As technology becomes a larger part of our lives, we find ourselves casting aside our old gadgets in favor of new ones. As a result, cell phones, PDAs, and GPS units end up in a junk drawer. But they don’t have to end up there. Here are 11 sites where you can trade your old - and sometimes dead - gadgets in for actual money, gift cards, and even charitable donations to your favorite causes.

With the holidays coming up, could there be a better time than now to make some money while also helping out the environment?

What’s residing in your dead gadget drawer? Are you going to be trading anything in?

BestBuyTradeIn.com - Electronics superstore Best Buy will allow you to trade in a wide range of products in exchange for gift cards you can spend with their company.

BuyMyTronics.com - BuyMyTronics will buy your gadgets from you whether they work or not. Of course, you get paid more the better their condition, but they will even take the broken ones. Can pay by PayPal or check.

Costco Trade-In and Recycle Program - In addition to taking gadgets like iPods, Costco will also accept desktops, laptops, fax machines, printers and more. Payment is in the form of Costco gift cards and can take up to four weeks to process.

EZTradein.com - EZTradein powers some of the biggest trade-in programs out there, or you can just simply go directly to the source. Payment can be made via check, PayPal or a Best Buy gift card.

Gazelle.com - Besides the smaller gadgets, Gazelle will take external hard drives, GPS devices, satellite radios, Blu-ray movies and more. If your item isn’t listed, you can contact them for a personalized quote. Payment can be made via Amazon gift card, checks, PayPal or you can even opt to have the funds donated to one of the charities they work with.

MyBoneYard.com - MyBoneYard takes desktops, laptops, flat panel monitors, MP3 players and cell phones with more items to be added soon. Payment is by Visa prepaid cards.

NextWorth.com - NextWorth takes iPods and iPhones, and pays you by check, Amazon gift card or in-store credit when you trade the device in at one of their retail partners.

RadioShack.cexchange.com - RadioShack, one of the oldest electronics dealers around, will let you trade in your old gadgets, games, consoles and more, and offers gift cards you can spend at their stores.

Sam’s Club - The wholesale club arm of the Walmart corporation will trade your electronics for gift cards for their company.

Toshiba - Toshiba will take in numerous items such as laptops, camcorders, PDAs and so on, paying you by check and sometimes throwing in an extra item like a $25 gift card to Starbucks.

VenJuvo.com - VenJuvo will take all of the usual major items like game systems, HDTVs, laptops and so on, and then you can choose to be paid by check, PayPal or donate the funds to a charity.

Image courtesy of iStockPhoto, kutaytanir

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Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, has unveiled a new community for sharing knowledge about environmental topics: Wikia Green. It is hosted on his for-profit wiki hosting service Wikia, and it currently has over 600 articles.

In an interview with CNET, Wales explains that the purpose of the site is not so much to bring day to day news about green topics, but rather a central knowledge hub for all things green.

“What we’re doing is actually complementary to blogs in the sense that what blogs do is update you on a day-to-day basis. Also, blogs are engaged in political or other types of analysis, whereas a wiki becomes a touchpoint for the community, a place where people meet up and work on whatever the consensus is about a certain topic,” he says.

It’s also not just a green Wikipedia. The site itself describes three ways in which it is different to the regular wikipedia: the content is written from a green point of view; it is focused on what you can actually do, and it is more accessible and relevant to an average reader (see some comparisons here).

The question “do we really need another green site?” is asked in the interview, but it doesn’t really apply here. I’m sure that Wales will be able to leverage his influence and the influence of Wikipedia’s community to turn Wikia Green into an important resource for learning about the environment.

—Related Articles at Mashable - All That’s New on the Web:Wikia Search Actually Launches Private BetaThe Daily Poll: Your Impressions of WikiaNew Wikia Communities LaunchWikia & Playxpert Offer In-Game Wiki WidgetWikia Gets New Look and New FeaturesWikia Adds Four More Open Source MagazinesWikia Brings on Jabber Founder

There are a number of golf-focused websites that can help you connect with a broad network of players, write blogs, meet up for games, find local courses and generally live the life of the green as much as you wish. We presented you with a selection of such destinations earlier this year, in fact. Well, here comes another. It’s called GolfGrouper. It’s very basically drawn, and even a bit rough in places. But it’s new, and just beginning to build its network of users. Some adjustments are surely in order.

Granted, the front page is indeed generic-looking. It could certainly lose its promotional image, if nothing else. The graphic hinders the establishment of a much simpler layout. But if this doesn’t trouble you too much, and you’re just looking for a nearby course, want post yourself available as a golf partner, or put together a quick notice of a local tournament, the site may have some use to you.

The best course of action to take at GolfGrouper is just as its name describes. You can establish a local circle of users on the site, and the intended network effect can then carry some potential. A one-at-a-time build-up of users, without any grounding in content, is likely to make the service a laggard. This is place built solely for matching golfers. No lingering. No wasting time. Just find what information you’re after, and and play the links.

Of course, convincing friends to become members is the hardest part, so the site really ends up being a bit hit-or-miss in that respect. But given the right concentration of attention in places, it could become valuable to certain sets of players quite quickly. Also, the service is open to a global user base. Things of this sort are known to fall flat in some locations while taking off in others.

Its a jolly green Christmas. Forrester Research says that 12 percent, or 25 million Americans, are willing to pay extra for greener […]