The über-pill

"...you want me to review what?!..."

That was exactly my words when discussing my latest review product; a small bottle of vitamin supplements from Europe. This has to be the most unusual review I've ever done!

These are no ordinary supplements I'm soon to discover, they contain a little extra to help you focus and be able to concentrate more. Now, I'm a world class sceptic when it comes to the herbology department and I looked at the bottle like it actually contained snake oil.

Now, the thing you have to understand is that these pills do not contain caffeine or guarana which are stimulants that give you a buzz and help your reaction times. This is a mix of multi-vitamins and some other supplements that are designed to give your brain a boost and help you to focus more on what you are doing.

A quick Wikipedia of the more obscure ingredients in the list reveals nothing as dangerous as Ritalin or such, but rather more natural components that will not leave you addicted or depressed.

The first thing I think should be done is to find a suitable situation that requires massive amounts of concentration and co-ordination, then pop some pills and see what happens.

Computex 2008! Perfect! - A week long struggle to organise chaos and play eagle-eyed reporter in Taipei.

So, readying myself for the first day of Computex, I knock back one of the pills; which is one of the three daily recommended. I then sling my laptop bag over my shoulder and set out for the halls.

There's no noticeable "buzz" or "kick" from the pill and I was not expecting any; after all, it is essentially a multi-vitamin supplement. There is also no way of quantifying how much this pill was going to help me to focus, so I just had to measure it against my experiences when I attended the next Computex day without pills in my system.

The first day on the pills went extremely well; I felt as though I was able to handle the rushing around and talking to industry representatives, asking difficult questions, getting the scoop on products under development, etc. etc.