I’ve been down on netbooks because a) they suck and b) they’re underpowered. Now, however, if your $299 kleinewunderbuk is too slow, the Internet has a fix.

YouTube, for example, can be a big resource hog on many netbooks. Streaming video through a Flash player? As if! The Space Shuttle can’t even do that kind of processing on the freaking fly!

Now there is YouTube Feather a stripped-down version of YouTube for people who can’t handle the full ‘Tube. Here’s how they describe it:

This is an opt-in beta for “Feather” support on YouTube. The “Feather” project is intended to serve YouTube video watch pages with the lowest latency possible. It achieves this by severely limiting the features available to the viewer and making use of advanced web techniques for reducing the total amount of bytes downloaded by the browser. It is a work in progress and may not work for all videos.

Look, YouTube videos are up there with Christianity and Big Macs in terms of Things Americans Deserve. If you bought into the netbook craze and can’t use yours to watch YouTube, then by all means force the Internet to work around your limitations.

I mean you NEED to watch this, don’t you?

• Intro
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Fancy Mouse
• HD Webcam
• Rugged HDD
• Secure HDD

Peripherals, they say, are the spice of life. Well, maybe they don’t say that, but they do say it about variety, and peripherals add variety to your computing life. If you’re reading this on a stock HP desktop, clicking on links with the mouse that came with it, and trusting your data to that 512MB USB stick they gave you at work, then you should consider accessorizing.

There are lots of things out there that make your computer better, more secure, or more comfortable. Why not treat yourself or a loved one to one of them?

Keyboard

Logitech G110 keyboard: $80

Now, I haven’t used this keyboard specifically, but I did review its big brother, the G19. The essential difference is that the G110 doesn’t have the big, expensive LCD on it, which, while cool, wasn’t really adding much to what was otherwise a great keyboard. It’s comfortable, good-looking, and full of extra stuff like macro keys for games or frequently typed phrases, colored backlighting, and handy media controls. Logitech makes great keyboards, and this one is probably their best deal.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review (kind of)

Mouse

Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse: $70

Anyone who spends a lot of time with a computer likely spends a lot of time with their mouse. So why should they be stuck using whatever $5 piece of junk came with the computer, or whatever was in the impulse buy section at Radio Shack? There’s a world of mice out there for differently sized and shaped hands, and it can make a huge difference in terms of comfort and efficiency. The G500 is a great mouse with a proven and familiar shape, and at $50 (street price) it’s a bargain as well. Any gamer or big PC user will appreciate it.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review

Fancy Mouse

Razer Mamba: $130

The Mamba is the final word in mice at the moment. A revision of the Death Adder shape, which was popular for a reason, the Mamba adds two extra buttons and wireless operation to the mix. I found it comfortable, accurate, and extremely good-looking. If you’re willing to spend the dough, this is the best mouse you can buy.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review

HD Webcam

Microsoft LifeCam Cinema: $80

Chances are if you or anyone you know has a webcam, it’s either built into your display or a cheapie one that’s no better than that. Well, a new generation of webcams is coming out that support high-def video, and the first representative is Microsoft’s LifeCam Cinema. It’s got a nice wide angle on it, has more clarity than those pinhole webcams, and the clamp it uses is really convenient. One for you and one for a kid going off to college would be a great way to stay in touch; Microsoft’s video chat software is pretty decent. You can find it for around $60, which isn’t bad at all if you use your current webcam much.

Product Page | CrunchGear Hands-On

Rugged HDD

Lacie Rugged XL 1TB: $160

Lacie’s Rugged series isn’t so much rugged as merely protected from everyday life. While your average external hard drive would probably go belly up if you spilled on it or dropped it, the Rugged XL will take a (minor) licking before rolling over. I’d be much more comfortable bringing this on a long trip than any other drive. There’s a premium for the ruggedness (street price is around $140), but whoever get this will thank you later when the dog knocks it off a table.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review

Secure HDD

Lenovo keypad-secured USB drive (160GB): $150

For your loved ones that are security-conscious, or simply paranoid, I recommend this great drive. Spacious it’s not, and you’re paying a lot for the gigs you’re getting, but the built-in keypad is just too cool to pass up. Not only is it very secure, but it’s also very well-designed. Since you’re actually pressing buttons, there’s no need to worry about administrating it or security software — just set it up once (keep the instructions just in case) and you’re good to go. You can also get a 320GB version for around $200.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review

• Intro
• Sleek
• Radius
• Logitech
• Altec Lansing
• Roxy

So you’ve taken the plunge and bought (or are going to buy) a sweet new personal media player. iPod, Zune, Walkman or other, they’re all capable of holding all your favorite music. But what’s the point if it sounds like garbage on that chintzy pair of included earbuds? Every pair of white headphones you see represents someone who cares more about the look than the sound. Is that you? Didn’t think so.

Now, you don’t have to drop a ton of money to get great sound, but if you’re game, then there are vast and beautiful sonic realms just waiting for you to visit. I’ve had my eyes opened in the last few years as I’ve become… well, I wouldn’t call myself an audiophile, but I’m certainly enjoying my music more than ever these days. Here are a few pairs we’ve liked, from surround-sound to in-ear, and from budget to luxury.

Sleek

Sleek Audio SA6: $249

My new “reference” pair of headphones, this excellent in-ear pair not only sounds great, but is customizable with different tips which change the sound. Sure, you can EQ your songs and albums individually, but being able to blow up the bass or extend the treble in the hardware is fun and can really bring new life to your music. Aside from that aspect, the SA6es, I felt, added power to almost every song I played. I’m not sure how, but there you have it. It’s a lot of money for a pair of headphones, but if you (or a loved one) spend a lot of time using the ones you’ve got, it may just be worth the investment.

If you’re not sure, Sleek is just now starting to ship a cheaper ($80) customizable pair, though we haven’t had a chance to put them through their paces yet.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review

Radius

Radius Atomic Bass: $35

Looking for a good pair of in-ears to replace those stock headphones, but don’t want to spend a bundle? Peter loved the Atomic Bass in-ears from Radius, which completely block out external sound and have a great low end. For subway riding, jogging, or editing video in a crowded cafe, these are a good bet. For $40 you’re not going to get crystal-clear quality, but you’re going to be getting a lot more than with those tinny things that came with the Walkman.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review

Logitech

Logitech G35 7.1 Surround-Sound headphones: $120

Know someone who enjoys playing games or watching movies on your computer? A good pair of surround-sound headphones can be a game-changer. Most modern games support surround sound, and the G35s use Dolby’s virtual surround technology to make even plain stereo sound bigger. I found that with movies and shows it could be hit or miss, but whether they were providing “true” surround sound or not, there was always power and detail. For games I soon came to find them indispensable. As a bonus, they’re closed-type headphones, meaning they’re great for college dorm rooms where speakers or open headphones (like the similarly good Megalodons) can disturb roommates.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review

Altec Lansing

Altec Lansing Backbeat 903: $99

Wireless headphones used to be big chunky affairs with huge IR or RF bases. These Altec Lansings, however, pair via Bluetooth and in addition to sounding good, have integrated phone control buttons and a microphone. If your (or a loved one’s) phone has a weird headphone jack (likely), these are a great alternative. And of course they’re a good option for jogging or going to the gym with, since there’s 100% less cord to worry about.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review

Roxy

JBL Roxy reference 430: $70

Teens are hard to please when it comes to fashion, much less on audio quality, so these JBL Roxy on-ears came as somewhat of a surprise. All the young ladies who saw them pronounced them cute, and the sound was impressive both to our seasoned reviewer and the teens who gave them a try. There are two color choices that both look ridiculous to me, so they must be cute.

Product Page | CrunchGear Review

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(Credit:
CNET)

After reading Engadget’s report citing recent complaints about Flash video playback mucking up system resources on the latest 27-inch Apple iMacs, we decided to test out the claims using our own system. Users on the Apple Discussion threads noticed a bug in the Flash Player that bogs …

Behold a USB flash drive that also doubles as a simple MP3 player. You supply your own microSD card, actually, so maybe think of this as a $16 memory-less MP3 player that doubles as a USB flash drive.

Whatever you do, DON’T compare this to the iPod Shuffle as this device does not appear to support random playback. It does, however, come in three whimsical colors and it plays both MP3 and WMA files on cards up to 32GB in size. The built-in rechargeable battery is good for two hours of playback. Two hours! Actually, the product description says “2 hours or above” so it could be anywhere from two hours to 17 days — no more, no less.

USB MP3 Player + micro SD(HC) Card Reader [Brando]