It’s impossible to really grasp the fear that people living in war-torn areas have to deal with, particularly when it comes to those parts of the world that are left littered with land mines when a war is over. But UNICEF’s landmine sticker campaign certainly drives home the point of how easy it is to miss them. Distributed in front of UNICEF information booths, the adhesive side of the stickers are printed with a design that matches the surface on which they’re placed, so that people step on them without realizing they’re there. And when they go to remove the sticker from their shoe, they discover the image of a landmine on the other side reminding them that in many parts of the world there’s the genuine risk of stepping on something that’s far less innocuous than a sticker.

[ Ads of the World - Unicef: Landmine stickers ] VIA [ I New Idea ]

By Gilberto J Perera

This guest post was written by Gilberto who is the main article contributor for Laptoplogic.com, where you can find the latest laptop reviews.

How would you like to set your thermostat at home while you’re at the office? Wouldn’t it be nice if you forgot to turn off your water heater for a two week vacation and you were able to log on to an online portal and turn it off? How about using an energy management system for your home that charges when electricity is the cheapest and avoids the peaks where electric costs are higher? These are all scenarios that will be possible in the next 5-10 years as utilities move towards Smart Grids. The days of a mechanical meter and a visit from a meter reader are slowly approaching to an end.

A Smart Grid is an often loosely used term that refers to intelligent distribution and generation of electricity. What this means is that utilities would have systems that control the flow of electricity autonomously and meters that provide remote data gathering capabilities as well as control over the airwaves for the customer and the utility. Today’s at home energy management is limited to flipping a switch when lights are not in use or programming a thermostat. These devices (thermostat, range, water heater, pool pump, TV’s) would all have a built-in HAN (Home Area Network) module that would interface with the electronic meter to relay information via the chosen network. This will provide the utility with almost real time electric demand information, the ability to disconnect non-paying customers remotely, automated feeder switching, and better load management. Consumers would benefit because they would be able to take advantage of using electricity when it is most efficient, their meters would have the capability to meter electricity produced at home (solar, wind, etc), better management of electric use via remote access, and more reliable electricity.

The recent push from the Administration and Congress has provided incentives for utilities and other companies to find ways to reduce their carbon footprint all the while providing consumers with more choices in managing their electricity consumption. Florida Power & Light (FPL) & Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE) are among the leading contenders working with vendors like General Electric, Silver Spring Networks, and Cisco to bring energy management to your home. FPL has approximately 100,000 of these meters installed in Florida with plans to expand deployment to the approximate 4.3 million customers it services. On the other hand PGE has deployed over 350,000 meters and will expand the deployment to include its remaining customers. So if you live in one of these states (Florida or California) it is very likely that you will see one of these meters attached to your home within the next 5 years.

VIA [ Silverspring Networks ]

By Shane McGlaun

I like digital photo frames and each time someone comes to my house that doesn’t own a digital frame, they leave wanting one. With digital frames, I can display images of the kids and other events without having to print off gobs of pictures and find a place to put the pictures on my wall.

Kodak has announced a new digital photo frame called the Easyshare S730, but has left out some important details about the device. The import bits missing are exactly how large the screen of the frame is and what the frame looks like. Pricing for the frame will be $139 and it will ship in September.

The frame features touch sensitive controls on the frame bezel, 1GB of internal memory and a rechargeable battery good for an hour away from an outlet. A memory card reader is built-in as well for viewing images without having to upload them to the frame. Other features include the ability to play video and music and a collage feature.

[ Kodak ]

By Shane McGlaun

It seems like every other device that comes out today is designed to allow streaming of media from the Internet to your TV. The feature is being included in many Blu-ray players, new HDTVs, and some game consoles can stream content as well.

Syabas has announced a new settop box called the Popcorn C-200 that is set to launch in July for $299. The device is capable of streaming 30 different video formats from the Internet to your TV including MPEG 1, 2, 4, AVI, H.264, Xvid, MKV, Windows Media, and more.

The box features an integrated LCD for searching and streaming content, the ability to stream Internet radio stations, a wireless RF remote and a gigabit Ethernet connection. A front-loading drive bay can be used for hard drives or Blu-ray drives. Too bad the device lacks Wi-Fi.

[ Popcorn Hour ]

By Shane McGlaun

The other day my son learned a valuable life lesson, one of those lessons that every guy learns at one point in life — girls get nicer bathrooms. One day he will learn another valuable life lesson — dads have to act like they love what you give them for Father’s Day even if it sucks.

This year don’t give dad something that sucks, Walmart has a few specials for dad’s day that any dad would be glad to get. If dad doesn’t have a Blu-ray player he would love to get the Magnavox NB500MGX Blu-ray player Walmart is offering for only $128 and you can pick up some Blu-ray movies two for $20. Even if you aren’t a dad that is a cheap price on a Blu-ray player, even if it will lack some of the newer Blu-ray features that require Internet connectivity.

If dad likes games you can get him an 80GB PS3 bundled with Quantum of Solace and MLB ’09 The Show for $399. A new TV is always nice as well and a 37-inch 720p Sanyo is going for $398, a 42-inch Vizio 1080p model can be had for $697, and a 52-inch Bravia 1080p is offered for $1,788. There are many more Father’s Day gifts on sale as well. Just stay away from the tie section.

[ Walmart ]

By Shane McGlaun

The digital transition finally happens tomorrow. I am looking forward to it because that will mean that those analog airwaves will be available for the wireless companies to start building out that nationwide broadband plan they talked about. I would love to get off my crappy DSL provider and onto a faster network.

The transition was originally supposed to happen back in February but 5.8 million homes weren’t ready for the transition leading President Obama and the government to postpone the transition until tomorrow. Despite the delay, there are still a huge number of homes in America unprepared for the transition.

The Nielsen company reports that 2.8 million homes are still not ready. That means after today the people won’t be able to access TV broadcasts. The company also reports that the most likely homes to be unprepared are predominantly young minority homes. Surprisingly the most ready homes are those of the elderly.

[ Nielsen ]

By Shane McGlaun

There are gobs of Blu-ray players on the market today. I still think one of the better players is the PS3. I like that it has all the features you want from a Blu-ray player, can be updated with new features and plays great video games all for less than many other high-end Blu-ray players.

If you don’t want a PS3 there are certainly enough options available in the Blu-ray market and now there is one more brand to consider. Harman Kardon has announced its first Blu-ray player called the BDP1. You may recognize the Harman Kardon brand from the line of speakers the company has sold for years.

The BDP1 supports BD-Live and BonusView along with LPCM, MP3, Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD Master Audio and WMA audio formats. Internet connectivity is provided via an RJ-45 connector and the player has IR-remote in/out jacks for system integration. A front panel USB jack allows for direct play of MP3 and image files and can act as additional memory for BD-Live. The player will be available this month for $499.

[ Harman Kardon ]

By Shane McGlaun

Being a guy in the south cooking on the grill is a way of life. We don’t wait for good weather; all we need is an open flame and a pair of tongs. The cardinal rules are don’t overcook the steaks and keep the wife away from the grill.

Most guys know that when you are cooking a good steak, you don’t just cut it open to see if it’s done. You have to use a thermometer. The catch is that if you are inside cooking something else and the grill flares up you can have a burnt steak quickly.

Brookstone has a wireless grill thermometer that will let you know when your steak is done without you having to cut it open to see how pink it is. The device has a temp probe you ram into the steak and a wireless transmitter with a 300-foot range. The receiver clips on your belt, tells what temperature the meat is at, and speaks to you saying “almost done” and “done” so you know when to take the steaks off the grill. If your steak jumps from 140 to 300 degrees, you can also run out and put out the flames before your dinner is a crispy mess.

[ Brookstone ]

By Shane McGlaun

I have several iPod accessories around the house and each time I dock my iPhone I get that wonderful “this accessory is not iPod compatible” message. That little message means you can’t place calls while the iPhone is docked in the accessory, but I assume calls will still come in. I haven’t had that happen yet.

Pioneer has announced a new A/V receiver series that are certified to work with the iPhone and iPod touch. The receiver models include the VSX-819AH, VSX-919AH, and VSX-1019AH receivers. Users can plug their iPhone or iPod into the receivers and use the full-color GUI to browse album art and control music playback from across the room with the A/V receiver remote.

The receivers will auto mute the music when a call comes in and are all compatible with HD audio making them perfect for use with your Blu-ray player or PS3. One of the best features of the new line is that they are cheap. The lowest cost model supports HD sound and sells for $299 with the most expensive model selling for $499.

[ Pioneer ]

By Shane McGlaun

Digital photo frames may seem boring, but anyone who takes lots of digital pictures will find that the gadgets are a great way to do something with all those pictures other than letting them sit on your computer or memory card. The price of digital photo frames are coming down as well making them more affordable.

Samsung has announced a new digital frame that is under an inch thick and sports an 8-inch screen. The screen has a resolution of 800 x 480 and a contrast ratio of 500:1. Despite the small size of the frame, it packs 1GB of memory inside.

Samsung claims that is enough storage for 3,000 photos, assuming they are suitably low resolution. An SD card slot is offered for loading photos into the frames memory and the little frame gets all the juice it needs right form a PCs USB port. That means you can place the frame on a desk and power it totally from your computer. The SPF-87H digital photo frame is available now for $129 at Fry’s and on Amazon.com.

[ Samsung ]