I think most of us would agree that laptop bags are heavy on function, light on style. That was until Knomo came on the scene with their range of cool computer carriers. In fact, they were so good, they were awarded the accolade of Best Gadget Accessory at last year's Shiny Awards.

Not content with smartening up computers, you can now pick up a cool case for your iPod nano or iPod video to sit smartly alongside the bigger bags. The iPod covers are available in "Bloody Mary" red, bourbon, black with tan and brown with blue. And if you purchase a bag online from thew main Knomo range before the 24th December, you will receive one of the covers absolutely free.

For more information and ordering details visit www.knomobags.com.

More iPod:
Wear your iPod as a coat
iPod hoodies

First there was the PerfectDraft home beer tap. But if the effort of turning a tap is a bit much for you on your day off, may we suggest your very own chilled beer dispenser?

The Drink-O-Matic is a personal vending machine that chills and then dispenses canned drinks (soft or alcoholic) at a touch of a button. With a cool American retro shape and deep 'Ferrari red' colour, the Drink-O-Matic vending machine is designed to look good, even if it's dumped at the side of your living room armchair for easy reach.

The Drink-O-Matic is available in two designs, a slim 10 can or double stacked 12 can dispenser. You can pick one up from high street stores or from www.wikidgadgets.co.uk

More beer:
PerfectDraft home beer tap
Home brewing is back

I've lost count of the number of pointless things you can now plug into your PC these days. My favourite useless USB was still the George Foreman grill, but this USB microscope is providing stiff competition.

The idea sounds fair enough. Plug it in and view items at up to 200x magnification on you computer screen. You can then grab screen shots of your subjects to save, email or drop into documents. All sounds well and good - but would you ever want to do that?

You can pick it up from Amazon for £71.99.

Source: Gadget Spy

More gadgets:
The neck stretcher
Bond gadget becomes reality

Last week, Shiny Shiny told you about the ultimate fashion accessory for the gadget obsessed - the iPod pants.

Well, if they tickled your fancy, we've got even more good news for you. You can now buy them in the UK both in stores and online. Available in black, orange and turquoise the iBoxer costs £16.99 from www.popxpress.com.

You can also pick a pair up from the popXpress store in London.

More iPod gadgets:
EDGE Tech iPod dock and card reader
iPod jacket

Microsoft has formally advised Mac users of Internet Explorer (IE) to switch to other browsers such as Apple's Safari. No more security updates will be provided as from the New Year and the browser itself will be removed from Microsoft's Mactopia site. No big surprise as the current version of IE for Macs is around three years old.

On its website Microsoft recommended that Mac users switch to "more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari". Alternatively, Mac users could try Firefox and Opera.

The only potential problem for Mac users could be with websites designed to work exclusively with IE. A recent survey found that 10 per cent of UK sites still don't work with the Firefox browser.

Source: BBC

More Mac:
Skype for Mac users
Digital TV USB adapter for Macs

Ok, you have Photoshop. But what about when your creative urges go beyond a few clicks of the mouse? You could try a graphics tablet like the Acecat Flair.

It connects a PC and comes complete with software that provides a full colour pallet on screen with a choice of high quality painting and drawing applications, such as pen, pencil, crayon, paintbrush or chalk. By using the special pen on the pad, you can create our own drawings, paintings and artwork on a computer by either freehand or tracing. It also has a number of special effects that can recreate a range of finishes - from oil paintings and water colours to cartoons
and sketches.

It's plug and play and is compatible with both PC and Mac. it can also be used a mouse replacement. The Acecat Flair is available from www.selwyn.co.uk for around £35.

More for your PC:
Cooler Master's classy case
Lexmark's printer with CD burner

If you nip over to Shiny Shiny, you'll find a strange combination - a lovable data storage device!

This proud pooch is part of a range featuring a fluffy crocodile and a huggable hippo. Somehow I'm not convinced that being cute is a good selling point of an external storage device, but if you want to soften up your workspace, visit Shiny Shiny for more on this little fella and links to many more great gadgets for girls.

The colour of your gadgets says more than you think according to a new survey. And according to the Konica Minolta Wake Up to Colour study survey, graphite is very much the colour of the decade.

Blue is the colour that consumers most associate with credibility and trust, red means pleasure, while gold stands for luxury. Bright colours are cheap (with yellow being the cheapest of all), white gives a feeling of authenticity and the most fashionable colour in the UK right now is beige or café-au-lait, chosen by over a third of the survey's respondents.

So don't expect the colour of gadgets to change too radically over the next couple of years.

Gadgets in graphite:
A graphite Bug
MDA Compact II

And still they come. We reported last week about the new download service from Real, now another new provider, MusicAtlantic, is battling for a piece of the action.

MusicAtlantic is an offshoot of UK PC retailer MediaAtlantic. The company claims to be the first to offer legal music track downloads to the UK alongside the MP3 hardware. After placing your order for an MP3 music player, you can move onto MusicAtlantic to start downloading tracks in 192Kbps Windows Media Audio (WMA) format from a selection of over 200,000. There are no subscription fees and you can listen to snippets before you purchase.

Tracks are priced at 79p and albums start at £6.99. For more information visit www.mediaatlantic.com.

More downloads
Real move into the download market
UK tops the download league

Can technology and antiques really mix? Indeed they can and now a book has been written on this fast-growing area. Essential Retro: The Vintage Technology Guide presents the wonderful world of classic electronics, vintage gadgets, and magnificent machines.

James Grahame presents hundreds of gadgets and gixmos from years past. Vintage cameras, audio components, televisions, computers, video games, vehicles, toys, electronic musical instruments and all manner of mechanical gadgets. There's also a selection of vintage ads to boost the nostalgia factor.

You can pick up a copy online for $17.95 from www.reflexaudio.com/products_retro.htm

More retro:
The ball PC with retro styling
The retro mobile phone

We reported recently of Apple's proposed move into boom box building. If you can't wait for that, there are alternatives available now. The new IXOS boom box is big and loud and could be just the thing for inflicting your favourite tunes on unspsecting relatives at Christmas parties.

Available in white or silver, the IXOS 2.1 Subwoofer speaker system has a total power output 32W (RMS). The Subwoofer sits in a wooden cabinet with rotary volume control and has a power output of 12W (RMS). The satellite speakers have a power output of 2 x 10W (RMS). It is Supplied with 3.5mm to 2 x RCA adaptor cable for easy connection to portable audio devices, laptops or a PC. The IXOS boom box can also  be connected to Hi-fi or VCR via 2 x RCA to 2 x RCA cable (not included).

All for the very competitive price of £39.99.

More boom box:
Apple goes boom
DAB boom box

There are plenty of Skype handsets out there for PC owners, but, like most things, it's taking time for manufacturers to realise there are huge numbers of Mac owners out there wanting the same thing. Thankfully, Ipevo have picked up on this and have released a Mac driver for its Free-1 phone. And it looks pretty sharp too.

The phone has three "console-like" buttons to access "start chat", "send voicemail" and "change ringer style". Below them is a green "Buddy Jog" wheel that accesses your contacts list, plus red and green end and answer keys, volume controls and buttons to launch the software.

The handset costs around £30, but you'll need to nip over to http://www.ipevo.com/index.jsp

Source: Stuff magazine

More Skype
Skype goes Mac
Firebox Skype phone

Ok, you can't fit Microsoft's new gaming machine into your phone - but you'll soon be able to receive alerts when your friends are playing online whne Microsoft integrates MSN messenger into the console.

Messenger is already included as part of a compact version of Windows for mobile phones. The big problem for Microsoft is that only around 18 per cent of smartphones and PDAs in Europe use Windows Mobile as the operating system. By far the most popular software is Symbian.

The plan for mobile alerts is in line with Microsoft's aim to bring together its various online services under the Windows Live umbrella. With Windows Live, Microsoft is aiming to provide a one stop shop that brings together a range of services, such as email, search and other elements.

Source: The BBC

More Xbox 360
Xbox 360 - how good is it?
Xbox 360 crashing problem

If you're feeling under the weather, get yourself over to Shiny Shiny for news of this great little gadget - the Pandahumi. Or in other words, the panda humidifer.

This little fella will quietly moisturise your air, bringing some of that much-needed humidity back into the home.

For the full story on this cute little character, visit Shiny Shiny.

I like to think that I'm a stylish chap. I also love the iPod. So surely I'm the target market for this new line of iPod compatible jacket from Kenpo.

The buttons are woven into the actual threads of the jacket's sleeve. A wire is then to a hi-tech 'pocket' where your portable player is housed. A poke in the arm and you're a walking Walkman! It's machine washable to - but taker the player and other wires out of the coat first!

The jackets come in at $275. Alas, if you want one of these techno tops, there's no plans to distribute them as yet outside the US and Canada.

Via Stuff

More iPod
iPod snow jacket
Jamo's iPod speakers

There are some jobs where you really need three hands. For example, when a fuse goes at night and you need two hand to fix the thing and one hand to shine a bit of light on what you are doing. Once again, those brilliant boffins in Japan have it in hand...or rather, ear.

The Ear Light, as the name suggests, is a hands free light that slips neatly onto your ear and looks very much like a Bluetooth handsfree attachment. It has an adjustable ear hook for better focusing and weighs just 18 grams. According to the manufacturers, it's ideal for reading or working on the plane, doing a precise job or when you go fishing at night and need to prepare the bait! It's available now in Japan for the bargain price of 1050 Yen ($8).

Via New Launches

More gadgets
Bond gadget becomes reality
LED lenser torch

I love Japan and I love Japanese gadgetry. Especially the bizarre and useless stuff. Which is why the newly-introduced neck stretcher really tickles my fancy.

If you're brave enough to use your neck stretcher, simply place it around your neck, then use the handpump to send air through the tube. This, apparently, slowly stretches the back of your neck, giving you a "refreshing sensation".

You can pick this up in Japan right now, but no news of a UK release date as yet.

Via Techeblog

More gadgets
Tomorrow's toilet
Gupi the guinea pig

Are you bored of your traditional toilet seat? Do you want something in line with your hi-tech lifestyle? Then why not splash out on a Swash, the toilet seat with that litle bit extra.

Install the Swash and transform your tatty toilet into a luxurious loo with the seat's built-in bidet. If that's not enough, why not upgrade to a heated version? Just the job on these cold winter mornings. And if you really want all the trimmings, the top of the range seat comes with a warm air dryer and - wait for it - a remote control.

You can pick up a basic Swash for $429, with the deluxe models retailing for $549.

More toilet technology
The loo light
Gadget for the bathroom bashful

Whether it was James Bond, The Sweeney or Starksy and Hutch - the way to track a wrong 'un in TV or in the movies was to stick a small metallic device on a car, then get the man with the metal box and large antenna to home in by virtue of an intermittent beep.

Well, here we are at the back end of 2005 and fiction becomes fact, courtesy of the Loc8tor. Just stick the tag on and you can track just about anything. As long as it doesn't go more than 500ft away. The tags are about the size of a postage stamp and can be fixed to both objects and people.

The Loc8tor system will retail for around $100 is set to be unveiled at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January, along with much more top technology, which you'll hear about first on Tech Digest.

Via Engadget

More gadgets
The interactive guinea pig
Flash drive for your wallet

One of the great things about browsing the web for your favourite band is finding the obsessive fan sites, labours of love from the bedrooms of the world. I know. I used to do one.

That could come to an end if Google has anything to do with it. They are introducing a music search feature prominently above the main search results. When a user enters a music-related search, the resulting search returns information about the artist, a few albums, a picture. A link to "more results" leads to user reviews, song titles and a choice of online retailers where the music can be purchased.

It all sounds fairly informative when looking for a new act, but as fan, wouldn't you just want the search results?

More Google
Free net access for flyers
Google gets personal