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UK ATMs set to offer WiFi access, free for BT and iPhone users

by Vladislav Savov, posted Jun 27th 2009 at 4:13PM

BT Broadband customers and O2 iPhone owners, rejoice -- some 2,500 ATM machines near you will soon be converted to serve as free WiFi hotspots, courtesy of BT Openzone and Cashbox, perhaps the most mismatched pair of commercial metaphors ever put together. The initial rollout starts with 10 machines this week and numbers are expected to steadily increase. Non-BT users and iPhone heretics wanting to join in the fun will have to shell out £5.88 ($10) for 90 minutes or a more reasonable £9.79 ($16) for 24 hours.

[Via Tech Digest]

Lack of PSPgo pre-orders bemoaned by UK retailers

by Ross Miller, posted Jun 26th 2009 at 8:24PM

So that "certain premium" for the UMD-less PSPgo? We may gripe about the $230 price tag here, but our friends across the pond might actually have it worse. Right now, while UK gamers are shelling out on average £100 (about $165 US) for a new PSP, the "guide price" for Go is currently set at around £230 ($370 US). Egregious? We think so, and it looks like British consumers might agree, as two independent retailers have reported zero pre-orders so far. Ouch. Of course, it's not indicative of the entire region, especially given there's no data here from the big chains, but as a "canary in a cage" indicator, it still doesn't sound good -- but hey, there's still plenty of time before its October 1 launch, and anything can happen.

[Via Joystiq]

Asus Eee PC T91 reviewed in the UK: "genuinely moves things forwards" for netbook market

by Ross Miller, posted May 18th 2009 at 10:34PM

Asus' Eee PC T91 has gotten its first review ahead of the reported late May / early June UK launch, and those cats at TechRadar seem quite smitten with the swivel-proficient touchscreen netbook. Battery life is said to be solid, though points are deducted for not being replaceable. Some issues with the resistive touchscreen also plagued the pre-production model, and while the company assures those kinks are being worked out, we can't help but worry they'll invariably still find their way into the finished product, and that glossy display will no doubt keep the memories of fingerprints long after you want it to. Despite these concerns, the review gives much love for the overall performance, video playback, build quality, and keyboard. At £449 ($688), it ain't the cheapest option on the market, but we do appreciate Asus straying a bit from its tried and true netbook formula. Now how about news on a stateside release, eh?

Sonix7 Media Pro tangles with the PMP giants

by Darren Murph, posted May 15th 2009 at 4:12AM

We'll be honest -- there's a decent chance you'll never experience the joy of handling a Sonix7 Media Pro in your time here on Earth, but it's still worth looking at just to show that the Apples, Microsofts and Meizus of the world haven't scared us all away just yet. This so-called MP4 player packs a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, 30 hours of audio playback (20 hours on video) and a built-in camera and speaker. Unlike the hordes of alternatives, this one's actually not built in China; rather, it's born and bred in Britain. It's available now in 8GB and 16GB flavors for £89.99 ($136) and £104.99 ($159), respectively, and you check out the company's self-assembled showdown with the iPod nano just after the break.

Continue reading Sonix7 Media Pro tangles with the PMP giants

Plain English Campaign wants to bring down walls of technobabble, rule the world

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 28th 2009 at 10:55AM

So look, we fully understand that not everyone "gets" technology-related lingo -- we've had to walk our mums and dads through setting up a WLAN router with a WPA2 password and 1337 encryption many, many times. But this... this is just comical. Peter Griffiths, who we can only imagine looks and speaks exactly like Peter Griffin (pictured), is hoping that his Plain English Campaign can knock down the "walls of techobabble" by "pulling our heads out of the digital clouds and using plain English." Ironic, really, given that most of the technologically illiterate wouldn't know that a digital cloud actually refers to an off-site storage hub where information is exchanged. At any rate, it seems the campaign is pushing to have flummoxing terms such as digital TV, phone jack, desktop and dongle (yes, seriously) changed, or at worse, have them defined clearly in a dictionary that precisely no one would ever read.

bmi launches in-flight communications trial, voice gratefully excluded

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 15th 2008 at 8:40PM

We all know how the British hate lagging behind the French, so it's no shock to see bmi following Air France in the in-flight communications game. The airline has just announced that it will soon launch a six month trial of the OnAir service, though not surprisingly, voice calls will not be a part of said run. Instead, users in a single A320 making loops from London to Moscow will be able to send text messages whilst airborne, and in case that's too boring, users with GSM data cards will also be able to hop online. There's no mention of a VoIP ban, but given the clear anti-voice stance, we doubt the kind attendants would let you chatter long before giving you the evil eye.

TrueCall shall fight telemarketers on the beaches, landing grounds, etc

by Samuel Axon, posted Oct 22nd 2008 at 8:01PM

Telemarketers-turned-inventors from the United Kingdom have started shipping TrueCall (£99.99), a device that acts as an automated secretary on your land line, either forwarding trusted numbers to your phone or answering untrusted numbers with an automated message and shooing them away. When an unrecognized number dials in, TrueCall asks them who they are and then rings you asking whether or not you want to take it. Sure, it's not the most fun way to automatically ditch unscrupulous callers, but we'd like to listen in on the conversation when a robocall reaches this baby -- it'd be like one wall talking to another wall.

[Via Slashdot]

MI6 agent forgets to delete work records from camera before selling on eBay

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 1st 2008 at 1:33AM

We'd swear this had to be some sort of spoof on the impeccable James Bond, but sadly enough, the whole thing is true. A secondhand Nikon Coolpix camera which sold on eBay for a mere £17 ($30) turned out to be a real bargain once its new 28-year old owner completed his first image dump. Along with decidedly decent snaps from his US vacation, he also found a number of "top secret" images, diagrams and sketches that have since been confirmed as MI6 material. We're talking photos of rocket launchers, hand-drawn graphics of terrorist links and all sorts of other information not at all intended for civilian eyes. 'Course, the whole thing could just be the act of one talented Photoshopper, but we highly doubt the agency would be so fortunate.

[Via Digg, image courtesy of WWII Airplane Model]

British army gets new target acquisition system, enemies cower

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 22nd 2008 at 1:27PM

Not only is the British army hoping to make tanks and troops invisible to the naked eye, but it'll soon be honing in on targets way before the mind would normally allow. In a $58.8 million deal, Thales UK has been selected to supply the troops with new Surveillance System and Range Finder (SSARF) technologies, which will reportedly "enable quick identification of enemy locations along with the ability to determine the best mortar or artillery firepower the situation on the ground requires." Best of all, the handheld system will feature integrated GPS, thermal imaging and a five kilometer range, but unfortunately, it won't be giving any Britons in the field an edge until 2009.

[Via MOD]

"Sport" Vii 2 gets a nice, dry video review

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Feb 7th 2008 at 6:23PM

That's right folks, it's the long awaited Dry British Guy (of Polystation 3 and POP Station fame) review of the Sport Vii (aka the Vii 2) -- the video game console of your nightmares. When a product is as anticipated as this, you expect a little disappointment here or there, and the KenSingTon Vii 2 doesn't fail to deliver... er, on failing that is. Watch in horror as you're taken through the bizarre knock-off world that is the Sport Vii software suite, including a wide variety of games involving horribly mutated-looking rabbits. Watch the video after the break and get all the facts -- our suggestion is that you hang on till the very end for an exciting twist.

Continue reading "Sport" Vii 2 gets a nice, dry video review

Texting, talking at the wheel could land Brits in jail

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 21st 2007 at 9:58AM

We already knew that UK motorists caught driving while texting (or vice-versa) could face a penalty of two whole years in the slammer, but now it seems that merely talking while controlling a motor vehicle could land you in the exact same predicament. Reportedly, British drivers caught chatting on a handset or sending an SMS while on the road "could be jailed" under new guidelines that are expected to be published. In the most extreme cases, they could be tagged with "dangerous driving, which carries a two-year maximum sentence and an unlimited fine." Currently, these folks simply get slapped with an "automatic fine and three points on their license under the lesser charge of careless driving." But honestly, it's not like prison would be so bad for cellphone addicts -- after all, we hear some cells over there actually provide service.

[Image courtesy of MotorTrend]

Astucia SolarLite LED studs light up highways after dark

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 21st 2007 at 4:58PM

A number of UK roads are lookin' a lot brighter now, and it's all thanks to the SolarLite smart stud. Produced and marketed by Astucia, these active markers trump the traditional passive reflectors by storing up solar energy all day and then emitting light from dust 'til dawn in order to improve visibility from around 90-meters to 900-meters. The LED-based units reportedly extend driver reaction time from 3.2-seconds to over half a minute when cruising at 60mph, have an expected lifespan of eight to ten years and are said to have reduced night time accidents in certain areas by over 70-percent. Unfortunately, we've no idea when (or if) these things will show up on roads in other nations, but this would sure beat toggling one's brights off and on to get a better look ahead while simultaneously infuriating oncoming motorists.

[Via Autoblog]

IBM's SiSi virtually translates speech to sign language

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 13th 2007 at 2:07PM

We've seen a wide array of devices designed to help the deaf communicate and experience life more fully, and IBM is hoping to make yet another advancement in the field with its SiSi (Say It Sign It) system. Developed at an IBM research center in Hursley, England, the technology works "by using speech recognition to convert a conversation into text," after which SiSi "translates the text into the gestures used in sign language and animates a customizable avatar that carries them out." Currently, the system is still labeled a prototype and only works with British sign language, but there's already plans to commercialize the invention in due time. For a better look at exactly what SiSi can do, take a peek at the video demonstration waiting after the jump.

Continue reading IBM's SiSi virtually translates speech to sign language

Medison promises money back if it can't deliver... in three months

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 27th 2007 at 9:45AM

That $150 Medison Celebrity we glanced a few days back seemed to smell a bit fishy from the get-go, and a recent press release from the firm does a fairly terrible job of assuring us all otherwise. Typically, one's in dire straits if it has to address mass concerns of scamming, and Medison is now blaming the unexpectedly large amount of orders and "tremendous" amount of website hits and support calls for an apparent "shift in the time frame" in which customers will receive their orders. Granted, the company still promises that it will deliver, and now claims that your money will be returned if your machine isn't received in three months. Ah well, it's not like you had better things to do with your cash than let someone else earn interest on it while you fret over ever seeing it (or a laptop in its place) ever again, right?

[Thanks, Valdi I.]

Vibrating GPS rings could make traversing foreign lands easier

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 23rd 2007 at 9:02AM

To be quite honest, there's been an awful lot of gadgetry lately tied to rings, and while it's a curious fascination, you won't find us griping over the latest ring-based device. Gail Knight's vibrating GPS hoops are nothing short of a traveler's dream come true, as these fanciful finger adornments work in conjunction with a neck-worn GPS controller to direct you to your destination via simple buzzing cues. The rings vibrate in a variety of manners to instruct the wearer which direction to go, which could certainly help an English tourist in Japan feel a lot more at home. Granted, even the inventor admits that the current design is entirely more suited for a lady, but we can envision quite a few macho gents putting their pride aside in order to refrain from being lost.

[Via NaviGadget]