Gadgets - Crave at CNET UK

Top ten tech records

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:59:01 +0000

Some claim that, if you want to be a record-breaker, dedication's what you need. Others believe all you need is a stonking huge mobile phone, a lightning-fast electric motorbike or a 2.3-gigapixel camera

The future is now: Sci-fi films in real locations

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:36:02 +0000

Sci-fi tells us about the world of today by showing us the world of tomorrow -- and Kubrick, Godard and Wenders are just some of the directors to conjure the future from real locations

The greatest CNET features you've never seen

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:25:02 +0000

You may not even have known CNET UK when we published some of most popular features. Collected together here are our essential collection of favourites from the entire history of CNET UK

How heavy is the Internet?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Using publicly available information, for the first time in the world, we have precisely and scientifically calculated the weight of the Internet

USBulous, darling! The most fashionable USB sticks from CNET Towers

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:29:02 +0000

Crave called in our Stylish Storage Editor Gok Wanhundredandtwentyeightmeg to put together this capsule collection of our best-dressed USB sticks. Which one is your favourite?

Sleeper successes: Tech that's taken its time

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:20:00 +0000

For every overnight digital success such as Twitter, there's a slow-burning technology that's struggled for years to get the credit it deserves. Here are ten of the best

We Live in Public: Crave reviews the dotcom documentary

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:35:02 +0000

Crave reviews We Live in Public, a new documentary on dotcom self-destruction, exhibitionism and the greatest Internet pioneer you've never heard of

The eight most brainless tech rumours ever

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:04:01 +0000

Some of the most ridiculous technology rumours have been collected together to provoke your giggles, on a guided tour through a jungle of fallacy and confusion. Just watch out for leeches

Top ten most remote tech locations on Earth

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

There's scarcely a nook or cranny of our planet that isn't home to some flavour of computerised gizmo. Here's our guide to the IT at the edges of the world

Researchers to demonstrate augmented-reality contact lenses

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:44:02 +0000

A team at the University of Washington is developing a prototype contact lens that would function as an LED computer display, projecting images directly into a wearer's retina

How tall is Doctor Who?

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:34:02 +0000

Doctor Who returns to our screens on Sunday with The Waters of Mars. David Tennant is back as the Doctor. What evil will he face this time? And more importantly, who was the tallest Doctor?

The Zoo versus the Internet

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:30:00 +0000

If you thought the Internet was fast, think again. We pitted the world's top animals against the Web over a one-mile course, transferring 32GB of data. The results may surprise you

Video: DraganFlyer X6 remote-control helicopter is �21,500 of aerial joy

rory.reid@cnet.co.uk (Rory Reid) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:05:02 +0000

What has six rotors, an on-board GPS unit, touchscreen handheld controls and thousands of pounds worth of video-recording equipment? The best thing ever, that's what!

The best pet gadgets ever made

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Sophisticated modern pets demand the latest high-tech gadgets to keep them stimulated and in 24-hour contact with their owners. We investigate the very best in animal tech

The man who made Steve Jobs quit Apple: Where is he now?

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +0000

It's been almost 15 years since John Sculley's spell at Apple rechristened its founder Steve Jobless. What's the former Apple CEO doing with himself these days?

Whatever happened to...? The tech that never took off

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Whatever happened to MiniDisc, SPOT and the first iTunes phone? They were hyped to the heavens, yet they never hit the heights. We salute ten technologies that never took off

Don't buy an ebook reader: The sorry state of digital slates

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:02:02 +0000

Almost nobody should buy an ebook reader such as Amazon's Kindle or Sony's Readers, despite their excellence as pieces of hardware. We thought we should explain why

Art Lebedev Rozetkus 3D socket plugs into the third dimension

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:31:02 +0000

The Russian design gurus at Art Lebedev have shown off their latest piece of little genius: the Rozetkus 3D pop-out plug socket

Apple Store opens in the Louvre: Where next?

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:45:02 +0000

Apple has opened its first French Apple Store in the Louvre. iPods and iMacs should be right at home -- but where next? We've come up with some suggestions

OpenOfficeMouse has frankly preposterous 18 buttons, joystick

nick.hide@cnet.co.uk (Nick Hide) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:17:02 +0000

With 18 buttons, 63 profiles and an analogue joystick, the OpenOfficeMouse by WarMouse is set to be the most customisable peripheral ever. And the most insane, by some distance

Crumbs! Large Hadron Collider suffers snack-related bird mishap

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:58:01 +0000

A bird has bombed a bit of baguette into the Large Hadron Collider, causing the giant particle accelerator to overheat. If a marmoset drops in some Marmite, we've got ourselves breakfast

Top 10 geek recipes

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:00 +0000

When they're not redefining the fabric of modern society, many of the world's most famous nerds take time out to snarf a burger. Let's get cooking!

Digg is dead: Twitter killed it and Google helped bury the corpse

ian.morris@cnet.co.uk (Ian Morris) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

We've checked its pulse, and the link-sharing site is dead. Here's how the rise of social networking -- and Google's ceaseless evolution -- stuck the knife in and twisted

Why won't they die? The tech we won't forget

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:32:02 +0000

If you were born, it's highly likely you'll die. Sorry about that. For consumer tech though, it's not quite so cut and dried. We explore the technology that just refuses to be killed off

Plug versus Plug

ian.morris@cnet.co.uk (Ian Morris) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

We take a 100 per cent objective look at the plugs of the world, scientifically judging their attributes to decide which will come second to the mighty British plug. Oh, did we give it away?

Interview: The man who makes killer robots for the US military

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

For decades, the US military has been building an army of the smartest and deadliest robots on the planet. We were invited to its San Diego labs to witness the future of robotic warfare

Every BBC iPlayer device tested

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:13:01 +0000

The BBC's iPlayer is compatible with so many portable devices now it's almost funny. So here's your ultimate reference resource: we've tested and judged every single one of them

Secret Cinema goes Alien: In Shoreditch, no-one can hear you tweet

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:49:02 +0000

This Halloween, Crave boarded the Nostromo for a screening of Alien in a deserted warehouse, courtesy of the excellent night out that is Secret Cinema

Interview: The Space Station's IT guys

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

When computers on board the Space Station go down, the astronauts do the same as us -- they call IT. We spoke to the charming chaps at NASA's ISS helpdesk

NSA to store yottabytes in Utah data centre

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:26:02 +0000

US surveillance spooks at the National Security Agency are working on a data centre in the Utah desert that could potentially hold yottabytes of data. What-a-byte? We're glad you asked

Space Station IT: High technology

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

The International Space Station isn't just an orbiting multinational geek-fest, it's the world's highest and fastest computer network. We find out about the IT that makes it tick

MIT Affective Intelligent Driving Agent: Robotic backseat driver

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:21:01 +0000

It sits in your dashboard, looks like ET, and knows when you need to stop off to pick up some loo roll. Behold MIT's marvellous Affective Intelligent Driving Agent

The three strikes rule is not only illogical, but morally wrong and a waste of public money

ian.morris@cnet.co.uk (Ian Morris) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:07:01 +0000

There's no two ways about it: the three strikes rule is going to cause people problems, and it's almost certainly not going to reduce music piracy. So what's the point?

WowWee Rovio, Joebot, Cinemin and RoboRover: Red-hot robot action

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:50:01 +0000

WowWee wows us with a selection of their latest robots: Rovio, Joebot and RoboRover. And the Cinemin projector, which sadly isn't a robot, not even in disguise

Amazon to publish free Kindle PC app

nick.hide@cnet.co.uk (Nick Hide) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:36:02 +0000

Amazon is increasing the number of ways you can access its Kindle electronic book service, with a new free app for Windows PCs

Apple Magic Mouse tested, in pictures

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:04:01 +0000

Apple's latest foray into the fingery world of multi-touch user interfaces, is the Magic Mouse. We've got one, along with the new iMac, and our opinions are divided

Square dongle turns iPhone into portable credit-card reader

nick.hide@cnet.co.uk (Nick Hide) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:54:02 +0000

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is working on a dongle for your iPhone that turns it into a credit-card reader, meaning you get an email copy of your receipt

Wi-Fi Direct connects gadgets on the go: The death of Bluetooth?

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:57:02 +0000

The Wi-Fi alliance has announced Wi-Fi Direct, a new specification that will see devices connecting to each other without the need to connect with a router

Dyson's �200 Air Multiplier: We're not a fan

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:48:02 +0000

That problem with air not being smooth when it hits your face? Pah! A mere entry in the tome Name That Fail, thanks to the latest creation from James Dyson

Steve Jobs named 'most influential person in tech' -- again

nick.hide@cnet.co.uk (Nick Hide) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:39:01 +0000

For the second time, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been named the most influential person in the technology industry, topping silicon.com's 2009 Agenda Setter's list

CNET UK Editors' Choice winners September 2009

nick.hide@cnet.co.uk (Nick Hide) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:44:02 +0000

September's winners are hard-working, top-quality pieces of kit, fully deserving of one of the most sought-after accolades in the industry. See what we picked

Amazon Kindle launches in UK: What you need to know

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:26:02 +0000

Amazon's ebook reader is finally available in the UK, including the wireless digital book store that made the product an enormous hit in the US

Robovie: Intel Atom-powered PC, also a robot

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:57:02 +0000

Meet Robovie. A robot with a webcam for a face, an Intel Atom CPU for a heart, and in addition to being able to walk, he can run Windows 7 and connect you to the Internet

Ceatec 2009: Tokyo goes green, 3D and even more robotic

nick.hide@cnet.co.uk (Nick Hide) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:25:01 +0000

Crave US' chief correspondent Erica Ogg is in Japan at Ceatec 2009, a trade show for the hottest and wackiest tech the Land of the Rising Sun has to offer

Nissan fish robots move in driving schools

nick.hide@cnet.co.uk (Nick Hide) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:34:02 +0000

Nissan has shown off cute new robots called Eporos that can move in a group and avoid crashing into things -- and each other

Join the CNET UK Advisory Panel

nick.hide@cnet.co.uk (Nick Hide) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:02:02 +0000

We're setting up a user group called the CNET UK Advisory Panel and we'd love you to join in -- that's right, you!

Mechanical Tumour: Revolting brain-thing pulses with your CPU

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:29:02 +0000

"Wouldn't it be great," thought Japanese artist Mio Lizawa, "if my PC had some sort of pulsating, frightening, brain-like thing hanging out of the side of it?"

Crave goes Diving with Dolphins: UK start-ups fly the flag for tech innovation

richard.trenholm@cnet.co.uk (Rich Trenholm) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:51:02 +0000

Crave headed for the UK's own Silicon Fen, meeting a selection of Cambridge start-ups showing off interactive printing, hassle-free online banking and a social network for you and your doctor

UK phone line tax going ahead

nate.lanxon@cnet.co.uk (Nate Lanxon) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:32:01 +0000

Government plans for a tax to help pay for broadband in rural and poorer areas have moved forwards in another giant leap for mankind's cash