Brilliant tech for around the home, plus I test the Miele Boost CX1, a compact new vacuum cleaner. Full disclosure: those are not my stairs pictured. Mine are now clean but it's a vacuum cleaner not a magic wand...
Sarah Vine's Femail podcast: Elon Musk buying Twitter
Chatting with Sarah and Imogen about why Elon Musk wants to spend billions of dollars on Twitter and what it might mean for the rest of us. Listen at 17:43 for 13 mins of chinwagging. Yet again, I rabbit on and help make her Femail Half-Hour more like 40 minutes. Oops! 🤐
E&T: May gadgets
An online special tech roundup this month, including gadgets to revolutionise everything from games to houseplants. Also check out my hands-on review of the Obsbot Tiny 4K, a webcam with built-in gimbal to track you.
E&T: April gadgets
Gadgets galore plus I test the Bissell Pet Stain Eraser with help from my dog, two cats and 12 rescue hens. That's not me pictured: people with 15 pets don't have white carpets, no matter how good the gadget.
From the school archives
Ha! My friend Penny found this in the archives. Early gadget girl work from the eighties. I was 14, I think. Note not just the nerdiness but the comms skills of knowing what big ticket items would be to attract students to the fair. Technology, robots and lasers, oh my! Top illustration by Henrietta too, I'm glad she signed it!
BBC London: Mini Food Banks
3D artist Sean Rodrigo and I talk about Mini Food Banks. This one is used to connect donations for our local food bank PL84U Al-Suffa in Waltham Forest, east London.
E&T: March gadgets
The latest technology plus my hands-on review of the Kokoon Nightbuds headphones you can wear in comfort through the night for sleepy sounds.
BBC Radio London: Mini Food Banks
Talking live about Mini Food Banks with Anna O'Neill on the Vanessa Feltz morning show. This link should work for 29 days if you'd like to listen! (from 1:42)
Sarah Vine's Femail podcast: NFTs and the Metaverse
Great craic with Sarah and Imogen as I attempt to explain the basics of virtual art, blockchain and whether to buy virtual designer clothes. Listen at 19:47 for more than 12 minutes of bants. Oh god, am I personally responsible for making her half hour nearly 40 minutes this week?!
Pictured: 'The First 5000 Days' by Beeple, which sold as an NFT at Christie's for $69,346,250.
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| Beeple / Christie's |
E&T: February gadgets
The best healthy hi-tech tech kit for the new year, plus my hands-on review of the Coros Vertix 2 outdoorsy watch that talks to all the satellites.
Wired recommends: Binoculars
Binoculars for all occasions tested by me for Wired. And now they actually have bylines so I have a Wired author page. Yay! I love an author page, makes it much easier to find my stuff.
E&T: January gadgets
An online special tech roundup this month, complete with videos of the products. Also check out my hands-on review of the Aqua Optima Aurora, a gadget so powerful it can persuade teenagers to make their own drinks.
E&T: December gadgets
The latest and greatest tech, plus my in-depth review of the Razer Kraken BT Kitty Edition kawaii headset.
ALCS elections
If you're a writer, please consider voting for me in the ALCS elections. (And if you're a writer but not an ALCS member, skip to the end of the post for why it's worth joining!)
I have experience on committees of all shapes and sizes, from lobbying and campaigning to reviewing financials and navigating complex ethical and strategic decisions. I'm hard-working and I play well with others.
As an author, I understand the diversity of ALCS members and our wide-ranging needs. I’ll also work tirelessly to expand opportunities and support for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic writers, women writers and LGBTQ+ writers whenever possible, because the playing field is far from level, in life and in publishing.
There's also an election for AV writers (film, TV and radio) and I would humbly suggest Paul Powell is a great candidate for this.
You should have had an email with details of how to vote online securely. That takes you to statements from all the candidates. If not, try http://cesvotes.com/alcs2021
Finally, if you write for a living and aren't a member then do join the ALCS. It's a not-for-profit that distributes secondary royalties to authors, campaigns and lobbies on our behalf and much more. Members include authors, journalists, academic writers, screenwriters, scriptwriters and visual artists. Thank me later!
*book launch klaxon*
My new book The Gadget Show Big Book of Cool Stuff goes on sale TODAY. It's real. It's on Amazon and everything!
Featuring Craig Charles, Georgie Barrat, Ortis Deley, Jon Bentley, Jordan Erica Webber, Chris Haslam, Paul Henderson, Rob Waugh and lots of me.
https://www.blackdogonline.com/product/the-gadget-show-big-book-of-cool-stuff/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gadget-Show-Book-Cool-Stuff/dp/191216535X/
Ideal Home: Boiling water taps
Six of the best for making cuppas, Pot Noodles, formula and more in a trice. But which should you replace your kettle with? Read my boiling water taps roundup or you can find it and more on my Ideal Home author page.
Just one week to go...
Just one week till my book The Gadget Show Book of Cool Stuff comes out. Excited and v proud to see an early copy... yes I was already wearing the T-shirt!
Featuring Craig Charles, Georgie Barrat, Ortis Deley, Jon Bentley, Jordan Erica Webber, Chris Haslam, Paul Henderson, Rob Waugh and lots of me.
Pre order at Black Dog Press or Amazon.
The Gadget Show Big Book of Cool Stuff
Ooh! My book is out 14 Oct. Pre order on Amazon now. Contributor details on my Twitter. It has an Amazon page and everything. Must be real!
E&T: August gadgets
Every month, the gadgets pages now go online, hurray! So you can enjoy my August column and also my in-depth review of the Gigabyte Aero laptop.
Another award!
Admittedly it's not an Olympic medal, but fab to see that our E&T Magazine gadgets team won another Tabbie Award!
Ideal Home: Steam cleaners
In-depth tests of the latest models from Bissell, Black & Decker, Hoover, Kärcher, Polti and Vax. Alternatively, they're all linked to from my Ideal Home author page.
Daily Mail podcast: John McAfee's legacy
Me talking to Jim White, standing in for Andrew Pierce, on the Daily Mail podcast (from 29:57) about the legacy of tech pioneer John McAfee.
By the way, this Wired piece, about how Vice magazine once gave away his secret location in Guatamala, is a great read.
E&T: July gadgets
See also my in-depth review of the Majority Audio soundbars. The rest of the gadgets are now online too, hurray!
Sarah Vine's Femail podcast: QR codes in restaurants
I'm so-so on ordering with a QR code but I do like to book my (outdoor) table via app and it is *always* a birthday! Listen to the Femail podcast from 19:44... did I change Vine's mind?
E&T: June gadgets
See also my in-depth review of the Proscenic T21 Smart Air Fryer. Back in May I reviewed the Prima Projector too, but the other the stories were app only.
Evening Standard: Mini food banks
They say "never become the story" at journalism school. But I never went to journalism school. So here's a piece about the amazing 3D-printed mini food banks popping up in Walthamstow, one of which is in my front garden!
It's also on my Evening Standard author page.
Zoopla: Spring cleaning
All I want is someone to look at me like that pup looks at her...
Read my pick of the best spring cleaning tech for 2021. Also live on my Zoopla author page.
Zoopla: 2021 Tech
Read about the Queen, the silver screen and more. It's going to be the year of the garden cinema, I swear. Just do it and thank me later!
Evening Standard: WFH
Tech for better coffee, easier smoothies and looking better on Zoom. From yesterday's Evening Standard p17.
Evening Standard: Home tech of 2021
Look better on Zoom, watch a movie in the garden, get fit in your living room while a robot does the cleaning. Welcome to 2021... The piece is online here or on my Evening Standard author page.
Land Rover Magazine 40: Kit
A long time in the making, but the latest issue is out and it's purty. The entire magazine is beautiful and well worth a read.
Daily Mail podcast: Pointless emails
Me talking about the environmental impact of emails on the Daily Mail podcast, from 12:20. Better that I do it than someone who thinks sending one less email a day equals doing one's bit...
Ideal Home: Clothes steamers
A great big test of handheld and floorstanding garment steamers by a scruffy freelancer who grudgingly irons school uniforms and not much more. My clothes looked good that week! Read which ones were worth buying here.
Evening Standard: Air purifiers
Breathe easy at home now that it's too cold to leave the windows open. In fact, your air will be much cleaner than that outside! The piece is online here or on my Evening Standard author page. Meanwhile, enjoy!
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