Keeping your old laser printer out of the landfill is an excellent idea.  The lasers and components that they are made from are manufactured with chemicals like mercury and arsenic that will leech into the ground for dozens of years to come, and potentially enter our water system.  For this reason, it’s extremely important that you figure out how to recycle a printer, and it’s not as hard as you might think!

Laser printer recycling takes a few different forms.  The most common is to just drop it off at an electronics waste recycling center.  Most of the time they will take it for you, and you never have to think about it again.  Some of these centers will charge you a small fee for them to take it, while others will pay you a few bucks.  Their plan for your old electronics will determine which way.  Most large cities will have multiple e-waste recyclers, so you can find the one that works best for you.

You can also send some printers back to their manufacturer for recycling.  HP takes back all of their printers, and in most cases they will foot the shipping bill.  For newer printers that are still in good condition, they will also pay you a few bucks for them.

The best way to recycle your laser printer is to donate it to someone that is going to get some use out of it.  Grandmas, little sisters, and the neighbor kid are great receivers of your old printer.  You may have to put in a new cartridge and install it for them, but you know that you are really helping someone out by doing this.  Also, schools, libraries, and local charities will also take these off of your hands.

Recycling your laser printer is easy, just figure out which way you want to do it.  Start by seeing if someone close to you can use it, then look for standard ways to recycle it.

If you’re looking for a new camcorder you’ve got some options on media type.  By that we mean “how does your video get stored”, or what does it get stored on?  You’ve got four main options these days, DVD, flash memory, tape, and hard drive camcorders.  Each offer their own distinct advantages and disadvantages, lets take a look at two with removable media, the tape camcorder and the camcorder with flash memory.

The predominant tape camcorder available today is the MiniDV model.  The tapes are basically miniature VCR tapes, and they sell for roughly $2 for a one hour tape, there are also 80 minute tapes that can hold up to 2 hours of video.  The tapes are relatively inexpensive and can produce one of the highest quality video of all consumer camcorders.  In fact they’re used for many independent film makers.  To play back your video you’ll need to play it from your camera hooked into your TV, or download it to your computer.  As with all tape media when uploading your times will be as long as your recording.  That means a 1 hour tape will take 1 hour to upload.
The uploading times is one of the biggest disadvantages of tape media but, the high quality video is one of the big advantages.

Flash memory camcorders use a memory card similar to a thumb drive.  The card can be built in or removable.  Because the storage capacity of these cards aren’t as high as a hard drive the video must be compressed.  That means the quality won’t be as good as with a tape model.  The big advantage is that a flash card can hold 8 hours or more depending on card size.  Don’t think that just because the video is compressed that the quality isn’t good.  The Canon Vixia is one of the full HD flash memory camcorders out there and one of the best.  Another advantage is that upload times are much quicker, in the the order of seconds or minutes because you’re basically transferring a computer file.

If the highest quality video possible is what you’re looking for than a MiniDV camcorder is what you should look for.  If ease of use is important to you then the flash camcorder is what you should look at.  At this time the price for each is close, but the flash camcorders are a little more expensive.

Figuring out what type of office equipment is going to be purchased for a small home business is a big decision. Money will probably be tight, so wasting money on bad equipment or equipment that has features that will never be made use of can be disastrous. Before spending a fortune on a monster copy machine, most small businesses would do well to look into obtaining a small copy machine.

For some reason, people tend to just associate the words “copy machine” with something that they see at Kinko’s or in the printing center at work. The reality of it is that getting a machine like that for a home business is completely ridiculous. The printing and copying that will be done can easily be handled by a personal size copy machine.

The difference in price between small copy machines and the larger versions is pretty significant. In many cases, a small copy machine can be had for less than $150. That is a far cry from thousands of dollars that a large machine would cost. Actually, the toner barrels that they use would cost more than buying a brand new small copy machine.

If sacrificing quality is a concern, put that right on the back burner. While the smaller machines may take a little longer to print out, the quality of the copy will be just as good. There is also the option of putting the small copy machine on fast draft which will use less ink and increase the printing speed dramatically. This is especially useful when printing documents that will not be going out to clients.

Unless a copy machine is being purchased for a large business that is printing hundreds or thousands of items a day, there is little need to waste money a big machine. A small copy machine can handle the daily load of just about any small business and will do so for a lot less money.

While there are a lot of companies out there that are making personal copy machines, very few of them have the HP brand quality to back them up. Some companies are known for being great bargains, but their printers will often have a very short lifespan. Would you rather spend $50 every six months for a small copy machine or spend $150 and have one that will be around for four or five years?

HP has always put out a quality product and even their low end models can stand the test of time. If there is only going to be sporadic printing, what is the point in spending $500 on a top end machine? HP has printers for under $150 that will kick out quality color or black and white prints quick enough to make anyone happy.

One of their most popular models right now is the HP Officejet 6500 Wireless printer. For a small business, there could not be a better all-in-one small copy machine solution. It is compact enough to fit on the corner of the desk, but the wireless capabilities allow it to be moved to just about anywhere.

The quality of the prints speaks for themselves. The printer can be set at its highest quality and will produce documents or pitchers that even Kinko’s would be proud of. If the kids are printing homework or the small business owner needs to print out a few invoices for their files, the fast draft option will have prints out as quickly as any laser printer around. Add in the ink savings by using this feature and it is great find.

When shopping around, sometimes it is best to stick to a company that is known for its expertise and quality in the niche. HP surely has that behind them and their customer support gives one more reason to give their small copy machines serious consideration when you are in the market for a new personal copy machine.

Power surges happen from time to time, and most modern buildings have electrical systems that are designed to handle them. In the past, even with common electrical surges, surge protectors simply were not necessary; it is our modern electronics (DVD players, your TiVo box, etc.) that are easily damaged by too much electricity and need the protection of a coaxial surge protector for the security of these lines.

A lot of people use surge protectors on their electrical outlets, but many fail to realize that the same surges can happen through coaxial cables. Coaxial cable is used to connect roof antennas, satellite TV or cable TV & Broadband to your reception equipment. Let’s face it, a lightning strike on your roof antenna or satellite dish is pretty unlikely. However, it can (and does) happen – the expense of a coaxial lightning surge protector is so minimal compared to the damage such a surge would cause to your electrical equipment. Similarly, if you have cable TV or Broadband, coaxial surge protectors are an absolute necessity because a sudden spike can destroy your set-top box or modem.

When choosing an in line coaxial surge protector, you will need to look at two main things:

The first is the power that it can protect against – the higher the value, the safer your expensive video equipment will be; and

The second is what has called the attenuation (this is the technical term, but you can think of it simply as a reduction in power level). A video signal from cable or satellite TV, for example, will have a power level associated with it, which is measured in dBmV. If there’s already a low power level entering your home, the reduction that a cheap surge protector will make may cause “blocky” or freezing pictures. This is especially likely if you have the signal split into many rooms, because a normal digital TV splitter will reduce (or attenuate) the signal. So if you already occasionally have problems with the TV reception or Broadband, it is usually best to opt for a slightly more expensive protector that attenuates the signal as little as possible.

In any case, a standard and still good quality coaxial cable surge protector can be found by reading any surge protector review, and purchased for between $8 and $15 from any electrical retailer. For such a low price, you should consider it a one-off insurance policy on the safety of your electrical equipment.

At the E3 conference in 2009, Microsoft’s announcement of Project Natal, an accessory that will allow you to control video games with your entire body, was definitely revolutionary.  I am definitely eagerly awaiting the Project Natal release, as I know many others are.  Since mid-2009, when it was announced, not much information has been released as far as specific details, but there definitely are a few things, so I will go into them.

The first one is the release date.  So far there have been no specific release dates set, though they have announced that it will be released during “holiday 2010.”  While this is a very vague time frame, most people are guessing that it will be in the first few weeks of November, to get it out into the market before black Friday, and still allow it to be a huge buzz over the holiday season.  Other people are speculating a release earlier than that because Microsoft won’t want to be short of supply and out of stock with Project Natal once black Friday hits.

So far, there really haven’t been any announcements as far as Natal games, and what games will be available at launch.  Though there have definitely been some ideas thrown around, nothing is set in stone.   All of the announcement videos that showed demos of Project Natal, all featured a disclaimer saying that it is for showing how the product will work, not necessarily the exact games.

One game for sure that was mentioned, that has been kind of thrown around as a possibility was Halo: Reach.  Since the Halo franchise is one of the most popular games in Xbox’s history, and the fact that Reach is coming out around the same time as Project Natal, people were excited for the possibility of a Project Natal Halo.  But, Bungie, the makers of Halo, have said that Halo: Reach will not be a Natal title, but the specific phrasing used makes people think that while it will mainly use a regular controller, Halo: Reach could indeed utilize Project Natal in some way.

Most of us have found ourselves in a situation where we need to print on the go. This situation can arise in numerous instances. If you are traveling for business, on the job outside of the office or at a family gathering, all of us have needed to scan and print away from our home computer.

A portable printer and scanner is a great device to meet this need. When you find yourself needing to print or scan a document and you are away from your home or office computer, it presents a problem. If you are working in the field, you need to be able to scan and print for research purposes or to present a bill to a client. With a portable printer and scanner, you will easily be able to accomplish this task. Your business will run more efficient and you will appear more professional.

Many times, you find yourself at a hotel on a business trip and you need to scan and print documents. Having to rely on the hotel business center or a local copy center can be very troublesome. If you have one of these efficient machines, you can complete your tasks much more efficiently. You no longer have to rely on spotty hotel computers or run out to a store in an unfamiliar area.

We have all been at a family function where a lot of pictures are taken. Unfortunately, many of these pictures will be forever stored on your camera or media card. We take pictures to be able to enjoy viewing them and without this device, we never get the intended benefit of taking pictures. Not only will you be able to share hard copies of pictures with your guests immediately, you can also scan and copy pictures that others may have with them. Your precious photographs are no longer relegated to a life on your camera!

A portable device with these capabilities will allow you the freedom and flexibility you deserve. You will no longer be tied to your home or office computer and printer. Whether you are looking for this for business or personal use, you will be delighted with your newfound freedom!

These devices have made great strides in operation and durability recently. As you are using these on the go, they sometimes are banged and knocked around. Today’s models are durable and can handle this normal every day wear and tear. Their performance is also greatly enhanced. If you have used one of these in the past and had issues, these models will delight you. They are simple to operate right out of the box and will be one of your most valuable technology tools.