A coffee machine that does not require plumbing, a decent fresh hot cup of coffee whenever you want it in only 20 seconds, all you need is a 13amp plug. Philips and Douwe Egberts have combined to produce Senseo.
The shape of the is distinctive, in fact I
would go so far as to say unique. A little like a jug kettle, a little
like those thermos type jugs that keep coffee warm inordinately but in
truth nothing like either. Senseo from Philips The Senseo 'coffee pad system' to give
it it's full name can produce either one or two cups of delicious
coffee from 'ready' in 20 seconds.
Looking to maximise the space of your work desk? Maybe you should consider combining your printer, scanner, fax machine and photocopier into a single unit.
Lexmark's X6170 "All-in-One" product provides the functionality that
covers printing, scanning and copying with built-in fax capability. On
top of this, literally, the X6170 has an ADF (Automatic Document
Feeder) feature. Lexmark has packed all this functionality into a box
that measures 48 x 25cm at the base and expanding to 50 x 52cm (W x D)
at the top. The overall height is 29cm including the rear-mounted paper
input tray.
By no means cheap, but if you need a notebook 1.3kilos is extremely light, the Q25 fills that criteria and you get what are often called extras as standard.
It
is 27x23x2cm yes the thickness is only 2cm, the weight is only 1.3kilos
and with battery life with a reasonable screen brightness at close to
150 minutes this could well save a very expensive gym membership as
current muscles may be enough to carry it around. A
31cm display is clear and bright, excellent when used with power and
useable when on batteries.
Its Samsung calling! This time I have been flipping open the Samsung SGH-P510 camera phone.
Have you noticed that all mobile phones, well at least the ones that
I have used, always position the on/off key on the right side of the
unit? This is not meant to be taken as a criticism, rather more of an
observation. But it does go to show how technology is re-enforcing the
dominance that the right hand has over the left in modern society.
Keyboard and mouse sets seem popular these days. Here I am looking a set from Microsoft with wireless keyboard and mouse, the keyboard has an extra feature.
I have had this product for several months without the opportunity to try it. After all you do not upgrade your PC that often. When you do it is often nice to start with a totally fresh installation however this does have its drawbacks and should the thought of installing everything from fresh fill you with dread then this is for you.
Instead of letting your fingers do the work, you could use them as an aid to your memory. To discover how, read on!
At about this time of year the 2005 products appear, one keenly fought encounter is between Microsoft Encarta and Encyclopaedia Britannica. Every year I try to note the differences and changes.
Is yours a standard, one-piece model or maybe you prefer a flip top? Then again there are sliders and swivellers. Currently I am using a Motorola V80 which puts me in the swivel category.
Canon have recently refreshed their range of inkjet printers, this is the bottom of the range unit, but do not think it is anyway lacking in features or ability.
This is a four ink two cartridge
offering. This does mean that if you use more of one colour than the
others there could still be ink left when you need to change the
cartridge. However this is not really a printer for a heavy user. There
is nothing wrong with it and in my tests it performed perfectly well. A 1500 word document with some coloured
text was produced at 7PPM and a 200 word black text document came
through at close to 12 PPM.
Most people have a collection of videos, photographs and music which they want to preserve. If you fall into this category then help could be at hand so read on.
This is certainly something for that special person in your life. It is a watch but that is rather like saying one of Turners masterpieces is a painting. A watch tells the time, so does this, however there is more ....
Adding extra channels to your basic television viewing could not be easier. All you need is one of the new generation of set-top boxes such as the Hauppauge DEC110-T.
This digital terrestrial receiver, measuring 160 x 140 x 35mm and
capable of bringing the Freeview channels into your living room, comes
boxed in a package that contains all the bits and pieces you are likely
to need. For a start you get the DEC110-T unit but more of this piece
of equipment later. There is a remote control powered by two AAA
batteries and a 12v power supply for the actual unit.
With Christmas only around three months away I will from time to time cover things that could be given as gifts, some quite reasonable and others for that special person. Lets start with something for anyone keen on gardening.
I have recently looked at two labellers
from Brother one for the younger members and another for the office.
Now how about one that is ideal for the gardener, it can be used to
label seeds, pots or even shrubs in the garden as the labels are
weatherproof, heat resistant, and perhaps most important fade proof.
Add a designer name and the price goes up, however it is not always the case that the quality goes up to match it. Here I am looking at a set of very stylish 2.1 speakers, is the name all they have to offer?
Walk away from your PC and it automatically becomes locked, nothing on the screen and no access, return and you are exactly where you were and no passwords to enter.
Ever tried playing a game on your mobile phone? Lets face it, this is hardly the most enjoyable experience especially when compared to dedicated hand-held game devices. One possible solution could be to turn the situation around and make your phone calls from a game device.
3megapixel not enough, 5megapixel not enough, then how about 7.1megapixel? The latest PowerShot S70 has exactly that as well as other great features in a compact housing.
It is 11x5.5x3.5cm and weights less than 300grams. It comes with a 32MB Compact Flash card and solid rechargeable battery. There are five image sizes 3072x2304
(large), 2592x1944 (medium 1), 2048x1536 (medium 2), 1600x1200 (medium
3), and 640x480 (small). Like almost all recent digital cameras it can
take short movie sequences but instead of just 160x120 and 320x240 the
normal images sizes this can also take 640x480 as well.
So your pockets are bulging! Maybe it is because you are carrying too many devices. Perhaps one solution might be to switch to a device that combines the features of a PDA and gaming console.
If you enjoy music on a PC/Notebook then the speakers and sound card/chip are important. To put a better sound card in a notebook is very difficult and even in some PCs not that easy, here is an alternative.
Having recently tested an entry level labelling machine (P-touch 55 22/8/04) aimed at the younger market here I get involved with a larger machine that has even more functionality.
The earlier machine was meant for kids
both in the colour choice and key size as well as having mobile phone
type input. Here in this machine that would look at home in any office
- it's grey - with QWERTY keys and a total of 58 keys almost all can
produce symbols or accents with the press of a second key. It
is 14x12x5cm and it is close to 600grams.
I do not normally play a lot of games, perhaps the occasional Freecell or two and the odd very odd game of Bridge, however I have to confess that the Bank Holiday saw me spending far to much time on Trainz.
Free means different things to different people. Take Freeview and free-to-air as an example. There is no subscription charge but you do need to purchase an appropriate receiver.
The Government's perceived wisdom (surely an oxymoron) is that analogue TV has had its day and will be replaced by digital broadcasts. This digital switchover is due to begin in 2007. A taster of what is to come can be experienced with the Freeview service which rose, Phoenix-like, from the debacle known as On-Digital and its monkey figurehead.
Free means different things to different people. Take Freeview and free-to-air as an example. There is no subscription charge but you do need to purchase an appropriate receiver.
Designed by Porsche is not something you immediately think of when talking about speakers, cars are far more likely. However these speakers are not anything like bulk standard boxes.
Music on the move, first there was the cassette player, next the CD player, nowadays the MP3/WMA player seems to rule the roost. Here an ultra small CD player that can also play MP3/WMA etc, its called the NAPA Ultra Slim DAV-397.
A multifunction inkjet unit from Epson that is not a great deal larger than an inkjet printer. So Scan, Copy and Print from a single unit all at a not outrageous price. It can also read almost all types of memory card, meaning that printing is possible direct from cards when the PC is not on.
It is 45x43x22cm and weights a little less than nine kilos. Paper is stored face forward vertically at the rear of the unit. It is delivered face up from the base of the front of the unit. Items to scan or copy are placed face down on the flat scanning surface under the cover, items up to A4 can be scanned/copied. This is a four ink model placing it in the 'mid' range.
If like me you remember the old Dymo labelling machines with the circular dial where you punched in each letter only to sneeze or stutter at a vital moment then this offering from Brother could be for you.
They say size is not everything, except sometimes it is, and in the case I am thinking of the smaller the better. For those who are unsure I am talking of USB stick drives.
3megapixel, 3x optical zoom, 32MB SD card, if that does not get you interested then perhaps the sub £100 price point may, if not then you are probably not looking for a digital camera.