by MICHAEL CITROME

Forget plugging in, forget batteries. Take that hamster out of the Habitrail wheel. If ICP Global Technologies has its way, you won't need any of those, because as long as the sun is shining, you'll be computing.

ICP is a Montreal company that's been a leader in solar power technology since it was founded in 1988. From their base of operations near Little Italy, ICP is turning out some surprising new gadgets to keep you powered for free. And their devices have saved the world from over 45 tonnes of greenhouse gases.

One of the latest is called the iSun. It's a sleek, silver clamshell about the size of a small laptop that opens to reveal a solar panel. Leave it in the sun and it'll provide two watts of power, enough to power a Game Boy Advance or charge a cell phone. You can even string several iSuns together to provide even more power, and there's a battery charger attachment.

But ICP has something more exciting in the works. The SolarPRO plug'n'play solar panels provide up to 300 watts of power direct from the sun. Depending on how you set it up, that's enough to power a television, ghetto blaster or even the multi-screen DVD entertainment system in your blinged-out Escalade, spinning dubs included. The downside of course is that it doesn't work at night.

ICP also has a new partnership with an old company, camping gear stalwart Coleman. It's a natural union - both companies are big time proponents of disconnecting from the grid, even though ICP's take on it has less bears. Their first joint products will be rugged solar generators for camping and cottages. All that creates kind of a funny post-modern situation: it's now possible to charge your cell phone in the deep woods courtesy of technology designed to get you as far away as possible for all other technology.