Wal-Mart recently finished judging a competition amongst its suppliers to produce environmentally friendly packaging that protected the product while using consumer-attractive design. The winner was an HP laptop that is shipped and sold in a stylish carrying bag made from 100% recycled materials. This specific laptop, the HP Pavilion dv6929, not only uses 97% less packaging but also requires fewer trucks to deliver, thanks to the smaller container.

Given the fact that in 2006 6,000 people made visits to emergency rooms due to the cursed plastic coffins that many retailers keep gadgets in, I wholeheartedly applaud this move on an anger management level alone! The added benefit of reducing the usage of cardboard while providing the consumer with a carrying case is a wonderfully useful idea. Normally when I get a new gadget the first thing I have to purchase is a new carrying case which leads me to agree with Matthew from Geek.com: This kind of packaging would be a welcome change to the gadget world.

This innovative and useful packaging simply knocks this product out of the park for both Wal-Mart and HP. The price for this energy star-rated laptop is $798 including the messenger bag, which it is packaged in. Without specs I can't comment on how good of a deal it is in computing terms, but I'd expect something which would provide enough umph for the average college student. Here's to hoping my next laptop, cell phone and video game console come with a cool carrying case instead of a blister pack!

Chances are, unless your budding intellectual is heading off this fall to become a graphic designer or a mechanical engineer, you don't need to take out a second mortgage just to get them a new computer.

The Dollar Stretcher provides plenty of reasons why every student should have a computer at their disposal when they enter the hallowed halls of Academe, despite the already high price tag that comes with college. Today there are more choices than ever before when it comes to finding a computer that fits your student's needs.

And as The Dollar Stretcher also points out, forgoing a Mac and picking up discounted student software at the college bookstore will save you lots right upfront.

The article points out a cool new model of laptops called subnotebooks that are small, low-powered, low-cost laptops which are suitable for handling typical student activities such as paper writing and web surfing. If you are looking for a more traditional notebook this fall there are still plenty of deals to be had on laptops and desktops which pack a little more punch. Purchasing a refurbished laptop or PC is a great way to save and still get a decently spec'ed out machine.

Here are a few deals out there right now on good back to school machines.

Monday's New York Times had a good story about retired HP employees serving the company in a variety of ways. The work is unpaid, and that's fine by these folks -- a group ranging from still-very-vital college professors in their early '60's, right on up to guys in their '90s (some of whom retired wealthy through years of HP stock accumulation), who recall lunching with Mssrs. Hewlett and Packard themselves.

If it's not about the money, and knowing that many of these people have other (paying) things to do, what gives? Particularly when you read that the work can include Saturdays at Circuit City touting HP laptops to listless aisle crawlers.

It's about social connection. During our working lives, and I'd argue even more in retirement, we need to feel like we belong to something bigger than ourselves.