Andy chats about the latest technology and interesting websites each week with Nerissa Pace on the "Talking back the night" radio show, heard across Australia.

 
Top 3 websites
http://www.josplumbing.com/
You’re prestented with a bathroom setting and what is supposed to be a female pluber called ‘jo’…she wants you to choose any item in the bathroom for her to flush down the toilet! (talk about wasting water…lucky it’s not real)

http://uglymailboxes.blogspot.com/
This is one of the more unusual, yet interesting photo journals I’ve seen recently…it’s all about ugly mailboxes of the world.

**exclusive**
http://goldrushgame.ninemsn.com.au/
Trivia fans will have lots of fun with this new competition website.
The GoldRush game gives you 60 seconds to answer a series of trivia questions…but if you don’t know that answer you can buy extra time using the hint button which will use NineMSN’s Live Search to find clues for you.Once you’ve answered the 5 questions in 60seonds correctly you’ll have a chance to dig for prizes on a map of Australia…now there are clues given on where to dig, but NineMsn have given Talking back the night listeners some exclusive clues!!

Gold Bar
X marks the spot. Head west of Gin Gin, Head South of Halls Creek. Now things are really hotting up!!!

Xbox 360 Pack (Console + 1 game)
There's a 360 to be found in each state but one.

JVC LCD 46" TV
One is buried close to where three states meet

HP Pavilion Notebook
Don't go far from 650 and 700 if you want one of these…

Top 50 CDs & DVDs
Would Jessica feel at home here?

Sims 2 Game
Look North-West for her...

Motorola Motoraza Maxx Next Gen Mobile Phone
Just west of Hobart, many have tried, but it’s still waiting to be found.

Forza2 game (10)
Forza2… take it all the way to Hart’s Range

JVC 30GB HDD Camcorder
Don't go far from 300 and 1000 if you want one of these…

Use these clues to help you 'Dig' for prizes.
The game is very addictive, and doesn’t cost anything to enter…get online and play at http://www.goldrushgame.ninemsn.com.au/


Feature Chat – Mobile phones locked to one network

Yay find that if you purchased a new mobile phone as part of a plan…then the handset it locked to that network and cannot be set for use on another network until the end of your contract period…so you’re legally bound by this.
Outside of these conditions, you can easily unlock just about any mobile handset…and it’s not difficult or expensive to do.

Via the web.
One website that that offers an online service to unlock your mobile phone from a single provider is http://www.unlockmob.com/ – It services many contries, including Australia, and costs around 9 dollars for the unlock service!
You simply punch in your provider name, 15 digit IMEI serial number and your phone model and you’re away!

I also stopped by http://www.download.com/ to see what mobile unlocking software might be available for a do-it-yourself approach. Now, while I haven’t tested any of the programs available, you can download unlock code generator programs…but these seem to be aimed more towards Nokia Mobile phones.

Perhaps the first step you can take is to call your mobile provider, as if you are not in a contract they can’t deny you the unlocking service, however they may charge for it.Naturally, the best way to avoid having a mobile network is to buy your mobile outright, but this could mean paying hundreds for your phone instead or almost nothing which you get on many contract plans now.

Protect your computer from viruses, hackers and spyware today. Download a free 30day trial of McAfee VirusScan plus from cnet.com.au

 
Top 3 websites
http://www.weirdconverter.com/
It’s one thing to be converting currencies between aussie and U.S dollars or even kilograms and pounds, but this website goes WAY beyond any logical coverstions.You see at www.weirdconverter.com they have all the tools to you need to convert say, your weight in kilograms into the equivalent amount of chickens or cans of soft drink.
I tried it out and 80 kilos converts to 40 chickens or 205 cans of soft drink.

http://www.sleepmachines.com
One of the most interesting items for sale that I found on the web this week comes in the form of a solution for people who can’t get to sleep when it’s too quiet around the house.
It’s a CD…but not filled with music…it’s filled with noise!
Choices include the sound of a vacuum cleaner, washing machines…or the slightly more relaxed feel of an open fire.

www.lauriemcguiness.com
You’ve probably seen the “buy a Mac” TV ads that apple have been running for a while…well now PC owners are fighting back!
At Lauriemcguiness.com you can find a series of spoof ads done in the same style as a the ‘buy a mac’ ads, but in this series, the PC comes out on top…winning the girl, making more money and generally just being more successful.

Feature Chat – Plasma Vs LCD TV
I’ve noticed the war between Plasma and LCD TVs seems to have flared up again thanks to some recent TV advertising.

The latest commercial for Plasma TVs, completely writes off LCD TV as not being suitable for fast action on the screen…but that’s only really a half-truth.I don’t think that anyone can really come out and tell you what is better, but I can lay down a few facts for you to help in the decision making process in case you’re looking to buy a new TV.

The advantages of Plasma
*Better contrast – the ability to show deeper blacks
*Better viewing angles – how far to the side you can sit and see properly(LCD has just about caught up on this)
*Price – Plasma will generally give you more bang for you buck (A larger screen for the same price as a smaller LCD screen)

The advantages of LCD
*Higher resolution screens – remember it’s not always the physical size of the screen that counts, it’s how many pixels are on it…the higher the amount, the better the resolution.
*Power consumption – estimates are that LCD TVs use up to 30 percent less power than Plasma TVs, LCD TVs generally weigh less too.
*Lifespan – While later model plasmas are catching up, LCD TVS are usually guaranteed for 60,000 hours of viewing, compared to between 30 and 60thousand for plasma.

Remember, when looking for a new TV, do some research and don’t just rely on the sales person…he or she may just be trying to move old stock or push a product for a particular manufacturer.
Also, if possible ask to see regular television or a DVD or a TV you are thinking of buying. Quite often display TVs have an animated feature running on them…that because they look great on any TV as they are computer generated…so it’s worth taking a look at some different content.

Protect your computer from viruses, hackers and spyware today.
Download a free 30day trial of McAfee VirusScan plus from www.cnet.com.au

 
Top 3 websites
http://anything.com.sg/
When you have people over for a social gathering you’re likely to ask them what they’d like to drink…and you’re just as likely to get the response “anything” or “whatever”, so just to be clever a softdrink company in Singapore has released 2 drinks…one is called “anything” and the other is called “whatever”.They’ve even gone as far as making the contents of each drink totally random in that you have no idea what flavour of softdrink you are buying!

http://beerbuilder.brewtopia.com.au/
This Australian based website let’s you create your own beer bottle labels using templates – then you can order a case of beer, complete with your custom labels!!The process even includes uploading the photo of your choice to be included on the label…a classic gift for the special occasion…just make sure you save the empties!

http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/
For those occassions when you want to be someone other than yourself, this fake name generator website is the ticket!Not actually serving any real purpose…other than your amusement, the website randomly creates a whole new identitly for you which includes a name, a street address in the country of your choice, an email addresss, phone number, mother’s maiden name, birthdate…and even a credit card number.

Feature Chat – Mobile Phone Recycling
The pile of old Mobile phones is stacking up around the country and it’s time we did something about it!

According to the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, there are more than 15.5 million unused mobile handsets lying around Australian homes and businesses.

If these devices end up in landfil they can actually be an environmental hazzard as they contain substances such as lead or cadmium…but the good news is that they can be recycled.

In fact it’s interesting to know that every part of a mobile phone can be broken down and re-used in some way…including batteries, circuit boards, handset outter casings, accessories and packaging, which is all seperated, melted down and made into other products.

At http://www.mobilemuster.com.au/ you’ll find details of an ongoing effort to educate people about handing in their old mobile phones to they can be correctly disposed of…but also, this month MobileMuster has got together with landcare Australia and will be planting a tree for every mobile phone handed in for recycling.

Now the Mobie Muster and Landcare Australia initiative this month aims to plant 100 thosand native trees which they say will offset the equivalent of 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions (the equivalent of taking 5,000 cars off the road)

There are over 1900 places around the country you can dispost of your mobile phone, get the full list at www.mobilemuster.com.au

Protect your computer from viruses, hackers and spyware today. Download a free 30day trial of McAfee VirusScan plus from cnet.com.au