The Pros: you can use it as an alarm clock, it doesn’t snore and it never steals the covers.
The Cons: you’ll wake up exhausted and feeling like you have half a brain.

Yes, it’s true, I saw it on TV! Turns out if you talk on your cell phone right before going to bed, or even sleep with a cell phone on in your room, it interferes with your brain waves and natural sleep cycle.

I actually tested this theory out by mistake. I was tossing and turning one night and got the worst night’s sleep ever. I couldn’t figure out why and then realized I had left the cell phone on in my room. Every night since then I’ve made sure to keep it out of there, and I’ve slept like a rock.

According to the study, if you must have a cell phone near where you sleep, make sure it’s off.  Here’s just one article about it or you can do a Google search to find out more!

What a great idea (and a great gift idea too!): a solar charger (or one that works with just a single AA battery) for your cell phone!

Think of all the times your battery has died when you were away from an outlet or car charger.

These are definitely mobile must-haves, especially for emergencies.

If you have one, let me know how it’s worked and which types/brands you recommend.

Sometimes you find out about new gadgets in the weirdest places, like while looking up the weather. Technology changes as quickly as the wind, so maybe that’s why this cool little Internet-enabled “alarm clock” is featured on Weather.com.  

It’s called the Chumby, and I found it while checking the forecast a few days ago. I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to knowing the weather and the time, among other things, and this bedside gadget (or wherever you are that there’s access to a wireless connection) is a neat little way to stay connected, “weather” to the outside world, friends or information.

I think this would make a great, unique gift idea—I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t love or use it (and that includes me—hint, hint).

I love all the sidebar gadgets available nowadays that you can add to your desktop—cool, convenient little tools that keep you up to date on what’s going on or simply provide easy access to some much-needed fun.

My Windows Vista sidebar has a Gadget Gallery that includes a calendar, list of contacts, the weather, a notepad, sports scores, photos from Facebook and a ton more. And this link provides even more ways to personalize your Vista sidebar. There are to choose from at Google Gadgets too. I’ve just started with the basics and will let you know as I try out new and unusual tools.

Here’s one I just couldn’t resist. It’s bubblewrap that you can feel good about popping–who doesn’t love doing that? Plus it’s much more environmentally friendly than the offline version!

Hmm…well, it turns out that the shiny little red laptop I just got, which I still LOVE, has an annoying glitch specific to this model.

Sometimes the wireless Internet connection works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Not very convenient if you’re working remotely!

We spent hours trying to rectify the situation, and finally found a message on Gateway’s home page that you need to uninstall and reinstall the wireless driver if this happens. Just thought I’d save you a little time if you ran out and bought this laptop and are having the same problem.

Supposedly you only need to uninstall and reinstall once, but we’ve had to do it several times. So…I might be paying the friendly folks at Best Buy a little visit soon for a replacement or repair.

My husband just bought me my very first personal laptop (notebook) so I can work from home. It’s so cool–it’s a shiny little red Gateway that has wireless Internet connection and a wireless mouse (I’ve never really gotten the hang of using the little fingerpad–it’s frustrating and takes forever).

I’m not the most tech-savvy person but this is so easy to use. The keyboard is easy to type on, the screen is crisp and clear, it’s FAST and it has the new “n” technology which is just coming out–apparently it’s 10 times faster than any other wireless connections.

Check it out–I really like mine, and if you work from home or on the go, you’ll probably love it too!

I’ve always had access to laptops at work, but never took them home because I found it too hard to work with that crazy little finger pad that you have to push your finger across and get to just the exact spot before clicking.

I bought a wireless mouse this weekend and this thing is such a timesaver.  I didn’t even know wireless mouses existed–that’s how untech-savvy I’ve been till lately. It’s a Logitech that comes with a little card that you simply plug into the side of your laptop. And when you’re done, the card snaps right onto the bottom of the mouse so you don’t need to worry about losing it or digging around in your laptop bag.

The other great thing is its shape. It’s ergonomically designed so that your thumb and ring finger just nestle around it, and it’s so comfortable–I never realized how uncomfortable standard mouses (mice?!) were till using this one.

Anyway, I love it. I give this one a thumbs up!