Dr. Andy Stanford-Clark explains how he solves everyday problems with thinking that focuses on the idea of a smarter planet, often with existing technology. His house Twitters and now, so does the Red Funnel Ferry line that he uses to commute from his home on the Isle of Wight to the IBM Hursley Lab.

Andy’s work with Home Automation is slowly revolutionising the way we interact with objects and devices we own. With the ability to globally remotely control and monitor anything from a light to the temperature or water meter reading in your home, home owners and consumers are able to better control or maintain those things in their lives that are important to them. The implications on an industrial level are staggering, with huge potential for enhanced efficiency and cost reduction.

This is another one of those “must have” gadgets for which the cool-factor far outweighs the usefulness factor. The Logitech Professional Presenter R800 is a wireless remote control for running PowerPoint presentations. The remote has various timer and vibrate settings and an LCD display so that you can pace your presentation and monitor your remaining time. With a maximum range of 100ft you can roam the room and interact with your audience all you want with much fear of losing control of your slides. In addition, the remote displays signal strength of the connection to the USB wireless transmitter so you’ll know when you are about to go out of range.

The R800 is also packing a high visibility green laser pointer. Green lasers are a huge improvement for laser pointer as the beam is much more visible especially useful where you can’t dim the lights. All this is run on 2 AAA batteries so you don’t have to fuss with rechargeables unless you want to. You’ll have to justify $99 for this super weapon. N.B. Warranty void if surgically attached to sharks.

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