Sky makes World Cup TV more immersive.. with perfume

TV makers and networks are scrambling over themselves to create more immersive and engaging TV experiences. While most innovations are on the high-tech side, Sky HD have gone a slightly opposite direction by releasing a unisex football-themed eau de toilette. Deal is you watch the football on your wide-screen high-def Sky Sports connected TV, squirt…

The best Nintendo hacks and mods

We all love hacks. There is something so appealing about seeing a piece of ubiquitous technology re-engineered to do something else. And they come no better than Nintendo hacks -- there seems to be something about that grey plastic that inspires hackers and modders to come up with some of the most ingenious re-applications I've…

The Twilight Eclipse film – as told by LOLcats

If there's one thing I like better than films of fragile emo vampires, it's films of fragile emo vampires retold by LOLcats. That exists and it's just as good as it sounds. Some Twilight fan with strong attention to detail and a good eye for an animal picture takes you through almost every plot twist…

iPhone 4 proximity sensor is worse than on 3Gs..

Considering how much it all costs, you'd expect the iPhone 4 to be mostly better than the 3Gs. You certainly wouldn't expect anything to be worse... but according to a test by Which? one thing is: the proximity sensor. The proximity sensor is what blanks out the screen and deactivates the buttons on the iPhone…

Foursquare's Location Layers: what they are & why you should be interested in them

Since the Foursquare app took off last year, the location-based social network has been a geek darling and founders of the network have been expressing dark ambitions about world domination (explanation of Foursquare here.) As a step towards world takeover, and providing richer user experience, the network announced location layers in a big statement yesterday.…

Are electronic maps trapping you in virtual prisons?

So you think the e-maps on your smartphone and Tom-Tom are helping you - letting you find that pub you're looking for and telling you when there's a traffic jam on the A4 - but what if they are actually trapping you in virtual prison. Eh? The idea that our mapping devices are imprisoning us…

Welcome to Shiny World! or How to make your own Theme Park

Some people have pools in their back gardens. Others have Croquet sets. At Shiny we want to go one better. We want a theme park! So we got our ace intern Jacob Burns on the case to source one for us. Here's what he came up with. I have a feeling though that a chat…

As Survey Suggests Young Women are Addicted to Facebook, we ask: Are you Really?

It's been documented how keen women are on social networking, but a survey showing that 34% of 18-34 year olds check Facebook first thing after waking up is still a surprise. That's even before going to the bathroom, in case you're wondering. The research by Oxygen/Lightspeed asked 1,605 adults using social media between May and…

Hipstamatic vs Camera+ — The iPhone camera app showdown

There are more camera apps for the iPhone than you could shake an tri-pod at -- not that you'd want to, what would it achieve? Anyway -- the two most popular are Camera+ and Hipstamatic. And in the spirit of competition I've decided to compare the two. To battle them out. The pitch them against…

Shiny Review: Orbitsound T4 Radiopod

At first glance, the T4 Radiopod appears much like any other internet / DAB / FM radio. At 109x109x143mm it's quite dinky, with a square black design that's more subtle than edgy, and the device features an iPod dock in case you want to take charge of the tunes. So far, so standard. But the…