Posts Tagged ‘gadgets’

USB memory sticks have been around for quite a long time and have increased their capacity over the years. Many people use them simply to carry data around but they’re missing out on a lot of potential from these handy devices.

One of the better-know functions is ReadyBoost, which uses the USB drive’s storage space as additional memory cache to improve performance for Windows Vista. Significant improvements are promised but we’ve all heard these claims before and you need to try this for yourself to see the effect.

USB drives are small and therefore easily lost so, if you’re transporting sensitive data, make sure it’s secure. There are various utilities available that let you password protect and encrypt the whole drive or a created partition. The converse of this situation is that you can use a USB drive as a password reset disk on Windows Vista if you forget your user account password.

If you’ve got a wireless network and often want to connect other devices to it, using a USB flash drive simplifies the process. Select the Windows Connect Now feature in Vista or the Wireless Network Setup Wizard in XP to save the wireless network configuration information to the drive and then use it when you want to connect other devices.

Drive capacities are big enough these days to boot from an alternative operating system on a USB device. You can also run portable applications, such as the Open Office suite and Mozilla Firefox. These and other applications are available from various websites, many as free downloads, giving lots of potential for the humble USB drive.

Christmas means various things to different people. To some, it is a traditional religious celebration while others think of snow, family gatherings or a break from work. For the geeks among you, it’s an excuse to get the latest gadget.

If you’re an avid reader of novels, you’ve probably got shelves full of paperbacks. The availability of the latest ebook readers gives you the chance to get rid of the clutter, cut down on weight when you go on holiday and, as a bonus, pretend you’re Jim Kirk on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise.

One of the best-known readers is Amazon’s Kindle, now into its second generation. It is small and light with a 6-inch screen that’s easy to read, even in sunlight. It’s also got wireless connectivity, good battery life and a 2GB storage that can hold up to 1500 books. There is the danger that you’ll tie yourself into Amazon as your book supplier to some degree and other devices are coming along, so check out the competition.

If you’re into gaming, there are bargains to be had with most third generation consoles having come down in price, been upgraded or both. All the major consoles offer online gaming as well as having multimedia facilities so you can view photos, videos and listen to music. The PlayStation 3 is the only console with a Blu-ray player while the Xbox 360 will be able to access Facebook and Twitter after a software upgrade. With no fourth generation consoles on the horizon and plenty of games available, it’s a good time to buy.

Lovers of music as well as gaming can choose from various rhythm games to live out their fantasies. The latest and best of these is The Beatles: Rock Band, which combines classic tracks with memorable moments and music history. Although the game software is reasonably affordable, buying all the instruments to create a realistic experience can make a big hole in your wallet.

If you’ve taken advantage of the UKContracting.net service, at least you’ll have plenty of spare cash to buy these unmissable gadgets since you’ll be paired with the best possible solution out there. If you’re not convinced you’re getting a good deal with your current umbrella company or other arrangement, give us a call to see what we can do.

Although Windows Vista hasn’t been anything like the success that Microsoft hoped, being studiously ignored by many, it does have some interesting features. Among them is the Sidebar, which you can use to organise information you need regularly or for other purposes. The bad news is that the feature is not being carried through to the new Windows 7. However, there are still gadgets you can arrange on your desktop, so fans who upgrade won’t miss out.

You can add as many gadgets as you want, either arranging them within the sidebar or detaching and moving elsewhere on the desktop. The only limit might be the amount of screen space you’ve got available.

The gadgets you want to include on your sidebar will be down to personal preference and may depend on your job and what you need to know. Of the standard gadgets, you might find it useful to have a Clock and Calendar on screen if you have deadlines to meet and schedules to arrange. There are different versions to choose from. You can also have a list of your Windows contacts and an electronic version of sticky notes to jot down ideas and reminders. You can view the latest news headlines, keep tabs on share prices, see the current weather at a selected location and get currency conversions.

If you need more gadgets, there are over 3,500 online to choose from, all arranged by category to find the right one easily. There are a whole heap of search tools for Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Amazon, eBay and others. You can also load various speed tests and monitors to keep track of your PC’s performance, plus tools for Outlook, SMS and numerous social networking sites.

When you work with customers in different countries or time zones, world clocks will keep you aware of local times so you don’t ring them when they’re in bed. If you do a lot of copying and pasting and the Windows clipboard isn’t flexible enough, a Clip Collector tool will save lots of entries, although it’s limited to text only.

All these gadgets depend on personal choice so you can try them and discard them if they’re not what you want. However, bear in mind that they’re supposed to be there to help you, so spending too much time trying out all the possibilities rather defeats this aim.

There are so many gadgets around today that you might wonder how anyone managed without them. Well they did. There was a time when you didn’t have a mobile phone permanently jammed against one ear and an MP3 player blasting music into the other. And you could even find your way to work without a sat nav to guide you.
The world’s gone gadget mad and there are plenty companies around that are determined to feed the madness. The internet abounds with websites that offer an unbelievable range of gadgets. Some are useful, others are even amusing, while an awful lot seem pointless in the extreme.

The Gadgetshop (www.gadgetshop.com) has a dumbbell alarm clock that wakes you up to do your exercises. At least this might do you some good, unlike the Talking Yoda that will appeal to the nerdiest of Star Wars fans.

Gadgets.co.uk also has a Talking Yoda on offer. It also has a Solar Key Ring Torch so you can find your way around without using batteries that damage the environment. And if you’re a true eco warrior, you can adopt a penguin or buy a bowl made from recycled paper. More relevant for work, you can get all sorts of USB devices, such as a voice recorder or a fan with a 4-port hub so you can keep cool and drive other devices at the same time.

Over at I Want One of Those (www.iwantoneofthose.com), you can get a gold bullion doorstop to prove you’ve really made it. There are also various flying machines, a portable charger for your iPhone and a beer machine that’s probably the most useful item on offer. However, the jury’s still out on the safety aspects of the in-car freeview TV.

Firebox.com has Chilli Jellies for those of you who like a bit of a kick to your sweets and a portable and reusable loo that is ‘ideal for festivals’. The company’s belief is that ‘getting old is inevitable but growing up is optional’, which probably just about sums up most of the gadgets on offer. Some do have uses, if only to relieve stress or boredom. But the feeling persists that the novelty value will quickly fade for most of them.

Let us know if you find any really useful gadgets or those that are just plain weird.

It’s perhaps a strange fact that people who spend their day working with computers often use their leisure time doing much the same thing. If they’re not using a computer to organise their social lives, they’re on a games console, sending or receiving texts, making phone calls or listening to music on their MP3 player.

Modern life is dominated by gadgets and, although they may be useful, are they really good for our health? There have long been concerns that they reduce the amount of exercise we take, which contributes to people being overweight and can lead to long-term health problems. Now there are increasing worries that using gadgets too much can cause severe disruption to sleep patterns.

A survey by the Sleep Council found that over half the people it questioned felt so tired at work that they often wanted to go home. One in eight of them felt this way three or four times a week. A large part of the blame is put down to bedtime habits, with many people checking texts, accessing social network sites, playing games or listening to music while in bed. The result is that they get much less sleep than they need.

The problem seems likely to get worse rather than better since an earlier survey by the Sleep Council found that forty percent of British teenagers felt tired each day. Although eight or nine hours sleep is recommended each night, almost one third reckoned they got between four and seven hours.

Most teenagers had a phone, TV and music system in their room and often fell asleep while using an electronic gadget. The outcome of this is something called ‘junk sleep’, which has neither the length nor the quality to give sufficient rest.

It’s all down to self-discipline, of course. If you want to be properly rested to face the day ahead, switch off all your gadgets and get to bed early. And have a bedtime drink that will help you sleep, rather than coffee or alcohol that almost one in five regard as appropriate nightcaps.