Stuff Geeks Want

“Laser-cut from a single piece of Plexiglas less than 3/4 of an inch thick and set in a brushed aluminum frame, the ultra-slim diNovo Edge makes a bold statement”.

I’ve lusted after a DiNovo Edge keyboard since they came out. So, I bought one the other day (Merry Christmas to me). And man, I couldn’t be any happier.

Bluetooth makes it super easy to connect to my laptop. It looks awesome underneath my MacBook Pro with it’s sleek black detail and brushed aluminum accents. And it just works.

The Windows version has 17 custom one-touch control keys that are specific to Windows, while the Mac version has quick-key access to Safari, Mail, iTunes and your other favorite apps.

Lastly, the TouchDisc is a totally new concept that combines scrolling, selection and cursor control for those times when you don’t need a mouse, and want to work exclusively from your keyboard. And there are “hot keys” that light up at a touch, and fade into the background when not in use. And I love using the touch sensitive volume control to crank up my music when I can!

Goes great with the Logitech MX Revolution Mouse and the VX Revolution.

From Amazon.com: ~$150 for the Windows version and ~$140 for the Mac version.

Do you love using a remote with your MacBook Pro, but hate dragging it around with you on trips (or losing it in the couch cushions as much as we do?)

The SiK Rex Remote Control for Apple is your answer. This six-button remote is fully compatible with your Mac, but it stores easily in the MacBook Pro’s ExpressCard slot, meaning you’ll never have to “find room” for it in your bag, or lose it accidentally.

It’ll also work with any other Mac or Apple TV, so you it can do double duty for you when you really need it to.

Go ahead and pick up and extra battery or two for it while you’re at it from Amazon. It’s always nice to have a few extra batteries around for a tool you use a lot.

Prices: $30 from Amazon.com for the SiK Rex Remote Control and ~$5 for an extra battery.

Every few years a game comes around that carries with it so much hype there’s no possible way it can live up to expectations. This year’s example is Spore, the game about evolution from the mind of Will Wright, the gaming wizard who has been doling out dozens of popular SimYouNameIt games for almost two decades.

Spore finally sprouted on store shelves this past weekend, about three years since word about it trickled out. While it’s received generally positive critical acclaim (”hello, Electronic Arts and your massive marketing budget we’d like a piece of”), users seem more luke-warm about the game. And that’s ignoring the thousands who have panned the game on Amazon’s reviews and elsewhere because of it’s stringent digital rights management.

In a nutshell: the game requires you to jump through more hoops to prove you actually own it than almost any other before it. To top it off, you can only activate three computers to play it, after which you need to deal with EA support to install it again. We don’t think this will affect most people, but we do know people love complaining when they can.

So that’s Spore for you: 50% hype, 30% controversy, 20% actual game. You know you want to check it out, and Amazon makes it oh-so-easy with their free shipping. Or, look at this way if you prefer: the game is free, but shipping is $49.99 (for Mac and Windows on the same tidy disc).