Devices Site

If you happen to have an overactive imagination and have yet to outgrow your inner child, this Paparazzi play set could make the latter all the more harder to leave.

Now you can bask in the spotlight of your very own red carpet experience, without the indignity of having yourself splattered across the brain-numbing pages of fatuous magazines. These nine members of the worlds snapping media come complete with the ethical and moral depth of an earthworm, are blissfully mute, and will make you feel as adored and sought-after as you no doubt should be. Become a legend in your own lunchtime, a super-star in your sitting room, or a diva at your desk. And best of all, if the paparazzi get on your nerves, you can satisfyingly stamp on ‘em without fear of them whimpering off to file a suit against you. Fame without any of the drawbacks.

You gotta have a pretty mundane life if you think this £14.95 play set will be able to jazz up your life.

The new AntWorks Illuminated

The Brand New Version Just Into Uk “The Newer Fish Tank”The Ant Works concept was developed by NASA back in the heyday of the US space programme. Their idea was to take a colony of ants into space so the astronauts could study the insects’ behaviour in zero gravity.

Why, we hear you ask? Well, we guess they had to study something as they hurtled around planet earth. Anyway, NASA’s loss is our gain because the amazing jelly-like habitat they invented is now available to support ant life here on earth. Or more specifically, on your desk, bedside or kitchen table.

The Ant Works is filled with a highly nutritious non-toxic gel into which you prod four little holes to get the tunnel network started. Now get out into the garden or park and catch about 15 ants to populate the colony. Put them in the Ant Works, replace the lid… and watch. Within days the ants will burrow out an amazing pattern of channels, each clearly visible in cross-section through the walls of the container.

Maintenance is minimal. Besides providing a safe ecologically-correct habitat, the gel also provides the ants’ food. You simply need to open the lid for a moment once a month to aerate the interior.In the unlikely event of you not being able to track down any ants of your own, the Ant Works comes with a form you can send off for specially bred UK ants - the ant breeders (now there’s a job!) charge ?4 for postage and special ant packaging. Ant Facts No 1Ants are one of the oldest living creatures on earth. Like sharks, they haven’t changed much in millions of years. Nature got it right first time, proving the old axiom “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

Ant Facts No 2Ants are the world’s strongest creature in relation to their size. They can carry 10-20 times their bodyweight. They are also the longest living of all insects.Ant Facts No 3At any given moment, there are at least 1015 ants living on earth That’s a number so large - and involving more zeros than is polite to use in mixed company - that there are two words for it: Billiard (if you’re British) and Quadrillion (if you’re American, or just easily swayed by the trans-Atlantic influence - I mean, their Billions are tiny compared to ours, aren’t they). Anyway, that represents 0.1% of all the planet’s insectsSturdy acrylic container measures 14 x 16.5 x 3cm

The perfect educational gift for anyone aged between 9 and 99 Pack comes with everything you need, except ants Magnifying glass Illuminated LED Lights To Light Up Your Ant Works Ant life expectancy approximately 6 months (worker ants conveniently carry their late brethren to the top of the gel for easy disposal) Gel can be re-used time and again

Technorati Tags: Tech Toys

Posted Feb 17th 2008 3:03PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: LaptopsEverybody and their mother’s got a super-budget laptop these days (see: OLPC, Eee PC, Cloudbook, Pixel Qi, etc.), and next at the table will apparently be Elonex, which intends to introduce the £100 (~$200) One on February 28th at The Education Show in Birmingham, England. Obviously the intention here is to sell to education markets, but the One is also going to be up for grabs for “adult learners, business users, people who are constantly mobile, elderly people and first time internet users.” We don’t have any better shots of the thing, but apparently this One (not that One, or the other One) will weigh “less than a kilo” (2.2 pounds), has a 7-inch screen, three hour battery, 1GB of flash memory, and runs on Linux. Apparently there’s also a more expensive £120 model that has double the memory (2GB) and Bluetooth, to boot. Both will also have access to a service called ONEunion, which will “feature artwork and music for download, opportunities to get your own content added to the club as well as a range of competitions,” presumably for the kids. More on this thing later this month, aye guv’na?

[Via Times Online]

MAME32 is dead… well, at least the name is. Welcome MameUI to the latest Windows GUI port of the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. MAME has lofty goals to “document” the internal hardware and code of all arcade games and was originally written in 1997 by Chris Kirmse. In addition to documenting the various arcade games, MAME provides a mechanism to play the old ROMs (like Dig Dug, Galaga and Pac-Man).

MameUI64 .123.1 • 64bit version for 64bit Windows OSes [XP64, Vista64]
MameUI32 .123.1 • 32bit version for 32bit Windows OSes [Win98/ME/2000/XP/Vista]
MameUIs .123.1 • Source code

Get the real arcade feeling with X-Arcade’s Tankstick.

Checking and tracking down a fuse/breaker that controls a power outlet can be quite the headache, so if you want to do away with guessing games, the Easy Circuit Finder ought to do the trick.

Here’s an easy and inexpensive way to track down what fuse or breaker controls which outlet. Just plug the Easy Circuit Finder into the outlet in question. When the power is turned on, it makes a very loud tone you can even hear in the basement. No more yelling up and down the stairs, “Is it on? Is it off?”. Easy Circuit Finder makes it easy to track down switches or breakers without an assistant. Adjustable volume control lets you use it in close quarters, too. Plugs into any 115 volt outlet.

If you want to minus the tedious game of guesses, the Easy Circuit Finder retails for a mere $15.95.

Product Page via BoJ

Few weeks ago I apply to Microsoft Affiliate Network with a hotmail email account. After this I was waiting to confirmation email.
After two days, the email still not in my Inbox… I check the junk folder and … here it is! The Hotmail put the email from Microsoft Affiliate Network in the spam… How funny it is? They cannot recognize a valid email from their own group?

How funny it is? They cannot recognize a valid email from their own group?

When I was in my teens, I had horrible acne on my face. Yes, I know, “a geek with bad acne, surely not!” I did all of the usual stuff, bought the special creams and face washes, but nothing really worked all that well, they seemed to keep it from getting worse, but rarely ever improved the situation much. Luckily as I approached 20 it lessened considerably. I still have breakouts here and there, but nothing like my high school days. While I’ve seen plenty of things that claim to clear up acne, this has to be the first mp3 player that I recall making that boast.

The mpion is nothing special as MP3 players go, as it’s only going to hold 128MB of music, which is only a couple of hours at best. What does make this device worth mentioning is its ability to release positive and negative ions into your skin while holding it to your face. You’ll use it for 10 minutes with it set to negative, then 10 minutes on positive.

Honestly, the $184 price tag is a big turnoff for something that claims to use ions to clear my skin. (Remember the Ionic Breeze anyone?) Still, some people might consider it worth the price. I can almost guarantee that it does not, in fact, work as stated. My method of reasoning is simple, look at the picture. I’ve used Photoshop for a good 10 years, and that my friends is one Photoshopped girl. If their product worked so well, why would they need to digitally smooth out her skin?

Source: Newlaunches

VTech has recently rolled out its 2008 product line that features an eclectic mix of high-tech learning toys that feature updated technologies, providing young children with gadgets and gaming systems which are suitable for their age range. Some of these include the widely talked about toys such as the motion-activated V-Motion gaming system, the KidiCreative line of high-tech creative fun, and the new V.Smile Cyber Pocket handheld system that offers portable educational gaming. I’d settle for Brain Age if I want to educate myself, but I digress.

According to Julia Fitzgerald, vice president of marketing, VTech, “VTech continues to lead the toy industry with new, innovative products that encourage active minds through educational play. This year, VTech has created a variety of products and online resources that combine the best features of big-kid technologies, allowing kids to personalize, create and share through high-tech, interactive play.”

Here are a few of the devices for your perusal.

V-Motion: A big breakthrough for junior gamers, V-Motion takes educational video gaming to a whole new level with a motion-activated gaming system that engages both active minds and bodies. V-Motion plugs directly into the TV to provide kids with a high-tech gaming experience using thrilling, age-appropriate learning games and a motion-activated, intuitive wireless controller. Each Smartridge game encourages active gaming while giving kids’ minds a workout, too, as they learn basic math, reading, science, spelling and more.

In addition to the action-packed Smartridge game play, the V-Motion includes the V.Link (USB drive) that connects kids to VTech’s secure online site to unlock bonus games and track their scores against other gamers. V-Motion will launch with eight Smartridges and is compatible with the entire existing V.Smile Smartridge library. New titles will include Kung Fu Panda, WALL*E, and classic friends such as Thomas & Friends, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Dora the Explorer.

KidiCreative: VTech’s new KidiCreative line introduces high-tech creative fun for kids through hands-on electronic play. It’s a cool new way to learn music or explore art and photography. This new line of products builds on the fun that kids and parents found in 2007’s award-winning Kidizoom Camera. Included in the line are the all-new KidiArt Studio, KidiJamz Studio, KidiDoodle and the upgraded Kidizoom Camera.

The V-Motion, V-Motion Smartridges, KidiArt Studio, KidiJamz Studio and KidiDoodle will retail for $69.99, $24.99, $79.99, $59.99, and $29.99 respectively.

Press Release

The next time it’s your turn to host movie night with your friends, surprise and confound them with this 4-in-1 hot dog maker from Spilsbury. You can set it up on your kitchen counter, plug it into an outlet, and put all those bags of microwave popcorn you’ve been served to shame.

Why? Because not only can the 4-in-1 appliance make popcorn, it can also make hot dogs, steam whatever you think should be steamed for optimal movie enjoyment, and boil eggs (I told you you’d be able to confound your pals). The contraption also has two warming spikes that seem designed for hot dog buns but that I’d rather use for mini loaf cakes. I mean, if you’re serving boiled eggs, you may as well serve chocolate loaves too.

On sale now for $30.

Via Nerd Approved.

Fancy tanning yourself out under the sun? Why not have some quiet personal time in the privacy of your own backyard with this solar-powered bullet vibrator, courtesy of Libida? Should you feel shy about baring your bits in full view of anyone with a good pair of binoculars or telescopes, there is always the option to use it indoors as it can also function via artificial light as well. This eco-friendly device retails for $29.95 a pop.

Product Page via Popgadget