Monthly Archives: July 2002

general July 31, 2002 posted by

The ultimate computer chair?

Take one late model BMW electronic car seat, add in a fair few hours modding and fixing, throw in a splash of plywood and an LCD monitor. Voila, the geek’s dream computing chair. [via slashdot] Or how about the ultimate couch potato PC chair? Or perhaps the Aura Epic booth?

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

Sony Picot

The Sony DVP-PQ1 Picot is a new ‘yoof’ oriented semi-portable DVD player retailing for around �250.00. It’s supposed to look cool and groovy a la Apple iMac. I’m not sure. Update: Here’s a review of said unit from The Gadgeteer.

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

Digicam’s future dims?

InfoSync has summarised an interesting report on the digicam market done by Strategy Analytics, which suggests that in the long run low end digital cameras will be replaced by newer generations of higher quality camera phones like the Nokia 7650 and SE P800. I agree.

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

Can’t hear you, there’s soap in my ears!

Personally I think that you’ve got to be seriously Michael-Jackson-type-weird to want to install a $9000.00 gleaming red British phone box shower in your bathroom. But then again what do I know? Oh yes, and did I mention that it comes with a working cordless phone inside? Oh and that it’s a real phone box as featured in many a postcard of ‘ ye olde foggy London towne’.

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

Mech that

Yep, another one of those wacky ventures from the ‘Too much space in the Backyard’ Dept. A simple, yet daring tale of how to build your own 15 foot BattleMech robot for the kids in just 7 months. OK, so I’m just a bit jealous, but still…..!

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

Silly toys

Intelligent Control Interactive Technology (I-C-IT) toys are coming to a PC near you. Tech company United Internet Technologies is introducing a range of animatronic toys which will mouth and speak instant messages delivered via net based chat-room portals. It’s all very groovy sounding – and terribly ambitious – until you realise that the kids will still need to sit there at their PC and laboriously type in their conversations as now. According to the company blurb, the idea is that…

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

The Web as art

Anyone who doubts that the Web can provide powerful artistic value should check out the Flash based Typorganism site. It’s just fab. [via metafilter]

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

OneWorld TV

The Oneworld TV site is getting a lot of Web coverage at the moment, primarily due to it’s focus on providing a home for sociologically minded Web video producers. It also sports some clever and innovative features. One neat idea is the build a story feature, whereby members can add their own video clips to an ongoing debate to offer differing viewpoints. This makes it a very clever way of discussing issues using the power of video, but without the…

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

The ultimate wordsmith resource

Phew! The OneLook dictionary search engine site offers a database of over 4 million words in 762 dictionaries including medical, religious, slang, sports etc etc. Now that is what I call a writer’s friend.

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

A new mouse?

The Ullman Mouse is a new type of computer rodent, which is supposed to help avoid those nasty RSI type problems that can come from using traditional meeces. The idea is that you swivel, twist and pull/push this device in order to navigate around the screen. It looks comfortable, but the proof of the pudding will really lie in how responsive it is and whether it is intuitive to use. Until I’m convinced I’ll stick to my trusty trackball. [via…

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general July 31, 2002 posted by

Cycle-a-Rama

Think of it as an old fashioned Segway. OK maybe not, but this Panasonic Electric Folder Bike is certainly a neat bit of engineering wizardry. From the specs, around 10 mph and a 10 – 12 mile range over undulating roadways. Here’s a comprehensive list of all sorts of folding bikes for those who are interested.

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general July 30, 2002 posted by

Hypersonic Sound System – Hyper or Hype?

Hmmm, MSNBC has run a short article on Elwood ‘Woody’ Norris’ Hypersonic Sound System, which apparently beams highly directional audio to a listener using ultrasonic waves. The upshot of the piece is his claim that this is the next ‘big thing’, but I’m not convinced. His company American Technology Corporation, has burnt through $30 million in 10 years developing the system, and it still sounds as if they have a way to go – quote: ….’and HSS isn�t yet perfected…

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general July 30, 2002 posted by

Zap that

The folks at Zap seem to be immersed in electric transport, not just yer ordinary cars, though, more like your exotics. So for instance the site features the $2995.00 Lepton electric scooter with its top speed of 25mph and 20 mile range, as well as the rather nifty looking $400.00 Seascooter developed by none other than our dear old Sir Clive Sinclair.

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general July 30, 2002 posted by

Ground eye travel

Ooh, ooh, a cool Nikko remote controlled Camera Car. Brilliant! The tiny camera is hidden behind the windscreen and you get a ground eye view of the world on the 2.2″ LCD screen on the remote control. �199.99? A bargin’. Well maybe not, especially when you realise that it needs 12…count ’em…12 AA batteries.

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general July 30, 2002 posted by

See there, the Seair!

Is it a bird, is it a plane? Nope, it’s a Seair Flying Boat. We’re talking $19,500 worth of funtastic extravagance, with a 45 mph cruise speed, 90 mile range and its own boat trailer.

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