A picture perfect gift this Mother's Day

I'll be the first to admit. As much as I'm a geek with electronic gadgets, buying my mother tech stuff hasn't always been the most brilliant of my ideas in the past. The last time I got her a digital camera, it took me a month convincing her to get started on it. That didn't even begin to include the numerous hours clocked teaching her how to operate the camera. So if you really must get your Luddite mum something tech, try simple. Like a digital photo frame. Most frames are easy to operate and require almost no intervention from the user. Best of all, it's a great way to display all those Kodak family moments and unforgettable vacation shots.

But don't just settle for any old digital photo frames. I like Viewsonic's new 7-inch DPX704WH digital photo frame (S$239 (US$157.24)) as it supports image, music and video playback, comes with a flash memory card slot, a remote control as well as clock/alarm/calendar functions. But the bonus to it is that for a brief month during this Mother's Day, Singapore customers get a free Swarovski Crystal Wrap to add some feminine sparkle to the frame. And who knows? Mum may just give that camera a second chance, just so to show off those snaps on the digital photo frame.

How to energize your gadgets (and yourself)

Talk about serendipity. Just yesterday Crave posted items on workstation fitness equipment and manually cranked chargers, and now there's a product that combines both concepts.

This pedal-charging device from Japan is like the under-desk Power Stepper but does it one better: Not only will it fulfill the forced laborer's daily fitness quota, but Gizmodo says it will also produce enough electricity to power mobile phones, media players, or any number of other gadgets. Just don't let your taskmaster boss find out about it, or he may make battery levels part of your performance review.

Via Crave CNET

Help mom digitize her old memories

For the woman who gave you life this Mother's Day, help her keep all her old memories with the Photograph to Digital Picture Converter from Hammacher Schlemmer. Looking a little like a small paper shredder, this device lets you feed in photographs which will then be converted into a format you can edit on a Windows PC.

We know what you are thinking--a sub-S$100 scanner can do exactly the same thing. But honestly, we don't think anyone will relish trying to teach their mom how to use a flatbed scanner and Photoshop Elements for resize and touch-ups. This solution is much simpler, even though it costs more at about US$150.

There's one caveat. We suggest you go hide or destroy those old Polaroids of yourself as a little child with your pee-pee exposed. Once your mom gets her hand on this product, you can be sure your most embarrassing moments will suddenly be available on the Internet for all to see.

Via Popgadget

Philips LivingColors now in Singapore

Just in time for Mother's Day, too. Philips' LivingColors, which we had a sneak of in March, is finally here in Singapore, outside of Europe. Even the US hasn't gotten it yet. So yeah, baby. As for our neighbors in Asia, only Hong Kong, Australia and China have been inked for regional launch this year, though no immediate rollout dates were mentioned at the press briefing today.

As a lamp, this remains one of the prettiest glass orbs we've come across, though it's really made of a sturdy polycarbonate transparent housing. As a mood lighting tool, this cool device (literally, as LEDs hardly generate heat) runs hot with 16.7 million colors. If your senses are daunted by the overwhelming palette, the Click Wheel-like remote (powered by three AAA batteries) fortunately has a function that's a lifesaver--an idiot-proof Random mode. This can be set to randomly cycle through 256 hues if you just can't decide on your color mood for the day and don't mind the discotheque effect.
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The Magic Wheel rolls around

What do you get when you decide that a bicycle needs only one main wheel while declaring that the seat and handles are useless? You get the Magic Wheel, which functions like a foot scooter but looks a little like an Andy Warhol installation art work.

We first spotted this odd transportation device while on our way to lunch and our first thought was that this was a little too late for an April Fools' joke. But shockingly, we found out it's an actual product and not a candid camera moment. Despite its unusual design, the distributor claims that it takes only a couple of hours to master the Magic Wheel. At S$349 (US$229.61) a piece, it costs as much as a full-fledged mountain bike and a lot more than a skate scooter. Though it doesn't look as irritating (or deadly) as Heelys and takes up less space than a bicycle, give us a pair of roller blades anytime.
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