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Australia has some pretty rugged country so naturally people have devised some pretty ingenious ways of getting around it in comfort and style, like this. The Tvan is a rugged, two berth trailer camper that fixes a lot of problems with existing campers. To start with it’s go-anywhere, seriously go-anywhere.
You’d expect nothing less from a company that builds trailers used by the Australian Army, Navy and Airforce. It has a 1,600kg fully articulated coupling that can angle up or down 30, great for getting out of steep gullies. There’s also state-of-the-art hard core coil spring suspension. It has electric brakes and it’s own park brake so you know you’ll find it where you left it and best of all it can carry 500kg of cargo.
By far the most novel thing about the Tvan is the storage of the tent. In existing designs of camper trailers, the tent packs in over the bed and so if you have to break camp in the rain, your bed gets wet. The Tvan has a separate sealed tent storage area so the wet tent is kept away from the inside of the trailer. To set it up, the tail gate drops down giving the tent a hard floor and you then erect the tent over it. All done in about 3 minutes. The trailer sleeps two with a queen sized mattress and there’s plenty of storage inside and hard walls around you so it’s comfy and very water proof. If the weather is too much to put up the tent, just drop the tail gate, raise the hatch, climb into bed and shut the hatch, 20 seconds and you’re dry and in bed.
So getting there and accommodation is sorted, how about the creature comforts? Well, it has a 70L stone-proof water tank with the option for a second 70L tank with hand and electric pump. It can hold two 4kg gas cylinders and five 20L jerry cans. There’s a slide-out two-burner stove with sink and cutlery drawer. There’s options for CD/AM/FM radio, 100AH battery with 50W solar cell and battery charger, internal lighting, external plug-in power socket and a rack for carrying firewood. The only thing it doesn’t come with is a fridge.
All this reliability comes at quite a price, around $AU35,000 depending on which model you choose. It also seems they’re not available outside of Australia just yet but if you’re looking to go outback down here, you might want to look up one to hire.
The Tvan is an extraordinary camper trailer that provides unrivalled levels of comfort, equipment and performance. Quite simply, the Tvan is the best camper trailer available today. Tvan has been specifically designed to eliminate common problems inherent with flip-over type campers, which stow the tent on the bed. Unlike the flip-over style campers the Tvan stores its canvas tent neatly into the rear hatch, which allows you to keep your bed made up and everything nice and dry.
Tags: tvan, camper+trailer, offroad+camper
posted by Dan
Mon 05 Jan 2009 @ 8:42 am
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This USB PC to PC Transfer Cable promises to make the process of upgrading from an old computer to new much easier in every way. What’s unusual – and very useful – is the fact it’s compatible with Windows 98se, ME, XP and Vista, which is great if you’re moving from really ancient to modern hardware. $49.95.
Getting all the “stuff” from your old computer into the new one doesn’t have to be a challenge. This File Transfer For Dummies is so simple - no software to load or special cables involved. Just plug the USB cable into the two PCs, one end in the old computer, the other end in the new one, and there’s nothing to it. Easily transfer pictures, movies, music, and documents in seconds. Use it over and over again between multiple PCs.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:37 am
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Yumi is a bilingual rag doll that can speak 30 phrases in Japanese and English. We’re not sure if she’s designed to teach English to Japanese children or vice versa, but we’re sure that those parents with ‘achiever’ status inscribed on their foreheads – in whatever language – will be all over this beauty like a Shibumi rash. $39.99.
The Yumi doll is bilingual and will teach your child 25 to 30 different phrases by stating them in English and in Japanese. You can press her hands and knee for the different sayings. She will go through a set of greetings as well as some favorite subjects and musical instruments. Don’t let your child go through life only saying “Booonssssaiiii”
posted by Nigel
@ 7:35 am
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The Vista Codec Package is a standalone freeware add-on to Windows Vista which installs the codecs you need to run most popular media on the net and beyond. Sounds like a win.
With this package installed you will be able to use any media player, limited only by the players’ capabilities, to play all movies and video clips. Streaming video is supported in several formats in all popular web browsers. Users of VCP have the ability to choose what is installed and where to install it using the public redistributable. After installation you can select to remove specific portions without removing the entire package. You can also re-add the removed items at any time.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:33 am
Just get a Mac, which can run ALL OSs. Why you'd want to use Vista is beyond comprehension.
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Look, you never know when you’re going to need an Emergency Yodel Button in your life. Especially in these uncertain, challenging times. Really this should be a mandatory part of the anti–recessionary tool kit for every homeowner and entrepreneur in the country. Really. $12.50.
Nothing lifts the spirits like a good yodel, but most of us don’t have the skill to yodel on cue. That’s where the Emergency Yodel Button comes in. Keep this 4″ x 3″ x 5/8″ plastic device with you at all times and when the need arises, press the button to hear the sweet mellifluous warbling of an alpine yodel.
posted by Nigel
Sat 03 Jan 2009 @ 7:33 am
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The Heart Rate Ring is designed to help you relax about your health by giving a nice visible readout of your resting heart rate. Don’t stick it on the finger you use for picking up those yummy McDuggets pieces though, will you? We don’t want dripping grease obscuring the display. $39.95.
Your heart rate is one of the four vital signs and this ring makes it incredibly easy to monitor. The infrared technology provides accurate and continuous feedback, whether you’re at work, at play, or at rest. Our Heart Rate Ring features include: heart rate monitor, stopwatch, clock and min/max target heart rate with alert.
posted by Nigel
Fri 02 Jan 2009 @ 7:37 am
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This Flower Fire Extinguisher is just delightful. Instead of grappling with a massive clunky red iron thing next time you have a kitchen emergency, just drop these specially formulated flowers into the pan flames and watch as the fire is smothered in moments. Of course they may not work as well if the curtains catch alight, so caveat fumor and all that. $59.00.
For those who cook with oil, it’s important to be extremely careful with the possibility of fire. The Fire Flowers are fire extinguishers that look just like decorative silk flowers, but can be used to put out oil and grease fires with ease…To use the Fire Flowers, just keep them attached to a nearby surface using the included magnets. In the case of an oil/grease fire, simply place the flowers into the pan and they will instantly take over, covering the oil with a film that stops the burning.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:35 am
Wow.. that's a brilliant gadget, I hope they work (but would also like to never have to test them out!) I don't know who thought these up or when or how but it's a great idea!
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Trellian WebPage is a free but fully featured HTML web page editor. It comes with all sorts of bells and whistles, including a meta tag editor, built in spellchecker and support for Photoshop plugins. Good value for the price, peeps.
Intuitive Interface # Imports pages compatible with today’s browsers # Absolute positioning of HTML elements # Color Highlighted HTML Editor # Meta Tag editor # Drag & drop interface # Imports all major image formats including PNG & JPEG # Support for current Internet technologies # Built-in document spellchecker # Support for 1000’s of Photoshop Plugins
posted by Nigel
@ 7:33 am
Previous Post: Happy New Year! - Here comes 2009
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Previous Post: Danger Bomb Alarm Clock - choose the right wires or….
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Wishing all the Red Ferret readers a fabulous New Year and see you again in 2009. Maybe this year we’ll start jetpacking to work or driving flying cars. You just never know.
[Photo from Flickr]
posted by Dan
Thu 01 Jan 2009 @ 8:01 am
Happy New Year Red Ferret! Looking forward to your 2009 postings!
Comment by Farbs Thu 01 Jan 2009 @ 2:38 am
Happy New Year Everyone!
Hopefully 2009 will be a great year for everyone..
Keep up the good at the ferret
Comment by Pachinko Sid Thu 01 Jan 2009 @ 12:14 pm
Happy New Year!
Thanks for the Great Site, keep it up
Comment by richsone Fri 02 Jan 2009 @ 9:26 am
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The Danger Bomb Alarm Clock forces you to defuse a bomb every morning in order to switch off the alarm sound. Oh you may think it sounds brutal, but just think of the practice it will give little Johnny, having to go all military James Bond every day before he pops off to school. Pretty soon he’ll be volunteering for all sorts of dangerous assignments in global hotspots, safe in the knowledge that it’s all just a matter of silencing that darn alarm. $68.00.
The DangerBomb Clock from Banpresto is the best way to bring out your inner Jack Bauer by making you defuse a bomb every morning! When the alarm goes off at the preset time, you have to choose which wire to cut. Choose the wrong one and…KABOOM! The wire is randomly set for every time, so you’ll always be on your toes.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:37 am
Previous Post: Share-A-Call Dual Handset Phone - love means eavesdropping in perfect harmony
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The Share-A-Call Dual Handset Phone is there to help you share all those beautiful moments together, like the first time your daughter called her parole officer, or the call you made together to order the His n’ Hers matching Barry Manilow slippers. Anyhoo, this has to be the perfect present for the lovely dovey couple in your family. $99.95.
Share-A-Call is the latest idea in communications clarity. It allows two people to hear and participate in a conversation at once, without volume loss. With an ordinary phone, when you pick up another line in the home, the volume may be drastically reduced on both phones, making it difficult to hear. If you’re trying to hear what the doctor is telling your mother, much may be lost on standard extensions.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:35 am
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BitMeter II is a freeware bandwidth monitoring program which shows upload and download speeds, usage totals per day/week/month and alerts to let you know if and when you get close to your monthly ISP limit or specific speeds. Pretty useful tool to have around these days (especially if you’re suffering from slow patches in your connection and the ISP wants proof).
BitMeter 2 is a bandwidth meter, it allows you to visually monitor your internet connection by displaying a scrolling graph that shows your upload and download speed over time. BitMeter is freeware - ie. it is given away completely free of charge, there is no trial period, no time-limited features, no spyware, and no adware, guaranteed.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:33 am
Cool freebie! But what do you do to track bandwidth used by your VoIP phone system? This is where I'm concerned about ISP's limiting bandwidth before charging extra.
Comment by NNNewman Fri 02 Jan 2009 @ 5:42 am
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This BGP100 Bluetooth Game Pad won’t make you attractive to the opposite sex, or even improve your chances of promotion, but it may help you forget about the lost lonely hours spent filling out all those TPS Reports. The thing supports Windows Mobile, Symbian and PocketPC devices, which covers a fair number of phones, and once you’ve got it installed you’ll be able to play games as they were meant to be played, instead of using the tiny keypad. A$128.45.
Its ergonomic design fits comfortably in the hands , and provide all the key functions you need, including a 4-way pad for directional control, 7 programmable buttons. Further, the sliding rubber strips can be adjusted to avoid any buttons on the side of a mobile device and offer additional support to secure the device allowing operation while you are moving.
posted by Nigel
Wed 31 Dec 2008 @ 7:37 am
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The Internet Entrepreneur Starter Kit is a package of 50 different Archie McPhee novelty items in a ready to sell format. The pack value is apparently $2,600.00, but you, sir, can have it for the bargain basement price of just $399.95. As the nice lady says, if you sell everything in the pack you’ll make over $2000 profit. Which you can use to buy this bridge I’ve been meaning to talk to you about…
These are new and mint condition products still in their original packaging, untouched by customer’s hands. Kit can include products like: action figures, coin purses, erasers, novelty notebooks, night lights, place mats, coasters, bandages, decorative adhesive tapes, stickers and indescribable desirables of all kinds! This is an opportunity that cannot be missed!
posted by Nigel
@ 7:35 am
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Previous Post: La Crosse BC-900 - battery charging with smarts
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Hot Game Cheater is a freeware program for finding cheats, walkthroughs, tutorials and help for computer games of all types and genres. There are over 17000 bits of help available covering PC, Wii, Xbox, PlayStation and others, and there’s an online section of cheats and walkthroughs if you’re a little wary of downloading a program onto your machine. Strange name though, eh?
Hot Game Cheater is a free hot games cheats utility with Hot Games Girls having biggest database of thousands of up-to-date Games Cheats, Games Walkthroughs, Games Trainers, Saved Games, Games Patches, Games Music, Midi & Ringtones.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:33 am
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Rechargeable batteries are great but they’re kind of an investment especially if you buy good quality ones. I have four sets of four batteries and for that kind of cash you don’t want to ruin them with some junk charger you found in a bargain bin. The La Crosse BC-900 battery charger isn’t new, but I’ve been using one now for almost a year and I’m very impressed with it.
The BC-900 is like a massager for your batteries that takes care of them after a long hard day takes their shoes off and brings them back to life. It does this by allowing you to vary the charging current. The lowest charging current is 200mA which charges 2600mAh batteries in about 15 hours. This is the slowest setting and should keep your batteries going for 200 charge cycles. If you need a quick charge, then crank it all to 11 1000mAh which will charge them in 2-4 hours. Each battery slot is completely independent of the others so you can monitor each battery as it charges and check how long it’s been charging, the charging voltage and current and most importantly how much charge each battery has stored. It will even cut the charging if the battery gets too hot. There’s also a battery rejuvenator setting that I haven’t tried as yet, that can sometimes bring dead batteries back to life. It cycles the batteries, charging and discharging them 20 times.
I know it all sounds very complicated and geeky and sure there’s plenty of fun to be had if you’re into that kind of stuff, but you don’t have to use any of it. If you just want a good quality battery charger that’s simple to use then this is the one you need. Just stick your batteries in and wait until it says FULL, you don’t need to do any more than that.
The package comes with a carry bag, four AA and four AAA batteries as well as four C and four D adaptors. The adaptors allow you to insert AA batteries into a device designed for C or D cells. The BC-900 is $US79.99 from La Crosse but shop around because plenty of places sell them. Highly recommended.
Tags: BC-900+charger, battery+charger, multi+channel+battery+charger
posted by Dan
Tue 30 Dec 2008 @ 7:48 am
I have one of these - its works just fine although I am not convinced it works better than any other comparable battery chargers out there.
Comment by KitCandy.com Tue 30 Dec 2008 @ 4:59 am
I have one of them. Very great product. This product checks your batteries (Capacity measurement) - refresh them - and charges them. Best price /performance
Comment by Vincent Sun 04 Jan 2009 @ 12:50 pm
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The OSIM uCrown is a new head massager from the massage chair company. It comes with a remote control and apparently uses ‘patented air pressure technology’, vibration, heat and music to soothe those cares away. Reading the blurb you’d think it is the cure to everything, so we’re not going to say any more, except that somewhere in there Feng Chi is mentioned. ‘Nuff said? £139.12.
Inspired by traditional head massage, the uCrown is designed to target specific acupressure points on your head and neck to effectively relieve tension caused by stress and fatigue. Its firm yet gentle air pressure massage combined with vibration massage and soothing heat help to ease tensed muscles and improve circulation, while the built-in music relaxes your tired mind to give you both physical and mental relaxation at the same time.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:37 am
Previous Post: BitTorrent NAS Enclosure - make your own BitTorrent factory
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Previous Post: SourceWatch - your guide to the names behind the news
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This BitTorrent Network Attached Storage Enclosure is pretty cool. Throw in your choice of 3.5 inch IDE or SATA hard drive and you’ve got yourself an instant file sharing factory. The thing has a built-in BitTorrent client, FTP, print and Samba servers and supports USB on The Go transfers. And you’ve just gotta love that live temp and fan speed gauge on the front eh? A$199.00.
The next generation of Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices has arrived! Everything you would expect from a modern network attached storage device and more! Includes a built-in BitTorrent client that can be used to download and share files over the BitTorrent network without the need to have your computer turned on.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:35 am
Previous Post: SourceWatch - your guide to the names behind the news
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SourceWatch is a free online service to help you locate information about people and organisations in the news. This is important because the media is being increasingly fed by special interests of course, and if you’re looking for the agenda behind any particular story it really helps to find out the who, why, what of the agencies involved.
It’s actually a wiki, so anyone can edit (although it’s moderated to stop abuse) and I particularly enjoy the Falsies Awards every year. If you’re at all interested in ‘greenwashing’, ‘astroturfing’, or other examples of agenda driven media manipulation this is a must bookmark.
SourceWatch is a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy to produce a directory of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. A primary purpose of SourceWatch is documenting the PR and propaganda activities of public relations firms and public relations professionals engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SourceWatch also includes profiles on think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests.
posted by Nigel
@ 7:33 am
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Eagle Eyes StimuLights. We’re trying to work out exactly how these Joe 90 goggle improve low light vision, but it’s not easy. According to the blurb it looks as though the side panels let through filtered light to help the eyes ‘transition’. From where to where is, however, a mystery. $39.95.
Perfect for computer use, watching TV, driving during rain, snow, dawn, dusk, fog, smog, hazy conditions, or any time your eyes have to adjust to different brightness levels. # Your eyes will feel immediately soothed and relaxed. # Special tinted lenses allow eyes to transition naturally and instantly by filtering specific wavelengths of light (between 400-500 nanometers). # Your eyes are able to be more relaxed and function more efficiently as better contrast and definition are achieved while using Stimulights
posted by Nigel
Mon 29 Dec 2008 @ 10:33 am
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Perfect for hangin´ out by the billabong I reckon, eh Dan? :)
Comment by Nigel Powell Mon 05 Jan 2009 @ 4:37 am
More like driving through the billabong!
Comment by Dan Ferris Mon 05 Jan 2009 @ 10:50 am