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Do you want to snazzy up your webcam and have something a little more swish and exclusive than the normal designs around? We found the Computer Expressions stand at CES 08 and saw some pretty neat ExecCams made from cork, polished marble and wood,. as well as some looking like high-tech gun sights! Some models can also be laser engraved with corporate logos - so if you’re buying for clients and customers, I think they’d really like these in their next Christmas Goodie Bag.
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Ridata Yego Drive
RiTek USA have come up with a cool flash drive with the added bonus of a two-port hub. This therefore eliminates the frustration of having no spare ports for additional USB devices and cables. It can also daisy-chain to add in more ports (recommended maximum of 6).
It also has an LED status light showing which of the ports is in use. The Yego Drive comes in various colours and is just 2.7″ by 1.7″ by 0.6″ in size and weighs in at just over 1/2 an ounce.
Check out this and other cool RiTek products.
BOB Screentime controller
Fed up of the kids being stuck in front of the computer or TV all day? Always end up in an argument when it’s time to kick them off? Perhaps you need to try BOB the screentime controller.
You simply plug him into any device with a screen and program in how long you will allow your sprogs to go boggle eyed. Then, when time’s up, he switches it off (probably to crys of consternation because the program they were watching hadn’t finished yet or they hadn’t saved the game they were playing and were just about to go to level 9).
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Dreamflyer brings a new dimension to flight simulation
The flight simulation market is relatively small, compared to the numbers of people who play other game genres, but simmers can be quite passionate about their hobby. It’s these folk that DreamFlyer are addressing with their motion simulator chassis.
The DreamFlyer is a metal chassis containing a figure-hugging sports style seat and a Saitek X-52 pro flight system with rudder pedals. The chair "floats" and moves in 2 dimensions (pitch/yaw). Because the movement is mechanically driven by the joystick there are no motors, power supplies or any other external dependencies. Up to 3 screens are supported and the demo here has 24" monitors on each arm so there’s no practical size limit. Since it happily supported 120Kg of yours truly without complaining it doesn’t look like there’s much of a weight limit either.
I spent a few minutes trying my hand at the stick - motion is very smooth and because you’re focusing on the screen(s) you always seem to be moving with the picture so it’s quite immersive.
Some set up is required by the user - you need to balance the chair to your individual weight and posture - and because you’re effectively moving your weight the stick feels quite heavy.
You need to add a PC and screen(s) to complete your flight sim rig, they will ship to many countries outside the US and you’re looking in the region of $3000.
Soundolier Wireless speakers and… lamps?
Soundolier have an ingenious solution to a common problem: Movies need surround sound, but surround speakers take space, intrude into the room and need cabling.
Floor standing lamps though - they’re just part of the furniture right? Not quite, it turns out… Now, they’re wireless surround speakers too!
Although they were designed as surround speakers and not replacements for a full 5.1 speaker setup, the stand here has them hooked up to a sub and they seem to be doing justice to Van Halen, so they’re no wimps.
A neat idea - definitely worth checking out if you want to put a home theatre together.
Always travel with a toothbrush (a clean toothbrush)
If you do a lot of travelling or perhaps you just stay over a few nights at a friends house, you know how annoying it can be when you retrieve your toothbrush from your washbag and it’s collected all the crud from the bottom (yuk). Well perhaps you need to have a look at the Esencia Portable Toothbrush Sterilizer. Not only will it keep your toothbrush in a sturdy little container, it will also sterilize it for you too.
Have a look at the Esencia web site for more information on this and their other sterilization units.
Tribot from WoW Wee
The WoW Wee stand had us hovering around for quite a while and we particularly liked Tribot, the interactive robot. Not only does he have great movement function due to the tri-wheel base, but he also acts as a door guard to prevent pesky little brothers or sisters coming into your room.
Another of his features is as an alarm clock - nothing too new in that you may think. However, when he wakes up, in order for you to turn him off, you have to chase him around the room and he’s pretty fast!
Of course you can also play games with Tribot and there are many to chose from. Available in Summer 08 at $99.00, I’d get him on your Christmas list now.
Logitech diNovo Mini
As a fan of Logitech products, I find that the company responds well to the needs of the consumer. For example, there is a trend in consumers to operate their computers from their television sets.
Of course, that still means that the consumer must provide some interface such as a space-wasting keyboard or mouse. However, the Logitech diNovo Mini is a handheld device that can provide both.
As you can see, it has a full QWERTY keyboard built right in. Also included are hotkeys for media players for web browsers, even Page Up and Down buttons. Especially handy is the button that launches the Windows Media Center, so all your favorite programs are available at a button-touch away.
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