For the past 2.5 years, Tyla and I have had cell phones that support wireless charging. Last summer, I bought some cheapo wireless chargers and they just didn’t work reliably. I kind of gave up on the idea until they scattered some official Nokia charging pads around my building at work. I used them for a while and it worked every time. So I tossed the old ones that we didn’t use anymore and bought the nicer ones from Nokia (DT-903) which happened to be in our company store.
They work perfectly! Drop the phone on and boom, you’re charging. Plus, the charger connects to your phone with Bluetooth LE and will flash the light if you have a low battery, text message, email, etc. The flashing is configurable and you can set nighttime hours when the light is off completely. That’s a must-have feature since we have these in the bedroom.
Nokia also makes the DT-900 which is less expensive and I don’t think it has as many features, but we might pick one of those up for down in the main living area.
It’s definitely a luxury purchase, but Qi charging is a standard across lots of Windows Phone and Android devices. (Sorry, no iOS unless you put a special case on your phone.)
The Martian
Last summer, I wrote up my thoughts on The Martian by Andy Weir. It’s an awesome science fiction book based almost completely in the realm of actual science. (The author admits to one intentional deviation in the first few pages to make a better story.) You could quickly summarize the book as “MacGyver on Mars.”
The buzz around this book is ramping up again because trailers for the movie are starting to come out. It’s directed by Ridley Scott and stars Matt Damon. I really enjoyed the book and have high hopes for the movie.
If you’re at all interested in engineering, space, or science fiction, this is one to keep on your radar. I don’t know whether it’s better to read the book or watch the movie first, but personally I’d say you should read the book first because it’s your only option right now! Here are a couple links to get a taste of what you’re in for. Don’t worry about spoiling the book by watching these. He gets stranded on Mars. Surprise! That’s the whole point of the book and you learn that in the first couple pages.
XKCD has a comic this week about the movie too.