When parents and technology mix, it’s often with hilarious consquences. But if you’re looking to buy a thoughtful and useful gift for your mum that she’ll actually appreciate, it can often be hard to find something that’s just right. Whether your mum is sporty or stylish, super tech-savvy or barely knows how to answer her smart phone, here are our top gadget gift ideas for mums. All of them are available now at your favourite online tech stores like ThinkGeek, The Good Guys and Apple.

Sporty mums

Sporty mums will appreciate anything that helps them keep fit and active, and that complements their sporty lifestyle perfectly. Aim for gifts like a trendy new watch she can wear running, a new MP3 player for her to take to the gym, or a super slick new set of headphones for running. We like the Garmin Forerunner 10, which is a GPS running watch that’s super easy to use. It lets you start your run with the press of just one button, and automatically tracks how far and how fast you’ve gone. There’s even a free online community – Garmin Connect – where users can upload their run data, see it on a map, keep track of their personal records, and share them with friends.
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The evolution of the digital games and entertainment industry over the last three decades has been incredibly rapid. There is now a Digital Games Museum in San Francisco, commemorating and collecting some of the much-loved games of the 1980s and 90s (Mega Man 2 anyone?!), alongside the latest incredibly realistic game offerings. It’s quite startling how things have developed.

Nowhere is this digital evolution more evident than in the world of the virtual casino, where designers are constantly challenged to create faster, more navigable and more realistic simulations to recreate the real casino environment. Players too have become more discerning in what they expect from a virtual casino, whether they are playing for real money or taking part in one of the many free games on offer.

Live casinos are the latest online gaming sensation, with live games available to gamers 24/7 on smart phones, tablets as well as on their PC. Exploring an established real live gaming site such as Supercasino, reviewed on roulette.co.uk, gives an idea of the level of choice available; from live TV games to presenter-free games streamed live online.

Jeff Karp of GSN Digital (a branch of the Game Show Network that’s become a leader in social casino games) described in a recent interview how GSN are working on reinventing virtual casino games to keep players engaged, and that means inventing new storylines, narratives and mini-games. With well over 2,000 online casinos competing for players, the pressure is on to keep loyalty by offering new versions of the most popular slots and casino games. Whether hyper realism is the key to sustaining this engagement remains to be seen, but with many popular games now based on popular TV shows, classic myths and fairytales, the secret could be getting the balance right between realism and fantasy.

It’s not often that a truly new and innovative app comes along, one that does something really different to the thousands that have gone before it. But the Ibis Sleep Art app does just that.

Developed by the Ibis hotel chain in collaboration with BETC Digital, this app grew from Ibis’s 2011/2012 company-wide re-branding exercise and its determination that every customer in every hotel would experience a good night’s sleep.

In an experiment in October 2012, Ibis hooked up one of its trademark Sweet Beds to eighty sensors and a robotic arm holding a paint brush. As the customer slept, the arm – in real-time – created a piece of artwork of paint on canvas that charted the sleeper’s breathing and movement patterns throughout the night. The experiment was so successful that Ibis and BETC Digital have teamed up with Apple to create the Ibis Sleep Art App.
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If you’ve just purchased your new android device and don’t know where to start, we know exactly how you feel. With the ever increasing number of apps available on the market, knowing which apps are the most useful or most fun is an absolute minefield.

With this in mind, we’ve put together this list of the most addictive apps for your new android device. These are the apps that we just can’t put down and simply couldn’t live without.

1. PicsArt.

A simple, yet powerful mobile photo editing app, PicsArt has already surpassed the 35 million download mark on Google Play, with a reported 2 million unique users each day. With photo editing tools that rival many paid apps, PicsArt offers filters, photo masks, corrections, frames, borders and the ability to add other graphics to the original picture.

2. Carbon for Twitter

A Twitter client for your Android Smartphone, Carbon is a sleek, sophisticated, yet easy to use tool for keeping in touch with your online world.

3. SquibbleBox

SquibbleBox really is unique amongst chat services for Android. Offering you the ability to send real time messages, as well as draw, share and collaborate on pictures, with friends, will keep you entertained for hours. It’s a thoroughly addictive means of staying connected.

4. Pics 1 Word

This app for Android may sound simple and it does exactly what the title suggests. We challenge you, however, to put this app down. Who knew that finding the common word among a group of four pictures could be so much fun? It will keep you attached to your new Smartphone for hours, we guarantee it.
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When you are in the process of starting up a business there will be a million and one things that you need to address to ensure that things run smoothly and to make sure you get the word out there that your company is here to stay. With so much to consider, it is essential that you utilise the right software to allow you to operate smoothly and reach your target audience. Today, we outline some of the best software packages out there which all benefit from sliding pay scales and remote access, freeing you up to focus your attentions on that to-do list…

Easy call now
This is an excellent, all-encompassing telephony system that caters to all of your companies contact needs and which perhaps most importantly, you can try for free. This hosted online dialler system allows you to quickly and efficiently contact and be contacted by your customers, ensures they will never hear an engaged tone or dial out, you will never miss a call and maximises your call time.

As part of the great software package, you will have access to comprehensive reports that can help you to analyse your contact list and business patterns. This, in turn, grants you access to the information that you require in order to improve upon the service that you offer. Another great feature of Easy Call Now is that this software is pay-as-you-go. This means you can start off small and increase your package as your business grows.
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3D Printing has been around for a while, but it’s only in the past year that it’s really taken off as the “next big thing” in printing. For anyone who does not have any idea about 3D printing, let me explain…

Basically 3D printing is being able to make a three-dimensional solid object from a digital model. So if you can imagine it and be able to make a digital model then you are able to print anything that can be constructed from the materials used. 3D printing has redefined the printing industry, with both hobbyists and manufacturers sitting up and taking notice. After reading this article I’ll guarantee that you’ll want your own 3D printer.

Many industries have been taking advantage of the benefits of 3D printing. Cars are now better thanks to motor vehicle companies using 3D models to find out if a car is structurally sound and use them for aerodynamic and crash tests. Even the medical industry has found a use for these printers, with body parts such as jaw bones and hips, being replaced by 3D printers. Many inventors also use them to create new items that will make life more convenient for us.

So far those are just a few of the things that a 3D printer is capable of, and in the future, it will be difficult to define what they can and can’t do. Industries use them daily to create products, individuals are creating their own home-items like Christmas decorations and hobbyists like arts and crafts gurus can create pottery, art and the likes.

I really am surprised that many households do not have a 3D printer at home since it just takes a PC that is capable of using 3D software, and printer cartridges like the ones you can get from Cartridges Direct Projections show that it will take until the year 2040 for the majority of PC owners to have one in their homes. Personally I think it will happen faster than that once people start learning the many wonderful ways in which a 3D printer creates.

The popularity of Google and all its products in the Internet world needs no introduction. Today and for the past several years, Google has been the most successful and the most favorite search engines. Indeed, it is far ahead, when you compare its competitors like Yahoo, Bing, MSN and other popular search engines.

The success of Google would not have been a complete story without all its extensions. Yes, there are several of them and it would be a tough task to make a choice between them. Here is my list of unique, yet useful Google extensions for you.

Download Master

Have you ever been to a website where you have found it necessary to download a couple of files that you are interested in? Well if you come across such a situation again, make use of Download Master extension which lets you download several files with just a single click of your mouse. You can select the links that you wish to download and go ahead. The built-in manager will take over and do the rest for you.

Google Dictionary

No more fumbling with words and wondering what on earth they could mean. Google Dictionary is here to bail you out. It is user-friendly, fast and reliable. All you need to do when you encounter a difficult word is to double click on it, and a pop-up will tell you the whole story in detail (it gives you the definition of the word) You could also use the tool bar dictionary to get more complete definitions of a particular word or phrase. You can also get meanings of words in foreign languages, for which you need to have the appropriate extension on your browser.
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Colocation services are increasingly important to businesses, particularly those in the IT sector. The number of companies offering these services is growing, and as a result, deciding which data centre is right for your business can be difficult. The individual needs of your business will dictate which service provider is best for you, but there are a few basic components that are absolutely essential in a data centre.

Power
Regardless of how large or small the storage space you require, you need to ensure that a data centre has a reliable power supply and backup options. A steady connection to the grid is not enough. A centre needs to provide details of their contingency plans in case of power outages and surges. Ask about the quantity and quality of onsite backup generators, and ensure that there are procedures in place for long-term outages.

Data centres also must defend your information from other threats, like fire, flooding and problems with the computer hardware. Enquire about the protection measures in place for such situations. Facilities should have extensive fire suppression, well-maintained, watertight buildings, and adequate cooling and ventilation systems to prolong the life and performance of the computer hardware.

If you are to trust a third-party with your vital data, you need to be absolutely certain that your information won’t be lost due to a short-term power blackout or easily containable fire.
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