Every December we’re overwhelmed with advertisements for bling and distracted in so many ways. It’s easy to forget the greatest blessing is good health.
With that in mind, we decided it was time to look at a device that could actually help us stay fit by tracking daily activity as you progress toward fitness or weight-loss goals. My colleague, Rob Kay, helped me review the Garmin Vivofit, which combines a light wrist-mounted (watch-like) digital display (aka "activity band") that doesn’t need recharging and can be used in the pool, shower, or at Kaimana Beach, where he likes to swim. The Vivofit comfortably resides on your wrist for a year before you need to swap out the battery.
Essentially it monitors steps, distance, sleep and calories burned. It has a single button that you press to cycle through its readouts, including the time, date, steps and distance. The button also syncs the data to your computer or smartphone.
So how do you work with Vivofit?
The default goal is 7,500 steps (which you can tweak manually, but is less than the federally recommended 10,000 steps per day). If you surpass 7,500 steps, Vivofit automatically increases your goal. If you’ve been motionless or sitting on your okole too long, it will activate a blinking red bar to alert you that it’s time to move. The only feature we didn’t like was that it’s not "backlit," so if it’s dark you can’t activate sleep mode or see the readout.
We think Vivofit compares very favorably to its many competitors. It’s simple to use, the mobile app is readily accessible and the device is low-maintenance.
You can buy it for as little as $89 solo (on Amazon), or bundle in a chest strap heart-rate monitor to bring the total to $120. If you’re fashion conscious, the Vivofit comes in black, purple, teal, blue and slate, with a swappable wristband for an extra $24.99. Go to www.garmin.com for more information.
Buy a modem
Most Oceanic subscribers don’t realize it, but you can shave off about $6 a month from your Internet bill by purchasing your own modem instead of leasing it from Oceanic. Find a list of approved modems on this page: www.timewarnercable.com/en/support/internet/topics/buy-your-modem.html.
We chose the D-Link DCM-301 cable modem, which retails for about $77 on Amazon. It’s received excellent reviews and, in the short time we’ve tested it, has proved to be a solid, dependable performer. The D-Link should be a good bet for your future needs because it can download at speeds up to 100 Mbps.
It was very easy to swap out, but if you have Oceanic’s combined telephone/Internet service, you’ll need a splitter (which you can get from Radio Shack for about $20) and a couple of short coaxial cables 6-8 inches long to install it.
Thus, you’ll still need the original Oceanic modem in order to continue to utilize your phone. (You can keep the original modem and Oceanic will not charge you to use it.) To operate both simultaneously, add the splitter to the cable and connect both modems with the short lengths of coaxial cable.
You’ll need to call tech support at Oceanic to initiate the new service. Tech support was excellent. They’ll ask you for the MAC address (located on the modem), test it and you’re on your way.
The payback time will be a little over 12 months for the modem. No, this is probably not the path to wealth but you will save money. Not a bad way to start off the new year.
Mike Meyer, formerly Internet general manager at Oceanic Time Warner Cable, is now chief information officer at Honolulu Community College. Reach him at mmeyer@hawaii.edu.
