How to do Everything in Google Buzz (including turn it off). Typically valuable article from Gina Trapani on the new wunderkind from the big G. Buzz is predictably getting some buzz, and this piece helps to put it all into a bit of context. Will the service be useful? Time tells all, dear reader. Right now I think it has more instant appeal than Google Wave, but who knows in the long term? I see Buzz being useful for more personal, direct…
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18 Wheels of Steel: American Long Haul – fun big truck game
Not freeware, but this 18 Wheels of Steel: American Long Haul game sure seems like fun. You own and drive your own big rig, hauling stuff around the country, trying to build your business and presumably stay one step ahead of chronic heartburn from roadside diner food. I played the demo and it’s fun. Could do with some better sound effects though. If you want the full experience, cough up $19.99. Build your empire one rig at a time to…
Read MoreRobin Hood Tax on Banks – a Bill Nighy campaign
Richard Curtis and Bill Nighy team up to produce a video for a proposed Robin Hood Tax which would levy a 0.05% tax on all speculative bank transactions, proceeds to go towards socially benevolent programs around the world. Great video (shame the Guardian decided to stick adverts on the front though, especially when the first ad I saw was for American Express! Arf!) The powerful new coalition of domestic and overseas charities, unions and church groups argue that a Robin…
Read MoreDog e Minder – the perfect pet assistant?
This Dog e Minder looks like something dreamed up by a dog challenged marketing type with chronic amnesia. Attach it to your pooch’s collar and use it as a roving pet memo by entering in the time you last fed, walked or drugged up your dog. Other members of the family can then avoid over-dosing the poor wee thing by checking the display. Weird gadget (how many dogs are on medication then?) $19.95 (currently on a 2 for 1 special offer). The simple, three-button design is…
Read MoreWacom Bamboo Touch trackpad – add some multi-touch glamour to any computer
The new Wacom Bamboo Touch trackpad hooks into any USB port to turn your computer into a multitouch marvel. Amaze your friends as you rotate and zoom those images with some two finger twirls. Astound strangers by adding funky shortcut commands to any of the four ‘ExpressKeys’. Double tap your way to fame and fortune for just $69.00 and a few suitable gestures. Bamboo Touch lets you add Multi-Touch input to any computer. Navigate, scroll, and accomplish all your tasks using…
Read MoreLavod Bikeman Waterproof Speaker Radio Lamp – the ultimate 2 wheeler accessory
Kudos to these guys eh, let’s hear it for the massively ambitious Lavod Bikeman Waterproof MP3 Speaker Radio Lamp. Not only does it deliver full FM radio tunes to your ear while you’re huff pedalling your uber bicycle, but also doubles up as an LED lamp to light your way. But whoa cowboy, you can even hook up your fave MP3 player to the speaker and grab 15 hours of loudness from the rechargeable battery. You’re impressed, right? At least until the $139.00 check…
Read MoreVitamin D – free webcam security software promises more accuracy, fewer wrongful arrests
The new Vitamin D security webcam software comes with ‘smart video’, which translates into motion sensing technology that can tell the difference between a cat and a burglar. Sounds good. There’s also a bunch of other features designed to make it simple to keep tabs on your mansion while you’re away, and the best bit is it comes in a free version (for 1 camera) as well as commercial ($49.00). Eat that villainous persons. [Via CrunchGear] Motion detection can be…
Read MoreCabin Upgrade – Recycled shipping containers go to (Boy Scout) camp
Shipping containers have joined the growing lists of things getting a second life these days. Noted Santa Monica, California architectural firm Gensler and Richard Hammond have donated a slew of old shipping containers to the Emerald Bay Boy Scout camp (on Catalina Island off southern California’s coast). These newly styled cabins are made of recycled lumber, durable rubber flooring, LED lighting, solar photovoltaics and LED lighting. Their roofs have a stretched material made of silicone-coated fiberglass, These eco-cabins were created…
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The Amfibus Bus – floats like a butterfly, swims like a…
Gotta love this new Amfibus floating bus. Dutch built, being trialed in Scotland to replace an expensive ferry service. BBC report. Sounds like a good idea if you’ve got £700,000 hanging around to spare. The thing can carry 45 passengers and when in the water is powered by two jets. Kind of like a huge jet-ski we guess. Who said tech wasn’t fun? Watch the cool video (life rafts under the seats? Awesome). Tags: boat, bus, transport, amfibus, amphibious+bus
Read MoreUrbanears – Colourful sounding headphones
Urbanears make a range colour-centric headphones and earphones. There are three different designs of headphones, the Plattan, Tanto and Medis (in-ear) and they all come in one of 14 different solid colours. The headphones are optimised to work with music-playing phones and so they’ve got an integrated microphone and remote button in the cable. The Plattan also has a Zound plug which allows a friend to plug into your headphones to listen along and they all have cloth-bound cables. US$60…
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Warning: Your Cell Phone May be Hazardous to Your Health
Warning: Your Cell Phone May be Hazardous to Your Health. Read this very long GQ article all the way through. Then read my Times article – The Hidden Menace of Radiation – from 2001. Interesting. Money, money, money… Ever worry that that gadget you spend hours holding next to your head might be damaging your brain? Well, the evidence is starting to pour in, and it’s not pretty. So why isn’t anyone in America doing anything about it? Tags: warning+your+cell+phone+may+be+hazardous,…
Read MoreFalling Bookend – Run you fool
This Falling Bookend may start a conversation or two. Supports a bunch of books at a crazy angle and puts the small metal gentleman’s life in perpetual danger. Lots of lolz. �22.50 from here. Metal bookend that supports your books at an angle and incorporates them into a dramatic situation on your bookshelf. Tags: book+gadget, falling+bookend, bookend
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5 Free Online Email to Fax Services – staying connected retro style
For some reason there are still companies and government agencies which require/need fax communications. What to do? Here’s a list of Five Free Online Email to Fax Services to help out. You’ll have to put up with advertising, but hey…horses, gift, mouth. Bookmark! The following three services are about as simple as they can get. Without any registration of any kind, you can simply visit the website, upload the file that you want to fax, type in the fax number and…
Read MoreOregon Scientific Magic Weather Forecaster – svelte and stylish, but it’s still cold outside, Jack
This Oregon Scientific Magic Weather Forecaster is actually a tiny nano-powered robot that wakes every morning, shuffles up to the front door, opens it and takes a look outside to suss the weather situation. It then returns to your snoozing body in bed, makes you a cup of tea, delivers the morning paper and tells you to put on your snow-shoes. Now *that’s* magic. £129.99. The magic weather station from Oregon Scientific, where the weather icons are built into see…
Read MoreDr Timmy’s Micro Hand-Crank LED Torch – keychain flavoured lighting
Dr Timmy’s Micro Hand-Crank LED Torch is unquestionably a thing of wonder. Small, useful, everlastingly delicious and probably very hard work. But let’s not get cranky, eh? Geddit? $4.99. A steampunktastic flashlight that runs for as long as you’re alive to crank it * Small silver & black flashlight fastens to your keyring or the rivets on your costume * Eat food, get energy, use energy to crank the torch, receive light! * Essential for night time safety to…
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