Dear Henry...
There are hundreds of gadgets out there that can solve all kinds of technological dilemmas. Techno agony uncle Henry Northmore answers some of your problems.
very now and then you
think. ‘wouldn‘t it be good
if they had a gadget that did . . . ‘ In fact. many of those dream gadgets already exist. from simple space-saving devices to smart techy solutions to seemingly impossible conundrums. 1) How do I recharge my iPod while on holiday? I can’t get near a computer to charge my battery. There are actually a few solutions to this problem on the market. which apply to any USB charging device. One of the simplest is the PocketPower from (iliAR 4 (£I9.99). A reserve power pack that takes AAA batteries (which you can track down almost
anywhere and are far easier to slip
into your luggage than a PC/Mac).
A sleek wee device houses the
batteries with a USB cable coming off to plug straight into your iPod. It also. rather randomly. has a nifty wee torch built into it as a bonus.
If you want a greener solution Maplin Electronics offer the Scotty personal solar charger (£34.99). A nice eco-friendly. incredibly portable energy converter. Perfect for holidays and
festivals. just get the sun to do
your dirty work. The Scotty also comes with a selection of adaptors
so can fit many mobile phones. various MP3 players and UPS systems among other things.
2) I want to follow the match on the radio in the study/ kitchen/garden but the match is only on TV.
Sky have come up with a cool stylish device. the Gnome. This provides a portable link to your Sky system. with a typical range of 30 metres. so you can keep up with the action wherever you want to listen to it. Of course this isn‘t confined to footie. even if you just can‘t bear to miss the slagging match between Pat Butcher and Pauline liowler on [fast/{rulers while cooking your tea. Sky also offers all the digital radio stations through their receiver so the network doubles as a nice portable DAB radio too.
3) Is there any chance I could ever repair my hideously scratched 005?
We all have CDs that are apparently scratched beyond repair thanks to drunken nights by the CD player. as well as rental DVDs that come with their own history of abuse; it‘s a fact of life. For some reason it always turns out to be your favourite tracks that jump all over the place. So how do you rescue these disks‘.’ The SkipDR Advanced is a great
device that does just that. It feels a bit flimsy but it more than does the job. We tested it on jumping. incredibly worn. scratched to hell DVDs from the local video shop. and after the short process (about 5 minutes per disc). they played perfectly. Retailing at £29.99 once you fix up a few (‘l)s. DVDs or videogames. it practically pays for itself. And if you just can't be bothered to crank the shaft yourself. the SkipDR Automax (£39.99) does all the work for you. 5() discs can be repaired before you need to replace the resurfacing wheel (replacement kits will only set you back £4.99). 4) How do I get around the volume restriction imbedded in my PSP?
The PSP and many other portable media devices have an automatic decibel level restriction. This is all well and good for protecting ears. especially those of minors. but the reality is when you settle down to watch a movie on a packed train or flight you can‘t actually hear a word of dialogue. There are a few technical tricks around this. but some are scarin complex. A simple one for your iPod is to just check gopod.free-go.net which will raise your volume to US levels (l()4.5dB over Europe's l()()dB level).
An easy alternative is to cut out all background noise. thus increasing what you can hear without actually increasing the volume. The litymotic liR-o (£89.99) isolator earphones do just that by reducing background noise and offering excellent sound quality. Admittedly. their rubbery ear buds feel a bit disconcerting when first inserted. but the sound quality outweighs any doubts.
5) Is there any easy way to download my DVDs onto my iPod Video? Forget downloading content. Often you jttst want to transfer what you already own onto your handheld device. and movies are often better at eating up a journey than a handpicked music selection. An online operation called softwarevictoria.ctim/dvd-ipod offers a great little programme that does just that. converting nearly all movie files to your iPod via a simple. user friendly interface. 6) I’ve got too many SCART leads for my TV to cope with. Can I get an adaptor plug? TVs weren't built for the mass of multi-media that now runs through your set. With videos. DVD players. videogames consoles, satellite TV and more. a spaghetti junction of cabling is rapidly growing behind most television 11—25 May 2006 THE LIST 99