Author: Andy Merrett
Concept Mac "triBook": fold out wings for extra screen space
Portable computers are great but they’re not known for their screen real estate. The concept “triBook” based on an Apple notebook computer is a pretty impressive idea which solves that.
As the photo shows, it features a fairly standard notebook but with two additional side screens that fold out and can be angled to provide additional working/gaming space on each side of the main display. Together, they offer a total 21-inch diagonal widescreen…
Christmas Tech Trumpet: Rudolph around the world
It’s the second Christmassy Tech Trumpet, where I attempt to make vaguely musical (and festive) sounds using a variety of gadgets and computers.
Last week you got a slightly different version of O Come All Ye Faithful. This week, I’m paying tribute to Rudolph, the infamous red-nosed reindeer.
In a hat tip to Santa, who has to travel the entire globe in just one night, this version uses lyrics gleaned from multiple automatic translations from Google Translate.
The original English lyrics were translated into Bulgarian, then Croatian, Danish, Finnish, Filipino, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Russian, and then back into English…
Google shows off 2008's top searches
When you’re the world’s biggest Internet search engine, you can be pretty confident that you’re getting a pretty representative sample of what people are searching for online.
Google’s annual Zeitgeist covers a number of topics, showing what the top global searches are. Here’s a few highlights.
Unsurprisingly, US politics played a major role in searches, with Barack Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin all being searched for, either by name or with “who is” preceding their surname…
Honda reveals its HP450 power carrier for when manual labour just won't do
When you need to shift something big around outdoors and a wheelbarrow or trolley just won’t cut it, Honda’s HP450 power carrier could be just what you need.
This petrol-powered carrier has strong rubber treads and its 4-stroke engine punches out 5.5 horsepower. It can carry up to 450kg when running on level ground, or 250kg on a slope of up to 25 degrees…
Be a hit at parties by spraying glowing graffiti
It’s tough finding something novel to take to parties nowadays in order to make an impact. Standing around, eating, drinking, and making polite conversation can take a hike as you now turn up to social gatherings with a bottle of glow graffiti.
It’s a touch difficult to explain exactly how it works because the product web site tries its hand at being amusing by suggesting that if it “did tell you the super-top secret information to how it works we’d have to kill you.” All we really know is that it utilises ultraviolet light…
Warm those hands (or other parts) with the Zippo Hand Warmer
This is one of those little gadgets that could come in very useful as we sink deeper into the long cold days of winter. The Zippo Hand Warmer is a compact, highly polished chrome device that can be filled with premium lighter fluid, producing ten times the heat of traditional models, and lasting for up to 24 hours.
Apparently it will fit easily into pockets, gloves, and even pants (this came from an American site, so it may be best not to slip them into your boxers) so you could well use it to heat up a lot more than just your hands…
DiBcom claims world's first HD DTT decoder in a USB key
DiBcom, maker of hardware for mobile TV, has claimed a world first with the introduction of its HD ready digital terrestrial decoder in a USB key device.
It’s likely that the “world’s first” claim is to do with the size of the device, because other manufacturers including Happauge and Elgato have already developed USB devices capable of receiving over-the-air HD broadcasts…
Buffalo launches BitTorrent-friendly LinkStation Quad: up to 4TB of storage
Buffalo has really pushed the boat out with its latest high capacity hard drive. The LinkStation Quad can store up to four terabytes of data, be that multimedia, backup, or other data, and allows web access to those files plus media streaming to an iPhone.
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s a built-in BitTorrent client which allows files to be downloaded directly to the device, after configuring from a PC control panel, without the need for other computers to remain powered up. How quickly can you fill up four terabytes?…
Can you really turn your iPod touch into an iPhone with Truphone?
Truphone, ever keen to promote its free and low-cost phone services, is appealing to those who want the Apple goodness of an iPhone but don’t want to pay large upfront bills or sign up to an extortionate monthly contract.
The “solution” is to buy an iPod touch, which is considerably cheaper than an iPhone (but still more expensive than a lot of mobile phones of course) and use Truphone’s application to make free calls over Wi-Fi to other Truphone or Google Talk users.
There are three fundamental problems with this if you’re hoping for an always on, out-of-the-box solution (don’t you love those kind of phrases?)…
