Flowers and chocolate are nice, but if the same old gifts can’t cut it this Valentine’s Day, your special someone just might fall head over heels for one of these cameras. Good news for frugal Cupids, too: since retailers need to clear space for the new 2012 cameras, February is a great time to find a deal on the best of 2011.
Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS
It’ll be love at first sight with the Canon Powershot ELPH 100 HS (MSRP $179.99). This pocket-sized, user-friendly point-and-shoot is the best camera for the money right now. It snaps clearer photos than just about any budget digicam out there—including indoors and at night. Even better, it easier on the wallet than a dozen roses and a dinner date.
Sony Cyber-shot TX10
Love hurts, but the Sony Cyber-shot TX10 (MSRP $309.99) can take a licking and keep on clicking. Its sleek, ultracompact exterior belies a waterproof and shock resistant build. But on the inside, this camera is very sensitive — to light. Photos are bright and clear, especially for a tough-cam.
Samsung W200
Without a new Matthew McConaughey rom-com on the horizon, it’s up to you and your Valentine to film the next cheesy tearjerker. Try using the Samsung HMX-W200 (MSRP $159.99): This waterproof pocket camcorder shoots the best 1080p high-def video of any shoot-and-share model out there, and sells for as cheap as $110.
Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1
If you really want to show some love, the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1 (MSRP $499.99) is a real heart-warmer. It looks and handles like a point-and-shoot, but the pictures are much cleaner and sharper, and it can swap lenses, too. A few solid entry-level system cameras are out there, but the Mini offers great bang for the buck — and comes in a few Valentine-appropriate shades, including white, pink, and purple.
Remember a few accessories, too; you can’t go wrong with a memory card and a carrying bag. And really, a box of chocolates can’t hurt.

A lot of people tend to enjoy using their tech without thinking about protective cases, keyboard skins and the like. But you’ll often also find that those people end up with tech that’s scratched, chipped, cracked and dented, and that’s simply because some technology isn’t meant to survive the odd accident!

But that’s not to mean it’s low quality or that it’s not worth getting – Apple products are notoriously fragile and expensive, but they’re solid bits of gear that can allow you to complete tasks at work, log on to Partypoker in a GUI that makes all others look terrible, and generally has that fashion factor that people should be allowed when it comes to their technology.

Protecting it however, is another matter. Keyboard skins and cases are a given, and if you’re wondering why some people use keyboard skins, ask yourself this: do you ever eat near your keyboard? If so, you’ll know that there’s nothing worse than watching a crumb slip underneath a key, knowing it’ll stand a chance of messing with how well that key (or others) works in the future. A skin means it can’t actually get there, and you’re less likely to find yourself popping keys to clear your computer’s innards out once every so often!

Cases and skins will also ensure that while the laptop’s in your bag, it’s not going to have the finish scratched off it, and it won’t take any serious damage even if you drop it. Unibody Macbooks are an exceptional example, as their one-piece aluminium shell means they’re more likely to break what they’re dropped on, then break themselves!

All in all, it’s worth taking care of your technology, if you’re not keen on the idea of simply throwing money away on repairs and new technology to replace the gear you’ve broken through accidents or carelessness. Skins, covers and cases cost a fraction of the price of new gear or repairs, so splashing out on some protection is a no-brainer when it comes to buying new tech.

Consumers will be digging deeper into their pockets to buy flowers, gift cards and chocolates on Valentine’s Day with average spending expected to rise eight percent over last year to nearly $200.And along with their expanding wallets 4 million Americans are expected to pop the question or receive a proposal on Feb 14.
“We’ve seen a consistent trend of consumers saying they will spend more, from holiday shopping to 2012 travel plans, and spending plans for Feb 14 are no exception,” said Sonali Chakravorti, vice president at American Express.
In its latest spending and savings tracker American Express questioned 2,000 adults across the United States to gauge how much and on what consumers will be spending their money on Cupid’s big day.Nearly half of people said they intend to celebrate at a favourite restaurant, seven percent more than last year. Flowers are still the most popular gift for a Valentine, followed by gift cards, jewellery and electronics.
Among couples getting betrothed, 30 percent said they would propose during a weekend getaway or vacation, which have been dubbed engagementcations.To seal the deal, 48 percent of people think an engagement ring costing between $1,000 to $5,000 would be appropriate but 22 percent said up to $2,000 for bling would be more realistic, while five percent thought nothing of spending $10,000 or more on a ring.
Although nearly 40 percent of women think whoever asked for the date should pay for it, 14 percent said the bill should be split, but most unmarried men said they would cover the cost of the date.Finances can be a delicate subject, so half of people don’t talk about money until they have been together six months and 20 percent of married couples did not broach the subject until after they have tied the knot.
After marriage money matters can be a cause of disagreements, although the poll showed arguments over household budgets, spending on the children and everyday purchases have declined since last year.More men than women take credit for paying credit cards, property and school taxes and for filing income taxes, according to the poll, but 70 percent of women said they managed the household budgets.

Qualcomm’s whipped out some flipping great wadges of iPhone Accessories in order to snap up Pixtronix for its PerfectLight MEMS-based display tech. It reportedly cost between $175 – $200 million and is expected to be merged into the company’s super-low power Mirasol-based displays. Compared to the Kyobo eReader we played with at CES, PerfectLight has a wider viewing angle (170 degree), supports full speed video playback and much better RGB modulation. Depending on how successful the marriage is, it could spell the end of the final hurdles that have hampered the widespread adoption of the technology.

Buried within the pile of gadgets at Oregon Scientific’s CES booth were these two Time & Wireless Charging Stations. On the left we have the entry-level clock that’s already out in the market, whereas the bigger “plus” model on the right made its debut at the show, boasting the extra clock projection and weather forecast feature. Also shown along side were the customized iPhone 4 Qi sleeves that Oregon Scientific will be offering online, and they actually had pretty high quality finish, too, especially with the texture coating on top of them. Do take a closer look in our hands-on photos below.

This week Inhabitat hit the streets of Detroit to bring you the hottest hybrid vehicles and electric cars from the 2012 North American International Auto Show! We saw automakers unveil scores of sexy keyboard cover supplier like the Lexus LF-LC coupe, the Chevy MiRay, and the NSX concept hybrid, and we also showcased more realistic street-ready vehicles like Ford’s Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, VW’s brand new hybrid Jetta, and Via Motors’ VTRUX extended-range EV pickup. We also peered into the future of sustainable transportation as we brought you the finalists in Michelin’s city car design challenge, we learned that the world’s largest driverless personal transit system is set to break ground in India, and we saw the UK green light the first phase of its new HS2 high-speed rail line.
It was also a bright week for alternative energy as MIT scientists discovered a way to make more efficient solar plants modeled after sunflowers and Sweden announced plans for a massive 700 megawatt wind farm in the Baltic Sea. Meanwhile, we learned that Rwanda’s poo-powered prisons are able to produce 75% of their power from human waste, we showcased plans for an energy-generating rolling suitcase that charges your gadgets, and we saw the launch of several keyboard cover shining solar-powered devices – OLPC’s XO3 tablet computer and the sun-powered Solarkindle e-reader cover.
In other news, this week we rounded up our favorite eco gadgets from CES 2012 – including a hydrophobic nanocoating that makes any gadget completely waterproof. We also saw 200 Chinese works construct a 30 story prefab building in just 15 days, and we watched superman fly across a cute animated LEGO TV. Finally, we brought you the latest and greatest developments in wearable technology – including a set of smart sunglasses that merge virtual information with the real world, a set of bone-conducting earphones, and a set of motorized skates that can be attached to any boring old pair of shoes.

Origin PC has been spitting out 5.2GHz Genesis laptop accessories for a few months already, but apparently some people wanted more. Thanks to a new ‘Phase Change’ cooling system that’ll be available from late Q1, they’re about it get it: a Core i7 2700K system factory clocked to 5.7GHz. Cooling controls and temperature displays will help you to establish the proper balance of power and pollution, while lifetime technical support (which now applies to all Origin PCs in the US) is just a phone call away in case you need to share the rush. There’s even an X79 mobo inside, offering scope for a Sandy Bridge E upgrade, plus NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 580 in four-way SLI. Origin has a little something for portable gamers too: a refreshed A-panel on the EON17-S and EON15-S laptops to help you strike the right note of grinning malice in front of your LAN victims. It’s not yet clear how these updates will affect pricing, but there are plenty of clips on YouTube that’ll show you how to smear thermal paste on your credit cards. Full PR after the break.

For devices to work they need to be charged in some form of the other. The laptop being a mobile device needs to be powered by a battery. The battery will need to be charged and the charge retained in order to function.  The life of the battery depends upon its age, the frequency of usage and the number of times it has been charged and discharged and at times even the environment could be a cause for concern. A laptop desk has on average about 500 cycles of charging and discharging. When the battery can no longer retain its charge it is time to get a new replacement laptop battery.
The need for a replacement laptop battery occurs when the battery begins to lose its strength. One other reason that this happens is that the battery has a limited memory. Each time the replacement laptop battery gets charged there is a loss of memory. With continous charging the memory capacity reduces. The average life span of a replacement laptop desk supplier is about 3 years.
It is also very important than when the laptop is in need of a new battery the replacement laptop battery should be compatible with the model of the laptop. A branded replacement laptop battery is an expensive item. It is possible to source a replacement laptop battery from a third party manufacturer and match it with the computer.  This allows for a cheaper replacement laptop battery where you are paying for the battery alone and not for the name. However, there is no guarantee that the branded replacement laptop battery has been manufactured by the computer manufacturer itself. With so much of outsourcing taking place there is always the chance that the replacement laptop battery has been manufactured by a third party.
In order to have more charge time you might consider having the replacement laptop battery that has more charge time. This is very dangerous because the laptop may not be able to handle the extra charge. It is absolutely essential that with the variety of batteries available the compatible replacement laptop battery is chosen. This is because each computer is made with a certain design and there is a battery for each design.

There are many laptop accessories that are found to encounter some problem of overheating which sometimes lead to a disastrous result. The laptop cooling systems is one of the versatile cooling systems which are portable too. The Laptop cooling systems are very versatile which can increase the life span and the usability of a laptop too. But in most of the laptop the laptop cooling systems is already inbuilt and so because of this many laptops manufacturing company does not look after the temperature of the laptop. Due to this the amount of heat accumulated increases and so the laptop has to face some major damages. Therefore to increase the life span as well as performance of your laptop you should go for a laptop cooling system which is very versatile and efficient too.
The laptop cooling system that is available in the market is available in a reasonable rate which you can take anywhere without any fear of damage and this is specifically due to the compact size and design of the laptop cooling. The laptop cooling comes with a durable as well as with a heat resistive component which is capable to withstand any type of heat and so it behaves as an ideal stand for the laptop accessories manufacturers. There are several model of the laptop cooling available in the market which is versatile only because several fan works together to provide a clean air recycling.
The main purpose of using the laptop cooling system is to prevent your laptop accessories from getting overheated. This overheating is one of the common problem that is found in those users laptop who keep their laptop on for several reasons which causes the laptop to get overheated and because of this the laptop finally crashes. Due to the problem of laptop overheating significant amount of data is also lost and the overheating may also damage your laptop’s hardware parts too. Thus the laptop cooling system is one of a cheap and efficient to cool your laptop so that it does not crash during important work. Also if you want to avoid any damage to the hardware parts then you should always make use of the laptop cooling system and this cooling system can be also used with some other devices like the DVD players etc. Thus thelaptop cooling system works as an ideal gift for those who spends most of their time using a laptop and also keep the laptop open for several hours continuously.

Many families today are investing in a plasma television set besides a home theatre system too. Besides being a source of diverse entertainment for the whole family, these are expensive items too.Dust, mite, as well as falling particles can spoil your expensive television sets and LCD screen. You need to use a LCD screen protector in order to protect your assets. The LCD protector is available in different sizes that will protect your branded sets. The LCD protector has been designed in such a way that it will fit the size and even keep the TV clean. You can even get the adjustable LCD protector that comes with quality stress pads. This is durable and ideal for protection.
The LCD protector has double locking zips which ensure blocking away even tiny specks of dust when the TV is off. You can get a LCD protector in several colors. This way you can match your LCD protector with your wall. There are many big brands that are adding the LCD protector as a part of their unit along with the accessories itself. On case you are using a suitable screen protector it will ensure that the picture clarity is always good.
A good Screen protector is an absolute must in a home having energetic kids. This is because children are prone to spoil the most expensive things and can even render them useless. A kid may even throe milkshake at the screen. You can avoid your screen from being damaged. All that you need is a 100% pure acrylic screen protector that is 125 inch thick and hence able to keep the actual screen well guarded.
The LCD screen protector does not affect the brightness or the color of your HD films. It usually comes in standard sizes, but you can even get a special size LCD screen protector, if you so desire. Families usually have wall mounted sets to keep them away from children or in order to save space. You can use the LCD screen protector with the mounted screens also. This way, even if the kids do manage to hit the screen while they are playing indoors, nothing will happen to your screen. And if you are concerned that your LCD screen protector will increase the heat, that is not true at all. This is because there is a constant flow of air which ensures that the set remains in working condition. The LCD screen is being used not only for a modern TV, but even in computer screens and digital signage.