If you love a good hack that improves your productivity, then you’ll want to try this do-it-yourself WiFi booster.  According to Discovery.com, this boost can increase signal strength by 2 to 4 bars.  Best of all, the main piece of equipment you’ll need is an empty beer can.  After washing out the can, you cut it open and attach it to your WiFi router.  For complete instructions (with pictures) visit Discovery.com.

As personal gadgets proliferate, the demand for gadget covers also grows.  Some of the world’s top designers have recognized the market for gadget covers that make a statement and have introduced their own lines of signature covers for tablet, e-readers and smartphones.  Marc Jacobs, Jonathan Adler, Gucci and Burberry are just a few of the designers and high-end accessory companies that are now selling “tech clutches.”

The potential market for unique gadget covers is huge, with millions of personal gadgets finding their way into the hands of consumers each year.  Like other accessories, designer gadget covers are viewed by many as an extension of their personal style. 

The Jonathan Adler iPad case shown here has the same retro appeal as many of his home furnishings.  Read more about the new trend for designer gadget covers in this Florida Today article.

After months of anticipation in the U.S., Spotify is finally here. This website from Sweden which is already popular in Europe is a free music service that lets you stream from a library of 15 million songs. You can also integrate your own tracks into the Spotify environment and then use a drag and drop interface to create custom playlists. With one click, share songs and playlists with friends who have registered for Spotify. You can also access Spotify from your mobile phone for music on the go.

Spotify is free for the next six months, after which there will a cap on the number of listening hours per month, so try it out now. Find out more on the Spotify website.

If you’ve ever wanted to create your own electronic gadget, then you should be interested in Microsoft’s .NET Gadgeteer, an open-source toolkit that supports the quick and easy construction of prototype electronic devices. A central processing unit (CPU) motherboard is provides along with a variety of pluggable modules that provide communication, control, display and sensing capabilities. The toolkit uses the .NET Micro Framework and Visual Studio/Visual C# Express and you don’t need to be an electronics expert or even know how to solder.

Find out more on the .NET Gadgeteer website and in this YouTube video.