http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/communities/food_home.jsp?ccid=69 Reader's Digest Asia - Technology Thu, 03 Aug 2006 03:23:00 -0000 http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=767 Podcasting sounds like a tricky tech term, but put simply, it's a way of sharing audio and video files through the Internet. You simply download them to play on your iPod, MP3 player or computer at your leisure. Once you start searching, the volume and variety of podcasts available is mind-blowing. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=400 Take a peek at how the other half lives with one click: www.earthcam.com Watch the sun rise over London's Big Ben and catch the sunset from the great Egyptian pyramids or the Strait of Gibraltar. If your taste is a little more offbeat, you can see what goes on inside a lolly cupboard in Germany or by a water cooler in an English office, or observe the moon from the Canary Islands. For animal lovers there's an ant colony, a turtle farm in the West Indies or a chicken coop in the Netherlands. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=401 When was the last time you backed up your computer files? Data Recovery UK Ltd say 90% of home users never do it at all. But what if your hard disk packed up and you lost everything? http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=402 Mobile phones with built-in digital cameras could transform the humble holiday photo. Take your phone away with you and you can not only snap away without worrying about film, but also share pictures with family and friends before you even get home. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=328 If you've been bitten by the Sudoku bug, you'll want to check out www.sudoku.org.uk. As well as all the news from the world of the game, there's a daily online competition, with the offer of prizes and induction into the Sudoku Hall of Fame, plus the opportunity to discuss your addiction in depth with fellow sufferers in the forum. If, on the other hand, you live on a desert island and have no idea what Sudoku is, this site will explain and perhaps even convert you. (It's a puzzle on a grid of numbers, by the way.) There are full instructions on how to get started, including readers' tips and analysis from compiler Michael Mepham, as well as puzzles for all skill levels. Before you know it, you'll be exploring the delights of 3D Extreme Sudoku. Or not. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=329 It took four years of research and tinkering, but it was time well spent for Ameen Abdulrasool, 18. His invention: a navigational device that uses Global Positioning System technology to help blind people get around. It earned Abdulrasool, now a University of Illinois student, a grand prize, including a $50,000 scholarship, at the 2005 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Arizona. To work the device, a blind person needs a sighted person to input a starting and ending point. The device then calculates the course and gives verbal commands into headphones ("turn left one metre"). Abdulrasool, whose father is legally blind, has applied for a patent for his invention. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=110 Could this be a limitless source of energy? Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology has unveiled a urine-powered micro-battery, which can be used in diagnostic test kits for diseases such as diabetes. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=111 You've just purchased a digital camera. Should you set up and maintain a printer? Photographer Claude Lacasse thinks you're better off going to a professional to have pictures developed. Here's why: http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=35 The mouse is not about to be replaced, but the P5 Glove could give computer game addicts a thrill. Strap it on to your hand, plug it into a USB port on your PC or Mac (not yet OSX) and it reproduces your hand movements onscreen, allowing you to pick up objects or brandish a sword. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=36 The iTalk is a handy accessory for your iPod. It contains a small microphone and, when plugged into any iPod with a dock connector, converts it into a voice-recorder. Memos, meetings, lectures or songs a�� thousands of hours can be recorded then played back through headphones or downloaded on to your computer. There is also a built-in speaker. It's $47 from asia.apple.com http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=37 Sure, you want a fancy new mobile phone, but should it have 3G and Bluetooth? What about WCDMA and HSDPA? If you're feeling lost among all the techno-babble, here's a quick guide. http://www.readersdigest.com.sg/rd/rdhtml/en/magazine/mag_content.jsp?cid=38 The Internet can be a handy companion for movie buffs. Here are some sites cinephiles will love: