$19.00
Color Crystal LED Fan
Contact: Anyware (02) 9879 5788
Online: www.anyware.com.au
With summer fast approaching, your PC may need extra cooling. What better way than a new case fan, with funky multicoloured lights shining through? The Color Crystal LED fan is a clear Perspex 80mm fan with a molex connector and three different colour LEDs mounted inside.
It's cool in every sense of the word.
$19.00
CoolBee USB fan
Contact: Anyware (02) 9879 5788
Online: www.anyware.com.au
The colourful CoolBee whirrs into action as soon as it's plugged into a USB port, aiming a 10cm-wide wind tunnel in whatever direction you bend it – so you can take it on the chin, if you like – anytime, anywhere. For that price, and with a range of happy colours, notebook users won't find a cuter face'cooler.
$19.95
Thrustmaster Firestorm Digital 3
Contact: Guillemot (02) 8303 1818
Online: http://au.thrustmaster.com
Improve your gameplay on the PC with the Thrustmaster Firestorm Digital 3 from Guillemot. It's a simple'to'use but highly configurable gamepad; with an eight-direction D-Pad; eight action buttons; and full support for Windows XP. It's light and small so it's probably best suited for children.
$24.00
FireFly
Contact: Anyware (02) 9879 5788
Online: www.anyware.com.au
Are you constantly on the road? Sick of trying to read documents by the light of your notebook's LCD? The FireFly emits a soft warm light when plugged into a USB port. It's enough to read documents by, but not so bright as to disturb anyone around you who might be trying to sleep.
$24.95
Kensington FlyFan USB fan
Contact: AccoAustralia 1300 366 376
Online: www.accoaust.com.au
'It's hectic!' enthused the original fanboy in our production team as soon the FlyFan was plugged into a spare USB port. And he's right: the soft nylon blades spin at an incredible speed to propel a face'full of air from up to half a metre away, yet the device hardly draws any power. Neat.
$25.00
Kensington MiniHub
Contact: AccoAustralia 1300 366 376
Online: www.accoaust.com.au
For the travelling notebook user, this is a tiny USB hub that gives you one extra USB port when you need it. It's a solid unit with a stubby USB cord, but it's small and compact enough to easily slip into a notebook bag pocket.
$27.00
BenQ M100 Optical Wheel Mouse
Contact: BenQ (02) 97146800
Online: www.benq.com.au
Why not join the optical mouse brigade with BenQ's M100? For only $27, you'll never have to clean your mouse'ball again, plus you'll get an ambidextrous mouse that includes a glowing blue scroll wheel, USB to PS/2 connector and a glowing LED on its underside.
$29.95
Thrustmaster USB joystick
Contact: Guillemot (02) 8303 1818
Online: http://au.thrustmaster.com
Your basic joystick needs to be comfortable, sturdy and contain all the features you need to play just about any game. Thrustmaster's USB joystick fits the bill with 4four buttons, POV hat and throttle slide sitting on top of a strong, balanced base. For only this price, you just can't go wrong.
$29.95
Targus USB Charge Cable
Contact: Targus Australia (02) 9807 1222
Online: www.targus.com.au
There are plenty of USB mobile phone chargers on the market at the moment. Targus has gone one better than the competition, however, by bundling its charger with a converter that lets you use a 9V battery to juice up your phone. Very handy if you don't have a PC nearby, or you're in an emergency.
$33.00
Litepads optical mousepad
Contact: AusPCMarket (02) 9817 2899
Online: www.auspcmarket.com.au
Gamers looking for the Vin Diesel of mousepads will want to get a proper demo of this shred proof acrylic slab in the dark to see it at its glowing best. And while they're at it, they might like to think about how the 'stealth' surface helps with gameplay. . .
$35.00
Viewmaster Optical Mouse
Contact: Hallmark (03) 9540 8555
Online: www.hallmark.com.au
Viewmaster's Optical Mouse is a full sized but slim unit, which slots comfortably under your palm. It's a PS/2 connected mouse, with a scroll wheel, decent optical tracking and smooth movement. The mouse has a transparent plastic shell, and its symmetrical design is good for left and right handed use.
$39.90
Home Theater Tune-Up DVD
Contact: Wild Releasing (02) 9984 1699
Online: www.wildreleasing.com.au
Starting with the basics, and we mean basic, this DVD is a step-by-step guide to configuring your TV, DVD player and speaker setup for optimal home theatre viewing. It features test patterns for the screen and test tones for your speakers, and later on even gets to the point where you can play around with sound meters.
$39.95
Belkin CD LaunchPad
Contact: Belkin (02) 4372 8600
Online: www.belkin.com.au
CD burners abound, so it's no surprise that CD labellers are also increasingly popular. The Belkin CD LaunchPad is one of the simplest on the market, and it performs its tasks amiably. It comes with 10 CD labels and all the software you need, which is dead simple to use.
$44.00
Cold Cathode Kit
Contact: AusPCMarket (02) 9817 2899
Online: www.auspcmarket.com.au
This is a present for the overclocking case'modder in the family. It comes with all of the connectors you need, plus a 12in cold cathode light for brightening up the inside of your PC. Available in four colours (ours was blue), it's the ultimate addition to the beast you're working on.
$44.95
The Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick and William Simon
Contact: John Wiley & Sons (07) 3859 9755
Online: www.johnwiley.com.au
Kevin Mitnick is one of the most notorious hackers in recent times, and his infamy has risen since his release from a US Federal prison in 1998. Banned from using computers, he has made a name for himself as a security consultant, touring and giving lectures on the one aspect of hacking that doesn't involve computing: social engineering. This book deals with social engineering: the technique where the hacker bluffs his way past receptionists, cadges passwords from IT managers and learns office procedures all without the victim realizing he's doing anything wrong. It's a fascinating read, and a wake-up call to businesses, no matter how big or small, because the methods described can be used by anyone.
$45.00
Kensington four'port USB MiniHub