Gadgetoid

Face it, LCD monitors have been boring for years and the phrases “high contrast” and “2ms” just aren’t enough to wake me from plain ignoring them. However, recently someone out there in gadget world woke up and decided it was time to start implementing thin LCD display technologies into desktop monitors where, although space may not be at a premium, people are certainly interested in stylistic improvements, energy efficiency and less excess heat.

The LG W2486L delivers finger-thinness, a decent picture, an excellent array of inputs, audio pass-through and more in a very stylish 24″ package that can’t fail to impress.

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I finally braved the upgrade to Parallels 5 and found it far less painful than I expected. It’s faster, more compatible and generally better than its predecessor and I’d wager most upgraders will see the difference quite soon after taking the plunge.

The upgrade process from 4 was simple enough, requiring no scary disk conversion and, apart from the oft troublesome and slow installation of Parallels Tools, went without troubles.

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Antec make shiny computer cases, there’s no denying that. I’m a particular fan of the P180 series, in their gunmetal-clad, fridge-freezer-like glory.

The Antec Sonata Elite stays the course of Antec products, with a strong emphasis on being quiet whilst still having a high level of airflow for best cooling performance. It doesn’t do this through ingenious design or ducted cooling, however, instead opting to include a single 120mm rear fan to draw airflow through the case and a beast of an 120mm exhaust blower to deal with your graphics card.

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At the beginning of 2009 I acquired a Sandberg USB Bluetooth dongle, and some time later a Sandberg USB Wifi Adaptor. Both of these products are impressively, absurdly small but neither of them come even close to this particular little bluetooth gem which redefines the category of svelte, sleek USB bluetooth adaptors and delivers a product that actually can remain in your laptop USB port indefinitely. In fact, you may be hard pressed to get a grip on its 3.5mm protrusion and remove it.

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If you take your music seriously, even whilst you’re sitting at your desk working away, then a decent set of stereo desktop speakers is a must have.

The Eclipse TD 307PA II are a fine example, except rather than simply settling for being decent they are truly spectacular. The Eclipse TD 307PA II speakers exemplify both stunning design and equally stunning sound quality and condense both into a tidy, no-frills package that should appeal to any self proclaimed minimalist out there.

I tested the glossy black TD 307PA IIs, a set that consists of two identical desktop TD307 II speakers which are capable of producing a stunningly full range of sound from just a single driver. Backing them up and justifying the “PA” designation in the product name (pre-amped, I presume?) is the TDA501II amplifier which takes RCA or 3.5mm audio inputs (switchable using a small metal flip switch) and does nothing but offer crystal clear amplification and volume control. Indeed, the TD501II amplifier offers no tone controls or equalisers which TD believe will “disturb its outstanding phase characteristics” and which would, surely, interrupt its beautiful, clean aesthetic.

Lack of such things, however, does not compromise the stunning sound output of the Eclipse TD 307 speakers which is punchy and clear with more than enough bass to warrant the purchase of the TD subwoofer unnecessary. I’ve always hated having to find somewhere to put a sub, anyway.

Suffice to say, I love these speakers and would grab the Black or Silver ones to complement a new iMac instead of the unbearably over popular JBL or Harmon Kardon alternatives.

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I’m perplexed at the widespread, comparatively anyway, adoption of 3g USB dongles in lieu of far better and more flexible alternatives. So perplexed, in fact, that I decided to try one such alternative, the MiFi 2352 from Novatel Wireless, to see if there’s really a glaring flaw keeping it from the mass market, or if it’s simply been a bit slow to catch up.

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Just in case you’re wondering exactly what a “gaming surface” is, it’s a fancy term for gaming mouse-mat.

No mouse mat could be more deserving of such a fancy term than the Sphex, however. Named after a genus of wasp, “Sphex” implies that any gamer with it stuck firmly to their desk will dominate their opponents.

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Ever since the tragic-looking G11 which I couldn’t even muster the effort to shrug at, Logitech have been soldiering on, taking strictly evolutionary steps in an apparent effort to make a keyboard, the functionality of which could replace your computer entirely.

The G15 was a much sleeker and thoroughly more attractive step in the right direction, ditching the casio-organizer design cues and integrating the LCD firmly into the board itself but it still didn’t have the wow-factor that Logitech have finally achieved with the G19.

The trouble with wow-factor, however, it that it doesn’t do an awful lot to improve your performance in-game.

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I’ve thus far resisted the temptation to pick up a portable DVD player favoring, instead, a humble, hand-holdable PMP to pacify a bored, car-bound baby. I picked up the Proporta DVD/Netbook case after seeing it in the results for Samsung NC10 cases, alas it doesn’t actually fit the Samsung NC10 nor any other 10″ Netbook (see below for 10″ options). It will, however, fit their smaller, and rapidly diminishing cousins of the 7″ variety.

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Every budding gadgeteer needs a good Gadget bag, the hallmarks of which are an extensive array of pockets, padding, portholes for headphones and a great deal of flexibility allowing it to carry everything from medium-sized laptops, to netbooks, mobile phones, PDAs, portable and/or full-sized games consoles and more.

The Proporta Protective Laptop Bag goes a long way toward being an ideal sturdy, flexible Gadget bag but, alas, doesn’t quite resemble perfection.

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