BEAMS ME UP

Having recently experienced a home breakin, I was most interested in the correspondence in your August issue.

I express some views that were not mentioned in those letters. In my case, the intruders were most professional. They had knowledge of my home and security arrangements and location of their target, namely the TV- plus any easily available items. Most importantly, they knew that my alarm system was not activated because I had resident guests. This, they probably knew by word of friends or by noting a

1936 Following the style of Tesla’s research, America was obsessed with wireless power transmission. Sunspots and the subsequent magnetic storms interrupted radio transmissions until the scientists looked to these storms, which carry disruptive energy across the solar system, for inspiration. At the time solar energy was used primarily as heat energy to make steam or operate hot water geysers. Investigators predicted that solar heat as a source of power could eventually enter the market to compete against coal and petroleum. However, science was sticking to learning how to wirelessly transmit power from studying the sun. 2002 A world without ubiquitous Wi-fi and Bluetooth streaming or casting would be saved by the fastfor-its-time 802.11g wireless standard for 54 MB per second transmission. Homerf (the tech that allows for cordless telephones) was also pushing for a slice of your media spectrum. The future was said to be where you store media on a central server, accessible throughout the house. The future turned out to demand on-demand streaming from anywhere in the world. Choose between a capped or uncapped internet data plan after reading an expert’s view on page 32. Watch out world, minicycles were going to be the ultimate family sport. And you know how you’d save the money to afford them, and, secondly, find the time to spend with the family? By following the 40 tips that would save you time, work and money, of course. These old-school shop notes included hints on how to transform large nails into homemade bolts; easily and quickly roll all the pennies you’d be saving; and how to use a nail clipper to strip wires. One tip that would prove to be quite useful in our modern world: wrap the connection point of an extension cable in plastic, especially when using it outdoors. It will keep dirt and moisture out. Elsewhere in the issue there’s a guide to controlling your Hi-fi from any room in the house. The wiring is a bit complex, so why not use the Zoeetek Bluetooth audio streaming unit we tested on page 24 to send tunes to your set instead? PM