USB Christmas Tree Is Back

usb christmas tree.jpg Christmas is coming. On this day when treasonous villains were planting bombs under parliament, I thought it was high time for a Silly Season reminder.

Meet - again - the USB Christmas tree. Like bad woolly jumpers from your Gran and mother passing out in front of the TV after a tiny bit too much sherry, the USB Christmas tree is doing the rounds and will, no doubt, adorn many a desk.

Personally, I’d rather have an enema but this sums up the holidays for lots of people. Yours for £9 here.-Martin Lynch

Sunday, November 5th, 2006

EBay offers shopping index of hot items

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Online auctioneer eBay Inc. on
Friday unveiled a new service that not only lists the
top-selling consumer products, but also helps shoppers
determine their going prices.

Saturday, November 4th, 2006

Top 5 Early Bird Luxo-Gift List

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As soon as Halloween is done, it’s a sprint until Christmas. Never mind all that talk about Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that launches the holiday shopping season. If you’re planning to buy a luxo-sport gift for that special someone this year, you’ll want to avoid that herd of sheep, and get your shopping done early.

That’s why we’ve put together this quick list for the smartest shoppers of all: The Top 5 Early Bird Luxo-Gift List, with gifts priced from $1300 down to $200 listed in descending order. Start now. Avoid those maddening crowds, the relentless pressure, and avoid that sinking feeling when you hear that clock ticking, counting down the minutes until Zero Hour.

After the jump, pick out one of the top 5 luxo-gifts you can get right now, and get it all done ahead of time.

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5. Nikon D80 Digital SLR

This is looking like the hot digital SLR for the season, with its 10.2-megapixel CCD, bigger and brighter viewfinder and excellent lenses from Nikon. It has an 11-area through-the-lens autofocus system, improved color metering, smaller size than its predecessor, and we don’t even mind that it uses SD memory cards instead of CompactFlash. You get your money’s worth for $1300.

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4. Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS

We’re big fans of Garmin’s Nuvi series of GPS navigators, and this latest model stretches that screen out to 4.3 inches, the perfect compromise between portability and readibility. Like its brandmates, it gives you hands-free mobile phone calls and then there’s that outstanding Garmin user interface, easy enough to use in traffic but powerful enough to get you where you want to go. With its integrated FM traffic receiver that will warn you about heavy traffic or construction, and an FM transmitter that sends its navigational commands through your car stereo, it’s tough to beat for $999.

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3. TiVo Series 3 HD Personal Multimedia Recorder

We’ve had one of these babies in-house for the past two months, and it’s the best digital video recorder we’ve ever seen. It’s the only THX-certified PVR and its video and audio consistently demonstrate that fact, plus it has that famed TiVo user interface that has no equal. Too bad it’s so damned expensive, at $800, but you can find one for $680.

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2. Canon PowerShot SD900 10MP Digital Elph Camera

The form factor of the Digital Elph cameras from Canon is hard to beat, and this is the best one yet, the PowerShot SD900, with its 10 megapixels of quick-starting goodness and 3x optical zoom, you’ll see it all clearly now on a 2.5-inch LCD viewscreen. Sure, you can’t use many manual settings with this camera, but one of those digital SLRs can be awfully hard to fit in your shirt pocket, too. Best of all, you can find one of these trinkets for $383.

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1. Motorola KRZR Cellphone

We know you want the latest smartphone, but that special person in your life is probably looking to simplify her cellphone situation. The KRZR is the way to go, fitting easily in the pocket ’cause it’s a lot smaller than the mainstream-popular RAZR, and will only set you back around 200 bucks with a two-year contract.

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006

Online Xmas shoppers cost companies billions

LONDON (Reuters) - Businesses could lose more than seven
billion pounds in the run-up to Christmas as employees waste
company time browsing the Internet for presents, employment
experts said on Monday.

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006

Kremlin Sells Off Golf Carts Of The Rich And Famous

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Would you buy something that once had Tony Blair’s arse-print on it? Maybe you would and now the Kremlin is giving you the chance.

In a most uncommon show of Western Capitalism, the Russians are selling off the golf carts used by G8 world leaders visiting the St. Petersburg palace last July. You see, unlike normal peasants, world leaders get to drive their very own golf buggies around the palace grounds.

The carts, used by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and other G8 leaders, have an electric motor and can get up to 25mph. A spokesperson for the Kremlin’s property office said:

“We carried out a market study and we consider there’s demand.”

They fully expect the opening bid of £70,000 to be topped.-Martin Lynch

Saturday, October 28th, 2006

Trap Sunlight In A Jar

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So simple, so cool. Forget saving time in a bottle because what you really need to be aiming for is trapping the sun in a jar.

Designer Tobias Wong has come up with The Sun Jar, which houses a small solar panel and low-wattage bulb. Stick on the windowsill and let it soak up all that UV goodness for the day and then, as the sun goes down, watch it glow.

This is so much easier than trapping fairies – I know. Yours and mine, for £20 here.-Martin Lynch

Monday, October 23rd, 2006

Bling Fridge: LG’s At It Again

lg fridge.jpg LG like its fridges. It likes dressing them up and making them seem more than just the large cold storage box that they are. The purpose of a fridge’s existence in life is to keep beer cold, milk fresh and horses’ heads frozen - until you need them.

Not so with LG which has launched another series of Art home appliances, featuring Swarovski crystals (what doesn’t these days?) and some flowery art by a famous Korean artist. It’s also planning to incorporate washing machines, air conditioners and other household appliances into the line.

No idea, nor interest, in when they are arriving or how much they will hurt your pocket. Anyway, if you’re buying fridges with customised art and Swarovski crystals you long ago forgot the value of money. How much is a pint of milk anyway?-Martin Lynch

Friday, October 20th, 2006

Yummy: Archos 604 Adds Wi-Fi

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The news has been knocking around for some months that Archos was planning to add Wi-Fi to its 604 portable media player and I’m happy to report that the job is done and the product is expected to ship in the coming month.

This makes Archos – makers of the most complete PMPs – the first to install Wi-Fi in such a device. Apple and Microsoft usually need a year’s worth of rumours and media attention before coming up with the next ‘innovation’.

The Wi-Fi will allow users to access the Net via hotspots or swap content from PCs etc. invisibly through the very air. Even better, firmware is on the way that will allow you to use the 604 to download content directly from online stores without the PC.

The existing non-Wi-Fi 604, with its 30GB hard drive, costs around £220. No news yet on what the Wi-Fi will add but will keep you posted.-Martin Lynch

Thursday, October 19th, 2006

Night Vision Goggles Launches Darts at Victims, Annoying Sisters

nightvision2.jpgIt’s never too early to start shopping for Xmas, and these night vision goggles with dart launches would be great for any boy ages six to sixty. We’re not sure how well these goggles work—they’re $19.95 after all—but the darts should be great fun to run around in the backyard with.

Just be careful to lock your bedroom door at night, or little Billy may sneak in and send a dart up your pooper just when you’re getting cozy with the wife.

Product Page [Discovery via Coolest Gadgets]

Monday, October 16th, 2006

Willy Grooming Kit

large_WilSet.gif How seriously do you take your appearance? I bet some of you wash your hair everyday, fork out £50 a month on hair care products and check it out all day in every possible reflective surface. Yeah, you know who you are.

But how often do you groom your main man, your little friend, your ace in the hole? Ha!! Never. Despite his vital role and – if you’re lucky – hectic social life, don’t you think he deserves a little bit of care and attention that doesn’t involved anything with the word ‘job’ in it? Well, here’s your chance with the Gentleman’s Willy Care Kit.
For around £10, you can turn your 1970s trouser mullet into a Noughties hair sensation. For your small outlay you get a styling shears, a fluffing brush, a sprucing mirror and some bling for evening wear.

Yeah, I’m definitely going to Hell now.-Martin Lynch

[More]

Saturday, October 14th, 2006


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