That's Noice!

Did you hear about the Nuffnang’s Asia-Pacific Blog Awards? Have you nominated your favourite blogs yet?? *hint hint* ;)

Anyone can nominate, or be nominated, even if you aren’t with Nuffnang.

The awards ceremony will be held in Singapore on the 23rd October 2009. And if you are one of the Aussie bloggers invited to the awards they will pay for a 3 day 2 night uniquely Singapore experience inclusive of transportation and accommodation. How noice would that be?!

So let’s get behind our awesome Aussie talent and nominate your favourite…noice blogs!

Nominations close 13th September 2009

This is for all the social networking fans!

Craftsquatch sells social networking and other geeky pillows from their US-based Etsy store.

Even though I’m not a big Digg user, I think I like the Digg pillow the most. The Twitter bird one is a close second, though!

The pillows sell for US$16.99 (convert to Aussie dollars) and they now ship internationally with USPS First Class International.

You can also become a fan of Craftsquatch on Facebook.

Don’t forget you can follow That’s Noice on Twitter!

Are there times when you finish reading a great book and can’t find any decent suggestions on what to read next?

I always find it a tad difficult to get book suggestions online, but I’ve just discovered a nifty little site called The Book Seer.

It’s quite a simple concept – you type in the name and author of a book and The Book Seer will offer some suggestions on what you could read next. The Book Seer gets its data from Amazon, Book Army and LibraryThing but it’s handy to have an easy way to generate these sorts of lists.

I’m currently reading Down Under by Bill Bryson (for about the 6th time) and The Book Seer recommends a book from the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. Sounds like a good recommendation to me.

You can also follow The Book Seer on Twitter.

Monthly desktop wallpapers have become quite popular of late. I love changing my wallpaper every month, and some of my favourites lately have been from the amazingly talented Definatalie.

This month she has out done herself again, I think they are the best yet! I just love the colours, and the nifty little spots for neatly sorting your desktop icons.

The wallpaper comes in a range of sizes, along with a matching wallpaper for your iPhone. Visit Definatalie to grab yours!

We have had our Wii for a few years now. Games have come and gone,  spent a fortune, but the family favourite has always been Wii Sports.

So the kids were excited to hear that Wii Sport had been given a revamp with the release of Wii Sports Resort.

Wii Sports Resort comes with 2 of your old favourites golf and bowling, but there is also 10 new resort activities like Frisbee, Archery, Cycling, wakeboarding. Swordplay and Frisbee golf have been a big hit so far.

Wii Sports Resort comes with the new MotionPlus sensor that plugs into your regular Wii mote. MotionPlus brings a new level of precision, sensing gameplay movements with greater accuracy than ever before. There are a few other games compatible with the Motion Plus include Virtua Tennis 2009 , Grand Slam Tennis  and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 with more to follow.

Final verdict, the kids give it 2 thumbs up!

I’ve just signed up at Savvy Auntie – a site for those of us who have nieces and nephews, but no kids of our own (yet?).

It’s an American site, but I’m sure that a lot of their content will hold some relevance for us Aussies.

All I need now is some quality work-free time to sit down and check it all out!

I’ve tried multiple times to read e-books. On PDAs, iPods, e-book readers and my iPod Touch…

There’s alwasys somthing missing. Holding the book. Turning the pages.

That book smell.

I discovered the Smell of Books website, a parody site offering a solution with its aerosol spray. Scents include New  Book Smell, Eau You Have Cats and Crunchy Bacon.

Hmm, don’t know if I’d want my iPod Touch smelling like bacon, thank you very much.

But I wouldn’t be above buying something like this! I mean, you can get New Car Smell in a can, too.

What other scent would you want to have in a can? I’d totally go for the smell of my cat’s fur. And the smell of cupcake icing. And freashly baked madeira cake. How about you?

Last week I bought a Speck PixelSkin for my iPod Touch to replace the generic-branded skin that my beloved kitteh decided to nom.

I chose the Speck PixelSkin purely because they were on Catch of the Day for $20.00 each (they’re priced at $44.95 each on Apple’s Australian online store).

And I could buy it in bright pink. How could I resist?

I’m a bit clueless when it comes to my iPod Touch, but it turns out mine is Generation 1 and the skin is for Generation 2, so the fit was a bit too tight, but barely noticeable to the untrained (my!) eye.

The skin itself is chunkier than I’m used to, but I’m much happier having something to give my Touch some traction. I’m always terrified of my naked Touch slipping of my desk, coffee table or out of my hands!

I even bought one for the iPhone in preparation of the iPhone 3GS that I’m hoping to get at the end of the month. I would like to consider that as a forward-thinking moment!

There are SO many iPhone/iPod apps available, it’s hard to know which ones are worth it and which are just rubbish. I love checking out the app store and trying out something new.

Here are a couple of our favourites. Would love to know what your favourite apps are?

(all links open in iTunes and prices listed in $AUD)

Shopper- Shopping list app. Has some great features, allows you to group items by type and isle and you can set it up for different stores if you shop in more than one place. $1.19

eBay mobile- Everything (well the important stuff) in one Free app.Keep track of items you are watching, bidding on or selling. You can search and view auction as normal too. Free

TwitterFon- For twitter, I use twitterfon. It’s free, and also has a paid version. There are so many twitter apps available, just a matter of personal choice.

Games

Sally’s Spa- Totally addicted to this game at the moment. Help Sally build her spa empire giving massages, facials, pedicures and more.  I am aware how lame that sounds…but seriously fun game. $1.19

Bejeweled2- A classic puzzle game, match the jewels. $3.99

Touch Physics- A game to get you thinking.

The moron test- Highly addictive till you get it right, lots of fun watching others try to do it $1.19

Laura 5 fav apps…

• Flight Control
• Tetris
• Pocket Weather AU
• Solitaire
• Sudoku
  

So the iPhone fangirls and boys have been going ga-ga over the news about the new iPhone 3GS to be released later this month.

I have been telling myself for the last 12 months that I would get the next iPhone when it comes out. And now that the news is out I’m starting to panic about how much it’s going to cost me!

There are all sorts of technical jargon telling me why the 3GS (“S” standing for “Speed”, apparently), but I’m really just interested in the incrased megapixels on the camera (and autofocus! Finally!) and the improved battery life.

I already have an iPod Touch and I’m really looking forward to combining the technology in the bottom of my handbag to one spiffy device.

I have even bought a pink silicon skin for my new iPhone in preparation. How’s that for dedication?!

Us Aussies won’t get the iPhone 3GS until June 26th, and the three main carriers aren’t disclosing pricing structures yet. Gus has put together some Aussie information over at Lifehacker and you can check out a very basic comparison of the iPhone 3G and 3GS at the US Apple site.

Bring on June 26th, baby!!

I have been looking about for a comfy jumper for my new macbook, had come across a few in the US. But as usual, the postage was often worth more than the item. So I put a call out on twitter for something Aussie and Shan (go check out her awesome handmade cards) gave me an awesome link.

Foof makes comfy clothes for your macbook, iPods and iPhones. They are handmade right here in Australia.

It’s getting chilly, they need some winter warming too!

The sleeves come in a range of funky fabrics and start at $36AUD for a macbook sleeve and $20AUD for the iPod. The are lined with a lovely snuggly sherpa fleece.

I am having trouble deciding which fabric, do I get matching for macbook and iPod or different…decisions decisions.

foof shop

Ladies and gents, I present:

Yes. It’s a toilet roll holder with iPod dock and speakers.

Now I’ve *really* seen it all.

(I’ve been sitting here for 10 minutes trying to think of a good toilet humour joke to go with this, but no luck – any suggestions?)

EA Sports Active Personal trainer for Wii was released yesterday. I have been having fun the last few days trying it out (my quads however have not enjoyed the experience so much)

Lets face it, Wii fit is fun but it really fails as an overall work out. Bit of yoga and some fun mini games, you’d be hard pressed breaking a sweat. We have been waiting for a game to truly bring work outs and exercise to your Wii.

.

The game has been developed in collaboration with fitness experts, including Bob Greene – renowned exercise physiologist, author and Oprah Winfrey’s personal trainer. EA Sports Active is perfect for the whole family, though designed specifically for women seeking a simple, fun and cost-effective way to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

The game comes with a leg strap (to hold the Nunchuk when performing lower body routines) and a resistance band (for increasing the intensity of upper body routines) The game is compatible with your Wii balance board, but you are able to play the game just as well without one.

There is a great range of different exercises to target your upper and lower body as well as cardio to get your heart rate pumping. It allows you to select the intensity of your workouts, so you are in complete control of how hard you work.

I stared the game’s built in 30 day challenge. This gives you 20 different workouts ( it gives you rest days) each day giving you a good overall body workouts with a variety of different exercises.

It will predict the exact amount of calories your work out will burn depending on your personal details (height, weight, age) entered in your profile. It shows a counter through out your entire workout showing you the calories ticking over as you exercise..a great motivator.

I was not expecting much after wiifit, but it honestly gave me a great workout, certainly got my heart rate moving and I worked up a good sweat. I have done 2 days routines, both lasted about 30mins and burning around 200 calories on an intermediate intensity. Looking forward to completing the challenge, I honestly think if you stick at it and do the work outs correctly you will really see results as the end of the 30 days.

EA Sports Active is fun and easy way for anyone to get a great work out at home. If you have tried it out, would love to hear what you thought of it.

RRP is $100AUD for this game, but shop around. Many places had it for around $70AUD

Our fav Tshirt site of all time, Threadless has today announced their new range of twitter shirts!

They have launched with 4 designs, but you can submit your tweet design ideas for the chance to be printed and to win $500. Or you can nominate someone else tweet to win $140. The designs are scored by the community to decide which tweets get printed.

Looking forward to seeing some awesome designs!

Finding great clothes in sizes larger than 14-16 can be a struggle at times. Major retail chains are catching up and stocking designs in larger sizes but can still be a struggle, especially for younger women (and those that are young at heart ;) ) lets face it, some of it is down right horrid!

We still have a long way to go here in Australia, as usual we are well behind other countries in the products we have here on offer. There are still some gaping holes in what is on offer for the curvier chick, and if you do manage to find something it usually costs a small fortune.

Here I have put together a list of some Australian retailers selling plus sized fashion online.

Australian Plus Sized clothing

• Sara / Ezibuy
  
• Entitled
• Dream Diva
• Plus Sized Clothing
• City Chic
• Kivalin
• Under cover wear (mail order but you can order online)
  
• My Size
• Postie (mail order)
  

Some other great sites that aren’t Australian but you can still pick up some great deals in their sales.

• Evans (UK)
  
• Torrid (US)

Would love to hear any other sites/brands you may know of, let me know in the comments.

Because our phone line is in the kitchen, our hallway is lined with those lovely blue networking cables to reach our internet-accessing computers and gaming systems in the loungeroom.

Belkin has released an interesting networking alternative with the Powerline AV Starter Kit. In a nutshell, you plug in their nifty doo-dahs into power sockets in your house and voila! Networking using your powerlines and now more ugly networking cables!

Each kit provides 2 adapters, roughly the size of a short and fat external hard drive. At one end we plugged an adapter into a power board and used the supplied networking cable to plug it into our router. At the other end we plugged the second adapter into another power board and into the back of our switch. Straight away, everything was working as it should. We haven’t specifically tested Belkin’s claims of transfer speeds of 200Mbps, but after several days of testing we are yet to see any noticeable decrease in our transfer speed.

Shopbot quotes prices between $204.00 and $244.00, so it’s not exactly a cheap networking solution, but for those of us who despise all those blue cables running through the house, this product is just what we need.