Keeping up with news and favorite TV shows on the road? No problem. I simply plug a tiny antenna into my laptop’s USB port and tele-voilà! Full color, high-definition, digital TV, even video recording — kilowatt-free and no batteries to buy — all with my Pinnacle PCTV HD Ultimate Stick.
I use it at home, too — which enabled me to give away the space-eating TV and VCR that had monopolized a third of my desk space.
This cool gift-worthy gadget shrinks environmental and tabletop footprints. It utilizes existing resources (USB 2.0 computers), minimizes resources used for manufacturing, packaging and shipping, and reduces landfill-clogging, toxic e-waste. And priced at $129.99, the Ultimate Stick (pinnaclesys.com; PC and Mac versions) requires a warning: use at airports, parks and other public places can draw green-with-envy crowds.
Here are some other eco-minded gifts for gadget-lovers:
» Zero-footprint data storage. Use cloud computing to replace old-school clutterbuggin’ storage devices. Dropbox’s super-secure service features drag-and-drop simplicity, syncs files automatically to your computers and the Web, can be accessed wherever you travel through any browser or mobile device and takes a click to share files and photos with other folks. Works with PC, Mac and Linux. The two gigabyte storage plan is free, while massive storage costs $99.99 a year; getdropbox.com.
» Sun-power your gadgets. With its tiny solar panel, the pocket-size Solio Hybrid 1000 charger ($79.95) replaces plug-in adapters for nearly any mobile phone, MP3 player, iPod, GPS, PDA, digital camera and game player — and it stores power! Sun’s not shining? An included connector channels power from a computer USB port. Solio’s Magnesium model ($169.99) can also be plugged into wall outlets; solio.com.
» Gift cards for digital music downloads.
» My favorite: online donations in giftees’ names to causes close to their hearts.
Share green ideas with Robin at [email protected].
