The Botanicalls Project is just genius. A small sensor in each plant pot is connected to a telephone switchboard, which in turn can call a number when the soil is dry. Brilliant. OK, so it’s slightly scary too. The thought of your plants randomly calling you at different times of the day or night with requests for water, or thanking you for watering them, is just a bit too Little Shop of Horrors maybe. [Via InventorSpot] A soil moisture sensor…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: February 2007
FaceCode – face recognition biometrics for your computer
FaceCode is a software program that turns your web cam and computer into a face recognition system which you use to secure your machine. The basic version costs a mere $29.99, so you may want to try it out on a non-important PC before committing your precious data to a program which may refuse – ‘’Im sorry Dave, but I can’t do that…’ – to allow you access. Review. FaceCode uses biometrics technology measurable physical characteristics or personal behavioural traits used to…
Read MoreWhisher – cool free WiFi sharing community
Whisher. Public Wi-Fi services are a rip off. We all know it. Wireless broadband should be free and it should be everywhere. Well maybe services like Whisher will help break the current system and provide a genuinely useful global Wi-Fi sharing community. It’s not the first such service (FON springs to mind) but it looks to be one of the easiest to use. Just download and install the software and bingo, you can share your Wi-Fi connection wherever you are. And…
Read MoreFreeloader – solar power charger for your pocket
The Freeloader Solar Power Charger. This new solar charger for gadgets offers a nice design, nice price, and nice feature set, so what’s not to like? It comes with a variety of plugs and sockets including USB, and will store solar power for you for up to 3 months on its internal battery pack. Available from next month at £29.99. Freeloader is an advanced portable charging system that can power any hand held device anywhere, anytime. Freeloader takes power from its…
Read MoreTele-Safe II – the telephone guard dog
The Tele Safe II. Attach this to your home telephone system and it will either detect if a phone tap is attached to your line or an extension is picked up somewhere else in the house and automatically mute the sound. You have to wonder whether the divorce rate would plummet if these were in more widespread use around the world. But would that be a good thing…? $195.00. When a telephone tap is detected or an extension is picked up, the Tele…
Read MoreO’hEocha Audiophile Speakers – loud, expensive, weird lookin’
O’hEocha Audiophile Speakers. What’s strange about these three foot high, hand crafted, 200 watt, aircraft aluminium grade isobaric Hi-Fi speakers is not the otherworldly design or even the name – although goodness knows it’s bizarre enough in that peculiarly Gaelic sort of way. No, what’s strange is that at $8,995.95 the product is currently sold out. Made in western Ireland by former BMW designer Aonghus O’hEocha, founder of O’hEocha, manufacturers of preeminent audio systems, these hand-crafted 200-watt isobaric speakers provide…
Read MoreFaceSCAN III – 3D face scanning for posterity or pomp
The FaceSCAN III is a 1.4 megapixel, halogen lamp based face scanning apparatus (lovely word, Jasper) which gives all sorts of opportunities for rendering our lovely mugs in 3D statue form, online games, avatars and everything narcissistic. Probably not cheap (version II was €30,000) and probably no good for scanning cats. faceSCAN III represents the newest generation of our successful faceSCAN series. It offers maximum cost-effectiveness for a wide range of applications. In particular, texture resolution has been improved to 1.4…
Read MoreArcade Reality – augmented reality gaming comes to the camera phone
Long time Ferret readers will remember five years ago when we first mentioned the ARQuake augmented reality gaming project which let you play Quake on a portable computer, headset and GPS unit. At that point it was very much a college project, and even today it involves quite a bit of clunky equipment (weighing 6 kilograms and incorporating a full 2GHz belt worn computer). Well guess what? Something similar has just made its way onto the Palm Treo, using nothing more sophisticated…
Read MoreSimCam – great way to get the best out of your digital camera
SimCam is a great online tool which lets you play around with those important features of a digital camera which you may never have really understood, and get an idea of how they affect your photos. Things like aperture, shutter speed, film speed etc. What’s really cool is the fact that you get to see a realtime picture which changes as you alter settings, so you really learn how to use the manual controls. And remember kiddies, at the end of the…
Read MoreSlimTimer – log your task timings super easily
SlimTimer. Rather slick browser app lets you log and report on the time you spend on your tasks. Think of it as a super easy timesheet application. Embed it into your browser and every time you start a new task you can start a new clock and keep adding to it each time you do a bit more of the task. Use it with Bubbles and you can minimize the timer to the task bar which is even cooler. Nice. * Making time tracking…
Read MoreFerret posts this week
Here’s a quick round-up of Ferrety posts from the past week for anyone who missed them. Enjoy. Exradia Wi-Guard Battery – nullify your mobile phone radiation? – The Exradia Wi-Guard Battery… CD/DVD Facts – how to choose your archive media – How to Choose CD/DVD Archival… XT9 – predictive text grows up – The XT9 Mobile Interface is a new… Evesham Sound Stage X1 – TV stand with inbuilt audio – Evesham Sound Stage X1. Tell you… ChronoArt II –…
Read MoreIPA03 iPod PA System – you know you wanna shout…
The IPA03 Portable PA System with iPod Dock is definitely a bit of a weird one. Why would you want to broadcast your iPod stuff via a PA system? Are we looking at the replacement for the shoulder mounted boombox brigade? Then we remembered that you don’t just store music on media players, but also voice. And suddenly it all came clear. Of course…poetry. Around $299.00. Whether it’s an outdoor party, gig, business meeting or sporting event, the iPA03 portable speaker…
Read MoreCD Punch – ultimate gonzo CD security
The CD Punch. Think you need high tech to safeguard your CD or DVD data on disposal? Think again. Just punch a few holes in your discs with this handy CD perforator and voila, no more Mr Readable. Of course determined people with large budgets will still be able to retrieve everything on the disk easy peasy, but you haven’t been that naughty have you? £2.97. Help prevent security and identity fraud Punch a hole in seconds and destroy important and confidential information Accurate, durable…
Read MoreJoel, you’re tops!
Joel speaks! We enjoy muchly.
Read MoreThe Mighty Mini Laser Show – handheld lightness
The Mighty Mini Laser Light Show. The wrist strap says it all. This is a really really portable laser light device, for those times when you really really have to carry around your own club-dub atmosphere. Well you never know do you? $14.95 says it probably won’t be *that* bright though. Until recently, laser light shows have been available for viewing only at high priced commercial venues. Now, with advanced technology and modern production techniques, the laser light show experience…
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