We live in a highly litigious country. So when a Boston jury awarded $1.5 million to a Malden man who injured his fingers on a saw I wasn't terribly surprised. What did surprise me was that this case was actually the first to claim that the standard design of American table saws is defective. Considering that Carlos' fingers should never have been anywhere near the blade, this lawsuit - and others like it - should never have seen the light of day. Construction professionals, journeymen and homeowners should prepare for the onslaught, because if this ruling represents the tip of the iceberg, there is no telling where this judicial intrusion will end.

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Almost anyone that has ever used a power tool at some point in their life has used a Black & Decker or one of the many brands that is part of Black and Decker family. It might come as a surprise to some but DeWalt, Delta and Porter Cable are all actually part of the full Black and Decker power tool family. Even more interesting is that Kwickset Locks, Price Pfister Plumbing fixtures, Baldwin Hardware and Weiser Locks are also part of Black and Decker as well.

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RIDGID, one of the leading manufacturers of hand and power tools and video inspection devices, announced today the launch of RIDGIDConnect™ — a first-of-its-kind online business tool designed for contractors and service professionals to allow them to securely share and store job site information via a computer, laptop or smart phone.

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The recall is for the Mastercraft three hour battery charger, sold with the Mastercraft 18V Cordless Drill kits between 2000 and 2009. It has been determined that the drill charger may overheat, posing a safety concern. There have been incidents of minor property damage as a result.

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Sears, in an effort to expand sales of its Craftsman tool line, will now be making these tools available through select Ace Hardware stores. The goal is to quickly roll out the line to all 4500 locally owned and operated Ace stores. To accomplish this approximately 100 Ace stores will begin a brief phase 1 test in May. Under the first phase of the agreement, qualifying Ace Hardware stores will be able to sell the Craftsman brand including hand tools, portable power tools, compressors, wet/dry vacs and tool storage. Following this, Ace will promote a number of Craftsman products, giving all 4,500 Ace stores the opportunity to offer the Craftsman brand to customers in June.

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According to an article on CrunchGear, lithium-ion batteries are about to get a lot better. Eamex, a Japanese research and development firm, claims to have found a new way to increase the typical average life of a high-capacity lithium-ion battery. Eamex's new technology will allow the demanding batteries to sustain over 10,000 recharges over the course of 20 years. This is about a 20-fold increase over current batteries which last around 1000 charge cycles. The implications are staggering, from tech-solutions like laptops, to cars, power tools, and even medical solutions.

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Lowe's Companies Inc. announced the company will donate $1 million to support the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which helps the victims of countless crises around the world, including the recent earthquake in Haiti. All 1,700 Lowe's stores will serve as donation centers for the American Red Cross, making it convenient for people who want to help make a difference.

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Could the real estate industry finally be making a comeback? Or is the recent trend of home sales just a natural result of a flooded market of home foreclosures? With some subtle signs of recovery in the housing market, the real estate industry should eventually bounce back - but more challenges could lie ahead for buyers and sellers alike. HGTV's FrontDoor.com identifies the top 10 must-know real estate trends for the coming year.

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Panasonic blew us away with their announcement that they'd be bringing to market in 2011 a system that would allow storage of at least a week of electricity for a home. The unnamed system would be powered by lithium-ion batteries and would work in conjunction with a solution that displays power consumption on a display.

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Control4, a company specializing in affordable IP-based home control systems, and APOGEE Interactive announced a strategic relationship today to incorporate Apogee's energy analysis software into the Control4 home area network solution, the Energy Management System 100. By analyzing and presenting the data gathered by the Energy Management System 100 in an easy-to-understand interface and linking that with control over home devices, consumers can see the impact of changing their usage and realize substantial energy savings in the home.

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Anyone who has used a table saw for any period of time is aware, to some extent at least, of the SawStop table saw and the various legal and patent issues surrounding the existence of a fairly new safety mechanism that promises (and in a large way follows through on) a system to provide unheard of safety with respect to the use of an electric saw. This week, a man who was cut by a miter saw says Robert Bosch Tool Corp. "colluded with its competitors" and lobbied the Consumer Protection Safety Commission to keep "flesh detection and braking technology" from being required on table saws. We beg to differ.

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