Are you a Mac aficionado who just so happens to think that searching for alternative energy sources - i.e. the sun - is the only way that us humans can hope to extend our stay in this big bad galaxy? If so, then you better hope you have US$ 180 to spare. According to Treehugger.com, that's the estimated cost of the home-made, portable solar kit that Pat, a blogger from Will Blog For Experience, used to power his MacBook. Here's what Pat himself said:

This kit weighs about 2 lbs, costs $180, and will power my Macbook for 1.75 hours (1.83ghz, browsing the web and checking email via Airport Extreme, bluetooth off, screen brightness about 70%) with a little more than 5 hours of good sun.

Frankly, this gadget is one hell of a good idea. An initial expenditure of a hundred and eighty bucks seems like a pretty big amount, but just the thought of how much we'll be able to save in the long run certainly has an appeal, plus, when folded, the whole thing really seems quite easy to lug around. And it's not just for MacBooks and other laptops, too. We reckon you can use this portable power source for a whole host of other gadgets. Check it out for yourself. Images of the environmentally-friendly doodad are available below.

 

  

Here's something cool for all Transformers fans - an Optimus Prime iPod dock. It's much like a dock and an action figure in one.

This is licensed by Apple and comes in a pure white color scheme. The trailer comes with two speakers and is compatible with all iPods with the exception of the Shuffle. It's now available in preorder (arrives in July) and retails at about US$ 144.99. If you're a real fan, you can get the Collector's Edition by adding US$ 2.

Oh and don't get confused with the references to "Convoy". That's Optimus Prime's Japanese name.

If you can't pirate your vinyl record because you can't follow them steps, it's ok, we have too much respect for those artists anyway. But if your vinyls are slowly rotting away in your attic because you can't play them anymore, then maybe you oughta recycle them. But how?

45 iPod cases could take care of your vinyl recycling needs. From the name of the product itself, you may now have an idea what they sell. Just to be clear, 45 iPod cases are built from reclaimed 45 rpm records that are custom fit to your iPod. So why are they using 45 rpm vinyls, well because the center hole is the same size as the iPod's click wheel. Just a small factoid for you guys.

And since 45 is the magic number, the price tag for one of these unique cases is - you guessed it - US$ 45. Nice way for the digital to meet the analog, don't you think? If you're interested, click on our read link below to know more about it.

Apple and Nike are at it again, and this time they're planning to release a series of follow-ups to the successful Nike + iPod Sport Kit. According to iLounge, Nike plans to release a series of at least two and perhaps three hybrid watch and wireless remote control accessories for Nike + iPod Sport Kit-equipped iPod nanos.

The first one up is Flight+ (US$ 129), a wireless iPod remote control housed within a fully-working wristwatch body. iLounge reveals that "Flight+Â?s music controls, such as volume and track adjustment, are built into a rocking bezel around its central Electroluminescent (EL) backlit watch screen."

Flight+ will be available in two colors and will feature the typical watch functions such as time, date, and alarms as well as the ability to trigger the Nike + iPod Sport KitÂ?s voice feedback feature. The Flight + is planned for a May 1 release this year.

Check out more watches after the jump!

The newly unveiled iPhone may be a tad too heavy on the pocket if you're an average consumer. But if you want an iPhone-like contraption right now for a much cheaper price, then this accessory may just be the thing you're looking for. Mavizen MyBlu is a bluetooth contraption that connects your iPod to your mobile phone wirelessly. Its controls connect you to your trusty iPod thanks to the standard music player buttons.

When you get a call, it will automatically pause the song to let you answer it. Pretty basic for a bluetooth accessory right? Well, not really. With this one your iPod would display the caller ID so as you do not need to check your mobile to know who's calling. Rejecting and answering calls could be done with a press of a button and a mic is also built in. Other features include:

• Voice dialing
• Redial
• Display last 9 numbers
• Built in FM radio receiver, radio channel is able to read from the iPod screen
• Use iPod as power source, no battery needed
• 9 grams
• iPod music player control button
• Bluetooth 2.0

Now onto the price tag. This will cost you roughly US$ 77, so if you badly want an "iPhone", this would have to do for now, unless you can cough up 500 or 600 greenbacks by June of this year.

As to how and why someone would create a casing for something that hasn't even been released yet totally escapes us. But there you have it: coming in as probably the first ever iPhone accessory, Incipio's iPhone Zipper Case has just been unveiled.

Their line-up includes three accessories: a zipper case, flip case, and horizontal carrying pouch. All of them are made of black leather and cost US$ 14.99. The above images are an artist's rendition only, of course. Seems like someone did a good job on Photoshop.

Personally, I'm not one to buy something that's for a device that I don't have (yet), but you gotta hand it to the guys at Incipio. They're pulling out all stops to be the first in the iPhone accessory game field. Props to them for being first post. Wo0t.

Uh-oh. It looks like those metal-scavenging Jawas have finally gotten their grubby paws on R2D2 and have turned him into... well, an iPod dock. As spotted at the CES 2007 floor, this little droid won't exactly pilot your X-Wing for you anymore, but it CAN play your tunes and project your movies.

At the Nikko Home Electronics corner, the R2-D2 DVD Projector was spotted being sold for more than US$ 2,000. You can pop in your favorite DVD movie in the slot and project the show onto your wall. If you're tired of that, R2D2 can also play your CDs or hook up to your iPod.

This guy's true purpose is to play DVDs though, and can display an image on the wall at up to 80 inches wide, or he can tilt up so he can project onto the ceiling, just so you can lie back while you watch the latest season of "House MD".

As for the remote, the remote control slides out of a replica of the Millennium Falcon. Besides controlling the projector though, this remote can also move R2D2 himself, making him go forward, reverse, right, left, and do pivot turns as he makes his signature bleeps and boops (I have to admit, that is so darned cute...).

Now if only he came with his mini-zapper and his rocket boosters, it would be perfect.

Want to be able to transfer music from your CDs without the need of your trusty computer? Then say hello to iLoad, the newest iPod accessory to join the crowd. The iLoad, created by a company of the same name, can supposedly connect directly to the source of your media.

Be it CDs, cable TV or satellite boxes and cell networks, you can now easily take that content without hooking up to a PC or to the internet. Sounds interesting? There's more. The transfer speed from your CD to your iPod takes only about eight minutes! That saves you a lot of precious time.

If you head on over to iLoad's site, which you can access from here by clicking on the Read link below, you'll see that orders placed today would have to wait 30 shipment days. Yep, the demand is that big for this product. Oh, and it costs US$ 299. And if you want to extend its warranty to another three years, that's gonna cost you another US$ 69.

But even if you get this gadget, don't throw away your CDs just yet. You might still find some need for it in the distant future. Say, like what those guys did in Shaun of the Dead with their classic vinyls.

There's an old engineers' saying that goes "If it ain't broke...it doesn't have enough upgrades." And if we're reading this news  right, Apple's got the same idea. We've heard that they've been granted another patent for a "hybrid low power computer mouse," which looks like an upgrade to their wireless Mighty Mouse.

According to the patent (publication number 7,154,477) granted to Apple by the US Patent & Trademark Office, this new mouse design is slated to fix one recurring problem - short battery life. In an effort to stretch the Mighty Mouse's two-month battery change intervals, and to forego making a rechargeable system, Apple's new mouse patent called for a two-part tracking system. The ever-present optical tracking system, and a new low-consumption tracking system running on an accelerometer - the same device that runs a Wiimote.

The design's under development by Steve Hotelling, Joshua Strickon, Brian Huppi and Christoph Krah, and we're not too sure how these two tracking systems will interact to make for a low-consumption device. But for now, we invite you to read up on the full details on the patent, available on the read link.

Chad Ohman posted something pretty useful for those Apple fans who want to get the most our of their tech. In this case, it's a quick guide to opening up and cleaning your Mighty Mouse.

Doing so is rather inexpensive, compared to buying a new fifty-buck mouse for your Mac. All you'll need are some cotton buds, some rubbing alcohol, a ball-point pen, a thin knife, a Phillips screwdriver and some super glue. Total cost: mostly free, if your family's the sort that owns a lot of common household items.

While cleaning Apple's special mouse does seem a bit more difficult than your standard ball-scrolling low-tech mouse, the commenters have said that it makes it almost brand new. You'll have to remember that doing so will void your warranty, but if you're cleaning it anyway, it's probably a last-ditch effort to make it usable again, right? So just head over to Ohman's blog for some step by step instructions. Happy tinkering.