Coby’s just issued a recall of 12,000 TF-DVD170 and TF-DVD176 DVD boomboxes sold between May 2006 and October 2007.

According to the US Consumer Product and Safety Commission, the portable DVD/CD/MP3 players can overheat and cause a fire.

And yes, they were manufactured in China.

For additional information, contact Coby Electronics Corp. toll-free at (877) 231-9240 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to www.cobyusa.com

The Visa Micro Tag is yet another way for the credit card companies to get your money – or a very convenient for us to buy something on the run.

This allows customers to swipe and go without signing anything when purchases of $25 or less are involved. This is already in place at convenience stores, sporting venues, gas stations and fast food restaurants nationwide.

“Consumers today are interested in using electronic forms of payment for small ticket purchases,” said Pam Zuercher, vice president, product innovation and coordination, Visa USA. “As one of the smallest payment devices, the Visa Micro Tag allows cardholders to carry a payment device that delivers fast and convenient transactions, while also providing an added layer of security.”

Electronic gadgets are interfering with teens’ sleep patterns, researchers at The Sleep Council say.

"…gadgets in bedrooms such as computers and TVs are fueling poor quality ‘junk sleep’ "

Too many fall asleep watching TV, listening to music, or have other equipment running. It goes beyond morning fatigue however. Some studies suggest that people who do not get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight or obese.

German researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research IFAM, plus a team of research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen have developed a way of harnessing natural body heat to generate electricity.

“We combined a number of components in a completely new way to create circuits that can operate on 200 millivolts. This has enabled us to build entire electronic systems that do not require an internal battery, but draw their energy from body heat alone.”

It all is based on a thermoelectric generator (TEG) which extracts electrical energy from hot and cold temperatire differentials. Future improvements will allow a temperature difference of only 0.5 degrees to generate electricity.

MIT and Brown University researchers have created a prosthetic foot that uses springs and an electric motor to assist with propulsion, reducing the fatigue and loss of balance of usual prosthetic devices. Sensors and some electronic intelligence further helps with balance. iWalk will be releasing this wonderful device next summer, and pricing is unavailable. As the commercial says, though, some things are simply priceless.