Gadget Row

Archive for August, 2011

Today we just can’t imagine the life without using of various modern, smart and very helpful gadgets we use in our daily lives though it were cameras and camcorders, mobile phones and iPod Docks, laptops and tablets, eBook readers and different home tech we use and enjoy with.

1. Cell phones and necessary gadgets for your favorite one. It may be Apple iPhone 5 for instance.

2. For all those who love to read their favorite books, who are always looking for good book recos, Kindle 2 has become the gadget number one which revolutionizes the reading pretty much.

3. IPad is also one of the most necessary gadgets. Now it’s iPad with a front & back facing camera, a lighter & smaller body, USB ports, a newer display technology and a new 3-axis gyroscope.

4. iPod, you can use not only as portable media players but as a storage drive as well.

5. Netbooks and Laptops

6. Tablets. Something like BlackBerry PlayBook or MintPass tablets.

7. Apple Mac Mini MC816LL/A Desktop

8. Televisions Blu Ray and PVR

9. SEAGATE Expansion 3 TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive

10. Music MP3 and iPod perfect Docks

11. Logitech Harmony One universal remote

12. 2PlayStation Phone by Sony

13. ElectroHub

14. Ultrasonic Touchless Input technology

Your first reaction to reading this title might be to move on. After all, the so-called “Velomobile” was famously tried and infamously flopped during the 1980s in the form of the Sinclair C5.

And in case you don’t know anything about the Sinclair C5, then a velomobile (sometimes known as a bicycle car) is a vehicle powered by human effort, which is also enclosed for both protection and for aerodynamic purposes. They are generally single-passenger vehicles.

As the best-known velomobile, the C5 may have unfairly held back a style of transport that could have a lot to offer the world of motoring through its innovation.

For example, some velomobiles use hybrid technology – using a small on-board battery to provide assistance to the human pedal power much in the same way that hybrid cars mix electric and petrol power.

But the C5 was heavy, cumbersome, had only one gear, with no adjustment for the distance between the pedals and the seat – and was generally uncomfortable and difficult to use compared to today’s models.

In some ways, velomobiles are similar to recumbent bicycles, which also have an aerodynamic advantage; the reclined, legs-forward position of the rider’s body presents a smaller front profile. In fact, a recumbent holds the world speed record for a bicycle, whilst the “Absolute World Speed Record Cycling” went to Dutchman Fred Rompelberg in October 1995 when he cycled behind a motor dragster on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, achieving a speed of over 167mph!

The significance of velomobiles for motoring developments is perhaps most significant in the science of aero-dynamics. But maybe one day in the not too distant future, we’ll see very lightweight hybrid vehicles that use a mix of power sources including human power to cover thousands of miles?

After days of researching and reading articles and reviews on various antivirus programs, you’ve made your choice and installed it on your computer. Most likely, you’ve used it at once and scanned your whole system. The antivirus might have not detected anything yet, especially when your computer is still new.

Whether you have paid or free antivirus, to get the most of your software and provide the best protection for your computer, you don’t just do scans whenever you remember or after you feel that there’s something wrong going on. Below are some tips that you could follow so viruses won’t be able to do greater damage on your system:

1. Do weekly or bi-monthly scans

When you’re just surfing the web for leisure or watching a movie during weekends, run a full system scan and let it do its thing. This won’t affect too much your overall experience or make your system lag too much. Even better is to let it scan while you go out for a walk or maybe while you’re cooking a meal.

2. Do a safe mode scan

If you detect a sudden change in your computers performance and suspect a virus infection, don’t feel too secured when your antivirus doesn’t detect anything on your first scan. Try to boot your computer in safe mode and then run the antivirus’ full system scan. Most likely, the virus will turn up this time.

3. Always scan new files

Remember to always scan new files that you’re putting into your system. This includes scanning USB flash drives, email attachments, and web downloads.

4. If in doubt, do an online scan

When your antivirus just can’t detect a virus, head on to an online virus scanner and scan the folders or files that make you the most suspicious. These online scanners are great sources of second opinions without having to install another heavy program that could contradict your current antivirus.

Early this year, a new record was made by a solar powered car. The Sunswift solar car broke the previous speed record by a solar car, and travelled at 88km per hour; great stuff for a car that runs on less energy than a toaster!

It has to be said, though, that there was a little cheating involved to reach the top speed – the batteries that are usually in place to store the sun’s energy were removed for the experiment.

Not to be picky, but there’s another problem with the Sunswift – there’s room for the driver and a whole lot of solar panels, and that’s about it. People looking for the best family car with eco-friendly credentials shouldn’t be thinking about solar as a viable option just yet. For anyone who’s got more than just themselves to transport a hybrid offers a far more practical solution.

Family cars have been gaining more of a foothold in the hybrid market in recent years. Although hybrids started out as two-seaters, Honda, Toyota and Lexus have all seen the wisdom of producing hybrid vehicles that will hold five people or more.

We all understand how solar power is more environmentally friendly than petrol, so how can a hybrid achieve this green status while it’s still powered by petrol? Hybrid cars have a much smaller engine than in a conventional car, and an electric motor provides help with acceleration when necessary. The electric motor provides the power to pull away from standing still, saving the strain on the petrol engine. Once the vehicle is moving along at speed, the engine charges the batteries to the electric motor for later use. In this way, the hybrid burns much less fuel than a regular car, thereby earning its greener reputation.

So, while we’re waiting for the first solar family car to roll off a production line, a hybrid can offer a great solution for the environmentally conscious family today.

Electric cars have a reputation for being little urban runarounds, that don’t manage great speeds and have a limited range before they need recharging. However, some can reach incredible speeds. Shelby Supercars have produced the world’s fastest electric car, the Ultimate Aero EV, which has topped speeds of 208 miles per hour. Unfortunately, you wouldn’t be able to keep up the top speeds for long – given the fact that the Ultimate Aero EV has a range of 150-200 miles! It’s never going to be a common sight on the road; production is extremely limited and the price tag means that it will never be anything than a specialist car.

However, the company hopes to adapt the same technology for more everyday vehicles like family cars, trucks and buses in the future. While supercars are all well and good, the majority of drivers are more interested in finding the best family car in terms of fuel consumption, affordability and practicality. The eco-friendly credentials of a car are becoming equally relevant when people make their choice of car. Apart from electric cars, there are other options which do less damage to the environment – such as the range of hybrid cars that are being manufactured. Standard petrol and diesel engines are extremely inefficient, with only 20% of the energy from burning fuel being used in forward propulsion.

On the other hand, electric motors are almost 90% efficient, and provide maximum power straightaway, without the need to ‘warm up’. So, engines in hybrids can be much smaller than in a conventional car, as they are work in combination with an electric motor providing the help with acceleration when necessary. Once the vehicle is travelling at speed, the engine recharges the electric motor’s batteries for later use. If you’re looking for fuel economy, lower emissions and the ability to travel more than 60 miles from home, then a hybrid might be the car for you.