I’m No Electrician | Tech Gadgets & Gizmos

This post came about after I was really struggling to get out of bed this morning. My alarm clock had gone off, been snoozed and snoozed and then turned off and yet 20 minutes later and I was still laid in bed. This is where the flying alarm clock would have really come in handy.

Once the set time is reached the top part of the helicopter takes off from the clock and the alarm starts. To get the alarm to stop you need to get the flying part of the clock and place it back on the clock.

For me this would be a great method to get me up. I can only to an alarm for so long and having something in arms reach is just too easy to turn off. To physically have to get out of bed and catch the flying alarm would deter me from snoozing back down.

Would this work for you? Have you seen any other worthwhile adversaries?

The Nintendo DS Lite has been available since mid 2006 and is the dual screen re-design of the Nintendo DS. The design lets you close the handheld games console like a book (screen to screen) and is both lighter (by 21%) and smaller that the original DS.

The console looks very slick in design and comes in a range of colours including black, white, pink etc. Some of the main features include:

Dual/Touch Screen - The dual screens are used differently depending on the game you are playing. Zelda uses one as a map while the main touch screen is used for navigation and gameplay. The Yoshi game splits the whole game between both screens and you can jump from one to the other. To use the touch screen you use the stylus which is supplied with the console. This adds a whole new feature to the handheld games espeically ones like Brain Training where you have to write the answer on the screen.

WiFi Connection - Use the wireless connection to play against family and friends. Connections allow up to 16 users to connect and some games allow you to use the download feature so that everybody does not need a copy of the game. Connections can be from as far apart as 100 feet.

Built in Mic - Use the microphone in games like Brain Training to shout out the correct colour in sequence or blow into the mic in Zelda to blow out a candle. Some games even included a multiplay chat function while uising the WiFi connection.

Backward compatibility - As well as having the DS cartridge slot the DS Lite also has an extra slot that allows you to play Gameboy Advance games. This is a great feature and saves having 2 handheld machines laying aroudn the house. It also allows people who didn’t have the Gameboy Advance to experience those games on the DS Lite, great move Nintendo.

This is a great console with a lot of very addictive games, I found myself playing Zelda for hour after hour and its always nice to jump on Mario and try and save the princess. The next step for me is to try out some of the many add ons that are available.

The Freecom Mediaplayer 35 is basically a caddy or case for a standard IDE (PATA) hard drive. What it does then is turn that hard drive into a full media centre. Connecting the mediaplayer via Composite or S-Video cable to your TV will allow you to watch movies, play music or view image files through your TV with no extra hard ware of software.

The device is controlled by a remote which gives you ease of access from your sofa. A great benefit of the Freecom mediaplayer is that you can fit any size hard drive you like from an old 40GB drive that is sitting unused in an old machine to a brand new 500GB+ drive. While you find enough music and movies to fill the drive you can easily use any spare space as extra storage without it effecting the playback functionality of the mediaplayer.

The mediplayer is easy to connect to both PC and TV. No software is needed to add/remove files or to enable playback through your TV. The mediaplayer also has the option of a LAN connection so you can add it to your network. The advantage of this would be that you can stream the files from your PC to the mediaplayer without having to install a hard drive and keep taking the machine back to the PC whenever you wanted to add new files.

The Freecom Mediaplayer 35 is a great space saving device for me, not only does it store both mp3’s and movies digitally saving shelve space it also prevents me from unplugging something to plug in either the DVD player or Hi Fi as this acts as both. My movies are stored in div x format <strike>along with the occasional download</strike> meaning there is not even a need to keep the original DVDs in the living room they can be boxed up in the attic.

The only disadvantage for me is that the device isn’t wireless enable so I cannot move files to is without unplugging it and plugging it back in at my PC. I guess with the amount of mediaplayers that are now available recording from the TV would be an obvious improvement but it does a great job for me.

Do you use something similar? Would you consider a Freecom mediaplayer?

I have decided to write a review on the 4th generation iPod, mine is currently sat on my desk - scratched and battle scarred.

The model I’m specifically going to review is the 4th generation 30 gigbyte iPod video. Because that is what I have. Saying that there are 2 key points there, “30 gigabyte” and “video”. These are two functions I have never used on my iPod. I could never see the use in trying to watch a video on a 1.5 inch screen. I have however tested it today and the picture quality is quite amazing. That said I will never convert to sitting watching video’s on my iPod. I have come close to the 30gb limit, but only just within 5gb. This made me consider why they keep upping the capacity of the iPods. I think the latest models are 40/80gb and I can only think that more and more people MUST be watching videos on theirs.

I find iTunes very simple to use and the only downsides I have found are that

1. You cannot copy the songs back off your iPod to the PC.
2. Which in turn means although you have your iPod plugged into your PC you cannot listen to the songs unless they are on your PC’s hard drive.

I have recently found some software that combats this issue and will add a “how to” guide later in the week.
When I first got my iPod I was dubious as I’ve never really been a walkman kind of guy, I’ve never felt the need to listen to music while walking around. Was I buying it simply because it was the latest gadget, probably!

I do listen to most of my music in my car and have most of my music on mp3, so buying an iTrip was a simple solution for me. The iTrip is a hardware add on for an iPod. It fits into the same port that the iPod cable fits into and allows you to transmit what is playing on your iPod over a radio frequency. The frequency can be set by the user so simply choose one that isn’t used in your region. Its as simple as that:

• Plug in the iTrip (no installation needed).
• Choose a frequency.
• Start playing your favourite album.
• Tune your radio to the same frequency.
• Enjoy listening to your iPod through the car stereo or any other stereo with no cables at all.

This function has made my iPod priceless and if it ever gives up the ghost - it has been dropped numerous times, I would certainly look at investing in another one.