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Earth-Friendly Tech

Earth-friendly Tech
Earth Day is upon us. Sure, we could bring you to tears with frightening figures about our rock's climate crisis, but we think it's more helpful to show you the coolest innovations happening in the realm of eco-friendly gadgetry, and hopefully inspire you to stop and think about the products you purchase in the future.

Most of the electronics in your house probably already have the ENERGY STAR sticker slapped on them -- in fact, if they don't you should replace them. ENERGY STAR is a voluntary labeling program that was launched by the EPA in 1992 to promote the use of energy-efficient products. According to the ENERGY STAR site, in 2006 alone the program saved consumers $14 billion on their utility bills.

The gadgets we feature here go way beyond simply being ENERGY STAR-compliant. Some are flat-out hippie-like.

Sony Reader


Earth-Friendly TechReading books may be good for the old vocab, but it's murder on Earth's forests. 'Digital books' have been around in one form or another for a few years. But where those systems use old-school CRT or LCD displays, the Sony Reader ($390) uses a technology called E Ink, which doesn't require battery-power to maintain its image and does an incredible job of replicating the look of ink on paper. The result is eBooks, which you read right on the handheld Sony device. Once you've soaked up the vast catalog of thousands of eBook titles -- everything from Hemingway to Rhonda Byrne's 'The Secret' -- you can use the Reader to enjoy newsfeeds, photos and MP3s.

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Weirdest Techie Heists and Scams

    Elderly Amish Man Caught on Film With Prostitute, Blackmailed
    When a 75-year-old Amish widower slept with a prostitute, he -- we feel certain -- felt pretty bad about it the next morning. As if that guilt weren't enough for the old man, the prostitute and her boyfriend demanded $67,000 from him, claiming that they had filmed the scene with wall-mounted cameras and would upload the recording to the Internet. The pair was later arrested and, we can only imagine, the Amish man abhorred technology more than ever.

     

    Bank Robber Gets Away With the Help of Craiglist
    In October, a bank robber -- wearing a safety vest, blue shirt, face mask and goggles -- eluded police with the help of Craiglist. Just outside the bank, while the robbery was in progress, stood a group of men who were responding to a Craiglist day labor opportunity. As the advertisement required, they were all wearing safety vests, blue shirts, face masks and goggles.

     

    Nude New Zealander Arrested After Responding to Fake Sexy Text Message
    Late in 2007, a Wellington, New Zealand man received a racy text message from two anonymous "ladies," giving him only an address and a request that he show up naked. Well, he indeed showed up naked... at the home of one appalled, unsuspecting New Zealander. Both the nude Romeo and the sadistic texter were arrested, though neither were prosecuted.

     

    Fake Craiglist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
    Last Spring, a post appeared on an Oregon Craigslist board stating that the owner of a specific house was leaving all of his worldly possessions (still in said house) to whoever wanted them. When homeowner Robert Salisbury rushed home -- on a tip from a woman suspicious about the offer of a free horse -- he found his house being ransacked by 30 strangers. We suggest he take that horse and collect some vengeance Clint Eastwood-style.

     

    17-Year-Old Jailed for Stealing Virtual 'Furniture'
    When a 17-year-old Dutch boy hacked into several accounts on the Second Life-style site 'Habbo' in 2007, the the law got involved. The boy was discovered to have stolen $5,800 worth of virtual furniture and knick-knacks. Apparently, crime -- whether actual or virtual -- does not pay.

     

    Phishers Going After Your Phones in New 'Vishing' Trend
    Over the past year, sneaky spammers have begun to forsake the worn-out territory of e-mail in favor of cell phones' fertile frontier. The result? "Vishing." Get it? Voice mail phishing. It might be more ominous if it didn't sound like a James Bond villain saying, "Wishing."

     

    Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
    Around Halloween of last year, a truckload of thieves drove into -- that's right, into -- a Pennsylvania Mexican restaurant, where they -- apparently uninterested in the cash register -- stole a mid-grade 47-inch HDTV and fled the scene. We've all heard about how this generation is lacking in ambition, but this generation's thieves, too?

     

Latest Reviews from CNET.com

CNET provides the latest tech news, unbiased reviews, videos, podcasts, software, and downloads, making tech products easy to find, understand and use.

Top Product Reviews

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    One of the fastest PCs we've tested; a PCI Express RAID card helps media encoding performance; typically immaculate Velocity Micro assembly; strong, three-year warranty. Full Review

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