Camstudio. The veteran screen recorder is back as a free download. Great for making demos, tutorials and the like. Windows only but definitely worth the download for that rainy day requirement. CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs)…CamStudio can also add high-quality, anti-aliased (no jagged edges) screen captions to your…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: November 2006
174 Sound Electronic Drumset – silent night
The 174 Sound Electronic Drumset. Look, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. If you really must encourage young drummers in your family, please at least do it this way and let the rest of us get some sleep. They may look simple, but those flimsy looking headphones are all that stand between us, your neighbours, and the nearest funny farm. Please, just think of the wrinklies, won’t you? $399.95. This electronic drum kit reproduces up to 174…
Read MoreWarped webcam
I’ve dubbed this puppy the Warped Webcam for obvious reasons. But apart from that I have absolutely no idea what it’s about, why the eye glows or why someone would think that chatting into a grimacing skull would make your personality shine on a video call. Ah well…getting too old.
Read MoreUSB Piggy MoodiCare Clock – stress busting porkers
The USB Piggy MoodiCare Clock. Well if the Therapie is the Rolls Royce of mood altering home furnishings, then this little porker is the Trabant. $16.50 buys you a colour shifting, digital displaying, cubic pig looking timepiece which is guaranteed to start a conversation if nothing else. Oink! Living in a fast-paced society brings a lot of pressure and stress to people. According to scientists research, light and color change can bring a significant improvement on these problems. The Piggy…
Read MoreReview – Dualphone 3088 vs USR Cordless Skype Phone
The DualPhone 3088 Cordless Phone for Skype is the successor to the original Dualphone which we wrote about in November 2004. It is the first home Skype phone to operate without requiring a computer, which makes it a pretty advanced bit of tech. You simply hook it up to your broadband connection and landline sockets and start making Skype or conventional calls. So what is it like, and how does it compare with the latest of the conventional home Skype phones, the USR…
Read MoreHome Fabrication Machine Project – the ultimate DIY
The Fab@Home Project is an Open Source home fabrication machine movement. We’re talking about everyone eventually making all their own products at home, instead of buying them in shops, so it’s a hugely ambitious project, but good luck to it. They also talk in terms of wresting innovation away from global corporations, which makes it sociologically pretty scary stuff too. But good luck. Did we say that already? Inspired by this history, the goal of this project is to offer an open-source,…
Read MoreRadeo – mega online media player
Radeo is a free and very comprehensive online media player-portal. The site boasts of 10,000 stations, and half a million episodes of stuff, including webcasts, podcasts video and audio. The interface is a little scrappy (for example it’s hard to browse all US stations or all alternative etc), but it’s a nice effort nevertheless and definitely worth a look.
Read MoreWarning Sign Generator – Beware Geek
The Warning Sign Generator. Make your own signs and scare people. Choose a layout, choose a symbol, craft a message. Loads of fun, and half the calories of normal pastimes.
Read MoreSwiss Wall Station Phone – retro done right!
The Swiss Wall Station Phone. Inspired by the old 1950’s European hotel phones. Note to world, this is how you do retro properly, OK? Bakelite case, real bells and a real rotating dial. Sure it takes you a bit longer to connect, but the joy, think of the joy. Lovely. €245.00. Its robustness and absolute reliability were finally the reason for the fact that this equipment was released around 1950 also for the private use worked satisfactorily – and since that…
Read MoreTherapie – the peaceful lamp
The Therapie Mood Lamp. Is that pie, or py? Or lamp? Or art? Emits a ‘soothing aura’, which is nice isn’t it? Hmmm…guess you might need a bit of soothing if you’ve just shelled out $1099.00 for a fancy coloured wall lamp. Hey, but what do we know…? A singular illuminated canvas inspired by color and light therapy theories which give it a soothing aura. The color photons emanating from the lamp reduce the everyday spleen and create a peaceful…
Read MoreAmberWatch Child Alarm – loud
The AmberWatch Child Alarm. Horrible piece of technology to have to write about, but there you go. Sad. Anyway you strap this to your child and they can press the two buttons to sound a 115 decibel alarm and flickering lights. The alarm sounds for over half an hour. Oh, and it’s also a watch. $29.95. # Press two buttons to trigger its four flashing red lights and its super-loud alarm. # Blasts an ear-piercing 115 decibels. # Flashes and blares for…
Read MoreDIY Hard Drive Clock
The DIY Hard Drive Clock shows that there are occasions when a ticking noise coming from your hard disk may be a good thing. The perfect project for those of us with…ah…less than leet DIY electronicz skillz. This is a hard drive clock that requires only a power drill and some basic hand tools. No electronics knowledge is necessary. Total project time: 60-90 minutes. Supplies: * Old hard drive (duh). I happened to find a 5.25” model while working at FreeGeek….
Read MoreElectric cars on a charge in China?
Western manufacturers may be dragging their feet over electric cars, or EVs as they’re known in polite circles, but it looks as though the Chinese are taking the whole thing rather more seriously. The rather squat looking thing above is the TEGO from JPJ Consulting, which is just one of a number of Chinese EV products that you can find online. The Smart Elcetric (sic) Motor Car from Jinan Allied Trading has a max speed of 40 km, and a range…
Read More10 Minute Email
10 Minute Email. The ultimate disposable email service. Click a link, get an email address with messages delivered to an online page for exactly 10 minutes. After that, poof, no more. Spamtastically useful, eh? By clicking on the link below, you will be given a temporary e-mail address. Any e-mails sent to that address will show up automatically on the web page. You can read them, click on links, and even reply to them. The e-mail address will expire after 10 minutes….
Read MorePodcast Autocue – slick voiceovers at last
Podcast Autocue. Podcasting grows up and gets a tool that the BBC would be proud of. An autocue system that lets you sound as if you’ve been broadcasting for years. $24.95. [Another product worth checking out if you’re into video journalism is VideoCue 2, which is a teleprompter and video recorder with a bunch of features. Unfortunately Mac only though. $39.99 for the basic version]. News anchors don’t memorize their script – they use autocues, screens underneath the camera showing their script…
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