What do you get when you combine the iPad with two strips of Velcro? Apparently, the ultimate device-killer. Northern California filmmaker Jesse Rosten put together a video showing how mounting an iPad on two strips of Velcro could mean the ability to ditch the majority of electronics in your home. Well…within reason. Check out some funny and creative uses for the iPad, made all the easier with the addition of Velcro
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In the interest of minimizing e-waste, it is important that potential customers understand the limitations as well as the advantages of new electronic gadgets. And since the Apple iPad is being welcomed with open arms as the go-anywhere companion for all e-purposes, it naturally struck us as interesting to learn that the iPad failed German electronics consumer review mag Chip’s beer garden test. Beer garden test?…Read the full story on TreeHugger

If you know us here at TreeHugger, you know how we feel about smart phone apps. We love them. They’re often just so darn handy for living a greener life, from helping out with transportation to shopping to home energy management. And so, you’ll probably guess that we’re excited to watch iPad apps slowly roll out so that this new gadget has a green purpose. There are already a good handful we like, and they’re listed here, including th…Read the full story on TreeHugger

There are few things out there that do a better job than the iPad at highlighting just what’s wrong with us when it comes to our gadget mentality. We love our gadgets, and they hold a lot of potential for dematerializing our lives, which means a smaller collective carbon footprint and hope for a sustainable future. But that potential only goes as far as we will take it, and from the looks of things, we aren’t wanting to dematerialize and, what’s worse, we aren’t even valuing the stuff that we put up on a pedestal as revolutionary.

The iPad underscores all thi…Read the full story on TreeHugger

In the rumor mill when the iPad was still under development was that it would use OLED technology for the touch screen. The murmurs stayed squarely in the rumor category, since no OLED manufacturer was really capable of churning out the number of screens that would be demanded by consumers. However, the rumors are back that Apple is looking at making the next generation of iPads with OLED technology. …Read the full story on TreeHugger

Seriously?

In order to be the very first to destroy an iPad, some teens waited in line, purchased one, and immediately went outside the store where they smashed it to bits with a baseball bat. Why? Justin Kockott, one of the teens behind the stunt, told the newspaper, “It was just something to do.” Perhaps this is just the easiest way to highlight how little we a) appreciate our electronics and the sheer amount of resources that go into them; b) understand the amount of damage done that extends beyond destroying the device itself; and c) just how utterly wasteful some Americans can be.

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Over 300,000 iPads sold on the first day the device hits the market. Lines in front of Apple stores were of course ridiculously long, like this one at the Westside store in New York City, which looped back and forth in front of the store three times. Everyone is talking about how the device is the next big thing in digital reading, essentially blending netbooks and e-readers, and will utterly change the market. Yet, we have to ask – what does this mad rush for the latest device from Apple Read the full story on TreeHugger

If you have a Kindle, and you’re enviously eyeing the iPad as an improvement upon the e-reader you’re holding in your hands, you have at least 10 reasons to feel content with what you have. Your Kindle may be more versatile than you think, and do the same things that you’re likely to do with your iPad anyway – all at a lower energy consumption and smaller footprint. …Read the full story on TreeHugger

This seems to be the year for green iPhone apps, with already over 100 to choose from, including TreeHugger’s own which was launched last month and the Green Map app launched recently. Now here is one for the biomimicry and architecture fans amongst you. treehugger….Read the full story on TreeHugger

Those of you who have read my previous missives on personal electronics know I have little use for the like of Greenpeace’s electronics rating scheme and am anoyed by the constant hectoring of Apple by NGO’s. Often they are chasing trailing indicators and pushing protocols that miss the big picture. Continuing along those lines, I recently congratulated Apple’s Board of Directors for opposing shareholder demands that Apple publish an ann…Read the full story on TreeHugger