Peter Myers

Peter Myers from the University of Liverpool (Liverpool, UK) spoke to David McCalley from the University of the West of England (Bristol, UK) about the past, present, and future of stationary phases, and his working life in academia and industry.

On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of The Chromatographic Society, Peter Myers wrote “The Future of Chromatography” in The Chromatographic Society’s souvenir brochure. Now Peter revisits his chromatographic crystal ball to review his predictions and deliberate on what the future might now hold for separation scientists.

These mini Light Bulb Phone Charms are the perfect accessory for today's mobile phones. Simply put your phone on silent and save the world from hearing your ring tone. Instead, every time you receive a call or text, the mini Light Bulb will flash away.

They may come with a hefty price tag but these earphones reportedly take sound onto a new level. Denon's latest AH-C751 earphones cost ?150 but the "Metal Bullet" design uses ultra-rigid machined aluminum that does not resonate, unlike plastic housings used in less expensive products. Denon's "Acoustic Optimiser" balances the sound pressure before and behind the diaphragm to reportedly give greater dynamics and fast transient response. All the contacts are made of gold, as is the 3.5 mm plug. They come with three pairs of ear adapters, a 0.8 m extension cord and rigid travel case.

The home user can now have 1 TB of storage at the touch of a button.

The use of dual polarization interferometry (DPI) to measure the behaviour of alkyl-modified surfaces under different solvent regimes is described. The empirically observed and modelled behaviour of grafted long alkyl chain adlayers on a silica surface were in good agreement. The empirical data was also compared with data using analogous systems and these also matched well. This approach has the potential to gain much greater insight into the behaviour of reversed-phase (RP) columns and could help to design column surfaces that are resistant to phase collapse.

Light up your life with millions of colours!; Gadget alerts you to your thirsty plants; No need to reach for the volume control thanks to new regulator

This portable wireless unit gives you instant readings of electricity use in the home.

Music lovers to have more hours of playtime - even on the move!; USBCELL revolutionize the way we recharge batteries; The digital pen you can use anywhere; New weapon in the fight against household pests!

So much more to this Walkman than just playing tunes; Mac users have new security at their fingertips; Ultimate burning green lasers; New screen technology will dazzle

Clocking-up time with user-friendly planetarium; Drinks dispenser that monitors consumption; New high definition video cameras; Wind-up radio you can use anywhere!;

Easy-to-use multimemory card reader; Presentations with a new wireless twist; Multimedia wristwatch has arrived; Space cube is a computer with a tiny difference

See so much more with these new video glasses; Tune into your stress levels; A gadget that won't let you close your wallet!; Interaction using a new dimension; Personalize your identity tag

This adjustable spanner tool combines with the ease of use of a pair of pliers.

Internet connection finder; Portable keyboard recorder; Global voice translator; HD video camera

With a frequency response of 90 Hz–20 kHz, these LaCie FireWire speakers deliver powerful, vibrant sound for your music, movies and games. The speakers connect easily to computers, either laptops or desktops, as well as MP3 players, using the built-in FireWire cable. FireWire provides superior digital audio as well as line power - no need for batteries or an AC adapter.

New Technologies

A new type of computer peripheral has been introduced designed to make navigating in virtual 3D space both seamless and simple. 3Dconnexion, a subsidiary of Logitech, has developed the SpaceNavigator in conjunction with Google Earth and Google SketchUp. The device offers a more user friendly alternative to the mouse movement and keystroke combinations currently used to navigate 3D environments or to move 3D objects. Other 3D modelling programs, such as AutoCAD, can also use the device.

Star gazing will be made easy with a new handheld device, known as the SkyScout, that uses advanced GPS technology with point and click convenience to identify thousands of stars, planets and constellations.

In the June 2006 issue of LCGC Europe we featured a display wall that may be the future for molecular modelling. Here we preview another possibility - an interesting helmet from electronics manufacturer Toshiba that enables the wearer to experience a full 360? view on a 40 cm dome-shaped screen. The full-faced helmet, known as the Head Dome Projector, weighs 3 kg and exhibits a wide viewing angle of 120? horizontally by 70? vertically without head tracking and 360? ? 360? with head tracking.

Researchers from the University of Arkansas have come up with a fibrous nanomaterial suitable for fabricating robust paper-like material and devices. Potential applications for these nanowire assemblies include armour, flame-retardant fabric, bacteria filters, oil cracking, controlled drug release, decomposition of pollutants and chemical warfare agents.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced that its researchers have developed a miniature wireless data chip that could provide broad access to digital content in the physical world.

Now there's light in the "black hole" - of a brief case. German-based international leather and bag specialist BREE has created the first illuminated business handbag with Smart Surface Technology. Bree put their trust in innovative solutions. They say, "We had been toying with the idea of illuminating the dark insides of handbags for quite some time, but lacked an elegant solution which not only met our traditionally high demands with regard to style and function, but was also technically feasible."

Lasers that can produce coherent infrared light in the 1–2 ?m wavelength range are essential in telecommunications, biomedical diagnosis and optical sensing.

New ways of envisioning scientific data are constantly being developed in data rich research environments. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine's Center of GRAVITY (Graphics, Visualization and Imaging Technology), USA have developed a new display for this data rich market. They have developed the Highly Interactive Parallelized Display Wall or HIPerWall. It is a massively tiled, grid-based display built using fifty 30-inch Apple cinema displays and twenty-five Power Mac G5 computers. This powerful display system allows researchers to view and manipulate their data sets at extremely high resolutions and collaborate with other scientists in new and exciting ways.

Any wine can suffer from that corked wine taint. This spoilage, recognized by a distinct aroma of damp musty leaves and a damp cardboard taste, makes a wine undrinkable.

Is it possible to combine a serious scientific meeting together with social events and fun? Well if it is possible then the ExTech and HTC-9 meeting held in York, UK between 6?10 February came very close.

Sony has released details of its new e-book reader using E-Ink technology. This could transform the electronic reading experience. The lightweight reader could bring a whole new meaning to "book smart".

Pepper Computer Inc. has announced a new version of software for its Pepper Pad handheld media computer that brings users major new capabilities, such as integration with Yahoo's industry-leading Flickr photo-sharing community, while giving the Pad quicker performance.