Peripherals

Speakers to be seen as well as heard

We've always had a soft spot for JBL speakers, going back to the halcyon days of our youth when we had little to do but lust after a set for our stereos. So we fully admit that we were nostalgically biased upon viewing the stunning design of the company's new Spot and Spyro lines on Chip Chick, which were introduced earlier this year in Germany. They have interchangeable covers that can be personalized with different colors and designs, including flower-shaped satellite wrappers. But if you're looking for something with more of a Halloween theme, you might consider … Read more

Pumpkin PC: But where's the USB?

There's something about Halloween that seems to raise the geek freak quotient more than any other day of the year.

A staple for the last few years has been the the PC pumpkin. And while the concept is hardly new, we're happy to report that the digital seasonal squashes seem to be getting more refined (if that's the word) with each October.

This year's featured pumpkin mod, for example, comes complete with an R.I.P. tombstone keyboard, skeleton mouse and a power plug integrated seamlessly into the stem. And it's wireless, of course, so … Read more

How to make your iPod really ugly

There should be a rule: Just because you can make something, it doesn't mean you should. That's how we feel about these iDazzle mini-speakers made for the iPod, as seen on Chip Chick. Sure, they may very well work. But even if they had Bose-quality sound (which, at $10, we somehow doubt), these things are coyote ugly. And we don't mean in the good way.

(Photo: SPI)

A USB microscope to relive childhood

We've never been able to use a microscope. There, we said it. For whatever reason, slides were always too blurry or we couldn't find what we were supposed to be looking for. When classmates called us over to look at stuff they found, we pretended to see it.

But this ThinkGeek item might help finally heal those adolescent scars: a plug-and-play USB digital microscope. The LED-lighted scope can magnify up to 300X and display images on your PC with software that's included. It also has a camera that can capture photos and do double duty as a … Read more

A different kind of palm reader at school

Cyberbullying may still be a problem, but at least your kids won't get their lunch money stolen if this technology has anything to do with it. Working with Fujitsu, a Scottish company called Yarg Biometrics is testing its PalmReader security device at a primary school in Glasgow, according to Gizmag. The technology reads palm vein patters to authenticate accounts for cashless catering, but that could be just a prelude to other security uses that some might find more Orwellian: Among the possibilities, Yarg says, the PalmReader could be used "to monitor truancy levels, to facilitate accurate attendance at … Read more

A media player that talks VoIP too

Features and functions are crammed into media players and phones like commuters on a Tokyo subway, so we're a little surprised that there aren't more convergence products like this one on the market. The Rimax Mystic--an all-in-one MP3-video-radio gadget with up to 2GB of storage for photos and other data--can also be used as a VoIP handset when its USB cable is plugged into the computer. At this rate, maybe the next version will mop your floors too.

(Photo: RMXdirect)

Better than golf balls

Who thought USB drives would go the way of the matchbook?

Solid Alliance, one of the companies that also brought you the sushi USB, will print whatever you like on this rectangular version of the device, Akihabara News noticed this morning. "Throw your passion to the canvas," says the Solid Alliance site.

Solid Alliance requests that customers send a JPEG or PDF of the image they would like printed and gives dimensions on the available print area as 77mm x 19mm. You can also have a different design for the front and back.

(Photo: Solid Alliance)

iStone lets your iPod meditate

The accessorizing is endless: iPod clothing, iPod backpacks, even iPod jewelry--but iPod rocks? We all have a little zen in us (or should), and the iStones are designed to remind us of it, according to SCI FI Tech. These USB docks come in two styles--"Wabi" and "Sabi" (not to be confused with wasabi)--for the iPod Mini and the full-size model, respectively. We're not sure how much they cost, but Fosfor Gadgets said last year that the first two sold for $2,650. For a rock.

(Photo: Brand-Incubator)

A mini-mouse for tiny hands

We're all for fashionable peripherals, but this one might make sense only if you want to display it but never use the computer

At 0.3 inches thick and about 3.1 inches long, the optical Anyzen UM10 looks more like a memory card than a mouse. It also looks remarkably similar to a new ultra-slim mouse from Samsung, as Ubergizmo points out, but is even slightly smaller. Both have a tiny scroll ball, which we can only assume is designed to make them even more difficult to use, as well as a retractable USB cord--which is a good … Read more

CD player or space station?

This think looks more like a space station than a music player. Maybe because its design team included aerospace engineers and French military equipment manufacturers, according to Chip Chick.

The stainless steel Kalista CD Transport weighs 56 pounds and is supposed to yield superior sound quality. It should, for $28,300. At that price, it should include a spin on the space shuttle as well.

As CDs join the ranks of LPs, cassettes and 8-track tapes, it's interesting to note that equipment to play obsolete media seems to get more expensive with each year--a kind of high-end retro. For … Read more