Greenpeace’s The Chemical Home. Scary reading for all of us.

For some time now I’ve wondered why DVD players have remained so large. They don’t need much space for the electronics – not like a bulky headed VCR machine – so why aren’t they smaller? Apparently the industry is waking up to this fact, evidence the Nextbase 3 small form factor player. Priced at around �79.00. Review here.

Detlev Sch�fer’s Tool Package is a collection of 55 tiny free Windows utilities which do lots of cool things. Like a Euro converter, copying paths and displaying a time calculator.

m The WL-16 is the world’s first walking chair. ‘The battery-powered robot, basically an aluminium street cafe chair mounted on two sets of telescopic poles bolted to flat plate ‘feet’, can move forwards, backwards and sideways while carrying an adult weighing a maximum of 60kg.’

The GW-BST01 Wireless Supporter from Planex apparently improves wireless signal performance. ‘The product improves the reception sensitivity of radio waves by 20 to 30%…blocks radio waves and noise from a certain direction…concentrates radio waves and provides directivity to extend wireless transmission (communication) distance.’

The Helium 2100 from Element Computer is being billed as ‘ the world’s first $999 Tablet/Laptop convertible PC’. Runs the Lycoris Desktop/LX version of Linux and comes with a 1GHz processor, 256 MB RAM and a 30GB hard disk. ‘Tis a nice price to be sure, Seamus.

The Boxit Dolphin mobile phone case is a Finnish (who else?) designed cover that is watertight and shockproof. In fact if you drop it on water it will even float. Perfect for those intrepid adventurers who can’t do without their handsets.

The Dreamfree EEGFree [thanks Kevin!] product is the ‘world’s first digital brain wave inducer that helps recharge the brain and accelerate the functions by inducing the brain waves that affect memory, concentration, intelligence, creativity, stability of the mind and body, sleep using the two of the five senses, vision and auditory.’ It’s Korean and I think that it’s supposed to relieve stress, help with learning and enhance vitality. Allegedly.

The Blabbermouth is very ugly. But it may have a use for someone. Somewhere. $129.99. ‘The Blabbermouth sends email messages using your cellphone. No keyboard, no laptop, it’s as easy to use as a piece of paper. Just write a message and push a button to send.’

We mentioned the Aaron art project before – where computing power is used to generate ‘paintings’. Now from the same stable comes poetry, in the form of the Cybernetic Poet. Not convinced.

IT Facts. Nice little site featuring nothing but IT industry facts and figures. Useful for the researchers among us.

Oh good grief. I believe that I may owe the Liebermann organisation an apology. It appears that it’s not just a spoof, but a real computer company. Apologies! In my defence I did try and check their bona fides before reporting reader comments as I did. I first tried using the shopping basket – not working – and then tried to call them on their US phone number – no answer, cheesy voice mail only. Ah well!

The Get Mapping service offers aerial photos of locations across the UK. They also offer rather stunning scenery for use in Microsoft’s Flight Simulator. ‘Imagine being in the cockpit of a Cessena C172SP Skyhawk, having just taken off from a small airfield close to home and flying above your neighbourhood. What would you go to see first? Your home? Your place of work? Or would you just explore the area in which you live, soaring over the surroundings?’