Archives for March 2007

BioVault

March 12, 2007 by Leave a Comment

BioVault
BioVault is an ubreakable vault which is only capable of being opened by your fingerprint. This makes it an excellent way of keeping your personal belongins safe and secure. Made out of alumunium, it is both light and portable making it ideal when security is needed. For $400 the price is fairly reasonable. It does make me wonder how hard this actual vault is though and I wonder what it would take to break in to it. Still worth a look though if you need some added security while carrying items around.

Available at FingerPrintDoorLocks Found via: digitaldoorlocks.

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Toilet Paper Folder and Dispenser Prototype

March 12, 2007 by Leave a Comment

If you are feeling lazy while using the bathroom then this custom toilet paper folder could be for you. It was made by students at UC Berkeley for a reason I do not fully know yet and am not too bothered if I dont find out either. The parts to build the project were lego, scissors and scrap metal. As can be seen in the video, you push a button and the paper is then folder and cut making it ready to use. Although it seemed to work well on the first run, the second run was more funny to watch.

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, Hacked Gadgets

Mobile Bluetooth Webcam

March 10, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Sony Cybershot G1
Wireless digital cameras are not too common yet with models only existing from Nikon, Kodak and Canon. Sony has decided it is time to get in on the scene with the new Sony Cybershot G1 wifi digital camera. 2007 will see a great line up of digital cameras. Looks wise the camera is great. Technical side it also has quality with a 6 mega pixel CCD, 3.5 inch LCD and 2Gb of internal memory. As well as the internal memory, external memory can be added which currently can boost the capacity up to 10Gb (The latest Memory Stick is 8Gb).

Another feature of the Cybershot G1 is DNLA (Digital Living Network Alliance) which allows you to share pictures with any other camera which has the DNLA logo on it. The pricing for this camera is $600 when it hits the shelves soon.


US Product Page
UK Product Page
Via: Gizmodo

Filed Under: Cell Phones, Cool Gadgets, Displays

A Phone you can Brick

March 5, 2007 by 3 Comments

Tianyu B832
The Tianyu B832 is a phone which allows you to turn it in to a brick if it gets stolen. Although doing this wont get your phone back, it will give you the satisfaction that the thief cannot use it. The B832 has a built in system in which when a different SIM card is inserted in to it, it then sends out a text message to a number of different pre defined numbers (up to 5) asking if you authorise this SIM card change. If not, then reply and it disables the phone and changes it in to a worthless brick.

Ultimately this is a phone and so it must also appeal to users who want the standard features of a modern phone. The Tianyu B832 does deliver and comes with a media player, camera and FM receiver. No price is available yet and predictions hold this to be a china exclusive. But I am sure that if succesful over that way then a similar alternative will be launched in other parts of the world.

Via: Ubergizmo

Filed Under: Cell Phones, Cool Gadgets

8Gb Memory Stick DUO

March 4, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Memory Stick DUO
It’s about time we get some good meety memory sticks from Sony. The latest and greatest is the MSX-M8GS which has 8Gb of memory on it. Thats a fair bit and a good amount to backup a few movies and games on to. Before you go and fork out 325 dollars for one of these, you need to make sure your device is compatible. If you run a Sony PSP then it needs to have at least firmware 2.81. I am not sure as of yet that anything lower might be made compatible through home brew, but with the announcement that V3.xwas cracked open earlier this month then it might be worth upgrading anyway.

Of course, 325 dollars is a tad over the top for most people wanting an 8Gb memory stick. No doubt prices will drop over the next 6 months, so keep in mind that if you really want one then consider just waiting a little longer. No doubt in 6 -12 months time the next step in storage will have happened though and 16Gb Memory stick DUO’s will be available.

Via: Sony-Asia

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Mobile NoteTaker – The Digital Pen

March 2, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Mobile_NoteTaker
Yesterday I had to have a quick medical check for insurance purposes. I noticed the nurse was writing as normal but kept tapping on a piece of plastic from time to time on her clipboard. When I asked what this was for she said that the pen was recording all writing, transmitting it to a device in her bag which automatically sent it to the company she represented so that they could immediately process my insurance application. A few seconds later a message was delivered to her blackberry saying that all was good. Of course I had to look in to this as I thought it was amazing that all her text and my signature was now somewhere else in the country (or world even) and yet she was still sitting in the same room as me and I had barely given her the pen back just 30 seconds before.

Having a quick search around I noticed a few different pens one of which is from a site called PegaTech. The Mobile NoteTaker is one example of a digital pen which can capture what you write on an actual sheet of paper. We all have to admit that writing is often easier then trying to get your pocket PC’s transcriber understand your text. The NoteTaker is a portable device which captures your handwriting. The process is very simple and does not require special paper. Just get the pen and write on to what ever and have it recorded on to a device that is small enough to easily fit in a bag or pocket. Once back in the office you can transfer the text to your PC to organise and share with others. The device has the ability to store 50 pages of text and confirmation of what you have is displayed on an LCD screen on the device.

This is an excellent device for someone who wants a digital copy of what they write, but still wants to write on regular paper. Of course the business user can also benefit from this device as I mentioned above.

The pen is available from PegaTech and costs $189 for the mobile version of this device.

Filed Under: Cell Phones, Cool Gadgets, Displays, Office Gadgets

How to Tackle Spam – The MailFoundry Way

March 1, 2007 by Leave a Comment

MailFoundry
If you are a regular user of email then you are more then likely aware of the problem that spam brings. A loss of productivity, risk of virus attacks, risk of getting your bank details stolen and it doesn’t stop there. Spam can take up 80% or more of your mail box each day and the time needed to sift through this can be both frustrating and time consuming. For a business, the delivery of email is critical and being plagued with spam causes issues. The business owner is left with a choice. Either you let all email through, or you use a spam filter. Unfortunately it isn’t as easy as that though because both methods bring their problems. If you filter email then you need to be sure you filter the bad only, and if you receive all the email then you need to make sure you do not get trigger happy on that delete key and accidentally delete a good email. It’s really a no win situation. Other options such as a challenge response is an option, but really these are not too effective. For example you buy a book from a website and it sends a confirmation email. The sellers checkout will not respond to that challenge response and you might not get that email either. Luckily there is an option out there for business which can help productivity increase and the spam go down.
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Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, Tech News