Latest Inventions

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!

posted by admin on Apr 7

This is your last chance to get into the Gadget Show this year!

There are only tickets left for the opening of the show this afternoon - basically you have about an hour to buy your tickets, and up until 5pm this evening to get in the door!

The show - one of the largest of it’s kind in the UK has sold out in record time - not surprising really considering what they have on offer for the visitor!

I won’t go into too many of the details here now (maybe a catch-up in a few days) - otherwise you won’t make it there on time………

So, visit their Official Site asap - and order your tickets now!  

Maybe I’ll see you there? 

posted by admin on Nov 5

I recently received the most amazing gift, and I didn’t realise it was all so easy!

Imagine your child’s 1st birthday, your wedding day or a special trip you took made into a unique photobook albums that you designed yourself. 

Now I’m not talking about a jazzed up photo album with hand written notes and photo’s stuck in - I mean an actual real book with your images actually printed into the pages like it was for sale in a store.

Now I knew these things might be possible, but when I received a book about an amazing month in Costa Rica, with all my own great photos and a few of me thrown in - I really was brought to tears!

It Is So Simple:
Not that the person giving me this wanted to give away his secrets, but it turns out that it is really easy to create your own photo book albums online.  Basically you choose your images, you decide what size and design you want for the album - you can even help choose how many pages and what cover you want and it is all stored online until you actually tell them you are delighted with the result.  

If you change your mind, you can then add more pages, remove certain images and basically tamper with it until you are 110% happy.

If you choose a premium online company to help - they will professionally design the book for you to your very own template and in a sturdy hardback cover.  This way, you simply upload your best images onto their site, and they use their experienced design staff to create your own bespoke photobook. 

Before it is printed and individually bound - they give your the opportunity to see the final draft - allowing you to make any final adjustments.

The Result:
Imagine, being able to keep a book of every year of your child’s life, or send out copies of your book to the bridesmaid for a permanent token of your friendship. 

Or send a gift to a friend who achieved something great, a beloved family pet, a beautiful vacation, a house renovation or anything that you want to remember and have taken plenty of images of!

You can choose from plain covers, a photo on the cover, or mine has personalized writing on the cover.  There are also many companies that have specific covers and bindings for certain occasions like your professional wedding album, amazingly designed new home album, birthdays, parties, friends etc, so the choice is yours.

I love my personal photobook, as I know exactly what I was thinking when I took every one of those images.  I remember where I was when I took the snap and I know the little stories that surround each one.

And because it’s a book of only the best shots, my friends don’t have to stare at pictures of people with their heads missing and out of focus animals like in a normal album - this is my special book, and I want one of every vacation I take from now on!

posted by admin on May 12

My little nephew has taught me something great about his new DSi!

I recently wrote about the new Nintendo DSi and how my little nephew was addicted to the thing!  Playing Pokemon games even when he was asleep!

Anyway, I was watching him playing one game (which I couldn’t quite understand) when he suddenly started playing a completely different one with just a few bangs of his stylus! 

How on earth??

Well, it turned out he had heard about the r4i adaptor card and was taking full advantage!

So, what’s the r4i adapter card then I hear you ask?  Well, it’s a modified flash memory card that is exactly the same shape and size as a normal DSi games cartridge - but it can hold more than just the one game!

Basically you can use it as a sort of memory stick.  You can download games that you have already brought from sites on the Internet for free - this way, you are getting a ‘back-up copy’ of your favourite game.  So, if you damage your original cartridge, you don’t have to buy a whole new one - just stick in the r4i adaptor cartridge and carry on playing.

Is that all?
Well, no.  The thing is that the r4i adaptor can hold more than the one game - therefore allowing you to download copies of all the games you already own into one cartridge - and as my nephew had just done - switch from one game to the next without having to swap cartridges - or spend 20 minutes trying to wrestle the other game off of his younger brother!

The technology is so simple that my nephew was downloading files himself from his Mac - it was basically using drag-and-drop technology to move the files across!

And, further to the whole games concept - the r4i adaptor can also hold anything else you fancy from your computer.  For example, you can download movies onto it to watch on your DSi, or music to play when you are supposed to be brushing your teeth!

It also allows you to perform other simple functions from your media, including browsing through your favorite photos with family, reading e-books about tips for your new games and you can read your own downloaded computer files including birthday lists (with more games on it) or boring work documents!

The r4i cartridges can hold up to 32gb of memory - so there will be plenty of space for a bit of everything inside!

What’s the catch?
To be honest - there isn’t one!  It does exactly what it says on the packet.  It is a cartridge-shaped flash memory ’stick’ that works with the new Nintendo DSi.

There is a separate r4 adaptor you can buy that works with the original DS, as these cannot be used for the new version, and vice versa.  That way, which ever console you choose to use - you just need the one cartridge!

Both the original r4 cards and the new r4i cards are readily available from www.gamesbackup.co.uk - so you can start moving your games across and enjoy your games and personal media files in a whole new way!

But, please remember- you need to have originally brought each game before you can legally download it from the Internet to make sure you stay within the bounds of copyright law.  These files are only meant to be an online back-up for damaged cartridges or to move your favourite games into a new media format - i.e. - onto the r4 cards!

posted by admin on Jul 14

A really simple and stylish camcorder that is uber easy to use!!!

I recently got my hands on the brand new Flip Video Mino from Pure Digital, and am suitably impressed!  Not only is it easy enough for your grandmother to use - but it is stylish enough for any youngster to show off to her mates in town!!

Step 1 of the instructions simply says ‘press power button, press record’ - done.  It really is all you need to do to enjoy this smart technology.

What Does It Do?
Well, apart from filming just about anything you want and offering amazing sound - it can attach straight to your USB port on your pc or mac and download it’s own software - allowing you to view and save your images straight on to the hard drive.  Using the same attachment (which is a flip-up extension of the Flip Video itself) you can charge the battery which blinks while charging (about 3 hours from empty).

It allows you to load straight to AOL, YouTube and Myspace, and even take photos from the frames in every video…… nice!

It also comes with a television connection cable that allows you and your friends to view the footage on your television screen without having to run any software.

You can also set the date and time to keep those memories in order - and it has adjustable tones if that takes your fancy.

Why Do I like It?
I love it’s size and look!  Very much of mobile phone size and kind of iTouch looking interface - it sits perfectly in my hand without any worries.  No attachments needed and no huge instruction book to memorise from - and all just one-handed (it’s very light).

It only has 7 buttons and no tricky combination and techniques to learn - which always puts me off investing $100’s on a standard camcorder - I’m worried I won’t use all the special features you are paying for and just end up recording simple shots anyway.

To film movies, all you need to do is press the central ‘record’ button and make sure what you are filming is in the small visual screen.  You have a small ability to zoom in and out, but it doesn’t cover much ground to be honest.  However seeing as this only hold about an hour of footage, it’s more likely to be used a smaller social events like parties and family get-togethers you really won’t need to be zooming in and out a lot anyway.

You can move left and right through your stored videos with 2 further buttons and play which ones you like, and delete them as you fancy with the ‘trash can’ icon.

What I don’t like.
Because it’s so simple, I was worried that I would accidentally delete some footage as the ‘buttons’ are touch sensitive rather than actual sticky out buttons and could get triggered by my hand - but it double checks all your actions and will clear the screen after a short period of time so any accidental commands will be forgotten unless acted upon within seconds.

I couldn’t find anything else wrong!  When reviewing this as a fun accessory for filming family and friends or shots for the Internet - I couldn’t fault it!  I mean if you were planning a 2 week safari in Botswana - then maybe this isn’t for you!

Anything Else?
The Flip Mino currently comes in either black or white, but the other version of the Flip (the Flip Ultra and the Flip Video - both cheaper) come in some different colours and matt coating.

In addition, you can get a camera stand, water-proof casing, material protective pouch, action mount (to film whilst cycling) and different skins (orange pink and clear) as extras.

But I like mine, just the way it is…..

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