Nwes Form The Wlrod Of Sceicne

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer is in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe.

Passwords, passwords, passwords – Aaargh!!!!

In todays’ digital, security-conscious world, there is so much information to remember.
Once upon a time it was only your bank ATM PIN. Now every web site you are interested in requires you to register, and your Internet Banking login details are impossible to remember.Then you have everything else that matters like insurance, drivers licence, birthdays, combinations, email accounts, memberships, emergency info. The list just goes on and on!!!So what gadget do I use to solve this problem, you ask?

I use SplashID for the Palm OS on my Treo 650.

Of course, you are unlikely to have a Treo, as Australia hasn’t yet caught on to this best-of-breed convergence device. But don’t despair – SplashID has a version to suit PocketPC, Windows Mobile Smartphone, Symbian (sony Ericsson), Series 60 (Nokia) and the Blackberry, so you should be covered.Now there are plenty of alternatives to SplashID out there. However every one I have trialled has been buggy, awkward or unattractive. I just keep coming back to this.
SplashID comes with a Windows desktop to make it easier for data entry, and you can even just buy the desktop, so that’s pretty cool if you haven’t jumped on the phone/PDA convergence bandwagon yet.

SplashID is probably the most important tool I have on my Treo, and is always be the very first installation I run whenever I upgrade.
Trial before you buy at the SplashData downloads page.
I think you’ll find yourself “splashing” out USD$30 in no time at all.

Technorati Tags: palm, treo, splashID, security, passwords, pocketpc, smartphone

Palm/Pocket PC Wine Guide 2006

I’ve been trying to find a decent Palm-based wine guide for so long. This might be finally be it.
Every time I walk into Vintage Cellars, Liquorland or First Choice, I stare at the shelves for ages. I wonder whether I should simply buy that safe Koonunga Hill or Wolf Blass Yellow Label, or go out on a limb and try something new. I got lucky one day when I chose some Zilzie – boy is that good! But, I’ve also had my share of poor bottles.

My choice of phone is the PalmOne Treo 650, and it doubles as a Palm PDA. So, everywhere I go, the Treo goes with me. Now when I’m looking for wine, I can simply refer to my Treo to help make my decision. I can also keep track of my own wine cellar – excellent for when you drank so much of a good wine that you simply can’t remember what it was!

Also available for Pocket PC (for those of you who haven’t quite cottoned onto the joys of a stable, easy to use, lightweight PDA operating system).

It retails at about $25 after currency conversion, and you can download it directly from Landware’s site.

Now, it’s not perfect for Australians due to the lack of Aussie database content.  And I’ve yet to find any online data that I can import into the database.  I’ll keep looking and place a comment here if I find it.  An option for some of you might be to use a quality Australian Windows-based database to host your own collection, and export to a file that you can then import into your mobile software.

Gadgets give girls confidence and coolness

Gadgets for girls has become a genuine market for which the major players are now starting to consider more seriously.
This article, first published in CNET News, indicates that women accounted for 46 percent of the $107.2 billion spent on consumer-electronics technology in 2005, a rise of 18 percent on the previous year.

Gina (from Silicon Valley of course) says that “…gadgets make you feel safe and confident. And of course, they make you look cool.”

Girls can be quite au fait with the latest shiny whizzbang doover, so it’s not all about pink plastic things that look really cute. However, functionality really does benefit from form when female buyers are the desired market, so designers are now looking at how to incorporate both fashion and cool into their offerings.

Take these Swapsets for example – stylish headbands that double as headphones, with an optional matching mobile phone headset. These look great whilst providing flexibility in how you can use them. There is even a tool for mixing and matching fabrics so you can come up with just the right look to match your personality.

This is a great read, so check out the full article here:
You go, girl gadgeteer

Are You Ready To ROCK?

I was idly passing through JB HiFi yesterday when my attention was caught by Joan Jett’s dulcet tones being acompanied by some fairly shoddy guitar work. I rounded a corner and was confronted by Guitar Hero in action!

I’ve only been vaguely tempted to buy a Playstation 2 previously, but now I have a burning need. I WANT this! WANT WANT WANT!
Ok, so anyone playing this thing will end up looking like a total dork. Especially as the guitar looks like one of those plastic toys with buttons instead of strings that get confiscated from little kids five minutes after Christmas.
The game itself works a little like the Dance Dance Revolution atrocities you may have seen over the last few years. You need to hit the right buttons on the fretboard and strum at the right time to match the display. Sort of a Simon Says for the modern generation.

But hell, in spite of all the dorky crappy plasticness – this game totally rocks!

And with tracks like Ace Of Spades, Bark At The Moon, Higher Ground, I Love Rock n Roll, Iron Man, Killer Queen, Smoke On The Water, Symphony Of Destruction and many many more how could it fail to?

Do Not Buy This Game!

World of Warcraft is the most successful massively multiplayer online role playing game (or MMORPG) ever with upwards of 6 million active subscribers worldwide.

It is a beautifully designed game with two huge continents to explore, a highly detailed back story, armies of enemies to fight, a seemingly unlimited number of quests to go on and oodles and oodles of loot to buy, win and steal.

It can take you to another world where you can quest or just converse with thousands of like minded people from around the world.
So why am I telling you not to buy it? [Read more]

Bluetooth Headsets for Women

Everyone knows that women have more style and class than men, and why should female gadget lovers be left with black, white or silver when buying their gadget of choice?

If you chicks want to look your absolute hottest whilst taking that train to work, exercising at the local gym or simply chatting to your best friends on your mobile, then you need one of these little beauties.

Any mobile phone with bluetooth capabilities can be “paired” (made to work with) one of these headsets. If you own an ipod you could also purchase the bluetooth adaptor for iPod to get your music through your headset, but I wouldn’t recommend it. After all, music should always be heard in stereo.

Guys – stay away. These are not for you (unless you dress in girls clothes on a regular basis). Of course, you should still be a nice person and buy one for your girlfriend or sister.

The BluePearls range of Bluetooth headsets give women a choice of lightweight and small units, and the LIFE model (which comes in three colours, strangely black, silver, white) includes nine colorful, patterned faceplates in the pack. One for every day of the week and two more for Saturday night.

You can pick these up from the BluePearls shop, and the LIFE model is ticketed at USD$89.95.
Currently, the ordering process is not that easy for overseas customers, but I’ve been told by Bluepearls that they definitely ship to Australia, shipping is USD$15.95 (USPS Global Priority Mail), and they will create an account for you inside their billing module if you email them your details (information@bluepearls.us).

technorati tags:bluepearls, bluetooth, phone, headset

iPod Bluetooth Adaptor

This may seem to be a surprising post from me, given I don’t like iPods.
However, the rest of the world does, so I need to let you all know about iPod-related cool things.

It should be pointed out that the iPod has the best user interface of all portable music gadgets, and it looks cool, so that’s why it is so popular. It just so happens that I like functionality and audio quality over simple form, which is why I have never liked the iPod. But more about that in a later post.

The Jabra A125s is a bluetooth adapter for your iPod. What that means is you can buy some wireless bluetooth headphones, plug this thing into your iPod charging port, and immediately receive music without wires!

Some say those white wires are part of the allure of the iPod, so it will be very interesting to see how well this sells. Others say that bluetooth audio is not of great quality. I don’t think you’ll notice any difference from your wired headphones. To begin with, the iPod earbuds are awful! Get rid of them! Secondly, prior to this release you generally only found bluetooth audio available in mobile phones that could also play MP3s, and the audio quality from those things is generally awful in the first place.

The downside to this gadget is probably the battery life drain to both your iPod and the actual headphones themselves. But, I love the idea for exercising.
The Jabra A125s will be released in August and is currently expected to be retailing in the States for US$75. Once they are released your first port of call for an online purchase should be Hello Direct and you will probably be able to buy them from Mr Gadget or Expansys in Australia not long after that.

Question: Do you prefer wireless to wired?

Hello Kitty Stratocaster

With thanks to Engadget.com and Fareastgizmos.com, here’s one for the lady rockers out there.

The “Hello Kitty” Stratocaster is very limited edition guitar (there seems only to be 3, of which 2 have already been sold) and is available only in Japan. So, it’s not really something I expect to see a lot of on stage around these parts. But, it does look very cool. If you want one it will set you back about $30,000!

Jump into your Japanese White Pages and look up the Mitsubishi Nihonbashi main office to reserve the last one.

Hello Kitty Stratocaster goes high-end – Engadget

technorati tags:guitar, hello, kitty, stratocaster, fender