Palm Isles’ Computer Club got exclusive entry into the long-time technology event Showstoppers holiday preview and the Consumer Technology Associations events, here are some highlights.

Can your room air filtration system stop Covid?

While leading appliance manufactures like Honeywell, Dyson, LG, Whirlpool, Kenmore, and lesser-known but highly rated Blue Air and “Alen” get a clean bill of health from Consumer Reports, CNET, and PC Mag, a new entry from Asia dubbed Air Dog X5 has been touting its ability to thwart off many of the contaminants in the Covid 19 virus, while also doing its main job in removing many pollutants and allergens in your home.

The Air Dog X5 (around $600) uses a patented ionic filtration system different than the traditional HEPA filter with washable collecting plates, to rid your air of common pollutants and its washable air filtration system is very convenient in that you don’t have to replace filters. An easy cleaning suggested every six months.

Julius Toth, Air Dog’s COO OF Kronos Advanced Technologies, Air Dog’s official North American distributor, claims his unit “destroys and eliminates” bacteria, viruses, smoke, pollutants, pollen, dust, pet dander, odor, and formaldehyde from the air. The company claims it can purify a 400-square-foot room in 20 minutes. He maintains that the type of filter Air Dog employs can destroy and remove the type of virus Covid delivers.

In our tests, the X5 has a good filter indicator, that indicated the amount of pollutants in the surrounding area. It’s remote control and general instructions are not as good as its main competitors, but its dirt sensor, and 4 speed operation are equal to the best units. It’s designed for floor or tabletop use in a medium-sized room. and weighs 25.2 pounds. But there are no wheels for an easy placement. But when you remove the very heavy filter system, the unit can be carried to it designated spot. It’s too early to determine its efficacy in removing Covid 19 issues as all three of the best independent research organizations are still diagnosing the Air Dog X5. DFA’s early tests resulted in less sneezing and coughing since its placement in the living room.

How to fix common Wi-Fi problems with the macOS built-in Wireless Diagnostics app

If you are spending more time at home and most of us are then you know how important a good Wi-Fi connection can be. You also know that the rapid expansion in remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some serious internet slowdowns and potential Wi-Fi problems, too.

If you live in a neighborhood where more people are working from home, or neighbors are stuck in place it’s entirely possible that you’re experiencing Wi-Fi problems. The good thing is that some of them may be within your control.

Troubleshooting and fixing W-Fi problems can be done right from your Mac. There’s no need to pay for a premium product when Apple has built a Wi-Fi analytics tool right into macOS Catalina.

As for problems with your connection that you can control, Wireless Diagnostics does a decent job of finding issues and is more reliable than your Internet provider.

You can find Wireless Diagnostics on a Mac in a couple of ways: Use Spotlight Search (the default key combo to open it is Command + Space Bar), or by holding down the Option key and clicking on the Wi-Fi icon on the menu bar, which reveals several hidden options among them the Wireless Diagnostics tool.

Apption Labs advanced Meat Thermometer system

Well to my loyal audience this was my favorite Showstopper product. As you know our family has been doing more cooking and less restauranting or even ordering up. And now for the holidays, cooking means families will need to increase their recipe repertoire and MEATER can help perfect all kinds of meats, whether it’s in-oven roasting, grilling, or smoking.

Cook a mouthwatering holiday roast, juicy turkey, ultimate steak, and the family won’t need to order delivery as a backup. The perfect gift for the amateur home chef, the experienced grill master, or the budding food influencer. The Meater has a Built-in Bluetooth repeater in the charger that extends the wireless range up to 165ft. The unit is 100% Wire-Free: The first truly wireless smart meat thermometer. The Meater has 2 Sensors, 1 Probe: Dual temperature sensors can monitor internal meat temperature and ambient. The Guided Cook System: Walks you through every step of the cooking process to guarantee perfect and consistent results. DFA’s key to this device is an Advanced Estimator Algorithm: Estimates how long to cook and rest your food to help plan your meal and manage your time. The included Connectivity Suite monitors or your meal from a phone or tablet over Bluetooth. The Meater suite is about $99

MysteryVibe first “Smart” Vibrator

“MysteryVibe’s flagship product, Crescendo, is the world’s first body-adapting smart vibrator. Tenuto is MysteryVibe’s first smart wearable vibrator for men and people with penises, and Poco is a smart, perfectly portable bendable bullet vibrator. The team is now gearing up to launch their first remote, which seamlessly integrates with all three

MysteryVibe products. As the holidays mark the end of this extra stressful year, sexual wellness products are the perfect way to gift self-care, claim its founders.” MysteryVibe’s flagship product, Crescendo, is the world’s first body-adapting smart vibrator. As the holidays mark the end of a stressful year, sexual wellness products are the perfect way to gift self-care, claims its inventors..

Western Digital’s new solid-state backup system

For consumers who need to accelerate their productivity and protect their valuable content without compromising style, Western Digital has introduced the new WD brand My Passport SSD in capacities up to 2TB.

With a sleek, compact metal design and blazing fast speeds powered by NVMe technology, the new palm-sized drive allows home and business users to save, access, and protect the content that matters.” The new Western Digital SSD drives start at $119 for a 500 GB drive.

Universal Printing App

The Mopria Alliance is a non-profit organization providing universal standards and solutions for print and scan, introduced is a new App for Android 11 that includes new print capabilities and enhancements contributed by the Alliance in collaboration with the Google Android team. A new “Share-to-Print” feature of the Android Default Print Service enables users to print images and documents from thousands of social media and productivity applications directly from their Android device. Practically any Android app that allows users to share files such as JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, and PDF, now also includes a convenient and simple option to print those items as well. Additionally, the “Share-to-Print” path for photo printing supports specific enhancements to ensure the best fit and higher resolution on the printed page. These enhancements result in high-quality prints, regardless of the aspect ratio of the photo or size of the print. The App is not yet certified for Apple IOS.

The CRICUT JOY™ is a smart cutting machine created for the growing creative community as well as the aspiring “Crafts” building consumer. The Cricut Joy brings crafting out of the craft room with a new, compact, smart cutting machine designed for making anywhere, any time. The Cricut Joy™, the first-ever compact smart cutting machine that allows an easier, more convenient way to personalize everyday items—design t-shirts with custom graphics; cut a pattern to decorate a photo frame, or add custom decals to your mobile phone case. The machine is designed to motivate the creative pursuits of a growing consumer market. Cricut Joy has a small blade that cuts paper, vinyl, and Infusible Ink materials to create endless projects using the simple Cricut Design Space software on your phone or computer. You can also swap out the blade for a compatible pen or marker to write or draw! the device is around $179 at many hobbies or general retail stores.