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Gadgets

Touch wood

Hardwood USB

August 2006

The Hardwood USB range comes in three sizes/woods: a light coloured sycamore with 256 MB on board; a darker cherry, with 512 MB; and a rich rosewood with a full 1 GB.


As far as the eye can see

103-inch plasma TV

August 2006 | Panasonic

There's a basic rule of thumb when it comes to determining the optimum viewing distance for a widescreen television. Normally 2.5 times the diagonal size of the screen places you at the perfect place for the best viewing experience. Given this, were you to plonk yourself in front of the new Panasonic 103-inch (262-cm) plasma screen, you'd have to sit no less than 6.5 metres away.


Dude, where's my car keys?

Sun Trap handbag

August 2006

Handbags are mystical and powerful things. Somehow they seem to be bigger on the inside than they are on the outside - like the Tardis. However, this bodes ill for the fate of your keys, especially when it's dark and you really just want to gain access to your home through the front door. Rosanna Kilfedder, a 24-year-old design student from Brunel University in West London, was all too aware of this problem and went to work on a solution. The result is unique: the Sun Trap.


Watch where you run

Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS watch

August 2006 | Garmin

Running is as old as legs, but it took the invention of satellite networks for us to track our running down to the nearest metre and calorie burned. The Garmin Forerunner 201 is a clever device that, although appearing to be a cross between a wristwatch and a stopwatch, is filled with impressive high-tech gizmos. First off, it's in constant communication with the GPS satellite network to keep track of your movements, including altitude. This gives it much higher accuracy than a simple pedometer, which doesn't take elevation into account when calculating your energy expenditure.


Furry robot invasion

Butterscotch My Furreal Friends Pony

August 2006 | Hasbro

Some say robots will one day rule the world. And when that day comes, we'll all be willing slaves under their cold, mechanical rule. Until that day arrives though, we can amuse our children with cute little mechanical ponies! The only thing more surreal than the concept of a robot pony is that it's called the 'Butterscotch My Furreal Friends Pony'.


Paparazzi for different stars

Meade Deep Sky Imager

June 2006 | Meade

Most telescopes come with attachments that enable you to hook up a conventional camera to the eyepiece and take photos. The next step is to use a digital camera instead of a film camera.


A Hubble in your backyard

Meade RCX400

June 2006 | Meade

There are many different flavours of reflective telescopes, with various numbers and types of mirrors, each with their own advantages and idiosyncratic foibles. However, the Ritchey-Chrétien is considered to be the pinnacle of reflective telescope design, with almost all professional reflective telescopes around the world using the technology. Even Hubble is a Ritchey-Chrétien.


Heavenly viewing

Celestron C9 1/4-SGT

June 2006 | Celestron

Celestron revolutionised enthusiast astronomy with the first mass-produced Schmidt-Cassegrain reflectors. The Schmidt-Cassegrain is a popular design because of its quality compared to its size. Because the light bounces off a number of mirrors internally, it can deliver the quality of a substantially larger refractive telescope in a squat form factor that is easily transportable.


Looking right

Meade ETX-90AT

June 2006 | Meade

One of the biggest barriers to rewarding amateur astronomy is the challenge of actually finding objects of interest, and keeping them in view. The heavens are far from static, with the Earth's own rotation as well as the movents of other celestial bodies confounding the efforts of even the steadiest hands. Without accurate control, objects wobble, blur and disappear.


Grounded gazing

Meade Lightbridge

June 2006 | Meade

If your priority is a big, bright and clear image, and you're happy to track in and find your own celestial objects for viewing, then the Meade Lightbridge series could be the telescope for you.


Looking every which way

Vixen Porta A80Mf

June 2006 | Vixen

For stargazers on a budget, why not start off your astronomical adventures with something simple yet effective, such as the Porta A80Mf from the company Vixen.


Bringing your balls back home

Scout Golf Ball Finder

June 2006

Lost balls can be both embarrassing and irritating. Well, may you never fear another errant ball or unfruitful swing with the Scout. In these days of rampant convergence, it's one of those rare devices that unapologetically does only one thing: it finds your golf balls.


Easy hard recording

Sony RDRHX1010

June 2006 | Sony

PVRs, or Personal Video Recorders, have been slowly gaining in popularity over the last few years as people realise their tremendous benefits. They not only allow you to record television like a VCR, but they entirely change the way you watch T.V.


Old skool gaming

Quasicade Pro

June 2006

The Quasicade started as a project in Christopher Gerding's garage in 1998 when he decided to recreate the classic arcade gaming experience. Modern consoles, such as the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 are all well and good when enjoyed from the comfort of your sofa, but there's something more authentic when you play it on a classic arcade cabinet.


kW to GHz

Asus Lamborghini VX1 Performance notebook

June 2006 | Asus

What's black and yellow and reaches 350 km/h? A greased banana? Nope. It's the 390 kW Lamborghini Diablo. And what does the Diablo have in common with a notebook from Asus? It's black and yellow, and they both mount the same badge.