The Eton FR500 Solarlink Emergency Radio comes with a passel of features you’d better pray you never need. Like a siren. I mean, who would want to have to use one of those? It also clearly functions as a radio, has a hand crank, solar power cells and a flashing beacon thing, and can charge up mobile phones and stuff. We just like it because it looks cool. We’re shallow. Priced at around $80.00. When your outdoor adventures take you off the…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: November 2008
USB Digital Endoscope – see the places your hands can’t reach
This USB Digital Endoscope is quite possibly the single most boring looking thing we’ve ever featured, but I have a feeling it could be one of the most useful. How many times have you wished you had a camera and light to shine into inaccessible places? Areas like the back of the mouth, under a motherboard, down a thin pipe? Well this puppy, with it’s 2 foot long wand and 32 inch cable, could be the answer to your prayers….
Read MoreKaraoke Audio Interface Kit – make like a banshee on your own time and dime
Embed this Karaoke Audio Interface Kit in your hi-fi rig and turn it into a full blown Karaoke system, complete with built-in vocal reduction circuitry and a microphone port. Yesterday…all your troubles seemed so far away…$14.95. Get in tune with this simple yet full featured Karaoke “machine”! Just hook it between your CD player, MP3 player, or any other line level source and your amplifier, and get ready to sing! Built-in vocal reduction circuit lowers the vocal tracks of most recordings automatically! That means…
Read MoreHD Clone – the universal cloning tool
HD Clone is a free hard disk cloning program which will let you create and store an image of your disk in case of problems or failure. This sort of tool is uber useful for migrating your data to a new hard disk, or for restoring your stuff if your hard disk crashes and burns. I use True Image because I’ve had it for a long while and I trust it, but free is a hard price to beat (although…
Read MorePC Fixer – free Windows system fixer utility offers some useful tools
PC Fixer is a free Windows diagnostic and repair tool which does a pretty thorough job of scanning and recommending. It’s a small download, but be aware that it won’t run without an Internet connection (probably due to the need to serve adverts while it’s running) which means it’s useless for fixing serious Internet or wireless networking problems. Nevertheless it offers enough value to warrant getting a cautious thumbs up from me. There’s a useful registry cleaner included as well as…
Read MoreInfra Red Hairbrush – hot hair and massage, sir?
Infra Red Hairbrush. I’m not sure where the idea for hot hair comes from, but it’s not something I can see myself enjoying. The massage bit might be a gas, but anything other than a cool scalp strikes me as being unnatural. Not to mention possibly a bit dangerous. Anyway what do I know? Zip, that’s what. £12.95. If you love head massages, here’s a way to enjoy them whilst stimulating hair and a healthy scalp. This battery operated…
Read MoreDragon V2 Bluetooth Headset – big and blousy, but ever so versatile
The Dragon V2 Bluetooth Headset is big and clunky maybe, but it comes with a claimed 100 metre range, which is humungous for a Bluetooth headset. Not only that but it sports a two-way walkie talkie mode so they can be used without call charges between friends, family and colleagues. And did we mention noise cancellation and Skype call compatibility? $99.95 and available in black chrome, titanium or carbon fiber finish. Talk on your mobile phone without wires using the…
Read MoreCountact Digital Lens Case – eye eye, cap’n
The Countact Digital Contact Lens Case is designed to help forgetful people…er…what was it again? Oh yeah, help forgetful people to remember their replaceable contact lens regime. Set the timer, press the button each time you pop your plastic eyes in, and the counter will do the rest. Hopefully. £21.98. Countact Lens Cases feature an electronic counter designed to keep track of contact lens usage. The counter can be set to 14 or 30 days. Upon pressing the ‘count’ button…
Read MoreGPS Mission – the world is your playground
GPS Mission is a real live satellite navigation game played in real time, in the real world using nothing more than your GPS enabled mobile phone and a sense of adventure. Sign up, choose your mission and set off to find the treasure, following the coordinates you’re given on the map. You can even make your own missions and earn gold. It’s available for the Symbian and Windows Mobile platform (iPhone coming apparently), which covers a fair number of handsets….
Read MoreChatterbox DVD – digital cartoon characters get some prime time face to face
Chatterbox DVD. Take one green screen booth, throw in a hidden live motion capture operator, add in some swish special effects and you’ve got a new amusement facility which aims to offer a unique experience for young and old alike. The idea is for the operator to make the virtual characters interact in real time with the visitors, who can then take away a DVD of the virtual encounter to enjoy at home. The digital characters look a little cheesy…
Read MoreSteampunk Phone – dial, redial, pause, mute
They call it ‘antique style’, we call it a Steampunk Phone. Who’s right? Who cares? What we will argue about is whether you can say something is ‘collectible’ when it’s just a lump of reformed plastic costing less than a McDonald’s Happy Meal for two. Only time will tell. Meanwhile we’ll leave you with some soothing music. £12.71. Antique Style collectible style corded telephone is your best decoration on your desk top. Not a real antique, but special design and perfect performance…
Read MoreExtech i5 IR Camera – detect hidden universes, seek out new lifeforms and more…
The Extech i5 IR Camera is designed to find hidden problems in places where mere visual inspection is simply not enough. We’re talking literal hot-spots here. A 2.8 inch screen, microSD memory storage slot and a Li-Ion rechargeable battery. Just point and press and you’ll get a small thermal image of your target for your pleasure and profit. We guess it’ll also show the cool emptiness of your wallet once you’ve shelled out $2,995.00. Detect hidden problems, make quick damage assessments, check…
Read MoreEar Cleaner – suction that guck out of your cavities
Billed as the ‘safer, gentler’ way to remove wax, this Ear Cleaner is basically a vacuum cleaner for your lugholes. Insert, switch on and let the gentle sucking sound reassure you that all is well. We suggest you turn down the power a little should you notice traces of grey matter on the ‘soft silicone tip’. Just in case you understand. £9.95. The safer, gentler way to remove earwax. Cleaning ears with cotton buds is unhygienic and dangerous. They…
Read MoreTemptation Blocker – superb software helps control our sad computer addiction
Temptation Blocker is a freeware program that helps you kick the habit. You know, the procrastinating, time-wasting, life sapping computer addiction you pretend you haven’t got. Hah, don’t try and deny it, what are you doing reading this drivel for if you’re not totally hooked eh? Eh? Answer that if you can. Pathetic. Anyhoo, it’s a simple set up, just tick the programs you want to block out of your life – browsers, email, instant messaging, net phone, you get the…
Read MoreStash My Mail – quick and easy bulk archiving of your webmail messages
Stash My Mail is a new service which provides a quick and easy way to backup your webmail messages. Ah, you may say, but I can do that just by using POP3 and my desktop client. And you’re right. But this service is designed for downloading all your messages in one handy zip file, which is not so easy to do otherwise. It’s a pretty cool way of grabbing your messages so you can migrate from one email service…
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