Scratch And Sniff 2.0
July 31, 2008
Sometimes I feel like we give the Japanese a bit of a hard time, always going on about the ridiculous items that they seem to have a penchant for producing. So, in a bid to take them seriously, I thought we’d feature one of their more recent and genuinely useful items and hopefully we can set the record straight… begin again, as it were. After all, this is the nation that brought us Takeshi’s Castle and Ninja Warrior!
Recruit Co Ltd (a perfectly sensible sound company name, so that’s a good start) has developed a new technique of attracting consumers while walking around shopping centres and other large complexes.
The unique 42 inch video display unit utilises (oh dear, here we go) scent emitting technology to lure passers by and to engage the most powerful of all our consumer senses (it was going so well, too). Scratch and Sniff 2.0, as we think it should be called, is being trialled in Tokyo Station currently to determine its efficacy and see whether or not it really is effective at drawing customers in and then redirecting them (I guess you could literally say they’re following their nose) to stores and products.
So, there we go, consider the record well and truly straight now.
Octane 120 Gaming Chair (With Beer Taps)
July 31, 2008
We’ve featured a couple of gaming chairs recently, but I think we may have excelled ourselves this time (well, OK, some credit should probably go to T3 where we actually saw it). Regardless of who gets the credit, though, the Octane 120 is is a suitably named gaming chair because it combines various features that should be considered “must have” in any self respecting gamer’s choice of seating.
120 games are included in he Octane 120 game chair, and can be beamed onto the 10ft screen. 5.1 surround sound immerses you further into the gaming world while blowing the ear drums out of anybody that stands too close while not playing. What’s perhaps more important, though, are the two beer taps (yes, two, because one is never enough) providing cold fluids throughout your gaming session.
You can also plug in your own consoles just in case the 120 games simply isn’t enough, or because you’re getting a bit sick of driving games. An equivalent price of £3,500 does restrict the Octaine 120 too those with more money than sense, but if you’ve got no sense at all then that means you don’t need much money to fall into that category right?
Online TV Made Simple?
July 31, 2008
The BBC iPlayer is juts one of numerous online On Demand TV services and many more are being constantly added to the pile. While watching streaming TV online isn’t everybody’s idea of home entertainment, using a serviec like BlinkX might make it more popular because BlinkX enables you to search many of the available services for the show of your choice, or lets you browse alphabetically if you’re not really sure what you want to watch.
If you’re the kind of procrastinator that needs little excuse to waver from your daily chores then it might not be the best idea because there’s more channels than you can shake a big stick at. Unfortunately, it’s not the easiest to search through and using a specific search term (for example, searching for a particular show) can lead to pages and pages of essentially irrelevant YouTube clips, previews, interviews, ads, and just general rubbish.
The principle behind the idea is, though, a brilliant one and as soon as a decent service that categorizes programs and sorts the televisual wheat from the user created chaff comes along we’ll be there. Until then, though, it looks like we’ll have to continue browsing each of the services separately.
Nokia Touch Phone Coming Soon
July 29, 2008
Nokia has, at least, confirmed that they will be releasing a touch screen phone, although in all honesty that’s not exactly a surprise is it? They’ve also failed miserably to let anybody in on the finer details of said release, instead choosing to keep us in the dark until the last possible minute, the gadget release way it would seem. It’s time like these when we rely on rumour and conjecture to get us giddy and excited (or not) about a new product.
The Nokia Tube, which is the phone’s codename, is believed to be a 3.2” touch screen that buzzes when you press the “buttons” on the interface. Officially, that’s called haptic feedback and is meant to inform you that you have indeed pressed the faux button.
Allegedly, it will include a 3.2mp Carl Zeiss camera with dual flash, and the XpressMusic model is believed to include GPS, an audio jack, and even TV-Out.
Nokia has repeatedly declined to confirm or deny any of the rumours stating simply that their “first touch device will be aimed solidly at the ‘mid-range’ or ‘volume’ part of the market. This device will be competitively spec-ed - especially considering the price point and will be announced in a few months.”
New Google Rival Is Cuil
July 29, 2008
A new search engine, called Cuil, has been announced and while these things generally pass by fairly quietly it has been the talk of the virtual town for several reasons. Like every new search engine it has the bold, and seemingly unrealistic, remit of toppling Google from their ever more impressive throne as the masters of search.
The main developer behind Cuil is one Anna Patterson, whose technology was purchased by Google four years ago. They purchased her search technology in a bid to improve their own results, but Ms Patterson left Google two years ago in order to concentrate her efforts on the Cuil venture.
Apparently Cuil indexes over 120 billion pages on the Internet, which is approximately treble the figure that Google itself can boast. And, if you don’t believe that size is the most important metric, then you may also be pleased to hear that it uses different indexing technology, displays results in a different manner, and more importantly, it won’t be storing any data about the way its users search the Internet or any of the pages or searches they have visited or conducted.
You can take a look at Cuil (pronounced Cool, in case you were wondering) at www.cuil.com – alternatively, you could always Google it.
Hitachi DZ-BD10H Records Direct To Blu Ray Disc Or Hard Drive
July 28, 2008
Despite winning the war of the next generation DVD format, Blu Ray technology has really only limped into existence and if it wasn’t for the PS3 and, more recently, laptops and desktops including the ability to play (and very occasionally record) in the blu ray format it would barely have even registered as being a new technology. Things are finally starting to progress though with a number of new players either just having been released or, at the very least, bing released soon.
Hitachi has also announced the DZ BD10H Blu Ray camcorder that can record in full HD and directly to a choice of blu ray disc, SDHC card, or its 30GB hard drive. However, if you’re really looking to record extensive footage in the full 1920 x 1080 HD format then you may be a little disappointed because the hard drive will only handle about 4 hours of this at the best framerates (you can double that time by reducing the framerate).
The DZ BD10H is actually the updated replacement model for the DZ-BD9H and is substantially smaller than its predecessor, but this is the main reason behind the dip in hard drive size from 60GB to 30GB.
Because of the numerous recording options, though, you can transfer the footage on your hard drive directly to SDHC card or to a recordable blu ray disc. It’s certainly a step in the right direction for the Blu Ray format.
HP Pavilion DV6920EA Review
July 28, 2008
The HP Pavilion DV6920EA is a mid range multi purpose laptop that offers more than enough features for the average home and office user. The advanced Core 2 Duo processor from Intel, 3GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive enable full, rich multimedia playback, office and business software use, gaming, and much more.
The 15.4” monitor is ideal for use with the Blu Ray combo drive to watch high definition movies and other media footage. Graphics are provided courtesy of the Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS graphics card with 256MB of dedicated graphics memory.
3 GB of DDR 2 RAM combined with a 250GB hard drive ensure that you can easily store your multimedia files for playback later. 3 GB of RAM will also make multitasking a clean and constant affair with none of the lag or errors that are sometimes associated with lower memory laptops. It will also ensure that the included Windows Vista Home Premium runs equally smoothly regardless of what other software you’re running on the machine.
Whether you’re looking for a laptop to play games, watch Blu Ray movies on, or indulge in some home office based work, the HP Pavilion DV6920EA will allow you to do all of that and much – at the same time, if you wish.
Features Include:
- Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5750
- (2 Ghz, 667 Mhz, 2 MB Cache)
- Genuine Windows Vista (R) Home Premium
- 3 GB Memory
- 250 GB Hard disk drive
- Blu-ray DVD combo drive
- 15.4″ widescreen display
- Ethernet & Wireless networking
- Webcam with integrated microphone
- nVidia GeForce 8400M GS graphics
The Super I Sobot
July 28, 2008
The Japanese are streets ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to creating miniature robots for the sake of pleasure (you can try to claim they’re educational but we all know the truth) and the iSobot is one of the latest and probably greatest miniature powered humanoid form robots to grace these shores. At a little under £200 from IWOOT, it also represents one of the more affordable options especially considering the range of functions and commands it offers.
Equipped with 19 IICs (Integrated Circuit Chips), 17 servo motors, and 2 LEDs it is one highly developed little piece of kit, and it really is quite little standing marginally more than 16cm tall.
All that electronic goodness enables the I Sobot to perform a huge range of activities. Not only will it learn and respond to voice commands but it will perform basic human movements, mimic martial art fighting moves, and even exercise on your behalf.
It also offers a Radio Control unit with LCD monitor that enables the user full and surprisingly simple control over the unit. He has 200 movements pre programmed as well as over 300 words and phrases to really impress you with.
Buy your I-Sobot today
My Beating Heart Pillow
July 27, 2008
The heart can actually be persuaded to beat at different rates through little more than the power of suggestion. If your body senses what it deems to be a heart beat that is beating slower than your own then it may make some form of attempt to replicate that rhythm. Working on this principle, coupled with our almost Freudian longing for the mother’s womb, the beating heart pillow is the ideal stress buster/relaxation pillow.
It emits a heart beat under relaxed conditions and encourages anybody that is willing to hold it tightly and longingly to their chest to become equally relaxed. OK, so it sounds like a right load of rubbish, and to be honest the design means it’s unlikely to really take off. Perhaps if it actually looked like a beating heart it would sell to more men.
There are two sizes of beating heart pillow, a small and large with prices up to £25 depending on the dynamics you would like. The only problem is, don’t let it run out batteries while your heart is mimicking it and keeping its pace or you might never wake from your relaxed state of slumber.
Radio Listening Figures Down
July 27, 2008
It may not be that surprising to learn that radio listening has reduced in the UK. After all, we have more and more access to a greater range of multimedia devices. The car, which was probably the last bastion of radio listening, has undergone similarly major changes with stereos that enable users to plug in their mp3 players rather than tune the radio to Radio 1.
What is perhaps surprising is that 89% of the population still listen to the radio at least once a week and nearly 18% of these listeners use a digital form of radio (11% use DAB radio). However, all in all, the number of DAB radio owners has remained steady with no further growth. Only 2% listen to the radio on the Internet.
The BBC now accounts for 55% of all listeners, just short of one half of the population but breakfast shows were the biggest losers in the latest statistics. Bearing in mind the increased popularity of the BBC iPlayer service there’s a reasonable chance that they’re losing evening radio listeners to their own online TV service.
