If you’re reading this on your trusty Sony Vaio, better turn it over and look for the fine print. Then go to this Sony site, to find out if yours is one of 440,000 Vaios being recalled because of faulty wires and overheating problems. Nineteen models in the TZ series (made in 2007-2008) are potentially problematic. Apparently, wires were improperly placed, were wearing, then short circuiting, then overheating.

Sony, which announced the recall Thursday, said it has gotten more than 200 reports of overheating, including seven people who were burned, according to the Associated Press. About 72,800 of those laptops are in the U.S., Reuters said. If your product code and serial number pops up on the Sony site as one of the troubled Vaios, Sony promises to come to you for on-site repair at your house or office (or you can send it to a service center).

Sony, you may recall, was also the maker of defective batteries that forced the recall of many thousand notebooks (from Dell, Apple, Hitachi and others) in 2006.

Is there anything more fun than trying to wake up a teenager at the beginning of the school year? A teenager who has spent the last three months sleeping until noon? The only thing that is likely more fun is watching what happens when Clocky the alarm clock goes off. Clocky is cute and has big wheels (pictured), and after your teen hits the snooze button once, Clocky rolls off the bedside table and rolls around the room, continuing to buzz loudly: under the bed, against the door, in the bathroom, until said teen has to get out of bed to find him. Beautiful! He’s $50 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Another fun one is the flying alarm clock. It has a cute little propeller on its top, and when it goes off, the propeller spins and flies away, carrying the key that makes the alarm clock stop its incredibly loud screeching. Fabulous, and $11.48 at Amazon. It would probably be entertaining to watch (more…)

All TV stations will broadcast only in digital starting Feb. 17, 2009. If you’re reading this, you probably don’t need an analog-to-digital converter box for your TV, but your parents or grandparents or elderly friends who still rely on rabbit ears or rooftop antennas do. And they may not even know it (a January report said 36 percent of all Americans - predominately Hispanics - didn’t know about this impending change). Another report earlier this year said there are a little more than 14 million households - 13 percent of all households with TVs - that will lose their signals if they don’t buy the boxes (which cost from $40 to $70). The government’s TV converter box coupon program Web site answers most all questions, but that doesn’t help if the person doesn’t have a computer. You can help them apply for two free coupons worth $40 each at the Web site, or they can call (888) 388-2009. or mail an application to P.O. Box 2000, Portland, Ore. 97208-2000 (download the application here.) The coupons must come from the government, not retailers. The coupons (which look like plastic gift (more…)

There’s a lot of grumbling out there about the Apple 3G iPhone that came out in July. It seems that calls are dropping, like rocks. They’re blaming it on a German-made chip in the phone, and Apple is promising a software fix will be on iTunes soon. On top of the irritation at lost connectivity, Apple has sold so many of them, they’re not so special any more. Everybody seems to have one. So now how do you elevate yourself above the masses? Pop a fascinating case or cover over it, of course. You can go the basic route with leather or silicone skins,  or get one in a snazzy color for $25. Since you were aiming for a high tech look, the Invisible Shield by Zagg ($25) is made of a thin polyurethane film created by the military for helicopter blades. Cases.com has lots to choose from, including a snappy red leather crocodile cover for $127 (pictured). Not content to wear your iPod on your arm, now you can slap your iPhone on as well, with a $30 sport armband from Belkin (or their Spiderman-ish micro-grip, which is coming soon). A Web site called iPhone3Gcases.net certainly has to have a lot to pick from, such as the colorful Golla Calla fabric cover for $20. Get snazzier with the iWood by Miniot, carved from a single piece of wood and monogrammed with your logo or a personal message, for about $125. And if you really want to flaunt your phone, get the monogrammed Louis Vuitton leather holder for $320 (but check back because they’re out of them online right now - we guess everybody wants one, just like you).

Has a weekend of watching amazing athletes inspired you to leap off the couch and get into shape? Don’t be hasty. Gather some gadgets to get started with, or just to make you look cool in the trials. Impressed by the way the Olympic gymnasts fling their bodies around the pommel horse? Your variation on the rings competition could be the Perfect Pushup ($99), with rotating handles and adjustable swing arms to give you the feel for holding your body suspended in mid-air. Uhmm, yea. Ready to run? Don’t leave without a Sportline HydraCoach “intelligent” water bottle (pictured) that tracks your hydration level based on your weight, exercise level and your personal hydration goal.” It even factors in heat and altitude, for $27.95. You want to wear earphones while you sprint, but when in unfamiliar territory (like a running path), ambient awareness earphones ($80) will let you jog along with Lil Wayne and still hear sounds around you, such as screeching brakes and screaming. Now you’re starting to get serious, and this is a seriously odd device: a “core body temperature monitoring system” that consists of a data recorder you wear, which gets its information from a pill-shaped sensor that you swallow. We can’t find a price, but you may want to discuss that one with others before purchasing, anyway.  You’ll want a new scale to measure your progress, and a Tanita Inner-Scan scale will track not only your weight but body fat and body water percentage, muscle mass, physique rating, amount of visceral fat and, well, enough said. It’s $110. Is all this talk of exercise too exhausting? Then you probably just need to strengthen your remote-control muscles with an Xtensor hand exerciser ($40 from ThinkGeek).  It’s made for video gamers, but you wouldn’t want to get a thumb cramp and miss the synchronized swimming.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave … with all of our tech gear and corresponding chargers. Get a handle on all those cords and manage your family’s cell phones, MP3 players and digital cameras with a handy charging station. Pottery Barn’s lacquer Smart Photo caddy and recharger has a back cubby for portable electronics and a six-socket power strip concealed behind. Cubbies in the front stow desk accessories and three photo openings create a desktop gallery ($99). Plug and play your iPod while charging other electronics all in one spot. The lacquer Smart all-in-one (pictured) includes built-in speakers and a six-socket power strip ($169). Kids these days often have more gadgets than their parents, which means they could probably fill their own charging station. The kids docking station comes in a rainbow of colors and features cutouts like hearts and stars ($79). Bed Bath and Beyond sells a more basic model. The black 600 Denier charging station provides a home for up to four devices ($15; power strip sold separately). Brookstone’s mini charging valet is the perfect addition to your workspace, whether it’s at the office or at home ($30).

Did you know you can watch plenty of films instantly through your high-speed Internet connection without leaving your sofa? With a set-top box (as in TV set) similar to your cable box, you can choose from thousands of films with the click of a remote. The Roku Netflix Player ($100; pictured) is a one-time purchase for Netflix subscribers. Hook it up to any TV — whether it’s the newest HD model or one you’ve had for years — and you can select movies and TV episodes from your Netflix Instant Queue to watch right away in the comfort of your bedroom or living room or wherever there’s a TV and an internet connection. (You’ll still receive DVDs via post from Netflix, in accordance with your monthly subscription.) Vudu is a competing service for those with fast Internet connections (2.2 Mbps for instant viewing). The box costs $299, with a wireless kit for $50, and even though you do not have to have a subscription, you do have to pay rental or purchase fees for each program. With Apple TV (40 GB for $229, 160GB for $329), you can rent movies from the iTunes store and watch them instantly on your computer, iPod, iPhone, or television, but you must own a widescreen enhanced-definition or high-definition television with an HDMI, DVI, or component video input port. You also must have an iTunes Store account and a broadband Internet connection. Just think: No more driving to the rental store or dealing with heavily scratched movies that freeze up during the film’s high point.

When GPS devices first came out, I was characteristically ho-hum about them. An early adopter of tech gadgets I’m not.Well, I’m here to say that people a lot smarter and more adventurous than I have dreamed up a clever use for these units. Think of a scavenger hunt, throw in the connectivity/community of the Internet, add a GPS receiver (or a GPS-enabled mobile phone containing Geocache Navigator software, which costs around $7 per month) and you’re on your way to understanding the increasingly popular activity known as geocaching. Briefly, the term combines the words “geography” and “caching,” which, according to Geocaching.com, “is the process of hiding a cache.” The one who hides the cache is the “owner” and those who set out to find it are the players. The fun begins when the owner selects a location for his or her cache that is a challenge to reach, even with a GPS receiver. Some caches require the players to be scuba divers or rock climbers, and some are concealed on well traveled city streets. To give it a try, you’ll need a GPS unit. The site recommends the Garmin eTrex GPS ($90) or the Magellan GPS 315, We couldn’t find that model so we recommend the new Magellan Triton 300 instead ($150); it lets you add detailed maps and applications. In addition to the thrill of the hunt, players may find themselves rewarded with items left in the cache. Or maybe not. The only thing a cache has to contain is a logbook, but that doesn’t mean it won’t contain jewelry, money, tickets, or other valuables. Players must be prepared to leave something in the cache if and when they take something from it. Read the FAQ page for more about this fascinating new form of recreation.