The Bureau of Communication offers a vital service for the tongue tied everywhere by supplying free downloadable forms which you can use to deliver messages to friends, family and colleagues. Heck even to strangers if you like. Need to apologise for something but don’t know how? Want to let someone at work know you would like a date? Congratulations, thanks…? You get the picture. Brilliant idea, used one this morning to say sorry to the cat. Everyday, there are millions of…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: October 2009
Remote Control Golf Ball – Not quite what you think
This Remote Control Golf Ball won’t survive a hit with a driver so it won’t help you land on the green from the tee on a par 5 unfortunately. Pressing the remote control button will cause the ball to spin and roll around in all sorts of directions leaving the hapless owner gob-smacked. That is until they recover their senses and beat it, or you, into submission, and then where will you be? Also comes with a charging station. �9.99…
Read MoreAudi R4 – The e-tron becomes real
It turns out that Audi haven’t just been sitting around waiting for the hydrogen economy, they’ve been working on electric sports cars. This is the Audio R4, based on the e-tron concept they showed off at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this year. The R4 range will sit between the TT and R8 models in the Audi sports car pecking order with the electric R4 the top-of-the line model in the R4 lineup. Petrol versions will feature further down the…
Read MoreJotti’s malware scan – one online virus scanner to rule them all
Here at the Ferret we don’t like malware. But scanning for it can be a mite tedious when you’re just about to get stuck into testing the latest greatest free application and you realise your virus definitions are out of date. That’s why we’ve reviewed several free online virus scanners in the past. But if you’re a bit more paranoid you probably wouldn’t trust the results of just one virus scanner, which is when Jotti’s malware scan would come in…
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Digital Harinezumi – Super 8 meets VGA
The Digital Harinezumi is a faux Super 8 digital video camera shaped like a 110 film canister. At its heart is a 2 Megapixel CMOS sensor that will capture both 1600×1200 stills and VGA quality movies and record them onto a microSD card. Because it’s emulating Super 8 the camera has built-in filters which produce the same saturated, vignetted effect of Super 8 and it even has the same juddering motion produced by the film gate. For real authenticity the…
Read MoreTrueView Digital Photo Frame – Somewhere to put those 64MB memory cards
There’s a truism that says when people were first designing mechanical transport, they didn’t start with a mechanical horse (until BigDog). The TruView Digital Photo Frame takes this same kind of digital realisation of old ideas, possibly one step too far. The whole thing is shaped like a real, made-from-dead-trees, photo album. The righthand side Recto is an 8″ LCD photo frame with integrated memory card slots, a USB slot, and other bits and pieces. The lefthand side Verso is…
Read MoreU Board – Hands on review
I have had a love/hate relationship with my Wacom graphics tablet for years. I prefer to use it for everyday computing over a mouse, but since there isn’t enough room on a desk to use the tablet and a keyboard comfortably I’m forever switching between the two. When I first spotted the U Board a few weeks ago, the picture that hit me between the eyes was the one with the Wacom tablet sitting on it. This might be the…
Read Moretintii – Selective colour highlighting tool without Photoshop
Sometimes photos just look better in black and white than in colour. Sometimes, they look even better when you selectively highlight a point of colour in the photo but to do this you usually need to be fairly confident using Photoshop or other image editing software. tintii is a free, tiny application for doing simple colour highlighting without much fuss. You simply open the photo in tintii and it preselects the base colours (reds, greens, blues) in your image and…
Read MoreXShot iPhone Case – Adapts and protects
XShot, the camera-on-the-pole people have released the XShot iPhone Case, a hard plastic case with an integrated 1/4″ thread tripod adapter. They have a vested interest of course so you can put your iPhone on the end of their XShot pole but it will work with any tripod. Attach it to a mini-tripod for self portraits or a full sized one to go out and grab some autumnal colour. They’ll be available for sale in November for US$29.95, but if…
Read MoreXV-S Photo Alarm Clock – Alarm clock makeover
The Hannspree XV-S Photo Alarm Clock gives your tired alarm clock a facelift. The alarm clock is a 4.3″ LCD screen that will display any of the stored photos including seven animated holiday themes as well as an analog or digital clock or even the calendar. It has an FM radio but if that’s not your thing then the clock can also play your choice of .wav or mp3 files that are loaded into the clock via the USB port….
Read MoreFerret posts this week
Here’s a quick round-up of Red Ferret posts from the past week for those who missed them. Enjoy. Ecotronic Eco Phone – Battery-free kinetic powered kids’ toys – Seems that every time you turn… Poem Cup and Saucer – make your tea-break work for you – Once upon a time there was such a… Wireless Car Bluetooth FM Transmitter – There’s a lot of technology in… Precor EFX Range – Self-powered elliptical machines – Anyone who’s ever worked out in…
Read MoreBergmoench Backpack Bike – For hiking and biking
The Bergm�nch Backpack Bike lets you hike up the hill carrying your bike, easily. The lightweight bike folds up into the integrated backpack allowing you to get up the hill the shortest way while the backpack has plenty of space for your bits and pieces. The bike is no slouch either, with a hand built aluminium frame, adjustable shocks on the front fork and Shimano SLX disc brakes, all for a combined weight of 9kg. Oh and there’s no seat…
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Green Laser Projector – Turn your loungeroom in a raveroom
Fancy a Green Laser Projector for your lounge? Well this one is sound activated and will project onto a surface up to 50m�, a distance of 20 metres away. It has a range of patterns and will vary them in relation to the music and a universal mount so you can hang it anywhere. The best bit is it’s only around US$53. Let the music make the green laser dance. Built with and internal micro-stepping motor scanner with extra wide…
Read MoreNokia Booklet 3G – Upsetting the apple cart
Irony: n. an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected. Computer and software maker Apple has been leaving its mark all over the smartphone market for the last couple of years. And rightly so having delivered what was possibly the most sorely needed function to smartphones – usability. Now smartphone company Nokia is dipping its toes back into computers with the Nokia Booklet 3G mini-notebook. Hopefully with Nokia’s strengths they can provide the two most…
Read MoreDIY LED Garden Lights – Recession friendly garden aesthetics
Got a garden party coming up but no pretty garden lighting to set it off? Run out of “buy-garden-lighting” funds in the post-GFC world? Why not DIY with some cheap and nifty LED garden lights using single LEDs, lithium cell batteries and glass jars, devised by the folks at EvilMadScientist. While I wouldn’t advocate mass battery usage, and therefore potential wastage, in the name of permanent garden lighting, it’s a nice idea for a temporary solution. Some assembly required. For…
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