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Welcome to The Red Ferret Journal - tantalisingly tasteful, tacky and taut tech trivia.
Wed Aug 20, 2008
Spy Camera Watch - perfect for the style conscious spy
At last, a sleazy Spy Camera Watch that looks as though it’s actually a watch, and not some misshapen blob of geek plastic monster spawn. You’ll get 2 GB of memory, video and still image functionality and USB charging. Smile, Mr Bond… $236.00.
Spy Micro Camera Watch # Built-in Camera, Rechargeable Battery and 2GB Memory # Resolutions: 352 x 288 pixels # Video Format: AVI # Battery Capacity: 270mhA # Charging Interface: USB cable with adaptor
Wind Up Walkie Talkies - talk and walk proud with these green communicators
These Wind Up Walkie Talkies could apparently be useful for an ‘emergency situation’ which leaves us a little baffled. How much of an emergency can you sort out while furiously cranking a handle to get powered up? Not to mention the lack of puff to talk when you’re finally ready to go. Ah well, it’s probably better than using a solar model in a tunnel. £59.99.
This kit includes two two-way radios that are powered by a wind-up mechanism, so there’s no need to worry about batteries running down in an emergency situation or simply just when it’s important to stay in touch. They can also be charged via a mains adaptor or USB and topped up using the wind-up crank to ensure optimum performance and the longest possible usage time.
HDD Health - keep tabs on your computer’s hard disk health
HDD Health is a simple little freeware utility that monitors the health of your hard disk. It tells you the temperature too. Basic yes, but useful most definitely.
HDD Health is a full-featured failure-prediction agent for machines using Windows 95, 98, NT, Me, 2000 and XP. Sitting in the system tray, it monitors hard disks and alerts you to impending failure. The program uses Self Monitoring and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) built into all new hard disks, and can predict failures on your hard drives. A host of alerting features include email, local pop-up messages, net messages, and event logging, while using no system resources.
8Tracks - cool Muxtape replacement proves that the music industry keeps losing, stays stupid
So the RIAA has shut down Muxtape? No fear, here’s 8Tracks. And if they shut that down, there’ll be another. And another. And another… There’s something of a pattern here isn’t there? Sigh. Oh and by the way, this is a very cool music sharing application notwithstanding music industry stupidity.
8tracks is a simple way for people to share and discover music through an online mix. A mix is a short playlist containing at least 30 minutes — roughly 8 tracks — of music. Product On 8tracks, people can do two things: listen to a mix, or create a mix. Listeners can search for a mix by artist or genre, stream it in a legal, radio-style manner, and follow others who make compelling mixes. DJs upload MP3s or select tracks from the 8tracks library to craft a playlist, add context with description and art, and publish their mix on 8tracks.com and a personal webpage.
Tue Aug 19, 2008
Ultrasonic Dog Barking Deterrent thinks it’s a bird house - tweet tweet…
OK, so what bright spark in a suit said ‘I know, we’ll make an Ultrasonic Dog Barking Deterrent that looks like a bird house’? Because he or she clearly needs to get out and about a bit more. I mean c’mon, we’re talking about a pet control device that makes your pooch hate small red roofed accommodation devices. I smell a class action suit from the Association of Cute Kennel Makers $69.95.
When a dog barks within range of the birdhouse, it emits a harmless ultrasonic tone, inaudible to humans, that startles the animal into silence. The dog quickly associates its bark with the unpleasant sound, which conditions him to curb this undesirable behavior. An on/off switch with three sensitivity levels (15 ft., 30 ft., 50 ft.) lets you control the units effective range, and a test mode enables you to verify the device is functioning properly. Its weather proof ABS cabinet can be hung from a tree limb, mounted to a fence post, or hung on a wall.
Maplin MiniBook Ultra Portable Computer - small is as small does…
The Maplin MiniBook Ultra-Portable Laptop ships with 2 GB of memory, a full suite of office type applications and Linux on board, an SD slot, WiFi and a 7 inch wide screen for a paltry £169.99. This makes it cheap, functional and a nightmare for expensive branded laptop manufacturers across the world. Bet the battery life sucks though, eh?
Portable technology for everyday people! The minibook is the perfect notebook for surfing the internet, uploading your latest photos and sharing them with your friends. The minibook uses office applications whilst on the go and with built in Wi-Fi technology you can be mobile wherever you are. There are many types of laptops - some with the most storage, the best for gamers, the widest screens or the shiniest cases! Pound for pound though, you will have to go a very long way to find another laptop that does exactly what the minibook says - a cost effective, mini laptop that’s perefct for everyday activities.
Tiny USB Charger - keychain charger promises to power up your mobile phone battery on demand
This Tiny USB Charger looks like it could be pretty cool. Stick it on your keychain and when you need a mobile phone recharge just find the nearest USB socket, attach the phone’s battery and power up as needed. Of course you may have to rip a laptop from the hands of some unsuspecting executive on the train, but jail is a small price to pay for the continued use of your precious handset, eh? $12.00.
Simple enough and Light weight # Adopt high capability switch power supply with efficient transforming. # Less Exhausting of power. # Reliable performance and no radiation. # Extending the stand time and the longevity of battery. # Handsome shape and travel convenient. # Can charge all shape of mobile phone batteries.
PDF Genie - dedicated PDF document finder combines search and viewer for happyness
PDF Genie is a new search service which is tailored towards PDF documents. It uses the Google engine and therefore is not hugely innovative, but what makes it more deserving of attention is the integration of the superb PDFMeNot tech, which means that you can view PDF stuff immediately without having to fire up the dreaded Adobe Reader. That leads to very fast browsing of search results (just click on the magnifying glass), which leads to more time for relaxation, laughter and fun with the family. Or something.
PDFGeni is a dedicated pdf search engine for PDF ebooks, sheets, forms and documents.
Best Cashbook - freeware money manager coddles and caresses your wallet
The Best Cashbook freeware financial management program helps you keep track of your incomings and outgoings, and we mean money folks, not wives. As someone who thinks that double entry book-keeping involves two shoe boxes and a Bic biro, I reckon this could be quite useful. Worth checking out (arf!).
Best CashBook is a blessing for cash management. Based on [cash + deposits - cards = net cash], it treats cash, deposits, credit cards and other financial accounts as one to give an insight of incomings, outgoings and fund changes. It will be very simple and easy to use once you overcome learning the entry principles. Developers can utilize its miraculous formula and frame when they develop their own software.
Mon Aug 18, 2008
Nexus Dampers - give your computer some good vibrations
Nexus Dampers promise to stop vibration and improve the cooling of your precious piece of tin. What are they? Well rubber feet to be precise. Yep, a pair of Wellington boots for your PC. OK, so they can be used for printers, stereo systems and other stuff too. Don’t matter dude, you’ll never live it down. Trust me.
A simple yet effective solution to prevent this vibration are the Nexus Dampers. These versatile rubber feet can be put underneath your PC to create a rubber barrier between the case and the surface. This barrier of rubber will absorb the vibrations and act as a isolator for the resonance. Another benefit of these dampers is that your case is elevated 1,4cm from the floor. By elevating the case it will be easier for the air to flow into the case’s air intake openings. Most cases have an air intake at the front-bottom and on the bottom of the case…
The Most IMPORTANT Video You’ll Ever See
The Most IMPORTANT Video You’ll Ever See. I’m not going to comment on this. Just watch it and make up your own mind.
(Format = eight part lecture from a physics professor in the USA. Oh and you might need this for Segment 5 if it hangs on you.)
Boynq Swing USB Hub - might leave you hanging
Ever wondered what would happen if you crossed Newton’s Cradle with a USB hub? Well the Boynq Swing USB Hub doohickey will give you some idea. There’s not much more information than that I’m afraid, but just don’t be surprised if it doesn’t demonstrate the law of conservation of momentum. Especially since it’s sold out at the moment.
Let Meow’t - cat door for genius cats
Cats and I don’t get along, I don’t like them and more importantly they don’t like me. The only thing I like less than a cat would be looking after one, all that up and down to let them in or out. This device however, could make living with a cat bearable.
Made by the impossibly cutely named Let Meow’t (giddit?) people, this cat door lets your cat in or out of the house any time. It’s unusual for a cat door in that it’s window mounted but this means the neighbourhood dogs can’t use it as well. The inside of the cat door is a U-shaped labyrinth with five vinyl curtains to keep insects out and the warm/cool air in. I suppose as a bonus the Let Meow’t cat door also prevents your cat from getting too fat …
No more getting up at all hours of the day and night. No more worrying about your cat’s well-being while you’re away. No more accidents on the carpet if you come home late. No more destroyed window screens from your cat trying to get your attention. No need to cut holes in doors or walls for installation.
Now do this!
This isn’t a subtle attempt at subliminal mind control, this isn’t a subtle anything. Now Do This is a minimalist To Do list from the Max Mosley School of Getting Things Done. Forget Remember The Milk, tell Getting Things Done to get lost because you can’t count on your 43 Folders anymore. Get real, get simple, get Now Do This.
Click on the edit list, add your objectionable actionable items and hit Save. Now you’re ready to conquer the world. Just don’t trip over the mat on your way out the door.
How do you organize your day? A calendar requires you to predict the unpredictable. A todo list can overwhelm you with data. I wanted a ‘boss’ to tell me what to do. Enjoy this free tool.
Tags: now+do+this, getting+things+done
Photo Safe II - take your photos and keep them too
This nifty little blighter is the Photo Safe II, a digital photo storage device. I know, plenty of companies make digital photo storage devices but they usually have large colour screens and are very pricey. The Photo Safe II is a little different, it doesn’t do as much but it does do it very well.
At its core, the Photo Safe has a 2.5″ portable hard drive (formatted FAT32 so it’s read/write compatible with both Mac, PC and Linux) with a 900mA Li-Ion battery and a universal memory card reader. The card reader is protected by a rubber cover to keep the desert sands out and takes CF Type I (including Extreme III, IV, UDMA but not microDrive), xD-Picture Card, MMC, SD/HC Card, miniSD, Memory Stick, MS PRO, MS Duo, and MS Pro Duo cards … phew!
All you have to do is bung your memory card in, hit the button and the Photo Safe II will copy your files across, a fast 1Gb card taking about 210 seconds. Each copy session is stored separately and you can even partition the hard drive. Anything on the memory card is copied across; JPEG, RAW, videos, whatever. The internal battery is good for 80 minutes or about 16 copies of a 1Gb card. The back-lit LCD screen tells you the copy status, battery life and how much hard drive space you’ve got left.
When you get back to civilisation, or your computer, hook it up via USB 2.0 or 1.1 and move your files off. You can recharge the internal battery using USB or the included AC power adaptor and you can even replace the internal battery yourself. Possibly the most useful thing of all is, when you’re not on safari or in a rainforest, the Photo Safe II can double as an ordinary, portable USB hard drive and as an external card reader.
About the only thing it doesn’t do is display your photos, but that would just cut into the battery life anyway. Prices are $US130 for the 80Gb and $US189 for the 160Gb version. In my opinion, this is one niftiest, best value and most useful photo gadgets I’ve seen all year.
An essential digital camera companion - a portable photo storage device. Imagine being on vacation and you are snapping digital photos like crazy. Having Photo Safe II with you means having a place to save your precious photos so you can keep snapping away. Just insert the digital camera memory card into Photo Safe II and directly download images - no cumbersome cabling or computer needed.
Sun Aug 17, 2008
Ferret posts this week
Here’s a quick round-up of Ferrety posts from the past week for anyone who missed them. Enjoy.
- McGuider - how to turn your mobile phone into a satnav with one SD card - McGuider is a GPS satellite…
- MixTurtle - YAMSE (yet another music search engine) - MixTurtle is a music search…
- 12V In-Car Microwave Oven - fast food for trendy travellers - This 12V In-Car Microwave Oven…
- Pure Gold Keyboard - the ultimate plug and weigh accessory for your geek creds - The Kirameki Pure Gold Keyboard is…
- Jabra SP700 Car Speakerphone - at last a hands-free device that is actually really useful - I’ve been playing…
- Monitter - live Twitter monitor lets you browse your life away, one tweet at a time… - Monitter is a new Twitter browser…
- Nissan Eco Pedal - helping to make drivers more fuel efficient - Car makers Nissan has announced…
- Graspr.com - instructional videos done with elegance and style - Graspr is a new video service…
- HANNspree Kid’s Televisions - have you hugged your TV lately? - HANNSspree make a line of funky…
- PLX Kiwi - engine and driving monitor helps improve your mpg by up to 33%, or your carbon back… - The PLX Kiwi is an engine and…
- Counterfeit Money Detector - new gizmo promises to stop thief and get you rich - This Chinese Counterfeit Money…
- Most Accurate Geek Clocks - time brought down to earth by technology - So you think your timepiece is…
- 121 Blackberry Tips - power user’s guide for crackberry addicts - 121 Blackberry Tips. This is…
