Tech Gifts

December 18, 2009

Ken Ivey - the Web Czar For the ladies….

Need a little extra room in your closet? How about dumping some of those shoes? No, I didn’t think so. But here’s a way you can shrink the footprint of your pump collection. Taiwan researchers recently unveiled leather shoes that can change color when they come in contact with sunlight. The invention by the Footwear & Recreation Technology Research Institute wants to make women’s shoes more colorful and make wearers aware of the level of ultraviolet rays.

The color change is produced by the researchers spaying the leather with micro capsules containing luminous particles and resin. The leather shoes’ base color is white. But within 30 seconds after coming into contact with sunlight, the color gradually changes to pink, orange or purple, depending on the ingredients sprayed on to the leather. Depending on the design, either the whole shoe, or part of it can change its color. Currently the color-changing function can last for up to 60 hours. That’s more than enough to preclude any Cinderella incidents.

The procedure reportedly increases the cost of leather shoes by 15-20 per cent. The institute plans to pass on this technology to shoe factories and also plans to launch color-changing handbags and bicycle saddles. For more information, check out http://www.earthtimes.org.

For the gents….

Have you ever been wrenched from a blissful sleep and called to investigate a mysterious noise? Sure you have. And in true Steven Seagal fashion, you nimbly make your way down the hall silently stalking the interloper with ninja-like precision before laying the smack-down on your what turns out to be your kitten - searching for a midnight snack!

You can avoid tragic moments like this with a new hand-held night vision camera. This camera switches to infrared illumination at night, allowing you to see up to 40 feet in pitch blackness. Designed for geeks ages 8 and up, it’s great for late night hang outs, camping, midnight hide-n-seek, and just about anything else you’d want to record in the dark. (Imagination sold separately.) With a 2GB memory card, you can store up to 2 hours of night vision video before transferring it to your computer to edit with the included software.

And should you need night vision just in case of a zombie attack, you could always duct-tape this to your Mossberg. You can buy the camera for $99.99 at thinkgeek.com

For the survivalist who can’t live without his iPod

When enduring a nuclear holocaust or military invasion of your homeland, it’s the little things that mean so much. With no electricity and a mushroom cloud blocking your solar recharging station, how will you recharge your MP3 player?

You’ve heard the term fuel cells - the things they use to power the green cars of the future?

Fuel cells are the cleanest and the most efficient generators of energy and now you can have one in your back pack. Dynario, a portable fuel cell power generator recently launched by Toshiba Corporation, weighs just 280 grams, measures only 15cm wide x 2.1cm deep x 7.45cm high and can produce enough power in 20 seconds to charge two mobile phones. The power is stored in in-built lithium ion batteries and can be transferred via a USB cable to your mobile phone or digital media player when needed.

The methanol powered device has a dedicated 50 ml cartridge for refueling. A single cartridge can be used to charge approximately three times.

Compared to other green forms of energy generation like portable solar chargers or micro wind turbines, fuel cells offer a more dependable and reliable option. Power is generated instantly and water is the only emission.

The only drawback of Dynario seems to be cost, which at around US$275 for the fuel cell generator and $30 for 50ml cartridge of methanol is way too expensive for normal use. At present Dynario is available for sale only in Japan from Toshiba’s website.

About the Author:

Ken Ivey, aka “the Web Czar” - wants to help you leverage technology to reach your goals. Contact Ken for a free initial consultation to see how the web can work for you. His website is www.kenivey.com

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