Posted on October 25, 2006 at 5:15 PM in round-ups
Note: The below is an archived entry from Earthling, formerly EarthLink's official blog. The blog itself has been decommissioned and is no longer updated, and comments are trackbacks are no longer accepted.
Here are some items from my running list of technology-related things that would be solid additions to anyone's life. You can also watch for them under the myFavorites tags buyinghelp and wantit:
- Belkin Concealed Surge Protector - Cord management built-in to the surge protector. Great idea. We all have to live with these things all over the place, and it's about time electronics manufacturers started to come up with better external case designs for them.
- Wi-fi Gmail and Flickr-enabled Photo Frame - This has been the talk of the internets recently. I know, it looks awfully geeky. But how great would it be to have a wallhanging that shows either your best photos or photos on a theme from all Flickr users? I puzzle over what to put on my walls and this would create lots more options. You can even e-mail it photos to add to the display. You might say $250 is a little steep, but think about what this is -- pretty much a fully functioning drone computer and 7" LCD display in a frame.
- Batteries that are USB rechargeable - Heck yeah. A functioning AA-cell battery that has a flip-out USB connector to recharge it with. It satisfies the Green disdain for disposable batteries, the cheapskate who likes anything that can be re-used, and the nerd who like to make everything a peripheral for his computer.
- Beautiful Keyboard - Ok, the practical value of this one is limited. It's still just a keyboard. And I don't think you can actually buy it. But just look at the thing.
- Laptop Lunches - It's an eco-friendly bento box sort of thing equally appropriate for kids or for adults of the American cubicle-going lifestyle. The FAQ's are chock full of interesting factoids like "Our survey revealed that most families pack one wet food per meal. " I wouldn't lump this in with the technology-related stuff except that it's one of the only lunch bag systems I've seen that comes with a user guide.