Peripherals

Need to print something? Copy something? Scan something? Aw, that's so cute and quaint.

But necessary, sometimes. And cheap, today.

For a limited time, Canon has the refurbished Pixma MG5320 multifunction printer and X Mark Mouse for $49.99 shipped.

I'll get to the printer in a minute -- because check out that mouse! It's not only a Bluetooth-powered wireless wheel mouse, but also a calculator and numeric keypad! As someone who was just bemoaning the lack of a keypad on his wee laptop, I'm loving that. It's available in black or white, and normally … Read more

The launch of Windows 8 also brings an opportunity for PC makers to release third-party peripherals that complement the push for touch sensitivity. If you're planning to purchase tablet, laptop, desktop, or some combination of the three, these accessories let you get hands-on with your new computer, because let's face it -- a touch-based device is only as good as the accessories available for it.

Many of the devices in this list already have reviews, but we'll continue to add products as they emerge. Head here for a comprehensive list of every major computer launching with Windows 8 or RT.… Read more

Apple announced at its October 23 event its first hybrid drive, called Fusion Drive, initially available as an option in its new iMac and Mac Mini.

Apple's Fusion Drive combines 120GB of solid-state storage and a regular platter-based hard drive of either 1TB or 3TB. Apple says the operating system and software will be installed on the flash memory part while all other data, such as media and documents, stays on the hard-drive part. However, users can move apps and files between the two sides of the drive to improve performance.

Apple claims that the Fusion Drive will offer … Read more

Retina-display loving Apple fans rejoice. Apple's rumored 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display is here.

Apple announced the smaller version of its high-end laptop with the sharper-resolution Retina Display at its event today in San Jose, Calif.

Apple already offers a 15-inch version of the laptop with the Retina Display. And now it offers the same sharp screen for its smaller 13-inch sibling. The notebook also comes with the same dual Thunderbolt I/O connectors, as well as an SD card slot and HDMI out port found on … Read more

Seagate announced today a new version of the Backup Plus portable drive designed especially for Macs.

The new Backup Plus family was first introduced back in June, initially available for Windows. The drive offers USB 3.0 and comes with the HFS+ file system out of the box.

The Backup Plus family replaces Seagate's GoFlex family but still offers a flexible design thanks to the Universal Storage Module (USM) standard, which basically allows you to use any type of connection standard (USB, FireWire, eSATA, or even Thunderbolt) just by swapping out the adapter part of the drive. The drive … Read more

Wondering if you should upgrade to Windows 8? WD has teamed up with Microsoft to offer a quick solution for business users.

The company announced today that its My Passport Enterprise portable drive is now Windows To Go-certified and will be available on the same day as Windows 8, which is Friday.

In a nutshell, the drive comes with Windows 8 Enterprise environment pre-configured on it and makes it possible to provision a fully featured Windows 8 work space on a bootable USB drive. In other words, you can take this drive, plug it into any computer running Windows 7… Read more

Don't drink and text. Don't drunk dial your ex. That's all good advice, but it will be extremely hard to follow if you happen to be the owner of the Beer Keyboard.

The Beer Keyboard is exactly what it sounds like. It uses beer cans in place of keys. Just gently press down on a can and you trigger the proper letter or number on a computer.

The keyboard is made from 44 beer cans and an Arduino-powered touch capacitive controller. It was hatched by Prague-based brewer Staropramen and Robofun Create, a company dedicated to building unusual tech items.… Read more

Iomega today announced the availability of the StorCenter px2-300d and the StorCenter ix4-300d NAS servers for business environments, ranging from small offices to enterprises.

The former is a dual-bay NAS that offers up to 6TB of storage space and the latter is a four-bay with a top capacity of 12TB. Both servers are available in a diskless configuration, leaving users the option of picking the type of hard drive and the capacity on their own. Both also offer Iomega's Personal Cloud feature, which was first introduced with the Home Media Network Drive more than a year ago.

Iomega says … Read more

Industrial designer Kotaro Shimogori has taken to crowdfunding site Indiegogo to raise funds for a Bluetooth-powered appliance that functions as a physical extension of your smartphone's notifications bar. But if you lived through the 1990s with me, you probably recognize Dr. Blinky for what it really is -- the resurrection of the pager with a 21st century spin.

In a nutshell, Dr. Blinky connects to an app on your Android phone (the iOS app is in progress) that you can configure to blink whenever you want to be notified of a new call, text, e-mail, or whatever. Dr. Blinky can also be set to blink in different patterns for different types of notifications. … Read more