Alonline » gadget

Anything but iPod

Al — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 02:02:37 +0000

I like the name, and the aim of this site. Anythingbutipod aims to provide reviews and guidance on music players which are not iPods – which is great for me as I hate it when one product starts to monopolise the market, as the iPod has done over the last 4-5 years. I would, personally, buy and listen to anything but an iPod, solely because of the amount of hype they have received during their life. As it is, I use my phone as an MP3 and video player, as well as camera, games console and GPS – but for those of you who are willing to look for something other than an iPod, here’s the site for you.

Steinway Lyngdorf Model D music system

Al — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 00:53:30 +0000

If you are a serious music lover, and you happen to have $150,000 to spare, then I think I’ve found the music system for you. With every part of this system hand built, including speaker stands that weigh over 200Kg each, then you’d expect perfect reproduction, which is helped by having the system professionally installed in your house as part of the cost. Worth every penny, if you win the lottery.

The Belkin N1 Vision – a cool router

Al — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:31:42 +0000

I’ve been looking for a new router for a while, and haven’t seen anything that makes me want to spend my money yet. I’d like advanced configuration options, a reliable service from the router, 802.11n, Gigabit Ethernet ports, and a whole lot more. I’ve seen a couple of other routers which looked close to what I want, but I’ve been waiting for something to catch my eye, and I think I’ve now found the router for me. The Belkin N1 Vision has all the above options (although I’d have to trust it for the reliability), and also has a cool display on it’s side which tells you how much data is going where, who’s using that data and lots of other snippets of information. I’ve just got to wait for it to be available in the UK and that’s the router for me.

The ROM machine – a workout in 4 minutes

Al — Thu, 03 May 2007 23:47:08 +0000

I noticed this machine in the post about Ray Kurzweil, and I thought I’d investigate if it’s something he’s using. The ROM Machine appears to be too good to be true: a full cardiovascular workout in just 4 minutes. However the site has answers to all the common questions, including how $14,600 is not really expensive for such a piece of equipment. I must admit, if I won the lottery then I would consider one of these little beauties.

A toast printer – for edible output

Al — Wed, 02 May 2007 23:47:34 +0000

This is one of those great ideas that will never amount to much, but is nevertheless both cool and stupid. These guys linked a focused hot air gun to a CNN machine, and produced a device that can print quite detailed designs onto toast. Why, is another matter. The main thing is the result – which is rather clever. I’d like one of these as a toaster – you could have fun at breakfast and supper with one.

How do you do that Vudu that you do?

Al — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 21:11:57 +0000

The Vudu is a Tv STB that is connected to the Internet and allows you to stream TV and watch movies on demand. It is cool, well designed and I’d love to be excited about it, but I’ve got a VirginMedia V+ box – which knocks this dead. It has signed up with various movie companies to bring you the latest films, and with TV companies to bring you their TV, My V+ box does all this without slowing down my Internet connection, and I can record 2 programs whilst watching a third. The Vudu seems to be perfect for those who can’t get VirginMedia cable products – for those who can I would suggest getting a V+ box installed.

Dangerously Fun – exactly what it says on the tin

Al — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:43:33 +0000

Dangerously Fun is a website devoted to projects that are both dangerous and fun. This simple premise has lead to instructions for some wonderful ideas, most of which you may already have considered, but never attempted due to lack of instructions. Well now you, too, can have a go at Dangerously Fun projects.

Blu-Ray creeps ahead of HD-DVD

Al — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:32:03 +0000

It’s a battle that is probably bigger in the reporting than in the flesh. However, the competition between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is definitely ongoing, and Blu-Ray has just notched up 1 million sales, and has 70% of the market share so far this year. If you’d asked last year, then HD-DVD was going to win hands down, thanks to the porn industry’s support for it. However Blu-Ray has the backing of Sony, with their vast movie library; Disney, who are Blu-Ray only; and the wide availability of the PS3 as an affordable Blu-Ray player. We’ll probably end up with players that play both formats being cheap and easily available next year, but for the next 12 months my money is on Blu-Ray.

vCrib – remote controlled BB gun

Al — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:05:19 +0000

I want one of these little beauties! A BB machine gun that you can log into through the Internet, see what it sees with it’s barrel mounted webcam, and control it full with just a few clicks of your mouse. How cool is that!

Laser graffiti

Al — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:31:22 +0000

This is clever, but lacks something. I can’t believe a group of blokes were playing with this system for ages and never drew a picture of a cock and balls. This makes the entire video seem unbelievable to me, after all it’s the first thing any bloke would draw when they have a chance like this.