For items that are returned to a manufacturer, those items are inspected, any problems fixed, and put back out on the market. But don’t expect to find these returned units back on store shelves, at least not in the same place and in the same spot. See, it’s against the law for a retailer to sell an item that has been returned as new, since it isn’t, well, new anymore.

No one wants to buy a previously handled device for the same price as a perfectly new one, so most stores discount these items. You may have seen a bin at Walmart or another retailer full of small gadgets that have been opened before. But for larger and more expensive items, like computers and media players, they usually get sent back to the original manufacturer, who then resell them directly. And that, my friends, is the focus of this Tech-on-the-cheap article.

An item that has been repaired to work like new is labeled as refurbished. Refurbished goods are awesome because they are usually just like they were new, but at a big discount. For example, I’ve purchased a few computers from Dell Outlet. These computers are fully inspected and functional when purchased, but all were previously purchased by another person who returned it for various reasons. My latest deal, which was a Dell Mini 10v netbook, (at that time and it’s exact specifications) normally retailed for $330, but the refurbished unit was marked down to $199. Add a 15% coupon to that and I had it down to $165. That’s half price! And it looked just like new, with all of the normal accessories and software. In fact, it is the computer I am typing on right now. I also bought a gorgeous 17 inch display that was refurbished, and they have many more hardware items available. They also sell computers that were returned without even being used, and ones that were used lightly with a few minor blemishes, but all work great.

This isn’t a secluded practice. Apple, one of the most notorious tech companies in the industry, sells refurbished hardware as well as new. They don’t advertise it as well as they used to, but on the store’s homepage you can find it near the bottom. This is also a great opportunity to find models that are no longer available, so they are doubly discounted. Better still, they offer refurbished iPods, AppleTVs, and displays.

Many manufactures follow this practice, even if they don’t sell them directly. It can be hard to find out where to purchase refurbished items (they usually aren’t advertised next to the latest and greatest new items) but no company wants to lose money on what is usually a cheap fix. You can benefit from this practice on almost any tech you want. You may not always save 50%, but every little bit counts.

Okay, so that was a long time ago, but since then we have seen the evolution through color, connectivity, PDA phones, and now smart phones are the personal data assistants of this age.

Odds are that somewhere along the road you have acquired a few of these devices that fit into this category. But it is also likely that you do not use more than one or two at a time. Here’s a few ideas for that aging PDA that’s just dying to be used again.

1. Alarm Clock
A modern cellphone works great for an alarm clock, but sometimes you want something more reliable. Something… bigger. Most dedicated PDAs had decently large, backlit screens that work great in the dark. It may be a waste of horsepower, but I’ve found old PDAs to be very useful alarm clocks that don’t glow obsessively in the dark.

You can also set multiple alarms, usually by using the calendar app. Have a different schedule on Sundays? Set a recurring alarm for Sundays only.

Newer (not really old) PDAs should also allow you to use your own music, albeit with a little help from additional software.

2. Photo Frame
Looking for a small digital photo frame? Me neither, but for some reason people keep buying the little buggers. I can’t understand paying upwards of $40 at a regular store for a 3.5 inch display. I have a 3 incher on my PDA!

Obviously you’d want a color PDA, since photos don’t usually look so hot on the older monochrome screens. If you don’t care what it looks like, a cradle (which usually came with most PDAs) would do just fine. But if the cradle doesn’t sound too good, you do have a few options for your frame: wood/metal photo frames cut to fit, gluing a small stand to the back of the PDA, or just some really good adhesive. The latter two are fairly easy, since you are just sticking something to the back, either for wall mount or table display. The wood or metal frame is more tricky; rarely do photo frames match the screen size, so will probably have to disassemble it and cut to fit. But all of those options are as cheap as $1, so the cost still isn’t high.

Make sure that whatever option you choose will have power. Some PDA cables are rather clunky, but if you’re going cheap you sometimes have to make sacrifices.

The added bonus of this setup are possibilities for video and music playback. Not all models support those features, but it is more common. Speaking of music….

3. MP3 Player
When I was using an old Tungsten T during high school, I was shocked one day to realize I hadn’t used it for anything except music for a whole week. I was still glad to have it over a dedicated MP3 player since it did have games and productivity software, but it was still a shocking realization.

If your PDA is MP3 capable, why not use it as an MP3 player? These make great starter players for kids, and since they normally use flash memory they can be used while running or jogging.

4. Universal Remote
I remember when I first heard of Logitech’s Harmony remotes. I thought they were cool, but the first one I saw started out at $100. Yikes! Nowadays they still start at $100 and go clear up to $400, just for a remote! But long before I had heard of the Harmony, I had already converted my PDA into a cheap universal remote.

This one is really going to depend on the hardware. Most older PDAs have infrared transceivers, usually for sharing data. (That was way back before Bluetooth and Wi-Fi were common.) The great thing is that most televisions and compatible media players use infrared for their wireless remote controls.

Software such as NoviiRemote can receive the IR commands from a remote and then repeat them on your command. You can even customize the layout of the remote and store hundreds of different remote profiles. Now some new televisions and media devices use different technology for their remotes; the PS3 uses Bluetooth so this won’t work for PlayStation 3 fans. But most other devices will work just fine.

The only not-so-cheap problem here is that not all remote software is cheap or free. The Novii software starts at $17, but it seems to be the best I’ve found. (Not that I’ve looked too hard, it’s been a while since I went shopping for remote software.) Search around a bit, and maybe you can find equivalent software for free. Heck, if you’re lucky some of the Sony Clie line had the software built-in.

One of my recent passions has been the most low-tech innovation of the past three years: netbooks. In theory, netbooks should never have been successful: paying close to the same price as a normal laptop for inferior hardware? The old me would have said, “No way, Jose,” but after actually owning one for a year and becoming immersed in the the Mac netbook scene I have a whole new understanding and appreciation of function-over-specs.

One huge problem with netbooks is that they really are limited in their modern capabilities. For example: Adobe’s Flash Player software, commonly used on YouTube and online games, is just barely functional on most netbooks. Soon newer models with new processors and video technologies will lure a lot of current netbooks to ditch their old model for an upgrade.

So what’s a person to do with an underused netbook? Here’s a few ideas to keep you netbook in practical use beyond just the normal e-mail and web browsing.

1. Portable Video Player
You know those little portable DVD players that you can buy at most retailers? They are usually junk unless you start getting into the $150+ range. By that point you can almost pay for a decently-discounted netbook! So why not make your netbook a non-DVD video player?

Despite the diminutive specifications, netbooks make formidable video players. (Well, except for Flash video, but I digress….) Even when encoded in high definition, most popular netbooks are more than capable of playing most video files.

Use video conversion software, such as the excellent Handbrake, to convert your DVD’s to MP4 files. They’re smaller and easier to transfer over to a netbook. Heck, you could even use your netbook and an external DVD drive to do the conversion. (That will be slower, but you won’t be using up valuable resources on a more powerful computer.)

There are two more major advantages to this setup for parents. How many times have your kids grabbed a DVD with slobbery, food-encrusted hands, while scratching it across a hard surface? There’s no physical media to worry about with a netbook video player. And what about those forty+ cartoons that the kids can never leave home without? Now they’re all stored on the hard drive, without the need to swap discs mid-trip.

2. Teleprompter
(I got this idea from a system utilizing an iPhone, as reported on Make: Online.)
Giving an important presentation? Creating your own video podcast? You’ve got yourself a great prompting system waiting for you on your desk.

Unlike conventional laptops, netbooks are usually really small and light. This makes them ideal for setting in peculiar places, like on a shelf. Using a presentation program such as PowerPoint or OpenOffice you can view your notes in large words (as compared with an iPhone teleprompter) without having to shuffle papers. This is especially important for podcasts, no one wants to see a stack of papers on the screen.

This idea really comes into fruition if you use a netbook with a webcam; you can record your podcast with the same screen that you are reading your script from.

3. Really Expensive Wireless Adapter
This one was almost too ridiculous to mention, except it is exactly what I have been using for Xbox Live the last month or two.

While most modern technology have 802.11 technology built-in, there are still some useful products that don’t. Notably, the original Xbox and the current Xbox 360. Yes, you could buy a dedicated wireless adapter, but both consoles’ options are fairly expensive. And sometimes you need a quick temporary solution for a desktop computer in a remote spot of the house. You’ve got a netbook that isn’t getting used much, why not put it to work?

It’s really simple; just set your operating system to share the wireless connection with your wired ethernet port; Windows provides a fairly simple check box for this. It may not be as simple, elegant, or beautiful as a dedicated adapter, but it gets the job done.

Another related trick is for travel. I visited a hotel last year that used powerline networking, which required an adapter in the hotel room. The adapter only had one ethernet port, but we had two computers. We simply hooked one to the adapter, set Windows to share the ethernet’s connection with the wireless, and connected via ad-hoc. No need for a router, we were both able to surf the web off one ethernet adapter.