Now this really is my kind of gadget…. This is the Boom arm workstation and as you can clearly see it is the ideal gift for the gentleman, or lady, who likes to do their laptopping in bed. It’s also a boon, or should that be a boom for those who are bedridden but not by choice, and it could prove handy for wheelchair users as well. The manufacturers even see it being used by exercise nuts, whilst on a treadmill but that’s probably going a bit too far. Fully adjustable and reasonably portable, it’ll set you back around £150. UK availability has yet to be announced but if you just can’t wait you can always see if they’ll send you one at: EasyChair WorkStation Products
If you’ve been following the goings-on in the mobile phone industry you will know that the Next Big Thing is likely to be Google and its Android operating system. Android is Open Source software and Google gunning hard for the big boys, namely Microsoft, Nokia and Apple, and actively encouraging users to contribute to its development, hence the Android Software Developer’s Kit (SDK), which you can now download and try for yourself.
Of course, it’s mostly aimed at programmers and developers, but there’s something for everyone and it contains a full Android Emulator, which basically means you can simulate the workings of an Android phone on your Windows Mac or Linux PC. Read the rest of this entry »
On its official website, Opera describes the latest version of its browser as “beautifully engineered”. However, it looks like Opera 9.50 was made available to end users before the cooking process was ready. After the release of the gold version of Opera 9.50 on June 12, 2008, the feedback starting pouring in, and it was not a pretty sight. As a direct consequence of the user input, Opera is now scrambling to make available version 9.51, designed to resolve all the issues introduced with Opera 9.50.
“Discover the new standard in Web browsing. Download Opera today to get the fastest and most powerful Web browser available and make the most of your time online,” is a message on the official Opera welcoming page. And while the evolution of version 9.5 over its predecessor is indisputable, the fact is that so are the many problems plaguing the browser. June 25, 2008 saw the offering of Opera 9.51 Build 10074 Release Candidate 1, and as of June 30 users can also grab Opera 9.51 RC2 Build 10080. Read the rest of this entry »
This is certainly the day for announcements made by Sony. In addition to revealing a video rental service designed for the PlayStation 3, the company is also launching a few other initiatives that are designed to make its gaming console more attractive to other demographics than the “hardcore” gamer. The social aspect of the PlayStation Network is brought into focus in an effort to compete with the Xbox Live service from Microsoft.
While mentioning that the PlayStation 3 has so far shipped more than 12 million units all over the world, Kaz Hirai, President of Sony Computer Entertainment, revealed that this number is past the critical stage at which the company begins to focus on providing more content to its users rather than on extending the installed base at an accelerated rate. Additional content is intended to create loyalty amongst the player base. Read the rest of this entry »
Speaking as a regular ebay user, I am constantly being outbid in the last seconds of an auction, almost certainly by automated bidding programs, and it’s ticking me off! On the very shaky premise that if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, I am now seriously considering going over to the dark side and using what’s known as a ‘sniping tool’ to do my bidding for me and based on my researches, it seems that one of the best is a freeware utility called JbidWatcher. It’s very easy to set up, you feed it your ebay details, tell it what you want to bid on, how much you are prepared to pay, and how late you want to make a bid and it gets on with it. Moments before the auction ends JBid makes it move, and if you are successful, the item is yours, assuming of course that rival bidders are not using sniping tools as well, set to place higher bids even later than you…
Now this really is my kind of gadget…. This is the Boom arm workstation and as you can clearly see it is the ideal gift for the gentleman, or lady, who likes to do their laptopping in bed. It’s also a boon, or should that be a boom for those who are bedridden but not by choice, and it could prove handy for wheelchair users as well. The manufacturers even see it being used by exercise nuts, whilst on a treadmill but that’s probably going a bit too far. Fully adjustable and reasonably portable, it’ll set you back around £150. UK availability has yet to be announced but if you just can’t wait you can always see if they’ll send you one at: EasyChair WorkStation Products
