Here's the latest from the other Shiny Media UK blogs today:

Bridalwave: Online budget planner
Catwalk Queen: Bargain pick: TopShop Dress
Trashionista: Friday Flick: Bridget Jones' Diary
Star Trip: Jordan vs. Chantelle
TV Scoop: The Bitch Is Back. Maybe.

Happy surfing and have a good weekend!

If apples aren't your thing (well not things that look like apples anyway), then you might prefer this fairly minimalistic dock designed for your iPod and HiFi system from Marantz.

It has all the connectors you need in the connection-unit you see on the left, even remote capabilities which can allow control of the iPod from the HiFi, or control of the HiFi from the iPod (I think!). There's also an S-Video connection to allow you to watch video from the wee thing. Smart. I can see myself walking in from work, coat on hook, keys on table, bag on floor and iPod in that dock that my hunky future-hubby handily mounted on the wall in just the right place. Sigh.  [Sara Wallen]

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MP3 Players @ Shiny

This rather cute speaker dock is apparently fine for use with any mp3 or media player but we can all see what brand they are aiming for - they may as well have made the apple stripey and taken a bite out of it.

For $16 (or just under a British tenner I think), you can cart this fake fruit around with you and handily open it up when you fancy sharing some sounds. Not bad for a cheapie - would say good for the beach but it depends how safe your mp3 player is from ingress of sand!  [Sara Wallen]

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MP3 Players @ Shiny

Breaking down in your car is just so undignified - all that impotent waiting for the AA van to show up, sitting there with your hazards flashing, puny arm muscles straining as you try to push the damn auto(not so)mobile out of the road. This is surely not the life you dreamed of for yourself? It's hard to look cool when your exhaust pipe is lying 200 metres away, being slowly flattened by oncoming traffic. And you're unlikely to elicit the respect of strangers when you're busy trying to push your 2CV down the A5. This Charge-n-Start makes the whole process of jump starting the car so much more civilised. All you do is plug it into your car lighter socket, plug the other end into a less crappy car's lighter socket, and tuck into a light salad while your battery gets a boost.

Charge-n-Start, $29 [via Popgadget]

There are some crazy gagets out there but this one has me virtually cowering under my desk and feeling ever so slightly queasy. Yes, on the left is eye jewelry from Eric Klarenbeek. The dangling jewels are suspended from contact lenses and apparently will not affect your sight. Would you though? Really? [Camilla Chafer]

If I'm out and about and need to get down to some work, chances are that I need an Internet connection (and a large cup of coffee). Free Hotspot offers a Wi-Fi finding service so that you can find out where the access points are. It's updated every two minutes, 24 hours a day letting you know which venue is available and which have gone off-line. And if you can't plan in advance, they have telephone hotline too. [Camilla Chafer]

Related stories:
Flower hotspot finder

If Sergio Trujillo's Braille Book ever makes it on sale over here, I'll be sorely tempted to start learning a bit of the clever bobbly language. I may not be blind, but put it this way, at -10 in both eyes, I wouldn't have survived long in the wild as a cavewoman. It's a constant source of amazement to me that so much can be conveyed just by running your fingers over a series of knobbles, plus it means I could lie in bed reading without bending my glasses for a change. But before I make this all about me (oops, too late) there are actually proper blind people out there who would also rather like this digital Braille book, which pops up nodules to simulate the Braille language. It's got rechargeable batteries and uses Bluetooth to transfer data over.

Braille Book [via TRFJ]

Ben Franklin's popular aphorism, "A penny saved is a penny earned," is strangely honored in my hometown by people tossing pennies on Franklin's grave (apparently they missed significance of the the "saved" bit). Rather than tossing your pennies and other assorted loose change at the monuments of deceased statesmen, however, you might consider putting them towards expanding your music collection.

Some Coinstar locations are now offering the chance to convert your loose change into gift cards or certificates rather than paper money - with the major advantage being that you won't loose 8.9% of your proceeds to processing fees. The cards can then be redeemed at a number of online retailers, including Virgin Digital, Borders, Hollywood Video, Amazon.com and the iTunes Music Store. -[Star C. Foster]

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Heavens - people will put  Swarovski crystals on anything these days: iPod cases, mobiles, mp3 players, televisions, and, apparently, giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. The latter, the brainchild of Black Chandelier, comes complete with leash and decorative brooch so you can keep them with you always (or at least for a year, which is about how long they're expected to live, if well kept with bananas and water).

Most people I know (men and women both) would just as soon squish a roach as wear one, no matter how blinged out they are. For the rest of you, these bejewelled companions are available  for $80. - [Star C. Foster]

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It's great when something really useful arrives on the market. I mean, how many times have you been out and about, mobile in hand, thinking "ye gods, I could really do with a portable ghost detector for my phone right about now"? A fair few times, I'll wager. Well, now your prayers are set to be answered with this Baketan Strap Ghost Radar, fruit of the collective loins of SollidAlliance (makers of the Ghost Radar) and Strapya. Apparently, it uses "mathmatical, meteorological and technological calculations" to seek out ghosts, which it does every 10 seconds, alerting you to the presence of any apparitions by flashing a red light and buzzing. You then have the choice of scarpering as fast as possible, or pushing the button so that the Baketan safe mode "starts to expel some Ghost out of your body." I honestly can't say how I've lived a full and active life without one. Let's hope some kind soul starts importing them from Japan soon.

Strapya Baketan Ghost Radar [via Oh Gizmo]

Related: SolidAlliance Ghost Radar

Conico have caught our attention before with some lovely camera cases, and while they had these Nano IN-Holsters even then, I guess it's taken until now for the company to push out the press release!

I'm guessing you can use the clippy thing to attach it to a belt loop and swing the Nano into a nearby pocket (just ready for the quick-draw, yeehaw!), or hook it around a handbag strap and drop the Nano in the abyss knowing you'll easily find it again.

Available for the fairly healthy price of £19.99.  [Sara Wallen]

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The FA may have sanctioned a tune from indie doom-crooners Embrace for the World Cup, but that hasn't stopped countless other football-loving chart wannabes from releasing their own anthem to the beautiful game. Turns out, releasing your own chart topper isn't so hard these days, which is why our World Cup blog, Who Ate All The Bratwurst, has produced a handy guide to making your own World Cup single. All you need to do is pick a tune, rewrite it with lots of footballing lyrics, and get yourself a You Tube account... well, maybe there's more to it than that, but not much. You can check out That's England Alright - the DIY World Cup song that Bratwurst is currently championing, here.

Oh, and where are all the US World Cup anthems? US readers - get your act together!

10 Easy Steps to making your own World Cup Single

Here's the latest from the other Shiny UK blogs:

Bridalwave: Wedding insurance
Hippyshopper: A new twist on the mortar and pestle
TV Scoop: Big Brother to kick off early!
Star Trip: La Lopez Marriage In Trouble
Catwalk Queen: Fashion Police: Romper Stomper

Happy surfing!

As with most Casios this latest Exilim digital camera is a mere slip of a thing, despite being equipped with 10.1mp of shooting power. A large 2.8-inch Super Bright LCD is also somehow squeezed on board (taking up most of the back), as is a 3x optical zoom lens. As you'd expect from a modern digital camera, there's more anti-blur technology on board than you can (anti-)shake a stick at and the 8MB of internal memory is a useful back up to whatever you've added via the SD card slot. As is so often the way with pretty bits of tech like this, it's not cheap at £380, but it is pretty.

Casio website

Shure, who appear to be "the" in-ear headphone makers around at the moment, are launching the E500 earphones, due for shipping in July.

Not only do these shut out surrounding noise as is now pretty much standard for Shures, but there's also a handy 'push-to-hear' accessory. This should allow you to switch easily between complete aural shut-off and still being able to hear some of real life.

Next week, London's Institute of Contemporary Arts will be presenting "Outrageous and Contagious," an exhibition of viral videos; those funny, strange and often rude bits of media that so often end-up in our in boxes - including this pic of Kate Moss and Pete Doherty as the Moors Murderers, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Listed as a "launchpad" for this year's Germ Awards (what else would you call an award for a viral video?), "Outrageous and Contagious" is being co-sponsored by Channel 4's IDEASFACTORY, Bore Me, Ralph and Hot Cherry.

Karen Price runs a programme called Computer Clubs for Girls. She had lots of interesting things to say at the Women & Technology debate, including the fact that girls find the very idea of doing IT hugely dull ("have you seen the state of the boys in the computer room?!" being a standard response). Only one in five IT professionals is female, but after attending the computer club, around 66% of the girls said they'd now consider working in IT. Another good point Glenda Stone made was that if girls were told that they could be making £175 a day as an IT freelancer on The Square Mile they might start to see things differently.

After Rachel Elnaugh suggested that women are better at using the arty side of their brains than they are at using the techy, analytical side (watch the video here), the rest of the panel gave their thoughts. Glenda Stone talking about Accenture was very interesting. Again, apologies for the quality - we shot better stuff later, but I didn't want to leave out this good stuff at the start. Video after the turn.

Fans of Doctor Who may recall K9, the original robotic dog during 1977-1981. The new version is set to make an appearance during this season's Doctor Who and will then get its own 26 part series. TV channel Jetix Europe has joined up with former Doctor Who designer Paul Tams and Bob Baker of Wallace and Gromit fame to create the series. It will be a combination of live action and animation in what they call a 'space fantasy adventure.'

[Camilla Chafer]

I had a very interesting evening last night at the BlackBerry Women & Technology Awards debate last night listening to a discussion about why there are so few women in IT. The panel consisted of Karen Price, CEO of  eSkills UK; Rachel Elnaugh, Entrepreneur, founder of Red Letter Days, and Dragon; Jackie Edwards, lecturer in Women's Access to Information Technology at De Montfort and winner of a W&T Award last year; and Dr Glenda Stone    Founder and CEO of Aurora, a company dedicated to advancing women's position within the workplace. It was chaired by the journalist Kate Buckley.

Rachel Elnaugh kicked off proceedings by suggesting that women weren't biologically predisposed to being good at IT (you can see if you're left brained or right brained over at Inky Circus). Check out the video after the turn