The Prepara Power Plant Mini is a dirt free, hydroponics system which promises to deliver fast ‘abundant harvests’ of your favourite herbs and other flora. Now, we’re not going to carp here, but y’know a little brown pot and some compost has been known to work quite well in these circumstances too. Anyhoo, cleverer people than us will probably cough up the $39.95 for the unit and $9.95 for the nutrient refills with a happy smile as they reap their…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: November 2008
7 Piece Mobile Phone Tool Set – the gift for the geek who has everything
This 7 Piece Mobile Phone Tool Set has got to be the perfect present for the nerd in your life, if you get our drift. You’ve got panel openers, security ‘drivers, star tools – like they’re gonna be prodding and poking for literally weeks with this puppy. Little grins on their faces, dribble down the chin, pocket protector a wobbiln’. Who wouldn’t want that for their loved one, eh? £10.99 plus a free subscription to Tool User Monthly. Nah just kidding….
Read MoreLifemax Sneezer Beam – zap your hay fever with twin photon beams and some Dilythium crystals
The Lifemax Sneezer Beam promises to vaporize your nasty hay fever problems through the canny use of light. Simply stick the two frickin’ laser light beam rods into your nasal cavities and let the photons ‘inhibit the cells that release histamine’. Three minutes a day, three times a day should do it. Or your snuffles back. £39.95. Sneezer Beam is an amazing medical breakthrough in the way we treat the symptoms of rhinitis and hay fever. A medically approved device…
Read MoreSpacearium – suprise the cat with your own indoor fish mansion
The Spacearium is more like a structural artifact than an aquarium. We’re talking 78 gallons of water and an 8 foot length, suspended or hung in suitably chic locations for the enviousness of friends and neighbours. Of course there’s no telling how the poor fish feel about their trendy but sterile habitat, but since when did we worry about them eh? Priced at around $8400 and up. Tags: spacearium, aquarium, fish+house
Read MoreTreesize Free – excellent freeware helps you identify space hogs on your hard drive
Treesize Free is one of my favourite freeware programs, because it’s so darn useful. Every so often I pop it open and press scan to take a look at the files and folders that are hogging space on my hard drive. And I never cease to be amazed at the results. For instance yesterday I ran a quick scan and discovered that Joost is using a whopping 1 GB + of my drive for goodness knows what (caching?). And that…
Read MoreCanon 5D II DSLR – a real game changer?
I’ve just got to mention that this Canon 5D II DSLR really looks as though it’s going to be a game changer in the digital photography market. Not necessarily because of that 21 megapixel resolution, impressive as it is, but really because of the amazing 1080 HD video it’s capable of shooting. It’s the combination of low low light and the wide range of lens options, see? Amazing stuff. At this price point it really looks unbeatable right now. Keep…
Read MoreSeiko Digital Encyclopedia Britannica – 237 years later, out goes the leather, in comes burnished plastic
It’s hard to find a more poignant demonstration of the passing of an age than this product. The Seiko ER8000 Digital Encyclopedia Britannica contains 25,000 entries and 240,000 words taken from the original, leather bound knowledge icon, and to rub salt in the wound manages to cram in a 130,000 word spell-checker, the concise Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford Thesaurus and Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, a currency converter, calculator and crossword solver in a box the size of a glasses case. For £119.95….
Read MoreMusic Center with Horn – retro speaker option panders to our deepest old maid mode
Music Center with Horn. So here’s the thing. You can either switch on the working retro horn speaker option and bathe yourself in some real old fashioned scratch and growl, or admit defeat and activate the bass boost stereo speakers for that full on modern listening experience. There’s an old and painful joke about nostalgia not being what it used to be in there somewhere, but we’re not biting, OK? $199.98. It’s fully loaded – there’s a three-speed turntable,…
Read MorePandigital Kitchen Technology Center – the world at your sticky fingertips?
The Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center is a wireless Internet device with an integrated digital cookbook and recipe collection, which also does service as an HDTV and photo frame. Because, like, you know, people in kitchens have a lot of time to spare surfing, browsing photos and generally kicking back. The thing has 1 GB of internal memory, a 5 in 1 card reader, a 15.6 inch touchscreen and retails for an eye watering – and we’re not talking onions here, Martha – $449.99….
Read MoreSuper Bluetooth Hack – hack your way into someone else’s mobile phone via Bluetooth
Super Bluetooth Hack. There are a few reasons why I don’t keep Bluetooth permanently activated on my cell phone, and this type of program is one (battery life is another!). Although this is not strictly speaking a full hack (the first time you use it, the target phone has to grant access) once you’ve got permission you can run riot on the other handset at will (as long as you’re within Bluetooth range of course). Like browse contacts, make calls, read…
Read MoreTinyPaste – online permanent clipboard storage
TinyPaste is simple and effective way to store basic web text. Highlight the content, paste it into the box and you’ll receive a URL from where you can retrieve the info later. It’s one of those applications I guess you either love a lot – or you don’t. Privacy Statement Assume any data you post to this server will be publicly visible and remain forever. Copyright All trademarks and copyrights are owned by their respective owners. Pastes are owned by…
Read MoreBotanicalls Kit – find out when your plant needs watering via Twitter alerts to your mobile phone
The new Botanicalls Kit lets you get ‘water me’ alerts from your plants via Twitter alerts to your mobile phone. That’s right, you can now have a sort of weird 21st century digital conversation with your flora at all times of the day or night. OK, so it’s strictly one way chat, and it could be classed as nagging, but it’s a start right? $99.95. Botanicalls Kits let plants reach out for human help! They offer a connection to your leafy pal…
Read MoreHeated Insoles with built in batteries – feet warmers come with internal power plant
These Heated Insoles are the first in the world to come with built-in rechargeable batteries. Just plug ‘em in at the end of the day and they’re ready to go the next morning. Each charge will power the pads for up to 8 hours, and the units are clever enough to switch off if the temp rises above 44 degrees C. The lithium polymer batteries charge up in 2 hours, by the way, if you need a mid-day booster (up there…
Read MoreThruVision T5000 – concealed objects camera gets a distance upgrade
The ThruVision T5000 concealed objects camera can detect/uncover hidden objects on stationary or moving people from up to 25 metres away. This makes it a) a pretty powerful law enforcement tool b) a dangerous threat to privacy or c) a sign of the times. The good thing is that according to the blurb ‘no anatomical detail is revealed in the imaging process…’ which is a relief eh? Developed to address applications both indoors and outdoors and at greater camera-subject distances,…
Read MoreAllard AFS125 – the world’s first biofuel mini-refinery
The Allard AFS125 is the world’s first biofuel mini-refinery. What do we mean? Well it produces not just biodiesel, but also Ethanol, all in the single system. It’s all computer controlled (complete with WiFi networking capabilities) and because it also makes Ethanol you don’t need to go out and buy the stuff to make your vehicle friendly diesel. Which is definitely clever. It can produce up to 120 gallons of Ethanol a day and 450 gallons of biodiesel, which can be expanded…
Read More
