“This isn’t your typical, humdrum, slate-colored computer. Not only is the PC known as the hip-e almost all white, but its screen and keyboard are framed in fuzzy pink fur. Or a leopard skin design. Or a graffiti-themed pattern. Sure, it’s outlandish, but you won’t see the hip-e in an office cubicle. The creators of the $1,699 hip-e claim it’s the first PC specifically for teenagers.”

Hippy PC, shag fur on the keyboard. a 1.5GHz Pentium Processor –yup all materials yanked from the long dead past. Actually, it’s a bastardized attempt at making a PC feel like an Apple computer. We’ve done that before too. And you should really, really, really, never let teenagers design anything. If the little mush-heads (generalization alert!) actually knew something they’d be adults.

The Angelshare WA-1 wine cooling unit is only sold in Asia right now, but it is definitely cool in the literal sense.

Then again, it also looks a bit like a high tech coffin which may be a disturbing image as you crack open your prized Bordeaux. It may also be overkill, when you consider that people have been cooling red wine for centuries without giant table cooling units, but we have to applaud any company that puts a new spin on an old concept.

“Hear that? It’s a LAN party calling you. So take your game on the road with Super LANBOY. Its durable anodized aluminum body packs 9 drive bays. Two low-speed 120mm fans, including one with mesmerizing blue illumination. And a windowed side panel that lets you show off your drool-inducing rig. So pick up a Super LANBOY. And travel easy.”

All right, calm down. That is directly from the sales blurb. Problem is, it’s all true except for the itty-bitty details. I’m not even going to bother with the “LAN party” thing. On my plane of existence it might as well be a bonfire of the vanities. But this case is super light and, when all panels are in place, darn rigid as well. In fact, with a motherboard, a pair of hard drives, and a cards installed, it is portable. (To help, Antec provides a carrying strap too.) And no, it’s not even close to what the original Compaq portable weighed.

The power supply may be the real limiting factor here. I originally tucked a NeoPower 480 inside but the weight reduction was noticeable when I switched to a TruePower model. (Unloaded, the case can be carried with two fingers –one would do, but the second provides balance.)

Even if you’re not the heady socialite, whisking off to LAN parties, it’s an excellent arrangement if your kid (or you, if you’re the “kid” in question) wants to tote a system out of a dorm room when he/she isn’t going to be there for a while. It’s also very nice to look at (although perhaps not mesmerizing), with the usual exception that while the acrylic side panel lets the case’s insides look out, everyone will be able to look in and see the lousy routing job you did with all the wires.

She needs to be coddled with sweet talk and pampered with gifts, but you’ll never see her in the flesh, says a Hong Kong company that’s developing a “virtual girlfriend” for new cell phones with video capability. If she’s neglected, she’ll be unhappy and she won’t talk to you. The gifts will keep the relationship going from one level to the next — and even though it’s all made up of cold, hard data, suitors will have to pay cold, hard cash for the gifts.

Do the words “pathetic” and “loser” come to mind? But wait, the company says that you won’t be able to make suggestions of a sexual nature so it’s suitable for all ages! Hot diggity!

This product would have been great in the 1950’s when people didn’t buy water and took tons of pills.

For those trapped in the 50s or just without a water bottle, “Pills to Go” is a new combo pack that includes aspirin and a little vial of water. Our question: what happens if you need more than two aspirins or can’t get the pills down with that tiny amount of water?

According to Yahoo! News, Glaciers are melting faster than before in some regions from the Arctic to the Alps but others are getting bigger, scientists said on Friday. They are unable to crack the conundrum of why certain glaciers may be more resilient to global warming, though one reason could be that melting sea ice falls back to earth as snow and so causes some of the ice mountains to grow.

U.N. studies indicate that sea levels could rise by about 30-50 cms (~11 to 19 inches) by 2100, threatening many coastal regions and low-lying islands like Tuvalu in the Pacific.

You may wonder why Tuvalu, at best 17 feet above sea level, is important considering it’s just a group of 9 atolls situated between Hawaii and Australia with about 18 square miles of land mass, no arable land, no streams, rivers, or potable water, no permanent crops, with fish as its only resource and an estimated population of 11,468. The thing is, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name “.tv” for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years. Wouldn’t want anything to happen there, huh?

If there was one area of your PC that you could change for the better, what would it be? All right, let’s cut to the chase –it’s the power supply. Why? Because aside from becoming a bit more stable and a bit more powerful over the years, the average PC power supply remains a metal box with a whole bunch of wires sticking out of it. A plethora of a whole bunch of wires that get everywhere, half of which you may not even need, and some of which may contain more of the wrong type of connectors than the ones you do need.

Antec may have solved all of those issues in one swell foop with its NeoPower 480 power supply. It’s tres upscale. Heavy, you wouldn’t want to carry it around longer than necessary, but let’s start with 480 watts. That’s no big deal, 480 watt power supplies have been around for a while. Auto power sensing (100v - 240v AC) isn’t even really a new deal. Even the voltage feedback circuitry isn’t that rare any more.

But look Ma, no wires!!! Okay, that’s an overstatement. The power cabling needed for the motherboard is securely attached to the power supply. Every thing else attaches to the NeoPower via molex connectors in the case. Don’t need some of the cabling? Don’t plug it in. No need to worry about tucking it out of the way somewhere. There’s a special molex connector for fans only –and not just because only the 12v lines are brought out. The PS’ internal 120mm fan runs at a variable speed, based on temperature sensing. Connected to the fan power outlet, your case fans will also vary. Can you say, “Why’d it suddenly get so quiet in here?”

There are perks too, like a special PCI Express graphics card power connector. And since it’s ATX12V v2.0 compliant it can reduce power consumption by as much as 25% below what that’s rat’s nest of an old power supply you’re using eats up. Are you opposed to saving money? Don’t be afraid to check it out.

Why is This Not Here Already Dept? Get set for the Personal Broadcaster. According to Sling Media, “The SlingBox Personal Broadcaster extends a user’s LIVE Cable TV, Satellite TV or personal video recorder (PVR) experience to any of his or her connected personal devices. SlingBox delivers a complete personal TV experience to networked PCs, WiFi-enabled laptops and PDAs, and even video-enabled mobile phones. Any device. Any network. Anywhere in the world.”

When????