Now that the circus has left town and the dust has settled -- and my feet have finally stopped hurting -- I finally have a chance to rummage through the stuff I collected at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

So this week, my picks for the best gizmos at the show.

Grab a Video -- Hands Free
I spend most of my holidays with a camcorder in front of my face; it's how my wife can spot me. But if I could afford the spiffy VieVU Pro, I'd leave my camcorder at home.

The VieVU Pro clips to your shirt and records whatever you're doing. It's compact, weighs 140 grams, and can capture 4 hours of 640 x 480 MPEG-4 videos on a single charge. The camera's waterproof; you can take it in the rain, but don't submerge it. In additional to outdoor videos, you can record in low light.

You know there's a catch, right? This sweetie will set you back $650. (You, I said, because I certainly can't afford it.)

Blister Pack: Clip and Snip
Did I ever tell you how much I hate those plastic clamshell and blister packs? Retailers clamour for them because they reduce theft; I end up bringing out a pair of pliers and a razor blade, and risk life and limb trying to open the freaking thing.

There's a solution: For about $15, you can buy the Open It, a pair of clippers that snips open these annoying packages. One handle has a screwdriver, the other a small, locking razor for cutting open boxes.

The biggest laugh: Watching the company rep show me the Open It packaging (it wasn't blister-packed) and listening to him complain about how easy it was to remove the snipper from the packaging and steal it.

Wristwatch These Pictures
Doesn't it bother you having to whip out your wallet to show pictures of your kids? (I know, you're probably using an iPhone, but go along with me on this, okay?)

Now you can carry around your pictures on a wristwatch. Yep, you heard right: a watch that stores up to 100 images on a 1.4-inch (128 x128) LCD screen. Connect the Neutrano Photowatch to your PC using a USB cable, download the images to the watch, and you have 8 hours to view the pictures. In between showing off your darlings, you can check the time. The 100-image version runs about $90 and a 40-image version is $65.

Nifty Monitor and Lens Cleaning
You say there's a fine patina on your monitor? I hate to tell you, Bunky, but that's dust. There's probably some on your digital camera lens, too, and maybe on your eyeglasses.

Alpine Innovations has an array of Micro-Fibre cloths, both big and small, and they call them Spudz, God only knows why. They do a good job at removing schmutz from lots of digital and electronic surfaces. You can order direct from the company; most prices are under $15.

Cover Your iPhone (and Other Gear)
I don't have an iPhone and even if I did, I have to tell you that I wouldn't plaster anything on it -- like skins.

Nonetheless, I understand that your sensibilities may differ, so I offer you GelaSkins, a collection of removable skins. Besides being artistic, they also protect your device from scratches.

Take a look at the collections for Apple's iPod and some for the RAZR cellphone. There's a bunch for laptops, too. Pricing varies from about $9 through $20; laptop covers are $40.

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Think you're a geek? The geekmeister? Sir Geekalot? Darth Geeker? Well here's your chance to prove it.

http://www.justsayhi.com/bb/geek

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Let's be careful out there guys, too much sun can have serious consequences.

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 )

Here's a new way to rock on. The popularity of the Guitar Hero computer game has reached the air guitar stage. With the game, Air Guitar Rocker, a player dons a belt with a special buckle that is connected to a small amplifier on the belt, and then uses a guitar pick to activate the belt magnetically. Each time the pick passes over the buckle, another chord of pre-recorded music is played on the amp. Users can play as fast or slow as they want.

[Jada Toys Inc.] purchased licenses of songs from the original Guitar Hero game, to allow air guitar playing of Black Sabbath, Van Halen and Boston, among others. Ten riffs are included in the game with the belt, amplifier and two picks for $29.99. It goes on sale in March.

While it may seem like a simple game, a spokeswoman said it's expected to be popular especially in Europe, where the air guitar phenomenon is pervasive. At a special showing to news media at the CES show this week, dozens of TV reporters and others lined up to riff wildly for their colleagues.
Matt Hamblen

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 )

Check it out. Singapore's faceless bureaucracy is doing what it takes to get down with it. Public sector dance videos haven't looked this good since Muldoon's Cossacks.

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 )