According to Wikipedia, an Ultrabook is “a computer in a category of thin and lightweight ultraportable laptops, defined by a specification from Intel corporation and inspired by Apple’s MacBook Air”.

This Autumn sees the first new Ultrabooks arriving into the UK marketplace and there is a lot of excitement about this new category of laptops – they combine exceptional performance with a compact and lightweight chassis.

The Asus Zenbook launches on 7th November and is one of the most anticipated Ultrabooks launches this year. It features:

• Ultra-thin 3mm at the front and 9mm at the rear with finely spun metal finish
• Always instant on in 2 seconds with up to 2 weeks standby time
• ASUS SonicMaster Technology co-developed with Bang & Olufsen ICEpower®

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tim Cook took to stage as CEO for his first Apple product launch since being handed the reigns from Steve Jobs for the much anticipated Apple keynote speech.

As with Apple keynotes first part of the event was a discussion of the retail store performance. Sorry I know you want me to go into the meat and bones of the iPhone 4S, but if I had to sit through 55mins of statistics you do too. Only kidding.

Few bullet points on retail performance:

• Two new stores opened in China in the past week, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
• The Shanghai store is “absolutely gorgeous,” the company’s largest store in Asia. 100,000 visitors stopped by on opening weekend.
• When the LA store opened, it took a month to hit 100,000 people.

Tim followed up with mentioning the success of the Lion OS launch, iPod sales and iPad sales. Usual smoke and mirrors around the stats. But they were impressive.

So after all that it began:

Scott Forstall took to the stage to discuss the imminent launch of iOS5. As an incentive to developers Scott quoted iOS’s market share of 43% and the $3 billion paid out to developers. Speaking of which the first area he began with was an app. The “Cards” app. Basically pick a print, add message and Apple prints and posts it for you. You’ll also receive a push notification to tell you the card has been delivered. Greeting card companies should be very worried about this. Cost to consumer: $2.99 for a card in the US, $4.99 elsewhere in the world.

Swiftly back to iOS5, the new OS will launch on the 12th October. The first change is notifications now appear at the top of the screen which can be made visible by swiping down, very much like the capability on Android enabled devices. Also off the back of another phone operating system iMessage, think Blackberry BBM between iOS enabled devices via 3G or Wi-Fi.

Next on the agenda was Reminders app, which are location aware. Bug a person you know with an iOS device to buy those concert tickets or to book that restaurant.

Full Twitter integration will be available on iOS5, no more signing in multiple times. You’ll be able to do things like share photos straight away. There were rumours circulating previously for full Facebook integration but nothing was mentioned last night on this.

Newstand was next, which is an obvious attempt to address what Kindle Fire has brought to the table. Periodicals such as GQ, Allure, Vanity Fair and The New York Times. New editions of subscriptions will download in the background.

Camera app has been vastly improved. Access to the app has been made easier by double tapping the home button. So the need to unlock your phone has been eliminated, also you’ll be able to use the volume buttons to take the photo.

Game Center now has the functionality to add photos of friends, achievement points, friend recommendations. 67 million Game Center accounts now exist.

Updates to Safari. the Reader function strips out all the junk and pulls things into a single, readable page. You’ll also be able to add pages to a reading list which you can view later if you wish to, plus syncing across all iOS devices. Tab browsing will be introduced into Safari as well.

Eddy Cue then took over to talk about iCloud in more depth. Importantly it will be a free app and you’ll be able to sync devices without the need to plug them into a computer. 5GB storage will be available for free, but you have the option to purchase more storage. On iTunes for example you will be able to re-download your music via cloud to any of your other iOS devices. You’ll also be able to do the same with pictures and movies on Camera Roll and documents.

Find my iPhone and Friends, iStalking as it will no doubt be referred to going forward. You can quickly and easily see the locations of those who’ve opted to share their location with you. However you can share you location for a limited time with contacts, useful if you want to arrange a meet up with someone, but not to see your every movement. Importantly parental controls to help keep tabs on a child’s movement.

iTunes Matching was also introduced. For a yearly subscription of $24.99 iTunes will scan your music library and uploads anything that isn’t in iTunes library already. For example you’re missing a couple of songs from an album, it’ll add in the missing tracks. Also you have the ability to stream your entire library by just tapping into it and your playlists too. Think Spotify.

A little bit is then mentioned about iPods. Nothing much to report on, few upgrades to the Nano software, new watch skins and changes to pedometer functions. A new white iPod touch will also be introduced.

Then what we all came here for:

“What’s it do?” I hear you ask.

A5 chip which is in the iPad2.

Dual-core graphics which are said to be seven times faster than the previous iPhone and Retina display (standard).

To show off the capability Mike Capps from Epic Games (Gears of War fame) showed a demo of Infinity Blade 2. The first edition made $20 million in revenue. A lot of the graphic techniques employed were taken from Gears of War 3, the crowd particularly cooed at the Koi’s in a fish pod showing off the water reflection and shadowing effects.

Battery life will offer eight hours of 3G talk time. Six hours of browsing, nine on WiFi. 10 hours of video, and 40 hours of music. There is also a new antenna (iPhone 4 owners feel free to leave now) and faster download capability.

New camera inside the 4S too. Apple are keen to show off the stats that indicate iPhone 4 is the most popular camera for uploading pictures to Flickr. The camera has a whopping 8 megapixel sensor and with backside illuminated CMOS, so that 73 percent more light gets to the lens (five element lens). Face detection has also been introduced as a feature, usual tap to focus has always featured on previous iPhones. Video recording will be in full 1080p HD, image stabilisation has improved and introduction of with temporal noise reduction.

Wired and wireless AirPlay mirroring has been included, meaning gaming for example can be sent to a big screen telly. I assume this will work in the reverse and send content to the phone, so if you need to leave a room you can keep up with a film or a TV program.

The last feature mentioned was voice personal assistant. a year and a half ago Apple acquired Siri. Siri first appeared as an iOS app, allowing users to ask natural language questions that were analysed via the company’s network service to provide answers ranging from making dinner appointments to buying movie tickets. Since then they have been at work on the iOS5 development.

The Outcome

Ask the iPhone 4S a question say “Do I need an umbrella today?” Siri comes back with a relevant answer. the demo during the Keynote was very impressive to say the least. Everything from weather, directions, reading aloud SMS messages was covered. Even are their any Greek restaurants in the area. There are also a list of Siri templates to indicate what you can and can’t do. For instance “clean the flat” is not one of them. It will work in English (US, UK, and Australia) plus French and German. It’ll be beta to start, but there will be more languages and services coming.

And that’s your lot. The iPhone 4S will be available to pre order from the apple store from Friday and shipped with iOS5. iOS5 launches on the 12th October and the iPhone 4S launches on 14th October.

Now that the 7-inch Amazon Kindle Fire has been announced, we thought it would be a good craic to slam its specs up against those of its key rivals.

Of course, this has to include Apple’s peerless iPad 2, but instead of plumping for the gorgeous Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, we’ve chosen to compare it with its new sibling the Galaxy Tab 7.7 because of its size.

And to complete our line-up, we’ve plumped for the HTC Flyer – another 7-inch tablet that, like the Kindle Fire, is based on a heavily customised version of Android 2.x.

Operating system

The Kindle Fire runs its own special OS. But it’s not been developed from the ground up by Amazon – it’s based on Android 2.x, rumoured to be Android 2.2 FroYo. The HTC Flyer also has a heavily customised version of Android – it’s based on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The iPad 2 runs iOS 4 (soon to be iOS 5) and the Galaxy Tab 7.7 runs the tablet-specific Android 3.0 Honeycomb.

Pricing

The Kindle Fire is slated at $199 in the US, which would probably translate to a £199 price point in the UK – although there has been no confirmation of a UK release as yet. As we know, iPad 2 retails from £399 for 16GB, while the HTC Flyer has finally come down to a decent price point for the 16GB version – £329 and up. We don’t know a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 UK price as yet.

Thickness and weight

The 7-inch Kindle Fire is 11.4mm thick, substantially more than the 8.8mm-thick 9.7-inch iPad 2. The 7-inch HTC Flyer is even thicker at 13.2mm. The thinnest accolade goes to the Galaxy Tab 7.7 at just 7.9mm thick. As for weight, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the lightest at 335g, the Kindle Fire is 414g, the HTC Flyer is 421g, while the iPad 2 clocks in at 601g for the Wi-Fi version.

Screen resolution

The Kindle Fire has a resolution of 1,024 x 600 as does the HTC Flyer. The iPad 2 is next in line at 1,024 x 768 (remember that’s a 9.7-inch display too) but top of the pile is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 with a 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution 7.7-inch display.

Screen type

The Kindle Fire and iPad 2 have IPS LCD multi-touch panels, while the HTC Flyer has a capacitive LCD screen. The Samsung Galaxy Tab is the first tablet to feature a Super AMOLED Plus display. It’s hugely bright and super clear.

Processor

All the tablets are dual-core aside from the HTC Flyer which uses a still-speedy 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip. The iPad 2 uses the Apple A5 (below), while the Galaxy Tab 7.7 uses a (probably Samsung) 1.4GHz model. The Kindle Fire has a 1GHz Texas Instruments OMAP chip.

Memory and storage

The Kindle Fire has 512MB of memory, like the iPad 2. However, it only has 8GB of internal memory which by anybody’s reckoning is quite poor for a device based around content. The iPad 2 comes in 16, 32 and 64GB variants as does the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7. The Flyer comes in 16 and 32GB memory versions. The Samsung and HTC devices also have 1GB of internal memory.

Camera and video

The Kindle Fire doesn’t have a mic or camera – something which a lot of commentators believe is a sizeable hole in the Fire’s armoury. All the other tablets are capable of 720p HD video and have front and back cameras. The HTC Flyer wins the day here, with a 5MP rear snapper.

Connectivity

The Kindle Fire only connects to the web via Wi-Fi, there is no cellular 3G data. All the other tablets are available in Wi-Fi only plus Wi-Fi + 3G versions should you wish. The Kindle Fire is also the only tablet not to support Bluetooth or GPS too. Surely Amazon will need to launch a 3G model at some point.

Battery life

While the iPad 2 and Samung Galaxy Tab 7.7 cite a battery life of 10 hours, the Kindle Fire says its battery life is 8 hours. The HTC Flyer battery life is “from 8 hours”.

Summary

Obviously the Kindle Fire isn’t out in the UK yet, but if it does come here for £199 or so then it will still be a steal. Amazon’s problem is if people buy the Kindle Fire expecting the full iPad-a-like tablet experience – they won’t get that. The Kindle Fire is a worthy content device, but surely Amazon will need to top-out its range with a full 3G tablet to truly compete with high-end tablets like the iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7.

I saw this on Gizmodo and I thought it was worth posting here. Mainly due to becoming fed up with persistent calls from my parents to fix the laptop

Article lives here – http://gizmo.do/ojCPbV

Malware sucks.  In the best-case scenario, it craps up your system with unwanted files and occasionally makes itself known in the form of a persistent pop-up window or annoying browser-based toolbar.  In the worst-case scenario, malware completely takes over your desktop or laptop and ruins your life.

Your system slows it to a crawl.  You can’t even boot into Windows in the time it takes you to walk to the kitchen and back.  Your data gets sent off to a faraway Internet land or, worse, your actual keystrokes are recorded for some unsavory individual to see.  Malware locks down you browser, making you unable to actually do any browsing without being carted off to some bogus domain.  You can barely run a program in Windows without getting bombarded by fake advertisements, programs, and dancing people on your desktop.

We can’t make this stuff up.

So what’s a computer enthusiast to do?  Step zero: Read this guide, because we’re going to walk you through all the key details you need to know to both rid your computer of this junk and keep it free of downloaded problems forevermore.

Step One: The Pre-step

What’s that?  No files to download or software to rip malware from your system?  Exactly.  The most important thing to realize in order to fight in malware’s great war is that you, and you alone, are the first line of defense.  You only have yourself to blame if your computer is completely overridden with preventable, problem-causing programs.

Much of the more annoying malware that you can accidentally befriend requires your input in order to get on your system in the first place.  You have to download and run an unknown file or agree to have a toolbar placed on your system as part of a software installation routine.  You have to accept certain kinds of Javascript or be fooled by scam websites that claim to be running a virus scan on your system (to name one such tall tale).

In short, you have to let your guard down.

So how do you protect yourself against your own habits?  Use three simple rules: If it’s too good to be true, if it looks strange, or if it’s completely unknown to you, don’t run it.  Don’t install it.  Don’t accept it, don’t hit “yes” to it, and don’t let it get anywhere near your system.  Google, or Bing, or Yahoo is your friend: Find more information about a given situation or software before you agree to let it do anything on your system.  Don’t surf the Internet blindly and assume that everything on a Web site is a safe for your system to digest.

Step Two: Browser Blockers

We mentioned that a bunch of malware can come through your browser–‘tis a shame, we know.  Vulnerabilities in browsers and plugins (and user error) can bring your system to its digital knees faster than you can spell the word “crap” in “crapware.”  So let’s start with the simplest step: Stop using an outdated, insecure browser.  Make sure you’re at least sporting the latest version of one of the “Big Three:” Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome.

But which?  Various research reports have dubbed each of these three browsers as the “best-in-class” against malware and other social-driven attacks.  Our personal preference turns to Google’s Chrome browser for two reasons: One, it’s the only browser to use sandboxes as its primary defense mechanism, which combines a Javascript virtual machine and an operating-system-level sandbox to prevent successful attacks against the browser’s rendering engine from affecting a user’s file system.  Second, Chrome has been, hands-down, the healthiest survivor of each year’s Pwn2Own hacking contest at the CanSecWest security conference: Talk about a real-world verification of its security capabilities, eh?

But we’re just getting started.  Javascript vulnerabilities-including blatant attacks that rely on a user’s cooperativeness to work–can just as easily affect your browser as well.  If you’re rocking Firefox, grab an extension called NoScript, which will allow you to turn a page’s plugins elements off by default (including Javascript and Flash!) unless you trust the site enough to give ‘em a go.  Chrome doesn’t have an add-on for the same feature, but you can disable Javascript by default in the browser’s “Under the Hood” settings section.  And if you want to specifically allow a site’s Javascript to function, just click on the associated “X” icon in the browser’s address bar to set up site-specific trust.  Or, if you don’t mind using a slight variant, you can do your best to mimic “NoScript”-like control using the “NotScripts” add-on.

Other extensions and add-ons worth equipping to fight the malware fight include: Web of Trust, KB SSL Enforcer, Adblock, and HTTPS Everywhere.

Step Three Software Stoppers

Running a perfect browser setup only goes so far in the battle against malware: Remember, you are your own worst enemy.  Assuming that malware could slip through the gates at some point, what are some of the free software tools that you can use to equip your system with powerful protection before your rogue apps get out of hand?

First up, you’ll want a comprehensive scanner running day in and day out to make sure that each and every bit of software you slap onto your computer gets a quick check.  For that, we turn to none other than Microsoft’s own Windows Security Essentials app.  Our reasons are simple: It’s free and it works.

Install Windows Security Essentials and you’ll get instant access to frequent Microsoft virus and spyware updates in addition to a real-time scanning mechanism that protects your system from anything you download from the Internet (or, if you’re fancy, anything on a USB device the moment it’s jacked into your system).  It schedules nightly scans to run by default, but feel free to reschedule these for a time when you know your PC could be running.  Additional options let you set the exact parameters for when the scanning should start, which include the ability to restrict virus and malware hunts for periods when your CPU use is below a certain threshold.

Unfortunately, some of the best anti-malware apps on the market are free with an asterisk: We’re talking, of course, about SuperAntispyware and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware.  We’re fans of Malwarebytes’ offering, mainly because the freeware version of its powerful anti-spyware app gives you a few more features to tinker with than SuperAntispyware’s.  The kicker with both?  No real-time protection, so make sure you sent a mental task for yourself to run these apps on a daily or weekly basis.

If you want to get truly hardcore, be sure to grab ComboFix as well.  This app-often considered the “nuke it from orbit” option for certain nefarious bits of malware-uses the Windows Recovery Console to find and eliminate annoying malware.  It doesn’t protect your system up-front, but it’s a great tool to have in your back pocket when disaster strikes.

Step Four: Disaster Recovery

So you’re infected.  Shucks.  Malware comes in different forms and annoyance levels, depending on just how well the particular piece of offending software has entangled itself into your operating system.  This makes it difficult for us to deliver a perfect fix that fits every situation.  However we can at least give you a few helpful suggestions for freeing your PC from malware’s clutches.

First off, see if a simple scan from Windows Security Essentials stops your issue dead in its tracks–likely not, but it never hurts to try the simplest solution before you start rolling up your sleeves a bit more.  Update your definitions and select “Full” for the Scan Option, and then sit back and hope that Microsoft’s scanner can fix your problem.

No luck?  Next up, fire up Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, make sure your definitions are updated, and run a full scan on your system.  If it catches an issue, great; if not, and your malware problem persists, it’s time to get a little more creative.  Fire up the utility RKill and use it to try and force-stop any malware processes that happen to be running in your system’s background.  Run Malwareybytes’ Anti-Malware full scan one more time.

If you’re still out of luck, you’ll want to reboot your system into safe mode (spoiler: keep pressing F8 as the bios loads until you’re given the option for “safe mode.”) and repeat the same RKill/Malwarebytes Anti-Malware step as before.  You’re doing this in an attempt to unhook whatever malware that’s plaguing your PC from the operating system itself: It’s not getting wiped out because it’s still active (and possibly protecting itself from your removal tools).

Still hurting?  Fire up ComboFix and let the scanning and removal tool work its magic–if, for some reason, it can’t remove whatever’s affecting your system, you’ll get a lengthy log that you can post up on one of ComboFix’s associated web forums for further assistance from qualified log parsers.  At this point, it might be worth your while to check out other scanning tools not explicitly mentioned in this article, which range from Spybot Search & Destroy, to McAfee AVERT Stinger, to GMER, to Sophos Anti-Rootkit… the list goes on.  And you also might benefit from grabbing a few Live CDs for malware and virus removal, like AVG’s Rescue CD or Hiren’s BootCD.

Like we said, there are nearly as many tools for removing malware as there is malware to infect you.  The more you can protect your PC up-front, including training yourself to recognize potential malware when it presents itself and keeping it off your system to begin with, the less you’ll have to fool with potentially complicated removal techniques later.

But if you have to go down this route, and simple scans aren’t getting the job done, don’t forget to try ripping active malware processes out of your operating system and booting your PC into safe mode.  After that, exorcising these software demons from your system is all up to your tenacity, your search engine research skills, and your knowledge of third-party removal apps: Or, worse comes to worse, your backup schedule.  You know, a reformat is but a few clicks away!

Nokia have released details about the soon to be released N9 Smartphone, causing much confusion about their strategy. Following the recent strategic alliance with Microsoft regarding the Windows Phone, many thought the future direction of Nokia in the smartphone market was with this alliance. For one reason or another, however, they have decided to release this product before the Microsoft-Nokia offering.

Firstly, the N9 should be given a technical evaluation. With dimensions 116.45 x 61.2mm, it is slightly larger than Apple’s iPhone 4. One immediate difference though is the lack of any front facing buttons. The front is entirely touch and swipe activated. As a result of this, you are left with a larger screen size, allowing for more enhanced video playback and gaming ability. In addition to this, the phone boasts an 8 megapixel, wide angle lens camera. Other things of interest include fully integrated Ovi maps, with free voice-guided driving and walking navigation, as well as a multi-tasking functionality. This allows users to easily switch between apps through ‘open apps view’ and between websites in the multitasking view. For the more aesthetically minded, the N9 is available in black, cyan and magenta.

So the N9 model appears to have been developed with usability in mind. It provides many extras not seen on other smartphones, which could appeal to consumers. One thing which may not appeal is the seeming misalignment of this product with the wider Nokia strategy. This will be the first and only Nokia smartphone which will be based on the Meego 1.2 Hanratty software. Is this likely to promote the phone as a viable alternative to the dominance of the iPhone, or will it turn into a more niche offering?

Nokia have a well earned reputation for producing exceptional phones. The N9 is sure to be no different. However we will have to wait and see whether consumers bypass this product in favour of the upcoming Windows Phone. This could be the catalyst to propel Nokia back to the top of the pile, or it could fall by the wayside and into the abyss. Either way, the decision to release this phone, especially in view of the expected timings, is a bold one.

Astonishingly more than three quarters of UK mobile phone users are wasting an average of more than £200 a year on their phone contract. One of the main reasons for this are customers over estimating the amount of minutes they’ll need and only using a quarter of their monthly minute allowance. Researchers from the Oxford based Bill Monitor group anaylised over 28000 phone contracts and concluded that the UK’s mobile phone users were wasting nearly £5bn a year on misjudged contracts. Full report here.

Main reasons indicated that customers opted for extra minutes for fear of fees levied for exceeding their free minutes and typically bought four times as many minutes than they needed.

Research also found that customers have double data useage due to the growing popularity of smart phones. The average usage was 133MB per month, with around 5% of users exceeding 500MB. The report highlighted that the growing popularity of smart phones and mobile service operators adding various data tariffs will lead to further confusion amongst customer.

Laskys are providing a mobile phone comparison service in conjunction with Mobilelife offering customers savings of up to £190 a year on their mobile phone contracts.

http://www.laskys.com/sat_nav_and_phones/~mobile_phone_comparison_service.html

Video provided by Bill Monitor

Click here to view the embedded video.

Found this on ERTonline.

Mega bucks to be spent on Mega Monday!!!

Link to Article – http://bit.ly/i1zySq

”

Monday December 6 is set to be “Mega Monday” – the busiest online shopping day of the year.

Indeed, according to e-commerce industry association Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), sales for Super Sunday and Mega Monday are likely to reach over half a billion.

“We estimate that £6.4bn will be spent in December alone, with total online sales for November and December set to reach £12.4bn,” said IMRG managing director David Smith.

“Consumers have looked to spread the costs of Christmas a bit more this year due to the economic climate, but December 6th is the day that our retailers expect sales activity to be at its highest.”

At Hitwise UK, research director Robin Goad agreed: “For most of the year, UK Internet visits to retailers peak on the Sunday and drop off on the Monday, and only on Mega Sunday/Monday do the traffic levels match. This didn’t happen this Sunday and Monday, implying that Mega Monday is still to come – most likely next Monday.”

His comments are borne out by IMRG’s figures.

Sales levels have been steadily increasing since Sunday (November 28) with the increase on Wednesday this week far higher than that of Monday – the day the Americans call “Cyber Monday”. “

Be sure to stop by at Laskys.com and Laskys Entertainment on the 6th. I’m sure they’ll be many a bargint to be had.

www.laskys.com

http://musicandmovies.laskys.com/home.dept

Now that I’ve finally been able to brush the cobwebs off from a late night watching Apple’s keynote speech. I thought I best put together a summary of last night events. The trendy ones amongst you may have seen the minute by minute updates I posted on Twitter http://twitter.com/LaskysEzine . Apologies as a lot of what I wrote looking back probably makes no sense to anyone seeing it this morning.

So what was announced?

Jobs opened with a summary of 2nd Apple store to be opened in China, the new London Covent Garden store and a soon to be opened store in Spain. Then it was on to what we all tuned in for. New products and developments.

iOS

Few numbers were thrown around first. Since the first release of iOS. 120 million devices have been shipped, 230k activations a day, 6.5 billion apps downloaded (approx 200 apps downloaded a second).

Key features for the new iOS 4.1:

Bugs in Proximity sensor, Bluetooth, iPhone 3G fixed

HDR photos (High Dynamic Range photos). Simple concept, when you take a photo sometimes it’s blown out with bright light. What HDR does is take 3 photos in rapid succession: one normal, one under exposed, and one under exposed. This is then all combined to make one standout photo.

Game Center with the assistance of Mike Capps from Epic Games. Effectively this is online multi-player gaming for iPhone. Mike Capps then demonstrated working titled first person beat um up “Project Sword” on the iPhone 4. Within a matter of minutes Mike was owned by the games designer, “This is what you get when you take a designer on at his own game,”. Similar to Xbox Live and Playstation Network this game and Game Center app will come with an array of achievements to unlock.

iOS 4.1 to be released later this week. But before you could even settle back down. Jobs moves on to iOS 4.2.

iPad based. Combining HDR photos, Game Center, multi tasking and Air Play. Air Play, which many of you may know as Air Tunes allows you to stream music from all over your house from your mobile device. This is now renamed as Air Tunes and aswell as music all forms of media can be streamed anywhere in the home. Another key feature they were keen to showoff was wireless printing via Print Center.

iOS 4.2 will be available from November.

Jobs then moved on to the part of the presentation many people were anicipating. The new range of iPods. There was a big revamp of the shuffle, nano and touch models. However the classic wasn’t mentioned, which maybe an indication that this is to be phased out.

iPod shuffle

First noticable thing is that the buttons are now back. Apparently people missed the buttons. So as well as buttons being added, Genius mixes also feature, VoiceOver and a clip at the back. iPod shuffle will come in 5 colours at a retail price of £39.

iPod nano

The nano is a very popular model so how could Apple possibly make it better. Jobs’ solution was to make the screen purley touchbased and remove the click wheel. It’s tiny (46% smaller and 42% lighter than its predecessor) and really easy to use.  The new nano also features hard volume buttons, VoiceOver, FM radio, Nike+, pedometer, 24 languages and 24 hours of audio playback. Also the screen can be rotated using your fingers if the nano is clipped on to your person.

nano will come in the the same 5 colours as the shuffle aswell as red and graphite. Also will be in two capacities 8GB which retails for £129 and 16GB at £159

iPod touch

Jobs’ dubbed the touch as “the iPhone without a phone. But it’s also an iPhone without the contract!”. Which has not only overtaken the nano in popularity. But also Sony and Nintendo (50%+ marketshare worldwide) in the portable gaming market.

The touch has been revamped to feature Retina Display, 4x the number of pixels as per the iPhone. And an A4 chip which also powers the iPhone. Also features 3-axis gyro, iOS 4.1 with Game Center,  front-facing camera with FaceTime and rear camera for HD video recording.

The touch comes in 3 sizes 8GB from £189, 32GB from £249 and 64GB from £329.

Ad Break

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Click here to view the embedded video.

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But what would a new iPod launch be without an update to iTunes.

iTunes 10

itunes 10 has ditched the CD from the logo.

Other cool features, if your library as 5 or more tracks from one album. Rather than having a string of album names in your list of songs, the space is now occupied by the album art work.

The major development within iTunes is Ping. So what is Ping? If your familiar with Facebook and Last FM this is the hybrid of both. Basically if you want to discover new music, find out what your friends are listening to and what your favourite artists are up to.

This will also be available on iPhone and iPad via a dedicated app.

iTunes 10 is available now.

“one last thing hobby”

Apple TV (not iTV as speculated) is now in it’s 2nd generation. Although it’s sold reasonably well and well recieved by it’s users. A lot of people do not understand the purpose of it. Why? People don’t want to manage storage of films and TV shows on a device that’s not a computer and nor do they want to have to sync the device with a computer.

So Apple have taken generation 1 and shunk it in size to 1/4 of it’s origanal size, so it’s palm size. The back is also simple, one power point, one HDMI slot and ethernet point. But most importantly it’s Wi-Fi enabled. Also no media is stored on the device, either rent films ($4.99 1st run)  and TV shows (99c per episode), stream content from your PC, view videos from You Tube, Netflixs and stills from Flickr.

What else can it do. Remember Air Play? Air Play can stream content from an iOS device to an Apple TV.

“You’re going to be able to watcha movie on an iPad, walk into your living room, and push a button and watch the rest of it on your Apple TV. Walk into your home with photos on your iPhone, push a button and share a slideshow on your TV. It’s going to be pretty cool.”

All this at £99

All products are now available on Laskys

iPods – http://bit.ly/8YQeJO

Apple TV GEN 2 – http://bit.ly/aca4rK

If you’re like me you would have be planning and writing lists way in advanced for what to take to Glastonbury. This year I actually discovered all you need is a tent, beer, a bikini, a spiderman suit and a dog head mask. Okay well not quite, but this seems like the only items I required for most of the duration. On reflection I have thought about what else would of been handy and would have made the experience if not better (not sure thats poss), but easier. Heres my top picks from a selection Laskys. http://bit.ly/1pLQH2

Iphone battery

Notoriously God awful! There is of course the Orange charge tent. Its pretty good, in that the queue isn’t that long and there were guest band appearances too. To my delight Blame it on Coco were on whilst I was in there. But they were only on for about 10 mins and I could not take the heat. It was basically a massive green house with the glorious sunshine beating down. Not good on a massive hangover! Best i’d say to grab yourself one of these

USB iphone charger  from IWOOT

http://bit.ly/bg6Lx4

Freeloader Silver Solar Charger

http://bit.ly/affxKp

Personal Care

If you can’t make it to the shower everyday or don’t want to waste your time queuing go for the baby wipe shower and for hair removal an electric shaver or for the braver an epilator. I definitely rate these little devices but you need to get over the pain and remember red spots will appear a few days later. An epilate a few days before would prob mean you wont require shaving for the whole festival.

Make sure you take a shaver that operates cordlessly!

Braun LS5560

http://bit.ly/aAAB4v

Philips HP6509

http://bit.ly/b3mooZ

Tool Box

Your never know when you might need any one of the 13 nifty little tools in this gadget! Needle for clothing fail, bottle opener – obvious! Nail cleaner!  A very handle gadget in a very handy compact size.

http://bit.ly/ccbCYa

Tent Music

Required for early morning and late at night went you and your mates are chillin round your tents. A good pair of battery operated mp3 player speakers.

http://bit.ly/cJHcaF

Back Ache

The healings fields at Glastonbury do provide a message service but if you got a willing friend then grab why not take your own massager! Great for when the back ache from dancing and sitting crossed legged on the hard floor for four days, kicks in!

http://bit.ly/96FyOk

And if you have got any room left how about these:

Hunters Festival Survival Kit

http://bit.ly/avHIPq

Solar Camp Shower

http://bit.ly/cGB6u8

Disposable toilet! Yes you did read that correct!

http://bit.ly/cQmOEU

Read more about festival magic at Corinne’s own blog: http://buyttttride.blogspot.com/

Did we miss something? Do you have the perfect gadget or bit of tech that everyone should think about taking to a festival? Let us know in the comments as usual.

The Thin Plug is the “UK’s first and only folding plug with non folding live pins”.
We sent a member of Laskys to meet Zihni Yalcin – inventor of the UK folding plug ‘Thin Plug’ and Red Dot Design Award winner,  and ask a few questions about this new invention that could revolutionise products and their packaging.

Zihni Yalcin

AB: How did you get started?

ZY: “Until the mid-90s there was no need to consider making any changes to the standard plug that we have got so used to. After that time and with the proliferation of portable electronic equipment there were different needs to take into account. Having bought laptops before, the plug always got in the way, and often it damaged or scratched the equipment. On one occasion the plug actually cracked my Lap-top screen when I was getting on the tube in London’s rush hour.

The ThinPlug story started around 2006.  I had sold my restaurant not too long before and I found myself with some extra time to myself.  I have a background in electronic engineering and have always worked on projects, mainly for others, though I have always had ideas.  One day I bought a laptop. Holding up a modern piece of technology and contrasting it with the good old sturdy plug that came with it, and not knowing how it could be packed neatly away I became frustrated. I seemed for a moment   to accept that because the plug had not changed ever since I could remember that there had to be a strong reason and I almost stopped thinking and may not have persevered if I had not been overcome by that initial frustration. Another day and in a different mood, who knows?”

AB: What was the main concept for the design? Tell us how you arrived at the design we now know as Thin Plug. What was the journey like?

ZY: “I looked at the plug with fresh eyes and saw a potential design change by creating a folding earth pin and viewing the body as a horizontal object rather than vertical. I spent a few hours making one in the kitchen at home and within a day I was holding a tiny object with a folding pin that worked! Thin Plug was born. I had a feeling about it, but was not completely confident at first.  I contacted my friend Joshua Leff, a solicitor, whose advice to me  when he saw it was to immediately  contact a patent attorney, which I did, having looked at other designs on the internet, nothing compared in design or size and I had some hope that a patent might eventually be granted.

I approached ASTA BEAB who provides safety certification for British Standards to see whether there might be any fundamental objections to designing such a new plug. I knew little about British Standards relating to UK plugs, only that they were bound to be stringent. To my pleasant surprise, the questions that were posed by my design, I found I could resolve and I made some prototypes improving on the plug, whilst not having to change the original simple concept. After those initial meetings with ASTA I realised that Thin Plug had become a real possibility.

The journey has been a long one and sometimes difficult, but not for the obvious reasons.  I prefer to work alone with a few people assisting me and who believe in the process.  If that commitment is not present, then the process becomes laboured and I can lose interest and become frustrated. I have worked on many projects before, but this one has caused me the greatest excitement as well as some of the greatest frustrations.

Designing a concept is one thing, but the journey to get it to a stage where it can be cheaply mass manufactured without sacrificing any safety features is another. We are aiming to bring ThinPlug on the market at a competitive price to the conventional class II UK plug, which in itself creates a great challenge.”

AB: So how is it better than the everyday plugs we have now – what are the main advantages?

ZY: “In short, ThinPlug is as safe as the standard plug with the advantages that it is 3 times smaller, easily portable with no protruding pins in closed position, light, and not bulky, than anything that is now on the market and would still meet British Standards. Indeed there had to be a few modifications made to BS1363 to ensure that the new plug had equivalent safety. This in my view is the project’s main achievement, since British Standards have remained more or less the same for many years and we now have a new supplemental standard published for ThinPlug”

Click here to view the embedded video.

AB: Tell us a bit about the design itself – I see on the site that you’ve got a couple of different versions would you mind talking me through briefly?

ZY: “There are 2 designs because there are 2 separate products; the other is a USB charger for mobile phones!  We have called the other product ThinCharger and it is now on the market. It is based on the same idea as ThinPlug but the body shape is slightly different to take into account the micro electronic parts and of course there is no need for a fuse. We have also designed unique micro adapters to go with our products for international travellers which we have called ThinAdapter.”

AB: Who do you see using the Thin Plug?

ZY: “ThinPlug is designed for users of Class II appliances. In other words users of portable electronic equipment such as laptops, MP3 and MP4 players digital cameras and camcorders. Anyone who travels can pack away a ThinPlug easily and even carry it in a pocket since the size and weight feels no heavier than a car key. In short, I cannot think of a single person over 10 and under 100 who would not benefit!”

AB: Is it only aimed at technical people is it something for everybody?

“Neither ThinPlug or ThinCharger   do I view as “gadgets”.  They are a necessary accessory to all portable electronic equipment. They are just more practical to existing designs.

I see no point to change plugs for fridges, TVs or dishwashers since they are usually permanently positioned and require earthing.”

AB: What kinds of challenges did you face?  I can imagine you would have had to pass some safety compliance tests and so on. So tell us about that.

ZY: “I have partly answered you, but I’d like to add a small point. ThinPlug came about without any real knowledge about British Standard 1363. I instinctively understood that my design would be safe. Had I been shown BS1363, which is a thick tome, I may never have advanced idea!  ThinPlug has passed most of the safety tests. There was one reservation about the material we propose using for the ISOD which will now have to be changed to comply fully. Otherwise the product is ready.”

AB: So have you had any interest from any corporates? Tell us about that.

ZY: “We are in discussions with a major distributor and that is as much that I am going to say for the moment. If you are interested as well we are open for business!?”

AB: Any ideas when you plan to launch Thin Plug?

ZY: “We hope this year.”

AB: Have you heard of Min-Kyu Choi? He won the 2010 British Insurance Design of the Year Award for creating another type of flat-pack plug – Skinny plug.  How do you feel about that? Do you see it as competition? Tell us how Thin Plug is better?

ZY: “Yes I have heard about the recent award given to Min Kyu Choi for his design.  I have been aware of his design since last July 2009, just after we picked up our Red Dot award in June! I do not wish to make more comment than has already been made by others other than to say that the reception given to a new idea for a plug above all other designs confirms my belief in the fact that the standard plug will change. It is of course not quite the first: Slimplug was in fact the first commercially viable product that has been on the market since August 2006. Unfortunately that design is bulky though the inventor did resolve the problem of protruding pins and it is a safe product.

The essential difference between ThinPlug and all other plug ideas is that ThinPlug has no moving or folding live pins.

Folding or moving live pins, in my opinion could create problems over time. This was in fact my starting point: How can one design a folding plug without folding the live pins?”

AB: Tell us about winning the Red Dot Design Award. How did that feel.  What has that meant for you as an inventor?

ZY: “I was surprised to be a winner. The Red Dot award is really an exceptional award and the biggest internationally with several thousands entering each year. My product, which was a British Design alongside the biggest names of Nokia, Sony, Apple and many others showed how necessary it is for British designers and inventors to push their ideas forward and to raise the level of awareness and importance of our only true resource: its people. I do have a dream to establish an educational centre of learning to encourage young inventors to produce worthy ideas for the future.”

Expect to see Zihni’s Thin Plug being added to products within the year.
You can find out more about the Thin Plug here: http://www.thinplug.com/