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.

Acer’s 7-inch Android Honeycomb tablet, the Acer Iconia A100, will make its debut in August and is rumored to have a highly competitive $300 price tag.  It is also rumored to feature a 1024-by-600 resolution, a 1 GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra processor, 8 GB of internal storage and front and back cameras.  This will be the first 7-inch tablet to come to market. 

If you prefer a 10-inch tablet and are looking for a low price, there is another rumor floating around that Acer will slash the price of the 10-inch Iconia A500 tablet from $450 to $395.

Read more about the Acer Iconia A100 tablet on the Time Magazine Techland website.  This article about the future of tablet computing is also a must-read.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the gadgets in the world when their users are done with them? Researchers at MIT’s SENSEable City Lab did more than wonder about it – they came up with a project to find out. The Backtalk project used GPS tracking devices embedded in cell phones, netbooks and hundreds of other gadgets in the Seattle area. Then they turned their data into art in the form of a video that tracks many devices to their second life in a developing country. Many of the new gadget owners were filmed with built-in webcams.

The Backtalk project has created an exhibit called Talk to Me that is now on display at the New York Museum of Modern art. You can view the Backtalk video on YouTube.

The Sportive training watch from French company VEA Sports eliminates the need for packing extra gadgets on your run. It replaces your GPS, cellphone, MP3 player and camera while performing all the functions you expect from a sports watch. Its phone capability features EDGE connectivity with MMS and Bluetooth. Its GPS app will measure distance, speed, pulse and calories burned. You can also play music, watch a video or snap some photos while you workout.

The Sportive’s pricetag of over $700 means it will only be used by the most serious gadget-loving athletes. If you fall into that category or if you’re just want to learn more about the Sportive, visit the Engadget website.

ArcAttack is a unique group of performance artists who use massive Tesla coils as musical instruments. Their shows include 12-foot electrical arcs generated by a half million volts, synced to pay musical notes. During shows, members of the group connect with the arcs, protected from electrocution by chain metal Faraday suits.

This YouTube video shows Adam Savage (co-host of Discovery Channel’s MythBusters) busting a move inside an electricity-blocking Faraday cage as the theme for Doctor Who plays and Arc Attack’s Tesla coils put on an amazing demonstration.

You can find out more about ArcAttack on their official website. If you like Arc Attack, then you’ll probably also enjoy reading about the Frankenhorn.

TomTom, leading maker of GPS devices, now offers special Star Wars voice sets.  Imagine getting navigational directions from Darth Vader, Yoda or Obi-Wan.  Will you be able to resist taking a turn to the Dark Side?  In addition to the voice sets, which sell for $12.95 on the TomTom website, you can also download free Star Wars startup screens, sounds and car icons.

See Darth Vader giving directions in the TomTom recording studio in this popular YouTube video.

The 2011 Paris Air Show recently showcased some of the emerging green aviation technologies.  The main attraction was the Solar Impulse, a Swiss plane that runs exclusively on solar power.  Its super-wide wingspan is covered with 12,000 photovoltaic solar cells.  So far, the plane is still in its experimental stage and not yet ready for commercial production (there’s no room for passengers and the flight from Brussels to Paris took 16 more than hours).

More promising are jets powered by biofuels.  Two transatlantic flights were completed by jets that use blends of traditional fuel and biofuel.

You can see Solar Impulse taking off in this YouTube video.  To read more about the 2011 Paris Air Show, visit the official website.