Attention serious nerds, get out your Google calendar and mark it down with the following information: On December 4 - 7, the Blip Festival 2008 comes to New York to recycle your Commodore 64, Atari 2800, NES … possibly even a Neo Geo or two … into musical instruments and artistic displays. While most gaming relics look like plastic-injection toasters and sound like a berzerk B9 robot, in the hands of talented musicians (like 8-Bit Operators), skilled artisans, and a handful of components from Radio Shack, they can become a bleeping good time.

Touch displays are going to transform the way we use computers. MultiTouch, a Finland-based company, has just released a truly amazing modular based multi-touch display. They’re completely scalable, from the size of a laptop screen to screens that measure over 66 feet across — only your pocketbook will decide the size of your display. Each LCD screen is HD ready and can be built as a table or a wall unit. The multi-user system allows the direct use of hands to play games, sketch, manipulate, and play around with maps, pictures, and videos — no more mouses (or is it mice?). If you’ve watched CNN lately, you’ve probably seen the MultiTouch in action, moving around the electoral map. It really has to be seen to fully understand its capabilities.

Related: TED 2007

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If that external hard drive is looking a too much like … well … a hard drive, Brazilian design company Meninos’ hard drive cases might be the color you need add to your other desktop. Made in acrylic, these cases are wrapped in a vinyl overlay in a rainbow of designs, from Brazilian standards like iconic snack packaging to the more world-recognized Kiss and special Villains imagery. They come alone or packaged with hard drives up to 500 g’s. Meninos also takes custom orders too; just upload how nutty you want your case to look and you’ve got a new, personalized desktop.

First, Incase surprised us with their incredibly relevant, timely, and bad ass KRINK/Arkitip collaboration laptop sleeve. Next up, they’re collaborating with Dutch artist Parra. Known for combining bright colors and his mastery of fonts (and in this case it looks like great embroideries), I think we’re really in for a treat. The product will be available for sale in the Arkitip curated section online on the 24th of October. And we can’t wait to see what they do, and who they work with next.

Tokidoki, the Italian lifestyle brand with the Japanese name, has just ventured into laptops. Simone Legno’s Cactus Friends and Moofia characters are easily recognizable gracing the top of Fujitsu’s new LOOX U series ultra-mobile PC. Let’s face it, anyone who is shopping for this ¥123,800 (about $1100 USD) Japan-exclusive UMPC are doing so for the tokidoki branding. To that end, people who purchase the laptop will be rewarded with a 1GB tokidoki USB drive, stickers and an original T-shirt. Check out the product page (in Japanese) here.

If you’re looking for a practical bag for your laptop that doesn’t skimp on style, there’s a good chance you can find something in Tom Bihn’s vast array of potent portables. His latest creation, the Checkpoint Flyer Laptop Briefcase, is the fruit of five months of some serious design labor in response to the Transit Security Authority’s challenge to create a “checkpoint friendly” case to transport your precious wares. These suave satchels remove the hassle for both you and the security guard by allowing them to get a clean shot at the contents of your carry-on by keeping your laptop in a separate protective compartment and leaving the rest of your gear undisturbed as it passes through their x-ray machine. The bag is available in sizes accommodating most Apple laptops and also many PCs.

If you’re a firm believer that your laptop case says as much about you as the content of your computer’s character, perhaps you should stop lugging around your Macbook in that purple crushed velvet sleeve — it’s so 30 years ago. Instead you should consider toting your prized ‘puter in the choice new case collaboration curated by Arkitip. It combines the quality craftsmanship of Incase with the signature drip print that could only come from a design mind like KRINK. If you’re not convinced that this is the case for your hardware, we recommend taking a sneak peak at the process of putting together this unique piece of techno-luggage for your MacBook. Then head over to the Arkitip store and grab your own before they sell out.

Most keyboards are designed with desk ergonomics in mind, but what if you don’t work at a desk? For those who compute in a more casual environment — such as a sofa or bed — your typical keyboard isn’t an ideal accessory. Infinium labs has remedied this problem with the Phantom Lapboard. The unique keyboard/mouse combo rotates 360 degrees in any direction and tilts forward at a 22-degree angle. These design quirks not only make it easier for Southpaws, but the incline allows ample space to slide the accompanying wireless mouse around. And yes, It works with both PC and Mac.

via Yanko Design

It’s more or less a fact of life that you learn something new everyday. You might learn that Paris Hilton is dating someone new or that your Grandmother’s application to join the Hells Angels was accepted. However, if you’re employed within the creative fields of graphic design, illustration, web design and developement, the odds are that neither of those things are useful or applicable towards your continued personal growth within your chosen trade. If you’re looking to gain more practical knowledge that will go a long way toward giving you more of an edge in your creative field of employment, you’ll probably find The Learnlist to be a much more valuable source of wisdom on everything from Flash to Dreamweaver. The site is aimed at creative types and lists a bevy of the best books and websites to help you add to your ever growing database of information for innovation. Whether there’s a new program that you need to learn or an application you just haven’t had the time to perfect yet, The Learnlist is the place to go to expand your intelligence on such matters.

We know you’re a regular prodigy on Final Cut and Photoshop. You’ve got all of the shortcuts down from A to Z. The problem with that: all of your friends know you do, too. Thanks to your speed on the Mac, when it comes to answering their queries on complex programs, you’re their go to guy/gal. Unfortunately all of that time fixing their flubs leaves you with little time to work on your own projects. If only there were a way you could share your keyboard knowledge, you might actually get something done it time. Well fret no longer, gifted digital denizen. The forward thinking folks at Photojojo have come up with a solution to your quandary. Their brilliant new keyboard shortcut skins for Mac versions of Aperture, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, and Pro Tools (amongst other programs) allows anyone to become endowed with the digital wisdom you possess. While that doesn’t make your skill set any less special, now you can help your friends in the amount of time it takes to say “figure it out for yourself” or, if you fancy being polite, “please go to photojojo and get a keyboard skin, I’m busy”.

Most computer users express their individuality via their screen savers or personalized backgrounds. But GeekStuff4u realizes that the screen is not the only PC canvas with which to be creative. Their line of hand-painted USB keyboards turns your typing tool into a magical mural. Whether users would like their QUERTYs to be floating amidst a floral garden or simply have P’s and Q’s blinged out in gold, these keyboards are a welcomed makeover to something we stare at every day.

Just because Apple’s Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS) was created to prevent your precious Macbook Pro hard drive from becoming a $2500 paperweight, doesn’t mean hackers can’t have a little fun with it. In this video demo, a Honda bike is put through its paces using the laptop’s horizontal and vertacle axis receptors. It’s a fun gimmick, and some sweet graphics, but it’s no Wii. Also, we’re pretty sure the Hell’s Angels frown upon mobile computing.

Information is gold — and that’s what seems to have inspired the idea behind the blinged-out design of LaCie’s new Golden Disk hard drive, the latest in its designer series. Packing 500g’s (gigabytes, that is), the digital storage unit’s wavy, melting gold look comes courtesy of French brand Ora Ito, with designer Ito Morabito at its helm. Nothing’s special under the hood, however; like others of its kind, the Golden Disk uses plug-and-play functionality via high-speed USB 2.0, is driver-free and doesn’t have a fan, so really this baby is all about the looks. If this drive is too sexy for your cat, check out the LEGO-inspired Brick hard drive also created by Ora Ito for the computer peripherals company. LaCie’s taking pre-orders now on the Golden Disk for an October delivery.

I’ve been writing for about three hours now. That means, among other things (like, for instance, my eyes are bloodshot and I’m terribly twitchy), that the bottom of my computer is freaking hot as hell, and if it were on my lap, (as, AHEM, its name suggests it’s could be), and not comfortably perched on a table, I would be one step away from burn-victim status. This sounds dramatic, but I’ve actually tested it, and results unfortunately proved that MacBook Pros, when used on top of a lap, do indeed inhibit the wear of miniskirts/shorts/most other things that make guys happy for at least seven hours. As of press time, there’s no real solution to this dilemma, but I think things may be headed in some version of the right direction with the advent of these Console Heat Radiators available at Japan’s HimeyaShop for $35. This little guy (or girl; you never can tell with anime) radiates the heat from your PC, game console, or DVD player to protect both the device and the surface on which it rests, representing a nice progression in the area of “Saving Valuable Sufaces From Hot Shit.” Nice.

Now save my thighs, please.

Via Technabob

There are a wealth of laptop accessories on the market these days, and they all have one thing in common: they’re built for business and travel. Mike and Maaike, the talented San Francisco based design duo, have identified this common thread in the laptop accessories market and have ingeniously separated themselves from the pack by designing a new ‘Laptop at Home’ line for Belkin. The CushTop, PocketTop, and Sleeve Top products address the challenges of using a laptop at home, which happen to be very different than challenges realized when using a laptop away from home– factors like use in different locations around the house with different postures, increased desire for comfort, even fun and vibrant colors that you wouldn’t necessarily want the whole world to see but that are pleasing to you within the confines of your own home. Mike and Maaike have really hit the jackpot with these designs– a brilliant step ‘into the home’ for a market previously existing solely ‘on the road.’