Monthly Archives: February 2009

Gadgets February 19, 2009 posted by

i-gotU GT-120 USB GPS Travel Logger – the name says it all

The i-gotU GT-120 is a GPS logger for busy travellers who don’t have GPS-tagging cameras or phones but want to know where they’ve been. Simply leave the logger switched on and stash it somewhere about your person and it will record where you’ve been and when you were there. Just make sure your camera has the right time set. When you get home, plug it into a USB slot, fire up the included software and slurp all your GPS data…

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i-gotU GT-120 USB GPS Travel Logger – the name says it all
Fun & Games February 19, 2009 posted by

Soy Doh – as in d’oh! Why didn’t I think of that!

Play Doh has been a staple of children’s playtime for years. Able to be squished into any shape and fun for hours, it’s also non-toxic and safe to eat should any “accidental” tastings happen. Non-toxic, unless you’re one of the many children with an allergy to wheat or gluten. Soy Doh is a wheat-free version of Play Doh discovered by a group of university students trying to brew wheat-free beer using soy flour. Just like the original Soy-Doh is fun,…

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Soy Doh – as in d’oh! Why didn’t I think of that!
Gadgets February 19, 2009 posted by

Epoch Clock – the ultimate annoyingly enigmatic timepiece

Nothing says superiority like a timepiece that no-one else can read. Which makes this Epoch Clock the king and queen of time telling implements. Not only will you fail to read it in Hex, but also in Octal, Binary and if you’re particularly ill educated in Roman. How much more pleasure can one human body take? Impress your friends when they also find they can’t tell the time. Be late for important events. Lose the respect of your cat. All…

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Gadgets February 19, 2009 posted by

Compact Flash to SATA Adapter – turn your CF card into an external or internal hard disk

This Compact Flash to SATA Adapter gives you the power to add a flash memory card as a hard drive to your PC. Why would you want to do that? Well maybe you’re just contrary and fancy a change? Maybe you’re building a teeny tiny PC which doesn’t have the space to fit in a hulking big 1.8 inch drive. Or maybe you just like tinkering. Anyhoo, you can boot the machine with it, and no drivers are required, so…

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Gadgets February 19, 2009 posted by

iFlyer BirdSong Scanning Wand – learn bird calls, one barcode at a time

The iFlyer BirdSong Scanning Wand is a barcode reader which happens to play back bird calls when activated,  rather than count up packs of cornflakes. It comes with a stack of over 200 birdsong barcodes, and you can add the barcode labels to bird books to attach songs to creatures. Aww…$99.95.  Identify birds by their calls whether you’re at home or on a bird-watching expedition. This wand includes barcode labels for 206 bird songs and 10 frog calls. Simply wave…

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Bookmark This! February 19, 2009 posted by

Prezi – cool online presentation application with zooming

Prezi is a new online presentation tool which does away with the boring PowerPoint motif and introduces a fresh, new way to create and use slides. It’s claim to fame revolves around the fact that you can zoom in and out of your presentation area at will, thus making your delivery less linear and more engrossing. At least that’s what I assume. In practice what some people would call an innovative interface, I just found to be cumbersome and a…

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Bookmark This! February 19, 2009 posted by

Process Library – find out what your Windows computer is up to

Process Library is a very cool online database of Windows processes and their importance. Anyone who’s ever suffered from a ‘rundll’ error or something similar (and who hasn’t?) should bookmark this immediately. It’s also useful for finding out whether you’ve been hacked, if you get weird error messages and the like. There’s also a very cool Windows Task Manager freeware plugin called ProcessQuickLink which turns Task Manager into a much more useful tool to discover what processes from which applications…

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Bookmark This! February 19, 2009 posted by

Group Office – open source collaboration software makes colleagues your friends

Group Office is an open source collaboration package which gives you shared calendars, a customer management module, email, file sharing and a water cooler. Nah, just kidding about the water cooler. Think of it as a project management thing instead. It’s got a nice clean interface, comes with cool Ajaxy bits and all in all looks like it could be pretty useful for the small business user. The fully supported version costs from €10 per month per user, but there’s a DIY open…

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Gadgets February 18, 2009 posted by

Electric Banana Eraser – remove fruit from your mind and think pencils instead

The Electric Banana Eraser is clearly the product of someone who needs help with their view of reality. A vibrating electric pencil eraser shaped like a piece of tropical fruit? At what point in the marketing discussion did someone say, ‘great idea, Jack!’? $6.50.  How many times have you found yourself rubbing away with your old eraser thinking, “This is boring!” — now even erasing can be fun with this wacky electric banana eraser that rubs out pencil faster than…

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Gadgets February 18, 2009 posted by

PowerDock Multiple iPhone/iPod Charger – for all your greedy little gadget needs

This PowerDock Multiple iPhone/iPod Charger says to us one thing. Dude, if you need a multi-socket charger for four devices like this, then you’ve probably got too many gadgets for your health and well-being. Like four is just greedy innit? Tsk. From $39.99.  If you’re anything like us you already own a gaggle of various iPod models and an iPhone or two. Charging all of these devices can mean a rats nest of cables. Enter the PowerDock… a charging base where every…

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cool tech February 18, 2009 posted by

AM200 DIY eBook – build your own e-Ink book reader and improve your mind

Kindle 2? Pah! Real men build their own electronic book reader with a DIY e-Ink AM200 Electronic Book Reader Kit. Sure it’s a bit rough around the edges, and at around $3000 for a 6” screen model, a tad pricey, but hey, geek cred costs, right?  The above photo shows a simple prototype e-reader application that was assembled from the components included in the prototype kit, packaged in a two-piece acrylic case. This prototype weighs under 150 grams (about the…

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cool tech February 18, 2009 posted by

Coral 200 Solar Powered Mobile Phone – the eco phone for the eco crowd

The Coral 200 Solar Powered Mobile Phone is being marketed as the world’s first low cost solar powered handset, which is great if only we knew what low cost means. It’s being built in China by ZTE Corporation, and apparently will provide a day’s worth of GSM/GPRS (no 3G note) calls from a single hour of sunlight. From the blurb it looks as though the makers are hoping to sell the units in the developing markets, so let’s hope low cost translates into low…

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Bookmark This! February 18, 2009 posted by

Bosco’s Screen Share – free computer screen sharing for all

Bosco’s Screen Share is a free cross platform screen sharing program which lets you access remote computer screens on your own computer. It’s been designed to take the hassle out of VPN setups, which will be happy news to anyone who’s ever tussled with setting up a network using one of the common tools like OpenVPN. Mac and PC supported and definitely one for the bookmark bucket.  Introducing Bosco’s Screen Share! It has never been easier to show your friend exactly what is happening on your computer. You…

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Gadgets February 17, 2009 posted by

Watts Up .NET – save money big time with this combi power meter and web server

Watts Up .NET is a power consumption meter that uses an internal web server to let you remotely track the consumption of your electrical devices using any remote web browser. We’re not talking a simple data set here either, this puppy will measure wattage, average monthly costs, volt hours and a bunch of other stats which should keep you busy calculating for a good while. Check out these Amazon reviews to get an idea of how useful a money saver this…

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Gadgets February 17, 2009 posted by

Talking Calculator with Earbuds – get your geek on, math dude

Talking Calculator with Earbuds. Consider this dear reader. Right now, at this very moment somewhere in the world, there is a person sitting with a pair of earphones on listening to their calculator. Sure it may sound fine, but actually, deep down, when you really really think about it? It’s just a tiny bit scary. $29.98.  Reads aloud all digits, functions and calculations entered. 10-digit readout on the large LCD screen. Plus, current time is announced at a touch of a button. Use…

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