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Doesn't look very waterproof to me.

(Credit: Amazon)

Presidential commemorative merchandise is always a hot seller, but the First Face is usually reserved for porcelain dishes, stamps, or squeezy cheesy T-shirts. Being that our 44th president is a twittering BarackBerry user, it's fitting for Amazon to finally offer an Obama USB Flash Drive. I just wish it weren't so unbearably ugly.

The 2GB drives are manufactured by Active Media Products and sold on Amazon for $9, plus shipping. The design looks unfinished, though, bearing Obama's painted profile across the front of the drive. Also, isn't it a little sad and ironic that the most patriotic part of the drive is its packaging? They couldn't have put those red, white, and blue stripes on the drive itself? Also, the store claims the drive is waterproof, but that smells fishy to me without material specification. For all its faults, the drive does have one neat feature: it comes loaded with almost an hour full of Obama's speeches in MP3 format, including his famous inaugural address.

Buy the 2GB Obama Drive for $8.95 here.

More pics after the jump.

(Credit: Steuben Glass)

Granted, Steuben Glass' stunningly beautiful Presidential Commemorative Plate 2009 will be cherished for generations, but is it really worth $7,500?

Thing is, it's offered in a numbered, limited edition of 44. The 16-inch commemorative plate was created by the Steuben Design Team to mark the inauguration of America's 44th President. But other than its symbolic importance, wouldn't that money be put to better use buying American-made hi-fis? Seven thousand five hundred dollars for a hunk of glass might seem like an outrageous extravagance, but I have no doubt all 44 plates will sell out before long.

Still, the plate will merely grace a shelf or cabinet; a first class hi-fi will deliver beautiful sound for many years to come. In the spirit of the times, I'm thinking about American-made gear: specifically, Rogue Audio electronics and its 99 Magnum ($2,495 MSRP) stereo preamplifier matched with Rogue's M-150 power amplifiers ($4,495). Rogue's vacuum-tube electronics start around $2,795 for the Tempest II stereo integrated amplifier. Expensive, but way less than the Steuben plate.

The M-150 amplifier is still cheaper than the Obama commemorative plate.

(Credit: Rogue Audio)

I'm just making a point here that people, even now, spend money on all sorts of things. But $7,500 for a piece of glass? Well sure, it's a lot of money all right, but there's a market for such things. Same could be said about high-end audio: it's for people who appreciate owning gear that's made with care, and lasts a long, long time. Digital-audio formats come and go, but you're always going to need amplifiers to play speakers. Why not get the good stuff if you can afford it?

I suppose it's a question of value, or how we value things. Maybe value involves evaluating the object's functionality or how often it's used. A hi-fi has the potential to be enjoyed on a daily basis, at least. The Obama plate? Not so much.

President-elect Barack Obama is sure to face his share of hurdles over the course of his presidency. But when it comes to one of them--the possibility that he might have to give up his beloved BlackBerry--he is waxing optimistic that he will overcome.

In an interview with CNN on Friday, Obama expressed confidence that he would be able to keep his smartphone, despite well-publicized concerns over the possibility of eavesdropping by hackers and other digital snoops. While Research In Motion offers encryption, the U.S. government has stricter requirements for communications security.

As my colleague Declan McCullagh reported, some handheld devices, such as General Dynamics' Sectera Edge, have been officially blessed as secure enough to handle even classified documents, e-mail, and Web browsing.

But Obama seems determined to hang on to his device of choice.

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II...

(Credit: Pete Souza)

Barack Obama's campaign proved itself quite worthy of the Digital Era, what with launching Facebook Connect integration, dominating Twitter, and buying an ad in an Xbox 360 racing game, among other tech-savvy milestones.

So it seems fitting that the president-elect should be the first U.S. commander in chief to have his official presidential portrait snapped with a digital camera, according to the transition Web site change.gov. (It seems a little hard to believe this hasn't happened sooner, but we're sure the new administration wouldn't risk credibility over camera models.) The shot was taken by Pete Souza, the newly announced official White House photographer.

Probably more importantly for all you camera buffs, however, is the fact that the 1916x2608-resolution shot was taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. With that news, Canon is probably extra happy it has resolved the "black dot" problem that marred some images from the high-profile, high-end SLR.

Other details revealed about the presidential portrait in the attached Exif file data, courtesy of Cameratown:

• 105mm focal length
• ISO 100
• Aperture: F/10
• Exposure: 1/125 second
• Metering mode: Pattern
• Date taken: January 13, 2009 at 5:38 p.m.

But now that Obama has helped usher in the era of digital photography for official presidential portraits, we have to wonder: will those portraits be Photoshopped?

This limousine carried President Bush on a visit to New Delhi in March 2006.

(Credit: White House photo by Paul Morse )

Meet the new ride, same as the old ride.

Inauguration Day for Barack Obama will also mark the first day of service for a new presidential limousine--a Cadillac, just like its predecessor. The Detroit News is reporting that the new limo, now in the hands of the Secret Service, will be about the same size as the one it's replacing, though it will have, at the very least, bigger windows. Beyond that, the newspaper said, General Motors spokesman David Caldwell offered precious little information.

Not surprisingly, the Secret Service was, well, secretive about everything but the January 20 date for the Caddy's debut.

GM did allow that the 2009 Cadillac Presidential Limousine is the first that doesn't have a specific model name, according to The Detroit News. President Bush's lame-duck limo is a 2006 Cadillac DTS. The Motor City newspaper said that GM "is believed" to have built no more than 25 of the new models.

While security-related information is understandably not for public consumption, the automaker apparently hasn't minded divulging some of the president's automotive amenities.

Caldwell said he couldn't give specifications--even the engine size or type--in either the current limousine or the new one. Other facts also are secret like the vehicle's curb weight, though Cadillac has disclosed in the past that the limo has a 10-disc CD player and hand-stitched leather interiors.

But a somewhat closer look is on the way. Both the GM and Secret Service spokesmen said they would offer pictures, along with more information, next week. For now, viewing is limited to "spy photos" from the automotive paparazzi, as here on CNN.

Dong's advice to Vietnamese coming to America? Keep your names people! Let us Americans deal with all that tonal stuff.

Then Dong nerds out over the range and throughput of the Belkin N+ Wireless Router. I think I hear wedding bells.

After that, we discuss the big news of the week. You can probably guess what that is. You've been warned.

To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the link on the right. Don't forget to leave us a voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.

The McCain game show: click to enlarge.

(Credit: 7.TV)

The Obama game show: click to enlarge.

(Credit: 7.TV)

Still don't know who you're voting for for president? If the debates, media coverage, and attempted persuasiveness of friends, family, and passersby haven't helped you decide, maybe a game could sway you--or at least teach you a little trivia about the candidates. (Do you know which basketball player was Obama's childhood idol? I didn't yesterday, but I do now).

7.TV, a new broadband TV game show company, has launched the POTUS44 Experience, a fun little pair of online game shows that test players' knowledge about John McCain, Barack Obama, and presidential history in general (examples: Who won by the largest margin of popular votes in history? How many presidents were once vice presidents? Who became a chief justice after becoming president?).

Through multiple-choice questions and Wheel of Fortune-type word puzzles relating to the candidates' lives and slogans, players collect POTUS (president of the United States) points. Get at least 200,000 points, and you qualify for the live finale at 6:30 p.m. PDT November 3, the night before the election. The top point winner will get an expense-paid trip for two to the January 2009 inauguration--which, depending on the top POTUS44 point getter, could make for a slightly awkward trip to D.C. if your candidate loses but you win.

Each POTUS44 game provides direct links to the candidates' actual sites, a "donate now" button, and a Google search screen to help players check their work. Players can chat with and compete against other players in real time, and each one-hour game can be repeated--which is good, as the games are fast-paced, laden with bells and whistles, and take a little getting used to.

Frank S. Maggio, founder and CEO of 7.TV and the game show platform's creator, says the game shows are bipartisan. No advertising dollars from either party have been accepted to date, though players are asked during the games to rate, on a number scale, the inspiration level and effectiveness of specific campaign ads. Maggio also says the possibility remains that one or both candidates will participate--once they're done scouring the swing states, of course.

I'm Leslie Katz and I approved this blog.