Smarthome suggests gadgets for Mother’s Day

For sons, daughters and husbands looking for an alternative to the usual cards and flowers this Mother’s Day, Smarthome Inc. offers these gadget gift ideas for the 21st-century Mom.

The following are available at www.smarthome.com/ggmom.html or by calling (800) SMARTHOME:

Auto-Measure Spice Carousel. Save Mom valuable counter space with this innovative spice carousel that doubles as an accurate dispensing tool. This stackable unit maximizes storage space by fitting easily in cupboards or on counters. It also can be mounted under a cabinet or shelf. Price: $29.95.

Litter-Free Cat Toilet. Mom will never have to scoop the cat box again with possibly the most sanitary automated cat box on the market. The box connects to the laundry room drain pipe, removing waste material. The cleaning cycle washes, flushes, deodorizes and dries the included cat litter crystals, leaving the cat’s litter box clean, fresh and odor-free. Price: $299.95.

Wireless Car Theatre System. Keep children entertained and Mom relaxed on road trips. This portable video system straps to the back of a headrest and plugs into the car’s cigarette lighter. Watch any VHS video through the included video-cassette player on a 5.6-inch color LCD screen. Price: $699.95.

Treadmill keeps things cool

The exercise cool-down period typically comes at the end of a treadmill workout. But Star Trac has unveiled its first treadmill, above, with user-controlled cooling fans integrated into the console.

Two 3-inch fans on each side of the display provide a breeze during the workout. Users can adjust the fans to off, low and high settings.

The Star Trac Pro features the IntelliTrac intuitive animated display. It’s designed to prevent information overload by only showing the user appropriate keys for that specific instant during the workout.

The treadmill includes built-in holders for water bottles, a personal stereo/CD player and reading material.

The Star Trac Pro and Pro S operate at speeds from 0.5 mph to 10 mph on 110 volts and 0.5 mph to 12 mph on 220 volts.

For more information, call (800) 228-6635 or see www.startrac.com.

Spinning the Web: eyes reliance on e-mail

This week Spinning the Web Columnist Michael Newman, right, discusses how central the use of e-mail has become to daily life and the chaos that followed the catastrophic crash of his e-mail program.

For this week’s column and an archive of past columns, visit www.ljworld.com/section/spinningtheweb.