Power usage meter

This is the gift that you really really don't want to give to your gadget loving geek friend. Trust me. The Kill a Watt appliance monitor. 'Connect your appliances into the Kill A Watt™, and assess how efficient they are. A large LCD display counts consumption by the Kilowatt-hour just like utility companies. You can figure out your electrical expenses by the hour, day, week, month, even an entire year. Monitor the quality of your power by displaying Voltage, Line Frequency, and Power Factor. Under $30. [via redferret]

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PC Magazine has an article titled The Electron Leak showing that many of your home electronic components (from computer printers to stereos) are not off when they're "off." There is a report that up to 10% of the power generated in the world will be required for Always-On and stand-by power requiring more than 400 500MW powerplants.