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Crowdfunded Project News: The best of Kickstarter, Indiegogo and the rest
Every week, TUAW provides readers with an update on what new or significant crowdfunded Apple-related projects are in the news. While our policy is to not go into detail on items that haven't reached at least 80 percent of their funding goal, this update is designed to give readers a heads-up on projects they might find interesting enough to back. Note that we're not covering those "projects" on Indiegogo where people are trying to get someone else to cough up money for a new computer or tablet... From Kickstarter: Everydisk from Avatron is at 63 percent of its funding goal with only three days to go -- so close, but yet so far! If you'd like a nice, encrypted personal cloud storage solution from a trusted name in the app world, get behind this project. MaxStone is a wireless remote for your DSLR that's controlled by an app on your iPhone. This one took off like a rocket and is now at a whopping 219 percent funded with 29 days to go in the campaign. Kloqe is quite a classy iPhone case made entirely of aluminum. If you're concerned about it affecting the reception of your iPhone, don't be -- the company has tested the case throughout development and figured out how to combat that problem. It comes in all of the colors you'd love -- champagne, space gray, white and aluminum. All this beauty can only be yours if the project reaches its funding goal. At this point, it's 31 percent funded with 32 days to go. wobL answers the question "Where's the (#&(#$) snooze button on my iPhone screen?" by pairing a rocking (or wobbling) iPhone stand with an iOS 7 alarm app. When the alarm goes off and you need that extra 10 minutes of snooze, just reach out blindly and hit the wobL to make it... wobble... and you're set for dreamland. The Portland-based 3P Studio design firm needs your help to make it happen, as it's at 13 percent funding with 37 days to go. AboutFacePad is an interesting project -- an inexpensive iPad wall mount and stand made out of recycled cardboard. Oddly enough, it's not as bizarre as it sounds. But with 10 days to go, it's only received US$646 of its $10,000 goal. Sad face... On the other hand, the VERSI Docker Stand is well over its modest funding goal and still has 23 days left to go. It's an adjustable universal dock that works with tablets and smartphones, with or without cases. It personally looks a bit industrial to me, but hey, some people like industrial chic. From Indiegogo: Keepod Unite isn't an Apple-oriented project, but it is a fascinating idea. A $7 "bootable PC in a flash drive" that is affordable to almost anyone on the planet. Plug it into a recycled PC at a community center or a shared PC at a school, boot it up and your own private environment is there. Pull it out, and your PC goes with you. Only about 24 percent funded with 24 days left to go. Fin is a thumb-ring with a purpose -- to turn your entire palm and fingers into a touch interface for your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. Apparently not too many people are enthralled with the idea, as it's reached just over 6 percent funding with 32 days to go. QardioArm is a take on the "connected self," providing an easily pocketable wireless blood pressure-measurement device that talks to your smartphone. The idea is that you're more likely to monitor your blood pressure when you can take your device with you everywhere. It's over 55 percent funded with 14 days left. Otto Petcare Systems has an idea -- a way to let you keep an eye on your dog's or cat's activity levels, view it on a smartphone via a webcam, feed your pet remotely through an app and compare your animal's nutritional and activity levels to others of the same type and breed. This project's getting close, at 84 percent funding with just 10 days left. If you're aware of any other crowdfunded Apple-related projects, be sure to let us know about them through the Tip Us button at the upper right of the TUAW home page for future listing on the site.
Avatron Kickstarts Everydisk project for secure personal cloud storage
The remote data field is dominated by powerhouses like Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, SugarSync and so on. Whether you're looking for a hardware network-attached storage (NAS) solution or a cloud-storage server, there's probably a vendor or 10 you've already heard of. Now, iOS/Mac development house Avatron is attempting to step into this crowded arena. Avatron's new Everydisk Kickstarter hopes to securely serve your files from your home system to wherever you are. The big selling point behind Everydisk is its unlimited NAS-like storage. You get access to your entire disk, not just a special folder, the way you would with Dropbox and not just a standalone drive, as you would with PogoPlug or Transporter. According to the Avatron team, Everydisk creates its own secure tunnel between your computer and your access point, using Diffie-Hellman key exchange, offering you a way to confidently grab the materials you need. Avatron's hoping its combination of heightened privacy, unlimited storage and full disk access will set it apart from the current crop of competition. It's built around the same Air Connect technology used for Air Login, an app many of us here at TUAW have used and liked. As Avatron founder Dave Howell puts it, "It's basically like Back to My Mac, but it isn't broken. And it's like a VPN except it's easy to use and supports Bonjour and other UDP-based services." Their Kickstarter has about three weeks to go and is currently at about 19 percent pledged. The available pledges offer discounted subscription access to the service once it ships. When we last checked, nearly all the super-discount early bird offers had been claimed, but there are still some excellent values to be had.
