Gearbox: August 05

Ministry of Sound StikAx
Supplier PC Case Gear
Website www.pccasegear.com.au
Price $149

Feel like being a DJ in the comfort of your own home... you know, mixing loops to the sound of your mum making dinner, or your brother making sweet love to his pillow? Then the StikAx is the mixer for you. Along with the utterly uncomfortable hand unit that looks like it was designed solely for use by General Grievous, you’ll get a software CD and a CD full of loops. Time to start jamming, my man (or woman).

Pure AV home theatre surge protector
Supplier Belkin
Website www.belkin.com.au
Price $189.95

Everyone should have a surge protector, if only so they can say ‘Hey, I have a surge protector, baby’ to potential bed buddies at bars, clubs and train stations. Seriously though, if you have a multi-thousand dollar HT setup, you would do well to defend it from electrical nasties with this eight-plug behemoth, and with a $275,000 connected equipment warranty, why wouldn’t you? As an added bonus, it can protect your phone and ADSL/cable connections too. The simplest ideas are always the best.

Notebook Dock + Cooler
Supplier Anyware
Website www.anyware.com.au
Price $74

The underside proclaims ‘Just be rich and cool with your notebook’. Um, Ok. The idea is sound at least – two fans in the slimline dock draw heat out from the underside of your notebook and vent it out the back. To make it more useful, the dock also comes with a memory card reader, and three USB 2.0 ports, though you need to plug in a USB cable from the notebook to power these. Overall a nice idea, but not an essential piece of kit.

Belkin Classic Leather case for the iPod Shuffle
Supplier Belkin
Website www.belkin.com.au
Price $39.95

I draw pictures not write words you bastards! Bill the designer here – this is my first review for Atomic, and the lads have given me the smallest product of the roundup (trying to tell me something?) Anyway, it’s this Belkin Classic Leather case for the iPod Shuffle! You get three in a pack – black, red and white – to suit your lack of dress sense and while it looks cool and all it does make it a little harder to operate the controls. Comes with a D-ring too (for lanyards and keychains and crap). All up a good way to protect your Shuffle from psychotic monkeys... and those bastards in editorial. (Ed - Har!)