Price comparison websites are the best starting point when it comes to finding the electronic gadgets you are after, rather than aimlessly surfing the web or wandering around high street mega-stores like a zombie. There are also popular online blogs for finding gadgets, and a great number of shopping websites where you can easily find the specific gadget and often at a great bargain price.

The first point to bear in mind when looking after precious gadgets like a desktop pc is that they must be handled with some care because, by and large, they tend to be rather fragile. Internal components can become dislodged if the gadget is dropped accidentally, and this may make it inoperable. All such fragile gadgets should be kept in protective cases when not being used.

The question is, how do you take care of your gadgets? You are always using your devices on its full potential. But have you ever thought on how you can handle these properly? If you won’t do it, you will have to spend more changing units year after year. Here are some of the most practical tips on how you can make your gadgets last longer.

1. Protect Your Gadget From Water:

Water is one of the greatest enemies of electronic devices because it is an almost perfect conductor; if a gadget falls into water when it is switched on this can cause its components to short circuit. Water also corrodes metals to varying degrees, so if a mobile phone or other handheld device gets wet it should be wiped dry immediately to prevent the moisture from seeping inside.

2. Clean Your Gadgets As Necessary

Electronic gadgets need to be regularly cleaned as well. Keeping your gadgets clean and dust-free is important, as it may affect its performance.

A soft cloth should be used to wipe any accumulated dirt away, avoiding the use of chemicals and harsh cleaners because these may damage the case. Mild detergent in the water is usually enough; apply with a soft, damp cloth.

3. Protect From Extreme Heat/Cold Exposure:

Extremes of heat and cold should be avoided, as internal components can be irreparably damaged by swings of temperature. If taking them into such extremes cannot be avoided, then they need to be adequately protected in suitable bags and other casings.

4. Keep Your Gadget Away From Food and Drinks:

Many people, including me, work on their table with their computers and other tech stuff while eating or drinking something. This has been very common; however, we should be very careful about this because one small mistake, like accidentally spilling your juice, can damage your gadgets.

To avoid this, put your precious gizmos somewhere safe and make sure that your food and drinks are far enough from your things so even if there’s an accident, you’ll only have to worry about how to clean up the mess.

5. Always Repair Your Gadgets At An Authorized Service Center:

Another problem with electronic devices that cannot be separated from their utility is their sheer complexity, and when they malfunction in some way it is always better to get them looked at by an expert than simply opening the casing and ‘having a go’, which usually just makes matters worse.

If in case your gadgets broke down, don’t bring it to cheap repair centers. In the end, you will be paying more. It would be best if you bring it to well known repair centers. That way, you know that you are putting value on your money.

Bonus Tips: Take Good Care of Gadget’s Battery:

Batteries are a particular cause for concern in things like iPhones, iPads and laptops. Laptops should be left plugged in, which causes less battery strain, and the latest version of the battery should be used with iPads and iPhones. On all devices, check the programs available for extending and optimizing battery life.

Take out adequate insurance on your precious electronic gadgets as a final line of defense against their damage or loss. Many of these devices are quite expensive, and apart from the cost of replacing them there is the loss of irreplaceable data to consider; this should be regularly backed up on various media, such as external hard drives and discs.

I know I haven’t covered everything and there are a lot more things that can be done to protect your gadgets. These are just some basic tips that you can do. How do you take care of your gadgets?

Most webcams range anywhere from around $50 to up to $100. They really are everywhere. So, what can you use you webcam for? Let’s take a look. Here are top ten cool things you may not know you can do with your webcam.

1. Home/Office Security Surveillance System:

Sometimes you may want to be able to monitor your office or home when you are not there. When it comes to monitoring, you will find that there are many more expensive webcam options available. The difference between those more expensive webcams and the smaller ones is that the larger webcams usually have a web server built into them, thus making the webcam is internet-enabled with it’s own IP address. Once connected to your network, you can directly access the webcam and view what it sees over the internet.

How to Turn Your Webcam into a Motion-Sensing Security Camera?

However, you don’t need an expensive, server-enabled webcam to do home or office monitoring. You can use one of the cheaper, USB cameras and use your own computer as the server. To acieve this, there are plenty of free programs you can use to turn a webcam into a remote security system. Simply install Yawcam (Windows only) or Vitamin D (Windows and MAC).

Both are free and once installed, you can configure them to live stream video and monitor the feed remotely. The software can also be set to alert you or start recording when motion is detected in the frame of view. For general surveillance, you can setup the software to take snapshots at set intervals and upload them to a remote FTP server. Linux users can get the motion-sensing goods with the open-source app Motion.

2. Login to Windows with Your Face

Some computers may have this feature built in, but if you have a PC running Windows and a webcam, you can enable login via face recognition easily.  Freeware application LemonScreen adds face recognition to your Windows login screen, allowing you to login to your locked PC by simply sitting down in front of your computer.

In the initial configuration register your face with the software and set an auto-lock for Windows. Once active, the software will recognize your face and automatically log you in to Windows without the need for a password.

Since the software recognizes certain points on your face, it doesn’t matter if you have a different hairstyle or if you’re wearing spectacles one day.

There is an easy way to break in though – if anyone just holds up a photo of yours to the webcam, the software may log in because it can’t recognize 2D or 3D shapes. But hey, its fun!

3. Optical Character Recognition

OCR or optical character recognition using a webcam is a bit tricky as the image quality of most webcams is average. But you can take an image using the webcam and then use software like Microsoft Document imaging, Google Docs and Abbyy FineReader Online to convert images to text.

You can also try Evernote (free to use). Evernote is recommended software for OCR since it reads the image from the webcam and converts it into searchable text in real-time.

4. Video Email

Video email is not something that is quite there. Sure, you can probably email video file attachments around, but that is tedious. Fortunately, if you take the whole traditional email thing out of the equation and make it all web-based, it gets easier. Enter Eyejot.

Eyejot is a free video mail service. You set up an account and you can send video messages back and forth with people. It interfaces with your webcam using the Flash plug-in, just like Ustream.

The only hitch to this whole thing is that one has to log into their Eyejot profile in order to view messages. You will, however, get an email notification of a new Eyejot message so you’re not left guessing.

5. Create Awesome Time Lapse Videos

Time lapse is a photography technique wherein multiple photographs, taken at the same location over a period of time are stitched together to form a video. The resulting effect is of time passing by very quickly, hence the name. Free software called Tilaphos or Webcam TimerShot can do this for you without hassling you with too many technical details.

An external webcam is recommended for time lapse videos because it is easier to keep it still. Also, it is much easier to place it at a location from where a wider frame can be captured – larger coverage would result in capturing of more movements, which in turn will make the video look good.

It’s important that the laptop (or webcam) is kept perfectly still and that it receives constant power. After that, it’s just a matter of setting the time interval and recording the time lapse.

But Wikipedia may have gone dark but that doesn’t mean it’s going offline completely. With very little work, you’ll be able to access the online encyclopedia — even if that does mean going against the entire spirit of the protest. Here are top 8 methods to access Wikipedia during current SOPA protest blackout:

1. Via Mobile:

A Wikimedia spokesman has confirmed today that the mobile version of Wikipedia website will remain online at en.m.wikipedia.org.

2. Via APIs:

Also, any API that pulls information from the Wikipedia servers will remain active as well. That means you’ll also still be able to access Wiki content through Facebook.

3. Offline Wiki Chrome Extension:

If you are a regular user of Wikipedia and don’t want to lose access to the website for tomorrow, then Offline Wiki, a Chrome application, can be of great help. It allows you to save and download a copy of nearly all of the textual content locally, so that it can be accessed while Wikipedia is not available, or when you don’t have an internet connection.

It downloads and saves a compressed dump file and an index. Two file storage versions are available, a smaller version of 14MB and a larger version of 1GB. All you have to do is launch the app, hit OK in the notification bar and select a file size. The download will start automatically, and you will be able to access and view articles in the index.

4. Google Cache:

Good-old Google takes a snapshot of each page it examines and caches (stores) that version as a back-up. This means you’ll be able to see a version of a Wikipedia page when you type the subject into the Google search box.  Start a search and then hover over the gray box with double right arrows next to the search results. The page will appear on the right-hand side of the screen. Click on “Cached” and Google will take you to the page, except there will be a grey box at the top of the screen.

5. Use an App:

Wiki Offline for iOS and WikiDroyd – which runs on Android – will grant you offline access to Wikipedia.

6. Disable JavaScript:

Since Wikipedia’s blackout implementation uses javascript, it’s a piece of cake to bypass it. Just turn of javascript support in your browser and Wikipedia is fully accessible again.

7. Try a Mirror Site:

Most of Wikipedia’s content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike license, which means sites like The Free Dictionary Encyclopedia are free to mirror it. The content up there might not be totally up-to-date but it should serve you good when Wikipedia is down.

8. Download Wikipedia for Offline Reading:

Did you know that  an offline version of Wikipedia is available for download?  Please note that the ‘Wikipedia for Schools‘ version is only recommended for use by students of age 8-18 as it only consists of topics relevant to their education! But as they say, something is always better than nothing, eh?

Wikipedia is joining blackouts by sites such as Reddit, Boing Boing, the Cheezburger Network and others.

Nicknamed the “ultimate survival gear for the digital age,” this bag was on display at the opening press reception for the Consumer Electronics Show 2012.

The manufacturer, RFA Brands, initially released these bags in October, but continues to improve upon the devices in order to meet the needs of the electronics needy traveler on the go.

RFA has a number of different kinds of Powerbags, which are fitted with powerful batteries that can charge a number of mobile devices at once. You can get the Powerbag in the form of a backpack, messenger bag, sling bag, and others.

“It will charge all smartphones. It will charge all tablets, all e-readers, Bluetooth devices,” Dan Kurzon, vice president of sales for Powerbag, said. “Let’s say I have a bunch of devices — I have an iPhone, an iPad, a BlackBerry. I get to my hotel, I load up the bag with all those different devices and I plug it into the wall,” he said. “It’s going to charge up those devices and it’s going to charge up the battery on the bag.“

Features of Powerbag:

- Powerbag has built-in battery
- Charges all smartphones, tablets and readers
- Can charges all the devices at once

You can connect up to four mobile devices at a time using various connectors and the bag features 3000 mAh, 6000 mAh or 9000 mAh batteries depending on the style.

The system auto-detects the type of device and sends the right amount of charge to it. The Powerbags sell at $139.99 and are available at Best Buy, OfficeMax, QVC, F.Y.E., WirelessZone and Amazon.com.

Watch Power Bag Charging Your Electronics On The Run [Video]

It takes approximately one hour to charge the battery up for the bag and then it simply depends on how many devices you plug in for how long it will take to charge your electronics.

If you are as reliant on electronics as me, the Powerbag is an absolute must buy. A backpack is handy for carrying things around but how about this one that can also charge your smartphone on the go making it absolutely unnecessary to worry about how to extend battery life while traveling?

Stretching your spine out of a window to find a mobile signal is insufficient, anyway but you can change your luck by boosting/increasing your GSM or 3G signal.

Cell Phone Signal Boosters and Antennas [often also called as the Cell Phone Amplifiers and Cell Phone Booster] can be pretty handy under such circumstances.

A cellular repeater, cell phone repeater, or wireless cellular signal booster, a type of bi-directional amplifier (BDA) as commonly named in the wireless telecommunications industry, is a device used for boosting the cell phone reception to the local area by the usage of a reception antenna, a signal amplifier and an internal rebroadcast antenna.

But the cause of the absence of mobile signal or its low-quality presence could be various. It can be the great distance from the mobile base station to your mobile phone (for example, you live in the country cottage) or structural elements of the various buildings and basements.

In such cases, many people establish GSM, dual band or 3G booster to solve this problem in a jiffy. After all, in essence GSM repeaters are the cellular signal amplifiers or more importantly, the translators.

The kit of the classical GSM or 3G repeaters usually includes an external antenna, the cellular amplifier, an internal antenna, a power supply and the cable.

The principle of installing mobile repeater is quite simple: an external antenna is mounted on the roof or a wall of the building, while the cell phone repeater and indoor antennas are located inside the building.

From an aesthetic point of view, the repeater or antenna usually does not interfere with your overall interior design as they are small In size and easy to conceal in places where they won’t attract any attention.

The cellular repeater itself presents a rectangular block – the “heart” of the system – that is connected with antennae and power supply by radio-frequency cables.

It should be noted the important fact that you don’t need any special knowledge to install cell phone repeaters, it’s really simple and easy!

However, there are situations where it’s better to turn to the professionals. Otherwise, even the relatively modest cost of the mobile signal repeaters, in principle, does not pay off because of their functional disability.

In simple words, “Gigapixel Images” are ultra high resolution images created by shooting hundreds of photos (or even thousands) and stitching them together to make a larger single image with greatly increased resolution. And the end product? A virtual tour with insanely high resolution photograph can show off the details of many, many human beings walking the streets of the city or a person peeping through the window kilometers away from the camera, for instance.

10+ Amazing Examples of Gigapixel Panorama Photography

1. Paris [26 Gigapixels]

[Watch the Full image here]

2. Sevilla [111 Gigapixels]

[Watch the Full image here]

3. President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address

[Watch the Full image here]

4. Round Lake, Illinois [43 Gigapixels]

[Watch the Full image here]

5. Dubai [45 Gigapixels]

[Watch the Full image here]

Also, there is a group of consumers who are confused and wonder –”which is better for reading – an eBook reader like Kindle Fire that can also work like any other tablet or a bigger and fully capable tablet like the Apple iPad 2?“

The answer is not simple and it really boils down to one’s personal read and preferences. Ebook readers tend to be lighter and sturdier than tablets of the same size. On the other hand, Tablets can be used for a lot more than just reading books and magazines – you can watch videos, check email, surf the web, view/edit office documents and download various apps and games.

Also, other factors like your budget, ease of finding 3G connectivity or Wi-Fi hot-spots, duration of usage, need of other features beyond the e-Book reader capability etc will help you decide what to buy finally.

Amazon Kindle Fire eBook Reader Vs. Apple iPad 2

During last holiday season both of these mighty gadgets were at tie and on the top of holiday wishlist chart, but here is a head-to-head comparison of specs and features of both the gadgets to help you make that decision. Introducing, Amazon Kindle Fire and Apple iPad 2:

Kindle Fire

Amazon dropped a bomb on the tablet world with the Kindle Fire, which is both cheaper and more powerful (with a dual-core processor) than anyone expected. And unlike most were skeptical about, its performance has lived up to its promise, making it one of the strongest contenders for an eBook reader that can make any other tablet owner envious.

- Screen: 7-inch, 1024 by 600 pixel LCD screen
- Weight: 14.6 ounces
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, USB
- Battery life: 8 hours
- Operating system: Android 2.2 (modified)
- Price: $199 from Amazon

iPad 2

The product that started the tablet trend, Apple’s iPad is still the market leader. Like always, its next installation aka the iPad 2 is even more exciting than the original product (iPad). It’s set apart by great hardware design, Apple’s slick mobile operating system, and a well-stocked App Store. It’s also the priciest tablet currently available.

- Screen: 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
– Weight: 1.33 pounds (601 g)-1.35 pounds (613 g)
– Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G (3G version only)
- Battery life: 10 hours
- Operating system: iOS 4
- Price: Starting from $499 from Apple

If you want to stick with “just reading” E-books, and maybe some newspapers and magazines (not just in black and white, but colorful news reading) — Amazon Kindle Fire is probably your best bet. In addition, it also lets you do most of the tablet features at a much lesser price tag.

On the other hand, if you want more functionality you’ll need to step up to a tablet. High-end full-size tablets like the iPad 2 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 are much more versatile than e-readers, and they are powerful enough to even replace your laptop for some tasks. But they’ll cost you upwards of $500 to start.

Editor’s Choice:

If you’re a serious reader and don’t care about frills, go for the Kindle Fire.  But if you want something with all the bells and whistles, the iPad 2 is the best all-in-one tablet device available on market today.

So which gadget are you going to buy when you go shopping your next eBook reader? Apple iPad 2 or the Amazon Kindle Fire?

Called the iCEO Mini, it’s 12 inches high (scale 1:6) and comes on full Apple CEO replica, from the New Balance shoes to the Levi’s. The figure will cost you $99.99, and is set to ship at the end of February. The site said it is selling the action figure “to honor the American icon and great visionary Steve Jobs.”

You might want to call this a tasteless iDea but Steve Jobs is immortalized as this realistic action-figure just three months after his death.

For $99, the iCEO Mini [Steve Jobs action figure] promises the following features and add-ons:

- One realistic head sculpt & Two pairs of glasses
- One highly articulated body & Three pairs of hands
- One black turtleneck & One pair of blue jeans
- One black leather belt & One chair (wood + metal)
- One pair of black socks & sneaker
- Two apples (One with a bite.)
- One piece of “ONE MORE THING” hard backdrop

The 12-inch action figure, whose limbs can be manipulated in order to recreate a number of iconic Apple-event poses, is way for fans to keep the memory of Steve Jobs alive.

Also included with the Steve Jobs action figure are a pair of black socks, an Apple background for kids who want to play “Apple Conference Steve” and a chair for the tech mogul to sit in along with two apples, one which has a bit out of it.

However, even though publicity photos feature a miniature Mac, iPhone and iPad, but the accessories will not be included.

Will you buy a Steve Jobs action figure? Is it too soon for companies to monetize items based on Jobs? Do you think Apple or Steve’s family should sue the toy makes and seek a ban on these action figures?

If you are a freaky fanboy, you can get it for $99 before the Jobs family send a cease and desist letter to the manufacturers, just like they did with the last one.

Hopefully these resolutions will start you down the path of fun and geeky euphoria in 2012. Being the technology lovers that we are, it is natural for us to suggest the Top New Year Resolutions related to technology that you can use. Make use of these tips and prosper (Bonus Karma points if you pass these on to your friends):

List of 10 Geeky New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Use Your Smartphone to Find Location and Address

Most smartphones these days come with a built-in on-board GPS chip. And Google Maps is a free app that is available on all major smartphone OS versions [Android, iOS, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Blackberry]. It can help you travel to unknown locations within your city and even outside. All you need to do is to activate a cheap GPRS plan and you are all set; yes, you don’t need a 3G connection to use Google Maps.

What’s more? Even if your phone doesn’t have a GPS chip, Google Maps will still show you your approximate location using a smart trick called cell-tower triangulation.Then what are you waiting for?

2. Spend At Least 1 Hour a Day Away From All Forms of Electronic Gadgets

Yeah we know that being a geek that you are you think this resolution is far-fetched and impossible. But give this a try and everything and everyone you love, your smartphone, your tablet, your PC, your friends and family, will thank you for this. Just 1 more thing — not using an electronic gadget while you are asleep obviously doesn’t count!

3. Use Technology to Stay Fit

How many tech geeks that you meet everyday don’t look fit? We use tech so extensively in our daily life and yet we forget how awesome it would be if we start using tech to stay fit. We geeks have a lot of games to play, movies to see, books to read, costumes to make, and fanboying/girling to do. We need to be healthy in order to do all that.

Apparently, the problem isn’t lack of tech, the problem is motivation. Tech appears to be the solution to that problem. Whether it be shoes that track your progress, or the GPS, pedometers and accelerometers available in many smartphones, tech can help you statistically track your progress. And that would also mean to stay away from gadgets like the Kinect Powered Armchair, though.

4. Change Your Passwords Regularly

A recent study revealed that many people use the same password for every online and offline account they own. Imagine a hacker gaining access to your password for just one account and then hacks rest all using the same password! Scary, isn’t it? But what’s even more scary is most of these people have been using the same password for 5+ years.

Change your passwords every few months at the very least, and make sure to add some special characters. A password like b@nd0fb0yz  is much better than a password like bandofboys.

5. Optimally Utilize Social Media for Personal and Business Gains

Most folks often fail to notice how inaptly they are utilizing the various social media services to their full potential. With location based services becoming the big trend, as well as photo sharing, video sharing and so on, there are so many more social media outlets for you to explore and conquer this new year.

And most importantly, make sure you don’t make a big fool out of yourself by tweeting, sharing or posting something that would make you regret later — like these top five most annoying Facebook status updates ever.

6. Secure Your Wireless Network

It is hard to believe how many people continue to use unsecured wireless networks. Why would you accept that risk when it only takes a few seconds to password protect them? If someone uses your connection to download pirated torrent files or other illegal stuff… you are liable. Applying a password to your wireless network shifts the liability off you and on to the perpetrator because they are now guilty of hacking.

Remember, you don’t have to make your network unhackable, you just need to make it less hackable than your neighbor’s network. Seriously people… secure those networks. If you are still clueless, here is how to secure your wireless network in just 5 minutes.

7. Go Green, Geek Style

While you won’t be probably building my your compost bin, it doesn’t hurt to be open to checking out alternative energy saving ways, for example, to charge your iPhone using your heart beat. You can start by installing a cooling program on your PC to help it run a bit cooler and conserve electricity, study more about ‘green computing‘, or by using a Green Eco Friendly Mobile Phone!

8. Keep Your Computer (PC) Up to Date

Tired of running a slow computer that takes forever to respond? Unless your computer is harboring a virus, the solution might be just a few clicks away. There may be a thousand security tools to help protect your computer, but one mantra that keeps coming up is to ‘keep your PC patched and updated‘.

While you are at it, keep everything on your computer up-to-date — starting with browsers, drivers and the operating system itself. As long as you are performing the maintenance regularly you will never be too much behind, so the operation can’t transform into a nuisance.

9. Use Google Like a Geek

I can’t tell you how many times my friends have called me and said “how do I setup a printer?” A simple Google search for “setup print windows 7” or “setup printer Mac OS X” would have yielded the answer they were looking for. And even if what you are looking for is much complex than mere printer installation, Google can answer almost anything. They call Google the ‘Search Engine King’ for a reason, right? Here are 10 Quick Tips To Search Google Like An Expert.

10. Don’t Make Any Resolutions At All

Scrap the whole damn list. What’s the point in setting new year resolutions  when we know we can’t keep them? Whatever will happen during the year, will happen. No reason to make false promises that may or may not come true. Like someone said, “I gave up on New Years resolutions. They always seem to expire in February. So now I just try to not tie goals to dates.”

Reorganizing RSS readers, deleting old emails, and cleaning up external hard drives should be at the top of your to-do list for 2012. But what about you — do you have any geeky resolutions? Let’s see how you plan to change your life this year in the world of gadgetry and technology.

We’re sure you have plenty of Apple fanboys in your circle of friends. If you’re looking for the perfect gift to get them at all prices levels, look no further. Apple has plenty of products to choose from, but we’ve tried to narrow it down to the best five this holiday season to purchase for that special someone. Here are some great gift ideas for Apple fans you can find useful.

Five Best Apple Christmas Gifts for an Apple Fanboy

Protective iPhone Case

If you’re looking for a gift for an owner of an iPhone 4 or the new iPhone 4S, maybe you should consider buying a protective case. If you like the idea, perhaps you should choose a case from Otterbox – for some $20-40 you can find a really good silicone or hard plastic case with a screen protector. Here are Top 15 Best Cases And Covers To Protect Your New Shiny iPhone 4S.

Bluetooth Headset

Bluetooth headset can be another good gift for any owner of an iPhone and especially the iPhone 4S (thanks to its Siri). You can find many different Bluetooth headsets in the market compatible with Apple’s devices, but if you’re looking for a really good one, perhaps Jawbone Era – the only Bluetooth headset that has the capability to kill noise – is the one you should pay attention to.

It’s a bit expensive ($129.99), but Amazon is now selling it for only $88, so hurry up if you want one.

MacBook Bag

Wondering Which Tech Gadgets Top the Holiday Wishlist This Year? If you’re looking for a gift for a Mac owner, consider buying a MacBook bag for him. Yeah, Mac owners usually buy everything they need in terms of accessories, but most of them don’t have any stylish bags and carry their devices in whatever they have.

If your friend is still using the terrible bag he was given in the IT department he works in, you can present him a very stylish bag from Brenthaven. It costs $99, but it’s a bag any IT pro will love.

iPad Stand

For iPad owners a compact iPad stand would make a wonderful present. For example, for $40 you can get bright (red, grey and black) stands from TwelveSouth.

They’re compact (so it’s easy to store them when you’re not using them), they’re comfortable and, most importantly, they’re rather cheap! Check The Latest Roundup of Ultimate Apple iPad 2 Cases.

Desktop Cable Organizers

If your friend already has all the above mentioned accessories, you can buy him a stylish organizer for desktop cables – something that will always be handy. For example, for some $15 you can get something like this.