Publication History For : Paul Smart
Click to see this members public profile
Older articles
Windows 7 is now in public beta for anyone to download. I was told in a briefing earlier this week that Windows 7 will run on a Netbook in only 1GB. No release date is yet available but I am informed it will be within twelve months.
I was told that the public beta became available on the 9 January. No exact size is currently available but an ISO download done by the presenter earlier this week was 2.7GB, it is expected that this will probably be smaller by launch date. This should use the same or less resources than Vista and you should be able to install it on top of a Vista installation. When I asked about XP I was told you would need to do a full install so you would need to reinstall all your applications afterwards.
Fancy a piping hot cup of water in three seconds, yes three seconds, then this could be for you. Of course its up to you to decide if you want water, tea, coffee, soup or many other beverages this just heats the water very quickly.
This is really two products in one. First something that heats or dispenses tap water quickly and second one that heats and dispenses filtered water quickly. The Tefal Quick Cup is 21cm tall and 15cm round at the base it gradually gets wider towards the top and at the protruding spout it is 25cm from front to back and 18cm wide. The 70cm long 13amp lead comes out of the base at the back.
It is not always possible to map items together in perfect harmony. For a start this is not a computer mouse but a sanding device. The second item is a small tabletop Tripod ideal for anything (not only cameras) that need to be kept steady. They do have one thing in common they both work extremely well, also both make ideal ways of spending Christmas money.
While this of course can sand wood it can also clean old paint and rust from metal. It also has the capability to be used as a polisher. It is 18x8x10cm with a shoe like the base of an iron 17x9cm. The pointy nose is the secret of being able to get into places that a standard sander cannot. It seems to come with a kit that includes a range of sander discs and even a case to keep it in. The reason that a fabric case ids required is that you virtually have to destroy the box to remove it.
Two Small Brando Items
Published in Misc
on
4 Jan 2009
With the pound seeming to fall a lot, these purchases need to be checked more carefully as you are buying in dollars. Here a keyboard ideal for limited space and second a dual slot MS ProDuo adapter to allow your Micro SD cards to be read from the same adapter on a single read.
This comes with what looks like a standard USB stick that is the wireless adapter. The keyboard is 25.5x11x2cm (this is very different from the measurements stated on the package). The required two ‘AAA’ batteries for the keyboard are supplied. This is a seventy eight key keyboard with the alpha numeric keys being the largest at 1.5x1.3cm each. However there are also four volume keys on the left edge.
A 15x10cm (post card) sized printer, however instead of the normal box shape this is rather like a radio or cassette player as it has a built in handle and is a very thin shape the card (printing stock) handling is unique.
The Canon Selphy ES30 measures 22cm wide 23cm tall and 12cm deep. You will need maybe 10cm clear in front of the unit as the card stock is turned in mid air from its landscape stored position to its portrait printing position. It weights less than 2.4kilos even when it has a full pack of 50 cards stored inside. This can be connected to a PC using a standard USB cable or direct to a camera using Pict Bridge both these sockets are towards the base of the left side.
On the face of it this is just another of the huge range of devices to tell your where you are and how to get to where you are not. However after a few days of use I soon realised it did lots of things that other such devices do not.
The TomTom GO930-T is 11.5x8.5x2cm and has a landscape screen 10.7x5.8cm. While most will of course use it in a car I suggest unless you are a passenger then you first try it on a bus or a train where or course you are a passenger as there is so much to absorb from the screen display and unlike a lot of other units it shows things in different places and often in different ways.
Another rather nice 32inch Digital TV this one from LG. Called scarlet simply because the back of the unit is err scarlet. It has an intriguing hole below the screen but above the stand, place your finger in it and it turns the unit on/off from/to standby.
What I received was the TV with mains lead, its stand that screws into the TV, the remote control and nothing else. So everything I am telling you about has been by experimentation as it had no instructions. Later I was sent a PDF file, I find searching through 140 pages of a manual designed for 12 different models not that easy, especially when the TV is in a different room to the PC. I printed only a couple of pages; you of course will have the printed manual when you buy a unit.
Here I am looking at two items from John Adams; either have a good chance of the childs parents having a good period of peace. The first can encourage the drawing skills while the second encourages the creative genes. Wonder of wonder two different toys and neither need a single battery. Possibly even better value now and a good way to spend that Christmas cash.
This is a toy that has been around in one form or another for many years. Here however John Adams have gone one further by not only allowing the drawer to capture static objects on the unit but also things far further away. The base is 30x38cm and it grows to about 34cm tall forming two thirds of a triangle. The whole secret is two (unbreakable) mirrors that allow anything in the right area to be captured and therefore drawn on an A4 sheet of paper.
Having just finished the monster 28inch offering from Hanns-G this big unit seems almost normal in size. It has exactly the same resolution but instead of the notional 27.5inches diagonal measurement it is 25.5inches.
Not a photo frame that currently seems in vogue but a device solely for the display of images. What has an object not that much larger than a camera have that a decent photo frame does not?
The Epson P-3000 measures 14x5x8.5x3.5cm and weights 420grams. The display window is 8.3x6.1cm giving the notional 4inch display. It runs on a solid rechargeable battery. The top has earbud socket, SD and Compact Flash card slots. The right side has on/off hold slider as well as a Kensington Lock connector. The base has the entry point for the solid battery, while the left side has two rubber bungs covering the power adapter and A/V outlet and USB sockets.
Many months after the launch I finally get my hands on one, and yes it was worth the wait. Nice small machine that does not cost the earth and if you only want word processing, email and Internet then why look elsewhere.
It weights under a kilo (984 grams) and is 24.5x17x3cm. Mine was cream with the inside of the lid black. It has an 84 key keyboard with alpha and numeric keys being near full size at 1.5cm square, I say near full size as the space between is of course far less than a standard keyboard. The left side has power adapter input, VGA out, Ethernet, USB and SD card slot. The front has only the slider switch to turn wireless connection on/off.
Not perhaps obvious items to be put together but either or both could make a great present. The first something for that frustrated drummer I am sure you will have heard or Air Guitar but how about Air drums? The second a twist of a jigsaw that is made in the shape of a globe.
Not a skin in sight, it is basically a pair of drumsticks with thin leads going to a small box, while there are a couple of smaller boxes that is it. Insert 4x‘AA’ batteries in the box and start learning the movements and hear your efforts either from the inbuilt speaker or once you have things perfected pipe it out through external speakers. Annoy the neighbours without even ever bringing anything larger than 43x26x6cm cardboard box into your home.
Neither of which is via a PC however both require an Ethernet connection, the first the Belkin Ethernet Skype Phone is wired and the second the Philips VOIP 841 has a wireless link to its base station that connects to the router.
This looks exactly like a standard office phone. Looks are deceiving as it is a Skype phone and unlike most other Skype phones needs just one thing an Ethernet port. It is not wireless but wired and probably because of that sound to the caller and receiver is excellent. It is 15cm tall, 18cm wide and 3cm thick. However the phone sits at 45degrees making its display very clear on your desk. The handset is 17x4.5x3cm max and this sits on the left side of the unit.
Just over two years ago I reviewed a coffee machine from the people who made the coffee Nescafe. Now there is a new version and this is from the people who make the machine Krups. Its still the same coffee but the machine is even better.
In the ensuing two years my Dolce Gusto article has been well read and I am told is one of the top reads ever on it certainly still often features in the monthly top ten reads as it is still an extremely popular coffee machine. So what is new or different well lets deal with the consumables first the Chocolate was launched after the review and has had some favourable comments. If you have a spare half an hour why not read all the numerous comments to my original review.
This is the second of the phones from the Swedish company I met recently. This is two handsets the base one has a built in answerphone and the remote one can be placed anywhere within range where there is a power supply.
The phones are 15x5.5x2cm and with their two ‘AAA’ rechargeable batteries inserted weigh just over 100grams. Mine had a black face and silver back; the rubberised buttons were silver with black numerals. The display is black on grey however for eight seconds after a key is pressed it is backlit in blue. There are a total of nineteen buttons and a circular one that works top and bottom so I suppose it’s twenty one.
The first is hidden inside a standard looking pillow, the second inside a fabric hat. Both allow you to use your favourite iPod or MP3 player to provide the material.
All you need is your iPod or MP3 player plus a pillowcase. Replace your normal pillow with this offering and you can listen to your music without disturbing others, I doubt even most people sleeping in the same room or maybe even in the same bed would be disturbed. While I suggested iPod or MP3 there is no reason why it should not be a radio or even a portable CD Player. I am told learning works with this method of dropping off to sleep while listening.
It must be at least two years since I first saw these sort of items advertised, however for one reason or another it is only now late in 2008 that I finally got to test one. This unit from ION comes with three different pieces of software.
The record deck is 40x34x10cm, mine was silver in colour with a clear Perspex lid. There are three push buttons on the front and a USB connection on the back along with two RCA audio output sockets and mains lead input. The three push buttons are for setting the deck speed 33 or 45, to automatically lift the stylus from the record and a stop button. The reason I mentioned these is that they are not controls to effect in any way the output to the PC.
This is a digital camera that is easily small enough to fit in a pocket or purse but this does not mean it is lacking in features. It is a 12MP offering that has scene recognition, face detection and auto red eye removal to mention just three.
It is 9x6x2cm and weights only 165grams. Doing a quick run round the unit mine was a rather nice matt black with silver fitments such as the Fujinon lens F=8-24mm. Above and to it’s right by a minimum of 2cm is the flash. The left side is bland while the right side has wrist strap anchor point and A/V out behind a door. The base have the rechargeable battery behind a door that also hides the card slot, to the left of this is the tripod anchor point.
The big thing about this 22inch panel is not the resolution it is what now seems to be a standard 1680x1080, its not the wonderful sound their isnt any- it is simply that is uses less power in both use and on standby so it can help your pocket and the planet.
I find it weird that my more than three year old 20inch panel has a greater resolution than a brand new 22inch offering. Of course my panel is 4:3 and this is 16:9. The panel is 51x34cm and is a maximum of 9cm thick. It has a 20cm circular stand and this raises it 6cm above the desk. The screen itself is 47x29.5cm giving the diagonal 22inch measurement. The rear has connections for analogue and digital as well as the power.
Here I am looking at two kids toys that will be very popular with younger kids not quite so sure about their parents one a tiny guitar with built in songs and the other another item a belt buckle giving guitar sounds from a mini amplifier this again comes with built in sounds. They are both reasonably priced.
When I first saw this my initial thought was toy, after using it I can see musical merit in it. You can play chords and therefore tunes and possibly just possibly the child might take music seriously. It is 19.5cm long, 6.5cm wide (max) and 3.5cm deep. The back and sides are brown, the fret part is yellow and guitar head is blue (other colours are available). It requires two ‘AAA’ batteries that are not supplied. The back has a speaker and a three position switch off/low/high.
This is quite a squat unit, it is DAB only so no FM. However the white unit with grey sides looks quite nice. Normally a DAB radio on batteries is unlikely to get beyond ten hours this unit shatters that by a long way.
It is 19x11x7cm, weight is around 700grams, the grey sides are rubberised as is the base of the seven section rod aerial that extends 58cm from the top of the unit. The back has 3.5mm connectors for line in and earbuds. There is also an input for the mains adapter. Everything else is controlled by five small rubberised buttons and below that two larger rubberised twist knobs are below back. Above these knobs is a 5.7x1.
Recently I heard about a Swedish Phone company, I went along to their presentation and was given several of their phones to try. This was the first offering a rather nice slim DECT phone called the TH80.
The phone is 15.5x4.5x1cm and weights only 120grams. It comes with a base station that you plug into the wall socket and this is 11x11x3cm both the phone and the base station are black. The phone has a silver back. The base station also charges the phone. If the phone is away from the base station you can page the phone from it, great if you have a large garden and the person in the garden has it in their pocket. Also useful if you forget where you left the handset just follow the tone.
At the start of 2008 GE launched a range of cameras into the UK. While some were on show and have been reviewed during the year as they became available. Not even a dummy mock up of this unit was available at the time, finally it has become available, was the wait worth it?
A lot was made at the initial event of all cameras sharing the same manual. Well this unit does have the same ‘Superior Features’ sheet featuring Face Detection, Panorama Stitching, Smile Detection and Blink Detection but while the manual itself is in five languages it varies quite considerably simply because the controls are in vastly different places. The reason, this is an almost totally touchscreen camera.
These two products both have an extra apart from the main job they are there to do. The mouse could be useful for those who need to work in confined spaces and the Multi Card reader might be useful for those who are worried about their appearance.
This is a small mouse 9cm long and a maximum of 5.5cm wide. As is the trend today it is wireless and it even has a place in the base to insert the USB receiver when not in use. However this would be nothing that different from what I have so far told you about. It weights less than 90grams – still not that unusual – it will work in this form with MAC and Linux but the plus is the software supplied when working with Windows XP or Vista.
This used to be called CD Creator and was one of the two main products in the field. Now of course the CD part is dropped mainly as most will use the DVD part as much if not more than the CD but it does a great deal more as well.
First the bad news it does take a long time to install (I installed it on a good speed notebook and on a desktop system) and the times were within a couple of minutes of each other at 48 and 50 minutes. A lot of the time was taken by installing yet another release of Net Framework. The total space taken was 2.8GB. After the install I was browsing though the items available directly and my eyes first descended upon an Audio setting that allows you to change various styles.
If like me you are of mature years you will remember pressure cookers and I am sure today such objects would be illegal. This however is very unlike what was on offer it is just a rapid method of one pot cooking.
It still works on pressure but the change of it exploding and depositing burning liquid all over your kitchen and you are all but nil. It has a very simple and foolproof locking mechanism. A very easy and safe method of removing the steam and should you need to move it while in use then it has two one click lock handles that remain cool. It is 25cm tall to the top of the lid and 25cm across. The interior diameter is 22cm and the base diameter is 18cm.
LG Scarlet TV
Published in Entertainment
on
null
Another rather nice 32inch Digital TV this one from LG. Called scarlet simply because the back of the unit is err scarlet. It has an intriguing hole below the screen but above the stand, place your finger in it and it turns the unit on/off from/to standby.
After my last review of a SanDisk unit this came initially as a disappointment, in fact more than a disappointment. I was sent a replacement unit and that had the same problem, so once solved I have put it through a thorough and rigorous set of tests to see that it did not occur again.
This is a MP3, Video, Photo, FM Radio and Voice Recorder. It measures 4.5x75x.5cm and weights just 30 grams. It comes with 2GB of internal memory but it can also accept a micro SD card. The left side is where the Micro SD card can be inserted and beside this is where the pinhole microphone is. The right side has slider for on/off, however if you are the energetic type slide it the other way to engage the hold control. The base has the proprietary USB connection and a 3.5mm earbud socket.
USB Gift Sets for men and women
Published in Misc
on
23 Nov 2008
An ideal gift for a man or in the alternative pink colour equally ideal for a lady. The items in this kit perform a range of vital tasks and can all be powered from a USB port. Yes another great gift idea from those clever people in Hong Kong.
A total of five items all in a single box. The first is a the actual light unit is 7cm long. It comes on a circular base 5cm across and the articulated arm is 16cm long, the actual light consists of three LED’s spaced 1cm apart. One side of the base has a USB plug and the other has a simple push on/off switch. It could do with an extension cable as most USB sockets are slightly inset and even though it is on the outside I could not get it to fit without one.
Rice is something thats lots of people struggle to cook well. So maybe a device designed for the job is something that can help you get rice as good as your local Chinese or Indian restaurant or take-away.
To me I was brought up with potatoes at every main meal. Rice happened occasionally as did pasta but only when out and it seemed strange. I still love potatoes in all forms but rice and pasta have their place. However cooking rice well is not always easy. The unit is not quite a cube as it is 23cm wide, 24cm deep and 22cm tall. The latter figure does not include the circular container that all the cooking is done in and that protrudes by a couple of centimetres from the top.
Main Menu
