Electronics

Intel Massachusetts will sponsor a home-electronics recycling drive from noon to 6 p.m. April 20, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 21 at the Stop & Shop shopping plaza, at Washington Street and Technology Drive. Intel volunteers will be on hand to assist with unloading gear from vehicles. A minimum fee of $10 for households and $20 for businesses will be requested, with proceeds being donated to the United Way of Tri-County. There is no residency requirement for the event; equipment eligible for recycling includes televisions, personal computers, monitors, fax machines, copiers, typewriters, DVD and VCR players,...

A look at how selected makers of phones and other consumer-electronic gadgets are faring: April 19: Microsoft Corp. says it shipped 1.4 million Xbox 360 consoles during the first three months of the year, about half of the 2.7 million shipped a year earlier. Nokia Corp. says sales of smartphones dropped to 12 million in the first quarter, from 24 million a year earlier, while volume sales of cellphones fell to 83 million from 108 million a year earlier. April 24: Apple Inc. says it sold 35 million iPhones in the quarter, almost twice as many as it sold a year ago and above analyst...

Boy Scout Troop 87 and Cub Scout Pack 113 are hosting their annual electronics recycling fund-raiser from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 12 at Perry Park. Old television sets and computer monitors are dangerous and present an environmental hazard when not disposed of properly. For a nominal fee, the Scouts will unload vehicles and take unwanted household electronics away for safe disposal and recycling. The Scouts also will be offering their help in picking up items for those who are unable to drop them off. Pickups will be May 11 after 4 p.m. For questions, contact Pattie Garzoneat Garzone@comcast.net, or...

Sales for U.S. print and electronic books are up overseas, with the digital market increasing fourfold since 2010. According to a study from the Association of American Publishers released Friday, revenues for exports not including Canada increased 7.2 percent from 2010 and 2011 despite the economic slump in Europe. Total revenues were $357.4 million in 2011, with e-sales jumping from $4.9 million in 2010 to $21.5 million. The study includes reports from 161 publishers, including the biggest six: Random House Inc., Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group (USA)

The town on Saturday is holding a drop-off day for televisions and computer monitors. From 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., residents can drop off items at the town's Nahant Street yard waste site. Residents must purchase a $20 sticker in advance for each television or computer monitor. Tickets can be purchased at the Department of Public Works office at Town Hall. For more information, call 781-246-6301. - John Laidler

If music were candy, the SICPP Iditarod would be like a tour of the Wonka factory. The far-out and unexpected are the stock-in-trade of the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (“Sick Puppy’’ for short), a weeklong student immersion directed by Stephen Drury that annually culminates with a marathon concert. This year’s Iditarod — 29 pieces over seven hours — made for an impressive trick-or-treat haul. Things kicked off with an electro-acoustic group improvisation led by Scott Deal, instruments refracted through electronic sound, an apt...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- In today's world of mass retailers, it's easy to assume that a big-box store like Best Buy or Wal-Mart would be the best place to buy consumer electronics. Guess again. A Consumer Reports reader survey suggests that shopping online might be the smarter choice. As a group, online outlets did a better job overall than traditional retailers of satisfying customers when it came to their purchases of televisions, digital cameras, DVD/DVR players, camcorders, handheld computers, or audio equipment, according to more than...

NEW YORK -- Some of the biggest fashion trends at department stores this holiday season have more to do with MP3 players than cashmere ponchos or fur-trimmed sweaters. With high-tech gadgets at the top of many holiday wish lists, department stores such as Marshall Field's, Macy's, and Bloomingdale's have stocked up on such items as $299 iPod music players, $700 pink cellphones, and $300 digital cameras. It's a step backward for the big stores -- 10 years ago they abandoned TVs, stereos, and other electronics to focus on fashion.

Investigators say they seized computers and other electronics from a University of Utah professor accused of viewing child pornography on a flight because they feared he'd have someone else destroy evidence. Court filings Thursday in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court list items seized in the Nov. 28 search of 47-year-old Grant D. Smith's home. Smith was arrested Nov. 26 after fellow first-class passengers on a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Boston's Logan International Airport said they saw him viewing child pornography on his laptop computer.

DEARBORN, Mich. -- CD players in automobiles could go the way of eight-track tapes with in-dash systems like one Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. are jointly producing to link cars with cellphones and music players. The Sync system, unveiled yesterday at the North American International Auto Show, connects iPods and all other digital music players -- including Microsoft's nascent Zune -- to in-dash software through a USB port. Drivers will be able to pick songs, artists, or genres using voice activation or controls on the steering wheel.

Haley Gay was laying out her vision for a new ice-cream shop. Along with the $91,000 in seed money she needs to get the project moving, the East Bridgewater resident said her goal, naturally, is to have a successful business. "First we'll find land for our farm, then build the shop and the barn, get cows, make ice cream, and then open up and be happy," she said, fleshing out the concept she dreamed up with business partner Maria Fernandez of Mansfield. Sweet treats carried the day when Town Moderator Ivonna Brown asked for a show of hands on whether to...

Distributor Arrow Electronics Inc. said its first-quarter net income fell 17 percent, missing analyst expectations, as weak economic conditions in Europe and a tight credit market in China cut into sales of electronic components. The company's earnings forecast for the current quarter was also below Wall Street estimates. Arrow shares fell $3.11, or 7.4 percent, to $38.94 in afternoon trading. It was the lowest level for the shares since March. The other major division, which resells enterprise computing solutions, did well, with sales rising 15 percent from last year.

The patient who had come to see Dr. Eduardo Haddad had complicated problems — he was obese and diabetic with pulmonary hypertension. As Haddad reviewed the 50-year-old man's medications, reading from a long list saved in the patient's electronic health record, a window popped up on Haddad's laptop. Two of the drugs, when taken together, could make the patient drowsy, it warned. Haddad, an independent nephrologist in a two-doctor office in Lawrence, calls himself "old-fashioned.

Area residents can dispose of their unwanted electronic equipment while helping local students to meet their college tuition costs. Next Saturday, Dollars for Scholars of Whitman and Hanson is holding an electronic recycling day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot outside the Maquan Elementary School, 38 School St. . Varying fees will be charged for disposal, including $20 for televisions; $10 for computers, VCRs/DVDs, window air conditioners, printers/copiers,...

The retailer of discontinued merchandise - it has more than 1,400 stores - tumbled the most in four years after cutting its sales forecast amid lower demand for electronics. US sales at stores open at least a year in the quarter through April will be "slightly negative," Big Lots said. On March 2 it had forecast a gain of up to 4 percent.

LG Electronics Inc. posted its first profit in three quarters, beating expectations thanks to a revival in its mobile business and demand for high-end TVs. The South Korean company Wednesday reported net profit of 243 billion won ($215 million) for the January-March period. It had a loss of 15.8 billion won a year earlier. Overall sales fell 7 percent from a year earlier to 12.2 trillion won but increased smartphone sales and strong demand for premium TVs in its home market shored up LG's earnings.

While plenty of bands seem to be abandoning their guitars for synthesizers these days, there's much to be said about Ratatat, a celebrated duo from Brooklyn who seem to have found a happy medium between the two. With the aid of a touring keyboardist, the band, which plays taut instrumental electronic rock, wrapped up a two-night stand at the Paradise Rock Club with a sold-out show Monday. Ratatat's hourlong set fared best when bassist/programmer Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud synched their arsenal of sputtering beats and chords together.

Boy Scout Troop 87 and Cub Scout Pack 113 are hosting their annual electronics recycling fund-raiser from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 12 at Perry Park. Old television sets and computer monitors are dangerous and present an environmental hazard when not disposed of properly. For a nominal fee, the Scouts will unload vehicles and take unwanted household electronics away for safe disposal and recycling. The Scouts also will be offering their help in picking up items for those who are unable to drop them off. Pickups will be May 11 after 4 p.m. For questions, contact Pattie Garzoneat Garzone@comcast.net, or...

We love our gadgets, gizmos, and high-speed connections. It is heady stuff: We sign in, link in, tweet, post, and Google. But all this technology makes it difficult to relax, especially when we are expected to be connected 24/7. A trend is emerging to free us from this constant communication: the unplugged vacation. Many hotels and resorts are offering outdoor activities, yoga classes, and even old-fashioned board games as ways to relax. Some boast of rooms with no phones, TV,...