Just to help you inch just a little bit closer to that cloak and dagger lifestyle, I’d like to offer 4 Windows Mobile downloads that you can use to transform your regular mobile phone into an honest-to-goodness cool spy gadget.

Cool Spy Gadget #1 – A Room Bug To Record Conversations

In many countries and in many situations, it may be illegal to record a conversation without the knowledge of those involved. This is at least true if the conversation is being transmitted over the phone. If this is illegal in your country, don’t do it! Otherwise, if you just happened to leave your cellphone laying around in a room where there just happens to be an interesting conversation going on, that’s not really your fault now, is it?

NoteM is a Windows Mobile app that is supposed to serve as a voice note-taking tool, but left recording in an inconspicuous place, it could pick up some very interesting conversations.

This software is a simple recorder, and it doesn’t do anything fancy like ftp the file to your web server or email the audio to you automatically, but if you install a 2GB or larger storage card in your SD (or micro-SD) slot, you’ll have plenty of storage to save hours of recorded audio without a problem. The screen on the left is before any recordings are created. Just press the red “record” button and walk away. Recordings are stored in MP3 format in whichever directory you choose.

Cool Spy Gadget #2 – See In The Dark With Sonar

It may seem like science fiction, or something you’d expect to see on Ghost Hunters, but with SonarCE you can transform your Windows mobile phone into your own personal sonar device. The way this application works is that it emits the sonar signal from the device speakers, and reads echo to the microphone. It’s pretty impressive, and according to the programmers it is accurate at, ” around 5-10 cm at distance of 10 m.”

During my own testing with an older model Cingular 8125 running Windows Mobile 5, I found that it was a little difficult to get used to, but what I really liked was the cool screen.

The one annoying thing about this mobile app is that it requires a little bit of tweaking in terms of scale. However, there’s an automatic “search offset” feature that goes through a cycle of pings and calibrates the device for you. The website features a useful setup guide that’ll help you at least get the sonar working to the point that when you move close to an object, you’ll notice the difference on the sonar display (even if you don’t really know anything about how sonar works).

Whether or not the tool would ever be very useful is debatable, but I suppose if you ever find yourself in a completely pitch-black room and you don’t want to crash into any objects, this cool little mobile app could help. Beyond that, it’ll at least be a very neat feature to show your friends and family how cool your phone is.

Cool Spy Gadget #3 – Disk Encryption Software

Every spy needs a safe place to store sensitive data, and the best way to store your critical files that you don’t want anyone tampering with is in a hidden, encrypted “virtual disk” that no one can find or access but you – with the appropriate key.

To accomplish this task, a neat free application called FreeOTFE4PDA will do the trick. The software supports a long list of encryption algorithms and supports various cypher modes and security tokens. Your volume will be created without a signature – virtually invisible to anyone looking for it.

Configuration is fairly simple, as you can see from the screens above – and it works well by simply using all of the default settings. However, for security experts who understand and are looking for a product that offers deeper security, the functionality is there. This is one of the best free applications out there for completely encrypting any data that you want to store and transport on your trusty mobile device. If you don’t understand data-encryption though, skip installing this app because you could make entire folders disappear without being able to retrieve them again.

Cool Spy Gadget #4 – Remote Video Streaming

Recently, I wrote about using VZOChat to integrate videoconferencing into your blog. One of the items in that article that I touched on was setting up the videoconference with your Windows Mobile device configured as a webcam, transmitting your end of the video while you talk to your blog visitor face to face.

However, another very cool use of this software is to convert your mobile device into a video and audio surveillance gadget. This may not be very practical over the cellular data line because first of all, you could rack up some crazy data use charges, and secondly the quality of the video won’t be that great (as you can see from my example in the blog article). With that said, you could configure your phone with VZOchat and then set it up with the camera pointed at the room that you want to monitor.

The software will pick up sound from the microphone, so you’ll be receiving and transmitting both. All you have to do is make sure your phone is connected to the Internet through your Wi-Fi network and that the VZOChat software is running (it doesn’t have to be connected yet).

Just make sure the software is configured on your phone to automatically accept incoming calls, as shown above. Then, go to another room or anywhere else where you have an Internet connection (it doesn’t have to be on the same home network), and go to your VZOchat account. Keep in mind that you’ll need two VZOchat accounts -  one account for your remote connection, and a different account for your cellphone. Go to the video call page for your cellphone profile, and you’ll see the call button as shown here.

The moment you select “Start videochat“, you’ll establish a connection with your remote mobile device that will trigger both the camera and the microphone to activate – recording everything that’s going on in the room and streaming it over the Internet directly to you. Here, I’ve set up my cellphone as a remote webcam in the living room to keep an eye on who keeps stealing the TV remote control. Looks like someone already stole it…

The screen you see above is what I saw on my PC across the property in our other building. I could keep my cellphone running in this room in order to watch and listen to everything that’s going on. With a cellphone just left lying around somewhere, no one would ever know that you’re using it as a surveillance device. Again – make sure that this sort of activity is legal in your area and in your situation!

All four of these gadgets offer some cool ways that you can transform your Windows Mobile device into a fun and exciting gadget that you can use for far more than just making phonecalls and checking your Facebook account. Do you know of any other cool Windows Mobile apps like these? Have you tried any yourself, and what do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Image Credit : Dunechaser

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The following tips may be best understood if you take out your camera and its manual and try out the suggestions as you read this article. If you don’t have or can’t find your camera’s manual, you can go online and download a PDF copy of it from the manufacture’s site.

The illustrations used in this article are based on the Canon Powershot G9, but I will point out features that are typically found in most point-and-shoot and compact cameras.

Basic Settings

1. Setup Menu: First off, know how to find the setup menu on your camera. Most cameras come with default settings that you can customize for your particular needs or the way you shoot. Look in your manual to find out how to access your camera’s setup menu. Notice what kind of menu changes can be made with the control dials on your camera and the menu settings that you can bring up and select through your camera’s LCD screen. Some cameras, for example, will allow you to change the exposure mode of the camera with a dial on the top or on the back of the camera, while smaller pocket-size cameras will require you to open a menu setting to make those changes.

2. Date and Time Stamp: Most cameras come with quick instructions for how to set the date and time stamp in your camera. If you haven’t already done so, be sure your camera is stamping the correct date and time on your image files. This bit of information (or what is called metadata in the digital photography world) can be very useful for archiving and managing your photos.

3. Review Time: One of the best features about digital photography is the ability to review photos after they are taken. The default time for reviewing an image may be only a couple of seconds, but you typically can change that time, making it longer or shorter. Look up the word “review” or “play menu” in your manual to find out how to change the review time. I have my photos display for 6-8 seconds. This gives me enough time to consider if I need to retake the shot.

4. Picture Count: If you never want to miss a good shot, you should know where to find the picture count for your camera. Typically it can be seen on your camera‘s LCD screen when you review the images stored on your image card. Based the size of your card and the resolution settings you’re shooting in, the camera will display the number of photos you have shot. When you set the camera to take a photo, the number of captures you have remaining that your media card can hold should be displayed on the LCD screen.

5. Format Your Media Card: When you fill up a media card, it’s best to reformat it instead of erasing the image files. Avoid filling up your card completely. Change the card when you only have 5-10 captures remaining that you can put on the card. Also, don’t allow your computer or software application to erase images for you. Reformat your card on the camera itself after you have securely imported and backed up your photos to your computer. Look up the word “format” in the index of your manual for specific instructions.

Advanced Tips

6. Turn the Flash On/Off: Most with cameras come with a built-in flash. Your camera‘s automatic features may cause your flash to fire when you don’t want it to; for example when you’re shooting in a shaded area. So learn how to manually shut off and turn on your camera built-in flash. If you’re shooting in Automatic mode, you most likely will not have the option to turn off the flash, and in that case you’ll need to choose another shooting mode (like Program, discussed later) in order to shut off the flash.

Likewise, if your photos are coming out a little blurred, it means that you may need the use the flash or increase the shutter speed on your camera. If you can’t do the latter, it’s best the turn on the flash for that will automatically increase your shutter speed to 1/60th of a second, which is a better speed for holding a camera than at say 1/10th of a second. (I will discuss flash later in a longer article in this series.)

7. Shooting Beyond A: Most beginning photographers shoot in automatic mode. There’s typically a dial on your camera with a green Auto icon indicating that mode of shooting. When you shoot in automatic mode you’re telling your camera to make all the decisions about exposure settings when you take pictures. Your camera will read the amount and type of light coming into the lens and hitting the sensor and it will make the best guess for setting the exposure.

But if you learn how to shoot beyond the automatic made, you can have more control about those settings. Even you don’t understand what aperture and shutter speed means, you can more easily learn how to use Program mode, which is discussed in the next step. But in order to do this, you need to know how to change the shooting modes of your camera.

8. Program Mode: The first step to getting beyond Automatic mode is to use Program or P mode. This mode is similar to automatic in that it sets the exposure settings for the picture you’re taking; however,  in this mode, you can control better how much light is allowed to enter the camera. If you shoot a photo in Automatic and then shoot the same subject in the same lighting condition in Program mode at their default settings, they should look pretty much alike. But in Program mode, you can use what is called Exposure Compensation to adjust for lighting. Look up in your camera’s manual how to change the shooting mode to P or program.

9. Exposure Compensation: Okay, here’s the hardest feature you’ll learn in this series of tips, but it can make a big difference in the quality of photos you take. If you noticed that some of your photos come out too dark or too light, or that they just seem flat, you can use exposure compensation to adjust for lighting. To adjust for lighting, you can use what is called Exposure Compensation. You can only use this feature in Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or Manual Mode. It is typically deactivated in Automatic mode because, remember, you’re telling the camera to make all the decisions for you.

Look up the term, exposure compensation, in your manual and find out how to use it on your particular camera. It is typically a meter with a plus/minus scale for increasing and decreasing the amount of light coming into your camera.

In these two photos (both un-edited), the top one is shot in Automatic mode, and the bottom one in Program mode. In the first one, the image is slightly under exposed. With the second photo, using exposure compensation, I was able to allow more light in thus getting more detail on the subject (my daughter.)

Even if you don’t understand aperture and shutter speed, if you learn how to use exposure compensation then you can have more control over the lighting exposure of your camera. So right after you read this article, find a subject and practice with the exposure compensation feature. With digital photography, you’re not wasting film, so you can practice, practice, practice, and not have to spend a penny extra.

10. Self-Timer: Often times if you’re the main photographer in your family, you most likely don’t get yourself included in many of the photos you take. So learn to use the self-timer and a tripod so that you can take photos that include you, the photographer.

Also, the self-timer is a good way to shoot close-up shots of say, a flower or Ebay product shots. By using the self-timer and a tripod, you will get less camera shake in your macro shots and thus, less blurry photos.

In the next few articles on digital photography, I will share some advanced tips for taking pictures. But it will useful to hear back from readers what questions you have about using your camera and the art of taking photos. What problems do you encounter when taking photos?

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I looked for beginner-friendly tutorials for cool gadgets you can build yourself, that don’t involve too much dangerous or difficult work, to help ease us into being confident enough to work on harder projects.

Beware: this article contains solder, wires, and all sorts of adventurous things. If you’re not willing to bust a couple of flash drives or glue a few fingers together, you might be better off simply marveling, and leaving the tools for another, luckier day.

The Lego USB Stick

This is, hands down, my favorite hardware hack of all time, because not only is it whimsical and nostalgic (for me, at least, who loved building Lego landscapes as a child), but it is incredibly useful as well.

Materials:

• USB stick. Preferably one that can easily be cracked open.
• Lego. The tutorial writer used 2×4, 2×2, 1×4 and 1×2 sticks to make his USB. Use whatever combination of bricks to create a case that fits your USB stick snugly.
• Clear silicone. The writer used this to set the USB stick in the lego brick and make sure it wouldn’t wobble around, but in the comments there seems to be commenters who tried hot glue with equal success. Just make sure the glue isn’t so hot that it melts the circuit board!
• Metal Polish. This is used mostly for aesthetic effect, to make the block smooth and shiny, so you can easily do without it, if you’d like.  Someone in the comments suggested using a paste (not gel) toothpaste to rub out imperfections in the brick.
• Super Glue. Like I said, be ready to glue your fingers together.
• Tools: A knife to cut through the Lego. A soldering iron works too, but beware of burning your fingers! Pliers to rip out the inside parts of the Lego.

Projected Cost (given that you already have a USB stick): around $15. Silicone is almost $10 by itself, but if you’d rather use hot glue, there are plenty of places that sell glue guns for under $5.

Variations: Instructibles also has an eraser USB, but if you use some silicone or hot glue to protect the PCB (Printed circuit board), you could theoretically make a USB Drive out of anything. The commenters tried toy cars, NES controllers, and Altoid tins, among other things.

I myself someday want to put one in a small stuffed animal, so the USB connector is sticking out of its head or its butt (or… I could rip the head off and use it as a cap), so there’s plenty of ways you can innovate.

Taser

Although this project has no practical use of any kind (unless you’re into corporal punishment), it’s a fun way to learn about circuitry and rewiring it. This project is relatively dangerous, and you could end up tasering yourself if you’re not careful, but there’s nothing like a bit of painful motivation to keep you going, right?

Materials:

• Disposable camera, any kind will do.
• Screwdriver to pry apart the camera and to discharge the capacitor. You might want to use a screwdriver that you’re not too fond of, because discharging the capacitor will leave a scar on it.
• Wires: The writer just ripped some out of broken electronics, but you can find insulated wire pretty cheaply at hardware stores.
• Wire Strippers: these are not necessary, because its easy to strip wire using a pair of scissors.
• Electrical Tape: Using electrical tape would be the most efficient, since electrical tape doesn’t conduct a charge, but any type of tape that is not flammable could theoretically work.

Projected Cost: less than $10. The cost is a little higher if you need to buy wire, but insulated wire is extremely cheap, so even if you do buy it, the purchase shouldn’t push the cost of this project much higher than ten dollars. There’s not much you can add on to this project, except perhaps pimp the casing, but hey, maybe if the taser were bright pink, your friends will object less to being the objects of your experimentation.

The Amazing Harry Potter Wand

Okay I admit, I couldn’t resist throwing this in. I’m a huge Potterhead, and I’m sure many people you know are too, so this would be a double threat: you can learn about basic circuitry and make a cool gift for a friend/family member/random child!

The wiring involved in this project is not complicated at ALL, and the most difficult part of the whole shebang is figuring out how you want to decorate your wand. But don’t worry, even if you’re not Ollivander, the end result will still be fabulous.

Materials:

• LED Keyring. These are often given out for free at fairs or as promotional items, so this should be a rather cheap/easy product to come by. If not, you can buy one for two or three bucks. You could also buy just the LED bulb by itself.
• 6Volt 4LR44 battery. The battery that comes with the LED keyring is a bit too bulky  for the wand, so you’ll need to get a thinner battery (which is where the 4LR44 battery comes in).
• Solder + Soldering Iron. Used for soldering wires to the LED bulb; alternatively (and a bit less securely) you could use a copious amount of electrical tape.
• Wire. Once again, you could tear apart an existing appliance, or you can just go buy a spool of wire.
• Electrical Tape. To insulate the end of the batteries. Get one in a light color, so you can sharpie over it later. You’ll need to do this so you can differentiate between the positive and negative ends of the battery.
• Paper. Lots and lots of paper. The wand itself is actually made of paper, double sided tape, and PVA glue, so you’ll need enough paper to make a wand about half an inch in diameter.
• Paper Clips. The writer ingeniously used paper clips as the wand’s switch. Hopefully you have a couple spares lying around. If not, steal some from the office
• Glue Gun. Used to fill and stiffen the body of the wand, and also to firmly attach the LED to the drinking straw it will be fed through.
• Decorating stuff: paint, emulsion, gold/silver leaf, even wood paint, if you so please. Anything that tickles your creative fancy.

This is an extremely fun project, and it’s relatively easy, as far as technical things go. If you wanted to make this family oriented, you could even pre-assemble the wand bodies for the children, and let them decorate it themselves. The cost per wand is approximately $5-$6, assuming you have all the tools already. If not, you’re looking at an additional fifteen dollars.

With these projects, I hope you’ve learned a bit about basic circuitry, and how it can be applied to turn several distinct components into a cool toy or device. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed Make Use Of’s foray into hardware-oriented articles, and continue to support us as we grow.

If you’d like to tell us about what you’d like to see from us as we improve our writing and expand our knowledge base, please let us know by leaving your comments below!  Oh and don’t forget to tell us how you got on with the above 3 projects!

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It became very clear to me that Facebook was not your high school teenage fad. I found folks from my old home town – some of them well into retirement age – happily posting status updates about their daily activities, struggles, joys and thoughts. This, I thought to myself (and still do), is something that’s going to have major social ramifications. I’m not really sure what they are going to be, but the proliferation of Facebook throughout the world and throughout most industries completely fascinates me.

However, there is this one little thing that absolutely annoyed me about Facebook. You have to go to the site, do the Facebook login, and keep it open in order to receive status updates, notices or alerts about what’s going on. Sure, you could configure your profile to send notifications to your email address, but then you have to constantly check your email – and who wants an email box completely spammed by Facebook notifications? So, after buying a new PC with Windows Vista installed – complete with neat desktop sidebar applications – I started looking for a way to do the Facebook login automatically and receive instant status updates directly to my desktop, without having to log into Facebook all the time.

During that search, I discovered two perfect free Facebook login tools – the Facebook Sidebar Gadget, and MyFacebook. Just to save you some time – I opted for MyFacebook because it offered more interactive features. If you’d rather go for that, scroll down to the MyFacebook section. However, I also wanted to review the Facebook Gadget as well – and since that’s the one I tried first, I’ve reviewed it first.

Automatic Facebook Login With The Sidebar Gadget

For widgets and applications that automatically connect to your Facebook account, you need to acquire and configure a special number that gives that application “permission” to check your Facebook account for you. When you download the gadget and click on the file to install it, it’ll place the gadget on your sidebar as shown here.

When you click on “Login” the app automatically opens to your Facebook page, where you’ll need to do the regular Facebook login if you haven’t already. There, you’ll see this window.

Just click “Get login code for” and on the next screen click “Generate” and you’ll finally receive the magical “one-time” code to provide your gadget so that it can automatically do your Facebook login for you automatically.

Copy the code, and then go back to your desktop sidebar and click on the little “wrench” icon to the right of it. When you do that, the window will pop-up for you to enter your super-secret Facebook code.

Enter in the code, and now you’ll never have to do another manual Facebook login in your life.

The gadget displays your profile picture as well as your current status, and small icons and associated values next to them for how many pokes, events, friend requests, inbox messages, notifications, invitations, and group requests!  This is all fine and dandy, but I have one problem with the gadget. You don’t actually receive any realtime information from Facebook, it only provides you with the number of each item, and when you click on the little icon, it opens up a browser and takes you to that specific Facebook page. This is cool – but what if you just want to keep an eye on what your friends are up to without having to open up your browser?

In order to accomplish this task, I went back to Windows Live Gallery and downloaded the other Facebook sidebar gadget called MyFacebook.

Automatic Facebook Login With MyFacebook

When you download and install this sidebar gadget, the first thing you’ll see is the same request for the Facebook code. You’ll need to obtain the code the same way as described above.

Just click on the link and go through the same steps – click “Get Login Code” and then “Generate.” Copy the code and then go back to the gadget and click on the “wrench” icon. You’ll notice that in this case, the form looks just a bit different.

These additional fields are required because this particular gadget has more functionality than the one above. It will automatically provide you with your friends’ latest status updates and picture gallery photos (if you want). I’m not really interested in the albums, but I do want the friend updates. If you only want your “notifications,” but not specific content from your friends’ walls, you need to find the notification feed. Not sure where to find it? Just click on the link above where it says “you can get the feed url from here.”  You’ll be taken to a notifications page. Scroll down and on the right you’ll see “Your Notifications” – click on it.

This will take you to the actual RSS feed page for all of your notifications. All you have to do is copy the URL and paste it into the form on your sidebar gadget.

Now, getting your friend feed is much easier. In the sidebar gadget, just click on “click this link to enable Friends feed,” and then click “Allow Access” on the Facebook page that comes up – it doesn’t get much simpler than that.

The setup is similar to the previous gadget, except now that you have a real-time scrolling update of your friends’ status, the app feels much more interactive and always connected. Now, you can instantly update your own status, or you can just glance to the right and read the status updates of the latest few friends – and you don’t have to set foot inside any browser to do it!

Again – the links to these two apps are MyFacebook (my favorite), or Facebook Sidebar Gadget if that’s what you prefer.

Did you find either of these sidebar gadgets useful? Do you know of any other great social networking Vista sidebar gadgets? Share your insight in the comments section below.

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I think it’s a very interesting concept that might have its followers in other subjects. The idea is that you can make a profile for yourself with all the unusual and cool gadgets you own. It feels good to collect them and see them nicely lined up. But it doesn’t stop there.

All of the gadgets on the site are added by users, making it a sort of “Wikipedia of gadgets”. It’s possible to start a discussion around a gadget and ask owners questions.

Another nice feature is that you can also note that you want a certain gadget or have owned one. This way you can impress everyone with your 1st generation Gameboy!

I will show you some of the parts of the site and tell you how to get started. If you won’t take my word for it or prefer watching a video over reading than listen to Veronica Belmont explaining.

Make your profile

Of course you start by signing up and making a profile. If you want to use gdgt as just a gadget database, than you don’t need a profile, but of course it’s more fun when you use all the features – and you get to show off your gadgets!

Start by signing up and filling your profile with some information about yourself and perhaps a nice avatar. Find tips for making avatars in this MakeUseOf article.

Find some friends on the site or persuade some friends to join. As a start you can always befriend me of course.

Find and add your gadgets

You can add a list of all the unusual, cool gadgets you have, want or have had to your profile. This makes for a perfect way to get nostalgic over your Amiga console or Gameboy, but also for keeping track of that new SRL camera or Android phone.

You’re able to view reviews of a gadget or ask questions to owners. To find your gadgets go to the gadget finder and search on name, category or company.

If you can’t find the gadget you’re looking for, than just click add gadget to do just that. You can also add companies or tech terms to the database. This way gdgt could become the Wikipedia of gadgets.

Once you’ve made your list, a widget becomes available for you to share your list on your blog or facebook page. See a working example below.

Discuss, ask questions and read reviews

As with any community based website, the site is as good as its community. I haven’t seen growth or user numbers but I can tell there are already enough people around to have a question answered or have a discussion about your favorite camera. But it’s not really crowded yet.

Just go ahead and read some of the concerns of fellow gadget owners. Maybe you can help someone with a question or improve the database by correcting a specification. I really enjoy the way that it’s a central hub of reviews for items too. Users can add reviews from professional sites or write their own review. All in all this creates a great center for the true gadget geek. And I think we all have a little gadgetgeek inside of us.

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As Gmail’s getting bigger and bigger, there are more and more gadgets popping up – little applications that live in the sidebar of Gmail, and add tons of functionality to Gmail and the rest of your Web life. Some are made by Google, and an increasingly large number are not; more and more people are realizing how useful these gadgets can be, and third-parties are starting to build them for Gmail.

Social networks, where many of us spend a good deal of time, are no exception. There has recently cropped up a number of social networking-based Gmail gadgets, letting you manage everything from Facebook to Twitter to MySpace right from within Gmail. Here are the best three I’ve seen:

Social Bookmark Gadgets

Okay, I lied. This one’s two gadgets, both doing essentially the same thing. One, from Digg, lets you quickly see what’s popular on Digg, either by category or in total. You can also use your username to find out what your friends are Digging – awesome for being ahead of the Digg curve.

The other social bookmarking gadget is from Delicious, the popular social bookmarking service. The gadget lets you either manage your own bookmarks, or see the popular bookmarks on Delicious from around the Web. Delicious’ popular bookmarks acts as its own version of Digg, and is a great spot to find cool new things to check out – not to mention it’s in Gmail!

Facebook Gadget

Seriously, these application names are awful. But, as with the TwitterGadget, the Facebook Gadget is pretty great. The gadget lets you receive Facebook notifications (friend requests, wall posts, etc.), as well as see your friends’ latest updates and photos. You can even search from within the gadget, and Facebook opens on a new page for you.

As with most Facebook applications other than Facebook, it’s not terribly full-featured (it’s tough – Facebook does a LOT), but it does a great job of keeping you on top of Facebook without having to constantly have the page open.

There’s no website to speak of for this one, only the gadget URL. We’ll get to instructions on how to add it in a second.

FriendFeed Gadget

Friendfeed, as some have said, is “the coolest application no one uses.” Numbers say otherwise, and given how cool FriendFeed is, it may be headed for great things. With the Friendfeed Gadget for Gmail, you’ll be able to see updates from all your friends on FriendFeed, all in one place. The neat thing about FriendFeed is that it aggregates information from a bunch of other sites, so it’s almost like having an RSS reader, a Twitter Stream, and an IM network all in one.

You can’t, sadly, update FriendFeed from within Gmail. You can, however, read all your friends’ updates, follow links, and stay constantly updated right from within Gmail.

To install any of these gadgets, click the Labs icon in Gmail (the green beaker at the top right). Make sure the radio button “Enable” is selected next to “Add Any Gadget By URL.” Then, at the top of the Labs page, click “Gadgets.” Then, add one or all of these URLS to enable the various gadgets:

Digg Gadget: http://digg.com/goog/ig.xml

Delicious Gadget: http://www.labpixies.com/campaigns/delicious/delicious.xml

Facebook Gadget: http://www.brianngo.net/ig/facebook.xml

FriendFeed Gadget: http://friendfeed.com/embed/googlegadget/spec

Click “Add,” then go back to your Inbox. In your Gmail sidebar, you’ll see the gadgets! Log in as needed, and get to socializing!

Many people leave their email open all day – I know I do. With these gadgets, Gmail’s getting one step closer to being the only page I need open all day.

What’s your favorite Gmail gadget?

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Anyways, I have a few sites collecting awesome gadgets in my feed reader I’d be happy to share.

GeekAlerts is a blog run by Robert Birming who is doing a great job reviewing gadgets, design and consumer electronics – “giving you a daily dose of cool stuff you might not find elsewhere”.

GizmoDiva is one of my favorite gadget blogs because her collection caters for female geeks’ needs.

Gizmodo is a highly popular gadget blog and I know many people who love it but for me it has too much clutter, I prefer something more focused and on-topic.

ThinkGeek is an online store serving a market that was passionate about technology, from programmers, engineers, students, lovers of open source, to the masses that helped create the behind-the-scenes Internet culture.

PerpetualKid is another online store worth checking out if you are into geeky online shopping.

Curiobot is a growing collection of the most interesting things for sale on the internet. It is user-generated and therefore fun. I like that it only displays image thumbnails on the home page allowing to view more gadgets at a time. It also allows to view the whole collection at a time and sort it by price range.

Yankodesign features industrial design items, and despite this blog is less known than the above one, I love its style and selections.

GadgetReview reviews cool gadgets daily. Their reviews always contain detailed photos of the gadget in use and often a video featuring the gadget:

WalYou is a less-known gadget blog but it does feature some quite unique finds.

Geeky Gadgets: the only reason I have this site in my feed reader is its weekly round-ups listing past week’s gadgets.

Everyjoe’s Gadget Blog publishes multiple updates daily and also sums them up in a weekly round-up.

CraziestGadgets is another gadget blog and I can’t say there’s anything special about it, but I started tracking it after stumbling across “Youtube Addict Stickers” thanks to it:

And just a few awesome gadget lists I like enough to share:

• 20 Gadgets That Innovate Ordinary Things;
• 8 Awesome Upcycled Products for Gadget Lovers;
• Awesome Gadgets for Designers.

I am sure you have something to add – please do

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Below I am listing the most awesome sources of both user and expert reviews you can use when trying to locate the best price and feature overview of the item you plan to buy.

User reviews:

• PriceGrabber offers a huge variety of handy features. You can compare prices, add and view others’ ratings and reviews. The site also has a great search platform allowing you to refine search by any product features and sort results by price or by brand.
• AlaTest offers both expert and user reviews. The best feature I adore is the “Review Analysis” that gives a brief overview of all reviews listed for the product. Here is a sample review summary for Apple iPod Nano:

• PriceRunner offers both users’ and experts’ reviews. “Expert” reviews stand for reviews aggregated from other product review sites (AlaTest, I4u, etc among them). The site also allows users to post video reviews and watch reviews created by other members.

• BizRate is one of the largest resources of user reviews. Overall ratings are represented by cute smiles giving you a quick idea of the item’s reputation.

Expert reviews:

• DigitalTrends provides well-detailed expert reviews in a number of categories: car audio, cell phones, laptops, etc.
• VNunet is another source for good expert reviews.
• CNet provides both expert and user reviews. The best thing about it is that you can find video reviews for almost any product. It also allows price and feature comparisons.
• T3 lists short reviews and summarizes them with “We Hate”, “We Love” and “We Say” points.
• LaptopMag provides mobile hardware and software product reviews.
• HowStuffWorks follows each review with expert ratings, scaling value, performance, usability and features.

• Star-TechCentral starts each review with a handy feature overview.
• PCWorld follows huge detailed expert reviews with user comments. It also offers a brief price comparison powered by PriceGrabber.
• Trusted Reviews offer quite a few high quality photos for each product review.
• TechRadar lists great hardware and software reviews. It also invites users to submit their own reviews and offers a wide variety of product photos.
• EverythingUSB (as the name suggests) reviews all things USB: USB software, USB hardware and USB deals.
• TechTree provides a huge database of expert reviews. The review starts with overall ratings and core features: good and bad ones. The reviews are followed by user comments.

• PCAdvisor provides huge reviews for hardware and software.
• PCMag Product Guides reviews new products, software and service providers.
• TechReviewSource provides long in-depth reviews.
• ComputerActive is a UK site providing short to-the-point reviews.
• PCReview is another pretty cool UK site decorating their reviews with large product images.
• PCAdvisor ends each review with a verdict which usually contains very useful information.
• LordPercy lists well-grounded expert reviews for most recent products in categories varying from software to GPS.

Do you know of any other sources for user and expert user reviews?   If so, please let us know about them in the comments!

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Keeping this in mind Gmail has some new lab features that allow you to keep a close watch on other Google services.  One of the most recent ones and the subject of this article are the Google Docs and Google Calendar gadgets, as well as the ability to add iGoogle gadgets to your Gmail account.

These are all available under Labs on the settings page (or you can click on the labs icon at the top as well). Once you are there you just have to enable the appropriate Lab features.

Google Calendar Gadget

This gadget lets you view upcoming events, locations and details as entered in your Google Calendar.

Google Docs Gadget

Provides the ability to view recent as well as starred documents in your Google Docs Account, as well as providing search functionality to search documents right from within the Gmail page.

Add other Google Gadgets

While the Calendar and the Docs gadget are provided as distinct lab features, you also have the ability to add iGoogle Gadgets to your Gmail page. This opens up an array of possibilities considering the number of gadgets that are out there.

The screen real estate is limited in the left bar of Gmail page where all the gadgets are placed when you add them. However with a new lab feature surfacing every now and then, we can hope this shortcoming is overcome sooner rather than later. Moreover, we may now see developers developing gadgets specially for Gmail or modifying existing ones for Gmail.  Nevertheless, there are some gadgets out there that don’t require so much space.

Recently Gmail also received Canned Responses and Gmail Goggles. Check them out as well. Also check out the “Navbar Drag and Drop” Labs feature which allows you to reorder content on the left navbar.

The Lab features are stepping stones to what could finally find its way into Gmail. Google collects data about usage of Labs features and there is a Google Group which you can join to have your say. You can also use the “Send Feedback” link to post on the Google Group for that particular Labs feature.

While some of the Lab features are intended for a little fun like the Old Snakey and Gmail Goggles (yes I don’t believe it can stop you from sending drunk emails), there are other features that are pretty useful and make you wonder why it was not included in Gmail in the first place.

Which Lab feature is your favorite?  Definitely the calendar and docs gadget in Gmail are two of the more useful labs features.  What else would you like to see in Gmail?   What gadgets are you planning to add to your sidebar?

Let us know in the comments.

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(1) BuyMyTronics (previously BuyMyBrokeniPod) – Sell used (and even broken) iPods or iPhones at a competitive price. Regardless of your gadgets model or condition they will take it. Service is simple and straightforward: (1) Enter your gadget’s model and condition, (2) Get an approximate price, (3) Ship it to provided address in Colorado, and (3) Receive funds within 24 hours after it arrives at designated address. More …..

(2) SecondRotation – Same as BuyMyTronics, but also buys Mp3 players (iPod, Creative, Zune, …), mobile phones, digital cameras (Canon, Olympus, …), camcorders (Sony, Samsung, …), GPS devices, and gaming consoles. More ….

To see how they stack up against eBay, I ran a quick test by comparing prices for 4GB iPod Nano, assuming it’s in fairly good condition and still has all original accessories like box, and cables. This should give a basic overview on what you can get with each of these services.

BuyMyTronics:

SecondRotation:

eBay.com:

It seems that BuyMyTronics offers a better deal than the other two. If you consider all ebay-related hassles and fees, I think it’s fair to list SecondRotation as a second choice. On the other hand, when it comes to selling all other gadgets besides iPod, SecondRotation is still the place to go to. So, here you go, you got two easy services to cash-in on your old gadgets.

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