By Chris Scott Barr

If you like your PC running nice and cool, then the first thing thing you’re going to want to upgrade is the CPU cooler. Those stock coolers do a modest job at best, and while they’re fine for the average Joe, enthusiasts will want rid of them. There are many aftermarket choices, and Thermaltake added another with their new Frio CPU Cooler.

This cooler is going to work with most current-gen CPUs, so compatibility shouldn’t be an issue. One thing you’ll notice is that it is a big cooler. How big? Well, it has a pair of 120mm case fans on it, if that tells you anything. At $65, is this going to be the perfect cooler for you? Head over to GamerFront for the full scoop.

[ Thermaltake ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

By Paul McCollum

If you’ve ever tried to use your laptop away from a table or desk, chances are you’ve wished for some sort of lapdesk.  Turns out that enough people have struggled with the awkward balancing act and leg burning that there’s now a big lapdesk market. The lapdesk is primarily an insulating slab or air circulation enhancement and Logitech has taken it one step further adding different accessories into the device like speakers, fans and now a touchpad in the Logitech N600 Touch Lapdesk.

The N600 Touch Lapdesk looks similar to the other nondescript lapboard trays except that this one has a slide out tray bearing a 5″ multi-touchpad.  A huge improvement on other models, the N600′s connections to the laptop are wireless.  Sporting a hidden compartment, the tiny Unifying receiver fits almost flush within a USB port.  Sans tether, the Lapdesk has to rely on 4 AA batteries for power. Logitech estimates that these will last 6 months.  To check out how well the Lapdesk lives up to those and other promises, peruse a write up at Everything USB.

[Logitech N600 Touch Lapdesk - Everything USB]

By Paul McCollum

While the sun may have set on the WoW culture of non-stop, never leave the house obsessed gamers, the love of PC gaming still lives on. Fans of faster games are as competitive as ever and always looking for every edge to get them one more capture or one more kill. Razer thrives of the frenzy of hardcore gamers and produces some of the finest gaming accessories available. Recently they released a new version of their wildly popular Mamba mouse with dual sensors: laser and optical. Again the Mamba mouse has a split personality, it can operate in both wired and wireless modes.

Razer has also included highly customizable software for programming its 7 buttons and even the LED backlight color of the scroll wheel. Adaptive sensitivity and variable acceleration as well as other values can be saved into multiple profiles to accommodate different needs for games or work. Razer threw in more than a few updates to this now classic palm-fitting mouse and retained almost all of the attributes that made it great. To see more details on the upgrades and performance, check out the full review at Everything USB.

[ Everything USB - Razer Mamba 4G Gaming Mouse ]

By Paul McCollum

Super Talent has been picking up the slack in an otherwise quiet flash drive market. Once upon a time, we were handed almost weekly upgrades in both size and speed. Now it is almost exclusively Super Talent that thrills those of us who still seek the fastest and biggest flash drive. And they are lapping the competition yet again by releasing the Super Talent Express RC8 flash drive. Only slightly larger than a common flash drive, the RC8 comes in capacities up to 100 GB. The increased speed and storage gives your portable drive more abilities. You can use it to synchronize libraries of files like music, videos, ISOs and VMDKs. The software options to assist in moving your files from home, school and work are quite mature now and easy to use.

Their fastest drive to date, this slim portable packs the premium desktop class SandForce controller. This controller is the source of power for almost all of the fastest desktop SSD drives. Super Talent has a flotilla of flash drives that far outpace almost every drive on the market. Each of them manages to crank more speed out of mediocre MLC NAND using multi-channel controllers (mini RAID) and buffer memory. The RC8 is an upgraded version of their RAM Cache drive which allows the USB 3.0 bus to offload large chunks of small and large files quickly letting the drive shuttle the data to the MLC compressed or slightly after the fact. This results in greatly improved transfer rates over drives without a middle tier controller helping out. Real world and comparative results have been posted in a review at Everything USB.

[ Everything USB - Super Talent Express RC8 Flash Drive Review ]

By Andrew Liszewski

When you’re packing for an adventure in the great outdoors, particularly one that involves a lot of hiking and carrying, multi-purpose tools are the only way to go. Axes that double as shovels, spoons that double as forks and even diaries that double as toilet paper will make your trek far more enjoyable. And who says that a sleeping bag has to only be a place to sleep? Not the people at Selk’bags, that’s for sure. While their sleeping bags do provide warmth and comfort while you doze all night, their unique design allows them to be enjoyed when you’re awake as well. In fact, wearing one is kind of like never having to get out of bed!

We had the chance to try out their latest model, the Selk’bag 4G Lite, at the cottage last weekend, and you can check out our full review of it after the jump.

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By Paul McCollum

Altec Lansing, a name almost synonymous with speakers, has unveiled yet another compact pair of USB speakers, the Orbit. A perfect companion for netbooks, trying to eke every extra cubic inch of space to make the tiniest device, these speakers pack a whole lot of oomph into what is still a very compact package. They are exclusively USB powered and sourced. You won’t be able to use these with anything but a computer due to the singular USB input. They are meant to travel conveniently alongside your laptop and unpacked only when needed for fuller sound or more immersive movies.

A simple twist separates the two speakers and reveals the cabling needed for connectivity. Even though the USB cords can be tucked into special compartments in between jam sessions, Orbit would be even better if the cables were retractable. Initial opinions show that they might exceed the normally limited volume found in USB powered speakers. There’s a complete review at Everything USB that talks about exactly how much thump you can get from these and whether they deserve to carry the Altec Lansing label.

[ Altec Lansing Orbit USB Speakers @ Everything USB ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While reports of the death of eReaders, at least those that rely on e-ink display technology, have been greatly exaggerated. There was a time when it seemed like more capable tablets, such as Apple’s iPad, would be their demise. Their large, color LCD displays made viewing publications like magazines and newspapers far more enjoyable than on black and white e-ink displays. And the ability to instantly zoom, pan and flip pages with a simple touch made using a control pad, or physical buttons, seem downright antiquated.

In fact I’ve made mention of it in past reviews, but every time I introduce someone to an eReader their first instinct is to touch, tap and prod the screen to get it to do something. And I always have to redirect them to a button and explain that the electronic ink technology used makes it very difficult to integrate touch sensing functionality. But all that has now changed. Thanks to Neonode’s zForce technology, eReader’s like Kobo’s new Touch Edition have finally gained touch screen functionality. Without affecting the contrast or legibility of their displays.

And let’s face it. We’ve all had plenty of quality time with Apple’s iPad by now, and have discovered that even the 2nd generation of its hardware is not exactly the lightest and most ideal solution for reading ebooks. Nor are any of its competitors. So as a result, eReaders have been making a well-deserved comeback I feel. And we recently had the chance to try out the aforementioned latest and greatest offering from Kobo, their new Touch Edition, and walked away extremely happy with how far the technology, and eReaders in general, have come. More after the jump.

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By Paul McCollum

Anyone who has kept up with the megapixel boom in digital cameras knows the frustrating drawback of higher and higher resolution images: file size. Any recent DSLR camera is churning out images up to and over 10MB per picture and that’s ignoring video files. Filling up a 16GB memory card, which is almost the standard these days, wouldn’t take more than a few shooting sessions. Finally getting around to removing said pictures from their digital film canister could take hours. Flash memory has been bumped in speed a bit to be able to store high definition video and images but USB 2.0 card readers max out pretty quickly.

Lexar, a friend to digital photographers, has a new card reader that takes the leap to USB 3.0. Besides being fast, it has a compact and dust proof design that should make it easy to carry with your digital cameras. Newer, faster memory and this spry little reader gives you a fighting chance that you’ll be able to get all your one year old’s birthday pictures off your camera before he hits the terrible two’s. The jump from 40MB/s to 500MB/s sounds great but how does it actually fare when dealing with your average memory card. Performance, transfer rates and time are tested and graphed in a review posted at Everything USB.

[ Lexar Dual-slot USB 3.0 Card Reader @ Everything USB ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Not only am I an avid gamer, but I am also a musician. I have been playing guitar for about 13 years now, and it helps when I can keep all of my equipment in one place. That’s why when I got the chance to try out IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube iRig for the iPhone, I was really excited. The iRig is a device that allows you to connect your guitar to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and listen, record, and tune your guitar to all of your needs. After toying around with it for a bit, here are my thoughts on the product.

What You Get

In the box, you will get the actual iRig connector piece, and the instruction booklet.The device utilizes an application that you can download through the App Store called AmpliTube. The app comes in a free version, as well as an extended version that includes a ton of plug-ins. For this, I found all I needed was the free version.

The device has a sleek design, and it plugs right in to the i-device you’re using. There’s no issue with long cords or tangling thanks to the iRig’s design. I found this especially useful when I would move from place to place around the house, and when I was packing my gear up to travel.

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