Surge protector
Nobody wants to lose their tech to a power spike or blown fuse. A power surge protector is a great way to ensure that your tech gets the protection it deserves. The principle behind it is straightforward - it regulates the voltage delivered so that your expensive stereo, TV and computer equipment is delivered a steady level of power, all the time. This helps to extend the life of any gadgets plugged into it - not just by avoiding the major crashes, but by smoothing out all the little bumps in voltage that happen every hour of the day. All surge protectors are not created equal, however - the cheapest just have a fuse, whereas more expensive models include additional protective features such as surge/overload protection, power conditioning and noise/interference filtering. Cheap surge protectors have less protective capability than more expensive ones, but if your budget doesn't extend that far, we suggest Belkin's 4-way surge protector, which offers a $40,000 warranty on connected equipment.
Belkin 4-way Surge protector, $30.32 from www.megabuy.com.au
USB key
The USB key replaced the floppy drive once capacities hit 32MB, and these days, it can be found in capacities bigger than your average blu-ray disc. The humble USB key has come a long way in 8 years. Where only 4 years ago, a 1GB key would have cost around $250, these days, you can score a cool 16GB for under $50. That's four full DVDs, or hundreds of thousands of Word documents, you can carry around with you. PC Authority Editor, Zara Baxter, carries around 10 year's worth of her fiction writing (including three novels) and her entire 10 years of blog posts on a Kingston Data Traveler 64GB key, along with a copy of her iTunes library and the last year of personal emails. A life's worth of personal documents can be stored on 16GB - all you'll need once you have the key is a stylish lanyard or keyring attachment to accompany it.
Sandisk Cruzer Micro 16GB, $48 from www.shoppingsquare.com.au
Multicard reader
Camera, phone, mp3 player - all our gadgets seem to come with their own card-based storage, and it can be tiresome to hook everything up just to copy over a file or two. The multicard reader in our offices, under the care of our lab manager, is the single item borrowed most frequently. The time-saving and speed is good, the size is compact, and it's going to read almost any card you can stick into it. What's not to like?
Lexar 4-in-1 multicard reader, $36 from www.youprice.com.au
Ecobutton
Using a combination of bright illuminated green design - to remind you to use it - and one-button activation for simplicity, the Ecobutton is the reverse of the big red "end of the world" button in all those doomsday movies. Press once to save the world! ...well, not quite, but with the Ecobutton, which connects to your computer via a USB cable, you simply press to put your computer into energy-saving mode. The clever software program that's included also shows how much power (via carbon units) and money you're saving. When you get back to your desk, simply press the button again to wake up your system. It's quicker than a sleep/resume cycle, and just as energy efficient. And of course, it's manufactured using recycled plastic.
Ecobutton is $25 from www.latestbuy.com.au
Computer Toolkit
When it comes to essential gadgets, many of us make do with one of the most obvious: a dedicated computer toolkit. It doesn't take much to make your own - cable strippers, a tube of thermal paste, three sizes of screwdriver (Philips head), fine-nosed pliers and a tube to hold computer screws will go a long way. Getting a good one pre-prepared is simpler, though, and having a handy carry case for the lot is immensely useful.
USB Transfer Cable
We awarded the Belkin USB transfer cable a coveted PC Authority Excellence award when it first appeared two years ago, and we're still in love with it. Belkin answered the age-old question of how to simply transfer files from one computer to another Windows computer sitting next to it: you plug one end into one PC and the other end into the other PC. Then you drag and drop. No drivers, no software; it's that simple.
Belkin Easy Transfer Cable for Windows Vista, $20 from www.mwave.com.au
Cable turtles and/or cable tidies
Keeping cables tidy seems like a relatively unimportant task, but once you have a set of cable tidies to clear space and the cables are finally out from under your feet you'll wonder how you ever managed without. We've got a few suggestions, ranging from the colourful and multi-sized Cable Turtle (from $10), to the massive Bluebox Cablebox which edges outside of our $50 budget by a few dollars.
Cable Turtles from $10, at www.rushfaster.com.au