Laptop locks are so 2005. If you want to take a more George Jetson approach to deterring thieves from purloining your portable electronics, take a look at Datadots. The Personal DNA Kit contains a whole bunch of the tiny dots suspended in adhesive, which you smear on your beloved gadgets; I recommend staying inside the battery compartment, if you don't want glue on the cases of your prettier devices.

Each dot within a kit has the same unique serial number, which you register at the Datadots site. If someone steals a gadget that's dotted up, and it's recovered by police, they can trace the device back to you.

This does at first seem a little like closing the barn door after the iPod gets out, but the deterrent aspect is that police will be able to definitely determine that the gadget is stolen. Thieves can try to scrape off all the dots, but they'll wind up with a very ugly gadget afterward. And if you're a determined gluer, a few little dots will be bound to escape their attention. The kits also contain warning stickers, so the bandits can tell you're not playing.

Here's a link to Datadot's video showing just how they work.

The Brenthaven Edge bag (right) is so edgy that it's not even on Brenthaven's Web site yet; but it will be available in a few weeks for $49.95. My kinda price. 

I can tell you that Blogging Molly loved it. I tried it for a day on my treacherous smooth daily commute and no one got hurt. It served as a great "table" while I sat on the subway balancing a book, a yoga mat, and a bag lunch. I'm sure my fellow passengers were totally jealous. (That's why they were staring at me, right?)

The Edge is nice and slim with just room enough for your laptop, power supply, and important papers. It's nice and light--only 1.6 lbs--with an adjustable shoulder strap, which, like all shoulder straps digs in a bit. And, like the Shling bag that my co-worker Laarni tried out, it can cause some awkwardness if you're well-endowed.

You can also carry it like a briefcase, but when not in use, that strap is recessed, so it's out of the way and retains the bag's sleek look.

What would The Edge think of it?

I especially liked the light blue color and the orange lining inside. Go Mets! (The bag is also available in black, in case you're a Yankees fan. Shudder.)  And you can even use your laptop right inside the bag--great for planes, trains, and even automobiles, although the thought of that last option makes me a wee bit carsick. 

If you've got more to carry, the Metro bag (left) is light, as well, but with a lot more pockets. You can stow all your gadgets and other stuff--books, papers, your teddy bear--in addition to your notebook.

The bag's got lots of padding, which is conveniently removable. The Metro has an adjustable shoulder strap with a lot more padding than the Edge, which is great for sore shoulders. I usually prefer backpacks, like the Mobile Edge Komen Paris Computer Backpack, but the Metro is a great non-backpack option. And it sells for $69.95. Not bad!

The name, Nintendo "Revolution" was just so uncool, wasn't it? Well, at least the company thought so. After lots of brainstorming and keeping the public in suspense, the new name is...Wii.

Pronounced "we," 1up.com explains that the name symbolizes a console that is for everyone. "'Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.'"

When it ships in 2006, most likely around the holidays, Wii is meant to be a virtual console, "capable of downloading 20 years of Nintendo content,"  including games created for the NES, Super NES and N64, but not the GameBoy or DS--according to a PCMag.com article.

Wii is said to include a DVD drive that will play the small GameCube optical games, DVDs and CD music, along with Revolution-specific games; the console will be no bigger than three stacked DVD cases.

Want to find out more? Watch this video on Nintendo renaming Revolution. [You'll have to download the file to watch it.]

Browsing Google News to see who picked up my scoop on Nokia's new Chicago retail store, I found the sincerest form of flattery: Xinhua, China's official news agency, copied my story wholesale, slapped a "Beijing" dateline on it and attributed my words to "Yang Li."

This isn't all that surprising; everybody knows that China has pretty loose ideas of "intellectual property." But it makes me kind of proud to know my story was so good, the Reds had to claim it for their own.

But if you're reading this, check out the original story and the Engadget discussion thread on the Nokia store issue. Accept no substitutes.

It's amazing what companies can jam-pack into an MP3 player these days, isn't it?

Oregon Scientific's new MP121 MP3 player ($179.99) is not only waterproof and shockproof, but it sports an integrated FM radio and a built-in pedometer!

The MP3 player includes 1GB of storage, equalizer, ID3 tag support, USB 2.0, and a 3-color backlight display (blue, orange, purple).

The Pedometer features a distance calculator, calorie counter, a BMI calculator, stop watch, pace counter, and an alarm.

With the MP121 player, you get: waterproof stereo earphones, USB cable, belt clip, carrying pouch, armband, user manual and software CD.

Sure, you can get an MP3 player with more capacity at a lower price, but if you exercise regularly and like to listen to music while bathing, why not? Purchase the Oregon Scientific MP121 for $179.99 (Amazon).

But, if you'd prefer a standard pedometer, check out Oregon Scientific's Pedometer with Heart Monitor ($24.95), which Dan Costa bought himself back in January.

[Found via Techie Diva's]