2009 Gadget Rundown

December 30th, 2009 1 Comment »

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.


Sony PlayTV: Review

October 28th, 2009 No Comments »

sony_playtv_for_ps3I’ve had a bit of a run on Sony gadgetry recently. This latest toy, the PlayTV, is just a bog standard Freeview tuner at heart. It plugs in to your Playstation 3 and that’s when the fun begins. The PlayTV software has a really slick interface that other manufacturers should take note of. The program guide is nice and smooth, with a nice clear line down the screen at the current time, fading old programs out, and current programs boldy in view. Channel changing includes a nice fancy flying in fade and program information is easy to read too. Basic PVR functionality is also included, letting you record your TV programs, pause / rewind live TV, schedule recordings from the program guide and more.
Sadly missing from the feature list is the ability to series-link recordings, or record two programs at the same time (you can record one and watch another though) – the latter presumably being a compromise allowing games to be played at the same time as recording takes place, the former being almost unforgivable. My main reason for buying this gadget though is it’s compatability with the PSP and the Remote Play service. If I connect my PSP to a Wi-Fi hotspot somewhere in the world, in theory I can connect back home over the Internet to my Playstation 3, it will auto-power on and all I need to do is load up the PlayTV software and start viewing streamed Freeview, or catch up on one of my recordings. This does work, sometimes. The problem as I’ve discovered is down to the locked nature of Sony’s Remote Play service. When you turn your PS3 on, it registers your current IP address (your unique ‘number’ on the Internet is the best way I can describe that!) with Sony’s servers as belonging to you. Then, when you are out and about and your PSP attempts to connect home, it starts by asking Sony’s servers what the last address they have that your Playstation back at home used… Then your PSP establishes a connection with that IP address and all should be great. Are you seeing the problem here? Yup, what happens if in the time between your Playstation last being used, and the time you want to connect remotely, your internet connection at home has been reset and you now have a new IP address? Sony’s servers only know about the old IP address which is now useless. The solutions to this are either to get a static IP address from your ISP (which isn’t possible with most providers especially on budget packages), or for Sony to open up a little bit and let you tell them a host name or IP address you would like to connect to in order to connect back home. Then you can use a Dynamics DNS hostname or similar and everything would work.

All things considered though, despite the PlayTV being a really great bit of kit with a lot of potential… potential is all that it has. It just isn’t ready to be used as a main living room PVR with the initial loading time and lack of series link being my biggest critisisms against its use for that purpose. And as for Remote Play, come on Sony, what’s wrong with a ‘custom options’ page? It’s a real shame, the interface is superb and the whole concept of a single device for gaming, media streaming, Blu-Rays, IPTV (BBC iPlayer), DVDs and Freeview+ is very appealing and the utopia of home entertainment…. please Sony, keep trying – you are so close!