Most of us who watch TV, even on an erratic basis, know that our analog televisions sets will be obsolete by Feb. 17, 2009. New federal regulations will require that all television broadcasts go to digital – making that old clunker with the rotating dials (yes, InventHelp’s Invention Girl had one of these in her lifetime) utterly useless.

Of course, you have the option to get a digital converter for your old set, but my guess is that many folks will opt to get a high-definition television. That means that thousands of old sets are likely headed for the landfill – although a new campaign by the Electronics TakeBack Coalition is trying to change that.

Less than 13 percent of electronics are recycled, and aging TVs can drip hazardous chemicals into the soil around dump sites. Part of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition’s idea is to allow consumers to email the heads of major electronics companies like Panasonic and Sony to ask them to make recycling easier – and free.

So far, only Sony Corp. has agreed to allow consumers to recycle their electronics at no cost via a national network of pickup locations. The number of locations now sits around 75, but Sony has pledged to double that number by next year.

We at InventHelp think that if Sony can do it, the other companies can do the same. Go to the Coalition’s Take Back My TV Campaign website and tell them what you think!

InventHelp’s Invention Girl was trolling the headlines the other day for the latest news on all things gadgetry when I came across this story: Are Gadget Fanatics Arrogant Jerks?

No! I instantly gasped; certainly not your favorite InventHelp employee! But, it turns out that a recent U.S. study concluded that tech junkies score high in assertiveness and leadership, but low in modesty.

In other words, we’re jerks.

The online study asked respondents to rate 20 unique personality traits on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being a “highest intensity mindset.” The study, which included 25,000 Americans, found that those who rated 5 on assertiveness were almost 70 percent more likely to have purchased a new computer in the last three years. They’re also just as likely to purchase a new cell phone when the latest model hits the shelves.

Sure, we all know the brand loyalists who wear nothing but designer labels, purchase top-shelf drinks and drive fancy luxury cars. They carry around new gadgets like a badge of honor, interested less in the device’s functions than the image it helps them to portray.

But, InventHelp’s Invention Girl can assure you that there are plenty of technophiles out there who appreciate new gadgets for their scientific engineering. Gadget fans don’t fit into any particular gender, class or demographic mold. But we do have a one thing in common: We recognize that progress in innovation helps everyone to stay better connected and better informed. Technology both extends our lives and improves the quality of our lives.

While InventHelp’s Invention Girl certainly doesn’t want to be thought of as a “jerk,” I guess it’s a small price to pay for being up on the latest and greatest that science has to offer!

The image of well-groomed suburban housewives gathering excitedly around the latest Tupperware sets is almost as much of an American icon as apple pie (although it never really appealed to this InventHelp employee). Nowadays, women are putting away the Tupperware and gearing up for a new kind of gathering: Taser parties.

A Taser is an electroshock weapon that incapacitates targets though electro-muscular disruption (EMD) technology. The weapon stimulates both the sensory nerves and the motor nerves, causing severe, involuntary muscular contractions. InventHelp’s Invention Girl doesn’t think this sounds like a walk in the park, but many regular folks use Tasers to protect themselves.

Invented by Nasa Researcher Jack Cover, the Taser is now becoming a regular staple at women’s gatherings. Shieldher Inc. has recently started sponsoring Taser parties, giving women a chance to buy Tasers for $300, or $350 with a laser beam to help with aiming.

The latest Taser invention is the C2, which comes in female-friendly colors like pink, blue, silver or black. Included with the weapon are a manual, training DVD and one replaceable C2 cartridge that loads into the device. The invention can strike an attacker from up to 15 feet away.

Like any weapon, Tasers are not without risks. Reports of subjects being severely injured or even killed after a Taser strike splashed across headlines in recent years. Plus, the new colors have some parents concerned that children may mistake the Taser for a toy.

Tasers are illegal in seven states, so be sure to check the Taser website before purchasing or traveling with it. InventHelp’s Invention Girl is rather “stunned” by this reinvention of the Tupperware party, but I am a fan of personal protection and an even bigger fan of pink tech toys!

For folks who live off the beaten path, getting cell phone service at home can be an exercise in futility. InventHelp’s Invention Girl knows that this problem is more the exception than the rule these days, but try telling that to the valley dwellers who can’t even send a text message from the comfort of home.

Now, an invention called a femtocell may be able to help the “cellularly challenged.” Similar in appearance to a wireless router, the femtocell invention boots reception by using technology comparable to Voice Over Internet Protocol used by companies like Vonage and Skype. Basically, the cell phone signal transmission is helped along by the home’s high-speed internet connection.

Sprint’s version, called the Airave, costs $49.99, plus individual customers must pay an additional $15 a month ($30 for families) for the improved coverage. Even for customers who don’t have a landline, these additional fees on top of the regular monthly cellular bill make the feature seem more costly than it’s worth.

Sprint is testing the Airave only in a few major cities and its unclear when the invention will be widely available. There are quite a few technicalities that need to be worked out — such as how Internet providers will cope with cell phone signals reducing their bandwidth, and how to keep femtocells from interfering with other cellular signals — before larger market release is an option.

As we become more and more attached to our cell phones, InventHelp’s Invention Girl bets that signal boosters will become more commonplace. One missed call is one too many these days!

While Pittsburgh, the home base of InventHelp, is not the grayest city in the U.S., it’s always a gift when we see the sun come out after a long, cold winter. Your favorite InventHelp employee made a very common “nice day” mistake recently – I decided to lie out in the sun without sunscreen. I managed to get painful sunburn because I forgot just how pale my skin gets over the winter!

As anyone who’s had sunburn knows, it can be painful even to wear a shirt. After a little research, I was surprised to find a shirt claims to make your skin softer. Called Adea Sea Cell Loungewear, the garments are made from a blend of cotton, elastane and a patented fiber from seaweed (hence the name “Sea Cell”). The invention idea is that this SeaCell material helps to promote skin renewal because your body’s natural moisture releases vitamins, minerals and amino acids within the seaweed.

I’m not looking forward to the skin-peeling extravaganza that will be coming in the next few days, so I thought I’d pick up one of these shirts. But at up to $154 a garment, the Adea clothing line is not light on the pocketbook. Just as I was getting ready to pull out my exclusive InventHelp Invention Girl credit card (OK, it’s actually a Capital One), I dug a little deeper and found out that you need to wear the garment for 10 to 14 hours a day for two weeks before seeing results.

For someone with chronic skin dryness, the Adea SeaCell line may be a great idea. In my case, I’ve decided to put my money toward bottles and bottles of lotion.

InventHelp’s Invention Girl is a film buff in my precious free time, so I love when I come home from a hard day of work at InventHelp to find a new Netflix movie in the mailbox. Imagine my surprise when I found out that this little pleasure may soon be a thing of the past.

Thanks to a revamped business plan designed to keep them relevant in an ever-changing entertainment world, Netflix has taken its first step toward weaning itself from its DVD-by-mail service. Part of the logic behind this change is that consumers are getting used to instant entertainment gratification. With services like Comcast’s OnDemand, entertainment is just a remote-control click away anytime, day or night. Waiting a day for the mail to arrive is just too slow these days!

And just how does Netflix plan to deliver the latest movies without the mail? With a little help from a set-top box that lets customers stream internet video directly onto the television. While the internet streaming option has been around for more than a year, it’s rarely used because most Netflix’s subscribers don’t want to watch movies on their PCs. InventHelp’s Invention Girl is one of them – I didn’t buy a plasma TV for nothing! (Although I’ll admit I’ve once or twice used my office PC at InventHelp to watch a few clips!)

This set-top box, priced around $99 and manufactured by Roku, is hooked up to the TV like a DVD player. Internet connection can either be plugged into the box, or the box can pick up a wireless signal. Other electronics companies are working on the streaming option as well. LG Electronics plans into include the technology in its Blu-ray player due out later this year (put InventHelp’s Invention Girl on the wait list for this one!)

Netflix is pumping millions of dollars into this investment to beef up movie choices available on the streaming service, which now offers only about 10% of Netflix’s massive library. Although the streaming service is not more profitable (it offers unlimited use while the DVD-by-mail prices vary based on the number of DVDs rented at once), Netflix is encouraging users to adopt the streaming option.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ll be sorry when the only things in the mailbox are credit-card offers and sale flyers!

If I didn’t love my job at InventHelp so much, I’d probably be “Foodie Girl”. I’m addicted to watching cooking shows, trying new delicacies, and reading the latest reviews on the hot restaurants in town. Food is a fascinating and complicated subject, but one thing is for sure – it’s not immune to scientific change.

Recent advances in technology have affected our plates with little notice from our palates. Even something as simple as ice cream is not untouched by these changes (check out the InventHelp blog article on Ice Cream Antifreeze for more info).

New breakthroughs include hypoallergenic soybeans. Soy is a common additive in food, but it’s one of the top allergens. Thanks to a fermentation process devised by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, soy allergen proteins can be reduced by as much as 99 percent. Protein- and nutrient-enhanced “super” rice are also in the works.

Environmental organizations and public interest groups protest the use of genetically modified (GM) foods, which are defined as crop plants created using molecular biology techniques. Critics argue that since genetic modification is a relatively new phenomenon, its overall effects on human health are unknown. Some brands, like butter substitute Earth Balance, advertise the fact that their product contains no genetically modified ingredients.

Proponents of GM food argue that the benefits outweigh the perceived risks. Some advantages of GM foods are pest and herbicide resistance, increased nutrition and greater crop yield.

As GM foods make their way into the headlines, InventHelp’s Invention Girl is sure that the “harmful” or “helpful” debate will continue.

The next time your cell phone goes off, it may not be Mom calling – it may be your department store. InventHelp’s Invention Girl says: Say hello to the invention of mobile coupons.

A mobile coupon is an electronic solicitation delivered to the consumer via a mobile device, like a cell phone or a PDA. Although it remains a niche tactic for the most part, mobile coupons are slowing gaining traction among consumers and marketers.

That’s not to say it’s necessarily gaining in popularity; a recent study by research firm Forrester found that 79 percent of consumers were annoyed by mobile ads. According to Forrester, the best way for mobile marketers to warm up to the consumers is to “cut through the clutter, and focus on value, not interruption.”

InventHelp’s Invention Girl predicts that the mobile coupon inventions will be the next boom in the e-marketing industry. Firstly, mobile devices are more integrated into a person’s daily activities than any other communications channel. Also, thanks to the Apple iPhone, many cell phones are moving in the direction of HTML compatibility.

And, smart e-marketers are already developing real-time, location-based marketing. This means that customers inside a department store could receive a mobile coupon for that store that specifically relates to their interests.

Yes, gone are the days when we sat and clipped coupons from the Sunday paper! InventHelp’s Invention Girl will keep you updated on this trend as it rolls out.

Now that Earth Day is behind us, there’s no reason to stop the green efforts you’ve been making the past week! This year’s Earth Day was the biggest ever, with an estimated 1 billion people worldwide participating in various Earth Day events and efforts. The 2008 theme, Call for Climate, focuses on a global warming action theme.

Even if you’re not necessarily an eco-activist (InventHelp’s Invention Girl makes an effort, but I admit that I’m addicted to long, hot showers), here are a few ways that you can make an everyday effort to reduce global warming:

1. Change Your Light Bulbs (Difficultly Level: Easy) – The invention of compact fluorescent light bulbs makes it easier than ever to give your home the “green” light. Replacing just three frequently used bulbs in your home can save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide and $60 a year.
2. Buy Local and Organic (Difficulty Level: Medium) – By shopping for local products, you eliminate carbon emissions resulting from extensive transports across state and country lines. Plus, you support the local economy. Also, be sure to check out the latest organic clothing inventions in your favorite department store. InventHelp’s Invention Girl is addicted to soft, organic cotton T-shirts!
3. Go Hybrid (Difficultly Level: Challenging) – One of the most exciting automotive inventions of the last 10 years is the hybrid. If you’re in the market for a new car, try test-driving a hybrid. There are plenty of styles, from compact sedans to SUVs, from a variety of automotive companies. Although hybrids are a little more costly, most drivers find that saving an average of 16,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year (in addition to thousands of dollars in gas) offsets the higher sticker price. Even if you don’t go hybrid, make MPG a factor in your buying decisions.

Just because Earth Day is over doesn’t mean you should give up the effort. Even the smallest changes add up over time. InventHelp and Invention Girl say “Thanks!” for choosing Earth-friendly inventions!

What to do with your old, obsolete electronic inventions

A gadget’s life is not easy. One day you’re the king of the pile, the best of the best, the newest and hottest product – and in the blink of an eye, you’re replaced by something better.

As InventHelp’s Invention Girl, I grapple with this guilt every time I get a new gadget. As I discard the camera or cell phone that used to be my #1, I can’t help but think of poor Woody from the movie Toy Story, whose heart was broken when he was quickly pushed aside when a better toy came along.

And while I can’t stop the rapid progression of technology (and believe me, InventHelp’s Invention Girl wouldn’t even think of it!), I can at least dispose of my used electronics in an environmentally friendly way. Thanks to a pilot program announced by the U.S. Postal Service this week, consumers can mail back small electronics items and ink cartridges for recycling free of charge.

“Free and Green” is what the USPS describes as the goal of the program. Customers use free envelopes found in 1,500 Post Offices to mail back inkjet cartridges, PDAs, Blackberries, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players without having to pay for postage.

Postage is paid for by Clover Technologies Group, a company that recycles, remanufactures and remarkets inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and small electronics. If the electronic item or cartridges cannot be refurbished and resold, its component parts are reused to refurbish other items, or the parts are broken down further and the materials are recycled.

So, the next time you need to mail a package, keep an eye out for the free envelopes. InventHelp’s Invention Girl will definitely be picking some up at the Post Office, because I love the fact that my old gadget-friend could be a part of my NEW gadget-friend!