One Sunday last fall I listened to radio coverage of a touchdown drive by the New York Giants from my hotel room in Valencia, Spain. Like many of you, I had found that I could access far-flung radio stations through iTunes.

There are a lot of gift guides for Mother's Day, but how many of them reflect the women in your life, or the woman you are?

Electronics firms are beginning to offer more stylish choices and have begun touting the addition of color to flat panel TVs. Customization has its limits however, with red being pretty much the only option.

Apple's announcement yesterday that it would be offering movie downloads on iTunes has opened the door to so many tech issues it's difficult to known where to begin. So before we all celebrate freedom from hard discs, let's review.

I need to buy a new phone. Not a new, 3G cell phone that doubles as a personal media device but a good, old-fashioned landline. Problem is, they're all pretty ugly.

Compacting trash reduces the amount of solid waste by up to 80%, according to the people who sell trash compactors. But even the skeptics among us have to acknowledge that compacting—and composting—are surefire ways to reduce what ends up in the landfill.

Calculating your carbon footprint—the amount of carbon dioxide produced in everyday life —is a fairly simple exercise that many Dwell readers have likely done by using an online calculator; but how many people are measuring the amount of electricity used by all the individual appliances in their homes?

Compacting trash reduces solid waste by up to 80 percent, according to the people who sell trash compactors. Even the skeptics among us have to acknowledge that compacting — and composting — are surefire ways of reducing what ends up in landfills. We learned a lot about trash at the Kitchen and Bath show earlier this month while visiting the Broan booth. Who knew that chlorine dioxide is more effective than carbon at absorbing odor, and that trash has memory? Yes, memory.

Over at Apartment Therapy, they're suggesting people go on a technology diet to reconnect with the world around them. But here's something to tempt you the opposite way: a sound immersive bath. Add audio to your showering with Kohler sound tiles (above). They're made by Polk Audio and have some real heft behind them. Or try a tub with built-in speakers. There are several now on the market, including one that Lasco showed off at the Kitchen and Bath show earlier this month. The system is an additional option for a tub or shower, and connects to an existing home audio system or an iPod dock. 
Then just sit back and let the sound wash over you, literally. And since the components are in the walls of the tub, it vibrates with the sound for a whole other kind of experience.

California often leads the way in environmental issues, and its newest regulation reducing lead in the water stands to benefit us in the other 49 states.