Homes and Gardens

It’s been a while since I have looked at an Freeview HD PVR, in fact I have never looked at any TV device from Pure, a huge name in DAB radio. This unit is a twin tuner PVR and it can also connect to the Internet via Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

This is a device that could persuade me to clean windows more often. As I live in a bungalow height is not a problem, the main problem is that previously when cleaned they look no different than they did before I cleaned them.

For anyone of a certain age this was an iconic brand when you still paid 7 shillings and 6 pence deposit when you got a syphon of soda from the off licence. Long before you could buy a bottle of soda water from a supermarket.

With CCTV being everywhere perhaps it is time to consider it for inside or outside your property. This offering from Swann offers a wide angle view from a single static camera so you should be able to know who has called. It is quite a small unit at 12x7x5.5cm and this includes the sun shield. The bracket is 9x4.5x3cm this is fixed to the units base.

The first is something to aid the placing and fitting of hook in walls etc, in fact it’s the perfect complete kit of items. The second is something I will never wear in anger but maybe if you are half my age these are serious trekking shoes.

Having recently looked at larger TVs from LG and Samsung it seems only right to look at another of the major manufacturers Toshiba, while most will think of Toshiba for notebooks they also do TVs and other home items.

Having reviewed TV recording devices from early VHS tape devices through most other methods including those using external memory sticks and hard drives this still came as a shock because of the unit’s sheer lack of size.

It is time for a breakfast break as I indulge in a heavy session of consuming toast and coffee.

The first could be used in the car or for accessing those hard to get to corners it comes with a rechargeable battery. The second to spice up your house lighting, these LED bulbs produce any colour you want from an App.

While all of the UK has now gone Digital there are a significant number managing on a simple device to import and view the signal, a lot are discovering that their video recorder now just does not function anymore.

Another title could have been drill or screw. The first not only does what you expect from an electric drill but a little more The second will screw and unscrew either or both could make excellent Christmas presents for those who use such items.

Even after the clocks went back most people are having to rise for work in darkness and while most will still be reluctant to get up in daylight you often need another pressure – other than your bladder – to get you from your bed.

An Internet camera can be a useful remote access security device for when a home or office is unoccupied. The Trendnet TV-IP672WI is a high resolution model for indoor use with pan and tilt movements and so can provide useful coverage over a wide area. Having wireless connectivity, one or more of these cameras can easily be added to one’s network to provide useful surveillance that can be monitored over the Web.

A couple of weeks ago I told you about two sets of Bathroom ‘personal’ Scales. Here are two sets of Kitchen Scales both from Salter a neat single scale and second bearing the Heston Bloomatile name a jug that converts wet and dry weights.

Hoover is a brand name from Wales as well as being a generic name for a vacuum cleaner. Here is their latest offering called The Globe which has striking resemblance to a recent upright cleaner offering from Dyson.

If like me you find bathroom scales hard to read then either of these offerings from Salter may well have the answer. The first has a magnified display that stays on for a while once you step off. The second is all glass with large digits.

Fancy viewing UK TV anywhere in the world? Fancy viewing live TV anywhere in your home – even when the aerial is nowhere near -? Want to record but not use the PVR in or near your TV? All these things are more are possible with the PCTV Broadway 2T.

Switching a light on or off remotely via your iPod Touch or iPhone is just a very basic feature available in this product. The ability to do it from one hundred or one thousand miles away makes this a far more interesting feature.

Washing machines, fridge/freezers, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners and steam irons were just some of the products on the agenda as I embarked on a trip to the IFA show in Berlin.

A small unit that can be left to record movement and also record sound. It sounds like a James Bond type device. Well now it is available at a price that can tell you who came to your door while you were out or even while you slept.

First a rucksack that charges items while on the move, second a four gang surge strip that also allows you to charge USB devices. The first uses light to charge the second normal mains power but protects your items from surges.

Not everyone has a workbench -- and even those who do, will often find that having a portable one is a great convenience. The Bosch PWB600 portable work bench is a solidly build unit that is both easy to erect and to fold up again for easy transport and storage.

A recent trip to the London Book Fair was to see the launch of a new book reader. However when walking round waiting for that presentation I found a very interesting stand with a number of gadgets to aid book reading.

I have come across some non descriptive names before but the one above tells me only one thing, it’s from Bosch. It is a tool for tacking things to things most normally a fabric, plastic or paper to a solid surface such as wood.

I suppose you could call this next product, a multi-function device as it will wake you up and charge up to two other devices.

Two tools for different jobs that can help you do them without disasters. The first locates those hidden things in walls like pipes and cables so you don’t screw or drill into them. The second allows you to get a straight line to work from.

The first backed by the RAC gives a variety of ways for people to know you are there as a motorist, cyclist or pedestrian. The second from the USB kings in Hong Kong Brando that can sit on your desk or childs bed table to give that beam of light.

With care and a decent recipe anyone can make acceptable bread, the trick with a Breadmaker is that it can work while you sleep – rather like a baker – so you can wake to the smell of fresh baked bread for breakfast.

The first such device I remember using was a Sunbeam Mixmaster and that was certainly more than fifty years ago. So how have such machines developed and evolved over that time scale, certainly they have a lot more tools.

Not a totally new name to me as I have looked at a couple of sets of headphones from them last year but this is something different environmentally friendly rechargeable batteries, not just the fact that rechargeable is more friendly than single use.