Hard drive on a keychain, computers in your pocket

Can you imagine, a 700mhz computer with 10 gig hard drive that can fit in your pocket? The Remora is exactly that. Not much bigger than an index card (6”x4.5”), it weighs between 1 and 2 pounds. It will connect to any standard monitor and keyboard, and has USB, serial, parallel and ps/2 ports. The manufacturer recommends it for anyone needing transportable desktop power. Connect to any standard monitor, mouse, and keyboard, and you have a full-blown computer.

The Rollerbar mouse sounds like a great idea. It is a rolling bar (it resembles a tiny rolling pin) located below the spacebar on the keyboard. Simply roll it up and down to move the page up and down, and slide it left to right to move the cursor. Push down to left click. It is said to reduce carpal tunnel and mouse shoulder injury. It has not yet been released, but look for it before the end of the year. They also make left-handed “standard” mice in several styles.

One of the coolest recent inventions is the Q drive. About the size of your thumb, the Q drive acts like a portable hard drive. With a standard USB interface, it is instantly recognized by your system (you will need to load drivers the first time you use it on a system). Just click it into any USB port, and you’ve got from 16 to 512 megs of storage right in your hand! Take it to class with you, store your homework, MP3’s, or a Powerpoint presentation. They come in several terrific colors (purple, teal, ice white and standard black). Attach it to your keychain for instant convenient file transportation.

Need a little more space? Try a pockeydrive! A true USB hard drive, it stores up to 20 gigs and is about the size of a deck of cards (remember those, before Windows Solitaire came about?) It requires no external power source, works with Mac or Windows-based systems, and is compatible with most laptops.

A hot product for businesses is the Instant Internet by Bay Networks. It allows one Internet connection to be shared by multiple computers and users just by plugging in the network cables. It also acts as a stackable hub so you can add even more users. If your company has a T1, this is great to allow all users to have Internet access with just one IP address. In areas where dial-up is still king, you can order a unit with dual 56k modems to help speed things up somewhat.

Another similar unit is made by Actiontec. They boast their installation is easy. “Instead of asking for the user’s Primary DNS Server, IP Subnet Mask or other information familiar only to technical experts, Actiontec’s Web-based installation wizard asks for little more than user name, password, and whether the user is connecting to the Internet through cable modem or DSL”. Home users can benefit by sharing an internet connection for any number of people in the household. What this means to you is that you can surf and the kids can play online multi-player games at the same time, using the same connection. They also offer a wireless version that works up to 330 feet away indoors, 990 feet outdoors.