Phillip Crandall
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Earth-Friendly Tech Tips
Upgrade Your Lightbulbs
Don't be scared off by the high sticker prices of GE's fancy compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). CFLs use up to 75 percent less energy than incandescents (25 percent less than halogen), last up to 10 times longer and cost between 50 and 80 percent less to use. Only candlelight is cheaper -- but that's a fire truck on your front lawn waiting to happen.
How To Recycle Your Dead Gadgets
Computers
Most of the major computer manufacturers offer a recycling program for their own systems -- as well as their competitor's systems -- through their Web sites. At ComputerTakeBack.com, you can see each plan spelled out alongside any sweet trade-in incentives that manufacturers, and even some retailers, are offering. Just be sure to thoroughly erase the data on your hard drive, though.
10 Dumbest And/Or Funniest USB Gadget Gifts
As far as computer ports go -- and technologies in general -- USB has got to be the friendliest. Not only does it lovingly accept almost any kind of gadget imaginable, it also generously parcels out power to those gadgets so that they don't need to be plugged into a wall. As a result, it's quickly become the de facto interface for our printers, scanners, digital cameras, iPods, thumb drives and every other techno-majig we've come to rely on. However, this ubiquity and good will has led to the misuse of the USB port, which is increasingly being used to juice products that have no business being connected to a computer. In the following pages, you'll find the 10 dumbest miscarriages of the USB port we could find. These doodads are either the hilarious joke gifts for the right person, or useless wastes of plastic and metal that will go right into your gift recipient's trash bin.
Thanko USB Ashtray
Do you smoke at your desk? Do you often mix up which Red Bull can you're drinking from and which one you're ashing into? Then, it's a lucky thing there's this $16.50 ashtray, which employs a USB-powered motor to suck up the smoke from your nicotine log. Once it hoovers in your smog, the ashtray passes the smoke through two built-in filters to keep your workspace from being damaged by the very same toxins and poisons you're brutalizing your insides with.
Thanko USB Ashtray
Do you smoke at your desk? Do you often mix up which Red Bull can you're drinking from and which one you're ashing into? Then, it's a lucky thing there's this $16.50 ashtray, which employs a USB-powered motor to suck up the smoke from your nicotine log. Once it hoovers in your smog, the ashtray passes the smoke through two built-in filters to keep your workspace from being damaged by the very same toxins and poisons you're brutalizing your insides with.
World's Dumbest USB Gadgets
As far as computer ports go -- and technologies in general -- USB has got to be the friendliest. Not only does it lovingly accept almost any kind of gadget imaginable, it also generously parcels out power to those gadgets so that they don't need to be plugged into a wall. As a result, it's quickly become the de facto interface for our printers, scanners, digital cameras, iPods, thumb drives and every other techno-majig we've come to rely on. However, this ubiquity and good will has led to the misuse of the USB port, which is increasingly being used to juice products that have no business being connected to a computer. In the following pages, you'll find the 10 dumbest miscarriages of the USB port we could find.
Thanko USB Ashtray
Do you smoke at your desk? Do you often mix up which Red Bull can you're drinking from and which one you're ashing into? Then, it's a lucky thing there's this $16.50 ashtray, which employs a USB-powered motor to suck up the smoke from your nicotine log. Once it hoovers in your smog, the ashtray passes the smoke through two built-in filters to keep your workspace from being damaged by the very same toxins and poisons you're brutalizing your insides with.
Thanko USB Ashtray
Do you smoke at your desk? Do you often mix up which Red Bull can you're drinking from and which one you're ashing into? Then, it's a lucky thing there's this $16.50 ashtray, which employs a USB-powered motor to suck up the smoke from your nicotine log. Once it hoovers in your smog, the ashtray passes the smoke through two built-in filters to keep your workspace from being damaged by the very same toxins and poisons you're brutalizing your insides with.
World's Dumbest USB Gadgets
USB Absinthe Spoon
Absinthe, the potent green liquor with a rich history in French artistic circles, isn't allowed to be imported into the U.S.; That's the law. The famously elaborate spoons used in its proper preparation, however, are plenty legal. They're fashioned the way they are so that you can put sugar cube on top to pour the absinthe over in order to make it more palatable. Now, someone's gone an put a USB dongle on the end. Why? No reason. Seriously. The spoon doesn't need to be heated, which a USB port might be good for. There's even a lengthy history of the project at www.usbabsinthespoon.com, but it provides no reason at all for the USB connectivity. That's fine, but please tell us a USB spork is also in the works ...
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World's Dumbest USB Gadgets
USB Noodle Strainer Soumen is a Japanese noodle dish served cold and often topped with sauces, leeks, sesame and horseradish. If that sounds appealing to you, but you have no free outlets in the kitchen, grab your laptop and this USB-powered noodle strainer. Your laptop battery powers the flowing circulation of ice-cold water, which cools the pre-cooked soumen noodles to their desired frigid ...World's Dumbest USB Gadgets
USB Mouse on a Bike There's computer mice, and then there's computer mice. If you ever hope to claim carpal tunnel as a reason for staying home from work, then you're going to want to pick up this little USB-powered fitness fanatic, who pedals faster on his stationary bike the faster you type. The point? We'll have to get back to you on that ...
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...World's Dumbest USB Gadgets
USB Finger Dance Mat If your chubby fingers make it hard to dial phone numbers, don't resort to buying one of those phones with over-sized buttons they make for the elderly. Instead, trim those sausages down with a little finger exercise! At first glance, this USB-powered mini 'Dance Dance' game appears to be some glorified, real-time version of Simon, with mini-lights and sounds that would ...World's Dumbest USB Gadgets
World's Dumbest USB Gadgets
Warmmi USB Heating Knee Pads An ingeniously simple solution for chilly Internet-surfing conditions, these $20 leg warmers toast your lower appendages through the magic of USB. They're perfect for flying, too. Why go through the trouble of fetching your laptop bag out of the overhead bin to power these babies instead of cuddling up to a free, easy to reach blanket? Lice, baby! Sadly, there's ...
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