Exactly one year from today, when you turn your analog TV on, it may not work. Where you expect As The World Turns (ATWT to its fans), you’ll only get fuzz. That’s because February 17, 2009 is when broadcast TV stations will be turning off their analog signals and starting to transmit only in digital. How do you know if yours is an analog TV? If you use “rabbit ears” or a rooftop antenna for TV reception, you’re on an analog TV.

But before you use this as an excuse to pitch your current television out with this week’s garbage so that you can rush down to the big box store to acquire your massive high-def plasma flat screen, consider a more modest approach: simply getting yourself a converter box. Shortly, retailers — online and off — will be selling special boxes that change the digital signal into analog. They’re to cost about $60 to $70.

Best of all, the federal government is providing free coupons through a web site at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/ that will let you save $40 on the purchase. At the moment of this writing, exactly 4,732,276 coupons had been ordered. Each household can request two of them.

The coupons won’t be available after March 31, 2008, which means you only have a few weeks left to request yours. They’re also only good for 90 days. That means you can get your coupons, but you also have to plan to use them within three months. No dawdling if you want a good deal. (And since you’re on PriceGrabber.com right now, I know you’re always looking for a good deal.)

I’d assume that your preferred online retailer will accept the coupons too. If they don’t, then find another company to buy from. According to the feds, about 14,000 retail outlets will be accepting them.

On a recent trip to New York I had the chance to discover the simple joy of using a wireless printer. Exactly where I have been all these years? Somehow in the rush to get work done, I have become oblivious to the snake’s nest of cables adorning my workspace. No more!

From this day forward, if there’s a reasonably priced wireless solution to be had, I’m having it! Starting with the HP DeskJet 460c Inkjet Printer, which I had the chance to try.

This color printer claims a 17-page-per-minute print speed. (That’s definitely optimal conditions. No doubt, your mileage will vary.) The print quality for my purposes was fine. And the unit itself was small enough that I wasn’t sure I had actually found the printer when somebody told me it was around the corner from where I was working. I thought I was looking at a mini fax machine. Silly me.

PriceGrabber reviewer fireworks1972 points out that a lithium ion battery for the unit is extra, since it’s promoted as a portable printer. But since AC was supplying the power for my work, I didn’t notice that aspect of it.

Also, here’s the pain point. You’ll need a Bluetooth or 802.11b printer card to go the wireless route, which nearly — but not quite — doubles the price. If that’s too much all in one swallow, you can add on a USB cable to go the usual physical route for connecting your computer to the printer.

Of course, the 460 is a generation old, but for just a little more money, the H470 promises print speeds of up to 22 pages a minute and a traveling weight of about five pounds, when you’re hauling the battery with it.

The newer version of the printer runs with the HP 98 black cartridge and the 95 tri-color cartridge. The 460c runs with a 94 black print cartridge and the 95 tri-color cartridge.

Easily once a week in my spinning class one or another instructor will say to us, “Don’t you think we should be generating our own power here?” We always nod our sweating heads and keep pedaling. But the fact is that alternative power — in the form of photovoltaic cells — will one day roof our homes, decorate our cars and (who knows?) clothe our children.

But for now, there’s something you can buy that will actually use the power of the sun to recharge your devices on the move. That’s a line of solar computer bags from Voltaic. They come in knapsack and messenger styles, but they all work similarly.

Each bag has three solar panels embedded in them, generating 4 watts of power in full sun. That, according to the company, will power three hours of iPod play or 1.5 hours of talk time on a typical cell phone. The bags include a Lithium Ion battery to store surplus energy and a set of common adapters for you to plug in your handheld devices for recharging. If the sun doesn’t come out, you can plug the battery into an AC travel or car charger.

On top of that, the company uses fabrics for its packs made from recycled soda bottles, which apparently uses less oil to produce (and explains the slight Nehi Orange scent radiating from the sample I got close to recently…)

This year, the company plans to issue a new model, called the Generator, which is powerful enough to recharge a notebook computer.

You don’t have to reside in the outback of a developing country to appreciate the magic of these devices. The mechanics add a bit of extra weight to your luggage, but I’d say that’s a small price to pay for carrying the power of the sun on your back.

The other day, during a particularly cold snap, I was working at the dining room table near the woodstove instead of in my office, where the temperatures tend to go Arctic on me. And I noticed that my notebook computer was revving like a 747 about to take off from John Wayne Airport in Orange County. Instantly, I recognized the problem. I’d let it overheat, sitting on the tablecloth instead of on the raised plastic rack where it normally resides.

And I began to think, wouldn’t it be cool to have a specially designed notebook stand that included a little fan so I could work wherever I chose?

I should have known somebody would beat me to the patent. In fact, a large number of companies have done so. They go by names such “Chill Mat” and “Chill Hub,” but the idea is the same — a small stand that integrates a fan to keep the computer off the flat surface where you’re using it.

Most, such as this Targus model, let you set the angle for the computer to make working conditions slightly more ergonomic.

Another one swivels (helpful when you need to collaborate with somebody right there or you just want to take your computer for a spin when you’ve hit a goal…), and a fancy version from Logitech includes a cordless keyboard and a three-port USB hub but lacks the fan.

All I can say is, it’s a good thing I’m not running a unit with one of those exploding batteries. Otherwise, right now you’d be viewing my tale of woe on YouTube instead of reading this and feeling not a whit of sympathy for me or my popsicle toes. A laptop stand is defintely less expensive than buying form-fitting abestos clothing or keeping my fire extinguisher recharged. 

In my last bit of blogging, I mentioned computer devices that are useful for kids with special needs. Here’s the world’s largest trackball — the Greystone Peripheral BigTrack.

This monster mouse has a three-inch yellow ball in the center, useful for people who lack fine motor skills. Two huge blue buttons for the left and right mouse clicks are located behind the trackball so they won’t get clicked accidentally. It’ll work with Windows and Mac computers that have a USB or PS/2 port.

If you’re using this in a learning situation, you can hook up a regular mouse for “driver training” or simply for simultaneous participation.

Another version of the same product also works with switches, but not the kind sold by Cisco. These are devices that allow kids with physical disabilities to access computer programs without the use of a mouse. If you happen to have a preference, let us know!

I just cranked up my Epson PictureMate Personal Photo Lab inkjet printer for the season to do some holiday photos to include with cards I’m sending out. A friend had bought a new digital camera last summer, and the camera shop where he got it wouldn’t let him leave without toting one of these along. Since he’s a totally digital guy, he passed the printer along to me. And I love it.

Before having this puppy in my life, printing out 4×6 photos on my other printers was typically an exercise in terror. Would I get the paper in the right way? Would the sheet twist in the process of printing and come out with my once-in-a-lifetime vacation shots at an angle? Would the ink smear while I was pulling it off the tray? Why was this a nightmare for me? Photo paper and ink is pricey, and I’m a true cheapskate. Anything that wastes either of those two items makes me shudder.

Lots of other folks like their PictureMate too, so I culled through reviews and picked up a few cool tips that I’m sharing here.

Gavinldc writes that the family takes their PictureMate “with us to family gatherings [to] print photos on the spot. No computer needed, just a digital camera or even just the memory card from the camera…”

Tonytang from Illinois writes, “I prefer to print in the “enhance find details” mode to get an even sharper print. Although this mode is much slower than the regular mode, I can see the difference in sharpness.”

Alfmalmac from Ohio writes, “If you print from the desktop, the Epson driver will still somewhat crop your picture… because the printer driver increases the size of the print to allow for sloppy alignment and the edges of the photo are oversprayed (printed off the edge of the paper) when borderless is selected… There is a workaround. Just add a border of about 15 pixels before you print. The driver will remove the border and [do] no additional cropping of the picture..

Seanmcr6 shares this tip: “…The print cartridges provide at least 135-140 prints, especially if you print with white borders, which I do.” He adds, “I have had 4 clogs since I’ve owned it. 2 cleaning cycles each time resolved the issue. Small waste of ink, but in the grand scheme of things, not expensive at all.”

I’m always amazed at how uncomfortable the earbuds are that I get with my various devices — and how comfortable they can be when they come from a third-party and you spend a lot of money to buy them.

That’s why I’d love to try out the Plantronics .Audio 480 USB Virtual Phone Booth. (Yes, that’s a period before the word “Audio.” Apparently, the; new: new thing is to add punctuation whenever! and wherever? it …suits!!)

The company says using this device “is like having a private, portable oasis of sound while you’re traveling. Listen to music, watch movies, or make Internet calls from your laptop without distraction. A noise-canceling microphone lets callers hear you clearly. In seconds, simply stow the headset and be on your way.”

These are Mac and Windows USB-compatible, so if you lack that kind of port because you have an antique notebook, you’re out of luck. And I’m a bit concerned about that microphone. It’s on a boom that’s like a stiff piece of wire, which means it may be susceptible to kinks if you’re not careful with it. (The package includes a carrying case that resembles something you’d use for eyeglasses.)

But there are some perks. You get small, medium and large caps for the earbuds, which means you can pick the right fit for your petite ears vs. being forced to use the same size as some guy named Lenny who works in Engineering and just happened to get that particular part of the design work for the product.

Ah, well, maybe Santa will be kind to my ears this Christmas…

It took me years to learn to leave my computer on at night when I stopped working. But at some point I realized that I was wasting too much time watching Windows XP boot itself up, followed by the dozens of minion applications and services that load automatically for my future ease and convenience. So I learned how to use Windows power schemes to put my machine into sleep mode. But I never touched the attachments hanging off my machine — the printer, the scanner, the external hard drive backup unit. Those sat patiently awaiting my return.

Then Al Gore started giving his PowerPoint presentation. And suddenly I realized that I was wasting kilowatt hours needlessly.

Now APC, the company known for its uninterruptible power supplies, has come up with a product that will make my work habits greener without my changing a thing. The APC Back-UPS ES 750 automatically shuts down power to unused peripherals when the computer goes into sleep mode. The magic is this: The master outlet is designed to sense current drawn by connected equipment, typically a computer. When the computer is powered down or goes into sleep mode, the master outlet will automatically shut-down the controlled outlets, which consume power even when the computer is off.

The device has 10 outlets, five of which provide battery backup for up to 70 minutes in the event of a power outage.

The company said its new design uses less copper and other raw materials during the manufacturing process and its packaging is made from recycled material. It retails for $99.99.

Yesterday, I promised I’d share the lowdown on my favorite Dell notebook — the one that makes me feel like a true road warrior. That’s the Latitude D430, a beautiful little machine with a starting weight that comes in at 3.0 pounds. Why, that’s no heavier than my autographed copy of The Gary Snyder Reader!

I had one of these at my last job, and I loved it. Because it was so light, I carried it with me everywhere. Because it was so small, I could tuck it into my knapsack safely ensconced between mouse pads, t-shirts, whatever was soft. I never sat through a meeting, conference, workshop, seminar or keynote without pulling it out and keeping my notes on it. That meant I never had to write another word in my reporter notebook again. (Since I can’t read my own writing, this was a real boon to productivity!)

Here’s the standard rundown: an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, XP Home Edition, a 12.1-inch wide screen, 1GB of memory, a 40GB of storage, a CDRW/DVD, and an 802.11g wireless card.

Now here’s the caveat: If you have big fingers, you may find the keyboard unusable. There’s little space between the core set of keys and the extraneous ones such as the num pad or the arrow keys. You’ll constantly find yourself squinching up your shoulders to the detriment of your neck. Fortunately, I don’t have big fingers.

Also, you’ll want a desktop monitor to plug into if this is your main machine. Likewise, you’ll need to haul an extra battery with you. The standard one would give me a little more than a couple of hours, not nearly enough to cover a day at a conference.

Now that I think about it, you’ll want to upgrade almost everything — hard drive, memory, operating system. But once you do, you’ll never want to give up your D430.

If you’ve ever dropped your notebook computer, raise your hand! (Yikes, not while you still have a grip on your computer!) If employers ever found out just how hard I can be on their equipment, they’d never hire me. Of course, there’s always the off-chance that I could get a job in the Dell testing labs, where I could be put in charge of seeing just how sturdy its new line of Latitude “Road Warrior” machines are.

The ATG D630, in particular, garnered Popular Science’s attention. (In fact, the video they have on this is rather hilarious, if you like to see machines flop to the floor and keep on running…)

This rugged notebook runs from $2,000 to $3,000 depending on just how durable you need your machine. But the standard features include these: And Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 processor, Windows XP Home Edition, a 14.1-inch screen, a feeble 512MB of memory, an 80GB of storage, a RW/DVD drive and an 802.11g wireless card. The cost goes up as you add a shock-mounted hard drive, more memory and a fingerprint reader for security.

But you know what? All that sturdiness adds pounds. The starting weight for the ATG D630 is a whopping 6.3 pounds. And that would simply force me to heave my equipment around in ways that are bound to hurt it. Tomorrow, I’ll share my dream Dell machine with you — which takes a different approach to durability.