The Red Ferret Journal

Hot from the ‘oh that’s clever’ dept, comes this Digital Scale Measuring Jug, which not only measures your liquids but weighs your dry stuffs too. Gosh. In fact it’ll also measure your dry stuff and weigh your liquids (keep up at the back) which is even more awesome. It’s at times like this you realise all is well with the world. $39.95.

 A 1 1/4″ LCD on the handle displays digital measurements in ounces, pounds, or grams. The scale automatically converts weight (ounces, fluid ounces, grams, or milliliters) into volume (cups) for water, milk, oil, sugar, and flour, providing superior accuracy when making recipes. A tare function allows you to layer multiple ingredients inside the cup and measure them one at a time. The durable plastic measuring cup has markings for milliliters, ounces, and cups, it holds up to 4 cups or 1 liter, and its weight capacity is 6.6 lbs.

Think you’ve got a smartphone? Think again. This Fujitsu PRIME F-01B handset comes with…wait for it…

• 3.4 inch touchscreen
• 12.2 megapixel camera (with ISO 25600 and 28mm wide angle lens)
• Golf swing trainer (using internal sensors)
• Water resistant to a depth of 1.5 metres
• Fingerprint sensor for security
• Exercise monitor (measures calories burned during exercise)

Now *that’s* a smartphone.

 This application extracts body-motion data collected by sensors built into the mobile, uses it to analyze the arc of the user’s golf swing, and assesses and provides feedback based on the golf principles developed by professional golfer, Mr. Tadashi Ezure. It helps users improve their golf swing by comparing each new swing to the user’s previous best.

The Tomato T99 Motion Controlled DVR takes the security equipment business into completely uncharted new territory. What with the cute name, the range of cartoon colours and the type of design you’d expect to see on a consumer pocket product, this is definitely not yer granpappy’s security cam.

The thing will sit there recording VGA quality 25 fps video of its surrounding triggered by any motion in field of view until its 2 GB memory is full. Complete with auto-switch off battery saver. Oh and it’s an MP3 player too. Total flexibility. $59.99.

  Unique Designs,185*55*13.5mm Slim, 250g, the smallest shadow-controlled DV of the world,you can freely change your preferences, highlight your personality. # High-definition Camera Function. It Can take clear pictures of the mobile environment and beautiful scenery of your car window at a speed of 50 km per hour or more. This DV is convenient to carry, also is the best choice of your travel.

The good folk at Peratech have just signed a $1.4 million deal with Nissha, ‘one of the world’s largest manufacturers of touch screen technology’, to license Peratech QTC force sensitive technology in small touchscreens.

If the tech takes off we could see a raft of new phones with pressure sensitive touchscreens, offering new features such as pressure sensitive artistic capabilities on a cell phone, faster scrolling with increased finger pressure or audio loudness control based on the pressure exerted on the screen. 

The trick is done using a screen printed overlay, which is around 75 microns thick, which lowers resistance and passes more current the harder it is pressed. Cool stuff all right.

 With QTC, touch screens can be made feature rich and ultra-thin allowing for the development of even slimmer, lighter weight and lower-power portable devices. Takao Hashimoto, Director, CTO of Nissha and General Manager of Technology Research & Development, added, “QTC will be a disruptive technology for mobile phones enabling thinner phones to be designed with amazing new input interfaces.”

I guess these disposable sunglasses make sense, on some level, somewhere. They’re printed onto sellotape and you just tear off the style you want and stick them onto your face. I’m a bit late though, they’re so totally last season darling.

Since first coming together in 1995, Azumi and David have progressed through a variety of creative projects – initially with limited edition artist’s books and performance art, moving gradually on to fashion and accessory associated ‘things to wear’.

Tags: gadget, eco+gadget, disposable+sunglasses, azumi+and+david

Data Crow is a cross platform freeware database program which is primarily being pitched as a media catalog manager, but which can clearly do much more. The program is Java based, which has its good and bad points – while it should run on any hardware that supports Java, it can also feel a little sluggish in operation, even with an empty database.

The main section deals with managing your collection of anything from movies to music, books and photos. You can also set it up to catalog people (a la CRM software) and software, in fact just about anything that can be grouped together in collections. To say it’s full featured is a bit of an understatement, and in fact using the beginner’s mode is essential to avoid being overwhelmed by the interface.

There’s a full set of import and export functions, which is essential of course, and a very neat feature whereby you can access online services in order to populate your database quickly and easily. For example, select this for movies and you’ll access the Amazon database and be able to select and import movies complete with cover art, detailed descriptions etc. It’s a huge time saver if you’ve got a big collection to set up.

The web server is also a very cool feature, as it instantly and very easily allows you to access your data from any web browser. Just enter in your computer’s IP address and the port you’ve selected and log in. Great for remote access. It’s also useful if you’re a habitual lender of media (or renter?) as there’s a sophisticated loan manager built in to the software, which makes it a cinch to run a library system of any or all of your stuff.

All in all this is a great program, although I’m a little worried that the performance hit on a fully populated database could be a problem. Definitely worth downloading though, especially if you have a desire to put your collection to work in any meaningful way. Neat.

 Data Crow is the ultimate media cataloger and media organiser. Always wanted to manage all your collections in one product? You want a product you can customize to your needs? Your search ends here! Using Data Crow allows you to create a huge database containing all your collected items. You can use the excellent online services to retrieve the information instead of typing all the information yourself.

10 Alternative Uses for WordPress. No question that WordPress is now becoming *the* go-to website creator. Effortless setup, massive theme library and a growing number of exotic app focused plugins which can convert your humble blog into just about anything you desire. Except a hairdresser’s lunch bag.

[Update: Oh yeah I forgot, there's a No 11 they forgot - ClassiPress. Turn your WordPress blog into a classified advertising site. Neat.]

 Fortunately, WordPress has become more than simply a blogging tool; it’s now possible to run almost any type of site imaginable using the right mix of plugins and themes. In fact, so many people are now using WordPress to power sites other than blogs that over 50% of today’s WordPress downloaders will use it as a CMS (content management system), according to Matt Mullenweg, the WordPress wizard himself.

Intel is dipping their not-insignificant toes into home automation via this Intelligent Home Energy Management proof-of-concept. It’s powered by the Intel Atom processor, the same one that’s in most of the netbooks around the place, which means it uses much less power than a dedicated PC and power conservation is at the heart of what Intel is trying to do.

The Atom will be the centre of the home automation network with wireless Zigbee adapters being used to connect smart appliances, smart power outlets, sensors, thermostats and smart lights. The main control panel will allow the owner to secure the house by flicking the large physical button on top of the screen, monitor energy usage, see when on and off-peak power is available, schedule appliances to run and even leave video messages for other members of the family.

It’s all still proof-of-concept at the moment but complete home automation is coming, and soon we’ll all be able to talk to our houses right after we get home in our flying cars. Can’t wait.

Intel’�s intelligent home energy management platform based on the Intel� Atom processor makes energy management as easy as flipping a switch. Reduce utility bills, make informed choices, be proactive about home maintenance, connect with family members and activate security systems from one central dashboard.

Tags: gadget, eco+gadget, intel, intel+intelligent+home+energy+management, home+automation

This Black and Decker Cordless Airstation looks like it may come in pretty handy about the place. It’s a battery powered air compressor/inflater that can do high pressure work like car and bike tyres or low pressure work like pool toys and balls. B&D reckon the battery life is good enough to inflate 4 car tyres on the trot and it has a digital pressure gauge with automatic cutoff to ensure you don’t get all over-inflated. It comes with all the common nozzles and a 12V car adapter in case you’re out and you flatten the internal battery. US$79.22

Thanks to its range of innovative features, the Black & Decker ASI500 High-Performance Cordless Inflator makes it easy to get the air pressure you need, whether you’re at home or on the road. This powerful inflator that combines the versatility of two pressure settings and the freedom of cordless power to inflate or deflate a variety of items including: sports balls, rafts, air mattresses, car and truck tires, bike tires, etc. You can even measure pressure with the inflator’s handy digital gauge.

Tags: gadget, black+and+decker, black+and+decker+air+station, cordless+airstation

The Bushnell Backtrack is GPS in its simplest form. Switch it on and hit a button to store your current location and turn it off. After you get where you’re going, hit the button to recall your starting point, the distance to it and then just follow the arrow home. It only has two buttons and it can be used to store 3 locations (home, car and favourite) so it’s so easy to use. It has a built-in electronic compass that works while you stand still, it uses the brilliant SiRF Star III GPS chip, is weather-resistant, comes in 4 colours and needs 2 AAA batteries. Prices vary on Amazon but average about US$60.

Getting back at the end of the day is as easy as pushing a button and following an arrow. Utilizing GPS technology in its most basic format, BackTrack has only two buttons and stores up to three locations – just mark it and forget it until it’s time to return. At the end of the day, select your location and the BackTrack displays direction and distance to travel.

Tags: gadget, gps, gps+gadget, bushnell+backtracker

No one will mind if I don’t try to explain this, will they? I mean, they’re Cold War Unicorns, and everyone loves unicorns. Isn’t that enough? US$9.95

The Cold War Unicorns Play Set allows you to play out the intense struggle between two global superpowers in the majestic fantasy world of the Unicorn! Can the Communist Unicorn’s horn of classless social structure hold up against the Freedom Unicorn’s hooves of capitalist opportunity?

Tags: gadget, unicorns, cold+war+unicorns

This Thermal LCD Travel Mug is brilliant. Plug it into the cigarette lighter, choose from one of four preset temperatures; room temperature (Umm does that mean turned off?), lukewarm, hot and very hot and your 500mL of tasty beverage stays hot all the way to where ever you work. It can maintain temperatures from 10�C to 70�C and the backlit display proves it. AU$39.95

With our Thermal LCD Travel Mug, spending a few more minutes in bed or in the shower will be a cinch. Why? Because you can get your morning brew to go and in your car during peak hour traffic, without ever needing to worry about cold tea or coffee, which is the last thing most people need on a hectic morning?

Tags: gadget, thermal+lcd+travel+mug, travel+mug, cup+warmer