Introduction:

Many people haven’t been around enough years to recollect the earliest computer printers. These were very large, very loud, heavyweight and costly both to purchase and to have. A lot of the printers were filled from containers of messy liquid. Other models used powdered ink, known as toner, which would get on a person’s hands and also the printer. It’s no wonder printer users all over the world took to sealed ink cartridges. All that’s necessary is to remove the cartridge from its package and install it in the printer, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. From the beginning, Canon has been a leader in ink cartridge technology, and remains so today. Here are some details regarding a budget-friendly, but excellent quality ink cartridge: the Canon CLI-521BK.

Overall Score:

4.5 out of a potential 5.0 stars

Key Features:

This particular black ink cartridge is not only fade deterrent, but doesn’t smudge. Fade resistance is an important feature for many users. Fade resistant ink shields printed images and manuscript from UV light, rendering it possible for them to survive for several years, specially when printed on the appropriate paper and stored the right way. There are a variety of types of fading, including that caused by light, excessive heat, darkness, exposure to air and exposure to humidity. Some inks degrade at room temperature, especially those that are sold as “compatible,” meaning they do not carry the printer manufacturer’s brand, but rather the brand of a third party. Compatible ink cartridges usually produce a smaller number of copies and poorer image quality.

Price: Canon CLI-521BK Ink Cartridge

Roughly £10.00 to £20.00

Product Depiction:

The CLI-520BK is an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) inkjet cartridge manufactured to be completely compatible with a lot of the printers in the Cannon series. This product is a high-yield black ink cartridge, yielding anywhere from 1800 to 2400 copies, in accordance with utilisation. It is imperative to bear in mind that image or photo printing requires significantly more ink that simple text printing. For that reason, accurate production is complicated to guess at because numerous printer users print a mix of graphics and text.

Product Specs:

This cartridge has a capacity of 9ml and boasts the ChromaLife 100 system which upgrades the handsomeness and permanence of and printed images with an excellent mix of photo paper, dye inks, and FINE print head. The CLI-520BK black ink cartridge is compatible with Canon Pixma iP3600/4600 and Canon Pixma MP540/620/630 printers. The prints are resistant to smudges and water.

To obtain the most effective outcome from a Pixma printer, it would be sensible to use a Canon CLI-521BK ink cartridge.

Sony announced a new clock radio today, the enticing named ICF-C717PJ, the latest in a long line of consumer electronics. The ICF-C717PJ has a few tricks up it’s proverbial sleeve however, including a thermometer and the ability to project the time on the wall or ceiling.

The ICF-C717PJ can also show you the room temperature, and has five pre-programmed nature sounds to help you fall asleep faster. As far as waking up, the ICF-C717PJ gives you the choice of AM/FM, a buzzer, or music from your MP3 player. You can also chose to listen to nature sounds and wake to either the undersea world, waves, a mountain brook, or birdsong.

If you’re looking for the ICF-C717PJ in the US, you’re going to be disappointed right now; it’s initially planned to only be available in Europe. Sony also has yet to name a price at this time.

[via iPodnn]

I can’t think of too many use cases for this, but they did it: A team of researchers from the University of Tokyo (Japan’s MIT if you will) has developed a technology that makes it possible to “physically” convey emotions from cell phone to cell phone. The key elements of the technology are a sensor and a Peltier device that’s attached to the back of the phones.

When you start sweating and become emotionally agitated during a phone call, a sensor built into your cell phone detects changes in the electrical resistance of the skin of your hand (which holds the handset). This data is sent to the handset of the person you are currently talking with, along with the usual phone signal. Then, a Peltier device attached to the back of the handset of that person starts heating up, making him or her really understand you are angry, excited or surprised.

The researchers say there’s a time lag of just two seconds to convey the change in emotion. The Peltier device is able to heat up to 9C above room temperature, but it can also cool down to 3.6C below room temperature. In that case, you know the person you are talking with is either emotionally neutral or getting calmer again.

My apologies for the silly picture – there were no official pictures available.

Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

By David Ponce

That title is maybe an oversimplification, or not. Either way, Sugru sounds like a great product. It comes in a sealed bag and when first exposed to air, is the consistency of playdough or silly putty. As time goes by and it cures at room temperature into a tough flexible silicone using the moisture in the air. Working time = 30 mins. Cure time = 24hrs (3-5mm deep). It’s designed to “stick to as many other materials as possible. It forms a strong bond to aluminium, steel, ceramics, glass and other materials including plastics like perspex.”

[It's] resistant from -60°C to + 180°C. It gets hot and cold but it won’t get softer or harder or melt.It is is silicone, so it’s completely waterproof and durable outdoors. It’s easy to clean with soap and water, oh and It’s fine with sea water too! When sugru cures, it’s flexible rather than rigid. Which means that you can repair things that need to be able to move like textiles, cables, or shoes. And once it’s cured, sugru is pretty much like other silicones – durable in the harsh soapy conditions of your washing machine and dishwasher.

So what do you DO with it? Well, watch the video above.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ BoingBoing Gadgets ]

Fall is here, don’t get me wrong. It’s NOT time to start thinking about winter yet – no sir. However, let’s start thinking about winter.

I live in an old apartment in Boston and the radiator in my office is half the size of all the other radiators in my place. As such, it doesn’t put out much heat in the winter time and I’ve had to resort to space heaters (which I’m not too fond of) and Snuggies when it gets cold.

These micathermic heaters have caught my attention, though. They’re kind of like space heaters but they’re super thin and can be wall-mounted. I saw this particular one in the SkyMall catalog today and wondered if anybody that’s reading this post either owns this exact model or one like it.

The product description says the following:

Energy-efficient Micathermic Heater uses less electricity because it makes you comfortable sooner.

Micathermic heater uses 80% convection and 20% reflective heat to quickly warm all the air in a room so you’re more comfortable immediately. Silent operation and a 12-hour digital timer make this heater ideal for the bedroom. Includes adjustable digital thermostat to maintain desired temperature, and heats up in about a minute.

When room temperature reaches the desired level, the ECO function automatically cuts one-third of the power usage. Automatic overheat and tip-over safety shut-off. Includes casters for portability, but they can be removed so the panel can be mounted on a wall, if desired.

Wonderful, yes, I like where this is going. This model can apparently heat a 150 square-foot room – the exact size of my office. It all sounds a bit too good to be true, though, especially at $120. So my question to you, if you’ll humor me, is how well do these things actually work?

I can’t eat much ice cream these days. Sure I’ll have a cup of this or that but those weird, multi-colored popsicles I can’t do and most of the tasty treets in my grocer’s freezer are pretty much garbage. But how can I meld my love of tasty treets with good old healthy ice-cream unadulterated with day-glo colorants and propellants? By making my own Drumsticks!

What does it take? Nothing except being cool and having fun! For example, here are the basic ingredients:

Ice cream cones
Ice cream in your favorite flavors
2 bottles Smucker’s Magic Shell / Hershey’s Shell / Ice Magic or make your own! (recipe follows) – covers 6-9 cones
Nuts (opt.)

Homemade Magic Shell? Bestill my heart!

Homemade Magic Shell
2 cup (300 g) chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate
1 cup (200 g) of refined coconut oil
pinch of salt

Combine the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and nuke until almost, but not completely liquid. Stir to finish the melting.

For easiest use, pour melted mixture into a squeeze bottle. The mixture does not need to be refrigerated for storage. It will be liquid at room temperature in the warm summer months, and will be hard during the winter.

To reheat the Magic Shell, heat in the microwave (~ 40 seconds twice at 80% power), or sit the closed container in a cup of hot water for about 10 minutes.

The rest of the instructions are fairly simple – put ice cream in cone, etc. – but don’t forget to add the little dollop of secret magic shell at the tip of the cone. This ensures that the ice cream doesn’t drip all over you.