TinEye is a very cool search engine for images which makes it a snap to find similar or identical images around the web. Upload an image file or give the service a URL of an image and within seconds it will find similar or identical images. I have to say it’s one of the most impressive vertical search services I’ve seen in a long while, and despite the fact that it obviously has limitations with some images, it works surprisingly…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: October 2009
Doodle – the online decision making tool
Doodle is an online planning assistant which lets you gain consensus from a group of people quickly and easily. Use it to arrange a meeting or event time and location, or choose which movie to go to. All you do is set up the event or query, email the details to your friends and colleagues and let them vote on their favourite choice. It’s fast, easy and free (although there is a premium version). You can add attachments like a…
Read MoreFoldable Kitchen Scale – Super space efficient scales
These foldable kitchen scales are brilliant. They fold up into something the size of a spice jar, but open out to 22cm in diameter. Takes up to 3kg and is accurate to 1g. The display doubles as a digital clock and a timer and the whole things needs a pair of AAA batteries. �33.95. [Via OhGizmo!] Accurate and never in the way. Also perfect on boats, caravans and your holiday home. Or a practical letter scales for the office. Folded…
Read MoreQOOQ – Mastering the art of French cooking computers
The QOOQ (pronounced kook) is a kitchen computer that’s actually designed to withstand the rigours of being used in a kitchen. It’s a very stylish looking piece of kit that is part recipe book, part cooking show and part Filofax. QOOQ isn’t just a place for a bunch of recipes to live, it’s like a year at cooking school. There are complete meal preparation videos to show you the art of cooking, recipes, ingredient information and a magazine all built-in….
Read MoreScandiphone – retro handset brings back memories of cockroaches
The Scandiphone. As featured in Men in Black. In that kind of louche throw-away homage to all that was Nordic 1950’s style back in the day. When aliens weren’t involved. Yours, in a variety of trendy colours, for a pifling $49.95. Pass me a lemon soda Roger, and don’t forget the cat litter will you? A faithful reproduction of a 1950s European classic which forms part of New York’s Museum of Modern Art’s collection of design classics. Simply plug in…
Read MoreVaultz Locking Security Box – do we need a stash place for healthy living?
It just occurred to me for some reason, that what the world really needs is a secure, lockable box for candies and chocolate. Rather like this Vaultz Locking Security Box. Forget about setting the combination lock to protect your passport, cash or stocks and shares, what greater utility could there be than to prevent certain people – you know who you are – in your home from stealing secret quantities of tasteful tidbits. $19.99 is a tiny tiny price to pay to aid…
Read MoreBlueCLIP – Innovative Bluetooth Storage
The internet seems to hate Bluetooth headsets. Sure you look like a stockbroker, but they’re a great idea, except when you’re not using it and it’s still on your ear. Then you look like a spanner. BlueCLIP is here to help with their range of Bluetooth headset holders, designed to keep your headset close by but not in the way. The earpiece goes through the lanyard which is tightened to keep it secure. When the phone rings, just lift the…
Read MoreHair Coloring Brush – dye it while you dry it…
This Hair Coloring Brush promises to save you a fortune on hairdresser charges by letting you color your locks simply by running a brush through them. We’re kind of thinking that in the wrong hands this could be as dangerous as a toddler with a Tommy gun, but what do we know? It takes 2 AA batteries, no doubt to record your squeals of delight or something, and costs a very reasonable $24.99. Good luck with the pink streaks, Marge….
Read MoreStylizer – freeware CSS editor lets you craft gorgeous websites…maybe
Stylizer is a free CSS editor which is designed to let non-coder people wrestle the CSS of their site into shape using an on-screen menu system. The heart of the software lies in its real time preview which lets you manipulate and tweak the page right before your eyes, which makes the whole process of alignment and beauty much easier for the brain. There are a fair few freebie CSS editors around, but none as ambitious as this one, and there…
Read MoreConcert Vault – 3000 live music concerts available to all for free streaming
Concert Vault features over 3000 live concerts by some of the great and the good, recorded and re-mastered over the years by various people. It’s free to listen after registration, so of course there’s advertising all over the place, but that said, there’s some choice stuff on here. Makes a change from YouTube anyway and there are downloads available for a price too. Nice. How do you do it? We’ve transferred these aging, but well-preserved, tape archives to highest-quality digital…
Read MorePetMan – the world’s first sweating robot…yeew!
The folk at Boston Dynamics – they of BigDog fame – are at it again, this time with a 2 legged robot prototype called PetMan. It’s still spooky tech, only now it’s a biped in action, strolling around like it’s a Sunday morning in Manhattan [scary video]. For some strange reason the boffins have built the thing to test chemical clothing (hence the sweating stuff) rather than accomplish some worthy task, but we’ll wait and see how the thing eventually turns out…
Read MoreAutofetch Motion Pet Ball – Perpetual motion machine
This Autofetch Motion Pet Ball is a powered dog toy that rolls around on its own. You can stash a couple of doggy treats in it as well which will eventually fall out for the dog’s reward. The 13cm ball is powered by a couple of AAA batteries and will roll and lurch around on it’s own hopefully with Pooch chasing along behind. If it isn’t bumped or moved for 60 seconds it will turn off and it’s water resistant…
Read MoreUSB Tape Express – the dumb proof cassette tape to digital converter
The Ion Tape Express claims to make it Dummies Guide easy to transfer your golden oldie retro tape sounds from deteriorating cassettes to shiny perfect digital format. Of course we know there’s a lot more to it than just moving sounds from A to B. There’s the mood of it, the atmosphere, the need to put on those flares and stacked heels just one more time. Anyhoo, for some strange reason this beast is portable, so take it round to…
Read MoreMigraine Magic Plus – head massager induces relaxation and surgically removes tax bills from your consciousness
This Migraine Magic Plus features nine massaging modes and a bunch of magnets which will apparently relieve tension and discomfort from head pain. The product name implies migraine relief, doesn’t it, but that’s something I suspect which may depend on the severity of your attack. I’ve known sufferers for whom only a head transplant would do. $34.90. Relieve the discomfort brought on by tension headaches, eye strain, sinus pressure, and more. Massaging eye mask has flexible “fingers,” each embedded with a…
Read MoreLivebrush Lite – freeware makes for cool innovative drawing tool
Livebrush Lite is a very clever Adobe Air freeware program which offers a new twist on the old painting/drawing theme. It works by adding in random ‘motion’ effects to your line strokes, which makes for some exotic and interesting results. Play around with it for a few moments and you can get some really lovely images laid down (although I still haven’t worked out how to get it to output colour). Nice bit of programming, David. The Pro version ($10) offers more…
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