Still, the necessity that gadgets create in our lives is still very significant. We use them to work, avoid boredom, socialize with others, collaborate, and a whole lot more—in ways that are constantly changing.

That’s why these essentials also change, based on our changing sentiments. My laptop used to be a frequent companion, letting me work practically anywhere with internet access. Eventually however, I grew tired of carrying a laptop around, with my preference slowly shifting to the portability of a netbook. The recent announcement of the Booklet 3G only whets my appetite more.

Some essentials remain constant, like my mobile. The necessity it creates and fulfills—communication—will probably never fundamentally change.

So what gadgets can’t you live without? What used to be crucial to your techie-oriented existence, and what new necessities are in your life? Feel free to hit the comments below.

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Courtesy Quo Vadis

This is where smartphones still fall short versus laptops. For some reason, and I’ve seen this happen many times, people who use laptops to essentially not pay attention while getting things done on their own agenda come off as more polite. More businesslike even.

It’s a reality that will probably not change soon. You can tap away on the keyboard, do a little furious clicking, all while glancing quickly at the speaker. All in the name of pretending that you’re doing an activity related to the current business conversation. So long as you pretend to follow the 7 rules for using laptops in meetings I guess.

Heck, so long as no one else can see your screen, you can even dabble in casual gaming. That’s also something I’ve seen happen with my own eyes.

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Courtesy of Wikipedia

As more people started getting into texting, calling, surfing online, and watching HD broadcasts, residential energy consumption increased by an average of 3.4 percent a year, since 1990, according to a study conducted by the International Energy Agency. The IEA wants people to realize that the increased participation of consumers is key to reversing this trend.

“The extent of savings is large; however the energy and financial savings on individual residential appliances often appear insignificant to consumers,” the report said.

Green activists have dubbed 2009 as the year of climate change because of a deadline to agree in December a U.N.-led global climate pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

But rising home energy use underlines how dramatic action on climate change would need action by individuals as well as governments. The report underlined the difficulty of cutting greenhouse gases as people’s lifestyles became increasingly affluent.

Gadget manufacturers have taken steps increase the efficiency of their products, making them last longer on a single charge and consuming less power than ever. But accompanying this is a trend towards higher-capacity batteries—which need to consume more power to receive a full charge without significantly increasing the charging time. Not to mention the unofficial impression—based on personal experience—that computers are left on overnight to download large files.

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Japan’s lack of natural resources was particularly amazing during the 90s, when the country was pegged as the newest economic superpower. Two decades later, Japan’s financial system isn’t what it used to be, but that hasn’t changed its population’s propensity to gadgets, throwing out the old to buy the new. Why is this important? Turns out all that technological garbage may have finally given the country a stockpile of precious metals.

According to new calculations by the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, Japan has unwittingly accumulated three times as much gold, silver and indium than the entire world uses or buys in a year. In the case of platinum, Japan’s urban mines may contain six times annual global consumption.

As any discerning gadget geek knows, the electrical components of gadgets—even those that came out in the 80s—are full of these materials. And Japan is in an advantageous, since it apparently does a good job of assessing just what exactly is in its dumps.

The only question remaining is how to properly extract these valuable commodities from all that garbage, and perhaps, what to do with practically useless and non-biodegradable materials like plastic.

Perhaps while they’re working on this, the Japanese could also implement more effective recycling programs, securing all that potential wealth before it becomes part of a filthy pile. That’s exactly what Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry is pushing for, going straight to people’s homes. (timesonline.co.uk)

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Two more ads for those who continue reading.

(myxer.com)

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• Micro Spy Remote. Pocket-sized and thus easy to conceal.
• Leather 250GB Hip Flask USB Drive. Pretend you’re a drunk clinging on to his flask, and no one will suspect you’re holding a 250GB hard drive!
• Phantom Keystroker. The second-most devious of this lot, this little baby hooks up to a computer’s USB port, and mimics mouse and keyboard actions—enough to drive the poor victim crazy.
• Personal Soundtrack T-Shirt. Thanks to a small speaker in front, this piece of clothing can make fantasies come true. Want fanfare whenever you enter? Or some thunder to rumble after you introduce yourself? Through the small remote, these scenarios are not totally possible!
• Apple Remote. This is easily the best prank gadget here (though not available from ThinkGeek AFAWK), because it proves the myth that Apple products can’t go wrong to be false. Watch as the Steve jobs faithful wonder what in tarnation’s happening to their beloved computer!

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Read the Frickin’ Manual! Too many people rant about how their gadget has failed them, when the solution was available in the manual! If you’re too lazy to pull out the box and flip through the manual, many companies make their products’ manuals available online. You have no excuse!

Learn Keyboard Shortcuts. Real gadget veterans know how to do things on their desktops and laptops really quickly; tapping commands with the keyboard will always be quicker than selecting them with a mouse. Check out Developer’s Alarm: 200+ Hotkeys To Boost Your Productivity and Mac Shortcuts That Boost Your Productivity.

Use Bluetooth. We discovered the wonders of Bluetooth a long time ago. Aside from allowing easy file and data transfers, and syncing, there are programs out there that allow you to lock a PC and control it, via Bluetooth.

Take care of your batteries. The instructions vary for each gadget type. Here are some resources to get you started: ipodbatteryfaq.com, How To Maximize Laptop Battery Life, and Maximizing Your Cell Phone Battery Life.

Don’t Save Anything Compromising. Let’s see, if Vanessa Hudgens didn’t snap herself nude with a camera phone, there would’ve been no chance for her privates becoming public. A simple rule: Need something to be absolutely secret? Make sure it isn’t on any gadget, or at least keep it very very secure!

Visit (and Participate in) Forums. Look for forums relevant purportedly to your gadgets, see if members post useful info, and participate. Forums are a great way to learn new stuff, especially when it comes to fully utilizing your tech toys.

Join User Groups. Related to the previous item, active gadget user groups are a great way to meet literally like-minded people. Nothing beats first-hand advice from a fellow user who’s experienced the same problem. And for certain gadgets, like gaming consoles, there’s nothing like a little friendly competition!

Save Your Money. No one said it better than Joel Johnson: “Stop buying this crap. Just stop it. You don’t need it. Wait a year until the reviews come out and the other suckers too addicted to having the very latest and greatest buy it, put up a review, and have moved on to something else.” In other words, maximizing your gadget starts with making sure you’re spending for something genuinely useful, and pay only for the features you need.

Got any more ways to maximize your gadgets? Do let us know, dear readers!

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I also realized that offloading files, especially music files, to an external drive is problematic. The point of a notebook is portability, and hooking up a USB drive just to listen to podcasts in the kitchen is a pain.

What I need is something like Maxtor’s Central Axis, a one Terabyte Network Attached Storage (NAS). It has a Gigabit Ethernet connection to keep speeds up near those of a local drive, and two USB ports to add further storage when you need it.

And even if you are not hooked into the network via CAT5, you can still get your media via wireless connection when whipping together a tasty late night snack (via a Wi-Fi router).

It’ll even stream movies to your Xbox or PlayStation 3 (PS3) without a computer in between.

The price is not unreasonable retailing for $330.00 USD and will be available July 2008.

Source: Gizmodo

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The strip has a couple of charge-only sockets along with the three-way mains AC extenders and even comes with a mini-USB cable, obviating the need to carry chargers for most gadgets.

The $25.00 USD box also squeezes in a surge-protector for those untrustworthy hotel power outlets.

Source: PlanetSean.com

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Reading the specs gives the answer — the QuickCam Vision Pro is a significant step up in performance from the built-in option.

The two megapixel Quickcam can supply 720p video via an autofocus Carl Zeiss lens, and has a built in microphone.

The camera will cost $130.00 USD and – floating eerily as it does in the product shot – the Quickcam reminds me of nothing other than the Empire’s Imperial Probe Droid, or Probot.

Source: Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro Product Page.

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