In this era of global warming, with more and more people subject sinus, breathing problems, air purifiers have assumed greater significance. First on the review list is this AP-1720 - HEPA Air Purifier pictured right.

The machine has the benefits of Hepa Filtration, for removing smoke, dust, pollen and other airbourne allergens from the air, rated 99.97 efficient in this respect. There is also a pre filter, which is effective for removing dust, and so the theory being to increase the effectiveness of the secondary filter.

It has twin motors for “quieter” operation, though this has to be considered relatively speaking. Not everyone is capable of sleeping in the same room as a machine with a motor running!

Talking of noise, the second air machine I am looking at here is the Amcor air processor 2000. Amcor has years of experience of producing air quality products, and I’d like to say this experience has led to the company bringing better quality to the market, but sadly, this has not been my experience of their products. Being an Asthma suffer for years, as well as other allergies, I came to reply on my Amcor air purifier I bought about 12 years ago, with it’s aroma therapy disperser, twin motors, and like the above product, twin Filtration. However, this more modern machine proved a major disappointment to me, because of it’s high noise levels, which was quickly compounded by a rattling noise, making night use uncomfortable. Again, there is aroma therapy dispensary, but this time, not aroma beads, but a single unit, one fragrance only. This machine was far less durable, a lifespan short of effectiveness, and NOT recommended.

Finally, we come to the Happy Life Humidifier. Why call it “Happy life”?? Well, here I have to take sellers such as home shopping channel Ideal Vitality, where I saw it reviewed, and the manufacturers to task, because this is a seriously flawed marketing strategy. It was claimed people in the tropics are “happier” due to the tropical atmosphere, with high levels of humidity, and we in UK they claim, are seriously lacking in such humid climate.

What ludicrous marketing is that?? It may come as a suprise to Ideal Vitality but in UK we ARE a very humid country, witness the current flooding this winter. When we Brits go to Mediterranean countries often it is exclaimed the heat there does not oppress them like it does in UK during summer, even though it is much hotter. This, Ideal Vitality, is down to the LESS humidity over there! It’s the humid conditions which makes heat far more oppressive, not other way around.

So why then try to market a humidifier in UK, is there any need? The only real benefit is in winter when using central heating, which makes the air too dry. This can lead to unpleasant symptoms, and a machine such as this can counter by Humidifying with ultrasound technology and ioniser to help improve the air you breathe.

A balanced humidity helps breathing as the nasal passages and mucous membrane are less likely to dry out, particularly in centrally heated rooms.

Negative ions emitted by the unit helps to remove positively charged ions from the air making it less full of unwanted particles; this includes pollen, dust, smoke, bacteria, viruses and pollution.

The happy life humidifier can be used in 3 ways – the humidifier alone, the ioniser alone, or the humidifier and ioniser together.

So, if you live near a desert, something like this may well be of benefit. But here in UK, again NOT something I can recommend based on my own experiences. The bottom line is, if you suffer symptoms, don’t expect many machines to provide a total solution. Best to work with your health practitioner, if you can, take an allergy test, and visit Allergy UK for help and advice.

Tags: Air Purifiers, Amcor, Humidifiers, Allergens, Pollen, Air purifier reviews

Bose has a reputation of being the Rolls Royce of sound products. If you’ve ever heard their sound systems, you will know why. Bose have invested much research into their wave technology sound system, which enables a high sound capacity, deep sonorous bass boosts, delivered with efficiency.

As we know, sound is emited in wave forms, but if you have ever seen Bose systems tested, think of a candle sitting next to a “standard” speaker, while playing music. The sound makes the candle flicker, but the same volume of music from a Bose speaker will cause the candle to be extinguished completely!

Bose also offer headphones. These come in multi styles, such as the in ear type, popular with uses of iPods and MP3 players for example, which have been redisigned since their initial release.

However, for those who find in ear ucomfortable, there is also the more conventional “around ear” style, as in the photograph below; If you listen to your favourite tracks on these Bose Headphones you will be amazed to hear instruments you never knew existed in the background. When assessing the quality of a music system, it is not how loud the music will sound, (after all, how loud can you stand it) but how it performs at low levels. Here, low level sounds are detected, and sometimes it is like hearing the music for the first time.

The real Jewel in the crown of Bose Headphones though are the Quiet Comfort.

If you were to take these on a plane for example, you can enjoy your music totally oblivious to external noise factors, which on a plane can be considerable. These are the most expensive, but it’s a case of do you want the best headphones of their type available. It’s a case of getting what you pay for. Bulit for comfort, and to cushion external sound to a minimum, Bose Quiet Comfort Headphones are unique, offering purest sound quality with minimum distractions.

Tags: Bose Headphones

I watched the One Show on BBC other night. It’s a magazine show, hosted by presenters Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley. This night the episode was particulary downbeat, even depressive, focusing on the January blues. They claimed January is the bleakest, most miserable month of the year, just before the increasing light becomes more noticable, and the anti climax after Christmas.

For those who suffer from Seasonaly Affected Disorder (SAD) perhaps one answer is Ultra Violet light bulbs (UV Bulbs) for in the home. It’s a fact that lack of natural sunlight can have a depressing effect on the brain, and it needs to be remembered SAD is not just a dislike of the dark evenings, or personal prefrences, but a a depression that comes from within the body, perhaps of genetic origin. The use of UV Bulbs can simulate natural light into the home, stimulating brain cells. They contain a low pressure mercury vapor. Striking an electric arc through the bulb produces light which is mostly shortwave ultraviolet, but includes some middlewave UV, longwave UV and visible light.

Buying options Worth a try, you think?

Tags: UV Lights, January Blues, S.A.D., Depression

I found out at the weekend this site has jumped from Google page rank 0 to 4, in the first two months since it began. Many thanks to all my readers for your support. It’s my intention to continue to bring articles to the site on technology related issues, and the impact on our enviroment. As well as the best computer games and software releases.

They are subjects close to my heart Talking of which, if anyone has not checked out my new website, dedicated to fiction, in particular, the serialisation of my Father’s novel, A Bugle For The New Day, you can find the link on my main page. The uploads of the novel will be a work in progress, a chance to bring my late Father’s words to a wider audience. If you pay the site a visit, I will appreciate very much, thanks!

My most warmest wishes for the New Year.

Mark

I hope scenes such as this image of Antarctica by Gliderking of Flickr are not to eventually become extinct…

It’s reassuring to know that more is being done to raise awareness of carbon emissions, news source for this Enviroment Leader:

A number of companies are leaving themselves open to shareholder lawsuits, over their carbon emissions. Corporate Library, a corporate governance research group, took the top fifty emitters of CO2 and the top fifty companies that emit more CO2 than other industries in their sector, then ranked the companies using a number of criteria. Hasbro, Corning, and Burlington Northern were some of the companies that scored lower than most utilities and other large emitters of CO2 because their disclosure and reduction strategies were not detailed enough.

No such suits have been filed yet, but should a cap on CO2 emissions be passed, lawsuits would most likely come not from environmentalists, says Beth Young, author of the Corporate Library report, but from pension or hedge funds that take a loss or index funds that can’t dump the company’s stock.

Environmental lawyer Jeffrey Smith believes that winning a shareholder suit related to CO2 emissions would be very difficult. He also says that Corporate Library’s study, is “A good first step, but these issues are developing so rapidly, and the nuances of any individual company’s decisions about what and how to disclose this information make them largely incompatible with such a scoring device.”

I think to tackle any issue first the problem must be acknowledged before it can be dealt with. Clearly global warming is a serious issue, and again, what it will take is the popular will of the people to make enough difference to preserve the beauty of our planet for future generations.

This is a proposed energy saving alternative light bulb, aimed at helping the environment, by using less energy from the power stations thus reducing the the volume of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere - a key effect on climate change.

The advantages of energy saving light bulbs;

• Less energy
• Reduce energy costs
• Environment Friendly
• Savings up to around 80%

Disadvantage; Lower light level. Other words, gloomy!! Therefore, it’s far better to use these type of bulbs in areas where light is left on for extended periods, such as hallways, and stairways. It makes less sense to live in the dark, but used wisely one way of helping the environment, and make savings.

Tags: Environment, Climate Change, Energy Savings