Tune in your favorites from afar

IPTV
If you can't stand to miss one night of Randy and Frances on Channel 7, Internet Protocol Television (or IPTV) may be able to deliver the news anchors to your hotel room. A number of devices use compression technology to relay whatever your set receives at home (via cable or over the air) to other PCs in your home or over the Internet.

Honest Technology Co. ( honestech.com) recently released the My-IPTV & Cam Anywhere Deluxe, a small box that doubles as a security camera and a home TV tuner for playback on PCs.

And while the Anywhere is not the first device of its kind, at about $150 it is among the cheapest.

The Anywhere uses MPEG-4 compression for playing back the TV shows on PCs. You can also see what the camera sees live via the Web, or receive clips via e-mail. Unfortunately, the Anywhere does not support the Mac OS. The device is for analog cable connections only, but a digital version is in the works.

Prototype

Scouting out better solar panel positions

Perhaps you're ready to do penance for that wasteful Christmas lighting display that has tormented your neighbors since Thanksgiving. Or maybe you're just ready to do your part to curtail global warming. By installing solar panels, even in New England, you may be able to slash your electric bills and show the neighborhood just how virtuous you've become.

But you'll need to know where to put your panels -- and which way to point them -- to get the most from your solar energy investment.

A group of high school students from Bellingham, Wash., is using an InvenTeams grant from the Lemelson-MIT Program to build a device that will help you plan an optimal solar array for your roof or yard.

The InvenTeam students, at Sehome High School, are building a sensor device that will tell within 20 minutes how much solar energy is available to a piece of property. It will also suggest to a homeowner the number of panels needed in a particular location, depending on the goals. The device, which will rest on a pan-tilt mount (like a camera tripod), should be ready by June, the students hope. That's when they plan to present it at MIT.

The estimated cost of the solar device will be about $1,000, making it something a solar panel installer might keep in the back of his truck.

Mobile Phones

Slick Scandinavian headsets to facilitate hands-free mobile-phone calling

A Finnish company, Iqua, is adding its sweet Scandinavian designs to the mix of hands-free mobile-phone devices available to the US market. My favorite of the lot is a Bluetooth ear clip, the Vogue Wireless Headset BHS-603, which is flat and sleek -- a welcome change. Most of the Bluetooth headsets I've been seeing lately are ugly and Borg-like. (Given that few people bother to remove them anymore, the headsets might as well be implants.)

The Vogue is available in black, white, or pink, and costs $79 at the ShopIqua store (shopiqua.com). The site last week said that the headset is out of stock until Feb. 1.

Another Iqua Bluetooth device is the Iqua UFO PHF-601, a flying saucer you can use to make conference calls through your mobile phone or VoIP service (via PC). The UFO includes a display for checking caller ID, time, and contacts. The UFO ($179) also has a built-in FM radio.

And if you insist on driving while talking, Iqua makes a miniUFO PHF-601 ($99), which you can mount on your dashboard or sun visor.

Iqua has another interesting hands-free option for drivers: The Snake 2 HHF-601 ($179) is a flexible device that you attach to your headrest and set beside your face.