Tag Archives: Gadgets
Desktop DJ
Posted on 24. Nov, 2008
Here's a pic of the Behringer mini-mixer and EQ I have on my desk at the office. I use this to mix the audio from my iPod and laptop into those Bose headphones. The whole setup is fairly low profile and sure beats fiddling with the headphone plug when you want to switch between sources. I find the Bose headphones too bassy for long listening periods - the low-cut in the EQ brings them down to a more comfortable level.
Mercedes C-Class 2008
Posted on 06. May, 2008
I rented a brand new 2008 Mercedes C-Class Sports Saloon in Black with AMG Styling over the bank holiday weekend. Gorgeous car, I want one badly! I put almost 400 miles on it too.
http://www.c-class.co.uk/...
Maersk Decatur
Posted on 03. Oct, 2007
Very excited, seven boxes of my shiniest gadgets that have been in storage in Sydney are now powering their way halfway around the world aboard this container ship. They should arrive in London on the 30th October -- just in time for me to move into my new flat. Perfect!
http://www.sailwx.info/...
Video: Visiting the Yodobashi Camera shop
Posted on 18. Sep, 2007
From Akihabara News.com, a visit to the biggest electronics shop in Akihabara: the Yodabashi AKIBA. Seven floors of gadget pr0n.
http://www.akihabaranews.com/...
Gadgets I’m Coveting: Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Posted on 01. Apr, 2006
I've been considering the gorgeous 70-200mm lens from Canon for some time now. Although I already have the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM, I'd like one these too as the quality of shots at f/2.8L between 70-200mm will be nicer, and I think ultimately the lens will be more versatile for shots in this range. This is the lens of choice for paparazzi too ;)
http://www.canon.co.uk/...
Gadgets I’m Coveting: Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Posted on 01. Apr, 2006
I'm very keen on this wide-angle EF-S lens from Canon, although with a EF-S mount it will be useless if I end up upgrading to a EOS 5D. Fantastic lens for tourist shots of landscapes and big buildings.
http://www.canon.co.uk/...
Gadgets I’m Coveting: Canon IXUS 800 IS
Posted on 01. Apr, 2006
My IXUS 40 and then upgraded to IXUS 50 have been an excellent investment. These tiny pocket size cameras have seen much more use than my bulky Canon SLR setup as I carry the IXUS with me always. I'm quite keen to upgrade again to the IXUS 800 when it's available next week. This is the first ultra-compact from Canon to feature an optical image stabiliser, just like I have in all my Canon EF/EF-S SLR lenses. The IS will help significantly with night shots out partying. I'll be picking up one of these ASAP. Full marks to Canon for pushing the boundaries by introducing IS to ultra-compacts.
http://www.dpreview.com/...
Gadgets I’m Coveting: BlackBerry 8707v
Posted on 01. Apr, 2006
Even though I've only just picked up the new EDGE capable BlackBerry 8700g on O2, I'll be switching to the new 3G (UMTS) capable BlackBerry 8707v from Vodafone as soon as they're available. The snappy XScale processor in the BlackBerry 8700 has renewed my Crackberry addiction, and I just love it. I love that I have all my personal and work email accounts in one view, and access to all my public and work IM accounts via the excellent IM+. The quick wireless synchronisation with my Calendar and Task List is fantastic. I'm also running FreeNews RSS, Google Local, Zagat To Go and more on my 8700, along with wireless access to most of my regular sites through the BlackBerry Browser and Google XHTML transcoding. Froogle Mobile is particularly handy when you're out and about on the high-street and want to see if you can get a better deal online. While many non-BlackBerry users snipe at the basic look of the interface on BlackBerry compared to the more sexy Windows Mobile and Symbian screens, I think this is what makes BlackBery such a winner from a usability perspective (excluding the horrible 7100 series). If you're an email, chat and on the move browsing info junkie and you're not using a BlackBerry, you don't know what you're missing ;) .. that being said I am looking forward to playing with the Nokia E61 (with 3G!) when Nokia do eventually release it, and the T-Mobile Vario is nice (but alas not 3G). I did play with a engineering model of the Nokia E70 a couple of weeks ago and was wholly unimpressed with the speed of the processor.
http://uk.gizmodo.com/...
Gadgets I’m Coveting: Uniden BCD396T TrunkTracker IV APCO Digital Handheld Scanner
Posted on 01. Apr, 2006
One of these is high on my buy priority list this year for the European airshow season. I'm quite interested in the Close Call feature which will supposedly capture transmissions on nearby frequencies which will be ideal for finding inter-team communication during aerobatic displays etc where I'm not sure of the frequency. Unfortunately it is still very much aimed at the USA market and doesn't support the most common European MPT1327 trunking standard. Still looks very nice, I am very tempted. Very pricey for a scanner though, but with a 6000 channel memory, and all those new digital and trunking features it's the most advanced handheld scanner on the market, so the price is reasonable, but still overkill for airshow only usage.
http://www.ukmidlandscanner.co.uk/...
Video: Riding the Superconducting Maglev Train
Posted on 21. Jan, 2006
"Riding Japan's Superconducting Maglev "Linear Motor Car" Train at 502 kilometers/hour on a beautiful day at JR Railway Technical Research Institute's Yamanashi Maglev Test Line." Make sure you watch it right through to end to see the external shot of the train passing at highspeed too. At least Japan is dragging the world into the 21st century with cool engineering.
http://video.google.com/...
Radio Controlled Helicopters
Posted on 08. Jan, 2006
Battery powered radio controlled helicopters are all the rage at the moment. Both WIRED magazine and Flyer ran reviews of a few differnet models last month, and most gadget stores/sites now sell a range of lower priced models. The more expensive yet still affordable helicopters are very capable. They come ready assembled with 15 minutes of flying time provided per charge of the usually Li-Polymer battery. Some of the rotors get up to an impressive 2,000 RPM! I'd quite like to get the Twister 3D Expert, however with no flying experience I might be better to go for the Twister CP V2. The Twister CP has a realistic collective pitch control on the main rotor (see second pic) to change the angle of attack on the carbon-fibre woven blades, just like on more expensive R/C choppers (and the real thing). Problem is I have no where to fly it in London. I could take it down the street to Hyde Park, but I'm pretty sure the park rangers would frown on radio controlled helicopters. I could fly it indoors at home, but I don't think the helicopter blade scrapes around all the walls would go down too well.
PSP Games List
Posted on 04. Sep, 2005
Where in we find Battlefield 2 for PSP is coming in December! (Note most of these games are not yet available in the UK)
http://www.psp411.com/...
PlayStation Portable blogging
Posted on 04. Sep, 2005
This post was created using my PSP's inbuilt 802.11b and web browser.
PlayStation Portable
Posted on 03. Sep, 2005
Unlike most other geeks, I haven't been obsessing over the release of the PSP for the last 6 months, and hadn't even bothered to pre-order one for the 1st September UK release. On impulse on Friday I decided I might get one, after getting knocked back at a few shops (HMV, Game etc) and most shops and online sellers only offering to take pre-orders for a second delivery sometime later in September, I thought the chances of picking up one were pretty slim. A quick check on Argos.co.uk web site showed three Argos near-by had stock, so I reserved one Friday night and picked it up Saturday morning. You've gotta laugh at all the obsessive pre-orders placed months before release, all the shops knocking people who haven't pre-ordered, and Argos have them in stock! Anyway, the PSP (aside from 5 stuck on pixels!) is fantastic. Just downloaded a free 3GP_Converter and converted some SVCDs to MPEG4 and copied them onto my 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, they look fantastic! Can't seem to get the wifi WPA working with my Linksys AP. Not sure what the problem is there. Picked up Ridge Racer and Metal Gear Acid. Both nice. Looking forward to more games over the coming months. It's one sexy device, highly recommended.
GB-PVR
Posted on 12. Jul, 2005
I geeked out a bit on the weekend with a HTPC PVR project (why didn't you just get a SkyPlus I hear you cry!). I setup a dedicated machine plugged into the main TV running GB-PVR. The hardware spec is a Shuttle SN45GV3, AMD Sempron 3000+, 1GB Dual-Channel DDR, two Maxtor 300GB SATA's, a Hauppauge PVR-350 PCI and Hauppauge Nova-T-USB2. The PVR-350 is hooked into the Sky box and I'm using a RedRat3 IR sender to allow GB-PVR to change channels on the Sky. The Nova-T-USB2 provides digital terrestrial (freeview). While GB-PVR is an awesome piece of software, with a fantastic program guide, beautiful semi-transparent on-screen overlays, live TV time shifting, a web interface and lots of plug ins, the overall picture quality when passing in and out of the Hauppauge gear is disappointing. So much so, that I'd use it to record shows, but never to actually watch TV's live through the HTPC. HTPC is a bit of a waste of money in my opinion, I guess it's okay for some wanting a geek project and willing to compromise on quality, but for me I want crystal clear video and audio. Dropping stuff in and out of analogue capture cards and low quality outputs is not good enough for me.
http://www.gbpvr.com/...
No more gadget shopping in the UK
Posted on 14. Mar, 2005
I need to go to the US again soon for some gadget shopping. The strong Sterling combined with always ridiculous pricing in the UK market make buying any gadgets in the UK a disappointing experience when you compare prices across the Atlantic. Here's my current short list with savings in Pounds by buying it in New York: Canon 100-400mm lens GBP180 cheaper, Sipura SPA-3000 ATA GBP42 cheaper, replacement battery for my ThinkPad GBP60 cheaper - total saving GBP282.
SPA-3000 Analog Telephone Adapter
Posted on 09. Mar, 2005
"Micro-Density PSTN Gateway + ATA Combo Solution": Recommended by a friend, looks very promising. Especially interested in the ability to dial-in into the ATA from PSTN and then initiate at VoIP call.
http://www.sipura.com/...
Australian VOIP Internet Phone Providers
Posted on 09. Mar, 2005
Good resource, lots of players now.
http://ozinternetphones.com/...
Voodoo Kitchen Knife Holder
Posted on 25. Feb, 2005
I want one! [via jwz]
http://www.viceversa.com/...
