Latest Inventions

posted by admin on Jul 16

In no particular order, this months articles all seem to have a numbers theme!

There are 100 amazing these, 50 free those and 5 more of something else!

All listed like the articles they will lead you to - you have the choice as to what you want to hop on the links for to have a more in-depth look into. They all tell you roughly what area they cover - so you can go from there.

And I hope you can use some of these well researched links…….

1) Rose King offers a massive energy listing with her huge article on: 100 Amazing Lectures to Follow the Future of Energy.

2) Suzane Smith helps us to modify our design work or school work with: 70 Awesome Open Source Tools for Graphic Designers.

3) Alvaro Cramton geeks it up with: Top 50 Computer Science Blogs.

4) Leonard Gilhooley sees through all this with these great images to see the unseen with: 5 Sites With Free & Interesting X-Ray Photos.

5) Diane Laine chirps and tweets out about her social networking research with: 5 Twitter Users Every Info Junkie Should Follow.

6) Alex Carson offers us teachers a huge resource pool with his massive listings of: 100 Great Tech Talks for Educators.

7) Engelbert Hudson brings us back to routine with our monthly injection of apps - but this time for study with: 25 Excellent iPad Apps for Scripture Study.

So, there must be something for everyone in that bunch!

If not, then join us next month for the next Latest Inventions Blog Carnival.  We are always on the lookout for great articles - and the odd apps listing.  Whether it’s science, space, medicine or some gadget just for fun - if it’s new or a great research article - then send it in right here to share with all my readers.

posted by admin on Jul 2

Imagine lighting your rural home all night without the cost - and danger - of kerosene fuel and fumes!

Millions of homes in rural Africa are now all proud owners of the new eco lamp called The Kiran.  It is a simple solar powered lamp that is free to power and could save the lives of over 1.5 million people a year based on current statistics!

Now, that is a good enough advocate for this new lamp as it is - but it is also very eco friendly as well - and infact that is what it has recently won the Ashden Award 2010 for Sustainable Energy.  

The Lamp:
Basically, it is just a simple hand held lamp that harnesses the sunlight during the day, and releases it when needed during the evening.

However, it has been specially designed to be not only durable and cheap to produce and sell - but made to offer the same if not better lighting than the existing alternative: kerosene.

Over 75% of households in Africa have no access to electricity - and for those that do, the supply is not always 24 hour!  Therefore they have no alternative than to light with other means, and this is usually kerosene gas.  A gas that is known to gives of unpleasant and dangerous fumes when used internally or in badly ventilated areas.

Infact it is estimated that over 1.5 million people a year in Africa alone die from bad ventilation in combination with kerosene fumes.  Not to mention the cost of buying and storing the fuel in the first place - and the risks of house fires and personal injury.

Needless to say, D Lights small solar lamp eliminates all of that worry for the consumers!

It has 2 light settings depending on your use requirements and also has various positions for the handle so you can carry it, suspend it or fix it to a wall.  It’s fat base allows it to stand freely on a table of the floor as well. 

The Result:
This just goes to show you that the simplest things are still some of the best inventions!

Just the right design at the right time in the right place - and the invention is a winner.  I mean you have been able to get a chain of little solar lights for your garden for years now; but they didn’t win any awards!

They didn’t need to be so practical and so durable - and were infact made to be priced as profitably as possible rather than as affordable as possible!  Ironically it is the cost effective version here that is winning awards and selling millions of products.

So maybe you budding inventors need to think of something else simple and everyday that could be tweaked to make another great invention!

Get designing!

posted by admin on May 21

There are always situations where time rules your life - so here are 5 ways to keep on top of it!

Whether it’s self control when working from home, getting your kids in order or to stop your busy schedule affecting others - these are the gadgets for you!

Lets start with time in the morning and work through your day with you…..

1) Alarm Call For Just You:
Why wake up the entire house when you need to get an early start for that all important meeting?  Whether it’s an annoying bleeping, or soft music - your partner or young baby do not need to hear your alarm at 05.30am.  So keep it to yourself!

That’s where the Shake-N-Wake would be perfect!  It does exactly what it sounds like - it’s a vibrating alarm that makes no sound at all - it just shakes about a bit until it wakes you up and you turn it off like a normal alarm.

You can either strap it to your wrist for maximum effect, or set it under your pillow (as long as you don’t usually rollover onto the other side during the night!

2) Clocking In First Thing:
Whether you get paid by the hour, or whether you are a boss running a tight ship - you need a clocking in system that works.  But the old ‘punch cards’ style can be tricked by friends using each others cards through the day to make it look like they were ‘on time’ or didn’t leave early all the time.

Well, the Ethernet Time Clock is almost 100% fail-proof.  It uses biometrics to check individual finger prints for the time stamp - eliminating wasted money and time in the workplace.

3) Wasting Time In Meetings:
Now you can prove to your boss that their weekly meetings really are costing them too much money by using a new gadget called TIM.  Basically - with a bit of programming - can work out how much your time is worth - and then he will clock up how much money you waste in generic meetings week after week.

Time is money these days, so this can also be used to calculate how much time/money you are worth when you are surfing the net for business research, or when running your own business - you can find out how much it actually costs you in time to drive to meetings or clients houses!

4) Better Planning Can Save Time:
We all know that sitting in traffic is a waste of your time and therefore your money - so why not plan ahead to avoid busy routes, avoid roadworks and everything else in life that wastes your time.

Plan better with a (not in existence at the moment) Apple iWatch!  There have been a few articles recently on the internet that refer to an idea of having a fantastic typically ‘Apple-looking’ giant wrist watch!  Obviously it would like up wireless to all your other gadgets - and you could even talk into it like a spy!

Some of the articles say that there might even be the chance that it can play movies - just like IN the movies!  Cool!!!!

5) And Even For The Kids:
Don’t save all the great gadgets for yourself!  Get you kids in the mood for some time-scheduling too.

Whether it’s learning an new language, music lessons or playing on the computer or games station - get the kids to control their own time from an early age.  By setting the timer on the Time Tracker, you can get repeated alarms, nice melodies or you can even put it on a pause.

No more ‘…. just another 10 minutes, Dad!’ You can set this in stone now - set their own clock to prove it!

Now, Come along - spit spot!

posted by admin on May 16

Spring is in full swing - and there is plenty of news in the technology world - and here are just some of the latest inventions and gadgets…….

So, lets get started with a great intro in to the world of science, with Tisha Dotson thorough listing of: 50 Excellent Science Blogs Anyone Can Appreciate. And many of these I already read myself!

And if it is engineering you are interested in, then take a serious look at Jennifer Kingsley post about the different areas of engineering that are out there - and there is quite some choice: 50 Free Open Courseware Classes About Every Type of Engineering.

And to follow, Angelita Williams has her list fo the 100 Best RSS Feeds to Follow Engineering News, and Olivia Davis lists for us the 50 Great Green Architecture & Design Blogs.

And talking of technology and engineering - take a look at the amazing Developments in E-paper Devices by Marco Gustafsson.

Glory Scott enlightens us to the Medical Industry with his short guide to the 25 Notable Start-ups Changing the Medical Information Industry and what they are offering both business and customers like yourself.  And Jennifer Kingsley stays on the medical front with her second entry this month - with her extensive article detailing 17 Ways Mobile Computing Is Changing Medicine and Healthcare. An interesting read indeed!

And finally, the apps: Engelbert Hudson gives us his 25 Essential Free iPhone Apps for e-Learners.

See you in June……

posted by admin on Apr 16

You will probably be reading this in the sunshine at last - and maybe a little sunburned like me!

We have plenty of articles from our readers this month regarding latest inventions, new products and technology - so lets get straight to it; the first article this April is from Suhani.

This is for all the ladies out there who want to find their best look without using bag after bag of cotton balls! Take a look at the video in this article for a great new software application: Digital Cosmetic Mirror – the future of beauty treatments. It could also be seen as a ‘green’ invention too for all the make-up it could save!

The next article is a nice short summary of some of the newest (and most lifelike) robots that have been invented recently - with a few snaps too, so join Ava Jones for her article on the 10 Real-Life Robots You Won’t Believe Exist!

Staying with technology, Steve Patterson short article brings to my attention the ‘Nook’, a Kindle-like gadget that is apparently kicking up a bit of a storm! So take a quick look at Nook Production Increased to Meet Demand for more info.

For those of you who like to stay at home and enjoy the best home theater systems, then maybe have a look at Steve Faber’s post about the New TiVO Premier XL DVR Gives Even More of Everything.

Health is the issue for Delmy Martin, who lists many gadgets that can help you to eat better, get healthy, keep fit and generally have fun doing it! So take a look at some of the links in 25 Fitness Gadgets that Can Improve Your Health, and maybe try a few yourself!

Whereas Madeleine Begun Kane is becoming distracted by the whole ‘must know’ nature of the internet at the moment - and I have included her little limerick because it sums up what the internet means to a lot of people these days! Feed Needs. Whereas Heather Sanders wants us to learn more about the newest social site, with her The Educator’s Guide to Using Google Buzz.

And finally, the obligatory ‘apps’ post - but this one from Allisin Jonanson has a twist: its not about the iPhone! Take a look at her 25 Essential Android Apps for Science Nuts.

Now, get back out there into the sunshine!