As Facebook hits 250m users, 5 ways it will change

Facebook now has 250million active users - making it bigger than the world's fourth most populous country. Which is Indonesia by the way. And as one recent article claims, users don't just 'use' it, they live on it. Look here's a heat map from Facebook showing it spreading like virtually simulated wildfire over the globe:…

The Ultimate Gadget Garden

Nature and flowers are always nice things to have in the garden. But, Shiny reader, if you're interested in gadgets, why not spice up the whole nature thing with some nature-enhancing gadgets? Here's a list of desirable objets to make gardens look nice and pretty / capable of playing CDs. Click on first image to…

10 ways to protect your iPhone on the beach

Short of hiring someone to sit next to you cradling it - it is hard to make sure your iPhone/Pod/other beloved phone is completely safe while you're on the beach. I mean, not only is there lots of water: you've also got the hazards of sand, suncream and light-fingered beach opportunists. We have helpfully compiled…

Karaoke on the computer: an offer from Luckyvoice

Fancy a little treat for a quiet weekday? Or perhaps some entertainment for a raucous weekend boozefest? We're not talking about naughty toys this time, we're talking about online karaoke: potentially more embarrassing but easier to enjoy in a group. Luckyvoice is like a karaoke version of Spotify and has a nice little offer for…

Why is Tumblr cool?

What makes a blogging platform cool and another less cool? Posterous has stolen my heart - for its simplicity and ease of use - but not everyone is so impressed by ravishingly efficient content management. Some people have other criteria when assessing blogging sites or social networks - like, are they cool? Tumblr is really…

Win Samsung i8910 HD smartphone!

We're giving away one of Samsung's sexy i8910 phones as featured on the video below. Normally they come with a £40 per month Orange contract, but thanks to a nice offer from Samsung, the winner will get this handset absolutely free.. How to enter Email me at [email protected] with "samsung competition" in the subject line…

The Shiny review: the Samsung i8910 HD smartphone

The top-of-the-range Samsung i8910 clocks up a couple of world records: first HD video camera in a mobile phone and the largest AMOLED screen on the market at 3.7". With HD playback and some addictive video games, it's a bit of charmer, but what are the drawbacks? Win a free one in the Shiny competition…

Anti-Paparazzi Fashion

Genevieve picks up on a handbag with a difference... While I'm not a celebrity, I am familiar with people taking photographs of me on nights out, not looking my best and in compromising situations. Instead of Paparazzi, I have click-happy friends. So this prototype handbag looks rather tempting. Coined the "Anti-Paparazzi handbag", it detects camera…

5 kitchen implements to make you lol

Again, kitchen implements, they're there to be useful: but sometimes they just make you laugh. Maybe it's because they are intended to make you laugh, maybe because they're not actually useful and their sheer pointlessness reflects the general pointlessness of existence back at you and the only response is laughter. Just a thought. Anyway these…