Peripherals

The most noticeable feature about this item is that, by looking at it, you can't tell what it is. When we first saw a photo of Microsoft's LifeCam NX-6000, we thought it was a USB drive. (On second thought, it's not gold or bejeweled, so it's obviously our mistake.) Then when we found out it was a camera, we thought it was one of those 007-vintage spy gadgets we always wanted as a kid.

But it's a Webcam, and one made for a notebook at that, so it doesn't look anything like its more … Read more

We know gamers are all about flair and sparkly accents. In fact most would rather have a PC and peripherals with pizazz over the kind that get the job done. Or is that 13-year-old girls? Anyway, it's a good thing this mouse has more than just interchangeable iridescent faceplates to tempt hard-core gamers.

Creative's HD7600L gaming mouse claims a resolution of 2,400 dpi, better than CNET Reviews' favorite mouse, but has a marginally slower tracking speed of 40 inches per second, and connects via USB to Windows-based PCs only. The mouse glides around on Teflon feet, allows … Read more

Man, don't you hate it when you have to stand around your office's scanner unit for, like, 10 minutes to scan that 200-page document? I mean, that's a whole 3 seconds per page--what a waste of time. What would you pay for an industrial-strength scanner that could cut that down, say, by a factor of 10? Kodak thinks you might pay upward of $100,000. Yes, that's five zeros. (It's actually a bit more, but what's another $5K when you've already dropped 20 times that amount?)

The Kodak i1860 can process 200 pages … Read more

Because of a few small details like trademark infringement and copyright violations, it's not often that you see a company boasting about its efficiency in reverse engineering. But that's one function that OhGizmo points out about this handheld 3D scanner from Z Corp.

"Reverse Engineering: Speed, accuracy and ease-of-use for aftermarket product design" is one of the company's bullet points about the ZScanner 700. Not that there's anything necessarily illegal about it. As the Web site points out, the scanner can be used for such worthy functions as medical education, digital archiving, and computer … Read more

A $760 USB drive? Sure, why not. It would go well with your million-dollar cell phone.

After all, it's not often you see a storage device that looks like a gold bar embedded with Statsuma Kiriko crystals (as if we've ever heard of them). Akihabara News reports that the 2GB "Mottainai" is made by SolidAlliance, which it says is "an expert for uncommon USB keys." Apparently so, though we might offer a different adjective, given that the Mottainai's case is bronze. At that price, you'd think it would be solid gold.

Once … Read more

The way things are going, the palm (lowercase) may be the key to our schoolchildren's future. Imagine, if you will, a system where kids ID themselves for such everyday tasks as buying lunch at the cafeteria. Then later, they could use this "contactless biometric palm vein authentication system" for access to classroom desktops and laptops.

Actually, Fujitsu's PalmSecure technology will probably be used first by adults, given the almost-daily news reports of huge security breaches because of lost or stolen laptops. And, as Plastic Bamboo points out, the system's touchless feature makes it germaphobe-friendly--no small … Read more

When we first saw a picture of this USB Webcam on I4U news, we almost passed it up after mistaking it for a countertop kitchen appliance. Instead, we learned that it's a Cam Optia from Creative, a plug-and-play device with a "precision lens" that can be mounted on just about any type of monitor or a flat surface. It also comes with a stereo headset and a swivel base to make it more versatile--but not versatile enough for baking or any of this, so far as we know.

(Photos: Creative Technologies, KitchenAid)

And no, that's not "Blu" as in "Blu-ray"--it's "BLU" as in LED BLU, for the "light-emitting diode backlight unit" that illumines Samsung's new 20-inch SyncMaster XL20 display. Claiming it covers 114 percent of the NTSC color gamut and 100 percent of the AdobeRGB gamut, Samsung takes on Eizo's $2,700 ColorEdge CG210 for a mere $1,999. If it works as advertised--specs include a 1000:1 contrast ratio and 8ms response time--it will be on every photo and video editor's wish list this holiday season. Okay, … Read more

Finally, something everyone can use. If you have a desk or counter lined with cradles and docks, consider these speakers from Brando that work with multiple types of devices, including iPods, PSPs and cell phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson.

The speaker dock comes with various adapters that can be plugged in like attachments for a vacuum cleaner. One potential drawback is that only one device can be docked at a time. That could put a serious crimp in your ADHD-addled productivity.

(Photo: Brando)