Recycle Your Old Cell Phone

This holiday season when you open your gift and find a brand new cell phone for you to tinker around with, don't forget to be green and recycle your old phone.

I found this awesome post that has all kinds of information about recycling your old cell. You can drop it off at certain retail locations such as a few select Target and Radio Shack stores. You can even mail it in. If the cell phone is in good condition you might want to donate to a charity like Call to Protect that refurbishes old cells and gives them to people who have suffered domestic abuse.

So if you need to recycle your old phone, read Bluetooth? iPhone? Don't just ditch the Old Phone.

Are Solar Panels for the Birds? New Solar Powered Birdhouse Debuts

Oooms, a Dutch design firm, recently introduced a birdhouse outfitted with a solar panel on the roof. Okay, I can already hear you all asking, “Why would a bird ever need electricity?” As silly as it sounds at first, there’s actually a pretty neat explanation for the solar panel. 

During the day, the birdhouse gathers solar energy via the panel and charges a small battery. Once the sun goes down, a small light attached to the birdhouse’s perch is illuminated. No, it isn’t so the bird can read in bed, it’s actually designed to lure nocturnal bugs right to the opening of the birdhouse—essentially the bird version of late-night pizza delivery.

This seems like a neat way to enjoy having a birdhouse and feeder, without having to ever actually put out any birdseed. That said, I might be a little worried that I was messing with the birds’—and the bugs’—natural behavior just a little too much. What do you think?

If you’re interested, you can purchase your own solar birdhouse from the Oooms store, for the bargain price of 70 Euros.

Image via Oooms

The Green Wireless Charger

In this day and age, everything is going wireless. I remember the first time I used wireless Internet, and how I felt like I was in some kind of bizarre future world. The idea that data transmitted through the air baffled and fascinated me. But then again, I'm a nerd. Most people probably don't think about these things.

However, I'm sure this one will get the brain going. Two companies, WiPower and Green Plug, are partnering together to work on a green wireless charger. Yes, wireless power. How's that for the future? The technology they're working on would allow for a universal wireless charger, instead of all the proprietary ones that different manufacturers provide with their products. This is going to take some working together with manufacturers, but on top of the coolness of charging things without wires, it would also be very green.

How is it green? Every year, "millions of chargers are thrown away each year when people buy new devices and discard the old chargers".It could save millions in costs for those manufacturers, and also saves on the waste created by all the unused chargers. Hopefully this doesn't get too much push back. I'd love to see this technology in my home.

To read more, visit CNET. What do you guys think about a universal wireless charger?

Is Your Computer Infected With Rogue Security Software?

Symantec Corp. recently announced the rather frightening findings of its Report on Rogue Security Software and it doesn't look good for millions of computer-owning consumers. The study revealed that cybercriminals are employing increasingly persuasive online scare tactics to convince users to purchase rogue security software.

Rogue security software, or "scareware," is software that pretends to be legitimate security software. These rogue applications provide little or no value and may even install malicious code or reduce the overall security of the computer. The scam involves encouraging unsuspecting users to install rogue software with website ads that prey on users’ fears of security threats. These ads typically include false claims such as "If this ad is flashing, your computer may be at risk or infected," urging the user to follow a link to scan their computer or get software to remove the threat.

According to the study, 93 percent of the software installations for the top 50 rogue security software scams were intentionally downloaded by the user. As of June 2009, Symantec has detected more than 250 distinct rogue security software programs.

The initial monetary loss to consumers who download these rogue products ranges from $30 to $100. However, the costs associated to regain ones’ identity could be far greater. Not only can these rogue security programs cheat the user out of money, but the personal details and credit card information provided during the purchase can be used in additional fraud or sold on black market forums resulting in identify theft.

To make matters worse, some rogue security software actually installs malicious code that puts users at risk of attack from additional threats. As a result, installing these programs can lower the security posture of a computer while claiming to strengthen it. For example, rogue programs may instruct the user to lower or disable any existing security settings while registering the bogus software or prevent the user from accessing legitimate security Web sites after installation. This, in turn, leaves users exposed to the very threats the rogue software promised to protect against.

Symnatec offers these tips to protect against rogue security software:

• Avoid following links from emails, as these may be links to spoofed or malicious websites. Instead, manually type in the URL of a known, reputable website.
• Never view, open, or execute email attachments unless the attachment is expected and comes from a known and trusted source. Be suspicious of any emails that are not directly addressed to your email address.
• Be cautious of pop-up windows and banner advertisements that mimic legitimate displays. Suspicious error messages displayed inside the Web browser are often methods rogue security software scams use to lure users into downloading and installing their fake product

Amazon's Kindle Greener Than Printed Books?

If Amazon's Kindle is on your wishlist for this holiday season, you might end up greener than your book buying friends and family.

Cleantech Group found in a study that e-readers could have a major impact on improving the sustainability and environmental impact of the publishing industry, one of the world’s most polluting sectors. In 2008, the U.S. book and newspaper industries combined resulted in the harvesting of 125 million trees, not to mention wastewater that was produced or its massive carbon footprint.

The Cleantech Group’s report, The Environmental Impact of Amazon's Kindle, found that, while e-readers are still a niche technology with a little more than 1 million units sold to date, they could have a more positive impact on the environment in the future. The report indicates that, on average, the carbon emitted in the lifecycle of a Kindle is fully offset after the first year of use. The Cleantech Group forecasts that devices like the Kindle and Sony's Reader purchased from 2009 to 2012 could prevent 5.3 billion kg of carbon dioxide in 2012, or 9.9 billion kg during the four-year time period.

Learn more about the study's findings here: Cleantech Group report: E-readers a win for carbon emissions.

Charge Your iPod, Phone and Other Gadgets with Yo-Yo Power

While solar powered chargers are great for giving your gadgets a quick charge when you’re away from a plug, what do you do if you’re inside, or the sun isn’t shining, when you run out of juice? Easy Energy has a solution for that situation: the YoGen, a small yo-yo inspired generator.

By pulling on a string attached to its body, the handheld YoGen generates up to five watts of clean energy to charge your device via an included connector. While it will probably get rather repetitive after a few minutes, on the plus side, you might be able to burn some calories and build some forearm muscle in the process.

Easy Energy claims that the YoGen has a better ratio of energy input to energy output of any similar charger on the market, but have yet to announce just how many pulls it will take to charge a device. At a price of $39.99, it’s not exactly cheap, but could be just the thing for a quick charge while away from home.

The YoGen is available to preorder for a release date of November 15^th from the Easy Energy store now.

Image via Easy Energy

New Study Finds More Than One Third of Employees Telework

According to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, nearly two in five employed U.S. online adults work from home at least one day a month. The study, The Telework and the Technologies Enabling Work Outside Corporate Walls, also shows that most teleworkers plan to spend at least $925 over the next year on technology products to help them work from home.

More than 38 million employed U.S. online adults, or 37 percent of the total U.S. workforce, work from home at least once a month. Employees say focusing on tasks without disruptions and running a business from home are the top reasons for teleworking. The top benefits include flexible hours, reduced travel time/costs and fewer disruptions/greater productivity. Ninety-eight percent of teleworkers use computer/IT technology, 90 percent use communication technologies and 75 percent use CE accessories.

The increasing number of teleworkers has benefits for the environment as well. CEA research has shown that a single day of telecommuting saves between 16 and 23-kilowatt hours of electricity or the equivalent of up to 12 hours of an average household's electricity use. One day of telework also eliminates the need for 1.4 gallons of gasoline and reduces CO2 emissions 17 to 23 kilograms. A worker with a one-way commute of 22 miles, commuting five days a week, will also save about 50% of the annual electricity consumption of the average household by working from home one day each week.

For more on the study's finding, check out the CEA press release.

Feds Offer Cyber Security Tips for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month!

As part of this initiative, the Federal Trade Commission has launched a new site focused on the cybersecurity. OnGuardOnline.gov provides practical tips from the federal government and technology industry to help consumers be on guard against Internet fraud, secure their computers, and protect their personal information.

Topics include computer security, broadband Internet, identity theft, Internet auctions, email scams, and social networking sites. The site also offers a variety of practical tips and tools consumers can use to be safe online, including a glossary of Internet terms, and tutorial videos on topics like spam filtering and wireless security. There is even a game, The Case of the Cyber Criminal, that teaches tips on how to protect privacy online.

For more tips on cybersecurity, also check out StaySafeOnline.org.

Consumer Electronics Will Be Big This Holiday Season

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® says that finding from their recent research points to a holiday season where consumers plan to spend more on consumer electronics.

The CEA study found that four out of five adults (80 percent) plan on buying CE products this holiday, the highest results in the 16 years of the survey. Overall gift spending this holiday will increase four percent over last year despite a drop in overall holiday spending. They also found that consumers plan to spend an average of $222 on consumer electronics this holiday, a gain of eight percent over last year. Half of consumers (48 percent) also plan to buy a CE product for themselves this holiday.

Consumer electronics comprise four of the top 10 items on adults' holiday gift wish list, with computers and video games ranking two and three respectively behind clothes. Televisions and digital cameras also made the list. Several emerging technologies, such as Blu-ray players, eReaders and netbooks, are among the most wanted and hottest gifts this season. These products are in adults top ten CE wish list for the first time, joining mainstays such as notebooks, portable MP3 players and flat-panel TVs. Netbooks are another hot category, especially among teens, ranking in the top ten CE gift wish list of that age group for the first time.

What consumer electronics products are on your wishlist this year?

LG Releasing Solar-Powered Cell Phone

When you think about solar power, you probably think about a big solar panel array on top of a house, or a solar farm out in the desert. Lately though, there has been flood of new solar-powered chargers for portable devices hitting the market. From iPods to laptops, it seems like now there’s a way to charge almost anything on the go. Now, LG is getting ready to release the POP, a cell phone with a solar panel built right into the battery cover.

To charge the phone using the solar panel, you have to leave it in direct sunlight somewhere, which probably won’t appeal to everyone. Also, it charges a little slow, taking around ten minutes to provide with phone with enough clean energy for a little over two minutes of talk time.

But that’s not really too bad. Besides all the green benefits associated with a solar powered phone, I can think of plenty of times in the past where I was away from a charger and needed to charge my phone, even if it was going to take a while.

Sure, it may not be the most practical solar application we’ve seen yet, but I still love the road that we’re heading down. Imagine, in the future we will be able to charge our cell phones anywhere, and without wires.

Well, as long as we’re outside, that is.

Photo credit: LG