If you were to choose an external portable hard drive, you would need to take into consideration that most external drives need a power source, so you can only be as mobile as the amount of outlets that are in the vicinity. This also means that there will be at least two sets of wires or cords to account for, one for power and one for your USB port, in most cases. This takes away from the whole convenience aspect in most situations. But, if you normally travels with your laptop and a case big and durable enough to fit all the mentioned accessories, while keeping them safe then this may be the choice for you.

If you, prefers to have a physical device that you can fit in your pocket and go; you would most likely like the option of using a thumb drive. Although most thumb drives do not hold as much space as some external hard drives, they can still be very handy. Some of the pluses are that you wouldn’t have to worry about any wires, or have to find a power source. Thumb drives are a lot more durable then a rewritable/writable compact disk and they can be packed safely in your briefcase or pocket. A downfall is that it is small and can be misplaced very easily. If you were to choose this option, you should take a look at some of the accessories available for most thumb drives, such as key chain carriers, neck wear and so forth.

You may be like most people, and may think that saving his information on an outside source such as www.xdrive.com would be the best route. However, one thing you would have to keep in mind is that you will be storing your information on an outside server, meaning if that server goes down for whatever reason your personal documents are lost. Take www.xdrive.com for instance, on January 12, 2009 they will no longer be storing any information and all data saved will be deleted. (Frequently Asked Questions, 2008) Of course, they mention other options on how and where you should store your information, but what if you didn’t receive the memo? Your information would be lost completely. (Agarwal, 2008) An upside is if it was to stay in business or you used another online storage provider, you could access it from any computer with internet access. You would have the luxury of not having to worry about any external tools or devices.

There is also the option of you using a free storage provider. They are just as accessible but the downside would be that you would have to agree to share your data and other files.

Personally, I prefer using my mail server as a backup storage medium. I have one email with www.yahoo.com that I normally use and another one for saving important documents on. From my own experience of having my computer crash, house being robbed and purse being stolen I have found that this is definitely a better way that fits my needs.

Although there are many ways to store data, documents and other files, it would be best for you to not put any of your personal information, such as social security number, bank or credit information, on the medium your choice. I would also like to express to you that you should never share your password information with anyone. This is, of course, to keep your identity safe from hackers or whoever may want to use your information without your knowledge.

Second is the actual hardware. This is the modem. Again if you are going with a cable modem then the modem and/or router can be installed by the local cable company. You must determine if your computer is equipped with a CAT5 (thick phone cord) or USB port. Either can be used but the USB connection will drain resources from your computer that the CAT5 will not.

In some cases your computer may have one or both of these connections built in. If this is the case then a modem and router will not need to be installed. You can just plug the appropriate cable into your computer and the hardware is set up.

In most cases you will have software that also needs to be installed. This can be application software and/or drivers that will be given to you on a CD from either the cable company or from the hardware you purchased.

You can also choose to go wireless. In this case you will need to purchase a wireless router and card (unless your computer comes with a wireless card). The instructions will explain how to set this up and when and how to install the software for your computer.

The last thing to do is have Windows connect to the Internet. Follow the following steps to achieve this:

1. Click the Windows orb
2. Click Control Panel
3. Select Network and Internet
4. Choose Network and Sharing Center
5. Setup a connection or network
6. Select Connect to the Internet
7. The Connect to the Internet Wizard will appear and you just follow the instructions.

In all cases you will find that connecting to the Internet and acquiring your email is a simple process. Just follow the directions given and you will be on your way in a short amount of time. If you have any problems with the instructions Windows help will usually have enough information to get you through the installation process. If not, then there is technical support through your cable provider, hardware manufacturer, or your computer manufacturer.

It’s a little device that allows your stereo to play through your computer in order to record sound files.  You don’t have to have a certain kind of connector because it comes with all the cables you could possibly need.  Have strange wires connecting your stereo to its speakers instead of standard audio jacks?  Never fear, you can hook it up through the headphone jack instead.  It draws power through the USB cable that hooks into your computer, so it also doesn’t need batteries or a power outlet nearby.

My cassettes have been gathering dust for the longest time (mostly because even though I have a cassette player on my stereo at home, I do most of my music-listening in the car) and now that I don’t even have a cassette player in my car, I listen to them even less.  Now that I have this, I can record them all to mp3 files and put them either on a CD or on my iPod and I won’t need to worry about them falling apart ever again.

I recorded my first cassette yesterday and it was a bit frustrating at first...because, as it turns out, my audio settings on the computer weren’t correct so I wasn’t hearing any sound.  Once we figured that out, it was perfect.  The software that comes with the device has various noise cleaning options that can remove tape hiss and make the recordings sound like they came from a CD.  I’m seriously in love with this thing.

There are stereos out there that let you do the same thing, but those tend to cost $100 or more and you have to buy a whole new stereo.  This is a much better bargain.  It's available at Thinkgeek.com as well as Amazon.com - and it should run you about $49.  That's just a fraction of the cost you'd pay if you had to repurchase all of that music.  It's a great bargain all-around.

Bits & Bytes

Bits and bytes are just methods of storing information. The capacity for storing information is quantified by the number of bits or bytes a computer has. However as they are both incredibly small (the smallest form of information is a bit(What's a Byte 2008; Wikipedia January 2008). For Computer Historians: Older computers were encoded in binary. This would give you 2 options, once chosen you would then progress to smaller and smaller “branches” each with an option of 2. A bit is basically one binary stage. It presents you with 2 options This is shown by a string of 0's and 1's(Guinness World Record 2003 150; Wikipedia January 2008). The very earliest computers used holes punched in card or film(Wikipedia June 2008; Kelly June 2008), however now everything is digital) we can use terms such as megabyte, gigabyte and now even terabyte. To avoid confusion later on I have a table illustrating the different relations between these terms at the back.

However most of the terms in the table are not useful, or even feasible, with most computer hard-drives operating in gigabytes and more recently Terabytes(What's a Byte 2008).

Hardware

To begin this section I have got to list the definitions of Hardware and Software and explain the differences.

According to sources 5 & 7 hardware is:

1. Computer Science. A computer and the associated physical equipment directly involved in the performance of data-processing or communications functions. (Answers 2008)
   1. Machines and other physical equipment directly involved in performing an industrial, technological, or military function.(Answers 2008)
   2. Computer Equipment.(Macmillan Dictionary 2002 640)

According to sources 6 & 8 software is:

1. The programs, routines, and symbolic languages that control the functioning of the hardware and direct its operation.(Answers 2008)
2. The programs used by computers for doing particular jobs(Macmillan Dictionary 2002 1337)

As you can see, there is a distinct difference between software and hardware. If you can't (and dictionary definitions are highly opaque) then it basically means that hardware is physical and software is digital. Now data can only be stored on hardware, and can be interpreted in different ways by software. Now basic data storing hardware is, of course, the computer. The computer is used, primarily to store data, and in general you will get the most data into a computer. This is not the only function of the computer but it is an essential one. Apart from the computer there is other hardware designed to hold information. The following list will name useful hardware and its functions.

Floppy disc: now practically obsolete, the largest floppy discs could hold approximately 200MB(Wikipedia June 2008). Although this was high at the time, USB's are no longer manufactured with such a small data capacity.

CD-ROM: Compact Disc- Read Only Memory is the computing version of a CD. Despite a relatively low storage space of roughly 650MB(Kelly June 2008) these are still in common use as there are still some older PC's that will not take DVD's. Cd's are also used for storing music which may be played on both a CD players and on a PC.

DVD: DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc, although originally it stood for Digital Video Disc(Kelly June 2008). This was due to the fact that DVD's were originally designed for video only, but were adapted to Data storage mediums(Kelly June 2008). With an average of 4.7GB of storage space this device offers the option for high quality data storage, and lots of it.

USB: The Universal Serial Bus is a versatile and easy to carry medium of storage. Also known as Pen Drives, these have been around for a long time. Average USB storage capacity is about 1-2GB(Kelly June 2008) with a maximum of about 16GB(Kelly June 2008)

Blu-Ray: Blu-ray is so called due to the fact that it uses a wavelength of 405nm (Wikipedia June 2008) which produces a violet/blue light (Wikipedia June 2008; Photonic Products 2008) as opposed to the red light that is used to read and write normal DVD's. This allows more data to be stored, and a standard single sided Blu-Ray Disc will store 25GB (Wikipedia June 2008; Blu-ray.com 2008). As this is relatively new technology, it is still not mainstream, but probably will be within 10 years (Kelly June 2008).

External Hard Drive: To explain what this is and its function, I must tell you that in a computer, there are several hard drives. These all store the data. An external hard drive is simply a hard drive external to the computer (Kelly June 2008). These typically hold 150-500GB (Amazon 2008).

HVD: Holographic Versatile Discs are experimental technology. At the same size as a Blu-ray it holds 12 times more information. This technology is in its infant stages and while it currently holds 300GB (Wikipedia June 2008; How Stuff Works 2008) it could potentially hold 3.9TB (Wikipedia June 2008; How Stuff Works 2008).

As you can see HVD when perfected will completely revolutionize the data storage industry. However 3.9TB is so large that it is hard to put it into context.

Digital Storage in Context:

3.9 terabytes is a lot of data. That's so big that it's hard to get your head around how much that is. Well I'll put it into context. If I were to say how many pages that was, it might be easier to picture. All of the pages are A4 sized and are filled with text. There is no formatting and every word is 5 letters long with spaces in-between. There would be 137 298 135 pages (to the nearest whole page). To the nearest million that is 137 000 000. If we take the thickness of a piece of paper to be 0.1mm (Hypertextbook 2001) then the pile would be 13.7km high. That is approximately 1.6 times the height of Mt Everest (Wikipedia June 2008; The Hutchinson Almanac 1998 361)

1 HVD disc could theoretically hold over 1 year of uninterrupted video if MPEG4 ASP encoding is used (Wikipedia June 2008).

Hopefully those two examples should have sufficiently described what a single HVD disc could store.

How it Works:

But how is it possible, for one disc, 12cm in diameter (Wikipedia June 2008) to store so much information? We need to understand the basics of holograms to find out.

Holograms:

To create a hologram, a laser beam is split into 2, known as reference beam and information beam (How stuff works 2008). The reference beam remains unchanged, and the information beam encounters an image. The composition of the light then changes. Then the two beams are superimposed and a 3D image is created.

HVD can store so much more because it is like it is storing 3d information that is overlapping (How stuff works 2008) whereas DVD and Blu-ray store the data side by side (How stuff works 2008). HVD is also more efficient as it stores using “the entire volume of the disc, not just a single layer” (How stuff works 2008).

HVD is not something that will automatically take over the market when it is perfected. Current HVD disc that hold 300GB cost several (6) times more than a double sided Blu-ray Disc to make and hold the same amount of data. In addition, to get a device that will actually play a HVD disc it costs an extra $1000 to make (How stuff works 2008). However with the current technological advances, and with technology prices decreasing, one day we may see HVD dominating the market. One day.

Glossary:

• Bit: Smallest form of computer information.
• Blu-ray: Information storage medium (25GB)
• Byte: 8 bits
• CD-ROM: Compact Disc- Read Only Medium. Information storage medium (650MB)
• DVD: Digital Versatile Disc. Information Storage Medium (4.7GB)
• External Hard Drive: Hard Drive external to computer. Information storage medium (150-500GB)
• Floppy Disc: Informationstorage medium (200MB)
• Hard Drive: Informationstorage medium inside PC. (150-500GB)
• Hardware: Computer Science. A computer and the associated physical equipment directly involved in the performance of data-processing or communications functions.(Answers 2008)
• Hologram: The pattern produced on a photosensitive medium that has been exposed by holography and then photographically developed. The photosensitive medium so exposed and so developed. Also called holograph. (Answers 2008)
• HVD: Holographic Versatile Disc. Informationstorage medium (300GB-3.9TB)
• PC: Personal Computer.
• Software: The programs, routines, and symbolic languages that control the functioning of the hardware and direct its operation. (Answers 2008)
• USB: Universal Serial Bus. Informationstorage medium (1-16GB)

Step 1: Partitioning Purposes

Most of the desktops or laptops are available in preinstalled partitions as in Windows, Linux, and other operating systems. However, the partition is almost always fixed as one huge Drive C, or two partitions of Drive C and D which will take up most of the hard disk spaces.

Before beginning to partition your PC into several portions that you desire, make sure that you know how many partitions you need, how much space to allocate for each of them and what you want to use for the partitions.

You may want to separate the operating system files from other files such as MP3 folders, data files, Internet Downloads, image folders, audio files, or game folders. Or you may want to have multiple copies of the same operating system, or you just want to create a multi-boot system with different operating systems.

For your information, you can create up to four primary partitions in each hard disk. If you use an extended partition combined with logical partitions, you can create as many as 16 partitions. Nevertheless, in most cases, two or three partitions are just more than enough for most computer Geeks.

Step 2: Preparing for the Partition

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Prior to partitioning, let's do a bit “stock clearing” to make things easier. Firstly, you should use the Scandisk tool to scan the partition (say Drive C or Drive D or both drives) in your PC for errors. To do this, click Start, Run and then press the Enter button. In the Open box, type sfc/scannow and click OK.

Secondly, you should ensure that there is enough free space in your PC. To achieve this goal, you can start by eliminating or archiving all unnecessary or unwanted files by uninstalling them.

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Next, run the Disk Cleanup tool to free up more spaces. To do this, click Start, Run and press the Enter button. Now, type cleanmgr in the Open box and click OK. To clear up all junk files, you should delete items in Download Program Files, Recycle Bin, and any other items which are labeled as “temporary.”

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After the third step, now proceed to run Disk Defragmenter so that you can consolidate the partition's free space. Click Start, Run and press Enter. In the Open box, type dfrg.msc and click OK.

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Take note that if you're in Windows, you should alert with the size and volume label of the partition that you will plan to shrink. Click Start and My Computer to obtain this info.

Step 3: Backup your Existing Partition

At this step, you should know that the idea of using partition software such as Parted Magic is to avoid you from the hassle of deleting your existing partitions or formatting the hard disk. However, you should take notice that either shrinking partitions or partitioning a disk will involve a degree of a risk. Therefore, you are recommended to backup your important data or files prior to the partition. To know more about how to do step-by-step backup procedures for both Window XP and Vista, you can surf to this website here.

Step 4: Downloading and Creating Disc

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For you partition purpose, download Parted Magic software, which is the live CD ISO File, which is a bootable Linux-based image. You can download this software here. Look for its filename which is pmagic-2.2 iso and its file size is roughly 45MB. After you have downloaded the file, remember to locate this file in a separate folder, say, “c:\pmagic”.

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After downloading the iso file for Parted Magic, you must convert your newly acquired iso file to a bootable CD. You can create the bootable CD either using your existing CD burning software, or a freeware such as ImgBurn. Next, click Write image file to disk as shown above. Once this is completed, the CD should be removed to the bootable optical drive on your PC. You can download ImgBurn here.

Step 5: Disconnecting your Unnecessary Drives

Before carrying out this step, make sure you shut down your computer and disconnect all unnecessary devices and storage drives. These may include USB flash drives, external hard disks, card readers and extra hard disks. This step is essential to be taken in order to accelerate Parted Magic's boot time and its device detection process. Removing unnecessary drives are vital to prevent you from accidentally changing partitions on the wrong hard disks or drives.

Step 6: Booting Parted Magic CD

Photo credit: Kenny

Now, you should insert the Parted Magic bootable CD that you created in step 4 into your optical drive, and configure your system to boot from this drive. Just before the Windows starts, remember to hit the key sequence or the special key to access BIOS settings (you'll always be prompted on screen). Under Boot option, you should select optical drive or CD drive, and then exit BIOS.

Next, you'll see the Parted Magic Boot Options Menu at the beginning of the boot procedure. You should now select the Default setting (Runs from RAM/ Ejects CD) unless you've a system with less than 256MB of RAM. After you made your selection, the OS will copy itself into your system memory and boot into the front end interface. After some point, the CD tray will eject (that means you can put it away because it is no longer needed for the rest of the process) and is now fully operating from RAM.

Step 7: Launching GParted (Parted Magic)

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After completing the boot process, you should see the Parted Magic as shown above. Next, you should launch GParted by clicking on its icon, the one which looks like a hard disk (the first icon from its list of detected device). Then, you've to wait for a while as there'll be a little delay. This is because GParted scans for available devices before it is ready to use.

Step 8: Selecting your Task

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From the main window of GParted, select the targeted drive. Automatically, GParted will select the first storage device it detects. From the toolbar, use the drop-down list to choose the correct drive, if the drive is other than the default selection. After selecting the drive, a graphical view of its partition scheme will be displayed in the main window. Now, you can choose the partition that you want to shrink. This is the largest NTFS partition which is usually called /dev/hda1. Make sure its label and size matches the partition info from step 2.

Step 9: Resizing the Partition

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From GParted's toolbar, click the Resize/Move button, and the “Resize/Move/dev/” dialog box will open. The color-coded indicator guides you to shrink the partition. The yellow block marks the amount of data used on the partition. You're advisable to leave enough space to the right of this mark while choosing to resize the partition. In this example, we'll resize the NTFS partition from 38.1GMB to 20.5GB.

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Click the Resize/Move button at the bottom right, and you'll return to GParted main window. Notice that the graphical view of the disk has changed, and previously-grayed-out options on the toolbar are now enabled.

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The status bar in the window's lower-left corner will also report a “Operation Pending” message. To complete the operation, that is to resize the NTFS partition, choose the Apply button in GParted's toolbar. Before any actual operations take place, a window will pop up asking you to back up your data. You can click Cancel, or click Apply to continue.

Step 10: Creating New Partition

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The unallocated drive space is now available for partitioning after shrinking the main partition. Click on the unallocated remaining on the drive, and click on the New button to bring up the “Create New Partition” dialog box.

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In the new dialog box, choose Primary partition instead of extended partition in the Create as: section. You can also key in a volume label in the Label: section. The new partition will take up all remaining space on the hard disk by default, so you should resize it if you plan to add another partition. Click Add to complete this step and to return to GParted's main window.

Step 11: Exit Parted Magic

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Your new window is now updated with the new partition. At this point, you can exit Parted Magic and reboot into windows by clicking on the exit button at the bottom right corner.

Step 12: Rebooting into Windows

When you're in the boot process, Windows will warn about disk problems and run Chkdsk. Do not be panicked; instead, you just allow it to complete the tests and verify the partition. When completing the loading, Windows will detect the new partition and report “new hardware found.” Next, it will prompt you to reboot the system. After the reboot process, the new partition will appear in the list of storage devices in My Computer, in which it'll be assigned a new drive letter, typically E: or D:. Now, you've successfully partitioned your hard disk. And you can now use it just like any other hard disk.

Invest in Anti-Virus Software

Don't ever consider this as a waste of money, or don't get annoyed with the repetitious anti-virus software updates. This is the single most effective way of protecting your computer. Whenever you insert a USB drive, or go online, read an email, open a website etc., you are making your computer vulnerable to virus invasions. That's why it's important to keep your anti-virus software updated and your firewall always up. Don't overlook this.

Buy A Cooling Pad For Your Laptop

A cooling pad is a special gadget that you place under your laptop and it does just that -- cool your laptop. It is common knowledge that user electronics perform lesser and lesser when you frequently let them go overheat. With a cooling pad, you can keep your laptop cool and fully functional at all times.

Don't Just Install Any Software Just Because It's Free

There's lots of freeware and shareware online. These are types of software that you can download for free, or use a 7-Day Trial with. The problem with these types of downloadable programs is that lots of them contain malicious scripts, backdoor Trojans, worms, tracking cookies, and malware. All those terms mean one thing: Danger for your computer. Sometimes, these sneaky bugs and tracking scripts can steal your credit card information!

Unless You Have Sufficient Technical Knowledge, Leave Hardware Installation To The Experts

Don't try to reinstall hard drives, tweak the motherboard, or replace sound cards and video cards UNLESS you are confident that you know what you're doing. Don't take risks here. You can always solicit the help and opinion of Bill the Computer Whiz and Sam the Chip Master from next door. Or better yet, have your computer 'tampered' by a legitimate technical personnel from the computer shop.

Perform a Disk Clean Up And Defragmentation At Least Once Every Month

Disk clean up and defragmentation are all available options from your Windows Control Panel. Make sure you use these disk checking tools at least once each month so your computer can fix disk software errors. Usually, the computer will figure out what's wrong on its own. Disk clean up will delete unneeded 'cookies' and temporary files from your computer. Defragmentation, meanwhile, will rearrange file allocations and caches in your hard disk. Best of all, don't try to figure all of these things out. Just do it.

The removal of the cord was the first hurdle to overcome, and next the focus seemed to shift to packing more functionally into a smaller streamline version of the computer device. After mouse functionally was improved upon, the designers and manufacturers began to focus on making the mouse trendy cool for youthful user.

This article only introduces you to a small fraction of a very large product line of computer mouse or mouse-related products currently available for sale on the market today. This is the first article in a mini-series of articles that will present new mouse and mouse-related products to you.

Please, be sure to leave any comments in the comment section provided at the bottom of this article. If you want me to investigate an unique mouse or mouse related product to consider for inclusion in the next article of this series, then please leave a complete website address where the mouse or mouse related product can be found and I will check it out.

1. Wow Pen Traveler

   
   
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   Wow Technology has developed an ergonomic wireless mouse that contains built-in laser pointer and flash memory functionality. This advancement in design and style makes today's “WOW PEN” PC mouse a cut above the rest, because it allows the user to control their computing activities without stressing the wrist or forearm, in which can help prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from setting up in the user's hands and fingers joints. Hands up, this is one cool wireless computer mouse.

2. BMW Mouse

   
   
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   This is the perfect mouse for car collectors, because not only does it look like a BMW automobile, but it has working headlights, too. Want more can we ask for?

3. Mouse Skeleton

   
   
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   The Skeleton Mouse gives a whole new meaning to working yourself to the bone, now doesn't it? Your friends and family will freak out after they see this PC mouse sitting on your desk.

4. Aircraft Mouse

   
   
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   Up, up and away. The aircraft mouse flies in the face of criticism and gives you a highflying mouse experience. It remarkably resembles a stealth fighter jet and lights up adding that extra little bit of flare when working in the dark.

5. GamePad Mouse

   
   
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   Gamers prepare yourselves for the ultimate gaming gadgets with this all-in-one PC mouse and gamepad. It works just like any other PC mouse, but the built-in game pad makes playing World of Warcraft (WoW) or any other computer game a snap to play like a pro.

6. Stone Mouse

   
   
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   This is touted to be the first fully-functional computer mouse made entirely out of stone. It is truly an elegant custom computer mouse that gives being stoned a whole new meaning.

7. Bamboo Mouse

   
   
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   The Green Movement should really be impressed with the bamboo computer mouse, because it is entirely produced from a renewable crop product. Bamboo grows rapidly about a foot or more in a single day.

8. Mouse Mouse

   
   
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   Some people just will not be satisfied unless the computer mouse actually looks like a real mouse, so now they have the opportunity to really own a mouse computer mouse of their very own. It is not recommend for anyone who gets squeamish at the mere sight of a real mouse, so in otherwords, this would not be a desirable gadget to give to your mother or sister as a gift or anything.

9. Fishing Lure Mouse

   
   
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   The fishing lure computer mouse would make a great gadget gift for any diehard fisherman that you know. It looks just like a deep-diving crankbait fishing lure without the sharp hooks. This fishing lure mouse is perfect for fishing for information on the Internet.

10. Candy-Filled Mouse

    
    
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    Thank goodness this candy is enclosed in a hard acrylic case, because it wouldn't last long around my house. This is surely a sweet looking mouse that really works, just like any other mouse that we commonly use.

11. USB Mouse with Built-in Skype Telephone

    
    
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    You know that not too many of us can live too long without having our cell phones nearby and this USB computer mouse comes complete with a fully-functional Skype telephone built right into this nifty mouse.

12. The World's Thinnest Mouse

    
    
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    Have you been looking for a computer mouse that is thin enough to tuck into your shirt pocket to take with you when you are on the go? If you have, then look no further than this mouse. It is about the size of a credit card and is a fully functional device that works like any other mouse does. Just don't carry it in your wallet, because it could quiet possibly destroy it before you even have the chance to break it in.

13. Inflatable Mouse

    
    
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    This computer mouse offers something completely unique as it needs to be inflated before being used to interact with your desktop computer. I suppose that this PC mouse would make a nice addition to anyone who already has inflatable beds, couches, and other inflatable furniture scattered throughout their home. Honestly, I would be very disappointed if it should spring a leak and deflate, just when I'm honing in to the high score in Missile Command.

14. Alien Fossil Mouse

    
    
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    Now, I don't really know if aliens or UFOs are really, but I do know that the Alien Fossil computer mouse is. Actually, it looks very strange and probably feels just as strange as it looks, too.

15. Shoei Helmet Mouse

    
    
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    This computer mouse will surely satisfy the most curious motorcycle fetish, because it is after all a miniaturized reproduction of a Shoei Helmet. The only thing that would make this a better mouse design would be if it could actually be worn while working, because accidents do happen at work (like your co-workers walking by and smacking you across your head).

USB Engine Hub

(Photo credit: Witty)

Tired of looking at the conventional USB hubs? Why don't you have a motorbike engine or USB engine hub on your desk? This device comes with 3 ports to enable you to connect to any laptop or PC via a USB port. When you plug it into the USB port, the engine revs up to tell you that it is connected. The main feature of this device is that it has a starter pedal and gearshift which make realistic engine noises when pressed. Perhaps, the video here will demonstrate it better for its engine sounds and powerful vibrations.

Donut Flash Drives

(Photo credit: Technabob)

Are you hungry? Would you want to have some donuts? You can choose from three flavors: traditional chocolate frosting, strawberry and a weird green color. These delicious looking donuts are not served for you to bite on as it stores bytes and bits instead of calories.

Gundam USB-Powered Air Ionizer

(Photo credit: Yanko)

Are you a fan of the Gundam anime series? If yes, you will fall in love with this device. This USB-Powered ionizer is useful to keep the air around you ionize as long as your computer or notebook that it is plugged to is turned on.

USB Lighter Flash Drive

(Photo credit: TechIT)

This USB Lighter Flash Drive might not be caused you concern as it does not use a flammable liquid. Rather, it builds on the same concept as the lighter in most cars. It uses small resistance coils powered by a rechargeable battery, in which you can plug it into an available USB port for recharging purpose.

The Smallest USB hub

(Photo credit: WonderIT)

This USB hub is claimed to be the smallest USB 2.0 hub in the world, which is designed to help you connect more peripherals to the PC without occupying too much desktop space. It measures 5.8mm x 28mm x12mm to make it travel-friendly. Though it is small, it manages to cram in four USB 2.0 ports. From the above picture, you can see that it's shorter than the length of two SD cards, weighing about 21 grams.

USB Fibre Optic Christmas Tree

(Photo credit: Compwee)

This USB Fibre Optic Christmas Tree will definitely get you into the Christmas spirit. When you plug this device into an available USB port, you'll experience a warm glow as the tips of the branches glisten with a bright blue shimmer. The sparkling lights from this Christmas tree will give you soothing as well as hypnotic effects besides adding a festive spirit.

USB Owl

(Photo credit: Parker)

This USB Owl is a cute and friendly-looking little owl which is one of the weirdest USB products. The owl will blink sagely, move and roll his eyes around, and rotate his head which will definitely provide you inspiration to any home and office computer users.

USB “Timeless Watch”

(Photos credit: Nakamura)

This USB “Timeless watch” is a combination of a digital watch and a USB. It was designed by the Czech designer, Ondrej Vaclavik. The watch is lightweight while providing time and information. After connecting to a computer or a notebook, it will remain the status of charging.

USB Animal Drives

(Photos credit: Feber)

These USB drives are Swedish products. They're shaped into animals like a gorilla (Fredrik), a sheep (Jan), a turtle (Göran), and a pig(Maud). Each of this USB drive is available in four memory sizes: 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB.

USB Eternal Love Rings

(Photo credit: KimJong)

Are we matched to each other? How long will our love last? Now, let's synchronize these USB Eternal Love Rings to a laptop or a computer to “connect” our mutual love.

USB Hub Photo Frame

(Photos credit: Joey)

This USB Hub looks like a digital photo frame. It comes with four ports and is USB 2.0 compatible. It matches the photo size of 62x 53mm. It's one of the devices to put on your desk to brighten your memories. Besides that, its back light picture frame will brighten up your paper pictures anytime and anyplace you get it plugging into your laptop or computer.

USB Mini Fan

(Photos credit: Erfan)

This super cute USB Mini Fan is shaped into animals like a little pig and a little ducking. If your indoor air is not thoroughly ventilated, don't forget to let this cute little pig or a little duckling to ventilate your surrounding air.

2008 Beijing Olympics USB Flash Drives

(Photos credit: XinChen)

In conjunction to 2008 Beijing Olympic, the USB flash drives took a theme of the Olympic Games in China. They were released with a very limited edition. The 4GB thumb drive of the Olympic torch features the game logo in its centre, with some swirly red cloud around its surrounding. The Mascot-series which consist of 4GB flash drives have their front side printed with images of Fuwa besides the Olympic logos.

Mini cars USB Flash Drives

(Photos credit: FareWi)

These mini cars USB flash drives are one of the weirdest products of USB. They won't take you go downtown but they help to store data of pictures, MP3 and some movie files as well.

(Photo credit: FareWi)

When you plug this mini car into a USB port, its headlight will be immediately lighted up. It's cool, isn't it?

(Photo credit: FareWi)

They also come in a freight car and a patrol car. It's such the weirdest and coolest products ever made!

(Photo credit: Dee)

If you're pregnant or you want to be a mother, it's time for you to have one USB Pregnancy Test device. It's 99% accurate to detect hCG (human Chorionic Gonadotropin), hCG-H (hyperglycosylated hCG - for detection before your first missed period), and LH (luteinizing hormone - for detection of your most fertile days). Note that these hormones don't indicate pregnancy or ovulation respectively as the extenuating circumstances may have affected the levels of these hormones in your body. In addition to these hormones, the device will show you the symbol of a baby, no baby, or multiples and your estimated delivery date based upon your concentration of hCG, hCG-H, and LH in your urine via its onscreen interface.

To use it, you pee on a stick, specifically the absorbent test strip at one end, then you remove the cap from the other end of the stick (to keep you away from casually contaminating) to reveal the USB connector. Next, pop it into your computer and you'll see your USB port starts the electrospray ionization process with a created spectrograph of the various masses for your analysis and urinalysis. After reviewing your test results, just pop the device out of your computer and change the test strip. The display will remain lit for five minutes before power off. It is recommended to use the horizontal USB drives for this USB product to avoid accidental moisture transference.

USB Wheel Phone Stand

(Photo credit: TechIT)

Can you feed your eyes with a visual stimulant instead of hearing the phone rings? Of course, with a device called USB Wheel Phone Stand, you can achieve your desire. However, this Ferris wheel only works for VoIP phones.When a call comes in, this device which is connected to your PC will spin. It's indeed an interesting stuff!

Popdrive Bottle Drive

(Photo credit: Simon)

The Popdrive Bottle Opener is a 1GB thumb drive that is both USB 2.0 and 1.1 compatible. This device comes with an attached bottle opener with its entire length in 3.75”, 1.5” in width, and 0.5” in height. Now, you can have this device to transfer your file and open those cold beverages without using your teeth. It also has an attached carabineer-style key chain to enable you to clip to your belt buckle, backpack, purse or set of keys easily. Its unique feature is that it lets you transferring files and opens the frosty beverage with the pesky bottle caps all at a time.

“I Love You” LED Laptop Light

(Photos credit: USBfan)

“I Love You” LED Laptop Light is a device that adds a little more light to your laptop or computer. It might be a perfect gift to give for Techie girl.

Star Wars USB Hubs

(Photos credit: akihabara)

For both computer Greeks and Star War's fans, the invention of R2-D2 and Darth Vader USB Hubs seem to be good news for them. Undoubtedly, the addition of these USB hubs will bring more joys to the computer users. Once you plug one of them into the USB port, it will operate automatically. You will see its eyes get blinking, its head moves and you will listen to sounds actually to what you listen in the Star War movie.

USB Fridge

(Photos credit: feiyang)

This USB Fridge will keep your beverage chilled while you're at your computer. It gets 5 minutes to bring the fridge down to 8 degree Celsius (47 degree Fahrenheit) after plugging it to your laptop or computer.

USB Illuminated Roll-up Keyboard

(Photos credit: Simon)

This USB Illuminated Roll-up Keyboard is made by high-quality silicone and it is washable, water resistance, soft touch while typing without creating sounds and foldable. It comes in white and pink color. This device is so convenient that it can be rolled up and put easily in your briefcase, notebook carrying bag or backpack.

USB Data Injection

(Photo credit: pcjunky)

This is not made for the injection purpose; rather it is used for data junkies. It might be simply made your daily data storage easier and interesting.

Stethoscope looks like USB

(Photo credit: Erfan)

Please don't be mistaken! This is not a stethoscope that a doctor uses to place on your stomach to diagnose to sounds of your heart, breathing, intestines and blood flow in arteries and veins. This USB is used for a direct individual data connection. It is equipped with the properties of hearing, scanning and checking.

Strange looking USB Drive

(Photo credit: 123pc)

This is a very creative designed of a USB drive, featuring in a delicate art in its design. It is a tool for theft prevention on a laptop or a computer that is essential for data security, virus protection, industrial or individual espionage and video piracy.

USB Apple-shape Speaker

(Photos credit: link)

This is an interesting design PC speaker used particularly for a notebook. That means the desktop computer users cannot use this device at their computer desks.

USB Monster Hub

(Photos credit: link)

This monster has six-legged attached beneath its body. It has the ability to hook up to USB devices via any of its highly adjustable limbs. Its furry legs are pretty cool looking. This monster resembles the Dark Star that I watched from the Slayers series.

USB & FireWire Hub

(Photos credit: Hume)

This stylist USB & FireWire combination Hub is designed by Ora-Ïto for your PC or Mac. The hub is round in shape, and has a white polycarbonate appearance. The add-in 4 USB ports and 2 FireWire ports allow you to connect iPod, PSP, mobile phone, movable keyboard, camera and printer simultaneously. That means you can connect up to six devices at a time. It comes with 8 flexible and twistable cables (5 USB 2.0 & 3 FireWire 400), a USB fan, a USB light, a USB extension cable and a FireWire 400 extension cable to make it fully equipped for all the connections the computer users required. Indeed, the connectivity with this interesting USB hub will let you experiencing the creativity and beauty of the art.

A Purse's U-disk

(Photo credit: KimJong)

Nowadays, a USB is like other fashionable hairstyle and clothing has become a modern trend to suit different requirement and situation. Like what you see in the picture, this is a female-like modern purse U-disk. It is particularly favored by females, spy agents or female detectives.

A Porcupine fish's U-disk

(Photo credit: Jack)

Hey, you, SpongeBob, don't make me angry; I'll stab you!

Christmas Cake USB Hub

(Photos credit: Yaujima)

This creamy cake is a product of Japan. It has 4 ports that are decorated with four USB strawberries, measures 120x120x130mm, and weights 650g. It offers up to 1GB memory and is compatible with OS Window 2000 and later. This sumptuous like creamy USB Hub cake looks like a real cake but unfortunately you're not tempted to have a slice of the cake.

Wooden USB Memory Sticks

(Photos credit: Joana)

These wooden USB Memory Sticks are available in memory sizes of 512Mb, 1GB, and 2GB. They're USB 2.0 Memory sticks which are compatible to Window, Linux and Mac. These memory sticks are useful to have around when transferring files from a computer to another computer.

The Thumb Drive

Another name for the USB flash drive is the thumb drive. That is probably the reasoning behind this thumb designed flash drive.

The Teddy Bear Drive

This is a modded drive that you probably won't find for sale. The either gutted the drive and inserter the contents where the head should be, or they just stuck the casing and all in place. It's not exactly portable, and would almost make a portable hard drive more practical, but it would still be good for a few laughs at work or school.

The Swiss Army Knife USB

This new Swiss Army Knife USB has to be one of my favorites. While it would not be acceptable for minors to be carrying around, it would be a nice USB drive for those who actually carry a Swiss Army Knife anyways. These come with storage capacities of 64mb to 1gb and are sold online.

The USB Watch

Nothing like carrying and displaying your USB drive on your wrist wherever you go. You probably won't forget this at home, but it would be very strange to be walking around with a USB on your watch.

The Lego Brick

This was one of the original modded USBs that got people thinking, but I believe you can now purchase them online for about the same price as a normal USB. What can a Lego brick not do or make?

The NES Controller USB Drive

These controllers are used more for geek oriented mods than they are for gaming at the current time. This is just one of the many USB styled drives made from a NES controlled. If you mod it correctly you can even still use the controller.

Backspace USB

Another common modded drive would be with old keyboard keys. They give it a real computer styled look. If you have a friend who isn't computer savvy you can use the enter key with the arrow pointing to the side you stick into the computer to pick a joke at their inexperience with computers.

Chapstick USB

A common item you'd find in your pockets was turned into a USB. It was a custom mod that you may need to order a special sized USB to get it to fit. It's not the front part that would be cutting it close, rather the insides of your USB.

Chewing Gum USB

Rather easily done, but unique to say the least. There are several different gum and mint containers that are easily transformed into a new USB case. Simply cut a hole for the front to stick out, and secure your USB with glue or tape.

Disposable Lighter USB

Do you have a bunch of these disposable lighters lying around that don't work anymore? You can turn them into a cool looking USB drive with little work. Just gut the insides and cut the hole and you're finished.

Every week people are creating more unique variations of the USB. There are two ways to mod a current USB to create one to your style. You can simply secure it in its current casing, or remove it from the casing completely for the tighter fits. Experiment with different casings until you find one to match your style. Who knows, maybe if you put a picture of it up on the internet you'll see it going viral on the tech blogs.