Search Results for: recycle

Save Paper: Digitize Your Life with the Ironkey USB

IronKey 4GB Secure Hardware-Encrypted Flash Drive While we’ve talked about using USB Flash Drives to hold your life in times of disaster, as part of that preparedness you can use these devices to help save trees. The first step is simply requesting to receive your statements online instead of receiving paper statements from your banks, credit cards, cell phone carriers and sometimes even your utilities. Usually, the online statements come in the universal PDF format so you may want to grab the latest Adobe Reader, or better yet FoxIT Reader which is an alternative to Adobe’s Reader. While you can save these on your computer, being the Geek I am, I need multiple copies of important data and I want to store that data securely especially if it is mobile.

The IronKey 4GB Secure Hardware-Encrypted Flash Drive fits the bill perfectly using always on AES encryption capable of encrypting everything written to the drive on the fly. The encryption keys are generated in hardware by a FIPS 140-2 compliant true random number generator on the IronKey cryptochip so they never leave the IronKey secure hardware. The 4GB of space should handle ALL of your PDF statements for at least a decade with spare room to keep track of other information as well.

I4U performed a full review on the PNY IronKey worth reading.

Make it a New Year’s Resolution to go through all your banking accounts, credit cards and other companies that send you paper bills and change your statements to online statements. While you’re at it, grab a copy of CutePDF so you can “print to PDF” instead of printing out your various confirmations and receipts for online transactions. If you must print out to paper, print using a duplex printer on both sides with either two or four pages on each side. If you can read four pages per side, a 200 page document can print out in 25 pages!

If you must create paper, when finished make sure you can recycle. While you should already be recycling, if you aren’t check with your waste disposal company and check to see if they have a recycling program. You can usual recycle for less than $150 a year.

Gimmie!

Touchless Recycling Bin

Touchless Recycling Bin Healthy for both the earth, and your family! Toss recyclables into the separate bins of this hands-free recycling bin without touching a sticky, dirty lid or stepping on an awkward pedal.

This new 60 Liter Recycle Touchless Trashcan NX model has two 30 liter separated compartments. One compartment for trash and one for recycle, or one for paper and one for bottles/cans. It uses the latest sensor technology. Simply place your hand or debris about 6 inches away from the infrared sensor on top of the trash can and the lid will open automatically. The lid will remain open if debris or your hand is within the 6 inch range of the infrared sensor. It will close automatically 3 seconds after debris has been released and your hand moves away. There are two buttons to open and close the lid manually, and an on/off switch on the back of the trash can. Fits any regular 8 or 13 gallon trash bag in each compartment. Comes with 2 inner buckets and wheels.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $119.99

Costco Offers Electronics Recycling, Pays Members

Costco Recycling

Some great news for fans of the environment and Costco members. Costco has teamed up with GreenSight Technologies to offer its members the ability to trade-in/recycle electronics such as PCs, monitors, cameras, cell phones, and printers. Better still, this service is free and even better yet, if the product you’re returning has some value, you will receive a Costco gift card for that amount.

This is fantastic news. Kudos to Costco for taking a huge step in the right direction. My Costco membership is now worth considerably more to me. I have so much equipment sitting at home b/c I didn’t want it to end up in a landfill, but now that it’ll be easy for me to recycle, I can clear up at home. I would have recycled it without needing any money back!

To find out more and to get started, visit Costco’s website.

Why your iPod will be out of date in a year

So, 2006 will be the year of convergence when the uber or ultimate gizmo consisting of a phone, music player, camera, organiser and game machine and crammed into one attractive a slim design. I could’ve sworn 2005, 2004, 2003, etc… were called the year of convergence.

Convergence to a point is great but if a gizmo “wears too many hats”, the device probably does nothing really well. For instance, my PalmOne Treo is a wonderful device but is not convient for playing MP3’s like my iPod mini. Also, I would not use the Treo to take a family photo as the camera sucks. What the Treo does provide is a good phone and excellent organizer. To be honest, I do not care the camera is bad or that MP3s are not best listened to through the phone as long as the organizer and phone work.

So basically, I think the article is a recycled subject stating that 2006 will be the year of convergence. There will be devices delivered, but I do not think consumers are that interested in an all-in-one device. How did the ROKR do? Not so good…

Electronic Gadgets Pose Challenge For Waste Disposal

From cell phones to iPods, from PDAs to PCs, Americans love the latest gadget. Yet this profusion of innovation also creates a problem: obsolete electronic devices, many with toxic parts, are stacking up in closets and basements, and eventually end up in a dump. In all, Americans own about 2 billion electronic gizmos, or 25 per household. Each year, some 50 million computers and 20 million televisions become obsolete, according to a recent Government Accountability Office study. But only about 10 percent of e-waste is recycled. The rest is landfilled, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates. At least 25 states are considering bills that would regulate e-waste.

Review: Logitech Harmony 688 Remote

Review: Logitech Harmony 688 Remote

How many remotes does it take for you to control all of your entertainment devices? Even with ‘universal’ remotes, I still had to use some of my ‘native’ remotes for one function or another, and ended up using three different remotes to control five different devices. This seems to be a common problem in entertainment rooms, the other problem being the difficulty of using the remotes. Harmony has conquered both problems.

Welcome to the wife and mother-in-law friendly remote!

In high-tech homes, the future is here

Science-fiction films depicting the imagined lives of people in the future have always fascinated us. We haven’t yet reached the stage of living with robots for hire, as in “I, Robot” (2004), but we can already get some help from a small robot that silently roams the house cleaning the floor.

We’re pretty close to cloning pets, although definitely not ready to be replaced by our own clone to complicate our life, as in “The Sixth Day” (2000), or to recycle our memories to live another life in the distant future, as in “Vanilla Sky” (2001). But South Korean technology clearly has reached the level where, as in a scene from “Total Recall” (1990), people can return to their homes to see computer control panels unfold on the living room wall. And the cool “stretch” phone sported by Keanu Reeves’ character Neo in “The Matrix” (2003) is here to stay.

e-Junk recycling still in its infancy

By Ellen Simon, The Associated Press

NEW YORK — When Office Depot stores ran an electronics recycling drive last summer that accepted everything from cell phones to televisions, some stores were overwhelmed by the amount of e-trash they received.

No current figures exist for how much e-junk is recycled, but people in the industry believe it’s a sliver of the total. People simply don’t know where to take their e-trash, so much of it sits in drawers. The toxic materials many electronics contain, such as lead and mercury, present more obstacles. A National Safety Council study done four years ago found that less than 10 percent of techno trash was recycled.

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