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If you can’t get enough of the Olympics and you think the Bird’s Nest stadium is fascinating, you can have a replica right there on your desk in the form of a speaker.

The Bird’s Nest USB Speaker has all the features you’d expect from a product like it: it can be powered/recharged via USB, can be plugged into a PC or any music player with a 3.5mm jack and it’s light enough to make it very easy to carry around.

Of course, you won’t be getting more than that: the design is not spectacular and the sound probably isn’t crystal clear, but then what were you expecting for $12? The Olympics are going to be over anyway and you’ll get bored with it, so might as well spend as little as possible.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $12 on USBGeek.com.

Thanks to Joe who sent this tip via the contact form!

The Emergency Computer Backup Pencil Holder is probably the last thing a manager wants to see on his system administrator’s desk. Unless the IT guy is really really Superman-speed good at writing things down, the company’s screwed.

Which is why this evil techy joke is so cool. The catch is that bad sysadmins probably won’t find it funny, since they know it’s the painful truth. The good ones will just see it as harmless fun. Until the first time everything dies before they get to backup, at least.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $14.50 on PerpetualKid.com.

Via GearDiary

A few days ago we talked about the Disc Eraser - a manually operated device that scratches discarded discs to ensure no one can read them.

The USB Powered CD Destroyer is its big brother. If a company has a lot of CDs to throw out, tasking an employee with scratching each and every one manually would be crazy. The CD Destroyer automates this task: like the name says, it draws power from an USB port, then, at the push of a button, it spins the disc and uses three steel points to score the surface, making it unusable.

Although it’s more expensive than the manual device, $20 is a small price to pay for destroying a large number of CDs without much work. It all depends on the scale of the operation.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $19.99 in our store, powered by Amazon.com.

I never considered that scratching a CD could be a good thing… but, of course, it makes sense. If you want to get rid of it, but it contains information you’d rather not risk sharing with the world, it’s a case of “better safe than sorry”. Most of us would just find the nearest pointy object and proceed to write our name on the surface of the disc, but for bulk disposal a better solution is needed.

Unless you’re willing to scratch a dozen CDs with a key, the Disc Eraser could be a perfect answer. It’s very simple to use: place the CD in the Eraser, close it, move the slider over the disc, admire the deep scratch across it.

In the end, it depends on your needs. For 2 discs, just get a key or a knife. For 200 discs… I’d seriously consider this. Well, as long as you don’t mind doing some manual labor.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $15.99 on DiscEraser.com.

Via OhGizmo!

Here’s a fatal combination: being concerned about wasting power (be it out of love for the environment or your pockets) and being lazy. It’s so much easier to just snap the lid of your laptop shot or leave your computer running all the time…

Potential way out: if you’re lazy but don’t mind spending some money to save some money, you should look at the Eco Button. It’s literally just a button - push it and the computer goes into super-saving mode, drawing the absolute minimum power needed (about 1.8 watts). My favorite part comes next, however: push it again and it all comes back, no delays (one of the parts I hate about turning off my PC is having to wait until it boots).

And in order to further motivate you to keep using it, the Eco Button utility monitors the power and money you’ve saved. I’m not entirely sure the numbers are that big, but hey, who knows. And they must add up to an impressive sum if you think about how much you waste in a month or in a year.

How much under $29.99?
A little: $29.70 on Firebox.com.

Geek is trendy nowadays, so your thourough knowledge of all controllers ever produced just might mark you as cool, not as a nerd or loser.

If you’re willing to try this out, it’s time to accesorize. First stop, the Nintendo Controller Foil Wallet. It looks just like the real thing, appears to be high quality and is roomy enough to hold your money and cards and assorted something-or-others.

It won’t fit your cartridges, however. But really, trying to shove your money into a real controller would make you a freak, so just settle for the next best thing.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $15.99 on HotTopic.com.

Via ChipChick

As the owner of two not-very-clean keyboards, I salute the makers of the Cyber Clean. Eating in front of the computer saves time, but keyboards are always the victims here.

The Cyber Clean uses a combination of viscosity and elasticity to sink in between the keys and gather all the unspeakable things gathered inside. It’s also supposed to kill the germs on the surface (you know all those studies about how your keyboard is much filthier than your toilet seat?). Each pot gets you 500 grams of gooey stuff.

The upside: you will have a keyboard that looks brand new again.
The downside: you will see what used to be inside it. Ew.

How much under $29.99?
Some: ~$16 on ExpertsVerdict.com.

Via BoingBoing

Go into any computer store and you’ll find a dozen flash drives, so why feature this particular one?

Well… it’s pretty. Really, you can’t do much about storage, you only get a couple of options, but the design can set a flash drive apart from the rest. And the SanDisk Cruzer Pattern USB Flash Drive really is special. Well, at least if you’re a girl or have a thing for flower patterns. I’m both, so I’m drooling over it.

It’s even got a clip! Not that I would consider clipping it to my pocket or strap to show it off (that spells “lost drive”), but it would be very cool if I could attach it to an inside pocket to avoid rummaging for it all the time.

The 2GB storage capacity isn’t that impressive unfortunately, so only buy this if you’re interesting in transfering smaller files. That DVD you just copied? Won’t work, sorry.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $12.71 on Amazon.com.

Via Chip Chick

The Wii wasn’t made to be used with a keyboard, but sometimes one would come in pretty useful… So someone thought about it real hard and made one.

And the Wii Keyboard doesn’t look half bad. It might be more difficult to use than a regular keyboard, so you won’t be writing papers or novels on it, but for gaming use it looks great.

It’s not available yet, but you can preorder it for the July 18th launch.

How much under $29.99?
A little: ~$29 on Amazon.co.uk.

Via Engadget

I’ll start by stating the obvious: the USB Golf Mouse Set is ugly. It’s got a mouse shaped like a golf ball - only a bit flatter -, a green mouse pad, a flag, a small golf ball and a club.

If you’re very, excruciatingly, extremely bored at work it could offer a couple of minutes of entertainment… Or maybe more if you’re a golf fan. But the shape of the pad and the flag poking out of it probably make it pretty difficult to use, and the shape of the mouse isn’t ergonomic.

However, the mouse is the only worthwhile piece of the set, it looks kind of cool and I guess it could work as a gift for a golfer. But only if you’re a cheapskate.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $18 on Gadget4All.com.

Via ChipChick