My most favorite show premieres tonight on the C-Dub: Veronica Mars! Veronica is a detective and a gadget geek who solves many of her cases using high tech methods. For instance, last season she found a dead body using Bluetooth. She's also tracked people (including her dad) with GPS monitors, swapped cell phones with unknowing classmates, and her good friend Mac (an Apple lover) handles the hacking and other devious tech.

In Veronica's messenger bag you can find a T-Mobile Sidekick, a Nikon D70s (from the looks of it), and a nice-looking Apple notebook--any fans out there know the exact model? My best guess is the G4.

Of course, I already know the answer to this week's question. You don't. Almost no one does. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, only about 10 percent of all electronics are currently recycled in the U.S. That is why our landfills are being filled with toxic lead, mercury, cadmium, copper and barium. And that is clearly not good enough people.

If you want to know why, go online and buy Elizabeth Grossman's excellent book, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health. Or you could save a few hours and click over to my Q&A with Elizabeth on PCMag.com for a digested version.

Still, if you are a recycler and want to stand up and take credit do so now. New York City has a pretty decent recycling program, but I still see gutted PCs on the street all the time. And now that Dell will send a person to your house to cart away your old tech FOR FREE--there is really no reason not to recycle. Any takers?

Oh, and if you have any questions you want to ask the author, let me know now. She is going to be on Gearlog Radio later this week.

 

Much as I resist posting about every little iPod case--there are just too many!--I can't resist this one. Griffin sent over the disko for iPod video case,$29.99 direct, for us to check out, and it's too much fun; a ring of many-colored LEDs surround the click wheel and flash in different sequences when you move the case. Now I can let go of my embarrassing envy of all all those little kids with their light-up sneakers... It's built of tough polycarbonate to protect the player and comes in black or white; two 3-volt coin batteries are included.

Also cool is the new centerstage for iPod video case, $24.99. It's also polycarbonate and has a pretty anodyzed aluminum cover that flips to form a stand for the iPod for video. You can get it with black, silver, pink, or blue aluminum. Both players fit 30GB, 60GB, and 80GB video iPods.

I have yet another ax to grind with Sprint. I've been a faithful customer since November 2004. I've always felt that Sprint's calling plans were very fair. I pay under $50 a month with the Fair & Flexible plan (300 minutes included). I'm not the type to add on all of those extra features, like unlimited Web access, games, SprintTV...it's all nonsense to me. I like my Sanyo PM 8200 for just voice calls and that's it.

Over the weekend, I was paying my Sprint bill online when I noticed under the heading "Text Messages" that I was being charged $3.60 for "Additional Text Messages". I thought, "Whaaaaat?!?! I don't even text message!" I was furious, and unfortunately my boyfriend had to witness my breakdown.

I called Sprint and asked to speak with a representative. The rep said that, "Yes, you have been text messaging on your phone. We have in our records the times and dates when you sent them." I asked if they could tell me who I sent the messages to, and he replied, "No, but you can go online and view your text messages by going to Online Tools on the Sprint Web site." But, he obviously had no idea what he was talking about, because no where on the site can you view your text messages (you can only send messages online). Fortunately, he refunded the $3.60 to me since I wanted to speak with a manager.

I was still curious, so I checked my Current Usage online and it read, "Other Usage: CASUAL SMS TEXT MESSAGING; 16 USED". I thought I was reading the screen wrong. "Casual" text-messaging? What in the hell is that?? There's no such thing!! [See a screenshot of my bill below and click it to enlarge.] I called Sprint yet again and told them I was being charged for text messaging when I don't message. This rep refunded me for those 16 text messages (at 10 cents each). Since Sprint's reps have no idea what's going on, I did a little investigating on my own.

This is what I realized: When you call someone and they don't answer, you have two options: Press 1 to leave a voicemail or Press 2 to send a numeric page. My boyfriend and I always send each other numeric pages because it's faster than checking voice mail. Numeric pages are alerts that a Sprint customer will receive and it shows who it's from, call back #, and the message which is always the standard "PLEASE CALL". Numeric pages are NOT text messages (at least in my book) because you can not type what you want the message to say. It's an auto-generated message!

I counted up the number of numeric pages I received since last month and the number was 16. So a light went on in my head. SPRINT IS CHARGING ITS CUSTOMERS 15 CENTS EACH FOR THESE NUMERIC PAGES, AND CALLING THEM "CASUAL TEXT MESSAGING." (Yes, effective Oct 1st, Sprint raised the casual text messaging price from 10 to 15 cents.)

All I have to say is, SHAME ON YOU, SPRINT! How dare you make up some phrase just so you can nickel and dime your customers. Numeric paging was a convenience for me. And now you've gone and raised the price 5 cents, without even telling us in the first place that you were charging for this stupid "casual" thing. And then your reps have the audacity to ask me if I want to pay $15 a month for unlimited SMS text messaging.

Thanks a lot for tricking me and the rest of the world!!!

"Why can't I buy that car in the U.S.?" That's an often-heard lament from visitors to Europe—especially when they see what's on offer for new technology at auto shows. A case in point is the 2006 Paris Auto Show, currently underway (till October 15); many of the most fascinating offerings come from makers that no longer sell cars stateside, such as Citroen, with its C-Metisse diesel-electric prototype.

SLIDESHOW (3)

Slideshow | All Shots

The Metisse (the name means hybrid in French) has four cantilever-opening doors and a low-slung carbon fiber body, at least in the prototype version. More important, it uses a 208-hp V6 diesel engine, plus electric motors that add another 20 hp. That doesn't sound like a lot, but electric motors deliver maximum torque at 0 rpm, when the car is just starting up. PSA, Citroen's parent company, plans to sell diesel electrics by 2010.

Fiat and its sibling Lancia showed off vehicles with the Blue&Me system developed by Microsoft, which provides a low-cost integrated Bluetooth connection for cell phones and eventually for music (from Bluetooth players), a rudimentary navigation system, and a USB connector for nearly any music player, including the iPod. Microsoft had said earlier it planned to announce a U.S. automaker that'll use a version of Blue & Me in cars sold stateside.

To read more about Microsoft's Blue&Me, click here.

Mini unveiled the next-generation Mini Cooper (pictured) and Cooper S, which will arrive in the U.S. in February. While the car looks virtually identical outside to the current Mini Cooper and is the same height and width, just about every body panel is different, and it's 2.5 inches longer. Engines are also new (the previous engine was built in a joint venture that was taken over by BMW's archrival DaimlerChrysler; the new engines are a joint venture with less threatening PSA/Peugeot-Citroen). The saucer-size centrally mounted speedometer has grown larger still, thanks to more embedded technology gadgets: the optional navigation system functions, radio, and CD. In addition to the 120-hp and 175-hp gas-engine versions Americans will see, the world market will get economical diesel offerings.

Audi showed off its first-ever supercar, the R8, which has a mid-engine design, like its Le Mans (diesel-powered) racer (though it's actually built off another supercar platform, the Lamborghini Gallardo). The R8 uses a gasoline direct-injection (most fuel injection systems spray into an intake manifold) 4.2 liter V8 engine, delivering 420 hp. It will hit 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, Audi says, and keep going to 187 mph.

Volvo displayed the C30 concept car, a two-door hatchback aimed at entry-level buyers with urban lifestyles. Volvo has hinted, but not made it official, that it will come to the U.S. in 2007. It will likely have an offbeat like-Mini-0nly-different marketing campaign. At the other end of the concept-car spectrum, Peugeot displayed a V12 luxury sedan concept called the 908RC with the windshield raked far forward onto the hood.

For more auto-show coverage, click here.

Sprint just announced that they're bringing a trio of hot Motorola handsets into their fold: The Motorola RAZR V3m, SLVR L7c and KRZR K1m. The RAZR and KRZR are already out with Verizon Wireless, but Sprint's models will offer a different interface, Sprint's live TV service and their new pay-per-view movie application.

The announcement makes Sprint the first carrier to officially adopt the SLVR L7c, the new version of Cingular's SLVR L7. The L7c will use Sprint's Music Store rather than iTunes, and have high-speed EV-DO data, Sprint TV and Sprint Movies. But it will otherwise be much like the existing SLVR, with its VGA camera, Bluetooth and MicroSD memory card slot.

Sprint's Michelle Leff said she expected prices to be "incredibly competitive." Verizon is selling the KRZR for $199 with contract, and has sold the RAZR for as little as $69 with contract during special promotions. Leff said the phones will feature a customized Sprint user interface, be usable as laptop modems, and have a wide range of Bluetooth wireless profiles for connection to PCs.

The new phones are expected in early November, or sooner if they pass Sprint's testing quickly. Read more on Sprint's site or sign up for alerts when the KRZR becomes available.

Product: USB Duckling Fan (The box actually calls it USB Coco Fan, referring to the coconut tree, but ducks always come first for me.)

Description: The USB Duckling Fan is a delightful desk fan, powered by USB, but with a twist. The fan is actually a palm tree and the power switch is a duckling in a baseball cap. You can also use 2 AA batteries, instead of USB, if you want to get away from your computer.

How It Works: Out of the box, you just need to straighten out its neck (tree trunk) and attach the duck to the power switch. From there it's just plug and play, baby! Plug it into the USB port and switch the ducky to on, and you're good to go. The fan blades (palms) are made of soft plastic, so you don't have to worry about losing a finger.

Performance: I tend to get hot (flashes) at work, so I was excited to test out this fan. It's certainly easy to use, and surprisingly it has a lot of power. It was powerful enough to cool me off on days when the heat was on too high; I was even cold enough to shut it off some days. It's quiet too (much, much quieter than the Desktop Air Conditioner that Jen DeLeo reviewed); the slight whirr it does make is rather soothing. You can even adjust the trunk to different angles. (See images.) Best of all, it's duck tech, only the best tech of all!

And now my final opinion. . .

Cingular announced today that they've completed their GSM network integration, a big step towards finally getting over the hangover of their painful merger with AT&T Wireless in October 2004. Handovers and billing system confusions between former AT&T towers (known as the "blue network") and Cingular towers (known as the "orange network") caused dropped calls and other cellular havoc in cities where AT&T was previously strong, most notably New York.

The combined network, known as the "gold network," has a 40% lower rate of blocked calls and a 20% lower rate of dropped calls than before, according to this Cingular financial presentation from earlier this year.

Our most recent PC Magazine reader survey shows that Cingular's come a long way. They got good marks for both coverage and call quality, though our readers preferred Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile overall thanks to superior customer service and technical support ratings.

But Cingular's still taking some heat for their slow rollout of 3G high-speed services; they're so far behind Sprint and Verizon in covering major metro areas (such as New York, at left) with high-speed networks that it's really pretty sad. Unlike Sprint and Verizon, Cingular also doesn't offer even one smart phone which uses its high-speed networks. That's especially preplexing considering Cingular's standard, UMTS/HSDPA, is an international standard used in dozens of countries, and both Nokia and HTC have expressed interest in providing high-speed smart phones in the past.

A recent article in Bloomberg News saying Cingular is missing even their own targets is wrong, though, according to Cingular spokesman Ritch Blasi: Cingular is on the mark to cover "most major markets" this year, he says. That's all well and good, guys, but when you're this far behind, we don't want to hear that you're keeping the pace you set in 2005 -- we want to hear that you've kicked in the turbo-booster.