Despite me initially thinking this had been a relatively slow year for gadgets, as I look back it seems I have purchased quite a few. There have been a number of none-physical gadgets in the form of software, as well as a record number of feline related ones and gadgets for my family and not me.. so here are my top 5 gadgets of 2009:
#5: Sony PSP-3000
Yup, I gave in a purchased another games console. This one has been very useful in ways I hadn’t considered when I purchased it. Aside from a quick Ridge Racer session to pass 5 minutes now and then, I’ve taken it to Berlin where it acted as a video player. I’ve also put training videos on it to watch so I can do a bit of learning on the go, it can remote control my PS3 allowing me to watch TV using the Sony PlayTV gadget which is nice but doesn’t make the top 5(although there’s issues there I won’t go in to), it works as a Skype phone and is generally quite cool just to hold and look at! The whole thing is protected by the excellent invisibleSHIELD which is the best screen / device protector ever and is highly recommended – it only misses out on the top 5 as it’s a bit boring.
#4: Balance Bike
Poppy absolutely loves her balance bike. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it since I bought it, but she is now able to push herself along at great speed and even lean in to her turns as you would on a proper bike. I don’t think it will be too long before she is able to ride a proper bike – but we’ll give that a little while longer yet.
#3: Sureflap RFID Catflap
Yup, I purchased a cat flap which can read the microchip in the back of my cat’s neck. And it really does work very well. Since I fitted it earlier this year, it is only on it’s second set of batteries so looks like it eats a set every 6 months which is pretty decent. It looks just like a normal cat flap with no sticky-out porch thing like the Pet-Porte cat flap and has prevented other moggies from entering my garage. Sadly my cat still hasn’t got over her little ‘wee’ problem so is banished to the garage until I can work something out, but at least her life is cosy since I gave her the Petnap Heated Cat Bed.
#2: Toyota Celica
Mmmmm, nice shiny silver car with shiny alloys and a nice low profile. Mmmmm. 5 months in to my new 4-wheeled toy and I’m not bored of it yet.
#1: Windows 7
Of course it is… Microsoft Windows 7 is my favourite “gadget” of the year. It’s given my laptop a new lease of life and my desktop an excuse for the 4GB of RAM I wanted. I’ve had next to no issues with it and to coin an Apple phrase… it just works. Coupled with Windows Home Server backing my machines up every night and providing a centralised storage, switching between my Windows 7 machines is seamless – offline files work perfectly for my documents on my laptop, and the integration of Windows Live with my personal domains means I have my very own Windows Live Mail domain integrated with my desktops. Windows 7…. come on you Mac boys, you know you like it really!
So, that’s it. Sadly not quite making the top 5 this year were the practical but boring Enviro-Light LED Spotlight bulbs from last week, Vicky’s Sony Reader Touch which I think is good, but haven’t used it much myself what with it being full of boring old classic novels. The digital Digital Photo Frames I was given for my birthday are still in use – one of which is permanently switched on on my desk at work. The Heatmiser Digital Touchscreen Thermostat is still going and works just fine - I do wish I’d gone for the one which also controls the hot water and expended the effort in extending the wiring for that but never mind, maybe in 2010. Oh yes, and the Steam Powered Wallpaper Remover is in its box in my garage waiting for me to be bothered with decorating the spare room – I’m working on the bathrooms at the moment so the spare room can wait.
Not wanting to risk scratching my shiny new PSP, I decided to invest in a screen protector. Now in the past I have used and discarded quite a number of these things – most of the cheap ones aren’t worth using even if they are given away for free. I’ve used them on PDAs and phones galore before and you end up with air bubbles and/or dust if you aren’t careful which you just can’t get rid of. Self-adhesive ones are a nightmare cuz if you make even one mistake when applying you have to throw it away and start again. Up until now, my favourites had been silicon ones which cling to your device – you can remove them, wash them, reapply them – but they do have a tendancy to peel off around the edges and never quite stay on properly. After a lot of Googling™ (sorry Google, I know you are trying to protect your brand name from generalisation) I discovered the 
