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.servicecentral.com.au
Tracking down a tradesperson can sometimes be a real task…but what if you could turns things around and have them chasing you…and the work.

http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com
Cat websites have been taken to a whole new level with this website…it only features pictures of cats that have small moustache like markings…hence the site name “cats that look like hitler”.

http://www.goodreads.com
If you struggle at the book store looking for your next novel to digest, then this website is very handy.

Feature Chat – Taking advantage of Solar technology

We’ve all heard of Solar Hot water systems…these have been in use for decades…but there are some other really cool uses for Solar power that also have the advantage of being environmentally friendly and very handy.
Anyone with a notebook computer will know that even with a high capacity battery and optimum power settings you will eventually run out of steam…but now you can get a solar panel that can generate enough power so you don’t have to worry about that. You can buy a portable Solar panel that folds away into your car glove box that generates 12 volt power which on a nice sunny day is capable of running a notebook computer!
If you plan on using your computer down at the beach or in the park this could be handy…setting you back around 350 dollars.

Another great use of Solar panels is the Solar Battery charger that’s being released in a few months. For under 20 dollars the charger will recharge up to 4 x AA batteries in the same time as if you’d charged them off mains power…but Solar energy is free ;)

Available right now however is a Solar charger for your mobile phone…again, handy if you’re out and about and running low on power.
This product is actually a separate battery pack with solar cells built on top, so can be used as a backup battery, charging your mobile in 1 or 2 hours….Cost wise you’re looking at around 80 dollars.

I discovered all these Solar power products on one website which promotes sustained living – visit www.todae.com.au to check them all out.

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Top 3 websites

www.airsicknessbags.com
I really didn't think that people suffered much from Air Sickness these days, but there's always a little bag just in case. It's the same with everyairline around the world, so you'll actually find quite a few websites devoted to the 'air sick bag' and its many incarnations.

www.mygame.com
There is no end to the amount of online games you can find and play for free online...but I think you might enjoy this site that let's you put yourself in your own game to play online!

www.feelthehead.com
Ok...this website is clearly the most unusual I have come across this week.

Let's call is an interactive curiosity of sorts...as you're presented with an animated human head which is made up of a very basic design.

Using your mouse you can interact with the head and make it do various odd things...like spit it's eyeball out of it's mouth, grow hair or remove it's nose...very strange, but i'm sure you'll have fun filling a few spare minutes with this one.

Feature Chat - What's new online and in Technology this week!

The ACCC takes on Google
This could be an interesting court case to follow...the consumer watch-dog, the ACCC is taking web search engin Google to court, citing that they don't distinguish between sponsored links and genuine search results properly.

The case surrounds links to 2 car dealerships, which actually pointed towards the Trading Post website which competes with those dealerships.... Get the full story at www.accc.gov.au

Biggest Loser website sheds some weight
You might remember a while back I mentioned the online weight loss website www.biggestloserclub.com.au – well they've just released some great statistics on how their members are getting along.

Over the past 2 months their 3000 members have lost a combined total of 6500 kilos! (That's the equivalent of 140 thousand cheese burgers).

Gadget of the week – Laptop cooler
One of the biggest issues with using Laptop computers is that they can tend to get a little bit warm after you use them for a while.
There are a number of ways around this, but the latest is from Belkin and it's simply called the Laptop Cooling Pad.
The unit costs less than 50 dollars and simply rests under your laptop computer, getting it's power from the USB port on the machine to power a small fan that pushes the warm air away from the device.
The cooling pad also raises the height of your laptop slightly to help with neck strain issues and it's small enough to fit in your laptop bag....I could have used one of these when I was in L.A last week...spending hours on my notebook computer in the hotel room!
You can get more info on this device at www.belkin.com.au

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

www.deletedimages.com
Next time you're just about to delete a burry photo that hasn't turned out the way it should have...look again, perhaps it's a piece of art that belongs on this website.

When grouped together...the images on this site form a gallery of what appears to be legitimage, if not accidental art.

www.blabberize.com
Speaking of digital photos...here's a site that lets you have some real fun....just grab a digital photo of a friend...and have a microphone plugged into your computer.

www.gamearena.com.
Ok...If you're interested in seeing what exactly I'm up to over in L.A this week, this is the website to check out.

GameArena is Telstra Bigpond's Video Games community and on the site in the video section you can watch some of my hard work, finding out what's coming to the world of games in 2007 and beyond.

Feature Chat - Must have gadgets for International travel....

A digital music player...
Although in-flight entertainment has improved out of sight, there's nothing like bringing your own music collection with you to make the journey more relaxing...plus you'll find that the quality is generally much better than the music they pipe though the headphones.

Speaking of headphones...do get yourself a set of 'noise cancelling' headphones if you are travelling by air...it's amazing how much of the ambient aircraft noise you can get rid of so you can hear your music clearly.

A tri or Quad band mobile phone.
If you want to take your mobile phone overseas it needs to have the capability of operating on networks in other countries...
Most low cost phones are packed with the technology to just operate here in Australia, but look out for either a Tri-Band or Quad-Band phone...the later can be used just about anywhere in the world.

If you're worried about calls costs think about this...calling from yoru own mobile phone can actually be cheaper than using a hotel room phone...watch the charges on those, they are amazingly expensive with calls costing as much as 50 dollars to another country if you're not careful!