Introduction:

This page briefly lists some hardware which I think is cool enough to recommend, along with exactly why I think it's cool. I've added various links to places where you can get these bits of kit - but only if I personally recommend them.

Winter USB2.0 Card Reader (UISDMCX25W)

I got one of these from Ebuyer earlier this year, and I'm dead impressed - it cost less than £12, and has read everything I've thrown at it, quickly.

Searching for the model number (UISDMCX25W) on google, gives loads of results, some of which show the exact same reader with a sticker on the top selling for 3 or 4 times more. The datasheet, however, shows that they're made by Carry Computer Engineering Co, Ltd, and fully support the USB Mass Storage Class, meaning that no drivers are needed under most OSes, *NIX included. I've tried mine on Linux (2.4 and 2.6 kernels) and FreeBSD 5.2.1, with no problems whatsoever.

Buy from Ebuyer.

Cherry Slimline Keyboard

I have bought myself a Cherry G84-4100 Slimline black keyboard. It's very, very cool, with a few of the keys which Happy Hacker keyboards don't have, like PageUp that make life easier. Pic here.

Update (Jan 2006), since starting my PhD, I've bought myself another one of these. If you're looking for them in the UK, try Scan, and hope they don't ship it with citylink.

Etymotic ER6 Isolator Earphones

I've had these for a while now (about 18 months) and I decided that now was about time to add them to my gadgets page.

The are probably the most important invention ever when it comes to journeys on Uni' busses - just pop them in for an instant 34-36dB of noise supression - you actually can't hear anything at all with them in.

Another nice feature is that you can get different ends for them, meaning that if you don't like rubber ones (which are good, but not as comfortable as the foam ones), you can just swap them over. You can also get replacement earwax filters, and foam and rubber ends in various sizes.

For lower power audio devices, you might find that the high impedance of these 'phones causes trouble. If you do have problems, a headphone amp. might be what you need. I built myself a Cmoy one, which works great with my laptop. I don't, however need it with my newly acquired iAudio X5L (in fact, the volume and clarity are great at 50%).

I've found PJBox to be a good supplier of accessories in the UK. Although Etymotic parts are always overpriced. I'm afriad I can't remember where I got the actual earphones from, although they were definitely an import.

Nikon D50

I decided it was about time I got an SLR camera, and I'm really pleased with my choise - the Nikon D50. There are loads of reviews detailing the merits of Nikon SLRs, so I don't need to say anything but 'I love it'. See Ken Rockwell's review and DPreview's long spec-filled review.

For a good online photo retailer, see Pixmania.

Cowon iAudio X5L 30GB

I've had my iAudio for approaching four months now, and it really is great. Not only does the battery last at least all day, it can play Ogg Vorbis and FLAC files and it sounds very nice too. Accessories are expensive, and the standard included headphones are a bit crap, but that's par for the course. The X5L is a USB mass storage device, and uses a plain olde FAT32 file system, so you won't need any special software to manage it, regardless of OS. It even has a USB host port, although I've not needed to use it - yet.

I bought mine from Misco, who were fast, and very well priced.