Cocoon SLIM vs Wenger SwissGear Synergy Backpack Review

May 14, 2014 | Comment

For years I have been lugging my kit around in a Wenger Swiss gear backpack, which has been a real rugged workhorse. The thing though is massive and even after years of use I still don’t think I have found all the pockets!

The problem is that because it could carry so much there has always been a temptation to overfill it – you never know when you might need that widget and so in the bag it goes. This became an issue for me because the Wenger is heavy when it is empty let alone when full. So began … Read the rest

A Life in Computers

March 11, 2014 | 1 comment

A trip to The National Museum of Computing at the weekend was a real trip down memory lane for me. You can read about our visit to Bletchley Park at a later date but I wanted to highlight some of the more significant computers that have featured in my life that were on show there. The dates are pretty loose as my memory is not what it once was!

Teletype (c. 1976)

I have written previously about how I encountered my first “computer” at secondary school. In fact this wasn’t a computer at all but basically a printer with a … Read the rest

Happy 1st Birthday Pebble

March 2, 2014 | Comment

So I’ve now had my Pebble smart watch just over a year so I thought that it would be a good time to reflect on the aims and whether they have been met.

For those that don’t know the Pebble is the darling of the crowd funding site Kickstarter, the first and to my knowledge still the only project to have raised over $10M. This was significant because it was only aiming to raise $10,000 and showed what a huge demand there was for smart wearables.

I, along with thousands of others, pledged my support and settled down for … Read the rest

Magnetic Clasp for Chain

January 22, 2014 | Comment

This just about squeezes into technology as a gadget (well it’s is my blog so I can cover what I like!). Recently the clasp broke on a chain and I looked at replacing it with the usual hook kind but the local jewelers wanted to charge me £20 for the privilege. I politely declined feeling that I could get it cheaper elsewhere and do it myself.

While searching on eBay I found a company selling magnetic clasps so I gave that I go and was really impressed. The clasps use rare earth magnets and are incredibly strong but easy to … Read the rest

Mu Folding UK Plug

November 17, 2013 | Comment

There are many great things about the UK plug but size isn’t one of them. This is mainly due to the advantages the plug offers including things that most other countries eschew such as an earth pin and integral fuse.

All this means that they take up an enormous amount of space and a bloody painful when stood on being second only on the pain scale to a Lego brick.

However, help is at hand with the absolutely brilliant Mu Folding USB Charger which collapses into one neat little package. The bottom pins rotate to be in line with the … Read the rest

Holiday Kit

October 21, 2013 | Comment

This holiday I took with me a lot less technology that I have previously. For the the first time in years I didn’t take a laptop at all and relied solely on my iPad Mini. One reason that I needed to take less was simply because of the miserly luggage allocation on the flight.

So I thought it would be useful to explore what worked and what didn’t.

Firstly here is the list of “tech” I took with me:

iPad mini
Kensington Ultrathin keyboard case
iPhone 4S
Slingshot
olloclip
Kindle
Bose Quietcomfort 2
Panasonic TZ5

The combination of the iPad … Read the rest

Why Pebble might not be a Best Buy

July 5, 2013 | Comment

Let’s get this out of the way right at the start. I love my Pebble watch – that’s mine on my hairy wrist to the left.

I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever about putting my money down and making the project happen through Kickstarter.

Also, as a small business owner, I know that you have to do everything that you can to make a success of your business and bring the cash in through the door.

That out the way I really worry about the recent news that from this weekend you will be able to walk into a US … Read the rest

Two Way Communication on the Pebble

June 28, 2013 | Comment

Regular readers will know that I am a big fan of my Pebble watch, warts and all.

While there are still some parts of the basic functionality that don’t work as advertised (notifications for example) some of the promise that attracted me to the project in the first place is now beginning to be realised.

The Runkeeper integration works well and I have managed to compile the authenticator app and get that working (in parts) too.

However, to date, all interactions have been one way from the phone to the Pebble but now with an update two way communications are … Read the rest

ASUS WL-33NUL Pocket Router Review

May 29, 2013 | Comment

The Asus Pocket Router was first announced at the beginning of year but has only just become available.

The box proudly announces that it is the “world’s smallest router”, which I don’t doubt that it is – it just also comes in a disproportionately large box, which seems a complete nonsense.

As you can see from the image left it really is small and portable with a usb cable that folds back into the case so, depending on how you intend to use it you might not need to carry anything else.

From the images that I had seen I … Read the rest

RunKeeper for Pebble

May 8, 2013 | 1 comment

Pebble have slowly been making good on all that was promised when the watch was announced on Kickstarter. This week saw the launch of RunKeeper integration, as you can see from the image below.

It is incredibly easy to use mainly because there aren’t options whatsoever. When you start an activity the details (time, distance and pace) are all clearly displayed on the watch. The centre button allows you to pause and resume the recording, which is useful, but that’s the lot. It works well.

Since delivering the watches the team at Pebble have been steadily delivering on a number … Read the rest