Smart apps, smarter you

Smartphones are called “smart” because they do so much more than ordinary cellphones. Besides making and receiving calls and text messages, or snapping pictures and videos, smartphones let you do things you typically do on your computer—albeit on a Lilliputian scale. Pocketing either of the two most popular mainstream smartphone platforms—iPhone or Android—can often liberate you from having to haul a notebook computer to accomplish everyday tasks using your smartphone’s suite of built-in applications, or apps.

Continue reading: Smart apps, smarter you | August 2011.

When Joe Hutsko of the New York Times tried to learn more about the Kindle, he reported, “Phone calls and e-mail messages to Amazon inquiring about the materials in the popular Kindle device have thus far gone unanswered.”

via GreenCitizen: Independent publishers ask–how green are e-books?.

However I’ve recently kicked the Petzl out of my bed in favor of another reading light: The Verso Clip-On Reading Light. It’s small and lightweight, has a single bright LED light, and its padded clip attaches easily and firmly to my Kindle 3′s leather case.

Some users have complained there’s only one brightness setting on/off), while other book lights offer two settings. The single setting works fine for me.

Two small quibbles:

1. Although light spreads a nice and even swath of light on the Kindle screen without creating a glaring “hotspot” in the display itself, the “amazonkindle” logo does reflect some glare that’s a bit distracting to the point of I find myself holding my Kindle with my thumb over the logo to block the glare.
2. Amazon sells the light in white, red or turquoise ($19.99), however I bought the black model ($14.99) to match my graphite Kindle 3 at a nearby Borders store rather than purchase the light from Amazon.

Neither gripe has anything to do with the light itself, which makes it easy for me to recommend the Verso Clip-On Reading Light for bedtime book reading of every shape and size and format (including good ol’ fashioned real books, too).

Amazon.com: Verso Clip-On Reading Light for Kindle.

Green Gadgets Author’s Fave Green Tools

We need more sexy green products, says writer Joe Hutsko.

Apr. 14, 2010 – by Steven Castle

Joe Hutsko is a technology writer and the author of Green Gadgets for Dummies, which covers green and sustainable technologies from mobile gadgets to energy-efficient home systems. He is a veteran of Apple during the John Sculley reign, and is the author of the novel, The Deal, based on Steve Jobs-Sculley corporate fracas. We recently caught up with Hutsko and posed a few very jealous questions.

Read the full interview: Electronic House | Green Gadgets Author’s Fave Green Tools.

With the future of digital reading undeniable, we decided to speak to someone who knows gadgets. Joe Hutsko joins Marnie to talk about e-readers vs. books, the advantages, disadvantages, and which of the two is greener.

Listen to interview via gGadget.org via Mud graffiti and book pulp | Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

Green Gadgets For Dummies: THE Book Every Tech Geek Should Own

Wake up! Your beloved electronics are sucking the life out of your budget…not to mention the enormous environmental impact they have!

Luckily Green Gadgets for Dummies is swooping in for the rescue!

Before we get in to a quick breakdown of the awesomeness that is Green Gadgets for Dummies, check out these statistics from Planet Green that show why we need greener gadgets:

15 percent: Percentage of money spent on powering your computer dedicated to computing, worldwide; the rest of the $250 billion is spent on energy wasted in idling.

70 percent: Percentage of waste composed of discarded electronics, out of all hazardous waste.

529 pounds: Amount of fossil fuels required to manufacture a 53-pound computer system (including the monitor), along with 49 pounds of chemicals and 1.5 tons of water.

15 billion: Batteries produced annually worldwide.

40 percent: Of the energy used for electronics in your home is used while these devices are turned off.

Author Joey Hutsko does an amazing job at helping us learn how to shop for greener gadgets, avoid “greenwashed” products, and get the electronics we currently own to run more efficiently…all in a super fun and witty manner.

Read the full review: Green Gadgets For Dummies: THE Book Every Tech Geek Should Own – The Fun Times Guide to Living Green.

Below is a brief description of the book, followed by the book’s foreword by Tom Zeller Jr.,  editor of the New York Times Green Inc. section.

Thanks to everyone who provided so much support and assistance throughout the writing of the book.

(Special thanks to Wiley project editor Nicole Sholly, who made the process a learning experience that set me up for my next book, Macs All-in-One For Dummies (2nd edition).)

Book Description

Save some green by going green with these environmentally friendly gadgets!

With concern for the future of our environment growing stronger and more serious every day, there has never been a better time to take a new approach to some of the most popular gizmos and gadgets on the market and learn how you can convernt to electronics that have minimal environmental impact.

Green gadgets encompass everything from iPods to energy-efficient home entertainment devices to solar laptop chargers and crank-powered gizmos. This helpful resource explains how to research green gadgets, make a smart purchasing decision, use products you already own in a more environmentally friendly way, and say goodbye to electronics that zap both energy and money.

• Explore the environmental and financial benefits of green gadgets with this friendly reference
• Discusses which gadgets save energy-and which ones create energy
• Learn ways to offset your carbon footprint when you can’t reduce consumption
• Get tips for understanding products labels and avoiding “greenwash”
• Discover how to calculate the energy and money your gadgets consume

Get moving and start living green with this informative guide to environmentally and wallet-friendly gadgets!

From the Back Cover
Think green, save green, love Mother Earth, and have your gadgets too

No doubt about it, we’re a society of gadget freaks. But if you love your gadgets and the planet and saving money, here’s where it all comes together. Discover new environmentally friendly gadgets, ways to use the ones you have more efficiently, and steps to safely recycle or dispose of out-of-date or broken gizmos. You’ll even find out how being green saves green!

• Start thinking green — learn the “four Rs” of green gadgetry, understand carbon footprints, and starve energy vampires
• Save energy now — by using rechargeable batteries, monitoring power use, adjusting settings on TVs and video game consoles, and more
• Control your computer — discover how to adjust power conservation settings for Macs and PCs
• Know green from greenwash — find out how to choose electronic devices that are truly environmentally friendly
• Recognize when it’s time to say goodbye — know what you can donate, how to erase your personal information, and how to find reputable recyclers

Visit the companion Web site at www.dummies.com/go/greengadgetsfd to find more online resources and information about green gadgets!

Open the book and find:

• How many dollars you can save with energy-saving settings
• Sneaky ways your gadgets steal energy
• The six sins of greenwashing
• Safe ways to dispose of dead batteries
• How (and why) to deauthorize iTunes before donating your PC
• Steps for wiping Windows or Mac hard drives
• Greener gadgets for your home, car, and outdoor activities
• What EnergyStar ratings mean

Foreword

The very idea of “green gadgets,” to many, might seem an oxymoron. After all, it is a fundamental tenet of the environmental movement that less stuff is better, and that consumerism – the thing that makes us want to have that snazzy new cell phone, or to covet that nifty new digital camera – is at odds with maxims like “reduce, reuse, recycle.”

There’s some truth to this paradox – but it is hardly the only way to frame the contribution that technology can make to a greener, cleaner world. Setting aside the efforts underway to develop large-scale, clean-energy technologies like wind and solar power, which promise to address the steady march of climate change, there remain myriad ways for ordinary consumers to make simple adjustments in how they live – and what they buy – to generate substantial environmental gains.

In many cases, gadgets can help. Sure, we could all do better to manage our electricity consumption at home – but what if there were a product that could provide detailed data on when and where we were being most wasteful? What if there were “greener” versions of the technologies – like computers and cell phones – that we use frequently, and upgrade regularly?

Of course, such technologies do exist, and that’s part of what Joe Hutsko has assembled here: A guide to green gadgetry and how you can best deploy it to your own personal environmental advantage.

But this is not just a buying guide, and there’s a key point in that: Making better, less wasteful use of the gadgets you already own, and finding sensible ways to reduce, reuse and recycle those things you no longer need, are first-order strategies for consumers seeking to limit their overall footprint.

So, too, is learning to understand the increasingly complex eco-friendly and energy-efficient labeling systems used to keep consumers informed. You’ll find guidance on these matters here as well.

There is no magic wand – no magic gadget – that will neutralize consumers’ impact on the planet. But I think few green advocates would quibble with the idea that every consumer can make simple, informed choices about the technologies they buy and the energy they use – and that these decisions, factored collectively, are an indispensable part of any environmental movement.

Tom Zeller Jr.
Editor, Green Inc.
The New York Times

I’m pleased to see that FictionWise is sticking to its words to offer frequent updates and improvements to the program.

The first update offers the following enhancements:

eReader for iPhone and iPod touch version 1.1 includes the following new features:

• The ability to download eReader PDB files from web sites other than eReader.com and Fictionwise.com, as well as personal content in eReader PDB format. For details see the Personal Content FAQ.
• New options to: lock screen orientation, tap instead of swipe to turn pages, choose white text on black background, turn off page animation, and turn off full justification of text.
• Ability to sort the on-device bookshelf by author, title, or download date.
• Better error messages and several bug fixes.

Had a great conversation with Craig Crossman on his show Computer America. Tune in by clicking on Craig’s pic and logo. Thanks, Craig!

On Fox Business News: New iPhone, Big Deal? (July 11, 2008)

Joe Hutsko, Courtney Friel and Aline Yu talk about the new iPhone.