So the folk at ASCAP (the US society of composer, authors and publishers) are currently soliciting funds to combat those naughty people at Creative Commons, the Electronic Freedom Foundation and other supporters of the free culture movement. Seems like they don’t like the idea of creative people having a number of copyright licenses to choose from, especially ones which encourage free content distribution. “At this moment,” the letter says, “we are facing our biggest challenge ever. Many forces including Creative Commons, Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: June 2010
GrowVC – virtual venture capital lending gets the Web 2.0 touch
Grow VC aims to be a vibrant crowd-sourced funding engine for startups. The site brings together those who want to offer money and those who need money for their startup. Both sides pay a subscription to the service in order to list their profiles, the fee being based on the amount of money needed or available. It’s all very seed fund friendly and currently boasts 3000+ members and $12 million of available capital. Definitely an interesting idea and one that…
Read MoreEasy Poster Printer – freeware lets you create large posters from your photos
Easy Poster Printer lets you print out large posters from your digital camera photos. Your maximum size is 20m x 20m, which is large right? Oh and you use your regular printer. Great for making your own lavish protest banners (Free Bill Posters) and the like. Easy Poster Printer enables you to print posters of any size (max 20×20 meters) with a regular printer. Just drag n drop your picture into the application and click print. Easy Poster Printer comes…
Read MoreRed’s 14 Site Mega List of Awesome Hints, Tips and Lifehacks
Need help? Here’s our must have bookmark mega list of tips and hints for life and beyond. Share Your Job Secrets. Nice useful Reddit thread with lots of cool tips and insider info. See also Retail Employee Secrets. Best Catering Practices. Strange but useful little list of insider tips for catering scenarios. To keep your griddle from smoking: rub it regularly with half a rutabaga. Tip of the Day. Reddit’s Tip of the Day list is a rather excellent source of hints for many of life’s little…
Read More7Plus – freeware lets you tweak your Windows to suit
7Plus is a small freeware utility which gives you absolute total power over your Windows settings and navigation elements. We’re talking favourite folders, adding tabs for Windows Explorer, customisable hotkeys, uber clipboard and much more. Useful. 7plus is a project which tries to make working with Windows much more comfortable by adding features to explorer, window handling, and lots of other small tweaks. For example it allows you to quickly upload files to an FTP server directly from explorer with…
Read MoreBetterfly – find expert help, fast
Betterfly is a new online service which helps you locate an expert to help you do whatever it is you want to do. There’s a bunch of categories available, ranging from hair stylists to musicians and yoga instructors. You’ll need to pay for these helpful people of course, they’re not free, but apparently you can haggle. Betterfly™ helps you find Betterists™ — our name for the people on our site who can help you learn, look and feel better — in…
Read MoreGreen Box – The eco geeky pizza box
Hot pizza just got a little less messy. The Green Box by the Environmentally Conscious Organization does what no other pizza box can. The box’s perforated lid divides into 4 serving plates so you can enjoy your favorite slice. The bottom of the box has easily stripped-off sides that transform it into a fold-over storage box for leftovers. The company also says it offers an FDA-approved, environmentally-friendly vegetable coating that can be sprayed onto the box’s interior or added to…
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Sonim XP3 Sentinel – the ultimate safety phone
The new Sonim XP3 Sentinel is a mobile phone. With a difference. As well as the usual…y’know calling and talking functionality, the handset also features 3 buttons which offer security features based around GPS and a remote monitoring service. Press the red button for a full on emergency and the device will call a response center and send off a GPS location. Press the amber button and it will auto request enhanced monitoring and tracking in a risky situation. Green…
Read MoreLevely Spirit Level Brooch – checking your horizontal axis at all times
This Levely Spirit Level Brooch (or tie-pin) is perfect for judging your vertical attitude at times of extreme stress. Just glance downwards to your chest and instantly get a readout to ensure you’re in the right plane. Useful no? £7.99 ($11.55). Created by the Dutch designer Paul Baars, this little spirit level can be used as either a brooch or a tie pin. Paul calls it ‘Levely’. Of course as a little spirit level it can also be used to see…
Read MoreTravelon Folding Fan – be cool even when you’re not…
This Travelon Folding Fan is just the thing if you wanna stay cool on a budget. It’s ‘whisper quiet’, compact and uses AA batteries. Although…we’ve got to say that hanging it round your neck is probably not the most stylish demonstration of your awesome dress sense. $14.99. 3-Speed Folding Fan # Plastic # Compact and portable; perfect for sporting events, outdoor use and travel # Hands around the neck or sits on desk, table or other flat surface # Whisper…
Read MoreFrameXpert – create your own metal furniture online
FrameXpert is a new online service which lets you design and create your own metal furniture products. OK, so we’re talking equipment rack and cabinet type stuff rather than designer coffee tables, but it’s an interesting application in any event. To get started you need to download the free designer software, after which you can go crazy setting out your design. Once you’re done, click on the Buy button, pay your money and the thing will be built and shipped to you forthwith….
Read MoreCellbots – celebrating robots powered by mobile phones
The Cellbots blog celebrates the wonderful world of robots powered by mobile phones. Yep, grab your handheld precious, stick it into the requisite socket, add some wheels tracks or whatever and enjoy your life. There’s even a Google Group for your cute little sweet-geek chitter chatter. We are a collection of hobbyists who want to free your cell phone from your pocket and let it connect and move with the real word. How? As a robot of course! Cellbots aren’t just…
Read MoreChocri Create My Chocolate – DIY chocoholic heaven
This Chocri Create My Chocolate site is one destination you will definitely want to stay away from. Unless you’re into designing your own Belgian chocolate bars while donating money to African cocoa growers. Yep, not a place to visit at all. Seriously. Sigh, well don’t say we didn’t warn you! [Via] chocri is a German startup, founded in September 2008, but launched in the US in January 2010. What we do is we allow you to customize your own chocolate…
Read MoreInnpu T1880 Phone with Retractable Headphones – no more lost wires
This Innpu T1880 mobile phone comes with its own retractable headset, which must be a world first. Not sure how really useful it is in this age of Bluetooth headsets, but the company is touting the health benefits of keeping radiation away from your head. Sounds good to me. Specs reveal an otherwise ordinary Windows handset, with a 3.8 inch screen, 5 megapixel camera and WiFi, Bluetooth, Edge and Java support. Oh, and a pedometer. This built-in retractable headphone module…
Read MoreNuclear Doorbell – the seriously scary visitor alert
This Nuclear Doorbell triggers a very loud siren, flashing yellow light and ‘booming voice’ whenever anyone presses your doorbell button. Yeah, so you’re probably not going to get a lot of repeat visitors after installing this sucker, which you may think is A Good Thing. Your postman, on the other hand, may not. £15.95. Stick the buzzer to the outside of your front door and the doorbell to the inside and wait. The deafening siren, flashing yellow light panels and…
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