By JR Raphael
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
You can measure a man’s greatness by the number of cool gadgets in his home – or at least, the number of cool gadgets he’d like to have in his home if not for those pesky utility bills. So in the spirit of all things awesome, I bring you this list of 10 gadgets every geek should have (or, at the very least, want to have).
The cell phone watch
Look out, Dick Tracy. Dialing from your wrist has finally become a reality. iMobile’s Touchscreen Cell Phone Wristwatch is one of the coolest gadgets I’ve encountered in years. The watch functions with a SIM card from any AT&T or T-Mobile GSM-style phone. You just pop the card out of your phone and into your watch, and you’re in business. Any calls to your phone will be routed right to your wrist.
The watch also lets you make calls, play music, watch movies, manage appointments – the whole nine yards. It even comes with a stylus for navigation ease. You can get it for just under $150 at IC-Mall, about a hundred bucks less than when it first came out. I’ll take two.
The iris recognition flash drive
No one wants his data stolen. Now, you can protect your files with state-of-the-art iris recognition. The Rehoboth Tech Irikon Flash Memory drive scans your eyes, then won’t function again until you give it your loving gaze. The drives are sold in one gig, two gig, and four gig sizes. Rehoboth Tech promises it scans within two seconds and can recognize you from six centimeters away. These aren’t for sale just yet, so no word on pricing.
The pocket-sized big brother
Think the cleaning lady’s using your notebook while you’re at work? This little fella called the KeyCarbon plugs right into any USB port, between your keyboard and your computer, and logs all keystrokes straight from the board to its memory. The playback function is built right into it, too – once you run the utility and enter the password, of course. These puppies run about $190. And let me just say in advance that I don’t know anything about all the Google Image searches for “Tila Tequila” that may or may not show up on your report.
The lazy man’s paradise
All right, I’ll admit: This is not an essential one. But for as simple a thing as it is, this has been one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. The Eforcity Wireless Remote Control lets you hook up any three electrical appliances to one handy, palm-sized switch. It’s great for homes that don’t have switch-controlled lighting, because you can finally hook all your lamps up to one centralized control spot. You could even attach it to your keychain and control your electronics from outside your home. I’ve used it for fountains and other various appliances, too. I’ve always thought about hooking it up to my George Foreman Grill too, then leaving a burger on deck at all times for one-touch remote cooking.
The PC that’s quieter than grandma
Imagine a PC cooled in luxurious, sparkling blue water. Okay, I don’t know that it’s necessarily luxurious, sparkling, or blue, but NEC has come up with a way to cool your computer with the power of H2O. The NEC ValueStar W Vista Media PC uses sound-absorbing material in conjunction with liquid-cooling technology to keep your hard drives humming at the sound of a whisper. Surprise surprise, they’re only in Japan so far…but maybe we’ll get them in another decade.
The happy guy that eats your money
Call me silly, but I love this thing. The Banpresto Face Bank uses light sensors to “see” your movement, then opens its mouth to swallow your change. And, the best part, it’s only $40. Belching not included.
For the clean geek inside of you
My inner neat freak is absolutely gaga for this next gadget. The 8” USB vacuum gives you an easy way to clean up all the dust and leftover Cheeto crumbs lingering around your desk. It even has a movable handle for those hard-to-reach areas. I’ll admit, I don’t break out the adult-sized vacuum too often…but I swear I’d be using this thing every day. It runs $20.
Geek organizer gadget
Again, revealing my neuroses here, but I would love to get my hands on one of these things (hint, hint). The Intelliscanner Mini lets you catalog your life. The handheld device scans anything with a barcode, then dumps all the data into a database on your computer. Just think: a gadget to keep track of all your gadgets! You could also use it to make logs of books, magazines, movies, CDs, you name it. And it has a library-like function, where you can mark what items you’ve let friends borrow and when they’re returned. But I’ve saved the best for last: It comes with a detachable neck lanyard, so you can wear it day and night and make everyone you know insanely jealous (and yes, I take their laughter as a sign of insane jealousy). $300.
Fun with football fans
Sick of those loud morons screaming at the TV in the booth next to yours? Check out the TV-B-Gone gadget. It claims to control virtually any TV with a single push. Click it onto your keychain and get ready to have some sports bar fun.
Forget the Kool-Aid
This is another in the “absolutely unnecessary” pile, but the LED Faucet Light is still pretty freakin’ sweet. For $13-$20, you can make all your tap water come out in bright colors. Not recommended for use with hallucinogenic substances. Actually, cancel that. Recommended for such use.
Stay tuned for part II
That’s 10, but many of my favorite geek gadgets are still to come. Next week, we’ll wrap up another list with some real winners, including the two most annoying gadgets ever invented, some stylin’ fashion with high-tech function, and what might be the safest safe I’ve ever seen. In the meantime, feel free to add your own favorites to the list. The good thing about gadgets is you can never have too many.