Ok, I know this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve come across a gadget that I think will make a great gift and with the awful summer we’ve just had, it’s quite topical too! Now you can appreciate the beauty of a rainbow without having to endure a downpour! The Rainbow Maker is a unique solar-powered device that will make the most of the sunlight, cascading a rainbow of colour around your room.  It’s never been easier to spread a little happiness and brighten up an otherwise dreary day.  A dazzling swirl of rainbows will lift your spirits, making you feel as though you’re in a psychedelic disco.Simply stick the Rainbow Maker to a window that receives direct sunlight using the suction cup provided, then watch as the built in solar panel begins to power the motor, which in turn rotates the real Swarovski Crystal underneath.  Now for the science!  The daylight we can see is made up from a multitude of colours, and crystals can ‘refract’ the light, splitting the light making its component colours visible to the human eye.  You won’t believe your eyes as it creates mini ‘rainbows’ that dance across the room.  It may be miserable outside, but you can create some positive Feng Shui inside and light up the room with this colourful little gadget.

If like me, you love to talk and are also a little addicted to the Internet, then you really should be investing some VOIP equipment. With Voice Over IP (VOIP) services, you can make phone calls - even long distance or international calls - for free.

Voip phones and other voip equipment can be expensive, but the good news is you don’t need to pay a fortune for a dedicated VOIP internet phone. The VOIP Talkie acts as a speakerphone and is fun alternative to the more costly Voip PC phones available. To use the VOIP Talkie, all you need is a PC and an Internet connection. You can then access one of the many free VOIP services and cut down your huge phone bills by talking through your PC instead. Simply attach the VOIP Talkie to your PC or laptop via your headphone speaker plug and it will work in conjunction with your Voip system to translate the analog signal of your voice into a digital signal that will travel across the Internet. Once it reaches its destination, the telephone or computer that answers your call will translate it back into an analog sound.

Boiling eggs should be simple, but how do you know when they’re ready? Whether you’re hard boiling eggs or you prefer a runny yolk to dip your soldiers into (sometimes kids food is so comforting!), it’s difficult to know how long to boil eggs for. Egg timers make the process easier and I’ve come across the king of egg timers! Egg-Per’Fect is a colour changing egg timer that senses heat, not time consistency to help cook perfect eggs regardless of egg quantity or altitude.It sits in the pan with your eggs while they boil and tells you when they’re cooked to your taste. Graduated scales show when eggs are soft, medium or hard by sensing heat instead of time. This egg timer has a sensor which accounts for the number of eggs, the amount of water and even the altitude at which your eggs are being cooked. Soft boiled eggs are exactly as you like them and hard boiled eggs are never left to boil too long.

Have you heard about the recent phenomenon for training your brain? Imagine discovering that your brain has aged faster than you! Well, with a bit of training, you could soon have a brain ten years your junior (theoretically!).  The challenge of this latest console is to reduce your brain age.  So if you need to give your brain a workout (I often do!) then check it out and find out for yourself what all the fuss is about.  I’d like to know what people who’ve tried it think about it because I could do with increasing my mental awareness and improving my memory (I have been known to get to the shop only to forget what the item that I so desperately needed when I left the house!)

The exercises are quick challenges that help stimulate your brain and you write your answers with the stylus on the touch screen. There’s a combination of arithmetic, reading and memory tests, and the program calculates your score in the form of a ‘brain age’ by assessing the speed and accuracy by which you perform these simple tasks. There are claims that this computer game craze could even slow the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease - if that’s the case, I’m certainly willing to give it a go!

You must have heard about the iPhone?  I’m not usually one to get swept up in the latest technological fad, but I can’t help being intrigued by this one.  Apparently iPhone combines a revolutionary new mobile phone with a widescreen iPod with touch controls.  Whatever will Apple come up with next?The iPhone will enable you to make a call by simply pointing your finger at a name or number in your address book, a favourites list, or a call log.  And it lets you select and listen to voicemail messages in whatever order you want - just like email.  The Apple iPhone may be just one lightweight, handheld device, but it’s not just a phone.  It’s also an Internet communication device with email, web browsing, maps, and Internet searching - all controled with just your fingers.

You know what it’s like, you think someone’s up to no good, but don’t have any evidence and you don’t want to risk the humiliation of a false accusation.  A Mini Spy Camera is a good way to find out what’s going on without being caught out.  Whether you hide a security cam inside your shirt for an ‘undercover operation’ or mount it next to a busy road for some surveillance in the open, it will tell you all you need to know.  I’ve come across one that measures a titchy 2×2x2cm offering an ultra-discreet way of keeping your home or business secure. It can be easily hidden and moved around to monitor activities up to 100 metres away (apparently they can even work through walls).

A very good quality colour lens with a sensitive microphone has all the features you need to be a covert spy (not that I’m suggesting for a minute that you use a security camera for devious purposes!). Basically, the Spy Cam consists of a camera and a receiver. Simply plug the receiver into your TV and attach a power source to the pinhole camera. The camera then sends packets of information such as video and sound via its 2.4 GHz spectrum to the receiver. All you have to do is switch your television to AV mode and you have full colour clarity and clear sound on your TV screen. So, whether you have a Mini Security Camera in the baby’s nursery, over your front door or above your shop counter, you’ll always have an eye on things!

We went on holiday with friends recently and my husband took his iPod, but forgot to take his speakers.  Luckily, our friend had packed his Tripod MP3 Speakers which were surprisingly good.  When folded away, the Tripod MP3 Speakers are so small and lightweight they could easily be mistaken for an aerosol, yet the sound quality was great.

My flowers always seem to wither away in super-quick time (not that I receive bouquets quite as often as I’d like to!) and I’ve tried everything to make them last longer. I fill the vase with lemonade instead of water and always cut an inch off the stem at a slant. This vase really appeals to me, because even if it doesn’t live up to its claims, it looks great!

My brother still has his precious collection of Star Wars figures stored in an old ice cream tub in his loft and he’s about to turn 35!  Although the films don’t have as much nostalgic importance for me, I remember them from being a kid and absolutely love the look of these chubbies!  Hey, I’m a girl - put a cute podgy slant on something and I’m there!

Personally, I don’t have a problem with spiders.  In fact, I recently shared a shower with a huge one on holiday because I couldn’t get the bathroom window open and didn’t fancy turning the shower on him!  However, I know for lots of my friends, spiders present a major problem.  That’s why I want to share the news about the Spider Catcher.  It may sound like a cartoon character, but it’s actually an ingenious gadget designed to remove spiders and other unwanted insects from your home.  There’s no need to squash the spider, leaving a horrible mess.  It works cleanly, quickly and without harming the Spider, making it environmentally friendly, humane and safe.It’s ideal if you’re fed up of balancing on chairs or contorting yourself into positions (as though you’re playing Twister) trying to catch these eight-legged pests.  The Spider Catcher has a long trigger handle which opens and closes the specially designed bristle head to capture and release the spider whilst keeping them at arms length (great for those with Arachnophobia).