Whether you expend your days behind a desk or on the go , there ’s a surplus of gadgets and gizmos out there that will help make your Mac experience that much sweeter . But you do n’t have to take time out of your busy day to search high and low for the fun and hard-nosed Mac add - ons — we do all the hard oeuvre for you as part of our annual Gear Guide . In part one , we look at train for the agency and for the open road that will make Mac substance abuser felicitous this holiday season .
Gear for the Office
Workers of the world , unite — you have nothing to lose but your lacklustre gadgets , once they ’re replaced with this fresh and improved dough . Here are five gift idea for the nine - to - five-spot in your life , uncommitted in a wide range of prices :
Colorful conversations
If you ’re go to walk around with a Bluetooth headset hang off your pinna , you may as well like the mode it take care . Jabra’sBT160headset includes 33 designer covers — from hip patterns to solid colors to play figures — so you could customise its appearance . ( Yes , longtime Mac users — they’re very like to the case inset for Apple ’s PowerBook 1400 . ) Artistically incline utterer can even make their own covers . Boasting up to 110 hours of standby time and up to eight hours of talk time , the BT160 should last through even marathon hands - barren conversations , and an adjustable rubber earclip leave a well-fixed fit . The BT160 work with any Bluetooth headphone and some Bluetooth - enable Macs.—DAN FRAKES
BT160 headset : $ 60;Jabra
Surge-a-pod
PowerSquid ’s five - tentacle Outlet Multiplier was all the craze a yr ago ; it let you plug in five bulky “ wall wart ” big businessman adapters without a single one of them feel push . Over the preceding year , the original circle cephalopod has evolved into theSurge3000 Calamari Edition , which offer six outlets ( two of them beam , to make plugging them in under desks easier ) ; 3,240 Joule of surge protection , include coaxal - cable , DSL , and earpiece protection ; power filtering ; and a $ 500,000 surge - protection warranty for connected equipment . The Surge3000 itself can plug into almost any electric receptacle place , thanks to its unique miserable - visibility , swivel plug . Finally , the machine ’s white and blue curves make the Surge3000 one of the most attractive surge protectors you ’ll find.—DF
Surge3000 Calamari Edition : $ 80;PowerSquid
Color me busy
The headphone ring — so you bet up from that project you ’re trying to finish before the noon deadline . You notice that a round plastic object next to the telephone set is glowing blue . This color tells you that the call is from one of your pals , so it can wait until you ’ve meet your deadline . And it ’s all thanks to theColor - Call Caller ID , which take call screening to fresh , coloration - put one over heights . you could assign one of four colors — red , dismal , green , and purplish — to as many as 100 routine , so you could quickly see which radical a caller belongs to . The Color - Call have an LCD that shows both the turn and the name of the caller , and it get you correct its brightness — so you may see the red glowing of your boss ’s phone call from across the room.—DERIK DELONG
Color - Call Caller ID : $ 30;Brookstone
One phone to rule them all
A lot of cordless phones out there get along with multiple handsets , but how many do you get laid of that can duplicate as a bridge to your cell phone — and even act as surveillance equipment ? Motorola’sC51 Communication Systemcan do these things and more ; its array of add - ons include a colour - screen - equipped French telephone that works with a wireless photographic camera / intercom accessory for TV and audio monitoring , and a Bluetooth accessory that work with your mobile phone so you may use the C51 ’s French telephone to put and answer mobile calls.—PETER COHEN
C51 Communication System : handset with digital answering machine , $ 70 ; wireless tv camera / intercom accessory , $ 80 ; Bluetooth interface , $ 100 ; Motorola , www.motorola.com
Nothing left to lose
Portable FireWire hard drives are both fast and ready to hand , but toting around a cable’s length — to say nothing of an AC adapter — intend having one more thing to plug before you could actually play . It also means one more thing to possibly miss . Not so with Apricorn’sAegis Mini . Available in 30 GB and 60 GB capacities , the Mini has a work up - in FireWire overseas telegram that pucker in tightly for travel . Plus , it ’s bus - powered , so you wo n’t be tied in FireWire or adaptor knots when try on to transfer files.—ERIC SUESZ
Aegis Mini : 30 GB , $ 169 ; 60 GB , $ 249;Apricorn
Gear for the On-the-Go
traveller , laptop computer buff , and other roving user will want to hold still for long enough to go over out some of these appliance and accessary . We ’ve found geartrain at the following terms :
Stop feeling the burn
For many late portable electronic computer , the termlaptopis a stretch — they just get too hot to repose on human legs . So a laptop computer desk can be a lifesaver — or at least a lap - recoverer . LapWorks’Laptop Desk 2.0is a portable , 22 - troy ounce polycarbonate desk that keeps your laptop safely away from your pelt . It also has groove that let strain broadcast beneath it , so your portable stays cool . At 20.5 by 11.2 inches , it ’s large enough for even 17 - column inch MacBook Pros , but it folds up to half that size to fit in your laptop bag . And when you ’re work at nursing home , a pop - up span let the Laptop Desk 2.0 function as an high-minded background stand.—DF
Laptop Desk 2.0 : $ 30;LapWorks
Become a global power
Apple stop including a wall battery charger with the iPod years ago , which makes it tough to recharge your iPod without the help of a nearby Mac . Apple will sell you that iPod courser for $ 30 , or you could buy Griffin ’s sleek and equal to PowerBlock for the same price . But for a bare $ 5 more , Griffin Technology’sPowerBlock Travellets you buck your iPod not only in Omaha and New York , but also in Rome and Beijing . The add-on handle any potential you ’re likely to fare across in your travels , win over them to the 12 - volt DC needed to keep your iPod juiced . And as a bonus , both the PowerBlock and PowerBlock Travel can be used with many assault and battery - powered devices that charge via a USB connection.—RICK LEPAGE
PowerBlock Travel : $ 35;Griffin engineering
Let your Mac (finally) be your guide
If you ’re a GPS - using Mac owner , you ’ve probably regain yourself begrudge the abundance of Windows software that comes with GPS gadget . Sure , Apple ’s Boot Campand Parallels Desktop will have you use your Mac to talk to your GPS , but they ’re no substitute for arealMac app . So Mac user with a taste for exploration should check outRouteBuddy , a Universal app that provides street - storey mapping of most of the United States and Europe , as well as a smattering of Asia . With it , you could reassign routes , waypoints , and tracks to and from your Global Positioning System while well searching for tens of thousands of point of pastime . ( To transfer map data point , you ’ll have to practice the bundled Windows software package . ) RouteBuddy can even show you your current stance on its function , or useGoogle EarthorGoogle Mapsto automatically display your current position.—BEN retentive
RouteBuddy : $ 100 ; United States mapping , $ 50 ; other map Leontyne Price vary;RouteBuddy
iMac to go
It ’s no secret that the iMac uses a lot of the same parts as a laptop computer . And even though the 17- , 20- , and 24 - inch iMacs weigh in at 15.5 , 22.0 , and 24.7 pounds , severally , they ’re fairly portable , thanks to their slim form broker . Still , you do n’t want to divulge such a beautiful veneer to the bumps and bruises of the route . TheTimbagis designed to carry an iMac ; it has limited compartments that take the keyboard , the mouse , cables , and even a few CD or videodisk . With dissimilar size that fit each of the three iMac models , the Timbag is the idealistic container if you need to enchant your desktop out into the wild.—DD
Timbag : € 179;Timbag
The just-in-case case
Most of the metre , my PowerBook G4 sits on my desk . I only at times unplug it , to take it home or on a business trip . So I do n’t really need a dedicated laptop bag . But when I do travel , I want my laptop computer to have at leastsomeprotection . That ’s why I like laptop computer sleeve : they let me carry my PowerBook in a regular suitcase , but they provide just enough cushioning that the machine can withstand the rigourousness of mobility . RoadWired’sSkooba Skin 1415is a current favorite . This padded gasbag can hold any 15 - inch notebook ( other Skooba Skin sizes are available)—be it a PowerBook or one of those new - fangled MacBook Pros the kids are getting these twenty-four hours — and it slides easily into my Tom Bihn shoulder bag ( I bet it will fit inside your bag or briefcase , too ) . Plus , the Skooba Skin ’s top flutter can be riffle up to form a handgrip , and it ’s available in a crew of unlike color and materials — from dismal ultrasuede to pink vinyl group — so you wo n’t be perplex with slow old black Cordura.—DAN MILLER
Skooba Skin 1415 : $ 35;RoadWired
Portrait of the artist as a mobile user
If you ’re tired of all those expect - alike laptop bagful , check out Timbuk2 ’s newArtist ’s Canvas Bag . Because it ’s made of untreated cotton , you may draw off on it , paint it , and otherwise personalize it however you wish . ( For breathing in , hold back out theartists ’ picture gallery . ) But the Artist ’s Canvas Bag is still a Timbuk2 messenger bag , which means sturdy construction , a waterproofed liner , and a nice all-embracing shoulder shoulder strap . No , it ’s not aggrandise specifically for a laptop , but you may take care of that with a laptop arm ( assuming you may find one that does n’t offend your artistic sensibilities).—DM
creative person ’s Canvas Bag : $ 90;Timbuk2
See where you’re going
Google Maps is the best . But you ca n’t really take it with you . NavMan ’s line of flyspeck Global Positioning System ( GPS ) receivers — highlighted by theNavMan N60i — are like a live version of Google Maps . Use the touchscreen to tell the NavMan where you want to go ; it love where you are thanks to the orbiting GPS satellites , and its unvoiced drive is pre - charge with maps that cover North America . The NavMan calculates your destination , shout out out helpful directions ( “ In one eighth of a mile , bend leave ! ” ) , and does a remarkable job of calculating your estimated prison term of reaching . It ’s even got a build - in digital photographic camera so you could crack geo - give chase photograph of wherever you are . Although the NavMan ship with Windows software , it ’s whole unneeded : there ’s an SD slot for your images or you may channelise datum directly via USB.—JASON SNELL
NavMan N60i : $ 600;NavMan
Get a handle on things
Apple laptop computer are fabled for their superlative innovation , but one thing ’s missing from these otherwise perfect portables — a handgrip for easy transport . QuickerTek steps into the breach with theHandle , available for 13 - inch MacBooks as well as the two - different sized MacBook Pro manakin . I attempt out the $ 48 Handle for my 15 - inch MacBook Pro . ( The 17 - inch and MacBook version cost $ 50 . ) Attaching four screws into the bottom of my MacBook Pro was a pushover — I nail the entire assembly process while conduct a five - minute sound call . Besides providing a dependable and untroubled grip for my laptop , the brush , anodized grip wield also shore up up the MacBook Pro at an angle when it ’s not in use , helping with warmth dissipation.—PHILIP MICHAELS
MacBook Pro Handle : $ 48-$50;QuickerTek
[ Photography by Peter Belanger . ]
