Apple has the Magic Mouse. But PC users, thankfully, have their own version: the Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse.
Like the Magic Mouse, the Microsoft Arc Touch is wireless, offers gesture support and works on a wide variety of surfaces without need of a mouse pad. Unlike the Apple version, this Microsoft Arc comes in a choice of colors (currently black and “sangria red” with more on the way). It also folds flat to turn it off and for easy transport.
Note that the Microsoft Arc Touch mouse is different from the Microsoft Touch. We aren’t big fans of the arc-less version, which only works on Windows 7 and has a buggy Bluetooth connection. The Arc Touch works work all the recent version of Windows and connects to a computer via a tiny, interference-free USB device.
2011 meets 1981 in the iCADE, device that will turn your iPad into a miniaturized version of a classic arcade gaming machine.
The iCADE was first conceived as an April Fool’s joke by the vondrous folks of ThinkGeek. Turned out, the joke was on them. Demand for a real iCADE proved so great that ThinkGeek felt compelled to make it a real iCADE.
After designing the iCADE arcade casing, ThinkGeek partnered with ION to create iPad versions of Atari arcade classics. There are currently 100 games available, including Battlezone, Lunar Lander Tempest, Breakout, Asteroids and Missile Command. There’re sold in 3-pack sets for $1. Or get them all for a mere $15. see more
There are lots of DJ digital scratch decks and mixers that will work together with your computer. What’s great about the new Stanton SCS.4DJ is that it’s a stand-alone system. Put your party tunes on a USB flash drive, plug that into one of the SCS.4DJ’s four USB input slots and you are good to go. Don’t have a USB drive? You can direct plug in your iPod too. From there, powerful onboard software performs all your mixing options. Or hook it up to your computer, old school. $500
You needn’t choose between getting a laptop and a table. The Dell Inspiron duo convertible is both.
The Spot Cool Stuff review of the Dell Ispiron notes the downside of the operating system—a mobile version of Windows 7. But the practicality of being able to easily switch between handheld touchscreen mode and keyboard mode is self evident.
What’s a Chromebook? It’s a laptop that uses Google’s new Chrome OS.
Computer operating systems you’ve used heretofore have almost certainly run programs and stored data locally. That leads to the need for huge hard drives, data backup systems and lots of software updating. The Chrome OS runs almost entirely off the cloud. That is, the software a Chromebook uses to run is all online. With a Chromebook there’s nothing to update. And you’ll never run out of storage space!
The easy-to-use Chrome operating system is currently available in netbooks made by two manufacturers: Acer and Samsung. This Acer-Samsung comparison review of the Chromebook concludes that the Samsung is the better of the two. And we agree.
The Samsung Chromebook has an 8.5 hour batter life, a beautiful 12.1″ display and a built-in HD webcam with a built-in noise cancelling microphone (perfect for Skype calls). From $430
Take a bath under the stars. Every day. Even when the sun is out and you are indoors.
The Homestar Aqua Tokyo Sky Tree is a compact, waterproof home planetarium. Though about the size of a medium cup of coffee, it can display over 10,000 celestial objects on you bathroom ceiling for up to 3 hours between battery changes. Sold by Japan Trends Shop. US$70
