Monthly Archives: August 2008

reprise August 31, 2008 posted by

Ferret posts this week

Here’s a quick round-up of Ferrety posts from the past week for anyone who missed them. Enjoy. GL3000W Electric Sports Car – are you scared yet, Mr Tesla Motors? – The GL3000W Electric Sports Car… Dolphin Community Builder – build your own Facebook with this open source software – So, you want to play like the big… Crayola EZ Type USB Keyboard – What better way to show off your… Targus Mobile Data Transfer Cable – move your data around…

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Gadgets August 30, 2008 posted by

Solar Powered Laptop Bag – surprise, an eco computer bag that doesn’t look totally erk…

Wow, a Solar Powered Laptop Bag that doesn’t look like it came out of the Hermann Munster Lab of Socially Inept Devices. OK, so it’s still not going to win any major design prizes, but from small steps are great things wrought (copyright Arnold Swarzenegger). $598.00 (ouch!). Using high-efficiency solar cells, this bag charges a laptop, cell phone, and most other handheld electronics. The solar panel generates enough power to fully charge a typical laptop from a day of direct…

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Solar Powered Laptop Bag – surprise, an eco computer bag that doesn’t look totally erk…
cool tech August 29, 2008 posted by

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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Planter Speaker – get yourself some sound in-plants
Bookmark This! August 29, 2008 posted by

TVsubtitles – TV in more languages than you can poke a stick at

TVsubtitles is a download site for TV and movie subtitles in multiple languages. If you’re into watching TV on your PC but can’t find episodes in your language, then this might be the place for you. You’ll just need to grab the DirectVobSub overlay filter from the website to display them over your video and you’ll be good to go. A subtitle is the text at the bottom of the screen in a movie. The purpose of a subtitle is…

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TVsubtitles – TV in more languages than you can poke a stick at
Gadgets August 29, 2008 posted by

USB Retro Wireless Microphone – Skype like a crooner on an olde tyme wireless

If you’ve ever wondered what’s missing from your Internet telephone universe, now you know. It’s a USB Retro Wireless Microphone that not only looks like it should be on the set of Casablanca (if you have to ask you’re too young) but also works without those nasty cables, thereby giving you ultimate freedom of expression. $29.00. This microphone gives you a retro feel and it can be a decoration for your desk. In addition, it uses RF technology and the…

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USB Retro Wireless Microphone – Skype like a crooner on an olde tyme wireless
Gadgets August 29, 2008 posted by

Mobile Charger Pen – make sure your phone doesn’t run out even if your ink does

Mobile Charger Pen. Need something to write with? Check. Need a mobile phone charger? Check. Need to impress the ladies with your chic geek style? Fail. $19.00.   Mobile phone running out of battery when chatting with friends excitedly? Don’t worry! One Battery Mobile Charger Pen is designed to solve such an annoying problem. It is just powered by 1pc AA battery which can charge the cellphone for 100 mins. That’s totally enough for emergency situation. It comes with 5…

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Mobile Charger Pen – make sure your phone doesn’t run out even if your ink does
Bookmark This! August 29, 2008 posted by

iExpense Online – your personal expense manager

iExpense Online is a new Adobe Air application that covers all the personal and household financial needs you’re ever going to need in this lifetime. The Adobe connection means you’ll need to install the Air code first, which may or may not cause you pain, but apart from that the benefits look to be worthwhile. The upside? Comprehensive feature set including budget tracker, plans and targets, charts and things like a tax estimator. Downside? Adobe Air? Just another complexity in…

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Free Software August 29, 2008 posted by

Burnaware – free disc burning software goes CD, DVD and Blu-Ray

BurnAware is a free disc burning program which creates audio and video cds and dvds, ISO discs and in fact anything that the big brand programs can do. The Blu-Ray bit is a bit fanciful, but hey, one day… BurnAware is the ultimate disc burning software. BurnAware Free is ideal for users with basic disc burning needs as backup, creating data, audio, video discs and burning disc images. Free, easy to set up and maintain, it enables you to save…

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Burnaware – free disc burning software goes CD, DVD and Blu-Ray
Gadgets August 28, 2008 posted by

iConverter Turntable Radio – retro your vinyls into the future

The iConverter Turntable with Radio marks a new high point in retro style geek tech. Tears of nostalgia will flow, nay flood, down your cheeks as you gently place your Loving Spoonful album on the deck for conversion to the digital universe. A lump will come to your throat as you twiddle the plastic silver knobs. Oh such happy happy times… 73.17 Euros. Simply playback all your records through the mains powered iConverter Turntable and coupled with the software supplied,…

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iConverter Turntable Radio – retro your vinyls into the future
Gadgets August 28, 2008 posted by

Chococlock – eat yourself to a timely demise

This here Chococlock is a breezy idea, non? Every hour on the hour, instead of a chime, the thing delivers a small chocolate into your eager and somewhat grubby hands. Now that’s what I call a recipe for…and say what? It plays Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy at the same time? Shudder. £19.99. The Chococlock holds about 30 bits of chocolate, so assuming you resist hitting the cheat button you can sit gawping in anticipation for a marathon (or…

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Chococlock – eat yourself to a timely demise
Awesome August 28, 2008 posted by

Fonolo – declaring war on automated phone menus

Canadian startup Fonolo have declared war on automated phone menus, or as they call them “phone trees”. Fonolo’s proprietary investigation system spiders through all the available options in a phone menu, records all the options and turns them into a visible menu system displayed in a web browser. To use a company phone menu you simply go to the Fonolo website, select the company phone menu you need and find the right option on the graphical menu. You then tell…

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Bookmark This! August 28, 2008 posted by

Exif Date Changer – Fix those pesky photo times and dates

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A couple of weeks ago it was our daughter’s 1st birthday. After the party died down a bit I grabbed a copy of everyone’s photos and dropped them into Picasa and, as I normally do, tried to sort them according to the time they were taken. Uh oh. There were photos everywhere. Turns out the clock in my father’s camera was out by about 11 time zones, thanks to a trip to Venice…

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Free Software August 28, 2008 posted by

Birthday Reminder – freeware remembers their birthday, makes you look good

Birthday Reminder is a small freeware program that makes you look good by remembering birthdays so you don’t have to. Sure, if you’re one of the lucky ones with a super efficient secretary you won’t need this, but for the rest of us poor people, it could be useful. I also find that Geni is a good tool for this (for all family members at least). Birthday reminder will alert you to birthdays you need to remember, in advance of…

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Mobile Tech August 27, 2008 posted by

AccuFuel Fuel Efficiency Tracker – are you a gas guzzler or a sippy surfer?

The AccuFuel Fuel Efficiency Tracker is an iPhone application that lets you track and monitor your car fuel use and thereby improve your driving habits. Maybe. It supports US, UK and continental fuel systems – i.e. from guzzle to ooh-la-la – and costs a paltry $0.99 on the iPhone App Store. AccuFuel Fuel Efficiency Tracker is a powerful tool that makes monitoring your vehicle’s fuel efficiency simple and fun. Is your SUV guzzling gasoline? Is your hybrid saving you money?…

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general August 27, 2008 posted by

Dayon Sound Communicator – capture sounds that make you go…huh?

The Dayon Sound Communicator comes with a set of optional extras designed to let you capture sounds you wouldn’t otherwise notice. We’re not quite sure what this means, but it seems to indicate a love of vibrations and other sub-ether goings on. Hey, if you’ve got $619.00 to burn on one of these things, you’re probably just the type to enjoy it the most, so go for it. Using the included Handfone along with the Dayon and some headphones, you…

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