Hewlett-Packard Pocket Media Drive
Starts at $90
Get instant backup on the go with this small, lightweight peripheral. Literally pocket-sized, it connects via USB to any PC in three sizes — 80 gigabyte, 120 GB and 160 GB, all perfect for transferring files, backing up or sharing.
Hewlett-Packard MediaSmart EX470 Home Server
$599
With music and video files fast eating away at computer storage capacity, the HP MediaSmart Home Server is designed to be the in-house, on-demand repository of both Hollywood and family movies, as well as vacation pictures and videos. Like its office-server siblings, the home sever connects and backs up any computer on the home network and allows secure remote access to files. Shipped with a single 500-GB hard drive, it has three expansion bays.
Yoggie Pico
$200
The Yoggie Pico isn't just another piece of anti-virus software. It looks like a USB memory stick but inside has a dedicated Intel 520 MHz processor, memory and Linux operating system. It looks at each package of data entering and leaving your computer and isolates anything suspicious.
Hewlett-Packard G4050 Photo Scanner
$299
While all-in-one printers perform basic scanning, they don't offer the quality or flexibility of stand-alones. The HP G4050 scanner has up to 4800-dpi (dots per inch) resolution with six-colour scanning through two lamps. With the included attachment, it also makes high-quality scans of slides and negatives. Operation is really simple, thanks to the push-button controls on the cover.
Canon Pixma MX300 All-in-one Printer
$129.99
This standard all-in-one peripheral is a mini virtuoso, especially handy for the home office: it prints, photocopies, scans and faxes — and it's network-ready. The Pixma MX300 is small enough to fit in the tightest spaces and hooks up via Ethernet, allowing others in your home or office to share its use.
D-Link Network Attached Storage Drive
$525
All those movies, downloads, funny e-mails with attachments, digital images and programs eat up valuable space. One solution is a Network Attached Storage Drive, a remote hard drive that plugs into your network. It pops up on your computer screen as a hard drive icon and is accessed just like any other hard drive or USB key. The D-Link DNS-323 twin bays are stocked with a pair of Seagate 500-GB hard drives for a total terabyte of storage. Its built-in FTP servers allow remote access and media streaming.
SMC EZ-Stream Wireless Audio Adapter
$120
Listening to an Internet radio station or even your own collection of tunes on your computer can become boring pretty quickly. A media adaptor connects your computer and the Net to your home stereo so you can listen to music in all its glory. The SMC EZ-Stream Wireless Audio has a flip-up LCD screen and remote control. Just plug and listen to any of 10,000 free Internet radio stations playing everything from tribal rhythms to jazz.
D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520
$240
With the dawn of Internet protocol television (IPTV) and movie downloading, there needs to be a way to connect your computer and peripherals to your television. Enter D-Link's MediaLounge DSM-520, a wireless media adapter that streams high-definition video, still images and audio from networked computers and USB-connected drives. Tap into U Tube TV, pick up on webcast TV from 200 sites around the world or just flip through your vacation pictures.
Newton Peripherals MoGo X54 PROT
$80
It's a mouse, it's a remote control. Newton Peripherals' slim, fold-away MoGo X54 PROT is a wireless Bluetooth device that stores and charges in the ExpressCard/54 slot on most new laptops. The clutter-free tool can be used as a laser pointer and remote to control presentations.
SanDisk Cruzer Contour USB Flash Drive
$100
The indispensable and ubiquitous USB flash drive comes in all shapes and sizes, but for sheer practicality you can't beat the SanDisk Cruzer Contour. While some devices sport funky exteriors, this one is all business with a connector that slides into the body for protection. It also has encryption to protect those files, and with 8 GBs of memory — enough for a Hollywood feature movie — it's a workhorse.
Linksys CIT400 Cordless Phone
$160
Call home — cheap! Hate those hotel surcharges on long distance as much as your carrier's roaming charges? VoIP it up and plug in this USB Linksys CIT400 cordless dual-mode phone. Small enough to pack in the laptop bag, the base unit is wired to your laptop while the hand unit connects cordlessly. The handset supports Skype, seamlessly connecting to the contacts list and other features.
Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000
$129
This is a cut above the average Web camera, with an embedded microphone and a motorized tracking 2-megapixel Carl Zeiss auto-focus lens. The images can be enhanced to a high-definition 8 megapixels and the light-sensing software balances out backlight.
Leapfrog FLY Fusion Pentop Computer
$99
The Leapfrog FLY Fusion pentop computer is really a digital pen which, when used in combination with special paper, captures writing actions. It works because the paper is impregnated with a grid that maps the x-y axis movement of the stylus tip. It connects to a computer via a USB cable and, through the supplied software, translates it to text. Useful for writing math formulas and taking notes, it also has a variety of add-on software grouped around high-school-level subjects.
Ion TTUSB05 USB Turntable
$199
Dig out those milk crates and dust off your old vinyl LPs. The Ion USB turntable transforms those old-school records into digital files. It will also hook up to your home stereo system if you want to play the originals on the Ion turntable itself. Includes software to clean up the snap, crackle and pop.
Neat Receipts Scanner
$229
This baby can help you make sense of your business expenses and paper trail. The Neat Receipts scanner is a portable USB device that can scan in everything from business cards to receipts from hotels, taxis and restaurants and digitize them into PDFs. Its optical character recognition software even plugs the data into a spreadsheet automatically and catalogues it all by type.
Special to The Globe and Mail
