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Gadgets September 25, 2008 posted by Dan

Smart Candle – waxing-free zone

Battery powered faux candles have been around for years, but Smart Candle has taken the idea a couple of steps further. Primarily aimed at businesses that use large numbers of candles every day, Smart Candle make a range of rechargeable candles for decorative use. For businesses the cost of decorative candles start to add up, especially if you burn hundreds of them a year. When you add on damage to things from wax spills and burns, then something like the…

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nice idea... September 15, 2008 posted by Dan

Pixily – the paperless office comes knocking

Pixily is an online document scanning and storage service that can bring you closer to your dream of a paperless home office. After you sign on with them you are sent a prepaid envelope that you use to forward all the documents you wish to scanned and stored. Your scanned documents are converted to recognisable text and are labelled and fully searchable via your online filing cabinet. Pixily not only handles paper-based documents, you can also upload digital documents like…

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cool tech September 12, 2008 posted by Dan

Lili webcam and Oscar USB hub – computer peripherals with a heart

Belgian company United Pepper make a couple of cute and “ethical” computer peripherals, the Lili webcam and the Oscar USB hub. United Pepper are attempting to deliver quality technology without sacrificing environmental or ethical principals and supporting local manufacturers in developing countries. Lili and Oscar were designed in Belgium but are manufactured in Vietnam. They are assembled in a Fairtrade certified factory where the local population can work in safe and hygienic conditions while being paid a fair wage. Fairtrade…

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Cool Web Apps & Sites September 11, 2008 posted by Dan

Instablogs – start spreading the news

Unless you’ve been living on the sun, chances are you’ve noticed that the traditional news media is being dragged kicking and screaming into a new age. News is being gathered via people on the ground via text messages and mobile phone photos. Events like the London tube bombings, the recent cyclone in Burma and the New York steam explosion are bringing readers much closer to the event than was ever possible before. Instablogs is a news aggregation website that combines…

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cool tech August 29, 2008 posted by Dan

Planter Speaker – get yourself some sound in-plants

Speakers shaped as pot plants aren’t exactly new, but why hide your cleverly disguised outdoor speakers when you can make them part of the patio? This Planter Speaker is not only a disguised, full sounding speaker, it can also hold plants, real live growing ones! The pot itself is made from tough and durable polyethylene with a faux terracotta finish. The inside of the planter is tough enough to allow plants to grow and is acoustically insulated to stop your…

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heh heh! August 18, 2008 posted by Dan

Let Meow’t – cat door for genius cats

Cats and I don’t get along, I don’t like them and more importantly they don’t like me. The only thing I like less than a cat would be looking after one, all that up and down to let them in or out. This device however, could make living with a cat bearable. Made by the impossibly cutely named Let Meow’t (giddit?) people, this cat door lets your cat in or out of the house any time. It’s unusual for a…

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Bizarre August 18, 2008 posted by Dan

Now do this!

This isn’t a subtle attempt at subliminal mind control, this isn’t a subtle anything. Now Do This is a minimalist To Do list from the Max Mosley School of Getting Things Done. Forget Remember The Milk, tell Getting Things Done to get lost because you can’t count on your 43 Folders anymore. Get real, get simple, get Now Do This. Click on the edit list, add your objectionable actionable items and hit Save. Now you’re ready to conquer the world….

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Gadgets August 15, 2008 posted by Dan

Zigo Leader – Innovative child transport solution

The Zigo Leader is a 4-in-1 child transport and exercise machine vehicle. Tranporting children on bikes typically puts them either on the back of the bike or dragging along behind. The Zigo Leader puts them up front where you need them and you can keep an eye on them. Once you’re at your destination, unlock the casters, unhook the Child Pod from the bike, fold out the stroller handle and you can stroll. If jogging is more your thing, take…

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Free Software August 14, 2008 posted by Dan

Workrave – don’t let RSI get you down

I’m sure everyone has dragged themselves out of their chair at 3am after a hard night reading the internets or levelling up in Warcraft. Trying to stand up, you can barely see straight, every muscle aches and it’s all you can do to walk as the blood returns to nether regions. Whilst this might be ok once or twice a year, people who work with computers every day need to prevent these injuries as the effects can linger for years….

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nice idea... August 14, 2008 posted by Dan

3rd World Farmer – serious gaming

Third World Farmer is a free, online simulator depicting life on an African farm. Originally developed by students in the IT University of Copenhagen, it evolved into its current form with input from professional gamers and relief agencies. The game puts you in charge of an African family who must farm to survive and earn money. Each turn of the game represents a year in which you must plant crops, raise livestock, avoid dodgy foreign investors, survive wars and somehow…

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Bookmark This! August 4, 2008 posted by Nigel

Rules of Thumb – the true wisdom of the crowds gets its own website

Rules of Thumb dot org. We’ve all used them at one time or another, those useful little nuggets of folk wisdom that help us save time and money. You know the type of thing, ‘If you don’t want a cat to jump into your lap, don’t make eye contact with it’. Well now you can browse and search for rules of thumb covering a plethora of useful topics ranging from home improvement and money tips, to health and pets. It’s…

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cool tech July 10, 2008 posted by Nigel

Greenest Host – world’s first 100% solar powered web hosting service

Greenest Host is the world’s first 100% solar powered web hosting service. That’s right, they’ve located the facility in the desert sunshine of Southern California, and supply all the juice they need from an array of solar panels situated on top of a rusting Ford Mustang in the parking lot. Or something. Fabulous idea, and although they’re aiming at the more business end of web hosting, their prices are not that expensive. Great initiative and one that deserves support and replication far and…

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nice idea... June 25, 2008 posted by Nigel

Personafile – your own personal online product knowledgebase

Personafile is a new free service which is designed to help you keep track of the products you buy. Think of it as an online filing cabinet for your purchases. Every time you buy something you can add it to the knowledgebase and from then on keep track of manuals, service and maintenance, product updates and the like. If you’ve ever lost the box or manual for a gadget you own, or needed to get something serviced but didn’t know where to look, then…

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Bookmark This! April 14, 2008 posted by Nigel

Why Not? – the ideas exchange

Why Not? Billed as an online ideas exchange where people can post ideas and others can comment and vote. Unfortunately the devs seem to have copied a lot of the design element of Halfbakery which has been around for ever, which is a shame. These idea factory sites would be a lot better if they a) developed the service more so as to try and actually drive production or adoption of great ideas via factories, incubators or venture capitalists and b) had…

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Bookmark This! March 20, 2008 posted by Nigel

Time Banks – spreading the community service love, one hour at a time…

Time Banks is a community site which is part of the international ‘social change movement’. The idea is to help people exchange their community work with others so as to build up a network of committed volunteers doing good stuff everywhere. For every hour you spend doing something for someone in your community, you earn one Time Dollar. Then you have a Time Dollar to spend on having someone do something for you. It’s that simple. Yet it also has profound effects….

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