Monthly Archives: October 2006

Gadgets October 23, 2006 posted by

Sun Jar – a little pot of solar happiness

The Sun Jar. Billed as a sunlight storage system, this little gizmo contains a solar cell, battery and LED lights. Place in sunlight all day long, and switch on at night for some free ambient glow goodness. We all need some ambient love now and then, don’t we? Don’t we? £19.95 ($37.60).  This ingenious marriage of modern technology and good old-fashioned styling has been created by hot avant-garde designer Tobi Wong, and we reckon it’s a classic in the making. After…

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Gadgets October 23, 2006 posted by

Teeny LED Lantern

This has got to be the cutest little Keychain LED Lantern around. Hey, maybe the only keychain lantern around, what do we know? It’s waterproof, comes with a carabiner in case you need to go climbing, and runs off two HUGE briefcase sized lithium batteries. OK, so we exaggerate a tad. $14.95.  A special, conical mirror reflects the super bright LED bulb, and gives you plenty of light to read or find your shoes in a tent or to light your way to your door….

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Gadgets October 23, 2006 posted by

Polycom Communicator for Skype

The Polycom Communicator for Skype. Handsfree Skype chat via a pretty blue box. Isn’t it cute? Well sometimes we just like cute, that’s all. Don’t we Marge? £86.99.  Based on the same technology used in Polycom’s legendary line of SoundStation conference phones, the Communicator enables crystal-clear, natural conversations when using Skype. Enjoy the freedom of not wearing a headset for hands-free Skype calls, or plug into the built-in stereo headphone port for private conversations

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diy October 23, 2006 posted by

DIY Light Box Mk II – Ikea style!

DIY Light Box Mk II. Apparently if you turn a $10.00 IKEA laundry basket on its side you get a reasonable and cheap light box. Who’d a thunk it? And it folds up neatly afterwards too. Golly!  IKEA makes a hamper or laundry bag called dimpa. It cost’s about 10$ and they also make quite a cheap energy saver lamp that fits perfect inside it. It is called the liesta and costs about 15$.

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Gadgets October 23, 2006 posted by

Tuffwraps for iPods

XtremeMac Tuffwrap Accent iPod Case. Pretty useful protection for your music player. Not only a scratch and knock proof case but also an anti-slide surface to stop your precious slipping off the car dashboard or other shiny surface. £12.99. And in pwetty colours, too.   TuffWrap Accent gives your iPod nano durable protection against scratches and bumps, and protects the screen and Click Wheel with optional inserts. This two-tone case features stylish ribbed sides that not only look great, but…

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Mobile Tech October 23, 2006 posted by

FoxyTag – speed camera tagging

FoxyTag. A free offering which lets the driving community tag and mark speed cameras as a collective act of benevolence. You need the Java program, a compatible handset, a GPS unit and the patience to press a button on your phone every time you pass a camera. Is this a good thing…?  FoxyTag does not motivate speeding or any other risky behavior. On the other hand, FoxyTag allows the driver to concentrate on the road instead of having is eyes fixed on the speedometer,…

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Free Software October 23, 2006 posted by

Microsoft Group Shot – pick and choose your photo buddies

Microsoft Group Shot. Cool little app from Microsoft Research which lets you select the faces you want in your photo. So if you do three photos of your mates round a table, you can select the best of each and combine them in one ‘super image’. Remember kiddies – the camera never lies! [Via Metafilter]  MSR Group Shot helps you create a perfect group photo out of a series of group photos. With Group Shot you can select your favorite…

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reprise October 22, 2006 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. LED Light Up Pillows – LED Light Up Pillows…. DIY Coat Hanger Robot – The DIY Coat Hanger… Problematic Firefox Extensions – Problematic Firefox… Gickr – online animated gif maker – Gickr is a free online animated… How dumb is Yahoo!? – So how dumb is Yahoo!?… World’s smallest revolver? – The Xythos Blank Firing Revolver… Bug Zapper Lamp – The Viatek 2…

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hardware October 21, 2006 posted by

Hawking Laptop Hi-Gain WiFi Locator

The Hawking HWL2 Hi-Gain WiFi Locator. Forget about the puny thing sitting inside your laptop, dude. When you really really want to connect, this is the puppy you’ll need. It’s a USB 2.0, high speed Wireless-G wireless LAN locator and connect adapter in one. Point, locate, push button, connect. Recharges via the USB port and can locate networks without powering up the notebook. Provides 300% better performance than standard wireless adapters. So there. Priced at $79.99 (£56.51) and in an Apple version too.  …

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Gadgets October 20, 2006 posted by

Mirror Alarm Clock

The Mirror Alarm Clock. Modern society is becoming increasingly focussed on time and the pursuit of self interest. Discuss. A$29.95.  As a clock – it’s got all you need – dual alarm with snooze and date function, with your choice of constant display or time on demand. As a PA it’ll make sure you don’t head for that big presentation with crooked lipstick or a big green “what-the” between your teeth! If your desk or cubicle is positioned so you can’t see…

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Gadgets October 20, 2006 posted by

LED Finger Lights

Ultra LED Finger Lights. Nope, don’t ask us, we don’t have a clue. We just report the stuff, OK? Maybe it’s for some weird, secret ritual involving fingers and light. A lot of light. $7.95.  Use them all together and create an amazing light show while you dance, or use just one at a time for safety or fun. Includes one each of white, green, red, and blue lights. The white light also makes a great micro flashlight to direct you through the darkness….

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Gadgets October 20, 2006 posted by

Scooter tooter

The Classic Child’s Vespa Scooter…ah…scoots along at up to 5mph over all terrain. Well clearly not all terrain, but certainly some terrain. Definitely. Oh and it’s got a working horn, headlights, engine sounds and…get this…a storage box for those really long journeys. Runs on 2 AA batteries. Nah, just kidding. $329.95.  The scooters two-speed electric motor propels children up to 85 lbs. at 21/2 and 5 mph on a 12V battery across dirt, grass, and sidewalks with a press of…

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Gadgets October 20, 2006 posted by

Indigo Wind up Lantern

The Freeplay Indigo Wind-Up LED Lantern. It’s a bit of a fact that solar lanterns and other alternatives still leave you at the mercy of external forces in order to get light. The new Indigo product, however, illuminates for as long as you’ve got an arm handy. Heh, arm handy. Geddit? Ahem…anyway just a 60 second wind will give you 1 hour’s worth of light from the single LED. Using the cluster of LEDs will give less of course. Er…it might…

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cool tech October 20, 2006 posted by

RoamCon – control your home while you roam

RoamCon lets you control your home from your mobile phone and receive alerts if anything happens while you’re sunning yourself on the beach. We’re talking remote CCTV security cameras, heating, lighting, smoke detectors and all that kind of stuff handled via IP and a super whizzy DVR. Judging by the blurb it’s designed for rich people (You can use the system in your City flat to monitor your house in the Cotswolds and your apartment in the Antibes) but hey, who…

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cool tech October 20, 2006 posted by

odiogo – hear the web speak

Odiogo. Had a long chat with Marc Kawam, the CEO of this company, the other evening in town. Nice guy. I have to confess that I wasn’t really listening with all ears as he explained that his product lets you listen to RSS feeds on your iPod or other audio player. Ho hum. Then he handed over his phone to let me listen to a sample and wow, the audio quality of the ‘machine’ reader was superb, in places it sounded just like a real…

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