Since its launch in the US many moons ago, you will have noticed a string of national disasters caused by people taking their eye off the ball because they've been watching TV on their laptops, via Slingbox. It's been completely made up completely proven.

Now, with its launch in the UK, you can expect a similar phenomenon. Do I even need to utter the words 'World Cup'? By plugging this little darling into your TV/Freeview/Sky+ you can have access to your TV from your laptop or PC. So, when you're supposed to be creating your latest Powerpoint monstrosity, you can be watching Deal or No Deal. Unless you sit by the water cooler...

Exclusively available at PC World for the time being, it'll set you back £179.99.

Behold the USB port:  it can help you perform an ultrasound, power your ashtray, help you detect ghosts, and now, purify the air in your car, home or office.  Catagorized as a USB device by Inovix, the IAP565A Car & Computer Air Purifier circulates negative ions, removes pollutants, eliminates cigarette smoke and reduces odors. 

I'll admit, I'm not sure where the USB part comes in - unless it's powered by a handy-dandy USB port (like everything else these days).  Easy enough to find in your home or business offices...but probably in shorter supply in your automobile.  I suppose you could always bring your laptop out to your car.  Or, if you prank your friends by dismantling their car and reassembling it in their home office, you could always plug the Car & Computer Air Purifier into an empty USB port in their home computer, and tell them you were just trying to improve their environment.

Read (via Coolest Gadgets)

When Shiny writer Star isn't online digging up news about sparkly cockroaches and soft-furnishings for the gassy, she's usually online reading the latest tech news. And sometimes, she goes off half-cock about something she reads and feels inclined to write about it. This is one of those times.  Star's not as together as the Inky Circus gals, so you needn't panic - this isn't likely to be a weekly occurrence.  Just every so often.  Or perhaps never again. Who can tell?

I'm a gaming dilettante.  Whole months go by when all I don't pick up a controller at all, while my memories of  other months are a hazy blur because I've lost hours of sleep trying desperately to "just get to a save point."   I had to quit playing MMorPGs because I had begun scheduling my real life around my clan activity, but I've never mastered the fine art of strafing and firing.  I'm a miserable mess at "Guitar Hero," but once insisted on playing through a Boss Battle despite a finger-curling hand cramp (hmm...perhaps those last two are related.) Still despite my lack of full-time gaming dedication, I'm consistently amazed that the fact women play video games is so shocking to the world at large so as to be deemed newsworthy every now and again.

I am facing the prospect of a 25 hour bus journey in the next couple of days, which is already making me DVT-paranoid.  So, the launch of the Sony D-VE7000S DVD Walkman couldn't be better timed.

Featuring a battery life of 3 hours, which won't get you through Gone with the Wind, but will get you through Flashdance, it has a 7 inch LCD display - more than adequate for you to be sure your eyes won't go permanently square.

We mentioned some virtually identical eyeshades back in February and now we've found a similar pair at a UK stockist. Instead of just blocking out the sunlight in order to get you off to sleep, this mask will lull you into a slumber with it's 4 track built-in sound. Drift off to the tunes of ocean waves, rain forest, rippling streams or raindrops. Powered by 3xAA batteries £14 at Grattan.

More health gadgets here

Lamps tend to be a bit boring and minimalist which is all very well if they serve their purpose but occasionally something irresistibly pretty does catch my eye. And this time I really like this Atelier flexible-arm lamp. Only available in dark fuchsia, the aluminium base has songbird and flower appliques and is coated with epoxy lacquer. Use with a 40W, E14 bulb. £27 at La Redoute.

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Check your wallet.  Got a spare $300?  Need a cute little plastic laptop - for your child, say?  How about if that $300 bought a laptop for your child and two other children, Third World children, who might otherwise not get a chance at an education?  Then you want to stop by Pledgebank and sign the "I will purchase the $100 laptop at $300 but only if 100,000 other will too." pledge.  2,317 people have signed up so far, which is pretty good considering that it's all unofficial - One Laptop Per Child hasn't promised to work with this scheme yet.  But if you're into the idea, what harm can it do to say you'd do it if you had the chance?  (via Gizmodo.  More comment at Hippyshopper.) [GT]

According to Fujifilm, the majority of pictures women take are "people pictures" in "low light at close proxmity" - a situation where digital cameras tend to underperform.  (My own photo gallery tends to fall into the low light category at least, and yes, even with a decentish Nikon digicam I've had that problem constantly.)  So with the Finepix Z3 they've gone for "a sensitivity range up to ISO 1600 at full resolution, which means that users are able to produce images with minimum 'noise".  And if you hadn't yet noticed it was aimed at the so-called gentler sex, it's available in pink (but also blue for boys and silver for Daleks).  5 megapixel, 3x optical zoom, 2.5 inch LCD, F 3.5 lens, ISO 64-1600, USB 2.0, xD memory, smaller than a pack of Yankee cigarettes.  Price TBA, but can the price be much distant from than the Sony Cyber-Shot T30 (around £300)?

The juxtaposition of two iconic design periods can go one of two ways. Either it looks like something you once created in a secondary school design project, or it looks like the picture on the left.

The epitome of good looks, this iPod dock makes me want to refer to people as 'Daddy-o' and do a Sandra Dee. Best of all, they ship all over the world, so there isn't actually any need for me to move continents to get one.

It costs $149, and starts shipping from 12th June, so get your order in now. Check it out here.

From Engadget.

Contrary to the picture, Auto-txt does not manufacture super-small Ferrari's, but high-tech, big bucks security systems for your normal sized car.

When you get in your car and turn on the ignition, the on-board Bluetooth tracker will search for your mobile phone which, when identified, will disarm the alarm. If the mobile isn't detected, an alarm will be raised and the driver notified. A slight problem if you're not the kind of person that carries their mobile with them everywhere (but really, does anyone like that still exist?).

Pricing is available on request (a sure sign that it's more than my annual wage), so check out the website for more information.

From Gizmodo.

As if carrying about our full entertainment libraries (not to mention the human genome) weren't enough-  the Bella Corporation suggests that you "put your iPod to work!" (Poor iPod; it just can't catch a break.) The work in question is capturing digital video and high definition video directly from the camera with their Catapult device.  The Catapult, which uses a USB 2.0 connection to transfer the footage from the camera to the iPod (or other USB storage device), includes fancy automated film capabilities like time lapse recording, remote trigger, and timed recording sessions.

The Catapult is due out later this year, and will retail for about $300.

Read (via Cinema Minima)

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Britain's Compound Security Systems, Ltd. developed the MOSQUITO, a device that produces a high-pitched sound only teenagers can hear.  As I understand it, the idea is that the noise will be so irritating, it will keep the potentially troublesome teens out of establishments where their patronage is unwelcome.  It seems a bit harsh to me, but being (depressingly) too old to actually hear the noise, I have some difficulty getting all worked up about it.

This is post is specifically dedicated to all those people who embrace security technology by keeping their passwords taped on a sticky note on their desk. I know your system is very complex and intense, but have you ever considered a password keeper?

Mandylion makes just such a thing, US military approved no less, and tiny enough to fit on your key chain. It has a capacity of 50 passwords and has a automatic generation feature which can create new passwords for you based on specified criteria (length, alphanumeric, etc.) It can also remind you to change your existing password at regular intervals (once a year, 6 months, etc.)

Could this be the biggest fridge-freezer ever? And frankly, one of the swishest? Made from 100% steel, the Sub Zero Pro 48 has a capacity of 884 litres. Featuring dual refrigeration and triple evaporation systems, the super fridge can be built in or freestanding. The four pull out storage containers near the base of the unit are for marinating meats and then getting the chef to put the whole lot into the oven. Why a chef you ask? Because if you can afford £12,000 from Westye you hardly need to cook for yourself. Available in the UK from July.

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Finally, after years of scanning the cosmos for signs of extraterrestrial life, we have proof that something really does live out there. You don't believe me? Check out these O'heocha D2 Saturn speakers. Notice the smooth and shiny aircraft grade aluminium dome, the built in sub-woofers (in the speakers bases) and the concave speakers that each face a different direction surrounding you in 3-D sound nirvana.

No mere human brain could have come up with such an elegant, futuristic bundle of perfection. The sleek pairs are lovingly hand made in a spaceship and cost a whopping £5500 (a pair) for the latest in sound technology. If you get some I'll come over and have a listen, but I'm bringing my aluminium-foil laced helmet. [Halfsies]

Can't read the small print - think maps and menus - whilst on your travels? The iBeam watch has a 3x magnifiying lens over the clock face which pops up at the press of a button. The built in LED torch also illuminates and shuts off after 30 seconds. It is water resistant with an easy to read clock face, scratch resistant surface and a leather strap. £79 at Magellan's.

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We can all see what AOpen is trying to do here with their AOpen MiniPC Duo MP945-V - make a cute little silver knockoff of the Mac Mini.  But why on earth would they make it more expensive?  At £699 with an equivalent Core Duo Mini being £100 less it's hard to say what AOpen's strategy is - usually the main argument against just getting a Mac in the first place is price.

Your weekly science dose (as if that's even near enough) each and every Wednesday. Brought to you by the ladies of Inky Circus.

The circus has been all over science kingdom this past week. Yes we joined The Da Vinci Code bandwagon, with this little story about how Japanese researchers recreated Mona Lisa's voice. Yes, we also joined the bandwagon that slammed the movie. Anthony Lane is right over at the New Yorker; it was a bad bad film.

We also got some science project action going on. The guys over at My Science Project take the piss out of science fairs but also do a fair job of teaching the scientific method through such experiments as "Does Viagra Keep Flower Fresh" and "The Cheney Shotgun Experiment." Ignobels step aside and make way for your more immature fratboy flavoured little brother.

I love Etsy (and have blogged about it over at Shiny Shiny sister Hippyshopper on products ranging from Yumheart recycled DVDs to ecological wooden wedding rings).  Ex-Boyfriend does handmade accessories ranging from Robot Bracelet (shown to the left, $18 USD plus P+P.  (They say they only ship within the US, but most Etsy sellers in my experience are willing to ship abroad at shockingly modest rates.)  Other products include the Recycled Space Monkey Cola wrist cuff ($10 USD) and the Robot Chef Fridge Magnet ($4 USD).  [GT]

The FUNKit iPod cradle, due out from KNG America this autumn, is an iPod speaker system that thinks its a DJ.  It lights up, scratches the decks, and, apparently feels the need to intercut your playlist with DJ banter.

The form is very cute; sadly it's the kind of cute that will only appease me the first time it pauses my Relaxation playlist  to tell me the upcoming Leonard Cohen track is "another FUNKIT exclusive."  After that, I don't believe there's not enough cute in the world to stop me from giving it a battery-ectomy and burying it deep in the back of my closet, where old my old LPs go to gather dust.

Read (via Gizmodo)

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