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 Gadgets Mathmos Eclipse funky lightFebruary 2006 | Mathmos
Lava lamps found pride of place in bedrooms and living rooms alike throughout the 1960s and '70s. Then in the '80s and '90s there were those plasma globes that made your hair stand on end and scared the cat. These days, you have the Eclipse from Mathmos to satisfy all your 'interactive lighting' needs.  Intel Viiv media-centre PCDecember 2005 | Intel
It's taken several years, but finally the manufacturers of personal computers have realised that we don't want big, ugly, beige computers in our living rooms. As such, the next generation of digital home and media-centre PCs will look and behave entirely differently to the current behemoth sitting in your study, home office or bedroom.  Siemens liftMatic OvenDecember 2005 | Siemens
Every time you open your oven all the hot air escapes, dropping the temperature from 200 °C to 100 °C in a matter of seconds. The canny team at Siemens have thought long and hard about this issue and come up with the liftMatic oven. It's a wall-mounted unit, and instead of opening with a door like conventional ovens, the liftMatic has a platform that lowers, giving you easy access to your food, but keeping all the toasty warm air captured inside the oven itself.  Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 5 speaker systemDecember 2005 | Bang & Olufsen
There's something eerie about Bang & Olufsen's new BeoLab 5 speaker. Not only does it have a slick and unearthly appearance, it is also packed with so much technology and intelligent software, we're not entirely sure that it's not superior to humans in just about every possible way. Resembling a cross between a Tesla coil and a Dalek, the BeoLab 5 uses acoustic-lens technology, based on the unique properties of the elliptical shape, to deliver an equally unique sound.  Greaves and Thomas Mars GlobeDecember 2005
For the science buff who has everything, including numerous globes of the Earth from different periods in history, how about a globe that's literally out of this world? By that we mean Mars. The Greaves and Thomas Mars Globe is a 30 cm globe that uses the latest NASA imagery to provide a high-quality representation of the surface of Mars.  Zircon Sonic Measure tapeless tape measureDecember 2005 | Zircon
Measure twice, cut once. That's the old adage. Although with a Zircon Sonic Measure, you'll want to measure all day long, because it's now easier than ever. As its name suggests, the Sonic Measure bounces sound waves off distant surfaces to gauge the distance as if it had a tiny bat or dolphin built in. A laser targetter also helps you to ensure that you're taking the reading from the correct spot.  Apple iPod digital music and video playerDecember 2005 | Apple
Apple certainly hasn't been quiet in recent months in regard to the iPod. First was the diminutive Nano, then the iTunes-enabled telephone, the Motorola ROKR, and now the video iPod. The new iPod is similar to previous versions of the top-end model, with the recognisable white and metal colours and scroll wheel, although it is thinner than the last version.  Dynalite Revolution home automationDecember 2005
In a decade's time, we'll look back on our light switches, door keys and hand-drawn blinds with amused reminiscence. Home automation is going to be one of the biggest things in our digital lives in the future. Instead of switching an individual light on or off from a single switch, all the elements of our home will be controllable from any point.  Wallflower 2 digital picture frameDecember 2005
It's the 21st century, for goodness sake, so why do we still have picture frames around the house that only show a measly single picture? Well, the future is here, with the Wallflower digital picture frame. The unit looks inauspicious enough, but its conservative picture-frame exterior belies some serious tech underneath.  Oregon Scientific Music Sphere wireless audioDecember 2005 | Oregon Scientific
Multi-room audio is the entire buzz at the moment, but funky high-tech devices, including the SunOS Digital Music System (Cosmos, Issue 5, p82), can cost you a bundle. So how about something simpler? Try the Music Sphere from Oregon Scientific. It's small, round, and decidedly retro, but it packs some pretty up-to-date technology. 
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