Simon Rose re-visits one of his early episodes, recorded on 25th April 2016 with Share Radio's technology editor Steve Caplin. With the show opening with some very weird sounds, and continues to describe an online Thesaurus: years before the emergence of Artificial Intelligence! Then, the world's first smart clothes peg — you'll soon find out how far things have travelled over the past decade ..
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin warns holidaymakers to check their data allowance abroad, having saved a small fortune by using the Roamless app in Morocco. He loves some of the public's names for autonomous cleaning robots. American scientists are experimenting with robot seeing-eye dogs. Skoda, who made bikes before cars, have come up with a bell that works even if pedestrians are wearing noise-cancelling headphones. The singer Eddie Dalton, topping UK music charts, turns out to be AI-generated. There's a crowdfunded gadget that lets you use your vintage camera lenses digitally, while Steve admires a cheap multi-function pen. And he is impressed that Jeff Bezos's company Blue Origin has found a way to make oxygen from moon dust.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin is impressed by hydrogen fuel cells for trucks, but disappointed there are so few hydrogen stations to fuel them. There's a device for perfectly matching colour for hair dyeing. VR headsets will soon have added aromas to heighten realism. There's a robot that can keep functioning even if it loses all its legs. Cassette-manufacturer Maxell have a new portable cassette players for those who are into retro gadgets. A clever device being crowdfunded lets you pair your devices with TVs while away, as well as a smart night light Steve strongly recommends. But beware of economising on bike or scooter batteries as eBike fires are up 38% in just one year.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin is surprised to find that Amazon can amend or even delete Kindle books you supposedly own. He is less surprised at how ChapGPT assesses good literature. He is very impressed with a drone that captures everything in 8K without you having to pay much attention to what's in view. There's a gizmo that turns an ordinary watch into a slightly smarter watch. The new iPhone OS can zoom in on audio as well as video. Yamaha have a 3-wheel motor scooter, but Sony have given up on their much-heralded e-car. There's a crowd-funded digital camera designed to look like the old disposable Kodaks, a folding kayak and a spork with lots of attachments. And, in Shenzen, they now have a games arcade where you can control everything with your mind.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin discusses some of the features of Apple's updated operating sstem, including having the ability to talk to chatbots while driving although, worryingly, there will also be a curated "sleep" playlist. He craves a gorgeous red electric submarine. There's a cargo ebike with some interesting features. Be careful about telling the Gemini chatbot that it's wrong; apparently this causes it "emotional distress". A YouTuber has powered an electric car with thrown-away vape batteries. There's a crowd-funded robotic wasp which, suspects Steve, may not be all it is claimed. He finds himself able to resist a beer-filled transparent jacket, despite the two methods of extracting beer from it. And he discusses the world's first quantum battery.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin tells Simon Rose that AI agents can now rent human beings to carry out tasks they can't manage themselves. Brain cells in a petri dish have been taught to play the 90s shooter game Doom. BYD's Dena Z9GT can charge from 10% to 70% in just 5 minutes; unfortunately the UK doesn't have any of the required chargers. Tesco is experimenting with replacing bar codes with QR codes; Steve isn't convinced it will work. Pager sales have leapt in Russia after the internet was turned off. There's a collapsible cool box, a laundry chair with arms and a computer mouse that splits into half to become a game controller for your phone. And scientists in Edinburgh have genetically engineered bacteria to break down plastic bottles into a medicine for Parkinson's Disease.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin celebrates 50 years of Apple, a company which he claims has changed our lives in many ways. A man in Gibraltar has had his prostate removed by a surgeon in London using remote control. Some of the AI bots on Moltbook – thinking of founding a religion – are not happy it has been bought by Mega. The Society of Authors wants books to say if they have been written by humans or AI. There's a new mop that could be handy for murderers. Steve salivates over a solar-powered EV which probably wouldn't do too well in the British climate. He feels scientists who are trying to find a way to keep batteries cool might not have thought through their latest idea which brings water and electronics together. And scientists in Texas may have found a way to grow chickpeas – and thus make hummus – on the moon.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin says Apple have come out with a slew of new devices, the only interesting one being a new MacBook at a surprisingly low price. When three AIs simulated war games, they opted for nuclear war 95% of the time. Wearers of Meta's Ray-Ban AI glasses might be disturbed to learn that they are being watched by monitors in Nairobi, including while they have sex. The Tesla Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals; it also can't actually drive on roads yet. Google spinoff Beam offers high speed internet using light instead of cables. Surrey University has found a way to make batteries without expensive lithium while a Cornish firm thinks lithium will be a by-product of its geothermal power. There's a robot chef that can produce up to 500 dishes, but might take a while to clean afterwards. And a Finnish company is embedding retractable studs in tyres to make snow chains redundant.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin is dismissive of a robot that can fold laundry – very slowly and possibly needing remote human operation. More impressive is the forthcoming Dyson PencilWash electric floor mop. He is in tune with the Co-op in Sheffield whose freezers are attracting people who like the C#major chord they play. Scientists at Vienna University have created the smallest ever QR code while Microsoft's aim to store data on glass that will last millennia might have a small flaw. Steve explains why some video doorbells don't spot nefarious activity. There's a military-grade smartphone with thermal imaging and night vision. And the world's largest spherical building, modelled on the moon and containing a 4,000-room hotel is being planned. They just aren't sure where to put it.
Guests: steve caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin is surprised by research showing that children are mostly watching YouTube on television. 20 years on, the V&A is mounting an exhibition on YouTube. The GPT-4o chatbot, which served as virtual boyfriend and girlfriend to many, was turned off the day before Valentine's Day. Hollywood is nervous about the Seedance 2.0 AI video generator which has produced a clip of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting as realistically as if from a big-budget action movie. Somebody has paid a quarter of a million dollars for a toy car, though admittedly a Ferrari. A proposed airship wind energy system will need to rise up on a 2km cable. Apparently 1 in 15 cars have a ghost number plate that can't be read by traffic cameras. A crowd-funded badge will let you display photos or even videos. Elon Musk has switched his future city from Mars to the Moon. And Steve warns of a new "gifting" scam.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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