Posts by Category: cool tech

Funky stuff, man!

cool tech May 20, 2005 posted by

Power to the pooch.

The Dog Powered Scooter. Well actually a harness and outrigger that you can attach to any ‘approved’ 2 wheeled vehicle. $240.00 plus shipping. Twin dog accessory an extra $180.00. The cat powered version is on hold while Tiddles takes a nap! Super clever stuff.  Simply harness the dog and clip them into the frame and off you go. With just a few outings pulling the scooter the dog quickly learns when to slow (by feeling the braking) and which direction to…


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cool tech May 13, 2005 posted by

Fundable.

Fundable. A kind of group hug escrow scheme. Very cool idea. The super interesting thing is that a) you can link in your eBay feedback status to give you an instant sort of reference, and b) after the beta is over they’re releasing the software for free download under Open Source. Which means that anyone will be able to set up collaborative funding schemes at will. Tres neat. [via metafilter]  Fundable is a new service that lets groups of people…


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cool tech May 13, 2005 posted by

User power.

The web is a-buzz with hot technology right now, with mother Google seemingly leading the charge to re-invent, re-engineer and imagineer all kinds of apps. But what happens when the power shifts to the user, through the use of creative browser add-ons which let you change pages you’re viewing? The answer is, potentially, a lot! Well a sneak peak of a few ‘user annotation’ or ‘user scripting’ tools may well help us to understand where this is heading. Just imagine being…


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cool tech May 12, 2005 posted by

Talkr.

Talkr. OK, enough with the lazy e already. Sheesh! Anyway Talkr converts text only blogs into Podcasts. Actually it converts any RSS feed into speech. $9.95 for 10 hours of audio per month.   Talkr provides a service that allows you to listen to your favorite text-only news sources rather than read them. If you can point us to an RSS feed (a machine-readable version of your favorite blog or news source) we will convert that feed from text to…


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cool tech May 11, 2005 posted by

Share and peer.

Folder Share. Your files anywhere. But not on top of that stupid rock, I bet. Anyhoo, there’s a free basic plan and a subscription one with more features. Looks neato. [Thanks to Rob for the pointer.]  FolderShare allows you to create a private peer-to-peer network that will help you to synchronize files across multiple devices and access or share files with colleagues and friends. You no longer need to send large files via email, burn them to CDs/DVDs and mail…


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cool tech May 10, 2005 posted by

Reach for the Skies.

Iacobucci and Rayburn (right) plan to fly the world Or how a pair of multi-millionaire tech heads, some lateral P2P thinking and a truck load of technology may well revolutionize the air transportation industry. [Edit 08/11/2023: 18 years on, and it seems as though the dream still lives on, despite the tragic passing of Ed Iacobucci several years ago. From what I can tell, Ed’s wife is now at the helm of affairs, and the project continues under the AtlantisRoad…


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cool tech May 3, 2005 posted by

Hot squash.

The new Virtual Spectator system for squash, VS SquashTrac, goes to somewhat extreme lengths to immerse fans in the action. Not only can you see the usual stats, multi camera angles and other courtside goodness, but also a thermographic image to check just how hot the players are getting. Next up – the Throbbing Vein Cam.  VS SquashTrac combines multi-camera video, electronic player tracking, and thermographic imaging to provide multiple perspectives and performance analytics on a squash player’s every move. Through the…


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cool tech May 2, 2005 posted by

iClub.

The iClub. Whoa, serious tech applied to golf. Tiger up your swing…ah….tiger. $595.00.  The iClub is leading a revolution in golf instruction. Attach it to any club, the iClub wirelessly tracks your swing and provides real-time, 3D feedback both on and off the course. Created by scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, our proprietary motion sensing technologies blend seamlessly with Artificial Intelligence to provide simple, easy to use feedback…the iClub is proven to increase distance, improve control, and demystify…


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cool tech April 28, 2005 posted by

Nokia returns.

The Nokia N91. The beginning of the N, eh? Hmm, smart stuff Mr Marketing Makkinnen. Regular readers will remember that the Ferret tends not to comment on vanilla device launches unless there’s something special about them, but this one may well fit the bill…


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cool tech April 22, 2005 posted by

Google search history RSS.

The Google Search History RSS feed creator. Well that didn’t take long, did it? And rather slick indeed.  This tool goes through your current Google Search History, grabs all of your recent searches and turns it into an RSS feed. Would work best set up as a nightly/hourly cron job, redirecting to a file. This tool is written in Perl and uses a few, slick, modules: WWW::Mechanize, XML::LibXML, and XML::RSS.


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cool tech April 21, 2005 posted by

Park by phone.

Pay by Phone parking has hit London at last. Woo-hoo. Clever tech developed by ParkMobile lets harassed motorists pay for the exact amount of time they spend in a parking bay just by making a mobile phone call. No more fumbling for change or over filling the meter. This is verily a huge advance for mankind. [via the Beeb]  When you arrive at a parking space call the pre-set Parkmobile number on your phone. You don’t need to speak – just key in a three-digit code…


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cool tech April 21, 2005 posted by

P2P parp.

Dijjer. Beta P2P application with a cool twist. It’s easy to use. Now there’s novel, eh bach?  You don’t need to install anything. Just put a file on your site as you normally do, but add “http://www.dijjer.org/get/” to the beginning of your links: normal link: “http://mysite.com/video.mov” dijjer link:”http://dijjer.org/get/http://mysite.com/video.mov” When they click a Dijjer link, users will get some of the file from your website, but most of it will come from other people running Dijjer. That’s how you save bandwidth….


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cool tech April 11, 2005 posted by

Super Fast Pizza.

Super Fast Pizza. Geek heaven. The ovens are in the trucks, see? Is that clever or what? From the ‘why didn’t they think of this before’, dept?  Our high-tech Mobile Kitchens are licensed restaurants. We outfit them with Custom Ovens that can cook your pizza at a speedy 600 degrees. Our Mobile Pizza Kitchens utilize the latest in wireless internet technology, and produce enough electricity to power your home. (And they look pretty sporty too!) Remember, we cook your pizza…


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cool tech April 11, 2005 posted by

Roll yer own maps.

Using Google Maps tech, the folk at mygmaps.com have come up with a simple, free tool to create your own annotated maps (a la Engadget), using addresses or lat/long co-ordinates if you want. Terribly funky tech at its finest. Test only at the moment and there’s a limit of 10 maps.  


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cool tech April 5, 2005 posted by

OnTime Ethernet clock.

The OnTime Ethernet powered digital clock. Not just network powered, but network updated too, for that extra special bit of real geek cred. From $195.00 with pen protectors.  The OnTime clock plugs into an Ethernet jack on your local area network. No AC plug is required, so installation is inexpensive and it’s easy to move clocks around. Power is supplied over the data wiring using the IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet standard, the same power source as Voice-over-IP telephones. The…


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