I can't believe someone makes... Tuna can alarm clocks

July 27, 2010

tuna alarm clock.jpgTuna? I like tuna pasta, and it's nice in sandwhiches. I even remember once ordering a lovely tuna stake with rocket salad. But I find it hard to believe someone makes a tuna can alarm clock!

Are fish-based alarms more effective than other types? Does the tin can help the alarm tones resonate? Who knows, but the canning factory turning out this produce charges $7.95 a pop. One AAA battery is also required.


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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 27, 2010 11:26 AM
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Recall Corner: Sony VAIO laptops

July 26, 2010

Sony+SONY+Vaio+VPCF11J0E.jpgSony is standing in Recall Corner, reports PC Pro. Sony has warned that certain VAIO laptops could overheat after the discovery of a temperature gauge error.

The VAIO VPCF11 and VPCCW2 series models are involved, and 535,000 units are believed to be affected.

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 26, 2010 5:06 PM
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iPhone 4 Poll - The results

iphone 4 case.jpgThe iPhone Grip of Death story has recently taken another turn, with Apple conceding there is an issue and offering to provide all registered iPhone 4 users with a protective case, to reduce the loading of the antennas.

There is a new app on Apple's AppStore - iPhone 4 Case Program - which lets you specify whether to receive a "Bumper" or a case. Only iPhone 4 users will be able to access it, note (and you must have registered with iTunes.

Almost 200 people voted in our almost scientific poll. And these are the current results (note, the poll is still open for you to cast your vote).

The results are:

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 26, 2010 4:30 PM
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Sullen ice lumps in high-end refrigerators

July 22, 2010

samsung fridge.jpgWhat is it with fridges and ice cubes? Like an ill-starred relationship, the two just don't go together, despite the best of intentions, the new resolutions to do things properly, and the never-ending triumph of hope over experience...

The dream of summer-party-clinking ice cubes goes awry, and turns into the nightmare of antisocial, sullen glacial lumps. Ice that will never be broken, short of pouring boiling water inside your electrical appliance...

Take the recent experience of Ray Lewandowski with a high-end Samsung refrigerator, for example. He writes:

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 22, 2010 2:27 PM
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Sign up for the Made By Monkeys newsletter

July 21, 2010

made by monkeys.jpgDon't forget that you can sign up for the Made By Monkeys newsletter to ensure you receive the latest and greatest posts, straight to your inbox!

Signing up only takes a second - simply edit your account settings to check the 'Made by Monkeys' box - and then you can sit back and we do the rest.

The mail is sent fortnightly, on alternating Wednesdays, at around 11.00am GMT. Don't miss out!

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 21, 2010 11:19 AM
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I can't believe someone makes... Kitchen scales with iPod dock

July 13, 2010

Kitchen scales featuring iPod docks.jpgI really can't believe someone makes Rihanna kitchen scales featuring an iPod dock. Cheryl Cole scales, maybe. Rihanna, no. Even if they do feature an iPod dock...

I never do find much time to listen to music when I am weighing vegetables in my kitchen. Maybe it's just me.

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 13, 2010 4:04 PM
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Maths problems bulge PC capacitors

Our attention was drawn to this one by David Manners, on his Mannerisms blog - Dell Up Against It For Dodgy PCs.

It involves some evidence in a case against Dell that it sold faulty PCs, which was highlighted by the New York Times. It seems the problem involved bulging Nichicon capacitors...
 
According to Mannerisms:
Apparently Dell told one customer it had run the computers 'too hard in hot confined spaces', and told another customer, the maths department of the University of Texas, that it had run the computers too hard by giving them difficult maths problems to solve.

Even the outside law firm defending Dell in the trial is said to have complained to Dell about 1,000 faulty Dell PCs they had bought.

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 13, 2010 11:41 AM
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Let the latest Made By Monkeys posts come to you, with RSS

rss%20feeds%20shot.jpg The best way to get the very latest Made By Monkeys posts as soon as they are published? RSS!

And it's not just Made By Monkeys. Check out all the RSS feeds that are available for Electronics Weekly content. The feed for Latest News, for example, can be found here.


There are 12 Electronics Weekly feeds you can tap into:
News
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Products

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 13, 2010 11:01 AM
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Apple blames it on the formula

July 5, 2010

gap in steel band.jpgThe iPhone 4 antenna issue has taken another turn. After having initially scapegoated southpaws, Apple is now pointing the finger of blame at the formula used to calculate how many bars of signal strength are displayed...

And while Apple has promised issue a free software update within a few weeks, which will correct the display of signal strength, the company is maintaining that all is well with the iPhone. It insists that - following a return to their labs to retest everything - the iPhone 4's wireless performance is the best ever shipped for iPhones.

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 5, 2010 11:15 AM
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Most Read in June - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

July 3, 2010

Geek Clock detail.jpg
Let's do our monthly roundup of the most popular posts in June, to see what your peers have been mostly reading. 

Clocks and mazda engines lead the way this month, plus there's an appearance of the iPhone 4.

Here are the Top Ten:

10. Forensic labs guilty of bad science

9. Engineering's Ten Biggest Mistakes

8. Recall Corner: HP notebook Lithium-Ion batteries

Continue reading "Most Read in June - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on July 3, 2010 10:59 AM
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Apple iPhone Grip of Death

June 28, 2010

Apple iPhone 4 - no sign of the Grip Of DeathA major feature of the Apple iPhone is its stainless steel band, which is actually part of the phone's antenna system. But recent reports suggest this innovation is part of a problem, the so called "Grip of Death", with a user's grip impairing comms.

Steve Jobs initially responded this was due to people holding the phone incorrectly, by cupping the lower left corner of the device. The Register reports this had southpaws up in arms, with a "Left-Handed Club" branding it insensitive discrimination...

More seriously, an interesting article on the Engadget technology website highlights that a Danish professor, Gert Frølund Pedersen, who is an antenna expert at Denmark's Aalborg University, flagged his concerns about the iPhone 4's external antennae two weeks before the phone was even released.

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on June 28, 2010 2:04 PM
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I Can't Believe Someone Makes... Steering Wheel Laptop Holders

June 23, 2010

Wheelmate.jpgI really can't believe someone makes steering wheel desks, encouraging you to work or type while driving...

Available from Amazon.com for $24.95, they are.

Of course, like the In-car Pizza Ovens we featured, they are really meant for stationary use.... But my real reason for highlighting them is the imaginative comments, envisaging various usage scenarios, listed on the Amazon site.

My favourites include:

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on June 23, 2010 2:24 PM
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Impossible objects #19: Wall Stairs

June 21, 2010

Strange Stair 2.jpgI'm not obsessed with stairways (though there's evidence to the contrary here and here and here) but here's another one that caught my eye. Room had to be made in Impossible Objects for these strange stairs.

They are produced by Swedish architects TAF, and I'll dub them the Wall Stairs. Steps would never look so steep at the end of a very long and tiring day. At first glance they deny, rather than give, access... But hey, they save on space.

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on June 21, 2010 5:40 PM
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Recall Corner: Shock hazard WindTunnel Hoover

June 17, 2010

recall hoover.jpgThe latest entrant to Recall Corner is Hoover, and its WindTunnel T-Series Bagless Upright vacuum cleaners. Fire and electric shock hazards are the reason for the recall.
"The power cord is not properly routed or securely seated in the cord rewind assembly allowing the power cord to be pulled loose. This poses fire and shock hazards," states the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
According to the CPSC, Hoover has received three reports of minor burns to carpet and furniture and one of a minor burn to a user's hand.

Continue reading "Recall Corner: Shock hazard WindTunnel Hoover" »

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on June 17, 2010 8:49 AM
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Liquid coolant and fried Mazda engines

June 14, 2010

mazda logo.pngA tale from one MW about overheating engines and over-hasty accusations of negligence...
My wife fried the V6 in my beloved Mazda and was lectured at length for destroying the engine by continuing to drive with higher than normal temp showing on the gauge. Warped heads, partially melted block and pistons, the whole nine yards.

A week after the motor was replaced at a cost of several I was stopped in a traffic jam on a hot Florida day with the motor and AC running. Bored, I was staring at the temperature gauge and wondering how my otherwise intelligent wife could fail to glance occasionally at it while driving. Then, as I watched, the temperature started rising and quickly pegged.  Engine off, call AAA, back to Mazda. Diagnosis was low coolant level due to a leaking overflow tank.

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on June 14, 2010 8:50 AM
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I Can't Believe Someone Makes... Voice Recognition Grocery List Organisers

June 11, 2010

voice recognition grocery organiser.jpgThe ultimate in decadent convenience? Want to save the effort of pushing a heavy pencil across scratchy unpleasant paper and making your own list? I know I do. Well, here's the device for us: the SmartShopper SS-301 Voice-Recognition Grocery-List Organizer.
"This device stores and prints grocery lists generated from the items you speak into its microphone," writes the Hammacher.com website. "Using an integrated voice recognition system, the shopping list manager matches a spoken item with one of the 2,500 food, beverage, household, beauty, and office products in its database. Each spoken product appears on the LCD and you can add it to the list and print an alphabetized record with the touch of a button."

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on June 11, 2010 4:00 PM
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Nasa runs helicopter honeycomb crash test

June 10, 2010

In one way this is just an excuse to see a crash test of a helicopter, but of course NASA has the most serious intentions for its crash countermeasures...

Specifically, it is testing the effectiveness of a "deployable energy absorber" it has created. The goal is to lessen the destructive force of a crash.



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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on June 10, 2010 2:17 PM
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Recall Corner: HP notebook Lithium-Ion batteries

June 7, 2010

HP Pavillion DV2000.jpgHP is in Recall Corner, or its Lithium-Ion batteries are, to be precise.

In co-operation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, HP is voluntarily recalling 54,000 Lithium-Ion batteries used in Hewlett-Packard and Compaq notebook computers (70,000 units were previously recalled in May 2009).

Continue reading "Recall Corner: HP notebook Lithium-Ion batteries" »

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on June 7, 2010 4:43 PM
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Most Read in May - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

May 31, 2010

doomsday USB hub.jpgIt's time to round up again what your peers have been reading in the previous month.

Once again there is a wide range of posts, covering sugar-powered mobile phones, USB light sabers, iPhone guitars and generator leaks...

In reverse order:

10. Most Read in April - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

9. ROHS Exemption on Flame Retardant Revoked

8. Recall Corner: Targus Universal Wall Power Adapter for laptops

Continue reading "Most Read in May - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on May 31, 2010 8:48 AM
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Forensic labs guilty of bad science

May 24, 2010

A rather chilling look at the (mis) appliance of science in forensics labs...
TV forensics experts determine the "truth" on such matters as DNA, ballistics and fingerprints, and present their results in court. These experts are seldom challenged. The same thing happens in real life - the guilty go to prison and the innocent go free. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney wanted to re-introduce capital punishment and proposed using forensics to make really, really sure the accused was guilty before being put to death. I am really, really glad he dropped the idea because forensics, as now performed, are not nearly that certain.

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on May 24, 2010 8:43 AM
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