Dan, Author at The Red Ferret Journal - Page 9 of 78The Red Ferret Journal

ferret exclusive March 26, 2010 posted by Dan

Remote Controlled Fishing Boat – Delivers the bait right to the fish

Chinavasion have given us a little sneak peak at one of their upcoming products, a Remote Controlled Fishing Boat . This type of remote controlled boat (also called bait boats) allows anglers to get their hook and bait further out from shore without needing a real boat or a monster cast. This one can deliver 2kg of bait/berley/chum/rubby dubby up to 300 metres from the transmitter. The 10Ah battery will keep the boat chumming for 4 hours and it can…

Gadgets March 25, 2010 posted by Dan

iDuck Wireless Speaker – Wireless waterproof speaker ducky

You love having music in the bath, but not enough to risk your phone, right? Well pump up the tunes with the iDuck Wireless Speaker. Plug any media player into the transmitter egg via a 3.5mm plug and it’ll broadcast your tunes to the duck in the tub. It even has a changing mood light in the transmitter. Ooooo. The downside is that you’ll need 7 AAA batteries(!!), four in the duck and 3 in the egg. Which came first…

Bizarre March 25, 2010 posted by Dan

Pet High Chair – Because animals should eat at the table

This Pet High Chair restores my faith in the human ability to design and build stuff. Because of inventions like this we’ll have jetpacks and cancer cures and bases on Mars in spite of people telling us that it can’t be done. The chair clips onto the side of a table just like the portable kids’ high chair. There are a couple of clips you can attach to pooch’s collar to keep it in the chair whether it likes it…

Awesome March 25, 2010 posted by Dan

Barky – A tree turned into a turntable

Barky is a working LP turntable made from a gen-u-wine authentic slice of tree, complete with bark. The platter is a solid piece of glass for stability and the whole thing rests on three height-adjustable legs. Why? Dunno, but it looks pretty darn cool. It’s part of a catalogue of wood-based turntables turned out by a bloke called Joel Scilley and his company AudioWood. Check out the catalogue too. The Barky will set you back about US$1350. A pitch-perfect piece…

but is it art? March 24, 2010 posted by Dan

Mizuken – Flashy Tokyo-style LED watch

If you like your Tokyo-style LED watches with a side of back story, then let me introduce the Mizuken. The story goes that it’s crafted from dragon-entrapping sapphire, reborn as blue LEDs and secured to your wrist via dragon scale. Or it’s an LED watch displaying hours, minutes and the date via blue LEDs, with a stainless steel band to keep it where you put it. Runs on a pair of CR2032 batteries and comes in a lovely tin. Best…

Gadgets March 24, 2010 posted by Dan

Magellan eXplorist GC – The Geocacher’s GPS

Geocachers are a funny mob, trying to surreptitiously ferret out hidden things that have been buried in often very conspicuous places. Magellan can help you out with their new Magellan eXplorist GC handheld GPS unit. It has a colour screen, compass overlay and uses the SiRFstarIII GPS chipset. It runs on a pair of AA batteries which will keep you searching continuously for 18 hours. Designed specifically for geocachers, you can hook it up to a PC and download lists…

Fun & Games March 24, 2010 posted by Dan

TV Poltergeist – They’re heeeere

ThinkGeek has dialled the prank-o-meter all the way to 11 with their TV Poltergeist widget. Nothing tricky, just a box and an LED on a wire that you can poke out of hiding places. The widget will turn the television on or off every 5 – 20 minutes, 24 hours a day until the batteries (three AAs) run out. Sounds like hours of freak out fun. US$12.99 Perfect for interrupting lame sporting events, obnoxious video games, moronic sitcoms, and poorly…

Awesome March 23, 2010 posted by Dan

Bluetooth Landline Phone Adapter – Connect to any landline via Bluetooth

Those professional telephone headsets that you see being worn by high-powered office types are well and good but pretty darn pricey, especially if they’re wireless. Chinavasion can help out with its Bluetooth Landline Phone Adapter. Just hook it up to the back of your telephone, pair it up with a Bluetooth headset (you can store 8 pairings) and roam. It works up to 100 metres away, and you can answer and hang up via your headset. You can even hook…

Gadgets March 23, 2010 posted by Dan

Magic Wheel – Part skateboard, part scooter, part I’ve-got-no-idea

The Magic Wheel has been around for a little while it seems, but I must have missed the memo. It’s a single large pneumatic tyre with a castor at the back for stability, that you ride just like a skateboard or scooter. It weighs 6kg so it’s easy to transport up stairs or onto the bus and it can travel over slightly rough ground like cobbles and grass. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6cTVaga7n4 Maximum rider weight is 120kg. I reckon the only thing missing…

Gadgets March 22, 2010 posted by Dan

Robot Android Smartphone – hands on review of a new smartphone for the masses

The days are long gone when smartphones were reserved for the rich and famous, nowadays they’re becoming positively commonplace. None more so than the new raft of Chinese Android handsets we’re starting to see appear from those busy busy Far East factories (or in my case, Far North). The coming of Android has changed everything. By providing thousands of easily accessible apps and a familiar cross device user-experience it has the potential to breathe new life into the multitude of…

Gadgets March 22, 2010 posted by Dan

Orbita Voyager One – Winds your watch so you don’t have to

You know that self-winding, ultra-expensive, spring balance-oscillator regulated chronometer that you’ve got on your wrist? Well, it only winds itself if it’s strapped to you, leave it in a case for a few weeks and it will stop dead. So how do you show off your nifty watches and keeping them ticking along without having to wear a different watch every day? With a Watchwinder of course. Orbita make a whole range of watchwinders including the Orbita Voyager One above….

but is it art? March 22, 2010 posted by Dan

Ashworth Turtle – A very subtle knife

The Ashworth Turtle isn’t quite a Swiss-Army Knife but it still has a couple of tricks up it’s quirky looking sleeve. For starters there’s a 1″ stubby fold out blade made of high carbon stainless steel. At the other end is a flip-out pendant/keychain loop. The back unscrews and you can add a money clip to keep your stash together. US$39.99 or US$49.99 depending on the colour. Click through to see how it works. … this is a useful pen…

Gadgets March 22, 2010 posted by Dan

Oregon Scientific BAR1000A Diamond Weather Station – Cloudy with a chance of bling

The Oregon Scientific BAR1000A Diamond Weather Station is just begging to be looked at as the sun, cloud and rain icons are made of Swarovski crystals backlit with LEDs. There’s also a remote temperature sensor so there’s no need for you to go outside. Best of all the time is atomic powered with radio updates and you can wave your hand at it to switch between time and temperature. US$79.95 Oregon Scientific BAR1000A Diamond Weather Station integrates dazzling Swarovski crystal…

Gadgets March 22, 2010 posted by Dan

Nomad Portable Pressure Cleaner – Instant car wash

Whether you’re hosing off the car or watering those hard to reach pot plants, this Nomad Portable Pressure Cleaner will come in quite handy. It has carries 16L (3.5 gal) of water, has a pocket for cleaning bits-and-pieces and a 6m hose. It needs 12V to power the pump. US$184. Nomad portable pressure washer is ideal for cleaning just about anything just about anywhere. Carries 3.5 gallons of water, which is enough for 10 minutes of continuous cleaning. Built-in pocket…

Gadgets March 20, 2010 posted by Dan

Thanko VGA to HDMI Video Converter – Old school meets hi def

If you’re a hoarder of old PCs that you “just haven’t got around to recycling yet” then this VGA to HDMI Video Converter may help them become home-theatre ambitions. The converter has inputs for VGA and a 3.5mm stereo plug and which it turns into HDMI for your big screen telly. The converter comes with a VGA and 3.5mm cord, but no HDMI cable and it also needs an AC adapter. ~US$108 (�9,800) Thanko VGA to HDMI Video Converter connects…

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