The Tardis USB Hub

Even IT geeks struggle to get too excited about USB hubs (erm, so I’m told) beyond how many ports it has. They’re one of those essential items that you buy when you need one and replace it if it breaks, but the Tardis now that’s a very different kettle of fish. It’s easy for an IT geek to get excited about the Tardis.

The Tardis USB hub puts a little life into one of the most lifeless items on or near your desktop. For reference, it has four ports, but much more importantly it’s styled on the Doctor Who Tardis. Whenever you plug a device into one of the ports (there’s four of them, you know?) the blue light on the top flashes and you get to hear the Tardis noise – interestingly, it’s impossible to write or type a decent description of that noise.

It stands 11cm high (only from the outside obviously, because it’s surprisingly roomy on the inside) and has a lead stretching 140cm. Available for less than £20 it’s a much better solution than attempting to snake your way around to the back of the computer where some half witted designer felt it would be a good idea to place the USB ports on most modern computers.

Oh, and it has four USB ports, in case we didn’t mention that.

Easier To Get A Passport Than An iPhone?

The 3G iPhone goes on sale tomorrow morning and despite our all round best efforts it has become pretty much impossible to pass these events without making a comment or two. The first iPhone was admittedly brilliant and did a lot for mobile phone consumers, but it certainly wasn’t without its issues. However, it got more publicity and media time than Amy Winehouse’s latest drug fuelled antics (whatever they may be when you’re reading this).

In an almost carbon copy version of that release (the original iPhone not Amy Winehouse), O2 is claiming that most shops will only have a dozen or two handsets available and they are reiterating that it’s one per personal consumer and two per business consumer. You also need a letter from your mum, ministry of defence clearance, and you have to be available for 6 weeks upon arrival at your local O2 shop.

Full biometric scans will be run on every potential customer and the details logged, to prevent any miscreant attempting to commit the most unholy of sins by buying two from different shops. The iPhone register will be made available online so that so-called MIV (Multiple IPhone Vigilante) groups can graffiti your front door and leave a horse’s head on your pillow when you next go back to work.

Other reports have claimed that, in actual, fact you should allow twenty minutes and take two forms of personal ID including one proof of address. Not quite as hardcore, but still fairly extreme for what is, when all’s said and done, a mobile phone.

Mobile Internet Use Booming

Despite early concerns that the world just wasn’t taking to th emobile web as expected, it’s now being reported that the user base has hit critical mass. 16% of all handset owning Americans now use their mobile phones to browse the web, pick up email, download music, and the like. Proudly, we in the UK, come second in the list formulated by Nielsen, the Internet usage analysts.

Mobile phones and other mobile devices have certainly improved in their adoption and implementation of the technology while improved Internet connections has further expanded the possibilities offered by the mobile Internet. These advances have led to consumers becoming more reliant on mobile devices and the mobile Internet in general for downloading music, browsing the web, and performing a number of other online tasks.

Nielsen also commented on our mobile browsing habits. Perhaps expectedly, we visit far fewer websites when we browse on mobile phones. Americans visit an average of just over 6 domains per month compared to more than a hundred when using a standard Internet connection. In the UK we visit 5.5 average. The Italians are clearly mad for it, though, visiting more than 8 per month.

The Packard Bell X2.0 Gaming Machine

All I seem to do is write about gaming PCs and accessories at the moment, but that’s only because manufacturers are getting a bit carried away with themselves. Advancing tech and new bits of wizardry are enabling them all to have a piece of the gaming market. Bizarrely, though, it’s Packard Bell’s turn to wheel one out for the extreme, late night gamer that not only wants speed and power but a little viewing window and plenty of neon lights.

It sings all the right notes with liquid cooling and Core 2 Quad processors. Pretty much everything else is what you might call standard on one of these beasts and the design is reasonable. It’s not overtly extreme but it’s hefty and it certainly shouts about the fact that it’s no ordinary PC.

Unusual features for a gaming machine include the 7.1 surround sound system that’s included as standard. Should be good for watching films and listening to music but at £999 for the basic model it’s pretty expensive as a multimedia player – although not at all bad for a high end gaming machine. It’s due to be released in the UK and Europe towards the end of the year so you will have to wait a while.

Home Hydrogen Refuelling

Hydrogen fuel receives mixed opinions from scientists. While many believe it is the fuel of the future poised and ready to be developed so that it can power cars and home systems, others believe it is too expensive to convert into a usable power rendering it essentially useless. Whichever side of the line you fall on you might be interested to learn about the home hydrogen fuel station.

Realistically, the home refuelling system in its current iteration is unlikely to be used for refuelling a car. While the system is capable of generating enough gas over the space of an evening to propel a car for a distance of around 25 miles, it would need an ultra expensive hydrogen compressor pumping the price up by another £20,000.

However, IMT, the company that has created the home hydrogen refuelling system has created a Sheffield based show home. This home uses the refuelling centre to run various systems including air conditioning and heating.

IMT has claimed that the unit may be available later this year and also believes that the cost of the unit once under mass construction would not need to be more than £2,000.

Many potential users will be put off by the fact that the system requires the use of electricity in the electrolysis process. It uses vastly lower amounts of electricity but still carries a carbon footprint.

Dogs Or Cats Arse Pencil Sharpeners

It’s the kind of thing that makes you glad you work in an office and will have you blunting your pencils on a regular basis. The Cat’s Arse Pencil Sharpener (also available is the Dog’s Arse model, depending on your preference) is a plastic cat shaped or dog shaped pencil sharpener respectively. Stick your pencil, sharp end first, up its bum and twist to give your lead a point.

The litter tray acts as a sharpening collector, picking up all the wood and lead debris as it falls out of your desktop pet. Even better, though, is the audio chip that lets out a slightly alarmed meow or bark depending on the model you bought (well, wouldn’t you let out a similar noise?) whenever you sharpen.

You can choose from a black or white car, or a white dog and we promise that you’ll be the envy of your office. You’ll have them queueing around your bank of desks begging to let them use your little pet. You can keep your electric pencil sharpeners and your retractable pencils because these make wooden pencils with gnawed ends cool again.

When surveyed, 8 out of 10 cats preferred not to be used as a pencil sharpener.

The Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro RC

Micro radio controlled cars are hardly limited in the spaces where they can drive. Desktops, under tables, on laminate floor, and pretty much anywhere there’s a couple of feet or clear space. But Spin Master, the RC experts, are launching a micro RC version of their innovative wall climbing, zero gravity cars.

By creating a vacuum of air, the micro RC, named the Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro RC will stick to the wall and even the ceiling enabling you to literally race around the room. The little racer can also be popped on the floor for some soon-to-be old school racing, although you have to switch the car between the two so you can’t just pop a wheelie off the floor and start driving up the wall.

Spin Master has previously created zero gravity RC cars, in the shape of a Hummer. It wasn’t really designed for racing, but happily it did work. The new micro RC cars will be considerably smaller and will carry an aptly although surprisingly light price tag of around £25 when they’re released towards the end of the month. Available in red or black, perhaps the biggest surprise is that they actually work.

Buy now from iwoot

Prius Going Solar

The Toyota Prius has, in many respects, been the leading light in terms of green cars. The hybrid cars were one of the first cars to run on a combination of petrol and electric and though early models left a little to be desired in the design stakes, the third generation looks pretty futuristic. What’s more, the latest incarnation of the Japanese car will include solar panels on select models.

It is believed that, because of the limitations in solar panels, that they will be used to power the air conditioning unit. This will help to reduce the amount of electricity used to power the unit, but it is believed to be more a symbolic gesture because of the mentioned limitations.

Another potential problem with the idea, which is set to hit showrooms in 2009, is that silicon prices are rising and have been for a while. As oil prices continue to hike, alternative solutions also rise in price because of the increased demand. As such, for a symbolic gesture, it may cost a less than reasonable amount to buy a solar model.

For all the potential flaws and limited scope of solar panels, the Prius does continue to push the boundaries in environmentally friendly cars. More than 1 million of the Toyota hybrid cars have been sold since their introduction, and the demand continues to increase. Toyota is, at the very least, trying to offer something new and broaden the possibility of green energy and its use in vehicles.

A Round Up Of iPhone News

Just when you imagine that you’ve covered every conceivable story regarding the iPhone 3G, a load more hits you in the face. Fortunately, there are at least a couple of reports to condense into one post for you, today, and then hopefully we’ll pretty much be done with it. At least, until it’s released and a review needs to be written.

The phone is released this Friday at 8:02 am (why 8:02 you ask? Because the phone is only available through O2 and that’s some easy branding). Pre-orders are being taken as we speak… read… write this and if history is any indication then you should probably consider doing exactly that if you want one, or face being bitterly.

Alternatively, you could start queueing now and by the time you reach the front of the queue you’ll be able to get a Pay as you Go when they’re released at Christmas. And, there in lies the other piece of iPhone related news. Pre-pay models will only be available from Christmas.

Oh, go on then, one more piece of related news. Demand for the iPhone 3G has so far been so great that the O2 website fell over amidst a flurry of giddy excitement. Pre-orders are limited to one iPhone per person, allegedly to prevent disappointment, although probably also to prevent Ebay fever (the main symptom of which is an inflated price tag, and there is no known cure) from striking.

The Villain Chair

Back to Suck UK (I have a feeling we’ll be visiting for a while to come, because they have some incredible items) for this little beauty. The Villain Chair is modelled on the kind of seat that a 1980’s baddy would sit on. Whether you’re an Austin Powers or a James Bond fan this is a must have piece of home furnishing, although you must have a large bank balance to afford it because it carries a lavish price tag of £3,600.

The perfect compliment to a white fluffy cat, the Villain Chair not only looks the part, but is constructed from steel, chrome, and aluminium and is finished in a particularly villainous shade of leather. Let’s be honest, you’re not likely to pick one of these up from local furniture shop and if you’re looking for stylish and unique then the Villain chair offers it by the bucket load.

Add a dining table which conveniently hides a 3D mock up of all the buildings in your domain as well as a table mounted laser and you’ve got a fully equipped villain’s den. Alternatively, of course, you could just bag the chair as your TV chair although there will probably be arguments over who gets to sit in it.

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