Big Screw – Product Review

Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The Big Screw is another product of range of gadgets by Touch of Ginger, based in Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Touch of Ginger are, I should think, generally known for their “Urban+” range of “survival kits” and also, probably, for the stainless steel inserts for Filofax and other similar binders, and such gadgets. To this range now has been added the “Big Screw”.

The “Big Screw” is the worlds smallest combination cork screw and bottle opener...probably! Well one can only assume that Q would approve. The Big Screw pulls corks and flips bottle caps whilst being cunningly disguised as a large socket screw. Each one is machined from a solid aluminium bar and fitted with a keyring attachment.

While the material is aluminium it would appear to be, in my opinion, so-called aircraft grade aluminium, making the Big Screw both light and strong, and making it therefore ideal for daily carry as a key fob. This means that you will always be the one who has the means to open, basically, any bottle.

This is definitely a little gadget that will be a must have for urban street chic. Also, you never know when you may be called upon to open a bottle of wine or such.

Definitely a must have for all gadget boys and girls.

The material, as already mentioned is aluminium. It is customisable, making it therefore an ideal candidate as a corporate incentive/business gift. The packaging is a foil bag and the recommended retail price is £9.95. For trade price contact Touch of Ginger.

I must say that I love it but then I am a little bit of a gadget man, even though I am no longer, officially, of the age where one carries such stuff about with one, but so what...

© M Smith (Veshengro), April 2008

Eco Button for PC – Product Review

The idea of the Eco Button is that by using it, that is to say pressing it when you are leaving your PC for a while and putting your PC into “standby mode” or “sleep mode” by using the Eco Button by simply pressing said button rather than having to go though the PC's system of putting the PC into said mode(s) thereby reducing power consumption and your carbon footprint.

I had heard about the Eco Button and read write-ups on it and even raving reviews but never actually used one ever before.

My Eco Button came as a give-away from one of the stands at the recent EcoBuild Exhibition at Earls Court ad simply because it is here and I have used it for a while I thought that a review would be in order.

I shall be entirely honest in this review and some may not completely agree with me nor like what I say.

As said in the introduction, the Eco Button basically does nothing more than by pushing it it puts the PC to which it is attached into standby or hibernation by using the functions that are built in to WINDOWS 2000/XP/Vista. This same function works over most, if not indeed all, multimedia keyboards with the “sleep” button. So, therefore, the Eco Button is, in fact, nothing but a gimmick and yet another bit of plastic and electronics that will end up in the landfills, where it should, however, not end up in.

The software that you are forced to download – the button does not work without it – tells you every time when you “wake up” the PC again after it had been put to sleep by means of the Eco Button how much carbon you have supposedly saved, etc. However, it also slows down the opening process of the PC down quite a bit and I do not think that I need that kind of time wasting.

In addition to the time-wasting part, each and every time the PC get powered up again in this way the power surges in the system actually cause a much higher current draw – unless things have changed since I studied the subject – and thereby probably nullifying the effect of any savings made to the environment in the first place. Much better just to turn off the screen, the monitor, by hand. It is also the monitors, even the FST ones, that draw several times more power than the PCs themselves.

I have also noticed that having the device plugged into the USB hubs slows down the PC quite a bit and the Eco Button program also itself does not help here.

Summary:
The Eco Button, in my opinion, is nothing but a gimmick and I have uninstalled it again. Aside from the time wasting when I want to get back at the PC and I have to go through all the rigmarole that one has to when one does the same via the “sleep” button on a multimedia keyboard or via the “start” menu of a Windows PC, I can do without the loss of power while working.

Pros:
Are there any really? In my opinion not, with the exception that, aside from the supposed environmental benefits you can “lock down” the PC with the press of a single rather big button.

Cons:
Many, and first and foremost to anyone wanting to use it there is no Linux support which, with anything, in my view, already makes those that do not have such support less a good idea, as, in today's world, more and more people and business, etc. are migrating to Linux with its various distributions.

I rather turn the monitor, the greatest energy waster, off manually and then be able to get back to work on the PC as and when I need in a hurry without having to go through all the stages of bringing a PC back out of standby/sleep mode. I have no time to waste like that.

So, in the definite final conclusion: Even if you get an Eco Button free my advice is “do not even bother” as regards installing and using it. It is a waste of time and nothing but a gimmick.

As I said in the beginning, there will be people who will disagree with me as to the merits of the Eco Button but that is there prerogative.

To me, after now having had one for test, it is and remains a bit of a gimmick that may do absolutely nothing as to the carbon footprint.

© Michael Smith (Veshengro), April 2008

Juice Jack – Product Review

The Juice Jack is a rather versatile charger for cell phones, PDAs, etc. that is great to have around the home, with you on vacation, in a bar or pub or at the place of work because it is:

Rather universal in that it has jacks for the most popular make of phones, PDAs, MP3s & satellite navigation systems such as TomTom PLUS standard USB & mini USB jacks

It can charge up to three devices at once, so you need fewer plug sockets

It is portable as it has a built in Lithium power source, which means that you can unplug it, take it with you and charge devices anywhere

It is low cost and there are no hidden extras to the price because it comes with 9 jacks including open standard USB

In addition to that it is freestyle which means that you can make it look how you want by print, sticker or insert.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
Juice
Output
5.0Vdc-5.8Vdc 1000mA max
Performance
via mains power (adapter supplied): permanent; or
via internal Lithium battery: up to 2 hours charge time
Jacks
Nokia (both standard & mini pin); Apple;
Sony Ericsson; LG; Samsung; plus
Standard, Micro & Mini USB for general compatability
including Blackberry, Palm, Motorola & TomTom
Media Space
Print / Sticker: 88mm diameter disc;
Insert: business card

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How it all started

Nigel's phone was always running out of juice – usually when he was out and about in the city. Can happen to anybody at any time, I know. I have been there and done it though I was unable to get the T-shirt.

One lunchtime, sat in a pub, it struck him that it would be nice if he could charge his phone whilst he was having a drink. After all, he was recharging his own batteries, so why couldn't he recharge his phone's as well. And so, over that quiet pint, he invented the Juice Jack.

He then got help: Rod, Julie and Gary with design, Chris with branding, James with words, Simon with numbers, Andrew with photos, Malcolm with advice, Tony with technical stuff, Bob with funding, George with production, Jay and Simon with logistics, (another) Gary with sales, and Fiona with everything.
And so the Juice Jack business was born.

Review

This little (well not that little but then it ain't big either) gadget work rather well once you know how to turn it on (see note below) and charging phones is then as simple as plugging it into the proper jack.

The Juice Jack will not, when on internal battery operation, charge phones that have still more than 25% or so of battery power left. So all you get then is the message on your phone that stat “Not Charging”. That does not mean that there is anything wrong with the juice jack or the phone. Being a lithium battery inside the unit means that is cannot “push” power into a phone that still has a high charge and therefore it will not charge it. This is, however, a “problem” only, so I am assured, with cell phones of the “Nokia” range and not with any others, and the Juice Jack will charge Blackberry, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sony, etc. with no problem, whether or not the battery still has considerable charge in it.

Once your phone really needs juice the unit works well and this is one of the best things as regards to phone charging, aside from the solar powered charger for travel that work also on the principle of an internal battery that is charged and that then charges your cell phone when you need to, that I have seen and I can, from what I have seen so far, highly recommend the Juice Jack to anyone.

A Little Note: should you, for any reason, end up receiving, like I did on the show, the Juice Jack without user instructions, remember the yellow button on the side of the unit must be turned on by use of the tip of a ballpoint pen (or a pin) prior to charging it. Without it is will not work, as I found out. In fact it will charge your phones but only when the unit is connected to the mains not from its internal battery. It has to have a blue light showing once removed from the mains. If not then the unit has not been turned on.

Review © Michael Smith (Veshengro), April 2008

Canned Sun – Sun Jar Product Review

So, what is a Sun Jar? Well, in a Jam Jars you can jam and in a Sun Jar, obviously, you can what else but sun. Canned sun for use at night. Like the rays of the sun that warm the earth and then, when the air cools down at night the earth slowly releases this heat stored. That is what, principally, the sun jar does with sun light. This could be one way of explaining it while trying to make people become even more curious.

Basically, the Sun Jar is a light that turns on when it gets dark. While this sounds simple enough is goes a lot further. The secret is that one, it is powered by solar energy stored in a rechargeable battery and because it has a light sensor built in it does not come on until it gets dark.

The idea is that the jar stores up sunshine in the form of solar photovoltaic energy and gives it you back in the evening. There’s a switch inside the lid which you press when you first open the jar and then it starts storing energy through the solar panel in the lid. As the sun sets it then emits a warm glow throughout the night. Well, for up to five hours on a full charge anyway. It’s a nice idea which works well. The orange light is very nice and soothing.

The Sun jar will turn off automatically if you turn on another light on and it is also waterproof so it could also be used in the garden, especially on summer evenings for a sit around the table outside, and such like.
While its various parts can indeed be recycled and it does not use mains electricity or drain lots of batteries, its environmental credentials, I still think, could be regarded as a little shaky. The unit came packaged in plastic and polystyrene as well.

Having mentioned above about the green credentials, we must also understand, I think, that it was never, actually, designed as, what could be called, a “green” gadget but was just a design concept to be something on the “funky” side, and, maybe the idea was to have it plonked on the windowsill for it to be a conversation piece.

However, it would not take much to improve its “green cred” by simply packaging it in (1) a plastic sleeve that is not actually made from oil (there are other options) and (2) by packaging it within the cardboard box cushioned in shredded newspaper (or even rice straw) or in the “egg carton” kind of packaging which can be composted, rather than having a Styrofoam bottom and hat. Maybe this could be considered and done.

I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised when the Sun Jar arrived to actually find that it is a REAL jar and not some sort of heavier gauge plastic/polycarbon that I had expected. It is a “copy” of a real canning jar as Mom would have used to can vegetables and whatever else in in days gone by. Those days are, more or less, gone by in this country, e.g. the UK, while in places such as the USA canning, in glass jar and tin can, is still very much practices, definitely outside the cities and bigger towns, but I digressed.

The Sun Jar is designed by Tobias Wong, and available from Suck UK.

Reviewed by Michael Smith (Veshengro) © April 2008