The windshield of your car is one such place that gets basically endless sunlight. LG have taken advantage of this with their solar-charging HFB-500 bluetooth handsfree kit. It comes with a transparent suction-cup holder so you can stick it on the windshield in a convenient place. I’ve used it for a couple of calls a day for a week, and have never once plugged it in. It just charges magically.

Compared with other bluetooth car kits I’ve tried, and the integrated kits in most GPS recievers, the HFB-500 is damn good. It just works. The speaker is nice and loud, and callers have reported a decent clear call from the other end. And this is coming from my noisy, old Nissan Sunny, cracking along at 100km/h on the motorway.

The tech details:

• Solar charging
• Bluetooth Version 2.1
• Multi Connection
• Easy pairing
• Noise Reduction
• Echo Cancellation
• Talk/Standby 15.5 hrs / 1.000 hrs
• Speaker 36? / 1W (Normal)
• Solar Charging 24mAh
• Mute, Un-mute Function
• Auto reconnect
• Last Number Redial

I’m not sure of the price in New Zealand yet, but it retails for about US$80. Check out the importer’s site here.

Among my favourites are one point regarding comment moderation:

Having a journalist approve or moderate every comment before publication is too expensive and blocks the flow of debate. It is the reason the NZHerald blogs have so few comments despite being very heavily read. Commenters want instant gratification from instant publication and the joy of being part of an active debate.

And another regarding the individual focus of your site:

If we don’t have it first, we simply link to the website that has it. If we can’t find a fresh angle or a way to explain it better to our audience, then we simply don’t cover it or we link to someone else. We know we’re not the only website people look at. Being best for us means being first, fast, accurate, useful and incisive. If we aren’t at least one or two of those things, we don’t waste our time (and our readers’ time) doing the story.

On the first point: I don’t moderate comments. I do have an automated spam system. If you ever have any issues with comments not appearing instantly, please let me know, because it usually means something is broken.

On the second point, I could not agree more. When I started blogging for real back in the old days, I felt like I needed to keep up with every possible development in the world of tech. Now I’m much more sanguine. I know that sites like CrunchGear and Engadget have more resources than I could possible marshall. But what they don’t have is me. If you want a constant stream of all the latest tech and gadget news, make sure you subscribe to those sites.

If you like my style, and want a local, personal touch, make sure you subscribe to mine.

Firstly, the main clarification:

I said that the same thing could be done in Flash, and there was no need for a third-party plugin. It appears I was wrong. When I first tried the D’Fusion plugin, I could hold any card up and get the 3D Power Play to work. From this, I assumed it was using the card shape as the AR marker. After some tuning, the Power Plays AR implementation actually does image and text recognition on the All Blacks cards to determine which one you are holding up.

As far as I know, no Flash-based AR implementation can do the same thing. They all need some sort of marker or QR code to differentiate the physical media. If you know otherwise, feel free to comment below.

Secondly, the great news:

Soon after my initial feedback, Sanitarium removed the registration requirement, knocking about three steps off the process required to get the full experience from your cards.

In addition, the Total Immersion guys are investigating how they can improve the plugin installation experience. They’re going to take away the “camera selected” button, and perhaps embed the Microsoft C++ libraries. They’re also looking at re-working the EULA text (at right) so it’s a bit more explanatory up front, instead of “APPENDIX 1!!!”.

If it all comes together, there should be a single prompt to download the plugin, followed by a EULA prompt (blame the laywers!), then you’re done.

I can’t say how stunned I am by this result. I understand how these things happen. Usually through a combination of tight deadlines and a focus on great technology above the “boring” usability stuff. But like any bad experience, the ultimate measure is in the willingness of the parties to resolve the issues. Sanitarium and their partners have outdone themselves in this respect.

I love Sanitarium, and I’m having Weet-Bix for breakfast tomorrow.

The great thing about Twitter is that you only see information from people you choose to follow. Generally through the incidental recommendation of someone else. The only way you’re going to get a “spam” link is through a random mention, and that sticks out like a sore thumb.

The anti-virus industry has a bit of a history of beat-ups and scare tactics. They’ve even gone as far as suggesting you “must have” a virus scanner for Linux, which is about as useful as being forced to de-shoe before boarding an aeroplane.

Item: Hotteeze Heat Pads
Price:Various (body pads are $24 for 10).
Rating: 4  /  5
Info: Through the power of chemistry, these heat pads magically heat up to 50 degrees when you open the packet. Stick them in your pockets or in your shoes and you’ll be toasty all day long. No batteries required! Plus, once they’ve done the job, the contents are inert and biodegradable. You can even use it as a soil conditioner.

Item: Voltaic Generator Laptop Bag
Price: $799
Rating: 2 / 5
Info: The Generator promises big things, but you need to check very carefully if it is compatible with your laptop. It’s perfectly fine for charging all your phones and gadgets, but doesn’t do such a stellar job of charging laptops. It’s a very well built bag however.

Item: TrickleStar TV TrickleSaver
Price: $149 (TBC)
Rating: 5 / 5
Info: Kill power vampires with the TV TrickleSaver. All those devices under your TV draw power, even when they appear to be turned off. The TrickleSaver monitors your power point and will switch the devices off when the TV is turned off, and back on again as soon as it detects that the TV is on. Super simple, this device will pay itself off in a few months if you have some big power vampires like surround sound amps and video game consoles.

Item: STIHL MS181CBE Chainsaw
Price: $745
Rating: 4 / 5
Info: It might surprise you to hear that New Zealand doesn’t have emission standards for chainsaws and other small engines. Despite this, STIHL are introducing ecologically sensitive chainsaws (not an oxymoron), developed by their German designers. This one in particular puts out 70% less emissions than previous models, and is also user friendly with 30% less vibrations. So, go save the planet while you cut down some trees!

I can help but wonder if Vodafone saw this coming a few weeks ago when they announced a big freebie for iPhone owners out of the pure kindness of their hearts. The way Vodafone has been trumping Telecom lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a mole at the heart of the big T.

Of course this leaves you, the lowly consumer, scratching your head about which plan to choose. Thankfully a couple of enterprising local twatterers have got their geek on and compiled a spreadsheet.

I don’t pretend to understand a word of it, but I think it’s saying that Vodafone’s plans are still better value (especially if you add in the 3GB free data). Oops, no, after some confusion around TXT bundles, looks like XT is cheaper. The unfortunate truth remains that the iPhone will do better at a pure network transport level on Telecom’s XT network than Vodafone’s.

Ultimately, neither option saves a ton of cash, but I’m hoping that the outcome will be a permanent upgrade in data capacity or freebies. It’s just nuts that 3G data is a “premium” service in New Zealand at the moment.

Reliving life’s ‘Kodak moments” in high-definition, and sharing them on YouTube, is made easier with the new Kodak Zx1 Pocket Video Camera.

The compact, high-quality video device, on sale this month, makes filming life’s special moments quicker and simpler while you’re on-the-go.

And sharing the videos is simplified with built-in software to help edit and personalize the videos and then upload to YouTube and other social networking websites.

Rugged and pocketable, Kodak Zx1 is ideal for travelers and its weather-resistant design means it can accompany almost any adventure.

Joe Naus managing director of Croxley Nutech says popular video-sharing websites have changed the way we create and use video today.

“With the Zx1, you can now record life’s adventures and easily share them with friends and family to create an endless reel of Kodak moments.

“It’s a great tool for connecting people together; uploading videos online helps you to feel that nothing is missed– birthday parties, holidays or that successful 360 turn you finally nailed on the mountain.”

Key features include:

• Pocket-size 720p HD video capture at 60 fps
• Records up to 10 hours of HD video
• Vibrant 2.0” LCD for reliving the action
• Weather resistant design withstands rain, snow, sand and dirt
• High-quality video capture in bright or low light – at the beach or at a party
• Built-in software for easy video editing and uploading
• Custom accessories: bungee neck strap and adventure mount for bike or helmet
• Available in black, pink and red.

Don’t miss the moment: Kodak Zx1 RRP $450 is available at all leading consumer electronic outlets and Kodak Express stores

I remember anticipating the arrival of Jeremy’s home chemistry set with ‘bated breath, but the stark reality was deflating. Even in the eighties, namby-pamby, politically correct mail order companies didn’t send sodium and oxidising inorganic compounds to 10 year olds. Spoilsports.

I can imagine if Hotteeze had been around at that time, a number of packs would have been purchased by Team Chemistry Papatoetoe. These heat pads use nothing but chemistry to warm up to a toasty 40 degrees and stay that way for 12 hours. As far as I can tell, it’s a combination of iron powder and potassium chloride, mixed with a couple of inert compounds (carbon and vermiculite) to slow down the reaction.

I was expecting some sort of action to start the reaction, like breaking the cartridge in a glow-stick. Instead, you just open the packet and wait. The reaction with air causes (I imagine) the reaction to start, and within about 15 minutes the pad is warm to the touch. Stick them in your pockets or shoes, and you’ll be toasty. I can imagine they’d be pretty damn nice to have in your ski boots.

When you’re finished, the resulting compound is completely inert, and makes a good soil conditioner for your garden. The outer packet isn’t biodegradable, but Hotteeze say it is “combustible, and does not generate dioxin”, which is OK I guess.

You can buy Hotteeze online here.

My opinion on the website itself is clear and unchanged: it’s a shockingly poor implementation that appears to have never been tested. But, for balance, I’ll summarise the facts from the point of view of Sanitarium. My comments in italics.

• The entire campaign, including card design and printing was $1.3m. The website cost “a fraction of this”. Mr Andrews mentioned $20k. [NBR never said $1.3m was the cost of the website. I apologise if myself and others have quoted this the wrong way. Personally I find it hard to believe they could have licensed the plugin and developed the site and 3D content for $20k, but if so, that goes some way to explaining how bad it is].
• The target market is 10 year olds through to late teens. Mr Andrews says both the website and the playing card game were tested on the target market.
• By the end of today, the requirement to register for the website and supply demographic information will be removed. [Yay! It appears to have been removed at the time of writing].
• Sanitarium is in discussion with the site developers on how to improve the overall experience. Mr Andrews did not comment on whether that would include using Flash instead of an additional plugin. [The D’Fusion plugin install experience is a large part of my problem with the site. I think they desperately need to fix it].
• Mr Andrews says he “was misquoted”. He said that he never planned on using a viral campaign, and has no experience of such campaigns. He said he did discuss social networking sites in the context that “kids are on social networks, telling each other what’s cool. … Kids can communicate about this sort of thing much faster than traditional marketing”.
• Sanitarium are planning TVCs for broadcast on kids TV. [I didn’t ask if this was part of the original $1.3m spend, or additional].
• Sanitarium’s NZ agency, Ogilvy, had nothing to do with the website.

In general, I was pleasantly surprised by the response. I was expecting to be fobbed off in a traditional PR manner, but Tanne Andrews thanked me for the wake-up call, and has taken on board the criticism.

Like I said in the comments on my previous post: If my rant stops one crappy website from going out the door unfinished and unusable, then my job is done.

Please don’t get me wrong: web crossover campaigns, decent viral marketing (not astroturfed), and augmented reality are brilliant and really can be more effective than traditional media. The problem comes when the web is treated like a 3rd-class option and tacked onto the end of a traditional campaign like a piece of loo paper sticking out of your pants. As a developer, I know how much better it can be done, and I become extremely frustrated at the casual attitude represented by these half-assed attempts.

It makes me angry.

You won’t like me when I’m angry.

You’re a 10 year old child. You find a card in your packet of WeetBix with your favourite All Black on it, along with the promise of an amazing 3-D online interactive experience. “Just hold it in front of your webcam”, it says.

So you rush to your computer and type in the website address as instructed.

What? A login? Oh all right fine then. I’ll play this game. I ignore the bizarre word wrapping and hit the Register link.

OK, so in order to show me a 3D image of a rugby player, you need – no demand, my name, my email address and my date of birth? Why exactly? At this point, if I were a 10 year old child, I’d probably be outside playing with something else. But no, I persevere. I want to see this miracle of technology, so I’ll hand over my information. I’m thinking it will be a lovely Flash based augmented reality display like GE’s Ecomagination display (note the lack of registration requirement).

What the heck? “You have to manually launch it”? What does that mean? I don’t know what this is, maybe I’ll ask my big brother how to fix it. Mum and Dad told me never to install anything off the internet in case the computer catches a virus and gets broken. Ah well, I’m so excited about my rugby card, I’ll try downloading it anyway.

“Appendix 1”? But this has nothing to do with my appendix!? What do they want with my appendix, and what happens if I choose to accept the terms in the License Agreement? Oh well, let’s do that anyway and push on.  I really want to see Dan Carter in 3D!

Close Firefox? But I’m using Firefox so I can see Dan Carter in 3D? What’s going on here?

OK now I’m scared. Maybe I have broken the computer? Is this what a virus looks like? Dad will be so angry with me. “You must accept this agreement”. OK then.

Look at that Firefox re-opened but back at my home page. I wonder if the install worked? Where is the WeetBix site? I guess I have to go back there again? And login again?

Downloading Scenario? I JUST WANT TO SEE DAN CARTER. I DON’T WANT SOME BLOODY SCENARIO.

“Camera Selected”? OK then, why are you sitting there doing nothing if the camera is selected? Nothing’s happening. Oh I see, you want me to click the button that says “Camera Selected” to select my camera? Right. That’s understandable… or not.

Fuck you Sanitarium. Screw WeetBix and screw the All Blacks. All 15 of them.

Fire your marketing company and whoever created this abomination. You’ve been duped out of 1.3 million dollars by a bunch of scammers. Take a look around at some of the lovely, simple, Flash-based augmented reality viewers on the market. Everyone has Flash and it Just Works. You don’t need a bloated, ugly, crashy piece of third-party trash to do the job, and you don’t need my email address and date of birth either. Let me view the animations without logging on, then I might get excited and join up so I can show other people how many cool cards I have.

Yours,

A bitterly disappointed 10 year old.