The Red Ferret Journal - gadgets, cool sites, freeware and tech trivia

S.M.A.C.K. 5,000,000 Stun Gun – hello, how are you today…?

Nigel — Sat, 25 May 2013 10:30:44 +0000

What an interesting world we live in, when small pink implements which fit on a keychain can be used so effectively to deter unwanted attention. In the old days a polite, ‘no thank you‘, might have sufficed (or not), but nowadays there’s no need for uncertainty. In case of annoyance just make sure your keys are close at hand and ready for action.

The S.M.A.C.K. 5,000,000 Stun Gun (Stun My Attacker Compact Keychain – geddit?) may [...]

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You can’t have a balcony BBQ without the Handrail Grill

caitlyn — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:00:45 +0000

Not everyone enjoys going to a park for a cookout. Too many people, too much noise, and dogs stealing your hamburger can be quite the deterrent. If you’d rather just enjoy the BBQ aspect of summer in peace and quiet at home, then you’ll want a grill. If you only have a balcony of space though, you’re not going to want to take up the whole walkway with a clunky metal container. The [...]

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K-9 Kannon Ball Launcher – I’m here to play fetch and have treats…and I’m all out of treats.

caitlyn — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:00:25 +0000

Having a dog can be tiring some days. They seem to have endless amounts of energy, and have a knack for bringing back the ball to you more times than you can feasibly throw it while playing fetch. You don’t want to cut short their play time, because you know they’ll just come home with all of that pent up energy. If only you had a way to pick up and launch [...]

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The Portable Solar Powered Speaker – fun in the sun!

caitlyn — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:00:16 +0000

Music is not just for one specific time or place, it can keep playing constantly no matter where you are or what you’re doing. If you’re out somewhere that doesn’t have an outlet nearby, then you’re going to want an alternative way to power your tunes. The most readily available source of energy is the sun, but you’ll have to worry about draining the battery of your smartphone or [...]

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Fairphone – an Android smartphone that aims to deliver social value first

Nigel — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:53:51 +0000

The stories circulating recently about working conditions in some Far Eastern factories have made a fair number of people start to question their role as consumers. For one thing it doesn’t feel right that we can buy something cheap only because someone else far away suffers. The Fairtrade movement, which started to help African farmers improve their living standards while still supplying Western supermarkets with produce, has now found an equivalent in the consumer electronics [...]

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Could Ingress And Glass Become Google’s Next Killer Product?

Nigel — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:33:51 +0000

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been playing a game called Ingress, developed by Google and currently being played in closed invite-only beta across the world. The game, which draws heavily on a kind of Matrix meets StarCraft science fiction styling, melds augmented reality with smartphones, computers and the kind of backstory that only a Hollywood scriptwriter could dream up.

The result is an impressively compulsive game which, astoundingly, is based around the need for [...]

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Wordlock Stor-More hides your keys in the last place you’d expect

caitlyn — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:00:19 +0000

When you have a friend coming over to watch the house for the weekend, you need to make sure they have a key to get in. While you don’t want to leave it under the mat, there’s not many other places that will make for a good hiding spot. If you want to make sure your keys are safe, why not store them in the last place anyone would look? It may seem [...]

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Delorme inReach Two-Way Sattelite Communicator – Can you hear me now?

caitlyn — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:00:02 +0000

Have you ever reached a spot where your cellphone service wasn’t very strong? It’s not really a big deal, seeing as you don’t necessarily have to send that text message for another 10 minutes, but what would you do if you were in need of serious help? There are a variety of situations a phone that could always send out an SOS message could be useful, but especially so if you are [...]

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Umbrella Pole Patio Heater – Have it made in the shade

caitlyn — Thu, 23 May 2013 06:00:21 +0000

During the day, sitting in the shade can help you cool off as it gives you a little protection from the sun. The darker it gets though, sitting there gets to be a bit chilly, which leads you to moving to a new spot, or needing a jacket. Wouldn’t it be nice if sitting under an umbrella was pleasant at all hours of the day? The Umbrella Pole Patio Heater will [...]

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TrekDesk Treadmill Desk – get fit while you work with just a gentle stroll

Nigel — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:22:55 +0000

There’s no doubt that all this sitting around in front of computers all day can be bad for your health. Even if you discount the stories about increased health vulnerabilities, there’s the fact that being stationary all day plays havoc with the waistline and can quickly lead to serious weight gain and worse.

This TrekDesk Treadmill Desk aims to fight back by giving you a combination treadmill and working area, so you can do your tasks [...]

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Email It In – email your files directly to Dropbox, Google Drive or Skydrive for quick and easy storage

Nigel — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:05:27 +0000

If you regularly store or archive files to an online service like Dropbox as part of your day to day activities, then you’ll know that it’s not the most elegant system in the world. You need to either keep the service running permanently on your computer, or go through all that tedious login stuff.

Well you may be pleased to learn that there’s now a service that lets you email your files to an online service [...]

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How I Double My Browser Productivity With Just 13 Free Browser Extensions [Freeware]

Emil — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:30:26 +0000

Last week I explained How I double my PC productivity with only 65MB of free software, so this week I’ll continue sharing some more productivity tips using browser extensions. I normally use Firefox and Chrome for 95% of my work. The rest of 5% is split between Opera and Internet Explorer.

As much as I am a Google fan, I must admit that my browser of choice is Firefox. This is not because [...]

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Razer BlackWidow Mechanical Keyboard – leave the competition in the dust

caitlyn — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:30:29 +0000

Some people take playing video games far more serious than others. There are a myriad of different games and ways to play those games out there. When it comes to PC, if you want to play professionally, you need to have the right gear. What good would your headphones be if you couldn’t hear where an attack was coming from, or a mouse if its DPI settings couldn’t keep up with you? [...]

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Sticky Lamp will make sure you don’t have any wasted space

caitlyn — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:15:21 +0000

If you need lots of extra light in your room, you’re going to be looking for a sizable lamp. Of course, this lamp will probably be placed on a side table or counter, and will only succeed in taking up more space aside from providing you with light. If you want a little more illumination that will stay out of the way, then why not just stick it on the wall? Of course, [...]

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Self Balancing Electric Unicycle – don’t sweat walking to work

caitlyn — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:00:41 +0000

Riding a unicycle requires a certain amount of skill. You have to learn how to keep your balance, steer, turn, and move, all without familiar assistance such as handle bars or brakes. This seems like a very convenient method for commuting, but if you aren’t to gifted with balancing skills, you may be out of luck. You can always get an electric version, but do be prepared to open your wallets. The [...]

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THL W100 – is this Quad Core, Jelly Bean phone at just $159 worth buying? Yep. [Review]

Nigel — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:45:56 +0000

High end smartphones are all well and good, but not everyone has $700+ to drop on a mobile, even if it’s got more processing power than the space shuttle. For those on a budget the choice is limited when it comes to top spec handsets, unless you’re prepared to compromise in some way.

The THL W100 smartphone is a brand new quad core, Android 4.2.1 powered smartphone which is threatening to reset the balance between cheapo [...]

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The new Flickr is gorgeous, is Yahoo! back on track at last?

Nigel — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:36:53 +0000

Well there were two choices. Either Yahoo! had to ditch/sell Flickr, or the company needed to drastically remodel the ageing service to keep up with the times. Thankfully for those of us who are fans, the site has not been sold but instead has received a gorgeous update and more.

The new Flickr, announced yesterday, unsurprisingly has moved to a more Pinterest themed motif, with large format infinite scrolling image browsing and one click access to [...]

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The Productivity Boosting Nap Pod – How valuable is sleep to you?

caitlyn — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:59 +0000

Sleep can be pretty hard to come by. If you have a brain that won’t shut down the moment your head hits the pillow, you likely take naps to make up for the lack of shut-eye. That being said, a little sleep can make or break your day pretty easily. If you think taking naps is such serious business that you need an expensive, designated space to have them in, the Productivity [...]

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Inka Mobile Pen and Stylus – you have the right to write!

caitlyn — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:56 +0000

There are two very different ways of writing down information. One is on your phone or tablet, and the other is on paper. While using an electronic device is convenient, jotting down directions on your phone isn’t going to be of any use to you if it’s about to die. That means you will want to keep a writing implement of some sort handy, so why not get [...]

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Nokia Asha 501 wants to give everyone high-end design that’s accessible

caitlyn — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:34 +0000

Just about every day you see a new smartphone, tablet, or laptop crop up that has a rather lofty price tag attached to it. All of those may have the latest or most impressive hardware and software, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the best. You can still have good quality without paying an exorbitant amount of money. Nokia has been known to make sturdy phones in the past, but they wanted to [...]

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No more mistaken identify for your umbrella

Debra Atlas — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:42:27 +0000

How many times have you left your umbrella somewhere, only to discover that it’s missing when you’re ready to leave? It happens. The Lizard Umbrella will take the guesswork out of it – and the hassle of figuring out which black umbrella is yours!

Cleverly, the name comes from the fact that a lizard can shed its tail to protect itself. This concept umbrella sheds its handle, [...]

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