Star Trek at 50

Can I talk about the 50^th anniversary of Star Trek?

I’m already in my 50^th year as I write, so the franchise has been part of my life for a long, long time. However there was a period, maybe in the last 10 years where my suspension of disbelief was completely absent.

I think it was while I was watching an old episode of ST: TNG I couldn’t see past the fact that these people on screen were actors on set delivering lines to camera. I got hung up on the ridiculousness and the earnestness of it all, so much so I had to stop watching.

More recently however, I’m back to viewing episodes in the correct frame of mind, pulling up favourite TNG episodes and catching the remastered Original Series episodes on CBS and enjoying them as intended.

Talking of the remastered OS, I think the updated visual effects worked well in context.

For example, the episode “The Doomsday Machine” is one I saw at an early age and probably made the most impression on me as a child. On the remaster, they show the scale of the machine versus the Enterprise as the crew try to disable it. This is pretty much how I imagine the writer of the episode imagined the encounter to be, hampered only by the limitations (and budget) of visual effects at the time.

Later series tried to capture this too in their own way; the Enterprise D swinging out of control, the Defiant manoeuvring like the Millennium Falcon.

I'm not alone in my anticipation for the new series Star Trek: Discovery airing next year. Trek has been absent from our screens for too long.

The Lix 3D Pen

So, the Lix pen. For those that don’t know, this is the result of a much delayed Kickstarter campaign. Amidst much acrimony from backers, the small team behind the Lix pen finally delivered mine after backing the project 27 months earlier.

So I’m happy to report that after all that time they pretty much pulled off the original promise of producing the world’s smallest 3D pen.

The upmarket feel of the pen starts with the premium packaging. Pulling the lid off the stylish box reveals the pen nestling neatly in high density foam. Under the pen is the power adaptor and a UK 3-pin plug adaptor. There are tubes of spare black and colour filament which is accessed by pulling on a little ribbon tab. Very neat.

The original pitch for the pen was for a device that would run from a standard USB port. The team have gone half way to achieving this as the power adaptor is indeed USB, but a 2A supply, suggesting the Lix might not run from a standard 500mA USB socket. I haven’t been brave enough to try it on a laptop in case the current draw fries something, so I’m sticking to the supplied adaptor. It should be noted that Lix ships a neat branded adaptor instead of the generic type you might expect.

My Lix came in smooth black anodised aluminium and is slightly longer and slightly fatter than a regular ink pen. The machined knurled grip has two buttons – more on those later – and a matching black clip in steel at the top.

The tip seems to be stainless steel, topped with a black steel mesh heat guard. At the opposite end are two holes – one for the barrel-type power plug (the Lix pen USB philosophy doesn’t extend to micro-usb) and a hole in which to feed raw filament.

Connecting to the USB causes a strip of 4 red/green LEDs to blink each colour in turn – a kind of self test to show everything is powered and ready. Because the pen accepts ABS or PLA filament which each have different melting points, the initiation of the heat for each type of material is set by pressing one of the buttons in for a couple of seconds, lower button for ABS, upper for PLA. Otherwise, the pen stays in standby and cool. For ABS, the LEDs show red, and for PLA, green. The strip of four LEDs present the increasing temperature one LED at a time and only when all four are lit does the pen allow the feeding mechanism to start working.

The pen came to me pre-loaded with some filament and during the warm up time some of this was extruded from the tip. I’ve discovered this is normal and happens every time as a result of the natural expansion of the molten material, but is a little disconcerting the first time.

Of course the tip gets hot – very hot – but it’s easy to nip off excess plastic without burning your fingers.

Now comes the moment of truth – can I draw in the air, in 3D, with this pen? Short answer – yes! Long answer – like drawing on a sheet of paper, it kind of depends on your artistic talent of which I personally have very little…

The extruded plastic material takes a few seconds to cool to hard after emerging from the tip, so if it’s straight lines you want, you have to apply a little tension to the 3D line you are trying to create. This can be a little tricky in 3D space, to pull the line in the direction you want without introducing a bend along the way. As a result I found it best to keep straight lines to a couple of centimetres or less. Again it is down to individual artistic talent and confidence using the pen in 3D.

Starting a new line on existing material needs the application of a little technique, basically to melt the material before starting a new extrusion, then finishing the ‘thread’ on another bit of plastic, where the molten material coming out the tip readily melts – and crucially – sticks fast. Rather like a plastic-spinning spider in fact.

Over a few minutes use the pen gets quite warm. Longer and the pen gets quite toasty around the grip. Lix advise 15 minute sessions and they’re not wrong – the barrel of the pen gets hot to the touch meaning the interior is very hot perhaps where it shouldn’t be which perhaps is the cause of the pen’s main failing – the feed mechanism.

Considering all of the pen – the heating element, the electronics, the power, the feed motor – are crammed into a pen barrel, it’s remarkable the pen works at all. It’s only when you have a jam in the filament feed the frustration with the pen surfaces.

I’ve encountered jamming basically with each new filament, and only with considerable pressure applied to the filament sticking out the top (or with a fresh rod of filament) has got the pen going again. It’s frustrating and wasteful of filament but so far I’ve been able to recover the pen back to working every time, perhaps sacrificing 3cm of filament in the process.

When it’s working, it works well and allows me to sketch in thin air some splendidly spindly geometric nonsense which is exactly what it’s for.

After writing the above review, my Lix basically stopped feeding filament on it's own, prompting me to take it apart. Stay tuned for the teardown photos!

New posts incoming!

It's almost embarrassing how long ago the last post was made, however after careful consideration, I'm returning to the blog for a number of reasons.

First, I got majorly distracted by a new hobby - 3D printing. There's a link to my Shapeways shop on the blog, but it has taken up a lot of my time both designing and promoting my stuff but another outlet (this blog) won't do any harm.

I set up a Facebook page to talk about this kind of stuff. You know what? No one ever sees it. Facebook pages simply don't show up in Google searches, and folk don't use Facebook like Google search.

If I post here I can easily share it on social media anyway.

I haven't looked at the Yearplanner for a long time. I'd just about used up my knowledge of VBA and Excel, and for reasons already mentioned, haven't devoted the time to enhancing it's functionality further. But I still use it myself every year ;)

Over the last few years I have a decent following on Twitter, but I'm guilty of using that platform (and Instagram) for promoting my 3D print designs. I can use this blog to more effectively talk about stuff I love, hopefully direct some followers here for an insight to the Tweeter.

Lastly, I read other peoples blogs which kind of gives me the impetus to write more,

P.S. I had considered moving to Wordpress... but I have a decent body of stuff here so why change?

Keep an eye out for my review of the Lix - the worlds smallest 3D pen!

Radio Minimal

No, not a radio channel dedicated to the works of Philip Glass (although I'm fairly certain one exists, somewhere), but a simple radio rig utilising an iPod Nano and a pair of X-Mini MAX capsule speakers.

Now, these aren't going to blow your socks off, especially coupled to the Nano's anaemic maximum volume, but they're sufficient for a little personal sound if, as I have been doing all weekend, working on DIY projects indoors and out.

They can't be driven hard anyway - the sound just gets too brash, but as an alternative to expensive one box bluetooth speakers, these give adequate sound plus better stereo separation.

The Nano's FM reception is better with headphones, but the curious mini-USB L/R input cable just about picks up enough signal for decent out and about radio.

And of course, there's the backup of your music selection on the Nano itself should the radio become too tedious.

Sharpie Liquid Pencil

This does what it says on the tin: it's a pen, that writes like a pencil, but doesn't have a lead that can break or needs sharpening.

I got mine off the shelf in Hobbycraft (they have a big Sharpie display) and immediately after unpacking, I noticed a tiny bit of sealant on the nib - something to watch out for when opening a fresh pack.

It feels very much like a smooth ballpoint pen when writing, actually quite pleasant, but the marks it leaves behind are graphite grey which is a very odd experience initially. Sharpie claim a #2 lead - HB - but I'd say it was more a 'B' (#1) in weight.

There is a little unevenness in the line weight of the markings, but this is consistent with using a pencil. Like a ballpoint, the line thickness is defined and doesn't alter as you write. I find if you don't use the pen for a while it does dry up a bit, but like any ballpoint, you can get it going again with a quick scribble on a scrap of paper.

The top of the pen has a prominent eraser - like those you get on mechanical pencils, except this is exposed and not under a little cap. There's a good reason for this - it feels natural to rub out mistakes with this pen, and it works, too. Because the 'lead' is quite dark, erasing isn't quite as successful as it can be with a regular pencil but effective nonetheless for the odd correction. After a couple of days, your writings become permanent.

With the twin pack, Sharpie include six spare erasers - I dare say to see out the life of the ink. In reality, any eraser will do.

This pen has a nice silicon grip on the barrel - the only odd design choice is that when the nib is clicked down, the top clip clicker assembly is loose... to be fair the buttons on most biros are like this but still it's a bit odd.

The Sharpie Liquid Pencil ultimately is a product no-one was asking for - pencils, mechanical or otherwise are cheap, easily available and work. Apart from addressing the issues of broken leads and sharpening... these are things you just get on with while using a real pencil.

Mr Fixit

As one of the office 'Computer Guys', I often get called upon to fix other people's computers. More often than not, they tend to be laptops.

This time it was a faulty Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18M.

The fault was with the GPU, a nVidia 8400GT. This is a well known fault - Sony and nVidia admitted fault and extended the warranty to 4 years after purchase.

Of course many folks may just be encountering the fault (like this example - dashed lines across the screen with a failure to boot or get stuck in a restart cycle) and may be beyond even the extended warranty.

There are few, if any, guides for stripping down this particular VAIO on the internet.

So I decided to write my own, and it can be found here (PDF). File hosted by box.com.

The guide describes how I repaired the GPU with a paint stripper. Yes, a paint stripper. It was an all or nothing fix.

Rather incredibly, it worked. 

It's in the bag...

Click for the big picture

Seems the thing to do if you run a tech site is to write about what you carry about in your bag on a daily basis. And while 'run' might be a bit optimistic for MyGadgetLife (more like 'curate'…) I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and post about the stuff I carry about with me pretty much everywhere.

First up is my trusty Swatch Irony. And it is an irony, since it's constructed mostly from aluminium, making it extremely lightweight and comfortable to wear. I've had this watch for nearly fifteen years - it keeps perfect time, is water resistant, has a stopwatch and tachymeter markings. One day I might figure out what they're for…

Next is my Nintendo 3DS. I love this for it's sheer quirkiness. Not only are there three cameras on board (the stereo pair at the front and one rear facing), there are no less than six - count 'em - six status LED dotted around. Astounding. What were they smoking when they designed this thing? "Only 5 LEDs? Are you quite MAD?!? More LEDs dammit!" But in Japanese. 

The 3DS is more than just the 3D - there has been some significant evolution between it and it's predecessor, the DSi. I'm talking about the 3D still and movie abilities, the augmented reality abilities (in 3D, natch), the gyroscope, the analogue stick, the drop in charging cradle. The ability to receive stuff while it's sleeping… neat. Oh and let's not forget the Mac-a-like 'snoozing' LED when you snap the lid shut.

Currently [still] playing Advance Wars DS.

Moving on, then. A simple aluminium case for caring my work permits and passes. Available from Muji.

Below that, an iPod nano. This was acquired through Apples nano replacement program late last year. The old nano… well the old nano was a great piece of engineering what with its classic polished stainless steel and lucite casing, scroll wheel and postage stamp sized screen. So when Apple announced potential problems with the battery and could we please send our (pretty much mint condition) Original nano back, well it was done with mixed feelings. So while I appreciate Apples' generosity in replacing the nano Original with a new model (and let's face it, they can afford to do this), I can't help the feeling that our old nano might end up in MOMA and that I might have to pay to see it again.

To go with the nano, there are my earbuds. In this case a pair of Ultimate Ears MetroFi 220s. These I purchased when massively discounted from their RRP. They sound great, significantly better than my old Sony EX71s and a pair of Sennheiser buds that make my ears hurt. The white earbud case is one I designed myself and had 3D printed. You can get one for yourself over at Shapeways.

Next is my Messograph pen, with built in Vernier calliper. For those times you absolutely have to know the dimensions of something to the nearest 0.1mm. Actually, this is a really well made item - chrome plated brass for the angular barrel, finely machined brass innards and aluminium clip to finish off. I like the little copper coloured rivets that hold the clip in place. As a pen, it's a bit awkward to hold, but the gas pressurised ballpoint writes nicely enough. Get yours from Cultpens.

The Sandisk memory stick is only 2Gb, but is stuffed with Portable Apps. With Inkscape, Gimp and Open Office, there's very little you can't do on any PC you happen to be near.

Up from that, a Kingston 16Gb memory stick, for, y'know, stuff.

The little Amzer micro-USB cable reel neatly avoids any cabling tangles at the bottom of my bag. Amazon.

That purple thing? A multi card reader. It cost a pound. A single GBP. And, yes, I did worry it might fry my $1000 laptop before plugging it in for the first time. But it didn't, it works great and so far hasn't dumped it's payload of malware. I am of course kidding… or am I?!?

Ok along from that is my Android, yes, Android powered Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S phone. Much better than the old HTC Magic. Has an 8Mp camera and does 720p video. Has a great screen and even the battery life is acceptable. It's a great phone.

Last is of course the iPad. If you hate the iPad and everything Apple stands for, I suggest you stop reading now.

I can't stress enough how transformational the iPad is as a device. As soon as it was announced I knew - just knew - that it would change our relationship with 'computers' for good. Now, of course, there are many, many competing devices of similar form factor and function, so the following equally applies to them as well as the iPad.

I pretty much use the iPad for all the main software categories - gaming, photos, music, movies, internet, email, calendar, books, interactive books, maps and productivity. That last category covers things like writing, photo editing, music creation and editing PDFs.

All in a sleek, solid state, aluminium and glass enclosure. Remarkable.

Apple's camera connection kit, pictured alongside the iPad let's me pull images off SD card and, curiously, allows me to attach a USB MIDI keyboard to interface with all that lovely music software.

So that's my bag. It keeps me amused, informed, entertained, creative and enlightened. All in one place.

Yearplanner V4.0 available

22 November 2017: Hi folks! Thanks to everyone who's downloaded and enjoyed my year planner macro over the years. I have had reports that the macro does not work under Office 2016 which until now I have not been able to test. As I write, the macro (V4.1) works unchanged on a new Office 365 install on a Mac. However if you have another workbook open it will fail with a 'Subscript out of range' error. I promise to fix this in the near future! So, close all other open workbooks and try again.

It's taken me a while to get around to updating it, but here it is, Yearplanner Maker V4.0!

This update streamlines the Control Panel dialog, but more importantly introduces a new feature: split years. So if you begin a chart in June, it'll run to May the following year.

I've included a security disclaimer/guide for those struggling to get it to run under Excels' default macro security settings (tip: you need to turn security off).

In addition, there's a few lines describing the basic use of the Control Panel.

Tokyoflash Seven

Movie props. I love them. Particularly those from science fiction movies.

It's hard, of course, acquire genuine props, so I keep a keen eye out for good quality replicas. It's handy if they're low cost, too.

I often think of the Playmates Star Trek toys - which were toys, but sufficiently detailed and 'working' as to make them closer to props than some of the wood and rubber mockups often used in filming the TV episodes.

In that vein of owning a nearly-prop from an instantly identifiable movie franchise, I leapt at the chance of picking up one of the latest creations from the freaky watchmaker, Tokyoflash.

You see, they've only gone and made the Tron watch. Only it's called the Kisai Seven, down to the obvious licensing restrictions.

Amazingly, the watch is the result of a design submitted last year, and had such positive feedback that Tokyoflash took the concept and made it real.

But show anyone (ok, any geek) this timepiece doing its thing, and they'll say Tron watch, so good is this non-prop. (They'll also say 'Er, so what time is it?' More on that later.)

It's so 1982

Don't be put off by the plastic casing as it's actually of very high quality. In fact, the whole construction of the piece is very good, comprising of smoked inserts on the face, metal side panels and buttons to the right. The Kisai logo is laser etched on the clasp as well as the lefthand case panel.

The plastic part of the case curves halfway around the wrist and while this may sound cumbersome, it really isn't. I have those thin wrists that demand a regular leather watch strap be pulled to the last but one hole most of the time. But the rigid bracelet offered here seems just right. The strap length is altered by literally snipping off any excess material and refitting the clasp components.

Chunky

While I had one, worrisome,  shot at doing this, I managed a snug, comfortable fit with little movement up and down the wrist. The lightweight nature of the watch helps here. Tokyoflash do state that if you botch up the strap fitting they'll send you another strap free of charge.

Getting back to the bracelet style watch face, there's a very good reason why the case extends around the wrist in the way it does. It's because it contains part of the timekeeping display.

Behind the smoky circular lenses are arrangements of LEDs - the inner ring showing the hour, the outer ring the minutes in groups of five, with the actual minutes counted off on the LEDs in the bracelet.

The effect is great. It's straight out of Tron. It's Sam (or Kevin, depending which generation you're from) Flynn's watch, and he's right there, on the grid.

Echoing the functionality from their earlier Pimp watches, Tokyoflash have added the facility to have the watch glow selectable from 5 and 30 second, or 5 minute intervals.

This feature can be quickly turned off and on via a button combo, and to be honest it's something I don't use that often. I prefer the old school press a button to light up approach. Actually - for a Tokyoflash piece - this watch keeps relatively good time.

The watch is powered by a Lithium Ion cell, which allegedly allows it to run for 30 days. Tokyoflash's neat solution to charging is done by undoing a tiny screw, then plugging the watch into a USB port. The charging process is shown on the LEDs within the strap. 

Where the designers have misstepped slightly is in readability of the time. Nothing to do with how the time is represented - that's straightforward enough - it's the lack of distinction of the LEDs through the lens that is the problem here. A little brain training does the job as is usually the case with watches from Tokyoflash.

The time is, er, 12:17?

Produced also with blue LEDs, the Tokyoflash Seven makes a highly distinctive and unique timepiece.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the Kisai Seven is listed as sold out on the Tokyoflash site - probably due a limited initial production run.

But it's worth checking in from time to time (no pun intended) to see if this cool non-prop is back in stock.

Face Raiders

I couldn't find a quick answer after a spot of googling for the following problem: how to delete a face from Nintendos Face Raiders on the 3DS.

I found the solution after a spot of prodding the buttons: what you have to do is choose Face Collection, choose the face to delete, then press and hold X then press A.

Now you have access to various customisation options, including delete.

I know - it's probably in the manual. But who reads manuals?

10 years of iPod

I skipped posting about the passing of Steve Jobs simply because so many others wrote so much better than I ever could. But it was indeed a sad day.

Better, I think, commemorate the arrival of the ubiquitous iPod.

Except, 10 years ago, it was a niche hard drive based mp3 player in a fledgling market dominated by the Nomad Jukebox and Archos Jukebox.

Unlike these players, Apple presented their player as a slim Lucite and stainless steel encased jewel, to be handled only with white cotton gloves.

Ok, so the last bit's not true, but this player did kick off a whole industry in aftermarket cases that continues to this day.

I think I had probably got an email flyer from Apple announcing the iPod - I knew there and then I had to have one and pre-ordered one straight away. This is the only gadget I have ever pre-ordered.

At that time I was using my most excellent Sony MiniDisc MZ-R55 for portable music.

The truth was, that having just acquired an iBook, I was ripping more and more of my CDs to the harddrive and listening through iTunes (which existed before the introduction of the iPod, fact fans), and it was getting increasingly cumbersome to get stuff onto MiniDisc. That and the fact that MiniDisc, as a format, didn't really solve the problem of transporting a goodly selection of music around - the discs actually being fatter than the CDs they replaced.

It's worth noting that Sony did beef up MiniDisc with the addition of higher capacity discs and USB connection to PCs, but it was too late to stave off the assault of MP3 players in general.

If I have one regret it's that the iPod just did not sound as good as that Sony. In fact, the MiniDisc was one of the best sounding portable players and could probably hold it's own today. Pity it was such an inconvenient format.

That MZ-R55 went for a pittance on eBay, but I still have the iPod. It still works, holds some charge, and more importantly, syncs with my current iTunes 10.5 library. I'm using a beast of a firewire cable to charge it right now. Take that, weedy iPod touch cable!

I've also just done a little compare and contrast and, yes, the original iPod still sounds weak. So does the Macbook Pro, surprisingly. No, the best sounding device I have is the not so portable iPad. Funny, that.

Ok, so...

...I've gone and done it.


That's right, I've joined Twitter, so help me.


Follow if you dare with the button on the right.

HP Touchpad Hands On

Ok, so I literally spent about two minutes with HPs ill fated Touchpad down at my local PC world.

First impressions - yup, it's a little bulky and carries a real heft... but I think that was more down to the security device and umbilical attached to the back of the unit.

Honestly, other than the smooth plastic casing that makes up the rear, it didn't feel much different from my iPad. But my iPad is a first generation product, and next to iPad 2, the Touchpad faces stiff competition.

Anyway, I was keen to try WebOS, the operating system under which the Touchpad runs.

Initially, the experience is very pleasing - smooth transitions and animations greet you as you prod and swipe your way through the user interface. The photo viewer worked as expected but the pinch to zoom gesture suffered by being a bit laggy but not by much. But, it has to be said, laggier than our old iPod Touch which operates on much inferior hardware.

How about the web browser? Well, the pulsing 'opening app' icon is certainly reassuring - it tells me that the machine hasn't hung and is in fact doing something.

Not quite sure what it was doing, because it took at least 10-15 seconds to show the browser window. To be honest I wasn't counting because I didn't expect it to take so long. 10-15 seconds? Really? For the browser?

At this point I got caught up the the stores' wifi encryption and couldn't proceed any further without the assistance of a purpleshirt.

But anyway. 10-15 seconds to open the browser?

Now, to be fair, this is mitigated by the fact that the calendar and photo apps opened much quicker and it's easy to swipe between them. So you could endure the wait for the browser once per session and just jump between the stuff you have open. It's much better than Apple's home button double-click approach, as it actually looks like a multitasking UI.

As I said, this was just a few minutes of hands on with an eagerly anticipated device.

It's a real shame HP have decided to ditch the Touchpad so soon after launch. WebOS holds much promise and is sufficiently fresh and different from iOS that those seeking non Apple or non Android options for tablet computing would be more than satisfied with this offering.

iPad App of the Week - NodeBeat HD

I discovered NodeBeat [iTunes link] by accident after seeing it demoed on Youtube.

Based on the idea of note generators and receptors, the app offers a quick and easy way to make pleasing sounding ambient audio on the iPad.

My video below gives you an idea what it's about.

Actually, it was while playing around with this app I was reminded of an old Jean Michel Jarre track, Arpegiator, from the Concerts in China album. See what you think [iTunes link].

Perfect Storm

When nice weather arrives, you just can't resist the allure of running around the garden with a water pistol. Ok, there are plenty of other ways of enjoying the sun, but bear with me here.

Now, this isn't any old water pistol. The Nerf Tornado Strike takes its style cues from something you might find in or around District 9, the white, blue, and day-glo orange aqua armament being as satisfying to brandish as it is to look at. Sporting a detachable shoulder stock, the Super Soaker feels reassuringly sturdy as you run around the garden SWAT style.

Unlike most fill-at-the-tap water pistols, the Tornado Strike utilises a interchangeable water clip system so you can truly lock and load - carry several for extended soaking sessions.

The weapon is primed with a chunky forward grip with which a single pump will unleash a spinning torrent of the wet stuff. It's range is satisfying at several metres and woe betide anyone caught up close.

But as much as I like the water clip system, it's capacity is limited, only offering 5 or so full blasts before a refill is required. Which kind of defeats the purpose. All Hasbro had to do was throw in a spare clip. Admittedly, it wouldn't make that much of a difference, just that the action of swapping an empty clip for a full one during the heat of battle would double the fun instantly.

Luckily, spare clips are available on Amazon, so I may pop over there before the sun shows it's face again.

And alas, as I write, dark clouds are forming on the horizon. Typical.

Shuttling off

What's this? Two posts in as many days? My eyes!

I didn't think I needed to write about this, but seeing as it's one the biggest, most complicated gadgets the world has ever seen, I though it apt post some words on this day.

Of course, I'm talking about the Space Shuttle, and the successful launch of Atlantis - the last ever shuttle launch - not more than about two hours ago as I write.

To echo other comments I've read online, I'm surprised by how emotional I've been about the whole thing. I think it's because, like the space race generation before me, the shuttle launches have taken place over a large proportion of my life.

It seems that, with the ending of the Shuttle programme, and the ending of supersonic passenger flight in the shape of the Concorde, the world is taking retrograde steps in the progress of mankind.

That's not in any way belittling the advances in other fields of science - medical progress, the development of portable computing power - personal phones, tablets, really quite powerful battery operated computers - these were the stuff of science fiction when the shuttle first launched in 1981. I don't think we even had a home computer back then.

But the image of the shuttle stack sitting on the launch pad, the sheer brute force of these engines - in my mind represented the ultimate in human endeavour.

So despite being surrounded by small tech - great tech - I'm saddened by the loss of one of the greatest technological feats in our short history.

There are some exciting technologies in the pipeline, I'm sure, but I don't find the same attachment to BDBs* as a delivery mechanism.

And the world is a poorer place for that.

*Big, dumb boosters

The littlest 'bot

I stumbled across Robo-Q at a local discount store - they had a pile of them selling at 8 GBP so just had to pick one up, er, for research purposes of course.

Tomy's Robo-Q claims to be the smallest autonomous robot. There's no denying he's small - measuring just 3.4 cm tall - but a robot? Let's see...

Like these indoor 'copters, Robo-Q charges his tiny battery from the handset. Like Apple's magsafe connector, the little contacts on his belly attach magnetically to the corresponding nodes on the controller. He takes quite a long time to charge - up to 20 minutes - which is disappointing, since his run time is short at only a few minutes per charge.

The [noisy] controller has a few simple controls; a sliding speed control, a left/right control and a button marked 'Auto'. Robo-Q lives in a bubble within the controller itself when not in use, ready to be deployed when needed. Well, not really - see 20 minute charge, above.

Robo-Q himself is kitted out with two IR transceivers, two little arms that can be 'posed', and two little legs that do the walking.

His motive force is provided by two tiny actuators, aka coils, in his legs, and the design of the foot allows him to shuffle forward as the feet flick back and forth. Steering is done by flicking one foot more frequently than the other.

But Robo-Q rarely walks straight - often employing a graceful curve before heading over the edge of the table.

This is where the handy controller comes in - you can manually steer Robo - and one can only imagine the unbridled fun it must be to have two different Robos in the same room independently controllable. Remember the discount store I mentioned earlier? That's right - they only had the one model all operating at the same frequency... so no Robo-Q footy world cup for me.

That 'Auto' button on the controller does just that - it sends Robo-Q into a wall-seeking frenzy. Or rather, it's an aversion to walls - he steers clear of such obstacles, the idea being that, like some lab animal, he can negotiate his way out of a maze.

Of course that's bollocks - unless your maze is uniform and white (but not too reflective) the little bugger will ignore most things you put in his path and instead pounds his little head into that box of tissues you thought would work.

Similarly, he can be ordered to 'follow' an object - well mostly his oversized, multi-faceted 'ball'. This he has some fun with this before kicking it too far and losing interest.

Uh oh. Your five minutes are up. Batteries flat. Time to charge up again.

So enjoy my short vid of Robo-Q in some maze action. Soundtrack by me courtesy of Garageband on iPad. Sorry.

You can find a much better video here.

And if you want more, you can watch the crazy Japanese promo here.