September 2008 - Page 8 of 9 - The Red Ferret JournalThe Red Ferret Journal

Free Software September 4, 2008 posted by Nigel

TubeTilla – clever little YouTube downloader and converter

TubeTilla gets our prize for the most twee product name of the week, but because it’s freeware, we’re going to forgive and forget. We’re nice like that. The software lets you download YouTube videos, so ho-hum eh? But the cool bit is the conversion on the fly to audio or different video formats for replay on different devices. Just select the video you want to download, and click on the relevant Save button and that’s it. All very clever, and…

Mobile Tech September 4, 2008 posted by Nigel

AwareSpot – get useful text message alerts direct to your mobile phone

AwareSpot is a new service that sends ‘relevant’ SMS alerts to your phone when something important occurs in your area. Like a traffic jam, or a community event. It’s not totally clear, but it seems that alerts and subscriber lists can be created and managed either by public bodies (such as city councils etc) or individuals. Once the alert list is created, the service can be used to distribute fast, direct messages to people’s mobile phones. If they don’t have…

Gadgets September 3, 2008 posted by Dan

TechForward – future proof your gadget’s value

As we all know, every high-tech piece of equipment you buy will decrease in value as it gets further out of date. Well TechForward reckon that one person’s used gadget is another person’s treasure and they’re doing something about it. When you purchase your new gadget (MP3 player, notebook, TV, GPS etc) you can sign up with them for a small fee. This will guarantee you a buyback price if you sell your technology back to them within an agreed…

Cool Web Apps & Sites September 3, 2008 posted by Dan

YoYo Games – an online game making community

Nigel first blogged about Game Maker , the free game designing software, way back in 2003. Well a lot has happened in 5 years. The Gamemaker engine is now up to version 7 and they’ve made a lot of improvements. Using Game Maker you can now create platform games, first person shooters, third person shooters, massive multiplayer online games and construction/management games like Sim City. The games you can make have also improved allowing you to add 3D models as…

Gadgets September 3, 2008 posted by Nigel

Ion Pet Brush – zap your pets as you groom them

The Ion Pet Brush is guaranteed to groom your pet perfect or your Zyonic technology back. Yep, a good ole dose of ultrasound and ‘natural cleaning ions’ is just the thing to make Rover shine. Don’t take any notice of that wild eyed glassy stare as you approach, that’s gratitude you’re seeing there. Honest. £29.95. Just 5 minutes’ brushing a day with this ion brush is all you’ll need to achieve a shiny clean coat, free of fluff and knots….

Awesome September 3, 2008 posted by Nigel

Weather Watcher – turn your computer into a superb weather station

If you’re into weather, then you’re going to love love love Weather Watcher. We’re talking a beautifully arranged and fully featured Windows freeware application which delivers everything you’ll need for tracking your weather forecasts of choice (apart from 100% certainty of course). The main feature is the at a glance city forecast which covers all the important bits in a great interface. You can track by hour or via the 9 day tab, along with a barometer and wind tracker….

Mobile Tech September 3, 2008 posted by Nigel

Thumbkey – the touchscreen keyboard for your mobile phone

They’re marketing Thumbkey as the ‘ultimate’ keyboard for touchscreen PDAs and mobile phones which may be a little strong, but from the specs and video it does look impressive. The secret sauce seems to lie in a combination of predictive text, proximity sensing and a robust word recognition dictionary. I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet, but it looks like a good contender to replace those static touchscreen keypads we all know and love. Ahem. Limited to…

cool tech September 2, 2008 posted by Dan

Edison – a bright idea for PC power management

Edison is a power management program that works with the tools in Windows to schedule the power needs of your PC. You can set up different schedules for the PC depending on whether it’s being used or it’s idle and Edison will look after all the normal tricks of switching off the display and hard drive, or suspending the PC all together. There’s also savings calculator that estimates how much CO2 and money you’ve saved. The makers claim that on…

Fun & Games September 2, 2008 posted by Dan

Most Common English Words

I spend most of my working day punching words into a silly computer and that’s before I get home and do the same until the wee hours for Red Ferret. Sometimes I have to sit back, smell the flowers and take a break with something like this: The 100 Most Common English Words, a five minute online game. Improves your typing speed too. More quizzes here, especially if you’re into geography (including English counties), Dr Who or just a web…

Gadgets September 2, 2008 posted by Nigel

SmartDisk FireLite Xpress 120 – external disk storage with a view

The SmartDisk FireLite Xpress 120 GB is an external hard disk with a difference. Yep it’s grey. No wait, of course it’s the LCD screen that’s new and bigger. The 3 inch LCD lets you read the disk free space, and enter in simple user text to keep tabs on your stored content. It’s USB 2.0, works on Mac and PC and costs $74.89. * Use this SmartDisk FireLite XPress USBFLX120 portable hard drive to quickly and easily locate files,…

future tech September 2, 2008 posted by Nigel

Introducing the hybrid Ford Pickup – America’s finest truck gets a modern makeover…ish…

The folks at HEVT (Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technologies) have come up with a retro fit hybrid kit that will apparently convert America’s most popular hog hauler from a 16mpg gas guzzler to a 41mpg beauty. Or something. So we’re not going to say anything about the fact that 41mpg is not going to make even a teeny dent in the energy issue, because that would be churlish, would it not? Oh and the price looks to be around $60,000, which…

hmm..interesting September 2, 2008 posted by Nigel

Flight Memory – track your life aloft

Flight Memory is an interesting little online service that lets you track your air travel in probably more detail than you’d like to remember, especially if you’re a member of the global warming cadre. You can store time in the air, distances, aircraft and of course destinations. Premium members can also rate the airlines, aircraft, airports and routes they travel, which makes it quite a useful resource. The German bias of the site is however evident in the fact that…

Fun & Games September 1, 2008 posted by Dan

The Mythbusters go Renaissance

If you’ve ever had to explain the difference between serial and parallel processing to anyone, just show them this video about the difference between CPU and GPU processing from the Mythbusters. That paintball gun that must have taken hours to load! Tags: cpu+vs+gpu, mythbusters+live, video

Gadgets September 1, 2008 posted by Dan

The Go Pro Mobile Office – productivity is rolling out the door

If you spend too much time in the office and not enough time in the field, then you might need one of these Go Pro Mobile Office stations. Designed to sit on the passenger seat of a car, the Mobile Office is completely contained within a wheeled, polycarbonate case. A strap holds the lid of the suitcase open while it’s in the car and a telescopic handle makes it easy to bring the case with you should the need arise…

Gadgets September 1, 2008 posted by Nigel

KATA Multimedia Backpack – the ultimate geek out carry-all…

There’s a school of thought that says if you need to carry this much gadgetry around with you, then you need a bigger home or a better psychoanalyst, but we couldn’t possibly comment. Anyhoo, this KATA Multimedia Backpack will quite happily coddle your laptop, music player, camcorder, digital camera, batteries, calculators, PDAs, rechargeable sunglasses and automat drinks dispenser and still have room left over for your Star Wars Cafe Club membership card. Woo-hoo! Â£94.50. Perfectly organized and more versatile than…

Monthly Archives: September 2008