eStarling Addresses Product Issues

Yesterday, I talked about holiday tech meltdowns, and noted that many readers had been having issues with technology they had bought over the holidays. Such woes included WiFi picture frames being unresponsive, and mini helicopters catching fire when charging.

Here are some of the complaints from readers:

“… E-mailing pictures fails most of the time, the server responds with denial of service frequently because eStarling frames apparently sold well this season. RSS feeds didn’t update at all … duplicate pictures from the RSS feeds.”

- Thanks to John Jeandron

“… charging when we realized, as we were leaving, that it was on fire on the table …”

- Chris

Well, whilst Air Hogs (Maker of the Havoc Heli mini helicopter) were not available for comment (I’m still trying to contact them), spokespeople for eStarling contacted me back with statements.

Holiday Tech Meltdown, Holiday Gadget Horror Stories

Reports are coming in from readers of holiday purchases gone horribly awry.

It seems like some readers have bought gadgets as gifts, only to have their holiday dreams of gadgety fun cruelly dashed. Some gadgets have been more or less rendered useless, whereas others have even caught fire.

One example is of the eStarling WiFi digital picture frame (review here):

“Bought one of these for the parents, received in advance of the holiday to set it up and try out. All worked as advertised….until yesterday. E-mailing pictures fails most of the time, the server responds with denial of service frequently because eStarling frames apparently sold well this season. RSS feeds didn’t update at all yesterday and today there’s duplicate pictures from the RSS feeds. Uploading isn’t much better given the server times out and you can only upload 4 pictures at one time. Sad ending to what appeared to be a great idea and terrific gift…imagine a digital frame that the not-so-tech-savvy parents could enjoy. Keep imagining.”

- Thanks to John Jeandron

TheGrahamBaileyBlog Goes To New York

That’s right, the good ship TGB is headed to the land of opportunity - and gadgets. On a 5 day trip to the Big Apple, I’ll be headed across the pond to find as many new and cheap gadgets as I can, making the most of the exchange rate.

Over the coming days, I’ll be reporting on the various shiny new toys and various things I get up to, touring around the Big Apple.

Stay tuned (RSS is to your right),

Graham

Free BETA: Make.tv - Your Own TV Station

Coming January 22nd 2008, a new service called Make.tv will be launched, touting “a virtual TV studio that you can simply open in your browser – no software installation necessary”.

Now, on the surface, it looks like a hybrid between Podcasting, and JumpCut (an online video editing service). However, a ponder on their News blog reveals that this service is so much more.

Hit the link for more info & analysis, plus a signup link.

BETA: FyreTV

If you get your skates on now, signup for the BETA of FyreTV starts at roughly 12:15 GMT.

It is unknown as yet whether FyreTV is offering up a free beta service for trial, or just a cheap trial. Given their tagline “The Hottest BoXXX You’ll ever experience”, I assume this is a kind of subscription-based 18+ IPTV service.

Signup and more analysis after the jump.

A Darker Tomorrow

It’s been the subject of many science fiction tales across the years, but what exactly will happen in 45 years, when the first fossil fuels begin to run out?

Put simply, the world runs on fossil fuel – petrol and diesel, coal-fired power stations, plastics from oil – to exist. Chances are, you’re using a machine that was delivered by a fossil fuelled truck, made of parts shipped or driven, or flown on a fossil fuelled transport method, and made of plastic from oil.

We have grown our entire lives dependent on this fuel source, mostly unaware of the impending disasters that we may face when this drug runs out.