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.

There’s an art to giving the gag gift, so necessary at those over-the-hill-themed birthday parties. Aside from eliciting at least a chuckle, the item must be impractical, not offend, fit that particular person and show how much you really care. For the boy who never grew up — and that may include a few people you know — anything that shoots will do. No one will get hurt with the Marshmallow Blaster ($25). For the man who’s watched too many episodes of The X-Files or UFO Hunters, the mini remote-controlled UFO flying saucer can glide and hover and even light up (on sale for $25). For the book lover, this set of temporary tattoos ($8) proclaim, “Read or Die,” “I [heart] Dewey Decimal System” and “Book Lust.” The Homer Simpson Chia Pet is a hoot, even without donuts ($20; pictured). The Elvis Pez Dispenser set comes with a gold Elvis record — er, CD ($20). For the Star Wars geek, there’s the Storm Trooper bobblehead ($13). Inspire a little therapeutic fun with the Freudian Slip Post-it Notes ($6.50) or the Freud and Couch finger puppets, which handily double as refrigerator magnets ($13). Or for the Type A person, Despair’s line of Demotivator merchandise might make the perfect, well, demotivator. Finally, you can breathe some life into that party by passing out boxes of AtoneMints for Each of Your Sins, EnlightenMints or Sin-o-Mints ($3).

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.

Japan’s Rare Mono Shop sells far-out, amusing and somewhat useful gadgets, most of them involving USB devices. I only know because the company is poised to open a U.S. store in August and the English language catalog is now online. I highly recommend a visit to browse products such as “bone conduction headphones,” which transfer sound through the cheekbone rather than into the ear. If you love the unintentional results of bad Japanese-to-English translations, there’s plenty to enjoy here. (“Outside sound can be heard as it does not close your ears!” reads the copy beside a male model demonstrating the headphones with ears uncovered.) The funniest mistake in translation I found was a $2,980 price tag for a combination USB hub/tape dispenser that looks to be worth $29.80 at best (or else our currency is in much worse shape than I thought). Actually, not many of the items are priced yet and the site warns visitors, “We do not accept return of the product due to misuse or misunderstanding of the product. If you have any concern, please wait until we introduce officially for international market.” That should be in August. I can hardly wait to learn more about the gold ingot USB hub, pictured, which looks like a real gold brick into which one can plug eight USB devices. Also of interest: the compact, portable USB AC charger, which powers USB-driven devices without a computer. Just plug it into an outlet and plug-in up to two devices. The Rare Mono Shop sells all sorts of gadgets to use with it, such as a USB eye warmer and USB aroma diffuser. You get the idea.

Why are people still buying book lights with conventional incandescent bulbs? The answer isn’t price: The famous Itty Bitty light costs $45 (some of which probably goes to that cutesy package), and users have to budget $7 a pop for replacement bulbs. Meanwhile, LED bulbs practically last forever and are more eco-friendly to boot, using much less energy to deliver comparable light. This Xtra Flex 2 from Mighty Bright has a more easily maneuverable neck than the Itty Bitty lamp, clips firmly onto your book (or stands by itself), and at $17 is just over a third of its competitor’s price. Granted, those of us who don’t want to run on battery power have to spend another $10 on an AC adapter — it’s still a bargain, and the cord is long enough to reach the most inconvenient under-the-bed power outlet. The Mighty Bright folks have branched out cleverly, with a two-arm light/magnifier gizmo for crafters and some sleek workhorses for musicians, but the item that will likely come in handy for us all at some point, whether we read at bedtime or not, is a magnifying glass with a built-in lamp — you may still have a hard time comprehending the fine print of that new cell-phone contract, but at least you’ll be able to read it.

So you’ve decided to bite the economy bullet and head out on vacation. But after the $1,500/week beach rental, the $300 gas tab and food for the week, you’ve already spent the bulk of your budget. Never fear: Stock up pre-vacation with inexpensive recreational activities to keep your clan occupied once you get there. If you’re beach bound, don’t get caught up in the surf store toy mark-ups. Come prepared with a six-pack of water noodles ($10) and a stock of colorful rafts ($15 each). For outdoor fun wherever you’re headed, a bocce set is always a crowd-pleaser ($18). This Frisbee golf set can entertain the troops inside or out ($20), while the Poolmaster floating table tennis game ($80; pictured) or the floating dart game ($90) will undoubtedly keep the kids entertained in the pool or lake. Board games aren’t just for when you’re bored. They’re a perfect family bonding activity for rainy vacation days, plus, they’re an alternative to that money pit that is the beach boardwalk. You can’t go wrong with Monopoly ($20) or Clue ($27), but your kids might thank you for getting something more hip like the Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? DVD game ($18) or the High School Musical 2 DVD game ($20). To spark that creative flame, bring along some craft kits. The Natural Science Smithsonian Gummy Bugs Lab allows youngsters to make their own gummy treats ($13). For more scientifically inded kids, the Giant Volcano kit ($14) simulates a volcanic eruption. Who said vacation couldn’t be inexpensive and fun?

The Handy Magnet is an idea so simple it might not even be immediately apparent how neat it is, much less why somebody would need to claim having “invented” it: A strip of plastic with nine small magnets in it. So what, you ask? Well, once you have a strap of them in your hands you start thinking of all kinds of ways to use them. Doing a project in your driveway? Slap some magnets on the garage door to keep nuts and screws from rolling into the street. Need to keep a toddler from digging around in the fridge? The magnets’ combined strength is more than enough for an impromptu temporary lock. The product’s promotional site offers ideas both clever and — magnetized water, anyone? — totally kooky, but it emphasizes their versatility and (given the useful way the magnets are integrated into a watertight plastic enclosure, with hangers on either end for attaching to non-magnetized surfaces) might convince you they’re worth the 19 bucks each set costs. Don’t think this company has the corner on magnets as tools. You can find quite a selection from the Joe Tool Company , The Magnet Source (both primarily an assortment of telescoping magnet tools) and Ace Hardware, which offers pages of handy magnets for lots of uses.