I love Thanko.  There’s just no two ways about it.  These guys clock out some of the craziest ideas in gadgetry with a straight face, and I love picking them up to talk about them.

Today I’ve got a real winner–USB powered fingertipless gloves.

No, seriously.  Gloves, with internal heating coils, powered by a USB drive and missing the tops of the fingers to make your typing easier.

You see what I mean about how it just LOOKS like a stupid idea?  Who needs gloves indoors, right?  Nobody, really.  But here’s the kicker–heat on your hands can loosen muscles.  Like the muscles you’re using to type, for example.  These gloves could be a way to beat carpal tunnel syndrome before it even starts.  I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but it sure sounds feasible to me!

And if you actually want a pair of these winners, you can lay hands on them for right around thirty bucks a pair.

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Nowadays, saving energy is quickly becoming common sense as opposed to forward thinking.  More and more tech consumers are aware of vampire power and and there are plenty of products out there to combat this unnecessary use of energy.

Having recently been introduced to the TrickleStar products, I have found them to be easy to use as well as being relatively easy on the wallet.  What I can say right away is that you are not going to see a noticeable difference in your electric bill.  Not unless you are using a ton of them.  You’d really have to have your whole residence outfitted in order to see your bill go down.

Now that’s not to say that every little bit doesn’t count for something.  I’m sure it does work to prevent vampire power, you just have to have faith and believe in the product.  To help with that faith, the TrickleStar PC Energy Saver and Switch look very consumer friendly using a brilliant white glossy plastic and an attractive logo.

To explain what the TrickleStar PC Energy Saver and switch does is quite basic.  It limits the amount of stand-by power your computer and peripherals draw from the wall outlet when not in use.  When you power down or put to sleep your Mac or PC, the energy saver is activated.  Without the switch, the energy saver is automatically set into use upon shut-down, whereas you have manual control when you have the switch integrated with in the set-up.  I really have no idea why this wasn’t one product, but I’ll save that for gripe time.

The set-up process is really easy as well.  All you do is plug the energy saver into the wall and then plug the power strip containing your PC/Mac and all its peripherals (Scanner, Printer, USB Hubs) into the female end.  From there you plug the USB end into any port that reaches your computer.  The switch is the middle man between you computer and the energy saver and uses female and male USB plugs to make that connections.  Super easy.

I have a MacBook laptop so I am often using my computer away from my hard drives, USB hubs, and iPhone dock.  The TrickleStar PC Energy Saver and Switch worked perfect for this.  All I had to do was flip the switch and my whole surge protector  and hard drives were shut down.  The switch itself denotes power through a bright green LED.  For more permanent set-ups, the Energy Save plug is mountable and the Switch has a peel adhesive.

Simple as that, my only problem with these products is that they are not one product.  There’s really no need for this and it is much more practical to power your gear down manually, especially when using several chained hard drives.

Beyond that, the TrickleStar products work as advertised and will cost under $30 for the pair.  If you are looking for a way to assure yourself that your computer set-up is not wasting energy I strongly suggest you give these products a try.

Pros:

• Easy Set-Up
• Attractive Aesthetic
• Saves Energy

Cons:

• Products should be combined as one package
• No real way to prove it works without the help of MythBusters

Buy the TrickleStar PC Energy Saver Plug Here For $17!

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Anytime the Apple page goes down it’s always a nice feeling knowing that new products will soon be displayed.  On sale now are fresh new 21.5″ and 27″ iMacs of various specifications and ranging in price from $1200-$2000 depending on what your needs are.

Now included with these new iMacs are wireless keyboards and the new wireless “Magic Mouse”.

Also new to the Apple website are new MacBooks and Mac Mini’s.  Buy on.

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Well, now I’m just plain old amazed.  We’ve all been here at one time or another and spilled something hot and flavorful–or maybe cold and flavorful–on our laptop keyboard.  And chances are, your laptop never behaved quite the same after that, even if you DID manage to keep it from complete laptop death.  Well, I just saw the new HP ProBook 6545b take incredible amounts of fluid damage and keep on ticking.

Everything about the HP ProBook is a fairly normal, plain vanilla sort of system (it’s an AMD system, even!) but what they’ve done is rejiggered the keyboard tray around so that liquid, rather than getting into the guts of the machine, merely spills out through the bottom without hitting any vital areas.

It’s not bulletproof, so don’t upend a can of Coke on this just to test it, but by all reports it handles small, occasional spills easily enough.  And since it costs just $798, about what a normal new laptop might cost, it’s definitely not out of line in terms of prices.

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Talk about a great idea.  Using what looks like “old” keyboard keys fashioned into a USB card reader, this is a totally useful device for those who want to forget their digital camera cord.  As long as you don’t lose it that is.

Capable of accepting: DHC, SD, micro SDHC, microSD, Sony M2, Memory Stick, and MS duo cards, this tiny reader also supports USB 2.0.  With measurements encompassing 75.5mm x 14mm, is also Mac and PC friendly and only costs $12!

Available in white or blue you can color me impressed.  All the small things right?

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I really don’t know what to think about this one, folks–if you’re a die-hard Star Trek fan and you’re desperately trying to get rid of seventy bucks, consider the Klingon Keyboard.

No, seriously.  Someone took what looks like a normal QWERTY keyboard, translated it all into Klingon and refaced the keys.  Even better, it actually connects with a PS/2 cable, and when’s the last time you saw that?

So now you can type your letter to Grandma in an approximation of Klingon.

Why stop there?  Hit on your cybercrushes in Klingon!  Get in a flame war and insist loudly that Hab SoSlI’ Quch (his mother has a smooth forehead–apparently an actual Klingon insult.  Oh, Google, what CAN’T you do?)

Better yet, for you more logical types, if the Klingon version sells well, the VULCAN version is next.  I don’t know whether to be amazed or horrified.  I like my Star Trek as much as the next guy, and really like my Next Gen and DS9, but come ON.  A Klingon Keyboard?  Might as well sell a Klingon key CHAIN.

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How’d you like to get back 1 week of your life every year?  Well, now you can.  The Optmizer keyboard features – drum roll please – and Optimize key.  Built for accountants, writers and engineers its designed to cut down the number of keystrokes so significantly that yes you can actually recoup some of that lost time, which mind will probably be frivolously used to compete in the office Foozball tournament.

So how does it work?  Hitting the optimize key engages 3 groups of shortcuts:

1. The number pad is turned into an arrow pad with some additional shortcut features
2. 1 through 5 (not the number pad), QWERT and Z through B are turned into dedicated cut, copy and paste keys respectively, yes all of them
3. The center portion of the keypad is turned into an arrow pad, which is designed for editing text all the faster.

I’m not sold, but then again I prefer my laptop’s keyboard to any external.  You can score one for about $35.

[via EverythingUSB]

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If a mouse ‘did’ Motorola’s Ming smartphone this is what the offspring would look like.  I’m not sure why the cover needs to be see through, but it certainly does add a cool factor to this handy mouse from Adesso.   It also features a 1000 dpi resolution optic and a scroll wheel.  You can grab one for $27.99.

[via Dornob]

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Remember the OCZ Sabre keyboard, you know, the one with the OLED keypad?  Well, we now know it retails for $170.  Zipzoomfly had it on sale yesterday for $135 and it’s already sold out.  It’s no Optimus keyboard, but since it goes for about a 20th of the cost why the hell not?!

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While it ain’t the Optimus Maximus keyboard, OCZ’s Sabre does strike a close resemblance thanks to the 9 programmable OLED keys located on the left most part of the keyboard.  Touted as the ‘world’s most intelligent gaming keyboard’, the Sabre also includes amber backlighting and blue sidelighting for those that prefer to game in the complete dark.  Additionally, the OLED keys can be programmed with a series of macros and using the included software display any text or image that your heart desires.  I just wish they chose a more slender/hipper profile.   Sorry, no word on price or release date.

[via TFTS]

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I can’t say there are too many times when my living room couch potato time calls for a wireless keyboard to be at hand, but if I owned some sort of home media center it might come in handy, but what about the mouse?  Cideko’s new Air Keyboard incorporates not only a full QWERTY keyboard and shoulder mouse buttons, but an air gyration mouse for navigating your favorite websites.  They spec it at a 50 hour battery life and a matching 50 meter range.  No word on price or a street date, but since it was on hand at Computex 2009 I’d say any day now.

[via Gizmowatch]

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This is the first I’ve heard of, or at least recall Lifeworks, but the recently founded company has just signed a licensing deal with iHome and from the looks of it they’re churning out some cool iPod integrated products.  I’m particularly fond of the iConnect Media keyboard, which also comes in a Mac specific flavor.  Integrated into the keyboard is an iPod dock with media controls and 2 rotating USB ports.  It’s not exactly ground breaking, but it certainly does look svelte and sexy.  Also of note is their iStand Notebook Media Center, which is just brand speak for a notebook stand with an iPod dock, speakers, 2 USB ports and touch sensitive volume controls.  The complete line will launch sometime this summer and cost $149.99 and $299.99 respectively.

One more pic after the ‘leap’

[via Cnet]

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Now, I’m really kicking myself for purchasing a Logitech diNovo Mac Keyboard.  Why? If I held out a bit longer I could have picked up Brando’s Slim Keyboard with Smart Touchpad.  With the flip of a switch the touch sensitive numeric keypad can be converted into a multitouch touchpad with left and right mouse buttons.  On top of all that it’s RF wireless and just 18mm thick.  Yours for $69.

[via Crunchgear]

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If you’ve ever feverishly performed busy work on your computer that requires you to go from keyboard to mouse, than you know how cumbersome the experience can be.  That’s why I like working on my laptop, because I never have to move my hands too far from the keyboard. The Combimouse is a mouse and a full QWERTY keyboard combined into one.  The left portion of the device is a standard keyboard, with the exception e of a scroll wheel and bar key.  The right portion, though is both the right side of the keyboard as well as a mouse.  It features a contact switch that while touched enables mouse mode, rendering all keys useless accept for  I, O, J, K, L, which double as mouse buttons.  Surprisingly, the Combimouse has been in development since 1999, so I have serious doubts as to whether this thing will come to market.  Nonetheless, I applaud its inventors for their ingenuity.

[Thanks, Dan]

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Although it’s far from rivaling the Art Lebedev keyboards, the Luxeed L5 LED keyboard does run a good second.  And now the company has a second iteration of the device that is Mac/Linux compatible, and includes an improved keystroke system as well as a fix for a previous ghosting issue.  Hit the video below to see the Luxeed’s color rainbow like abilities.  No word on a US launch but the previous version is going for $199 on ThinkGeek.

[via Technabob]

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PC gaming is just that.  It’s not Mac gaming.  Mac gaming may never see the true light of day due to the endless upgradable components found in high end PC gaming rigs.  The Lycosa Mirror Special Edition Gaming KeyBoard by Razer is a fully programmable macros backlit gaming keyboard for the PC.

Looking like it belongs in the Matrix, the Lycosa is a sleek and sexy keyboard and is quite the looker.  Even the packaging was positively sharp and draped in gamer sheen.  A little big in size, the Lycosa will need some extra space around your set up.  Here’s a brief rundown of the Lycosa’s features:

• High gloss mirror finish keytop
• Backlit illumination with WASD cluster lighting option
• Fully-programmable keys with macro capability
• Gaming cluster with selective anti-ghosting capability
• Slim keycap structure with Hyperesponse technology
• TouchPanel easy access media keys
• Gaming mode option for deactivation of the Windows key
• 10 customizable software profiles with on-the-fly switching
• 1000Hz Ultrapolling / 1ms response time
• Earphone-out and microphone-in jacks
• Detachable wrist rest
• One integrated USB extension port

The keys reacted well but I thought they felt a little light and cheap.  They were sticky smooth and the anti-ghosting feature was apparent during some heated FPS battles.  Ghosting is a pitfall of traditional keyboards where signal failure occurs when multiple keys are pressed at the same time.  They keys had very low latency but were sloppy.  I found my self making more spelling errors than normal and I enjoyed my traditional keyboard better for everyday computing.

The neon blue back light was a real treat to look at but you could hardly see the keys when the light was turned off.  The WASD lighting cluster mode is a nice idea but any game you are going to play you are going to need to hit more keys than just those four.

The touch panel is also a novel idea but it would work better if the panel had some indentations as I found myself pressing the wrong ones by accident.  It’s kind of like playing a fretless guitar in that you’d have to master it to unlock its full functionality.

Profile switching and customization is a cool feature of the Lycosa, letting you bounce back and forth between programs and game setups on the fly.  The software you need to set up all these options does not work at all on a Mac.

The USB port is a low powered one and my iPhone and iPod were not recognized though my trackball worked fine.  The integrated USB , microphone, and audio cables performed as expected without any glaring ups or downs.

Probably the biggest flaw is the fact that the Lycosa is a huge smudge packer.  It’s constantly making 900 number mating calls to all things dust and fingerprint related.  Though Razer includes a buffing rag, it requires undivided attention in order to keep the Lycosa gleaming.

As a gaming keyboard, the Lycosa Mirror Special Edition Gaming Keyboard is a fine choice for dedicated PC gamers looking to play on through the night.  A bevy of options and a beautiful yet smudgy finish, the Lycosa is the type of keyboard that you bring out for special gaming events to impress the teenagers.  The price point may be a bit high for some but the Lycosa was truly designed with gamers in mind.

Pros:

• Sleek, eye popping visual design
• Neon blue back light is fatty
• Many options and set up modes for many scenarios

Cons:

• Not great for non gaming situations
• Not fully Mac compatible
• Requires time and attention to keep its mirrored finish alive

Buy it here for $79.99!

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Some of you may not be aware of such a device as a ‘gameboard’. For those uninitiated, a gameboard is a device sitting to one side of your keyboard designed to allow for better gaming through improved ergonomics and extended functionality. This is the sort of extra functionality that could make the difference between the virtual wins and losses in competitive digital gaming. The difference between the pwner and the pwned. Sequenced actions can be triggered with a single and hopefully easy to locate key press. Move and fire at the same time. Drop out of the sky on your enemies and execute complex maneuvers with ease. Sound worthwhile? If you’re a gamer, I can assure you it is. The G13 is Logitech’s latest entry into the gameboard category, and having now played with it for a spell, I can say with some confidence that it’s the most advanced gameboard that I’ve used.

Unique Features:

• LCD Display – integrated programs allow display of in game data for a variety of games as well as media playback and system performance.
• Color adjustable backlighting of keys + lcd
• 25 programmable buttons
• On the fly macro programming

When I pulled it out of the package, the first thing that came to my immediate attention was how HUGE it was. I guess I should’ve expected it, it’s really just the size of any other pad with the screen extending off the far end. My desk isn’t tiny, but there was some futzing I needed to do to make this thing play nicely alongside my keyboard and mouse. Next thing I noticed was how seriously low the profile was on this beast. Not much thicker than a normal keyboard, your hand will sit comfortably on the rubberized palmrest when in use. I was a little disappointed that the palmrest didn’t have a little more cush to it, but I haven’t experienced any discomfort while using it, and it likely wouldn’t be as durable if it were more padded anyway.

After running the installation CD and plugging it in, I was presented with a pretty cool flash intro that ran me through the basic setup features. Within a few minutes I had adjusted the backlight color and had migrated the basic setup of my personal gameboard into the G13. I was also disappointed that the color picker for the backlight didn’t translate well into the colors I saw on the G13. It works well with the pre-picked colors, and there’s a good enough variety there for most folks to be alright with the outcome, but I was looking for something specific and couldn’t manage to get it even close to the orange I was shooting for.

Loading up a game to take it for a spin, I noted that the buttons are quiet, responsive, and can handle as many simultaneous key presses as you can manage. In fact, I read somewhere that every one of the 25 programmable keys could be used at the same time without an issue. Given that the average user (myself included) has only 5 digits to press these keys, I feel the need to wonder if anyone will ever really need to take this to the limit. I can verify it does work with 5 buttons at the same time; and honestly, anytime something is stout enough to handle 5x what conventional usage would dictate, the lower the likelihood you’ll see a failure.

The 25 programmable buttons allow for some serious flexibility, and as I began molding them to my own usage I started to realize something: in the case of the G13 flexibility doesn’t come without some shortfalls. The main keyboard area has 22 of the 25 buttons over a ~6 inch x 2 inch area, where I couldn’t help but get lost over and over again. Lots of buttons means having more options at your fingertips, but it could also mean I sit my character down to eat some delicious pie when my intention was to cast a spell at an enemy. Not insurmountable, but one should definitely make some time to get used to it if you have a tournament coming up soon, or to avoid looking “slow” in front of your teammates. The other 3 programmable buttons are located near your thumb; including a joystick you operate with the aforementioned thumb, keeping your other four digits from needing to stray from their normal position.

Aside from the overwhelming sea of buttons, the ability to program a new macro on the fly while in the middle of playing a game is super easy to use. This is important if you’re the creative type and an idea strikes you in the middle of an intense session. Normally you’d open up the configuration software and make your changes; with the G13 you can instead punch the macro program button, set up your macro, and get to use it right away. Excellent feature, even if it’s not used regularly.

As far as the LCD display is concerned, this is the reason some people will want to upgrade from whatever they’re using now. In World of Warcraft for example, there’s a custom screen which displays your character or PVP battleground statistics without needing to open those screens inside the game itself. Another program included can display metadata from whatever your mp3 playback jukebox happens to be. The popular ones are supported, but I’d check first if you use something less common. My biggest gripe with the media app was the lack of documentation on the functionality. For some reason I felt like I should be able to skip tracks, or play/pause a track without viewing the player itself; there just wasn’t any data to tell me one way or the other! Through some heartache I was able to find somewhere on the net that the app was never intended to do this, but could instead call up a playlist on command. At least now I can call up ‘Africa’ by Toto at the press of a button. Better than nothing, right?

I’d say the coolness factor of the screen alone is worth the price of admission when compared to competing products, but the additional functionality of this gameboard will give gamers of any type a more immersive experience for sure. Not to mention fending off carpal tunnel for a few more years!

Pros:

• LCD screen with life enhancing applications included
• Nice quiet buttons
• Insanely easy to program

Cons:

• Easy to get lost in the sea of keys…
• No media transport controls! WTF!
• The color picker is pointless, unless you pick one of the presets
• Massive

Want one yourself? Available here for $80

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Boy life might be good for LG, but is it good enough to warrant the production of the LBA-C300 Bluetooth Qwerty Card?  I don’t think too much of an explanation is needed, but in case you’re were wondering, yes, it connects to your LG phone via Bluetooth and let’s you send/receive texts, set an alarm and stopwatch, dial out, remotely control your phone’s camera and probably send emails. Based on those 4 cooper circles on its back, I’m assuming there is some sort of charging cradle for the device, or perhaps its the keyboard for the leaked LG VX9600 Versa we recently saw.

No word on when the LG LBA-C300 will hit the store shelves, but good news, it just passed through the FCC.

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I suppose it’s indicative that design goes hand in hand with culture, but I find it amusing that there is a keyboard out there that allows you to fast abbreviate all you favorite IM sayings.  The Fast Fingers Keyboard has three functions: a standard QWERTY, an annoying ABC setup, and a “F” button mode that lets you get your OMF’nG on.  I think it’s safe to say that this has teenager written all over it, cuz my grandma could care less.

Buy it for 27.95 here

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What is it: Extremely cool, ultra-sleek computer built into a QWERTY keyboard. The atom processor allows it to have a very small footprint

Features:

• Wireless HDMI
• B/g/n Wi-Fi
• 2 USB 2.0 ports, ethernet, VGA, audio in/out
• Integrated mic and speakers
• 5-inch touchscreen (for shortcuts, media browsing, and virtual mouse)

Availability: Unknown since it’s a prototype

Price: My first born

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