When at events such as motor racing, football or just fun parties you need to take photos very quickly. However some some equipment can take a while to turn on, and then take the photograph. And don’t even talk about blurry photos!

So if you want to take pictures quickly below you will find a great solution. We have listed some of the best point and shoot cameras dependent on your needs and budget.

Prices were correct at time of writing but may have now changed so check the retailers websites for current cost.

Samsung Dual View ST550

If you are looking for a compact camera with good picture quality and features, then this Samsung could be for you. At 12 mega pixels the picture detail is very good, also has HD movie. There is also a very clever feature where you can take a shot of yourself, or self-portrait, using the second view screen that is situated on the front. It also features touch screen technology. £212.95 from Amazon.

Canon Powershot S3 IS

This very highly rated camera has a 6MP camera and 12x optical zoom plus image stabilization. Has 20 shooting modes, a large vari-angle LCD and low light performance. Also a good looking nice size piece of equipment. This is a very popular choice and if you want it but are on a tight budget you may also be able to buy a used one. Brand new £399 on Amazon.

Kodak EasyShare HD Z950

If you’re not looking to spend quite so much money on a point and click, then this Kodak could be an option. It has some great features for a camera in this range, such as the capability to record HD video. Despite being significantly cheaper then the other two, it still offers an image quality of 12MP, 10x zoom and has 35mm lens. This could be the camera for you. Priced around £152 from Amazon.

Battery Life

This is always something you should bare in mind when buying these gadgets, as it is arguably the Achilles heal of this type of device. Do your homework, read reviews and customer opinions as it can save you a lot of headaches when you use one that does not go to sleep after half an hours use.

The items listed above are for the UK, but you can normally find the same products in other countries. We believe these are some of the best cameras on the market based on ratings, reviews and feedback. I hope this page has helped you find the ideal cam for your needs, happy snapping!

The mobile phone industry is buzzing with the previews of the new Google phone, or if you prefer the Nexus One. With a release date believed to be in January 2010, the Nexus One at first glance does look like many other phones on the market. It sports a thin and sleek body, and touch screen technology.  It also features some interesting applications, not least the new Google Goggles, whereby the application tries to recognise objects in a photo and then generates search results about them. A clever little app if ever there was one.  Google navigation is preloaded too.

The real question, is where does this phone fit in with the Apple iPhone, and the Blackberry range.  Both are considered the best phones available for their chosen markets, so what room is there for the Nexus One?

It is not inconceivable that the Nexus One will simply adopt the best of both worlds and become the indispensable phone.  Google have an unbeatable knack of  not only developing clever technology, but useful technology, which is easy to use and understand. 

If this concept is transferred to the Nexus One, Google could well be on a winner with this phone or at least future releases.

The Nexus One is by all accounts going to be released early next year on the T Mobile network, and will also feature Wi-Fi connectivity.

No price has been attached to the phone at this time.

Do you feel Google will be a credible rival to Apple and Blackberry, or should they just stick to search engines?

Sources used: Engadget.com

Intel has launched a new central processing unit on a postage stamp-sized silicone chip containing 48 processing cores and 1.3 billion transistors, known as the Single-Chip Cloud Computer.

This means the firm has created the equivalent of 12 quad-core processors in a single chip. Theoretically, each processing core on the IA32 processor could run a separate operating system. And this device contains all the resources usually needing several racks in a data centre within a single chip.

There are 24 ’tiles’, each one a dual-core processor with its own router, and together they form a mesh network able to communicate at 256 Gb/s. Each tile can also independently vary the frequency at which the cores operate. The tiles are grouped in fours, with each group able to run at its own voltage.

To reduce power consumption, the tiles can be split into differently sized islands running at separate voltages. The tiles in the mesh network can be varied to function from 25W to a 125W maximum.

The focus of modern competition in CPU production has shifted from processor speed to the number of processors which can be crammed into a single chip. American company Tilera and graphics chip maker Nvidia have already unveiled 100 core and 512-core processors.

Intel’s own 80-core processor from 2007 was less about practical application, and more about proving that it could be done. And the company has hinted that it could eventually fit 100 cores onto one chip.

What sets the SCC apart is the fact that it is based on Intel’s X86 architecture, making it possible for it to function in regular desktop computer systems like Linux and Windows.

Microsoft has already said it would exploit the capability of the SCC in the future, and Windows 7 can manage up to 256-core processors. However, the SCC announcement has sparked fears that Microsoft and other software sellers could become involved in complex per-core licensing, which could make life complicated, not to mention costly.

The microprocessor was produced thanks to research co-led by Intel Labs researchers in India, Germany and the US.

While Intel has not said when the SCC would be made commercially available, researchers and other interested parties will have access to it during the first half of next year, and more details will be announced at San Francisco’s International Solid-State Circuits Conference next February.

Chief Technology Officer at Intel Justin Rattner said: “Over time, I expect these advanced concepts to find their way into mainstream devices”. Can’t wait!

This article is designed for people who have very little knowledge of gaming but are looking for a console for their family or children. Here we outline the basics of each one and whether they are ideal for you and your family.

Games consoles have become like DVD players and widescreen televisions in the sense they have almost become a household item. Many are top of a birthday or christmas list for both children and adults. The playing field for the games consoles is dominated by the big three: Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3. So here we compare these video game consoles.

The Playstation 3

There was a time when somebody spoke of consoles, the one to have was the Playstation. It has the best games, which featured the best graphics and the best sound. Some of the games that started on this platform like Tomb Raider, have become feature films. 

Wind the clock forward a few years however, and the PS3 is not really competing with the two other big players. It currently lacks the quirky innovation of the Wii, and seems to lack the gaming support of the 360. 

The games have quality graphics, sound and gameplay, and the console itself can play blu-ray disks, and is the only console able to do so. It is technically speaking a more capable machine than the 360, as the graphic card is a higher spec, and the processor is faster.

So, should you buy one? The PS3’s Achilles heal is that the bigger titles tend to come out on the Xbox 360, and it simply cannot match the Xbox live experience for online play. However, if you are a film buff and have a many blu-ray titles, and are not to concerned about Call of Duty games and online play, this could be an option as the console that is right for you.
View for sale PS3’s on Amazon UK

Xbox 360

For many hardcore gamers, this is the console of choice.  It has some excellent titles in its catalogue like the Halo games, and the Call of Duties, and for traditional button pushing hardcore gaming, this console is hard to beat. It also has excellent online play in the form of Xbox live, which has become a huge success. 

The only downside to the 360, is that there has been reports of technical hitches that have hampered the play of many gamers. That aside, for traditional gaming and being slightly cheaper than the PS3, it is arguably the machine for you if you are a traditional gamer.
View for sale Xbox’s on Amazon UK

Nintendo Wii

Sony in particular must really hate the Nintendo Wii. Before its release the gaming world was a two horse race and for the most part they were a few lengths in front. Then from out of nowhere comes a games console that introduced a new concept in gaming: Motion!

There can be no denying that the motion controllers that have been pioneered by Nintendo are its true strength. If you are actually throwing a punch at an opponent rather than pushing a button, does it really matter if it does not quite match the pixel perfection of the other two consoles?  For many, the answer is no.  The Wii consistently outsells its closest rivals, and was the console of choice last year.

Like the motion controllers, the imagination in some of the games are exceptional as well. Wii Music and Wii Fit were not even dreamed about a few years ago, and a key strength with titles of this nature is that the whole family can participate in the fun. Gaming has moved from a concept that encouraged people to play alone in their bedrooms, to a shared activity enjoyed by everyone.

The Wii is ideal for family fun, but also if you value actually doing something rather than button pushing.
View for sale Wii’s on Amazon UK

Remember

All the consoles have their strengths and weaknesses and you should consider these before parting with your cash. So look at all their features and compare the video game consoles to get the right one for you. Happy gaming!

Perhaps you are growing tired listening to the same old playlist, or maybe you are growing tired of your same old Apple iPhone Apps. Perhaps you have been sitting on a bus, or heard a song on the radio and had that Eureka moment, when you realise you, yes you, can improve a song, and even, make a new one by mixing it with another.

Well now you have a chance to do exactly that. For $19.99 (£15), you can download the new Touch DJ Program App from Amidio, and have a go at mixing some tunes from the comfort of your iPhone.

The whole thing revolves around “visual mixing” which involves a lot of tapping and sliding, but with a bit of practise the following effects can be achieved:

• Looping
• Scratching
• Positioning
• Equalization
• Effects and pitching

Though you will not get the same results from hi-tech DJ Equipment, you can carry it in your pocket, is considerably cheaper, and if you are truly rubbish at it, you will not have wasted immense amounts of money.  It is also more portable than a drum kit.

The flaw with the App, is that you can not import songs from your iTunes library straight into it, but instead, you have to reload them into the App’s library, which seems a little daft. 

Still, for a bit of mixing fun, or indeed a new single, the Touch DJ Program App is both unique and appealing in equal measure. 

This video should give you an idea of what it is like in action.

Source: Amidio

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was founded to save the whale. They have used controversial methods to stop whaling craft in the past, and critics are divided in their opinions, who either passionately defend or attack them with supreme zeal. Now the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has unveiled a new super sleek weapon to stop whaling craft, the 78 foot trimaran power boat, The Earthrace.

What makes The Earthrace such a potential threat to whaling vessels, is that it can reportedly deflect radar, which means it is ‘invisible’ to ships until they are within close proximity to it. Considering The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s tactics of ramming, boarding, scuttling and sinking ships in the past. The Earthrace is a very scary prospect if you’re serving on a whaling craft in the South Pacific.

The Earthrace originally grabbed the headlines back in December 2007, when she was used in an attempt to break speed records travelling the globe. What made her particularly unique was that she ran on biodegradable fuel, which reportedly came from the Captains stomach via lipo suction.

Now she has a sleek paint job, and is currently being prepared for an anti-whaling in Auckland harbour, in New Zealand. In December she will travel to Perth to collect supplies, before rendezvousing with another Sea Shepherd vessel, The Steve Irwin.

Both vessels will then attempt to stop Japanese whaling vessels from hunting whales, in protest of the countries three month industrial whaling programme. Tactics at this stage, are unknown.

What makes it worse if you’re serving on a whaling craft is that the Earthrace looks like the Bat – Boat. That has to be a bad omen if you’re superstitious!

Source: Life.

When you think of gadgets for your kids you tend to think of things like iPods, and iPhones. These are all well and fine for teenagers, but they are a bit dull for the younger child. Luckily, there are some real gems out there for children, from spy robots to things that go bing!

Prices on this page were correct at the time of writing but please check the retailers website for the current cost to buy.

The Meccano-Spykee robot is a surveillance robot that travels on wheels, and sends real time images back to a pc.  It also has voice communication, and is compatible with Meccano parts.  The perfect gift for children that want to know what their older sibling is planning. Retails at £149.99 from Amazon.

Bop it extreme 2. The tag line for this gizmo is follow the beat or taste defeat.  This sums up what the Bop it extreme 2 is all about.  In essence you have to flick, push, pull, and bop the levers in time to the music.  There are four rhythms to chose from, and the further you progress the more beats you unlock. Retails at £39.99 from Amazon.

COOL-ER e-Book reader. If your child is a bit of a book worm then why not invest in an e-Book reader.  It can store up to 500 novels which are downloaded to it via a PC. It is unaffected by direct sunlight, and has been designed to display text like print rather than pixels. Perhaps the best advantage is not so much its storage capacity or portability, but the fact that you stand on, sit on, or indeed move, your child’s books ever again. Retails at £189.95, from Firebox.

Shocking Laser Guns. The idea behind this is that you get to shoot your friend and cause a pad that is worn on the chest to vibrate.  The blurb says it gives a harmless electric shock, but I think they vibrate which why its harmless.  Nonetheless, all the fun of shooting one another can be had with these weapons of mass vibration! Retails at £29.95, from Firebox.

Disgo DigitalVideo Camcorder. Point and click cameras for kids have been around a while now, so why not further the idea with a camcorder. This particular model has only three buttons, record, playback, and delete, and has over 60 minutes of recording time to boot. Like all camcorders it connects via USB. Simple filming for small hands. Retails at £34.99, from Toys ‘R’ Us.

Children’s gadgets don’t have to be predictable, and a clever choice could make that present, the surprise hit with your child this Christmas.

Size Zero isn’t just for the catwalk. Heavily hyped with more than a few teasers from Dell, the computer giant has finally launched its wafer-slim Dell Adamo XPS in time for the Christmas market. The third in the Adamo series, there’s no doubt Dell’s aim with this machine is to give arch-rival Apple’s MacBook Air a run for its money. And the launch follows in the wake of super-thin machines such as the Sony Vaio X range.

Billed as the world’s thinnest laptop, the Dell Adamo XPS is just 9.9mm thick, and weighs in at less than 1.5kg. And this latest product shaves nearly 5mm off the size of last year’s Adamo. Described by some as a work of art or a feat of engineering rather than a functional laptop, a stand at the back of the machine slants the keyboard at an angle towards the user and rests on top of the battery. While this should help with overheating problems by allowing air to circulate, users may find balancing the XPS on their laps uncomfortable.

This laptop, measuring 34mm by nearly 275, doesn’t open with a conventional mechanical button release. Instead you move your fingers over a heat sensor to release the full-size aluminium keyboard and watch the laptop unfold itself.

This laptop has a high-definition display on its 13.4 inch display screen, and very low voltage. Other features include 4GB DDR3 800 memory, an Intel Core 2 Duo (1.4Ghz) ultra-low voltage processor and 128GB solid-state drive. You’ll also find a built-in 802.11n wireless; 2x USB 2.0; Ethernet connection (through a dongle) and Windows 7 64-bit edition.

Some of the other grumbles already being heard about this product centre on the life of the battery – at around two and a half hours it won’t keep you working for long without mains power. Others have described the Adamo XPS is a triumph of style over substance.

The company insists that this machine will ‘inspire an emotional connection‘ with anyone who sees it. But, clearly, whether it is any good or not is a decision only the individual user can make. We may to wait a while to see for ourselves in the UK, since, frustratingly, a British launch date and pricing has yet to be revealed. What is clear is that, with the equivalent US price tag of over £1,000, in these economic times you’ll need a bulging wallet to check out this ultra-slim laptop.

Unfortunately Hotmail accounts are one of the big choices of attack for many people who act illegally online trying to get into peoples accounts on websites. But sometimes there is a very easy way you can find out when it is your account details which have been taken.

Once again earlier this month (October 2009) news broke that 10,000 Hotmail accounts had ‘been compromised’ in a phishing attack. A few days prior I myself had became worried because a strange email with a spam link was sent from my address to all of my contacts. Immediately after it happened I changed my password. And a few days later I found my password had been discovered.

How To Find Out If Your Hotmail Details Where Acquired Illegally
It couldn’t be simpler. Enter your email into google.co.uk with double quotes around it EG “your_name_here@hotmail.com” and do the search.

In the case of the phishing attack above they had posted all of the details on open web forums, clear as day indexed by the search engines and you didn’t even need to sign-up for an account for the forum, you could just view them straight up. A huge list of email addresses with the passwords after them. Not all attacks like this have the details posted online but it is a possible way to find out.

In my case I found my email on 4 different forums. My account was frozen by Microsoft because so many failed attempts had been made to access the account, looks like my quick password change after 1 dodgy email limited the damage! So if you are ever worried quickly enter your email address into google and look very closely at the results.

When people think of gadgets they tend to think of ipods, smartphones, or something that goes ‘bing!’. Gadgets though are far reaching in their scope, and by no means have they bypassed the average household. With a little thought, some of the most obscure gadgets for the home can all make the home a better place for everyone that lives in it, and help you perfect the perfect dish for that winner dinner party!

The kitchen is a domain within a domain, and normally one household has at least one budding Raymond Blanc. So to ensure that souffle rises, getting your timing right is essential. This Chef’s quad timer will allow you to time four dishes at once, giving you the edge in dinner party rivalries!  This clever gadget costs around £23.99, and improve the quality of your cooking for the whole family!

The Fly Zapper is perfect for eliminating bugs that maybe circling around in your space. The tennis racket size device electrocutes the bugs rather than squatting them. Apparently, you can get them in midair, which kind of makes you a little like a fighter-pilot! Obviously only use it on bugs! £8.80

A great way to keep in touch with family members that are away travelling or just taking a holiday, is by using the Wi-fi Digital Photo Frame. The frame connects to your wireless network in the same way as a laptop, and the device has its own email address. Any pictures emailed to the frame will be displayed. The frame can also display pictures from RSS feeds from Facebook and other social networking sites. Very clever. £169.99

Arguably the best household gadget ever invented, the Robomow, is a robotic lawn mower that trundles over the lawn cutting the grass. This truly remarkable piece of kit works by mowing within boundaries set by you, using perimeter wire. This next evolutionary step in technology can cost £1690 with the docking station, but is it not worth it so you never have to mo another lawn again? It even turns the grass to mulch and pushes it into the soil. Wow!

They say music is the food of love, but sadly, we all have different tastes and it is hugely unlikely that Mum is going to like anything by Muse. That being the case it is now possible to have one hi-fi that can play different music in every room in the house. The Sony Gigajuke can store up to 4000 albums, burn CD’s and play music from more or less any format. At £416.99 may seem like a lot of money, but unlike many other similar systems you do get everything in the box, and with Abba in one bedroom, Iron Maiden in the other, and Nat King Cole in the kitchen, a blissful family life is assured.

These gadgets if utilised correctly, will enhance family life and make your home a nice place to live.

It has been rumoured for a long time, but it is now confirmed that a Bluetooth Blackberry watch is in the pipeline. The idea, is that if you feel your Blackberry vibrating upon your person, you can take a subtle glimpse at your Blackberry watch to see if the message, call, or text is important, rather than fish out the phone which may cause:

• A disruption in meetings.

• A danger when driving.

• A faux pas when participating in a candle lit dinner.

Designed to show notifications and previews messages, the Blackberry watch features a “big, bright, and beautiful” OLED screen, with the focus being on displaying clear text.  The battery life is reportedly solid.

Curiously, the Bluetooth Blackberry watch which has been tentatively christened, inPulse, is not being built by Blackberry, but a dedicated Blackberry company for Blackberry smartphones.

Some useful data:

• inPulse watch designed from the ground up for Blackberry Smartphones.

• OLED screen optimised for clear text display.

• Solid battery life.

• Shows message previews and notifications that are received on your Blackberry Smartphone.

• Tells the time.

The hope is that the inPulse becomes compatible with Blackberry Apps, which would add an additional dimension and function to the watch.

Though watches that feature text messages and so on, are yet to catch on, the feeling with this one is that the inPulse could well be a popular accessory for the businessman on the move, especially as it is a Blackberry Smartphone compatible watch.

The question is of course, if you’re wearing one of these watches, what do you do with the Rolex?

Source: Crackberry

The effects of chemotherapy in destroying cancer are well documented. All too often, however, chemotherapy carries a high risk of damaging side effects at the same time. For some patients, these side effects are so devastating they almost outweigh the benefits of treatment. Because it can kill tumour cells, chemo also tends to blitz fast-dividing cells in skin, hair, bone marrow and other parts of the body indiscriminately.

Targetted Chemo

That could be about to change, thanks to what could be a crucial weapon in the war against cancer, which aims to give targeted chemo without the side effects.

The new technology is called the IsoFlow Isolation Catheter, and comes from San Jose based Vascular Designs specifically set up to work on the project. Chief Executive Robert Goldman, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who lost his sister to the disease in the late 1990s, has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds and several years developing his idea.

How It Works

Essentially, the IsoFlow Isolation Catheter fits inside the patient’s regular blood vessel, and cuts off the blood flow to the tumour by blowing up minute balloons before and after the vessel feeding it. This starves the tumour of blood, which is then redirected via a different route. At the same time, chemotherapy can be blasted directly into the tumour, through the area blocked off by the balloons.

The IsoFlow catheter is guided into place with a thin guide wire. Outside the body, it uses two syringes. When in place, the first syringe is inflates the small balloons inside the vein. The second syringe injects chemo drugs into the isolated area.

The main advantage of this invention is that it allows chemotherapy to be administered in far greater doses than would otherwise be feasible. This means treatment can be more aggressive, far more accurately targeted and potentially more effective. Chemotherapy drugs can wreak havoc on the tumour without the usual devastation to the rest of the body.

Is It Perfect?

No, it would be wrong to describe this as a new miracle cure for this deadly disease. It only functions with tumours which have a well-defined shape and vasculature, or circulatory system.

The device received US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) marketing approval just last month, and has just come available to the public there with a doctor’s prescription. It’s already attracting huge interest in the medical community.

Here is a video of how it works:

It is very exciting to see how technology like this is being utilised for good. Hopefully it starts being used all over the world soon.

Source: Gizmag. Image: screenshot from video

We would all like a fast car with great on board hardware that would let you eject your passengers, or turn your car into a submarine! In car gadgets may not have reached that level, but there are some good ones for sale which make great gifts for yourself of friends and family.

So the question is which one? This array of some of the best gadgets for cars may provide the answer, as it has one to suit all personality types. The prices were correct at the time of writing but check the retailers website for the current price.

For The Navigationally Challenged & The Extroverted
Do you know someone who keeps getting lost, or likes to show off their iPhone? Then the ‘Tom Tom car kit for iPhone’ could be just the ticket. It enables the driver to position it for easy reach, charges the phone as you drive, and the dock enables music and calls too. It looks quite nifty, but at 99 pounds and no app, it could be a little pricey. Still, if you have the app already, then this could be just what you are after.
£99.99. More Info / Purchase (UK only).

For The Impatient & Mr Maintenance
Do you hate queuing to get your tyres inflated? Is so, this digital tyre compressor could be for you. It works by plugging into your cigarette lighter, and simply inflates the tyre to the desired pressure. Bit of a winner and at just over twenty quid could be a good one for the Xmas list.
£20.95. More Info / Purchase. (UK only)

For The Madman & The Bold
A great & necessary one for boy racers, is the ‘LED car sign’. A red light is hung in the rear window, a wireless control is kept near the driver. At a push of a button the following words or symbols are displayed: “Sorry”, for cutting someone up. “Thanks”, for a nice person who lets you out. “Back off”, for the not so nice person up your bumper. A smiley face for peace. A winking face for love.
£19.45. More Info / Purchase. (available in US for $55.93)

For Mr Safety Man & G.I. Joe
Every driver needs a torch so why not have one that has a hammer and a built in belt cutter thrown in the mix too. That’s exactly what you get with the ‘Emergency LED Car Torch Kit’. The torch also can be set to ultra bright, or flash to draw attention. It can also cast a red glow. It works on a dynamo recharge as if it wasn’t snazzy enough.
£24.95. More Info / Purchase. (UK only)

For The Practical Driver
It may not be glamorous, but the ‘Gear 4 USB Charger’ is certainly practical. By plugging it in to the cigarette lighter slot, you can charge two USB devices as you drive. Especially ideal if you are going away or doing long journeys.
£14.99. More Info / Purchase. (UK only, US equivalent $10.50)

There are in car gadgets that suit all personalities, so choosing one shouldn’t be too difficult. If none of these fit you, then what is your favorite in car gadget at the moment?

As well as being available from Amazon you will also find these products for sale from other retailers both online and on the high-street. If you have the time shop around to get the best price! And always try and read customer reviews so you know how good products are.

Bigben Interactive, is bringing out a new game where you play an eco friendly citizen, cleaning the planet by piloting a pedal powered helicopter around the world and doing stuff. The game is yet untitled, but here is a screenshot of the game.

The intriguing thing about the game is not the game itself, but the accessory that is supplied by Bigben Interactive: The Cyberbike! 

Yes folks, following in the footsteps of other Wii accessories such as the gun, the steering wheel, and indeed the dear old nun chuck, the full sized Cyberbike is due to be released along with the eco game around January 2010. 

The bike is compatible with other titles such as Mario Cart, so it has more than one use. Though can’t say I remember there being a mountain bike in the game, but hey, you have handlebars and a seat, what more do you want?

Though other previews have been less than enthusiastic about the release, I feel this offers a lot of scope for a new range of titles that feature cycling as the main activity, from simulations that emulate Tour de France, to bmx style games, and re-releases of classic games like Paperboy.

No price has yet been released.

There is also a good fitness element here, which is one of the reasons Wii Fit is so popular. That, and you get the chance to head footballs!

Here’s to tuning up those calves and losing a few pounds that you have put on after Christmas.

Hat tip: Kotaku

E-readers give you your own portable library, with unlimited access to thousands of books and newspapers which you can store and download in seconds.

Next week, Amazon’s Kindle becomes available to UK customers, priced at £175. Already the Kindle has won rave reviews. The Times, for example, praises its user-friendliness and says the 6in display screen was the best it tested. The Kindle gives access to some 350,000 volumes, including newspapers and magazines, via a mobile phone connection.

It’s not perfect – you will only be able to buy books from the UK, and have to pay shipping and import costs of over £40. Equally, the British version lacks the wider web access of its US counterpart, although Amazon says it is working on this.

There has also been acclaim for the Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-600, pricier at £250. It’s the first e-reader to have a touchscreen, so you can flick through the pages as you would a regular book. There’s also a stylus for adding handwritten notes to the pages.

The product has been praised for its attractive font, making the screen easy to read. But, to download books, it needs to be hooked up to a PC.

The debate about whether e-readers will sound a death knell to ‘proper’ books has kept the blogosphere buzzing. A chief complaint seems to be that you can’t use these devices in the bath, (then again, try reading a paper volume which has been dropped in the tub).

In truth, no-one really knows yet the effect these readers will have on the publishing industry. But given that there will always be those who prefer the smell of real ink and the feel of real paper, reports of the Death of Books would appear greatly exaggerated.

Image: Flickr

If you are in the UK you may have seen on the news the current going-ons at the Royal Mail. It looks like we are set for national strikes causing severe disruption to our postal service leaving a backlog of millions of letters and parcels. This could run on into the Christmas shopping period for this year.

With this part of the year being the busiest, and the predicted trend of ecommerce sales to increase, it could turn into a horrible situation with late parcels, and ones getting lost altogether. But there are a few ways to try and avoid problems for yourself.

• Place your orders in good time, don’t wait until the last deliveries can go out, order early in case the parcel gets lost, damaged or you have to return it.
• Try and have deliveries sent by a courier (such as TNT, Parcelforce, DHL, Interlink, Fedex etc) when possible. Thankfully a lot of electrical goods already are due to their size and value.
• Keep in contact with the company you have purchased from. Even if it is only a few days you may want to drop them a call simply enquiring when to expect delivery. It is good to know where you are at so complications can be spotted quickly.
• Logistically the bigger companies normally have better processes in place than smaller companies. So if possible you may want to purchase from someone like Amazon. Smaller businesses tend to be a lot more affected by postal strikes. We don’t like to encourage people to avoid small business (we are one ourselves!) but in this case it may save you a lot of time/hassle.

Finally just keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best! Or alternatively drag yourself around the horribly busy shops on a cold night. Ecommerce is great so don’t let the Royal Mail strikes put you off.

Google has recently decided to go against its usual approach of everything being minimally invasive, such as the google search engine. And now you can get themes for the Chrome browser. Upon release there are 95 different themes by ‘artists’ and 29 by the big G themselves.

The ones by artists come from all sorts of big names such as; Mariah Carey, DJ Tiesto, Dolce&Gabbana, Tom Sachs and even Porsche. So how do you get the new themes onto your browser? It is super simple, here is how.

How To Install A Theme

• First; open your Chrome Browser, if you don’t use chrome then download it to install.
• Second; visit the Google Themes Gallery at tools.google.com.
• Third; choose which section to view (either by ‘Arists’ or their own ones)
• Fourth; click on the button which says ‘Apply theme’.
• Fifth; give it a few seconds to download and install, and then its done.

I went for the very first theme, which is the Porsche, and must admit it looks absolutely horrible! A murky grey color with a little white sketch of a car at the top. So goodbye to that.

How To Return To Default

If you don’t like the themes you pick and you want to return to the standard blue, here is what you do.

• Click on the ‘Customise and control’ button on your browser (the little spanner, top right)
• Click on ‘Options’
• Click the tab which says ‘Personal Stuff’
• At the bottom of the window you will see the ‘Themes’ section, click on the ‘Reset to default theme’ button
• Done

So it is all very easy to do, and if you like to personalise stuff then this is great for you. How popular this will be remains to be seen but getting all these named designers in on the act should certainly help the number of installations of the browser.

Recently we posted about the different energy saving displays you can buy for your house. The videos in that blog post were made for E-Day 2009 on the Isles Of Scilly. And today is Tuesday 6th October 2009, the actual day of the experiment!

On the dedicated website, e-day.org.uk, they have a very cool page which shows a range of different ‘National Electricity Meters’. The different meters show; real-time demand, co2 emissions, electricity bill and cumulative demand. You can view them all on this page on their website.

At the time of writing here is what one of the displays says, this ones show an estimate of the UK electricity bill so far today. It is from midnight and it is now coming up to 11am GMT, so only 11 hours worth of electricity!

Image Source: screenshot taken from the eday website linked to above.

The popular web hosting company, Hostgator, has currently got a 20% off coupon code available. It expires on November 1st 2009 so don’t hang around if you want to save some money.

We host the Digitpedia website with Hostgator (check our WHOIS to view the nameservers) and have always been very happy with the service. To take advantage of the offer simply enter ‘AUTUMN’ when in the checkout process.

They respond quickly to support tickets, the uptime is very good and speed of the site loading has always been excellent despite the template and scripts we run.

Given the service it means very good value for money, we have the Hatchling package which starts from $4.95 if you pay in advance, or $8.95 if you pay monthly. They accept all major payment methods such as paypal, credit card, check, cash and money orders. They have customers all over the world (we are in the UK) so although prices are in dollars you should still be able to use their services no matter your location.

To take advantage of the coupon code simply enter the word ‘AUTUMN’ on the Hostgator website when you have picked your package and are checking out. The special offer isn’t on for long so take your chance now.

We have recently installed a new section on our website, it is a gadget directory listing websites similar to ours. It is currently empty so if you run a blog, forum or related service we welcome you to submit a link to help us build up the content.

The aim is for the directory to make Digitpedia even stronger allowing us to post more good quality articles for readers. It also gives other webmasters the opportunity to get a decent inbound link to their domain.

We don’t want any old rubbish submitted, only genuine websites with unique quality content.

There is an estimated 60 million televisions in the UK (average household has 2.4 TV’s), and according to Ofcom 80% of those are Digital TV’s.

A surge in uptake means the majority of us are now ready for the switch over from analogue taking place in 2012. The statistics come from the Digital TV Progress Report for the 2nd quarter of ‘09.

Despite the encouraging figures there are still millions of people who aren’t yet ready for the digital switch over in 2 and a half years time. If you are one who has hasn’t, or you have elderly parents who aren’t aware of the move make sure a digital TV is purchased in time, if you’re looking to buy soon Amazon has lots of great televisions for sale online.

Bundle Packages
In the same report Ofcom also found that more of us are choosing to bundle our communication services together from the same supplier. And soon BT will also be bundling services together which means more choice for consumers!

Source: DigitalSpy.

We all know that if you are taking children on long car journey’s, the chances are that sooner or later the immortal words of, “Are we there yet?” will be heard. Probably followed by several other questions of a similar vein for mile after mile.

Audiopod feel they have the answer to this dilemma, by integrating a PlayStation 2 into the car. The purpose built unit features a 10.2 inch display, and a wireless connection for the controllers, so there is no trailing wires in the car.

The system which is currently available in the US, costs $949.99 (£634), and have integrated the PlayStation 2 as it is one of the best known brands of console gaming in the world, and the format has a good library of games.  Also, it would probably have violated several health and safety laws should the gadget have been based around the Wii!

As with PS2’s for our home, the console can also play DVDs.  So should the games not cut the mustard, maybe a good family film will do the trick.

For your money, the get:

• 10.2 inch display
• PS2 system console, with built in dome light and FM transmitter
• 2 x wireless controllers
• 2 x wireless “fold-flat” headphones
• Ratchet & Clank Commando game
• Hot Shots Golf3 game
• Remote control

Though this system looks good on the surface, as the peace and quiet factor is important to a long journey, two questions do arise: Is the system worth £634? And does the gaming console represent a threat to family bonding? Eye-spy, counts for more than you think.

Laser accurate microphones do not provide a means to you can shoot the singer if you do not like them, sorry to disappoint, but instead represent a new kind of recording technology which is the brain child of David Schwartz, a man who hold several recording patents, one of which is the basis for the MP3 format.

Conventional microphones work by recording airflow around moving parts in the diaphragm of the mic. Though refined over the years, this process does add a certain “colouring” of the sound that is recorded.

Laser accurate microphones, work by measuring the airflow using a laser, rather than moving parts, and so in theory, the sound should be “pure”.  Also, as the laser reacts quicker than the parts in the diaphragm of the mic, there should be a greatly reduced sound lag.  

David Schwartz though, does not feel this is the end to a culture of microphone trickery which is inherent in the music business. “The color that certain microphones bring can be fantastic. The problem is, you can’t have all of them, all of the time, meaning that all music recording is a compromise of some sort. With Laser-Accurate technology, all the tonal processing would take place after the sound is converted to a voltage, not during the act of recording it.”  So girl and boy bands can relax!

It is believed that this could lead to a market of sound processors similar to model guitar processors, whereby classic mics of yesteryear could be recreated.

The technology will be unveiled next month at the AES convention in New York, where a Laser Accurate Microphone will be put to the test. Karaoke fans will no doubt be watching with interest.

Though the Blackberry Curve has generally won plenty of plaudits, it is sometimes criticised in the web browsing department. At first glance you can see why, the text is tiny, and you navigate using the small black arrow in the middle of the screen. The URL bar is the small rectangle in the top left hand-side of the screen.  Though you can zoom in and out, I have found this quite an awkward way to surf the net. 

Your browsing experience, can be improved however, by taking full advantage of the Curve’s browsing options. 

This free guide on how to use the Blackberry Curve Browser will set you on the right path, to make the most of browsing on your smartphone. 

By pressing the menu button will in turn give you a range of options which make the browsing experience that much easier.   From here you can select pages from your browsing history, add bookmarks, send pages via email, set options such as the homepage, and search the net.
 

To search the net or type in an URL, click the Go To option from the menu.  As you can see from the screen on the left, the URL bar is much bigger than the one on the Curve’s homepage, and the Google search bar is below it.  Bookmarks and history are displayed here too, so many browsing options are available from this one screen. It is also possible to display all history and bookmarks to by navigating the blue bar over the relevant area of the screen.

If you select options from the menu screen, then you will find general browser settings as you would find them on your PC.  It is possible to clear cache and cookies from this screen as well as set a different home page.

If you utilise these elements when browsing on your curve, you will find the experience much improved and the browsing far simpler to use.

Extra Help

For more help on using your device you should look at these blackberry help books by a variety of publishers. If you don’t want to do that simply call up your providers customer service for support.

Microsoft, together with some clever chip technology has released the Zune HD.  Though the word ‘Zune’ sounds like a Dr Seuss character, it is actually a new PMP.  The new Zune comes with an impressive array of features, including HD technology powered by NVIDIA’s  Tegra APX 2600 , which Microsoft promises will be able to deliver complex 3D graphics for the platform too.  By all accounts the 480 x 272 OLED display is a great place to watch your favourite TV program, and the touchscreen interface is comparable to an iPhone/iPod.

 The Zune is well supported to with an expansion of the Zune marketplace and ecosystems, and applications designed souly for the Zune HD have been developed, and a connnetion to xbox live.  Microsoft do appear to be serious about taking on Apple in the media player stakes.

Arguably, the biggest hurdle the Zune will have to jump over to be a contender, is that the iPod is intrinsically linked to iTunes.  Both products are very good at what they do, and though the Zune has arguably better visual and graphic capabilities, the music side of things is going be hard to compete with.

To that end, Microsoft has created Zune pass, which in effect works on a subscription basis whereby a listener can download all the music he or she would like.  The service costs $14.99 per month in the US, and has a broad appeal to all kinds of music lovers, especially as there are freedownloads available every month.  There is also music docking stations available in the Zune product range.

The cost of the Zune HD is $299 (£200)  for the base model.  There is no confirmed release date or price for the UK,  though there are strong roumors it should be fairly soon.  Whether the Zune will come with the Zune pass in the UK remains to be seen.

Some Zune HD facts

• Powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra APX 2600 chip, focuses on HD and 3d graphic technology.  This capability does not impact severely on battery life.
• Web browsing capabilities
• 480 x 272 OLED display
• Touchscreen interface
• 16GB or 32 GB memory
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Available with Zune pass in the US.
• Very sleek design

The video shows the Zune’s features.

If Mirosofts new Zune does look like it is up to the job to offer some serious competition to the iPod, but if on release in Europe and the UK, Zune pass is abscent, then their job becomes that much harder.

Source: engadget.com

Here is a cool viral video. It is video diary highlights of Project Orick, here two engineers are determined to make IT management easier with a tool in the form of a glove that literally puts power at the tips of their fingertips.

Click play now to view. To watch it in full screen use the icon in the bottom right hand corner.

If you like the video social bookmark it or send it to your friends.

We have now completed another load of content in our line-up of product pages, each one focusing on a different gadget, or electrical appliance. Each one lists the best items for sale in the UK based on customer reviews and bestseller lists.

So far we have already done one about the childrens digital camera, the latest looks at the best portable digital radios you can buy online. These are great for festivals, camping and anywhere you can’t get access to a plug. They are also ideal if you simply hate wires and like your house clear of nasty wires.

More articles such as these will be online soon in the build up for Christmas, most of the features are aimed at the gift market as we as general household goods.

Eagle-eyed Google users will spot a bigger font on the search engine’s front page text search box, and the ‘Google search’ and ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ buttons that go with it. The move comes in a bid to get those using the site to put in longer search strings.

It’s one of the first changes to the search engine’s front page in more than a decade.

Text, as well as the suggestion lists, in the box are larger, although the page’s overall weight remains more or less the same. Google has copyright on the design of its front page, and received a patent for its design at the start of this month.

The change is likely to be welcomed by those who work on laptops, who generally have to grapple with smaller displays and smaller fonts.

The bigger search field has been installed across the site, and is used on the search engine’s results page as well.

But if the larger Google search page is not to your liking, you can just make the font smaller by hitting the Control and ‘-‘ keys at the same time.

The company says in its blog: “This is a simple idea, but we’re excited about it because it symbolises our focus on search, and makes our clean, minimalist homepage easier and more fun to use.”

The blog adds: “Google has always been first and foremost about search, and we’re committed to building and powering the best search on the Web — now available through a super-sized search box.”

Additional reports say changes are being made to some versions of Firefox as well.

Some users are not seeing the change yet, since Google pores over every little change it makes, to assess how well the adjustment has been received, and it appears that this is what is happening now. Equally, changes are very thoroughly tested before being put into place.

And while the change may seem minor, given that millions of people use Google every day, any alteration, however apparently trivial, is bound to make the news.

Google may says its search engine is its priority, but it’s also been exploring beyond search to things like online advertising and payment processing, digital book processing, web browser software, mobile operating systems and applications, and is even working to develop new solar technology.

As to whether bigger really does mean better for most Googlers, only time will tell.

Xperia Pureness, the new phone from Sony Ericsson, makes its debut this autumn. The device will go straight to retail and be sold through high-end shops, not operators. This is the first time a mobile has been marketed in the UK this way.

Equally interesting is the price – a cool £530. For that money, you get basic ‘talk, text and time’ functions, rather than the much broader range of features available on other models in the Xperia range. It also stands out for its see-through display, and striking blocky design.

The target market for the Xperia user is the older, better-off user. And forget about nipping down to Carphone Warehouse for one. Instead, think Selfridge’s and design museum outlets.

According to Sony Ericsson, the Xperia Pureness represents a ‘holiday from technology’ and approaches the device as a ‘work of art’. The idea, the company adds, is to create ‘an object of design that reflected the purity of water and a sense of calmness when not in use.’

But how many of us gaze endlessly at our phones when we’re not using them?

With a sales plan being compared to Motorola’s Aura handset, the launch date is in November, with the Christmas market firmly in mind. Most of us would have needed to have started saving months ago. The decision to launch such an expensive item in the depths of a recession is a curious one. And wouldn’t most of us wanting a designer item settle for a handbag?

Source of content and images: press release.

Here is a video by Jon Plowman, who is the former head of BBC Comedy. He is currently working with ‘E-Day 2009′ which is an energy saving experiment taking place on Tuesday 6 October 2009 in the Isles of Scilly.

In this video he looks at some of the real-time energy saving displays which are available to buy in the UK. In this video he looks at pros and cons of the different devices – each product has the title names and their price.

The video has been split into two parts due to the length of it.

Watch out for further updates on E-Day 2009.