How to build battery-powered USB charger

You might have noticed by now that whenever you really need your iPod, it is always out of juice. A computer or a wall charger may not be around either, especially if you are travelling. Why not build your own portable battery powered USB charger? It’s easy.

Components required: An Altoids tin or any other metal container of the same size. A 9-volt battery. A voltage regulator (available at any electrical/hardware shop). A female USB port (available at any local computer shop).

Make a hole on one end of the tin using a cutter and fit the USB port into it. Use tape to hold them together. Place the battery in the tin. Solder its wires to the regulator and the USB port using the following diagram. Be careful. Use double-sided tape and make sure the battery and the regulator are secured in the tin. Connect one end of your USB cord to the female USB port and the other end to your iPod and you are done. This charger can be used with any USB enabled device.

Buy and Invest Gold : Gold Coins Gain

Are you interested in investing in gold? Are you a gold coin collector? Are you searching for a trusted online shopping site to buy them? Alas! You've found the all in one.

The best site to buy gold coins online is goldcoinsgain.com. They've quite a lot of gold coins to their collection and you can choose from a variety of them. This site is unique of its kind since it combines both buying and investing. It is the only site that gives you attractive gold offers, their market values, share prices etc.

Also with the increasing global economic uncertainity, if you are trying to invest money in a profitable business, then investing in gold bullion is wise decision one can take as gold never looses its value. If you are a budding investor, interested in investing in  gold bullion, you can also request them a free Investor's Gold Guide. Moreover IRA and 401K's are backed by gold coins.

So why waiting? Go Ahead! And buy gold coins or gold bullion from Aurum Advisors, America’s gold IRA, gold coin investment, and gold price providers to household and institutional investors nationwide!

Twitter blocked in China?

Twitter co-founder Evan Williams today said he had been told that his microblogging service has been partially blocked in China but had no confirmation.

"That's what I've been told," he said, adding that he had "heard reports on that" but that the company did not have direct confirmation.

Williams said that China can use a firewall to block access to the service.

"There are ways for users to get around it, but I'm not an expert on that," he said, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

When asked about media reports that Twitter was developing ways to get around the firewall, Williams said he had been "misquoted."

"We're not actively developing any way to get around it," he said, although he stressed that "we're for the free exchange of information."

Asked if his company had noticed any cyber attacks, such as those launched against search engine giant Google from China, he said that no such moves had been detected.