Stuff Geeks Want

There’s was little doubt Cisco (owner of Pure Digital) wouldn’t take long to hit back at Apple for their iPod nano with on-board camcorder. It wasn’t that long.

Now there’s the Flip MinoHD 2nd Generation camcorder with eight gigabytes of capacity (versus 4GB) and a bigger two-inch LCD display (up from 1.5 inches). The double RAM capacity gives users now two hours of 720p (1280×720) video.

In addition to its signature, flip-out USB plug, it also now comes with an HDMI connection (despite them being cheap and not including at least one, short, HDMI cable). Also new: a “Magic Movie” software mode that “automatically trims and arranges a user’s selected video content into their own movie.”

So compared to the Apple’s iPod nano the new Flip Mino HD v2 is more expensive ($50 more), but does have HD video where the nano doesn’t. On the ‘flip’ side, it doesn’t play music or have an FM radio or have the looks of the nano.

It all comes down to the features you want in your pocket. That’s something you should do in the privacy of your own home.

Buy for $229 from Amazon

Starck. Philippe Starck. This French product designer is probably best known for his spectacular interior designs and mass produced consumer goods like toothbrushes, chairs, and even houses. Now he’s designed (or re-designed) the tired and boring hard drive enclosure to create the new LaCie Starck Hard Drive.

Available in capacities ranging from 320 to 500 gigabytes for the portable model (seen at the top of the above photo) and one to two terabytes for the external, these drives feature curvy, shiny, organically-shaped front surfaces with tough gray shells.

The desktop version’s front is touch-sensitive, allowing you to open applications, like Firefox or Word, with the touch of a digit using LaCie’s Destkop Manager software. For added effect, it’s got a status LED light that shines an orange plus sign — Starck’s signature symbol — on the front.

Buy the 2 TB model for $242 from Amazon

Optical mouses freed us from mouse pads, cotton swabs and alcohol. But to be honest, they don’t work well on transparent or highly polished surfaces. Here’s one that does.

The wireless Performance Mouse MX from Logitech works even on a glass desktop. Instead of tracking its position by looking at the direct reflection of a laser that illuminates the surface from beneath, this mouse ignores the reflection completely. Instead, it looks at the light scattered off minute imperfections and particles on the surface. Very cool.

Together with its nice design, dual scroll wheels (very rare), front/back buttons, a search button, and extended battery life (15-20 days between re-charging), this is a sweet mouse I’d even consider replacing my Apple Mac mouse with.

Buy for $91 from Amazon

This is a sharp idea for laptop cases from Built NY: Take stretchy wet-suit-grade neoprene and add fun prints and lots of color. You’ve then got the Built NY 15-inch laptop sleeve.

Plastic zippers and a single-layer construction means this bag passes through airpot X-rays without having to remove the laptop from the bag.

Its sleek, hourglass-shape is stain resistant and machine washable in a variety of colors. With its Shark Gill Grips on the sides, gripping and handling is slip-free.  Simple form and simple function.

Buy for $30 from Amazon

Microsoft has combined a ‘comfort curve’ keyboard and their Wireless Mouse 5000 into the Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000 that has a little something for everyone.

It’s got a slight six degree ergonomic curve to help out your wrists as well as a rubberized and textured wrist rest that keeps your hands from sliding. Another neat feature: ‘Windows Flip’, which displays thumbnail previews of all open windows at the touch of a button, and Taskbar Favorites, which maps open apps to shortcut keys using the position that they’re on the taskbar rather than a preset order.

The mouse is not the giant baseball-sized design, but instead a comfortable palm-sized model featuring BlueTrack technology. Both the keyboard and mouse connect via a 2.4GHz USB dongle, with a quoted 30 foot range.

Buy for $72 from Amazon

USB flash sticks are a dime a dozen these days, but what really stands out is sticks that step up the speed. The new Kingston’s DataTraveler 410 flash drives have done just that.

The DT410 features 20 megabytes per second read and 20MB/sec write speeds for faster data transfers. It also comes with Kingston’s SecureTraveler1 software which lets you create a password protected area on the drive to hide your unmentionables.

There’s also a new 32GB model for around $134 MSRP, but it’s not immediately available.

Buy the 4GB model for $17 from Amazon

Buy the 8GB model for $28 from Amazon

Buy the 16GB model for $40 from Amazon

Wacom has finally rolled out its new line of Bamboo Touch mutlitouch tablets that respond to both a pen stylus and your fingers.

There’s now five different products in Wacom’s Bamboo line with four different levels of sensativity and functionality. It’s the low-end model – the Bamboo Pen & Touch – we found most interesting that supports both technologies for less than a hundred bucks.

With Bamboo second generation, a simple tap with a finger on the digital pad will select an icon, open a menu or start an application. In addition, a gesture using two fingers enables users to simply rotate an image or document, flip through a digital photo album or presentation, scroll through a blog or an excel sheet and zoom in and out of a photo or map.

Buy for $99 from Amazon

You already know Apple’s 24″ LED is the display the 11th commandment would tell you not to covet.

But if you want it so badly but can’t afford to buy a new Mac or PC with a Mini DisplayPort connector, there’s now a solution: Atlona’s DVI to Mini DisplayPort Converter.

Sure, at $179 it means you’re Cinema Display hook-up will now run you over a grand, but that’s still cheaper than a new computer. Indulge!

Buy for $179 direct

What you’re looking at is a laptop case from European design firm mitemite’s “unncessary objects lab.”

But protecting your precious from bumps and theft is hardly unnecessary, although maybe charging €60 for the privilege is.

Whatever, though, this newspaper-like case is unique, functional, and cool. Choose between Le Pais, La Vanguarda, La Grettezza dello Sport, or the International Herald Tribune.

Added bonus: pick a paper in a language not native to your country and you might be bugged less by strangers, too.

Buy for €60 from mitemite

Moshi calls themselves a “purveyor of electronics fashion” and I can’t agree more. They’ve come out with some stylish accessories over the years – the MacBook cooler, and the Codex designer shell case for the MacBook – to name just a few.

Now comes the iLynx, a stylish, wedge-shaped silver hub that sits underneath the base of an iMac or a Cinema Display and provides four USB 2.0 ports and two FireWire 400 ports. But what makes it unique is that you can connect it to one USB and one FireWire port on your Mac and then use the combined power of those ports to provide enough juice for things like an external hard drive or display without needing an external AC adapter. Neat, huh?

One nice perk: Moshi includes a FireWire 400 cable. a FireWire 800-to-400 cable, and a USB cable with the iLynx.

Buy for $51 from Amazon