Only- Electronics

Even though the word wireless gets used as often as ‘I love you’, our
lives still seem inundated with cords at just about every turn. From
the cell phone and iPod charger through to the vibrator and epilady, its
cords, cords, cords. This new wall-mountable charging station (http://www.kangaroomstorage.com/product/office/152/kangaroom-phone-pda-charging-station.html)
does not eliminate the hordes of wiring that surround these devices, it
simply disguises them. The slim line station stores all the wires
inside it, revealing just a few simple docking slots where your
lifeless devices slip in for a full re-charge. At $35, its the best
’swept under the carpet’ routine on the market. By Andy G

In a market that says more features are always better, a cellphone devoid of data features and a printer that only receives e-mail should be guaranteed losers.

On this week’s podcast, Laika Laika has been Found Found. Thanks Evan! Also, we talk remote sensing in Darfur, and find out about a new high-tech prosthetic hand. Then, we’re off to Nigeria to hear about cell phone coverage, or lack thereof. And last stop - cell phone bling. Got a spare 10,000 dollars? Try a Vertu.

Social-networking sites like the big three — MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn — act as a sort of shared address book, letting people post profiles, leave notes for one another and find out whom they know in common.

No, don’t worry. We’re not asking for money. Instead, we’re asking for your help in tracking down some music. Clark is desperately seeking an album that was released in 1986. The album is called Cosmos. It’s by a German techno-band called C.C.C.P. There’s a track on the album — number 4, we think — called Laika Laika. It’s for a piece Clark’s doing on the anniversary of the launch of Sputnik II. That’s when the Soviets put Laika, the dog, into space. Please help!

This week on Ye Olde Technology Podcaste, we have a story highlighting the explosive growth of internet use in China. Also, how the web is NOT playing a role in Japan’s election campaign. Then, a look at a French company’s plan to help you track your kids. It’s called Kiditel. And we’ll end with a look at some recently completed work tracing the DNA of Brazilian celebrities. There WILL be surprises, we promise.

The most interesting new laptop shipped so far this year isn’t sold in the United States. It’s also missing most of the standard parts of a computer: a modem, a CD burner, even a hard drive.

First up — a new report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty highlights how Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq are using the internet to put out their messages. No real surprise, but the report is a real behind the scenes look at this material, most of which is in Arabic. Next up — information overload goes global. Tired of being connected 24/7 to your BlackBerry, Palm, or gulp…iPhone? Well, apparently you’re not alone. The World’s Jason Margolis will fill you in. Third — Iran says it will soon stop producing gas-only cars, in favor of dual-fuel vehicles that can run on gasoline, or on Liquified Petroleum Gas. We’ll hear more from the LA Times Middle East Correspondent. And we send you out into your weekend with a report I did on July 4th about the release of BBC Gaza Correspondent Alan Johnston. He was held captive for 114 days by a Palestinian group calling itself the Army of Islam. It ain’t tech, but it’s a good story.

The iPhone doesn’t look, sound or feel like other cellphones. With its smooth, almost button-free contours, it could be the product of an advanced, alien civilization.