Dirk

The iPhone hits the news. Again.

August 29, 2008 on 10:51 am by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

The new iPhone has hit the news yet again as the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) banned an advert for being misleading after just two complaints. The complaints noted that the advert in question (below) stated that “all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone”.


As Apple decided, in their infinite wisdom and no doubt with next years model in mind, not to enable proprietary software on the iPhone such as Flash and Java, the internet experience of an iPhone user would differ from that of a PC user. The ASA therefore decided that the advert “gave a misleading impression of the internet capabilities of the iPhone”.


There is the old saying that “Any publicity is good publicity”, and this is no exception. Just as the first advertising wave and initial hype and coverage seemed to be subsiding this incident happens along, and once again the iPhone is plastered all over news sites and blogs (yes, I see the irony here). Is it a bit too much of a jump, and maybe too cynical to think that maybe, just maybe, these two complaints were logged by Apple employees who saw an opportunity?


Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb

Dirk

‘Equal Opportunity’ Policy reaches the robotics world

August 28, 2008 on 2:13 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

Yup, the once male and creature dominated world of the Robosapien has now got it’s first female citizen in the shape of the Femisapien. Just like the rest of the robots in the family the Femisapien will interact with the other robots in the series, but somewhat appropriately (some might say) for a feminine robot she can actually tell all the others what to do.


As well as her somewhat domineering persona she is also programmed with three modes which are activated by tilting her head by various amounts. Attentive mode allows her to interact directly with her owner, singing, dancing, and blowing kisses. Learning mode allows you to teach Femisapien a sequence of up to 80 steps that she can then perform for you. Finally Responsive mode is Femisapiens main walking mode she will detect objects in front of her, and respond to a wave of your hand. Not a huge leap ahead of the already available Robosapien V2, but nice to see some sexual equality in the robot world, and obviously a good choice for the female robot lovers.


Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb

Dirk

May the Force be with you

August 22, 2008 on 1:03 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

Another few weeks and another gadget filled Sci-Fi fest has hit the cinemas in the form of the latest Star Wars blockbuster, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In my opinion there is not a Science fiction franchise out there that rivals Star Wars for its massive range of cool collectables. Sure there are other big Sci-Fi franchises out there, Star Trek for example, but none of them are quite as profitable as Star Wars.

I believe the reason for this is that Star Wars is seen to be a lot more cool, therefore being perceived as less ‘geeky’ and more acceptable to the mainstream. Yes there are still those who take it all very seriously. One of my friends, who at the time was working in the box office at the local cinema, was accosted by a gentleman dressed as a Jedi, complete with plastic Lightsaber which was waved in a rather threatening manner, as he informed the customer that he could not have a ticket to the Phantom Menace no matter how many times he waved his hand and tried the ‘Jedi Mind Trick’. Myself, this is the sort of ‘extreme’ behaviour I would more commonly think to associate with Star Trek fanatics.

Anyway, enough Trekkie bashing. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the story that takes place between the events of ‘Attack of the Clones’ and ‘Revenge of the Sith’. I won’t go into plot details to save spoiling the film for anyone, suffice to say it’s certainly got the fans acclaim and, what some may consider more importantly, no Jar Jar Binks.

Of course with a big film release comes a merchandise push, and thankfully Star Wars is traditionally accompanied by some really sought after merchandise, be it action figures, comics, toys, the list goes on. One of the great constants seems to be if it is Star Wars branded, it will sell. Of course we at Gadgets.co.uk are no different and have a number of new items in stock and arriving soon.

Star Wars Duck

First is our top selling and ever popular Darth Duck Fadar, combining everyone’s favourite Dark Lord of the Sith, with something a bit more soothing, cute and cuddly.

Lightsaber Torch

The Lightsaber is one of the most iconic items from the Star Wars universe, and so we at Gadgets Towers are thrilled to shortly be able to offer this fabulous LED Lightsaber Torch. Ok, it might not be a great deal of use in a cantina brawl in some remote smuggling outpost, but it will help you find your way back from the Dark Side.

And remember, The Force will be with you. Always.

Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb

Dirk

Big Brother Bear is watching!

August 19, 2008 on 3:52 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

A while ago we had a home security gadget arrive here at Gadgets Towers, a Teddy Bear with a wireless camera hidden away inside one of the eyes. When I first saw this I couldn’t help but feel it was not quite right. OK, you can buy a small wireless camera and put it anywhere, but a camera specifically located in a teddy bear? That’s only, on first thought at least, really going to be useable in certain locations and, especially considering the current climate with these things, I couldn’t help but feel this was a bit too close to a certain line that shouldn’t be crossed.
With the ever increasing presence of CCTV in our modern lives, taking it into the home is possibly a step too far for some, how would you feel going round to a neighbours only to have them watching your every move unbeknownst to you? After all at least with CCTV in public places there are usually signs to advise of it’s ever watchful eye.
However after seeing an article on the BBC News website it seems it does indeed have its uses. The surveillance equipment used in this was a normal teddy that had been given a ‘bionic implant’ of sorts to catch out the particular penny pincher in question. While it was suspected and could probably have been proven in the long run anyway this gadget did bring the matter to a swift conclusion, with the video, along with other evidence, ensuring that the only option for the culprit was to plead guilty. It would appear from this example that hidden cameras can play an important role in protecting some of societies more vulnerable citizens. Unfortunately the line between ‘helping the vulnerable’ and something altogether more distasteful is a very narrow and rather blurred one.

So the next time you are thinking you might give your bum a good scratch, or go ‘digging for greens’ up your nose, just take a minute to consider who could be watching…..

Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb

Dirk

Now you see me……

August 15, 2008 on 4:15 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post


Wouldn’t it be great if you could be invisible? Loitering around listening in on peoples conversations, avoiding that person you really don’t want to talk to, sneaking into the girls (or boys if that’s your thing) changing rooms. The list of possibilities for mischief making is seemingly endless, but unfortunately so is the wait for something that makes you truly invisible. Or at least it was….


Researchers at the University of California whose work is, maybe not too surprisingly, funded by the US military have reportedly managed to engineer materials which control lights direction of travel. The end product for this is no doubt envisaged as being invisible tanks, troops, and the like rather than something more Harry Potter-esque.


The idea works on the principle that as what we see is made by our brain interpreting reflected light, if you could bend light around an object, like a river flowing around a rock for example, it would appear as if it was not there.


The full article can be found here on the Times website.

Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb

Dirk

One of Mans greatest gadgets is 18

August 11, 2008 on 4:11 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

It may be hard to believe, but one of the most ambitious gadgets man has ever created is 18 years old, and has recently completed its 100,000 orbit of Earth! That’s right, the Hubble Space Telescope is now freely able to walk into its local with its head held high and ask for an alcoholic beverage should it so wish.

Cursed with a flawed mirror upon launch which resulted in the quality of imges being impaired in its early years Hubble was much maligned and branded as a white elephant. Forward a few years and after a freshly fitted flaw free mirror it has brought us some of the most amazing images we could never have imagined! From galaxies far far away, to suspected black holes, and even the neighbours in our own solar system the images have not only captivated the imaginations of all who see them but have also led to the resoloution of some long standing problems in astronomy, as well as turning up results that require new theories to explain them. The telescope has been able to look relatively into the past by seeing stars systems and galaxies being formed, and give a glimpse of what our own planets distant future may hold watching as other celestial bodies reach the end of their time.

Looking at the pictures such as the ones below it is hard to visualise the scale of these universal phenomena, and I myself can’t totally shake the feeling that they may just have been knocked up in some sort of imaging programme, they really are that unbelievably amazing. Any cynicism aside there is no denying that these images are quite simply out of this world!

See many more amazing pictures like these in the Hubble Space Telescope gallery.

Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb

Dirk

Gadgets Towers Going Green

August 8, 2008 on 4:10 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

We’ve all been made aware just how important it is to ‘go green’, and we here at Gadgets Towers are trying to do our bit to help the fight against climate change. These are the latest weapons in our arsenal. First up is the new Green Charger.

I’m sure we have all seen the stats about how much energy is wasted by mobile phone chargers that are left plugged in and turned on with either no phone attached, or a fully charged one. The Green charger simply makes sure that no energy is wasted in these scenarios. It’s incredibly simple, but essentially it solves the problem without anyone needing to alter their behaviour. Simply plug the Green charger into your phone as you would a normal charger and… Well, actually that’s it, there is nothing complicated, nothing you need to remember, nothing you need to do to set it up, no adaptors, just the Green Charger and your phone. Our other new energy saving addition is the Eco Button.

Again it’s an incredibly simple concept. You merely need to plug the Eco Button into a spare USB port, and press the Eco Button before you leave your PC to enter ‘Eco-Mode There are those out there who, for whatever reason don’t like turning off their PC. The Eco button enables you to leave your PC on in ‘Eco-Mode’ saving energy and money whether you are going for a cup of tea, out for lunch, or even longer. Upon your return simply restart it, complete with any programs left open, with just the touch of a button. As an added incentive the Eco Button will tell you how much energy and money you have saved in the last session it was in use, or cumulatively over time you use it. These and other Eco friendly Green Gadgets can be found in our special Green Section.

Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb

Dirk

Stick Insect Summer Holiday

August 1, 2008 on 3:44 pm by Dirk | In News | Comment on this post

As it’s been a while since I last shared the progress of the Gadgets Towers Stick Insects I thought it was about time for an update, especially since they have been enjoying the summer and clambering aorund the office unhindered the last few days.


They are now, in one word, MASSIVE! In fact since May 16th and my last post regarding our sticks there has been quite a lot going on. They have each shedded several times, and are now around 90mm (3.75 inches) in length.


Now I thought that the shedding process would take a few days, but no, apparently you can blink and miss it, so we haven’t managed to get any pictures of the insects shedding. I do however have some video footage, taken on our very own Flip Ultra Camcorder of some of the girls frolicking in the recent August sunshine as it streamed through the skylight.



They are a lot more mobile and active than they were, and it still takes a few minutes to spot them all first thing in the morning they really do blend in to their surroundings exceptionally well! As always the world alive insect kits are available at our website at Gadgets.co.uk.

Bookmark at:
StumbleUpon | Digg | Del.icio.us | Dzone | Newsvine | Simpy | Furl | Reddit | Yahoo! MyWeb

Entries and comments feeds. Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^