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Exploring arguably essential home gadgets

9 Replies MattRawlings

We all love our gadgets, some people more than others of course – we’ve all got parents or grandparents who haven’t got a clue how to turn a computer on, let alone check their emails or catch up with their family on Facebook. But for the gadget lovers among us there’s nothing better than getting home with a new bit of kit, setting it up and turning it on for the first time. It’s like a birthday and Christmas all rolled into one!

Christmas and birthday in one

Christmas and birthday rolled into one!

But while we all have such affection towards the latest offerings, what would we actually call “essential’? After all, the very latest devices and gadgets don’t come cheap and disposable income isn’t exactly at its peak at the moment. We’re finding that we have to budget more, and even wait until the price drops after a few months before we can get our hands on some devices, an agonizing wait for many I’m sure. So if we had to prioritize our gadgets, what would they be?

Laptop

Of course, you have to have a laptop. Tablets and smartphones are great but sometimes you just need a computer to get certain jobs done as well as they possibly can be with a bigger screen and better all round packages. You’ve got numerous top quality manufacturers to choose between, all offering different packages, with Apple, Dell, HP and co all vying for the title of top laptop manufacturer.

Printer

Obviously, if you’re working on your laptop at home for an important project for work, school, college or University, it’s vital that you have a way to get it off the computer and into a tangible document. For that reason you need a printer capable of producing your work in high quality, something Dell printers for one are synonymous for, while other features can include scanners, photocopiers and fax machine capabilities.

Smartphone

Then when you leave the house it’s vital that you can stay connected to the rest of the world. Smartphones such as the iPhone, BlackBerry and Samsung Galaxy give you the ability to check your emails on the move, update you location to Facebook, look into what Lady Gaga has had to say on Twitter and even buy things, you can do it all while you’re out of the house. Oh, and you can text and make calls too of course!

Tablet

One of the must-have items of the moment, tablet computers such as the iPad are taking the world by storm. On the train, in the boardroom, at the park, they’re all using them as perfect hybrids between smartphones and computers.

Music Player

Finally, of course, you have to have an iPod or similar device to listen to your favourite music on. Whether you’re in the gym, on the train or just relaxing, it’s always good to have some music to keep you in the mood for whatever you’re doing.

These are what I believe are essential home gadgets, but what is your views? Do you consider all these gadgets essential, and if not, which are yours?

Ten Smartphone Apps That Improve Your Sleep

13 Replies michellegordon

Studies and surveys consistently show that most of us are not getting enough sleep each night. And while modern technology such as smartphones are often implicated as one of the culprits keeping us up, the truth is that there are many apps out there that can actually improve your sleep.

This article details ten great apps that can help you get a better night’s sleep.

ShutEye (Android)

This app was initially created for research at the University of Washington. This app notifies you when you should take a nap, exercise, relax, eat, take caffeine, or go to sleep.

All of these activities have an impact on your sleep, so keeping track of when you do them can help improve your sleep. This app helps by increasing your awareness of your habits and how they affect your sleep.

Sleep Cycle (iPhone)

This app claims to track your sleep cycle based on your body movements. The app uses this information to wake you with an alarm at the best time during your sleep cycle.

Sleep Cycle iPhone App ScreenshotThe idea is that if you are awakened when you are in your lightest stage of sleep, you will be less disrupted by being awakened. The app uses the accelerometer to measure your body movement.

Sleep as Android (Android)

Similar to SleepCycle, this Android app aims to wake you at the optimal time.

The app also includes the ability to record the sounds you make while asleep and allows you to rate and comment on your sleep. It even includes music to help you get to sleep.

ResMed (iPhone)

This iPhone app is a test for sleep apnea of sorts. The app allows you to record audio of yourself sleeping, and then compare that audio to recordings of people who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. By comparing the two, you can determine if there is any similarity and whether you should seek further testing for sleep apnea.

Relax Melodies (iPhone)

This app helps you get to sleep by playing ambient sounds while you fall asleep. The app includes 70 different sounds that include crickets chirping, running water, birds singing, and rainfall.

The app has the ability to layer different sounds over each other to create custom relaxing melodies. This is a great app if you have trouble falling asleep in silence.

White Noise (iPhone, Android, Blackberry)

Like Relax Melodies, this app is an ambient noise generator. This app is multi platform, so you can use it no matter which smartphone you have.

Sleep Tracker (iPhone)

This is a sleep journalling app for the iPhone. It lets you record how long you slept and how you feel afterwards. Journalling is a great way for you to notice patterns in your sleep and mood. This app presents your info in an easy to reach chart, which helps you spot patterns.

SleepBot (Android)

This app is similar to Sleep Tracker for the iPhone. It is a sleep journalling tool that lets you record mood, notes, and sleep times. The sleep tracking function uses a simple clock-in and clock-out interface and includes a sleep questionnaire.

Count Sheep (iPhone)

This app digitizes the old standby of counting sheep to fall asleep. The app has sheep jumping over a fence while it plays soothing music from the app or your own tunes. The screen is dimmed to avoid keeping you awake longer and you can set the app to automatically turn off after a certain amount of time.

Spot (unreleased)

This upcoming app aims to test your alertness levels by testing your response time. Great for late night driving, this app can let you know when it is time to pull over and get some rest. The tests are based on the Psychomotor Vigilance Test.

So rather than using your smartphone to keep you up all night playing games and surfing the internet, download these app and turn your smartphone into a powerful sleep aiding tool.

To find the apps just search for their names, and you should be able to find them. Please be aware that some of the apps do cost.

Shopping online – tips and advice

12 Replies Christopher Roberts

When shopping online, there are loads of things to look out for, and loads of ways to get a better deal. In this article I hope to share some of the experience I have got from shopping online, and some of my tech knowledge in order to help you get a better deal – what you want, at a reasonable price.

The first thing to say is that what you are shopping for, is crucial to how to go about buying it.

Virtual Goods

If you are buying an online or ‘virtual’ good/service, then the key thing to check is that you are buying from a reputable firm. Checking the firm is reputable and reliable is key for all online shopping, but especially so if you are buying something virtual – e.g. a website, anti-virus software, access to a game, music etc.

There are a few ways you can go about checking if online firms are reputable. The first is to see if the firm exists in reality, do they have shops in the real world, or are they totally online? Firms with physical property are less likely to be fraudulent, as they are easy to find and locate. Totally online firms can be just as reputable, look at the likes of Play.com and Amazon.

Play.com's LogoThe second way to get an idea of whether a firm is reputable or not is to check their stats. Does the site have a good Alexa rank – top 500,000? If not, people may not be visiting the site for a reason: it has just been set up, and after a few quick cons will be gone. You can check the history of the site using the Way Back Machine for more info on its past.

The third way is a much less reliable way, but can be useful to back up your decision. Try looking at the websites PageRank. If they have say a PageRank 3+ homepage, they are more likely to be legitimate than a site with all PageRank 0’s. People link to shop websites when they buy things and then review them, so shops should acquire PageRank. If they have no PageRank, they may still be legitimate, but check, as that may mean they have not been trading for long, therefore have just set up to scam, and will be shut down soon.

Finally are they a big name. Say you are buying anti-virus direct from the supplier. Most people have heard of the likes of Kaspersky, Sophos and Norton, but if the company is called something like ‘SpywareBeGoneSolutions’ then they are a lot less likely to sell you a good product, if any product at all.

Kaspersky's LogoFinally, when checking that the firm you are going to buy from is going to give you the product(s) you want, watch the news, or research them on news sites! Is the firm about to go bust or being run by administrators? If so, buying from them may lead to you loosing your money!

Services

If you are buying a service, such as a holiday, insurance or a meal at a restaurant, then there are loads of really useful sites that can help you, by giving you an incite into what others thought of that service.

Say for example you are buying a holiday, you can use websites like TripAdvisor.com to see if the place you are looking at staying at has positive reviews. If not, you can maybe choose somewhere else. Be careful though, as sometimes these sites can be misleading, as Jonny recently wrote about.

There are other websites too like MoneySavingExpert.com and Yelp, which can offer similar services for other things like insurance, banking, restaurants, shopping etc. MoneySavingExpert.com is especially worth a look, as aside from reviews, they can give really good advice, to help you save money when buying all sorts of things.

Products

The key to ensuring you get value for money and what you want when buying products online is to make sure you read what other people think about it. Reviews are really useful, and can help you determine which product is right for you.

Don’t be afraid to venture out of the companies website itself, and look for more reviews elsewhere online. Some firms will only publish the positive reviews they receive on their own site, in order to try to persuade more people to buy that product, from them.

A really important bit of advice is not to discount the high street, it can still be a very good place to buy things. Often things are cheaper online, however you can usually see and sometimes try products when in a shop, whereas online, all you have is pictures and possibly video.

Once you know the product is for you, make sure that you shop around. Find the best deal using price comparison sites like MoneySupermarket.com and PriceRunner.com.

Once you have your product and the shop, don’t forget to go to coupon sites to see if you can get an even better deal. Sites like MyVoucherCodes usually have some great discount offers, you just need to look.

To conclude

In summary, when shopping online, make sure that you are buying from someone reputable. Make sure the product or service is what you want. Check out other peoples reviews. Look for the best deal, and then finally don’t forget to check if there are any vouchers that could further slash the cost.

Hopefully these tips have been useful, good luck shopping online!