Australia’s “The Age” recently published an article in their Green Guide about wacky gadgets.
I’ve linked to the electronic version here so that you can check it out even after the dog has chewed up your original paper.

Enjoy.

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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

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.

In the mythological tale Pandora’s Box contained all the evils that now afflict mankind. Fortunately all that Pandora Internet Radio contains is a whole world of music.Give it the name of an artist or song that you like and Pandora will generate a radio station specifically containing music that matches the same style.
For example: my Alice Cooper station “features hard rock roots, a subtle use of vocal harmony, mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation and mixed minor and major key tonality.” Pandora found many artists with similar qualities, such as Ted Nugent, Living Loud, Gluecifer, Eddie Money, Skid Row and AC/DC.

However my Kylie Minogue station “features pop rock qualities, electronica influences, disco influences and danceable grooves.” Artists Pandora chose to play on this station included Bananarama, the Eurythmics, Johnny Budz and Madonna.

And we all know that Duran Duran “features electronica influences, electric guitar riffs, a subtle use of vocal harmony, a vocal-centric aesthetic and a dynamic male vocalist.”
So naturally Rick Springfield, Phil Collins, Genesis, Grand National, The Fixx and other 80’s greats appear on my Duran Duran station.

Pandora is a great way to listen to music you like while at the same time finding new music that you’re probably going to like just as much.

And best of all….it’s free!

Do you work in one of those new fangled open plan office layouts where you can see and hear everyone on the entire floor? Have you ever wanted to destroy that really annoying manager who insists on listening to his voicemail handsfree and at full volume?

Well this is the toy for you! Plug it into your PC, install the software and you have full control over your own missile launcher.

You can grab this from PC Case Gear for a mere $59!

Ok, so it only comes equipped with soft foam missiles. But as soon as they start selling the explosive variety I’ll let you know! I know there’s a market for them!

I dropped in to see a mate of mine in Sunbury the other day. Not something I get to do very often given that Sunbury is in the middle of nowhere. (Gidday Paul & Robyn!)
So I’m checking out all his gadgets on his desk, and I see this little robot man type thing.

I immediately wanted one, but it didn’t click straight away that it was a webcam. Once I saw it in action I was impressed by the quality.
Paul used it to chat to one of his mates whilst he was overseas, and was ready to give it to me now that his mate is back in Australia.
I said “Don’t be silly. Keep it, I’ll buy one too, and we can chat!”
I see him so rarely that I may as well be overseas, anyway.

So I headed into HighPoint Shopping Centre in Maribyrnong (Melbourne) to a little kiosk called “Geek Central” on the 2nd floor, and shelled out $75 for one. You can also pick it up online from USB Tech for $59 plus $12 shipping.

Since then I’ve had a number of webcam conversations and find the quality to be excellent. It also has some very cool camera effects if you want to have a laugh. It works with Skype, MSN and other chatting tools.

I’m not sure why anyone would want to massage a frog. Maybe there are a lot of stressed frogs out there that I am blissfully unaware of?

But I guess if you own a relaxation challenged amphibian then the USB Frog Massager is the gadget for you!

You can have one delivered from our fine friends at Kepastore for a wallet friendly $25.

I’m spending far too much on body management these days.  Myotherapy being the big hit to keep my aging back and neck in one piece whilst I spend many hours a day in front of a computer.
PC users suffer from neck and back issues primarily from incorrect posture, and not enough breaks.  You may notice yourself straining closer to the monitor so that you can read some things or get a better look at an image.  I sure do.

The USB Vision and Posture Reminder is a cool-looking little gadget that clips onto your monitor and warns you when you get too close and stay there for too long.
Simply plug it into a spare USB port and off you go.

It’s available from an Australian retailer and is currently going for $35 (you’ll have to check out the shipping cost yourself).
Go to the Kepastore products page to see more information, and to initiate your order.
Kepastore - Products
You can also call them on 1300 885 328.

So, I’m guessing from the title that you have absolutely no idea what to expect from this post.
Neither did I when I read about it earlier today.

This is the Availabot. It’s currently in prototype, and I know I promised to use this site as a vehicle for gadgets that are available to Aussies, but I’m still in novelty mode so I’m posting a lot of fun stuff as well.
This little guy plugs into your USB port on your Mac (Windows will be later) and can be programmed to recognise when your online mate arrives in your chat program. The creators will custom-build your puppet to look like your mate as well.
You can have one for every USB port you have, and of course, for every mate you have.

The stated benefit, apart from being called a serious geek, is that you can have the sound off and be watching something else, but still instantly see if someone is “up” for a chat.

Buddy is online

Buddy is offline

This is Availabot (Schulze & Webb)

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?