New Jacket of gadget fans -

FYI:

Pretty cool that the SS and now POTUS is wearing this. Not cheap in
leather, but not bad in fleece, $129 bucks. The shell is a bit pricey
at $309.

http://www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1..._story_related

-B
(Not affil)
------------
"It's what all the best-dressed feds are wearing these days. In fact,
rumor has it that the
POTUS (President Of The United States) himself spotted one of these
stylish garments
on a bodyguard and insisted on one of his own--replete with a
presidential seal.
I'm referring to Chicago entrepreneur Scott Jordan's latest
"Technology Enabled
Clothing" (TEC) item, the SCOTTeVEST version 2.5.

http://www.scottevest.com/

Imagine a sporty, weather-resistant jacket that allows you to carry
every gadget you normally consign to your briefcase--cell phone,
laptop, MP3 player, camera, even a water bottle, and perhaps some
light reading material--with nary a bulge."

=v= Didn't they ground a flight because a woman had a jacket
with (*gasp!*) wires in it? (She was on another airplane, but
that's another matter.)
_Jym_

"Badger South" wrote
FYI:

Pretty cool that the SS and now POTUS is wearing this. Not cheap in
leather, but not bad in fleece, $129 bucks. The shell is a bit pricey
at $309.

http://www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1..._story_related

-B
(Not affil)

That's old news ... the new news is the solar panels on the jacket for
charging all that stuff (headlights?) ...

http://tinyurl.com/3fs6k

C.Q.C.

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 13:27:10 -0500, "Q." LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com
wrote:


"Badger South" wrote
FYI:

Pretty cool that the SS and now POTUS is wearing this. Not cheap in
leather, but not bad in fleece, $129 bucks. The shell is a bit pricey
at $309.

http://www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1..._story_related

-B
(Not affil)

That's old news ... the new news is the solar panels on the jacket for
charging all that stuff (headlights?) ...

http://tinyurl.com/3fs6k

C.Q.C.


Had you clicked the link I provided, you'd note the story was about
the solar panels on the shoulders...

-B

"Badger South" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 13:27:10 -0500, "Q." LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com
wrote:


"Badger South" wrote
FYI:

Pretty cool that the SS and now POTUS is wearing this. Not cheap in
leather, but not bad in fleece, $129 bucks. The shell is a bit pricey
at $309.


http://www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1..._story_related

-B
(Not affil)

That's old news ... the new news is the solar panels on the jacket for
charging all that stuff (headlights?) ...

http://tinyurl.com/3fs6k

C.Q.C.


Had you clicked the link I provided, you'd note the story was about
the solar panels on the shoulders...

I did. Nothing in that old story mentioned solar panels, and neither did
you ... that's why I linked the newer story.

Here is the story you linked to, from Aug 28th of last year:

----------------------------------------------------------

- ScotteVest Good Fit for Bitheads
The ScotteVest is a stylish, well-made jacket designed to make it easy to
carry around pocketfuls of electronic gadgets.

The latest version of the $200 jacket came out last week, and it keeps
getting better with each incarnation.

Its designer, Scott Jordan, a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, has found room in
version 3 for no less than 30 pockets, inside and out. If worn with an
optional fleece liner, which sells for $130, the number of pockets jumps to
42.

Special pockets are sewn in for digital cameras, cell phones, wallets,
airline tickets, magazines and laptops. Bottled water tucks into an elastic
beverage holder inside one of the pockets.

The idea is to make it easy to cart everything we usually stuff in our jeans
and jacket pockets, especially electronic devices like cell phones and
iPods.

Indeed, the jacket is distinguished not just by the number of pockets, but
by the ability to run wires between them.

All the pockets on the jacket have little holes, some of which are connected
to several "conduits" for running wires, like a cell phone earpiece that
comes up from a pocket toward the wearer's ear. At the collar, a pair of
elastic loops hold the earpiece wire in place, and the ear buds can be put
away in a tiny pocket.

Since its debut several years ago, Jordan's wiring system has become very
well thought-out. The pocket holes and fabric conduits make it possible to
connect the gadgets to each other all over the jacket without exposing any
wires. His patent on the system he calles the "personal area network," or
PAN, is pending.

Jordan has done a good job of taking care of the details. An avid skier, he
included a transparent ID or badge holder in one of the outside breast
pockets, which makes it easy to flash ID without fishing for a wallet. One
of the side pockets includes a key ring, and a hat holder clips on a
baseball cap.

The ScotteVest also has pockets partitioned by Velcro or zippers to keep
gadgets from whacking into each other. Carry a larger item and the zipper
partitions can be opened to turn two smaller pockets into a larger one.

One the whole, the system is very useful. But it can also be confusing. If
you're the kind of person who never remembers which pocket something is
stashed in, it takes four times as long to find it in the ScotteVest as it
does in an ordinary jacket. The jacket can also get overloaded. After
wearing it for several weeks, my jacket became quite heavy with all the
half-forgotten books, magazines, papers and PDAs I'd tucked away inside.

Jordan has improved the styling of the jacket considerably. The first
version, which was more of a vest than a coat, looked like something a fly
fisherman would wear. It was also covered in logos. Jordan has added sleeves
to version 3, which can be removed, and dispensed with most of the labels.

Thanks to its good looks and solid construction, the eVest has become a
daily accessory, especially here in San Francisco, where a light jacket is
essential summer wear.

The ScotteVest is also available in leather for $400 and in a
wrinkle-resistant microfiber version for $160. The latter comes in either
black or red.

Jordan said he's making a special version just for law enforcement, spies
and secret service types, called Stealth. It includes special pockets for
concealed firearms and no attention-grabbing reflective piping.

Nerdy Facts:

.. The 30 pockets and compartments provide 2,312.75 square inches of pocket
space.

.. Twenty-three zippers travel 274 inches.

.. The optional fleece liner brings the total number of pockets to 42 and
zippers to 36.

------------------------------------------------------

Here is the story I linked to, from Jan 13th of this year:

------------------------------------------------------

- Gadget Jacket Charged by the Sun

The fashion spotlight, or rather sunlight, shone on a new solar-powered
jacket introduced last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Seemingly aimed at the technophile environmentalist on the go, the jacket
has integrated solar panels that charge cell phones, PDAs, Game Boys, MP3
players and most any other mobile device its wearer slides into its
multitude of interior pockets.

And despite its gadget-oriented accommodations, the jacket's style resembles
those worn at the slopes or on the hiking trails. Fashionista outdoorsy
types are assured of cloaking their geek status as they lug Palms, iPods and
cell phones into the wilderness without losing power.

"As we move to an always-on environment, how can people depend on their
device if in three to four hours they are going to lose their charge?" said
Scott Jordan, CEO of ScotteVest, which designed the jacket and its wiring
technology.

The jacket has two small snap-on photovoltaic panels that fit onto its
shoulders. These charcoal-gray solar panels convert the sun's rays into
energy, which then feed a hidden battery pack about the size of a deck of
cards. The batteries are wired to all the pockets, which can have almost any
mobile devices plugged into them.

The PAN, or Personal Area Network, used by ScotteVest's Technology Enabled
Clothing division provides jacket-pocket holes and fabric conduits that
connect all the gadgets to each other without exposing any wires. So what
appears to be an unassuming anorak jacket is really a web of wires and
technology in disguise.

Inspector Gadget, James Bond and GI Joe fans: Please convene in the
outerwear department.

The jacket's solar panels use CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide)
technology, a thin, flexible, lightweight, energy-efficient and highly
sun-sensitive type of solar cell. Marine vehicles that can't use glass and
military tents both use CIGS for power, said Sass Peress, CEO of ICP Solar
Technologies, which licensed the solar system from GSE Technologies and is
partnering with ScotteVest to create the solar jackets.

"And it will charge as fast as your AC (wall outlet) charges," said Peress.

The prototype shown at the Consumer Electronics Show charged only one device
at a time, but the manufactured version will be designed to charge as many
devices as needed, say its makers. Of course, the more devices
simultaneously drawing from the 5 to 10 watts of power the battery pack
generates, the slower they will all recharge.

Intelligent battery-pack software, however, will identify and charge only
those items that need it, according to Peress.

ScotteVest's TEC division introduced a jacket with the Personal Area
Network, but without any power mechanism, in 2003. That jacket, dubbed
Version Three.0, is sold through Neiman Marcus catalogs, the International
Spy Museum and ScotteVest's website. Jordan also said the Secret Service and
Department of Homeland Security are TEC customers.

When the solar jacket launches this spring, Jordan said it will retail for
about $300, a $100 increase over the nonsolar Version Three.0.

Since power cannot be transferred wirelessly, ICP and TEC designers were
faced with different power-connector protocols for mobile devices.
Consequently, the jacket will be sold with a small assortment of adapters to
accommodate all major lines of phones, PDAs, cameras and other mobile
devices.

ICP and TEC are presently testing different fashion styles with consumers
before making their final selection.

"We are also working with (major outerwear manufacturers) to license the
technology into a lot more products," said Jordan. He said he expects 30
percent of outerwear to incorporate the solar and PAN technology combo
within the next five years. That's a long shot, but as long as the sun rises
in the east and sets in the west, there will be travelers with a jones for
staying connected.



C.Q.C.

On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 01:42:08 -0500, "Q." LostVideos-AT-hotmail.com
wrote:

Had you clicked the link I provided, you'd note the story was about
the solar panels on the shoulders...

I did. Nothing in that old story mentioned solar panels, and neither did
you ... that's why I linked the newer story.

Here is the story you linked to, from Aug 28th of last year:

You are correct, sir. My apologies. I thought I had put the link from
Wired Magazine, with the original commentary, but I posted by mistake
the link within the article to the old story.

Here is the original link, which I had to get to by hitting the 'back'
button, which contains the story you posted.

http://www.wired.com/news/technology...=wn_techhead_4

Good post, and again, my apologies for the error.

-B