It’s not Friday yet, but we know gadgets are part of most IT pros’ daily lives, so check the latest tech gear from Japan in June, such as ultra-portable PCs, HD-DVD laptops, and flexible e-paper displays.There’s a lot of high-tech in there, but Sony’s hand-cranked Disaster Radio is one low-tech item that is on my list. Too bad it does not do streaming Net radio.In Japan the threat of a major earthquake is always present so it pays to be prepared. Stores have entire sections of earthquake-related goods and soon Sony’s ICF-B01 portable radio will likely join the displays. The radio has a large hand-crank on the front so that you don’t need batteries. Turning the handle for a minute (about 120 turns) will power the radio for an hour on an AM station or 40 minutes on an FM station. There is also an LED light that will run for 15 minutes on a minute of cranking and a charger cable for cell phones. This latter feature lets users charge-up their cell phone batteries through the radio’s handcrank. It’s on sale now in Japan and costs around ¥6,000 ($52). It won’t be available outside of Japan. Technology Industry