The Hotinazma Pocket Auto Electrical System Stabilizer promises to…uh…stabilize your car voltages and thereby ‘improve fuel consumption, reduce emissions’ and brighten up your day. Not only that, dear reader, but it also doubles up as a negative ion generator to improve the air quality in the cabin. Gosh! According to the charts – there are always charts, eh? – mpg goes up 8%, CO2 down 40% and power up 5.8ps. All for just $99.95. Form an orderly queue now please,…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: August 2008
Welcome…
photo Y’all may have noticed a new sig on the Ferret today and a few days ago. Well I’d like to introduce you to Dan Ferris from good old Oz, who I have invited on-board as an ad hoc contributor to the Ferret as and when he feels the urge. He’s been a long time tipster for us, providing some great stuff, and so I felt it was time to recognise his enthusiasm in a more official way. Be nice…
Read MoreWebu – monitor RSS feeds for your choice of keywords and save time, time, time…
Webu is a sharp minimalist RSS feed monitor which allows you to set up keyword searches on feeds (or websites) so you can track specific stuff you want rather than having to wade through acres of junk you don’t. So far so OK, but what makes this freeware application stand out is the fact that there’s a learning mode built-in, so over time it will start to recognise what you like and deliver it to you automatically. I haven’t had…
Read MoreKids’ Bike Trailer – transport your children in the style to which they will soon become accustomed
The Schwinn Joyrider bike trailer is a 3-in-1 child transportation solution. With just a flick of the wrist, it transforms from a two child bike trailer, to a jogger stroller with large front wheel and then to a walking stroller with a manoeuvrable front wheel. It holds 2 children in five-point harness safety, or 45kg of shopping, it’s equipped with a flyscreen, an all-weather canopy and most importantly removable and washable seats. At the end of the day it simply…
Read MoreUNICAT – not your average motor home
German company UNICAT make a range of full-fat, off-road adventure vehicles with more than the usual dash of liveability and luxury. These aren’t your glorified Greyhound buses with marble bathrooms and tuck-away Mercedes, people. The UNICAT range comprises 4×4 and 6×6 truck bodies with go-anywhere-and-get-back-again underpinnings. Each truck is made to order with a dizzying array of options; fully independent suspension, hydro-pneumatic suspension, fuel heaters, onboard power generation, winches, bullet proof cabs, tyre cranes and even rear wheel steering. But…
Read MoreDictionary Spy Camera – language watches you
The Dictionary Spy Camera, the name says it all. Keep an eye on the goldfish and your comic library with this disguised security camera. Available in colour or black-and-white models (the camera not the dictionary) with a 1/3″ inch CCD, it’s capable of recording in very low light. The spy cam plugs straight into any NTSC compatible video or digital video recorder via RCA. On the downside, it’s deaf as a post. Wow, things like this would have really complicated…
Read MoreAlpha-Stim 100 – cranial electrotherapy for pain, depression and stress
The Alpha-Stim 100 is a cranial electrotherapy stimulation device that treats ‘pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia and stress.’ So there you have it, the ultimate cure for all modern psychosomatic ailments in one easy to digest form factor. Lovely ain’t it? What you don’t believe? Pah, cynics. According to the blurb it works through ‘moving electrons through the body and brain at a variety of frequencies collectively known as harmonic resonance.’ There, so now apologise to the nice people please. $895.00. The…
Read MoreBookeen CyBook Gen3 eBook – e-paper reading device says eat your heart out Mr Kindle
The new Bookeen CyBook Gen3 epaper reading device holds 1000 books, and is billed as the thinnest, lightest book reader device on the market. Add in a 2 GB SD memory card and store 10,000 books and hey, it plays MP3 music too. You need more? It’s daylight readable, supports PRC, txt, HTML and PDF book formats as well as MP3, JPG, GIF and PNG, so you should be good to go with all your fave content. Looks good from…
Read MoreRadiator Booster – smart eco assist device for your home heater saves money, doc
They’re claiming that this here Radiator Booster product will cut your heating bills by up to 10%. How? Well, you plug it in, stick it behind your radiator and watch amazed as two miniature 12V electric fans suck warm air out from behind the rad and push it into the room more efficiently. Apparently it costs 30p a year to run, and reduces heat loss through walls and everythang. Sounds good to us. £14.99. How much energy does it really save? This…
Read MoreClickFree Backup – the no-install data backup system for dummies
The new ClickFree Backup system is a single DVD that you insert into your computer and it automatically backs up your data to the DVD without you needing to install anything or even press a go button. Crazy, huh? But how’s it going to know which files to grab, I hear you ask with a cynical tone to your voice. Well, it comes in different flavours – for photos, music and office type data (which does email, MS office data…
Read MoreShareMiner – the search engine for files only
ShareMiner. So this is a Google Custom Search based engine which trawls the file upload services and returns results for files, and only files. Think of it as shedding light on a little more of the dark web. And the darn thing works well. The key seems to be the selection of filters you can apply to the results to ensure that you obtain just the files you’re looking for. Which means that this is a little treasure of a service if you want…
Read MoreMIT professor Daniel Nocera discovers more efficient way to store solar energy for use at night
MIT professor Daniel Nocera and his chums have unveiled a simple and relatively inexpensive way to store solar energy for use at night. Traditional methods are cumbersome and expensive but the new process involves using a new form of catalyst which can produce oxygen from water, and combined with another catalyst can produce hydrogen which can be stored as fuel cells for energy production in the dark. The whole electrolysis process can operate at room temperature and in simple containers, although the one downside is that…
Read MoreCrosley Traveler Turntable CD – retro portable music player gets a modern spin
The Crosley Traveler Turntable CD player is a fine looking piece of ironmongery if you like that black leatherette chrome and silver fittings look. It’s got a 3 speed turntable for all your vinyl treasures, AM/FM radio a front loading CD drive, LED display, 20 track memory and a full function remote control. So not only is it portable, but you can be remote too. The mind boggles. On offer at a web price of $99.95 including the nice shiny…
Read MoreEQ200 Color Digital Quran – introducing the flexible Muslim pocket companion
The EQ200 Color Digital Quran is a multimedia device of many functions. Not only will it recite the Holy Quran (aka Koran) in super high quality audio and 15 languages, but it also provides prayer times, a digital voice recorder, clock, a Georgian and Hirji calendar, a slideshow of famous Islamic landmarks and prayer alarms. It ships with a USB cable, compass and handsfree earphones for perfect privacy. Prayer Times & Qibla Direction for World Cities with Adhan Alarm – Complete Tafseer…
Read MoreNabaztag transforms your rabbit into a bookworm
The quirky French Nabaztag WiFi rabbit, which has found a home in over a quarter of a million homes over the past 3 years, is about to team up with the folk at Ladybird (aka Penguin Books) to read books to children using clever RFID ‘Ztamp’ chips which are embedded in each book. The chip triggers the rabbit to recognise the title and read it aloud using the Nabaztag central server and your wireless network connection. The tech was actually launched last year…
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