Gizmodo: protector

Using Belkin's Weird Powerstrips

Brian Lam — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 22:12:39 EDT

[Cue Fairytale music...]Once upon a time, a geek found that he had way too many gadgets, and too few AC outlets to use them all at once. A simple powerstrip would have been a easy fix, but because he considered himself a serious gearhead, he wanted *special* powerstrip.

The first one he tried was called the Compact, by Belkin, but had room on top for 4 small sockets, and on its side, 4 great big sockets standing vertically. It was terrific, but maybe too simple; and anyhow, there were actually two more powerstrips by Belkin that were more interesting. One, called the Clamp-On had a claw on it for being mounted on a desk. And one was huge, and had a cable organizer. One was very, very good, and one sucked so bad, it made the geek want to plug it into a heavy, heavy VCR, climb into a rowboat, and drop it to the bottom of the sea.

The "Clamp On" powerstrip with the claw on it had a box with a picture on it. The picture explained what the claw was for — attaching it to desks or 2x4 planks of wood! It appeared to have space for 4 small power plugs, and 2 large blocks. This could be useful for keeping outlets off the floor, and close to his work area. But alas, the stupid powerstrip's jaws were too wide to clamp onto a desk, with it's puny spring loaded rubberized and orange teeth. It sagged, and threatened to leap to the floor when the outlets were filled with hungry three-pronged plugs. And too narrow to clamp on a 2x4. It only fit on his weirdly shaped Swedish furniture. (Despite the photo on the box, it was limited to grabbing onto the edges of things no greater than 1.5-inches thick.) A real engineer would have used a vice grip, he thought.

The next powerstrip, Conceal was gigantic. It was at least twice as big a the other powerstrips. What a waste of space, the geek thought, as he thumbed the hard plastic case. There was a single lonely outlet on the side of this whale of a powerstrip. Strange. Where were the other outlets? Right after he'd finished this thought, his finger happened upon a button. Click!

The case opened up, and inside were 10 outlets — 6 little outlets, next to gold-plated coax, ethernet, and RJ-11 power filters, and room for 4 big blocks. All through the top of the case were nooks for cable routing, and a space to pass all the cords through the top. This was the perfect powerstrip for a livingroom, where the cables need to be tucked away nicely.

AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. THE END...FOR NOW. Dun dun DUUUUN.*
(I've been writing too many news pieces, lately. Had to break it up. Humor me.)

[Belkin]

LCD Safety Shield Protects TV From Flying Wiimotes, Babies

Jason Chen — Tue, 22 May 2007 21:30:05 EDT

We're still puzzled as to what kind of spaz lets go of their Wiimotes during play, since none of the people we know have had this problem. But if you're one of the lucky few who flip out in Wii Baseball and chuck that thing across the room, this LCD Safety shield should be just the ticket to keeping your investment safe.

The shield is made by Taiwanese TV maker LCDArm and will fit 30 to 46-inch screens, has a invisible frame, 98% transparency, and reduces UV rays from (we're guessing) the TV. No price or release date on this yet, so cool it with that Wii throwing in the meantime. – Jason Chen

Product Page [LCDArm via Gearlog]

My Humps, My Humps, My Lovely iPod Bumps

Jason Chen — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 19:25:41 EST

We're not much for iPod cases around here—why get a cool looking player just to hide it—but this iBumps seems like a pretty good idea. Instead of covering up the entire face, these four bumps raise up the player to prevent scratches on a flat surface. Not only that, they're non-slip, so you can place your iPod on your dashboard and you won't get hit in the face when you take a sharp turn.

If we were going to get a protector for our iPod, we'd probably go for the clear shield protectors that cover the entire face and back instead of these iBumps. – Jason Chen

Product Page [iBumps via Joshspear - Thanks Scott!]

iSkin MacBook Sheath Reviewed (Verdict: Like a Condom—Safer, Less Feeling)

Travis Hudson — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 12:01:53 EST

Remember those IBM clacking keyboards from way back in the day? And sometimes they would have a piece of plastic covering it that conformed perfectly to each key? iSkin unretired that 10-year-old idea with these Apple keyboard sheaths. These plastic sheaths sit on the top of MacBook, MacBook Pro, Powerbook and iBook keyboards and protect against liquids or crumbs getting into the keyboard.

Gear Diary took the sheath for a review and found that it worked fine as a ~~slob~~ food and drink guard, but slowed down typing a decent amount. My suggestion: go raw—it's better to enjoy your keyboarding experience than be safe. Or just don't eat or drink around the computer, pig. –Travis Hudson

iSKin ProTouch Keyboard Protector Review [Gear Diary]