Author name: Jason Slater

Technology journalist and blogger, software developer, ex-IT Manager.

Design Your Dream Bespoke Man-Pad

Audio/Video, Home Theater / By /

When planning your ultimate man-pad you probably have some idea of your dream requirements. Widescreen or Projected TV? Check. Xbox or PlayStation? Check. Surround Sound System. Check. Pool Table. Check. Universal Control from an iPad? Check. Room design like something out of Alien? Double Check.

Alien Themed Cinema
Alien Themed Cinema

Perhaps the reality may end-up being something a little more budget conscious for most of us but for those who can dream big UK-based bespoke home automation company “The Private Cinema Company” are ready to turn those dreams into a reality.

Alien Themed Cinema
Alien Themed Cinema

One of the latest installation designs for the company has been an Alien themed cinema room complete with alien eggs, shadowy lighting, leather seats, surround sound, movie projection, and all the dramatic intensity of the movie the room is based upon.

The images are pretty impressive and really capture the essence of a bespoke installation. We’re big fans of science fiction movies so this design really gets us wanting to fetch the cat and load in the Blu-ray Alien Anthology set. For those for whom Alien holds little appeal the company say installations are not just limited to the man-pad as home automation can be styled into the lounge, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and even the swimming pool if you have one.

For us, it’s grab the snacks, lights out, start the movie, and make sure there is someone to cling tightly onto. I’ll bring the popcorn, you bring the Xenomorph.

To learn more head over to the The Private Cinema Company website.

Get Ready For A Superslim Windows 8 Tablet

Portable, Tablets / By /

The recently announced 10.1″ Windows 8 Samsung ATIV Tab 3 tablet takes its design cues from the popular Samsung GALAXY design but its stand-out feature is its low profile 8.2mm (0.3″) depth and 550g (1.2 lbs) weight.

Samsung ATIV 3 TabletComparisons to the Apple iPad are inevitable particularly as the Tab 3 is lighter and slimmer than the latest iPad.

Hands on reports are uncovering more information about the new tablet. Features include an Intel Atom Z2760 processor, a microUSB port, microHDMI, and microSD slot, 1366 x 768 resolution, and proper Windows 8 (Not Windows RT) operating system.

The ATIV Tab 3 also sports the S Pen, and S Note application, with 1024 levels of sensitivity. Microsoft Office Home & Student edition is also pre-installed.

To learn more head over to the Samsung ATIV Tab 3 website.

Apple Readying To Announce New iPhone?

News, Phones, Portable / By /

iPhone 3GS, 4S, and 5

On the back of the recent announcement, from Apple, regarding the flatter but more “depthy” version of iOS, Internet rumors abound that the company may be preparing to announce one or more new iPhone product(s).

This kind of speculation does the rounds on an almost annual basis but this time the rumors are supported by the likes of Reuters and Stuff. Whether there will be an iPhone 5S before a full-blown 6 is not yet known but it does sound as if another new physical display size is likely to appear – with a possible 5.7” display reportedly in the works. Whatever the speculation we can be pretty sure a new iPhone will be announced at some point and our best guess (wish list!) of features is likely to include: a 12 megapixel camera, an A7 processor, NFC, and longer battery life.

Apple iPhone sales “remain resilient” against other brands, according to a Tech Trader Daily report, including Windows Phone 8 which IB Times are reporting has seen sales growth, in British smartphone sales from February to April 2013, of “up 4.4% on the same period last year”.

What features would you like to see in a new iPhone from Apple?

Living With The Wii Fit

Miscellaneous / By /

We have been using our Wii Fit for just over a month and it has been a fun addition to our household activities. The kids have their favourite games (ahem exercises) of course and we have used it so much we have had to change the batteries already! Overall it has been a worth while purchase and I now wonder why I put off getting one for so long!

I have been wondering if there are any other games around that use the Wii Fit board – can any Gizmos readers recommend anything? It has to be relatively straight forward so my under fives can play it too.

Other than that the music game looks quite fun.

Twying Twitter

Miscellaneous / By /

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time recently rediscovering Twitter. I used to use it some time ago but drifted away for a while – these days it seems to be undergoing something of a renaissance. Check out my recommended tools for enhancing Twitter: 10 Must Have Productivity Tools For Twitter. Also, drop by and say hello if you are passing by Twitter.

If you have concerns over your carbon footprint, in particular calculating your carbon credits, you could check out Free CO2 Global Software and if you need some downtime you could check out the game: Insurgo.

On the gadget front you can take a sneak peak at this video, purportedly of the Asus Eee PC 1000HE.

Reading For Your Inner Geek

Books, Music and Movies / By /

Happy New Year everyone, have you downloaded the Beta of Windows 7 yet? If not, you better get your skates on as the Beta download is for a short time only.

I have been busy reading over the holiday break and have some good recommendations of reading for you. The first is the thought provoker “The End Of Mr. Y” and the other is the techno-thriller “Daemon” by Daniel Suarez which I heard this morning is heading for moviedom. If you have an interest in Web Development you could also check out Understanding RESTful Web Services which has some fine examples of accessing web service API.

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