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I bought a new shredder a few months back (thanks for the bargain, eBay). It's powerful enough to shred the whole envelope and its contents without opening, even with those fake credit cards inside. Junk mail management is now so much easier.

One of these (which may only be available in Canada but I'm sure you can find an equivalant somewhere near you), one of these and a bunch of these and I'm good to go. The Carry-All has pockets for pens, passports and even one that fits every PDA I've ever tried. You can open a zipper to double its capacity and they're built like brick sh^h^h, uh, outhouses.

Apparently Fellowes has already taken care of this problem (http://www.fellowes.com/Fellowes/site/products/Pr oductDetails.aspx?Id=98914)

This product might provide a solution.....

Fellowes Microban (Just click on "Accessories with Microban Protection" in Yellow towards the top left of the site).

Apparently products which have been treated with a chemical called "Microban" actually resists viruses and bacteria from contaminating the surfaces. Its been applied to keyboards, mice and mouse pads. Its not a surface treatment, rather, its been embedded into all the plastic so its doesn't wear or scratch off. The rep has said they're very popular in hospitals .

I would personally like to see Consumers Reports (or an independent scientific lab) actually try and report on the product. Until then, I'm still skeptical of how well it works.

(And I would really emphasize that I'm skeptical. The tests mentionned by Fellowes on their site were bought and paid for by Fellowes.)

Fellowes makes several products using Microban technology for this reason.

Fellowes makes several products using Microban technology for this reason.

Fellowes and others solved this problem a long time ago. These types of keyboard covers can be sterilized and placed over the keyboard. This is the same method that is used in operating rooms and dentist's offices for things like the light fixture. Strangely you can't pour bleach in those either. But putting sterile plastic bags over the handles, prior to each use, seems to work quite well.

Another possible solution, which I have far less faith in, is these Microban keyboards that Fellowes also sells. These are made with an anti-microbial coating that supposedly kills on contact. I really can't see it lasting and I am reasonably confident it is little more than a marketing ploy.

One thing is for sure. From the microbial aspect, keyboards in hospitals should be the least of your concerns. <shudder>Ever looked in the corner of an operating room? </shudder>

Fellowes and others solved this problem a long time ago. These types of keyboard covers can be sterilized and placed over the keyboard. This is the same method that is used in operating rooms and dentist's offices for things like the light fixture. Strangely you can't pour bleach in those either. But putting sterile plastic bags over the handles, prior to each use, seems to work quite well.

Another possible solution, which I have far less faith in, is these Microban keyboards that Fellowes also sells. These are made with an anti-microbial coating that supposedly kills on contact. I really can't see it lasting and I am reasonably confident it is little more than a marketing ploy.

One thing is for sure. From the microbial aspect, keyboards in hospitals should be the least of your concerns. <shudder>Ever looked in the corner of an operating room? </shudder>

I have to admit that I do this all the time, especially in airports-- and it is getting harder and harder to find places to recharge.

That's strange: the only place where I can consistently find a free* outlet is in the airport. I have on occasion carried a small outlet strip in my bag just in case all the outlets are taken, but this has not been an issue. (Someone using a laptop probably wouldn't mind unplugging for a few seconds while you plugged in the strip (so you could share the outlet), unless he was a complete turlingdrome.)

I also fly on newer Airbus aircraft whenever possible. The 300 series have DC power outlets in the armrests of all the seats (yes, even in coach/steerage). If I know I'm going to be on such a flight for an hour or more, I won't bother looking for an AC outlet in the terminal. I picked up one of these for use on the road. (The auto-DC-to-airline-DC adapter is the C-chaped item at the bottom of the picture.) Airline DC outlets are standardized (I forget the name of the connector) so any vendor's adapter should work.

* "free" as in "no people". In this context, I suppose "free as in beer" would also apply.

Hello,

I saw a similar device for sale as Best Buy from Fellowes called a Mobile Proximity Alarm. From looking at their web site it doesn't seem to have a motion detector, but sets of an alarm if the sensor is moved more than fifteen feet from the base. It cost about $30.00USD.

Obviously, it's hard to compare this against something which only exists in prototype form, but has anyone used one of these? If so, how well did it work?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

January 23rd is also the beginning of World Rally Championship season with the Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo

If the world would keep scheduling things on the same day, mmm that would be a big help yesss. I ran over my Palm with my wife's SUV. Even a bumper won't protect it from that.

I've got too much crap. It's kind of upsetting to even think about how much stuff I've acquired over the years.

With this in mind, I've given away all of my VHS tapes, permanantly loaned out my VCR, etc. I went out and bought an iPod, and started ripping all of my CD's and throwing out the jewel boxes. I also back up my data onto DVD+R's. Now I'm stuck with tons of CD-type media. I recommend getting a bunch of great big CD wallets that will fit nicely into just about any bookshelf. It might not be a particularly innovative solution, but it works for me.

--Turkey

what's this off-brand shredder they modded?? You want a high-performance shredder, start with a quality unit: FELLOWES POWERSHRED.

these bad boys can shred paper, staples, paper clips, CREDIT CARDS, cardboard, you name it, if it fits in the slot, it can probably be shredded by the POWERSHRED

I've got one of the $200+ units and MAN I LOVE SHREDDING STUFF it's better than when you were a kid and set fire to everything (well at least that's something I did, those of you who are socially adjusted probably didn't).

800 pages per day!
8 sheets at a time
heavy duty
boo-yah

Cool geek toy factor aside, you have to wonder how practical it is to have a touch screen PDA as a wrist watch. No matter how careful you are with a watch, you're going to eventually end up scratching the face. And that'll happen with normal watch faces that are *meant* to take a beating. Scratching a touch screen PDA that small would be disasterous, forget about using the stylus afterwards (if the screen itself is still functional). Maybe they should think about bundling some watch-sized Fellowes Screen Overlays with it, or at least have a transparent, protective flip-cover.

Get screen overlays (they make the stylus glide), use a bic pen as styli (to avoid losing those expensive styli), enter what you can via PC, don't press down when you write (just glide), and get a nice thick neoprene case.

My black Handspring Visor Deluxe has survived 2 years of college abuse.

Turbyne

These work exceptionally well in preventing that particular problem and may even help restore some usability.

I think I've headed off Carpal Tunnel Syndrome before it got serious by moving to this keyboard, so I'd definitely recommend it!

Interestingly, the electronics looked to be pretty intact for the temperature it was cooked at, and the screen didn't look too bad. I'd say those Palm VIIx's are fairly resilient. Too bad they're so big.

This brings up another interesting question, however. Are there "rugged" PDAs that are able to take a beating? I know that Fellowes sells a bumper case that's supposed to protect Palms, but how durable are they? Does somebody make a "rugged" PDA?

Those are just its phone capabilities. The internet features are incredible. VoiceStream doesn't charge extra for data use, so it just comes out of my normal minutes (I do need a dialup account, however). I can read and post to Slashdot. I can check my mail and reply to anything urgent. And for longer emails/posts, I pull out my fold-up Stowaway keyboard and type at full speed.

And John Q. Public loves this thing, if every single person who sees it saying "that's dope/cool/really neat/interesting" is any indication...