com today, ZoneAlarm has updated its four main consumer options for download: ZoneAlarm Extreme Security, ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite, ZoneAlarm AntiVirus + Firewall, and ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall to feature a new unified look, more-effective threat scans, and some interesting value-added features for users who don't mind paying more to get ancillary security features.

The interface is the most apparent change to the suites, ditching a … Read more

Zazoo photo clock keeps kids in bed longer

The current No. 1 best seller in Amazon's parenting and families category is a children's book for adults titled "Go the F**k to Sleep." Clearly, sleep issues are big on parents' minds.

Zazoo Kids has come out with a gadget that would be a perfect companion for that book. The Zazoo photo clock looks like a small tablet, but its main purpose is to serve as a clock that keeps your young ones in bed longer so you can get a few more minutes of precious sleep in the morning.

The $89 photo clock is geared toward little angels who are too young to tell time. It shows a sun image to let them know it's time to get up. If the clock shows a moon, they little ones are supposed to stay in bed and wait for the image to change.

The Zazoo photo clock doesn't settle for being just a fancy timepiece. It can also act as a digital photo frame, has a nap-time setting, and can play music and video. You can customize the visual alarm with your own photos. Perhaps a photo of exhausted, baggy-eyed mom and dad might help drive the point home?

If you want to get fancy with it, you can load a children's audiobook onto the Zazoo photo clock and let the gadget handle the parenting for an evening. Ah, blissful slumber.… Read more

Lark's silent alarm wakes you, not your bunkmate

Alarm clocks are so primitive. At the appointed time, your device shrieks to life, rudely startling you awake--along with whoever is next to you.

Entrepreneur Julia Hu wants to bring modern sleep science into your bedroom with Lark, a vibrating, silent alarm buzzer you wear on your wrist. The device doesn't just buzz at the appropriate hour, though. It also beams data over Bluetooth to an iPhone app about how well you're sleeping, based on how much your arm moves. An Android version is coming soon.

The device will be sold in Apple stores starting June 14, and its available now on Lark's Web site for $129, plus an additional $60 to get the feature that shows you a seven-day personal sleep assessment based on the data the wristband collects. The sleep analysis is based on algorithms developed with the help of Harvard University sleep expert Dr. Jo Solet and professional sleep coach Cheri Mah.

"Sleep is the under-appreciated third pillar of health next to a healthy diet and regular exercise," Hu said.

In my own trial of the "Silent Un-alarm Clock" a few nights ago, Lark told me I got 6 hours and 28 minutes of sleep. It also said that it took me 32 minutes to go to sleep and that I woke up 5 times--none of which I remember. Yet apparently this level of nighttime activity is pretty good. It was worth an 8.9 out of 10 on the Lark scale of sleep efficiency. … Read more

CNET Roadside Assistance 013: Running on regular (podcast)

On today's show, we give out SUV advice, oil change recommendations, answer the burning question about using regular or premium gasoline, and of course LOL cars.

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Catch Notes handles text, voice, and photos

Catch Notes is a robust, yet simple notepad app that lets you keep track of your ideas using text notes, voice notes, camera notes, and more. Use it in conjunction with a free Catch.com account to sync your notes to the cloud and access them from anywhere.

The Catch Notes interface is super clean and refreshingly intuitive, with all of its basic functions laid out as icons on the Home screen. My notes brings you to all of your work. Tags lets you search your notes using hash-designated keywords. Settings lets you customize certain features. And the rest of … Read more

Note Everything, the multitalented note taker

Note Everything falls somewhere between a basic, single-purpose notepad app and a richer, do-it-all note taker like Evernote. It's solid and stable, and, depending on the functionality you seek, it might be just what you're looking for.

Once you get started, the first thing you may notice is that Note Everything can punch out several different types of notes including Text notes, Paint notes, Voice notes, and Barcode notes. If you install the free Everything GDocs companion app, you'll even be able to import Google documents as notes (as well as export notes to Google Docs). If … Read more