miasma the spectre haunting europe

A gadget to my mind is something that aims to improve your life in some way through a imaginative technological fix and probably looks good to boot.
All of the items below are typical products of whimsy being splurged out of the current myriad of gadget blogs. Once you think on their so called USP’s it becomes patently obvious the best decision would be to steer well clear of them.

Wooden radio

A radio made of scrap wood. Although you are expected to shell out $155 for the privilege of owning it, nothing in Gizmoblog refers to it’s audio or reception capabilities. A truly gorgeous looking consumer item with possibly some remote allusion to environmental friendliness.
If you have more money than sense, please buy one and let me know if it’s any good as a radio.

Wifi detector watch

The paraphenalia we should carry around with our laptops makes the reality of an office on the move laughable. This watch with built-in wifi detector certainly looks like a step in the right direction.
Gizmoblog says it’s detecting abiliities only extends to indicating current wifi signal strength. As it does nothing more than old wifi detectors did five years ago, it is rendered virtually obsolete as most key urban areas are flooded with an electromagnetic smog of encrypted wifi signals. These days a wifi detector showing what networks are publicly accessible is the only thing that will pass muster.

The “Love Mattress”

Initially this item on Fresh home looked like a winner. We’ve all been there. Arm around our loved one and eventually having to turn away before the appendage loses circulation once and for all. This mattress is made of narrow strips of (presumably) some man made material covered in fabric. All you do is put your arm, foot or whatever else that sticks out between two mattress slats and it supposedly cancels out the dead limb effect thereby giving you extended cuddle time.
The possible advantages of this innovation seem worse than useless when you start considering it in practice:-

• Special bed frame: Without a frame to surround the mattress those strips just won’t stay in place.
• Cleaning: Removing then refitting umpteen bits of fabric. Could be a nightmare to do.
• Nocturnal athletics: When things start heating up overnight you may spend most of your time wrestling with stray pieces of mattress instead thrashing about with your partner.

And like the other two products something I would really have considered buying. That is, if I put my mind in neutral before pulling out my credit card.