If you're a strong believer of having a healthy balance of ions in your environment, then the USB Ionic Lifestyle Generator ought to be right up your alley. This $49.95 device can be connected to your machine via USB, where it will get to work straight away, emitting the negative ion equivalent of 10 to 20 waterfalls - hard to believe, yes, but how the heck is the layman supposed to quantify such an amount? Apparently, this USB-powered device will also do away with electromagnetic waves from your PC. Guess you'll need to have more faith to believe that it works as advertised compared to asking a mountain to throw itself into the sea simply be a spoken command. Has anyone tried something like this, and was it ever effective?

Century has come up with their 3-in-1 USB docking station that measures roughly the same size as a netbook, featuring a CD/DVD burner and an internal SATA connector that allows you to expand your storage capability by throwing in another 2.5" SATA hard drive or SSD. A couple of USB 2.0 ports allow you to hook up at least two more devices of your choice. Make sure the included AC adapter is attached if you're prone to running really power hungry peripherals. The inclusion of a 4cm fan might help keep your netbook extra cool when running. If you're interested in picking up this docking station, be prepared to hand over a Benjamin.

Wireless USB's potential can be fully realized if more and more people adopt a cordless LCD monitor/projector solution, but that doesn't seem to be the case so far. This has not stopped Atlona from coming up with their own wireless USB (WUSB) HDMI adapter though, as it comes with three parts - the host wire adapter, device wire adapter and video card cradle complete with dual display outputs. The Atlona WUSB viddeo solution is pretty advanced as it can do streaming of up to 720p or 1,440 x 1,050 (16:9) within a 30-foot display. Not only that, you can also hook up to two monitors simultaneously. The Atlona HDAiR can be picked up for $199.99.

How slim can you get? Very, Asus says, with its SDRW-08D1S-U external slim DVD drive. This doesn't just remain lying down beside your computer like other standard issue external optical drives, it comes with its own stand to help you save space without compromising on style. This vertical external DVD burner will come with a user-friendly software interface for no-brainer disc burning sessions which involves a simple drag-and-drop movement into the thumbnail layout while burning onto a new disc. The SDRW-08D1S-U comes with Turbo Engine which allows it to get the job done soonest possible. It will guzzle power from your computer's USB port though, so be prepared to plug in your notebook if you're doing some heavy duty burning on your travels. To get an idea of just how slim it is, it measures 156.4mm x 140.8mm x 21mm. Features include Disc Encryption technology with 128-bit encryption. You can choose from black or white colors.

How many of us own gadgets that can be recharged via USB? Chances are we have at least a couple, and one of them would be the cell phone. Frequent travelers might find it challenging to juice up their array of USB-powered devices during road trips due to the lack of power outlets, and this is where the USB Travel Mate Adapter comes in handy. It features foldable plugs that make it easier to pack (without running the risk of breaking them off by accident), a blue LED indicator to let you know whether it is powered or not and dual USB ports to help recharge tired gizmos simultaneously. Each $25 purchase comes with connector tips for popular brands including Nokia, Motorola, Blackberry, HTC, Dopod, Sony Ericsson, iPod and iPhone among others. Nice to know this can also be used in the car, courtesy of its removable car cigarette plug which could be rotated 180° for greater flexibility.

[CES 2009] Staying green is huge this year - at least bigger than the last, and ATP aims to spearhead this notion with their EarthDrive line of products. Made from bio-recycled material, each EarthDrive is waterproof, shock proof and dust proof to ensure maximum protection for your precious data inside. In addition, you get integrated security software that makes room for password protection so that essential information inside remains safe and sound. The EarthDrive can be fully recycled once it dies, but judging by its hardiness, we guess that is going to take a fair bit of time before it happens. You can pick one up from 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities.

[CES 2009] Nothing groundbreaking here except for the massive FAIL when it comes to the product description down in front. A microSD card reade? That's not a typo on our part but theirs, and to see it come in the form of cute, tiny Japanese figures that are a wee bit larger than your microSD card and you've got something cool to purchase for your other half.

The idea behind PogoPlug is simple: Plug it on an electrical outlet, then hook it up to your wired Ethernet network. Finally, connect a USB drive to it and voila, you have an internet accessible USB drive. The user will just have to register its drive to my.pogoplug.com and the web service will do the rest. There's no need to open and re-route ports . People don't even need to know what TCP/IP is - cool huh?

Once connected to the service, the files on the drive can be accessed from any web-enabled device via a web browser or a custom application. PogoPlug has a custom API, so third party developers can build their own service and cater the needs of PogoPlug customers. The company mentions things like file synchronization or remote backup, but the sky is the limit. pogoplug.com

Many of us don't even pay attention anymore, but having 64GB in a USB key is actually really cool. Sandisk is taking advantage of this extra capacity to build a new product with the Sandisk Ultra Backup. The idea is that a dumb 64GB drive is much less useful than one with embedded software that can sweep a specific location in your computer and backup + encrypt all the files using an AES* encryption. The Ultra Backup comes in 8GB ($40) to 64GB ($200) capacity.

*AES is an algorithm widely used in the computing, the banking industry and even the military. Even with tremendous computing power, it should take decades or much more to decrypt something.

Not many people like a cold lunch, as there is nothing quite like a piping hot meal awaiting after a long day at work. Thanko has your tummy's well being in mind with its USB-powered lunchbox that comes with an integrated heater to keep its contents warm. Sandwiches and other snacks would do well, and so will a full blown meal. Just make sure the plastic container that you store your food in is of a certain grade and quality, otherwise you wouldn't know whether the heat generated will have an adverse chemical reaction or not. Nothing like a hot meal in the cold winter months to revitalize you - perfect to cap it off with a nice hot cuppa.

A lot of us have cool keyboards, but how many of you have keyboards that are literally cool? Thanko is offering a USB keyboard that has a built-in cooler and heater, which should be useful in all kinds of climates. There is a control wheel on the side of the keyboard that will give you complete control over the temperature orientation of your keyboard. The keyboard is going for just $50 on the Thanko website, and if you want the cooler-only version, you can find it on RareMonoShop.co, though it’s surprisingly more expensive at $78.

Eizo has started selling an optical mouse that doubles as a remote controller for your TV and other appliances. The Eizo-C@T-one will work as a normal mouse until you flip it over, whereby its tilt sensor will switch to the TV function and can be used as a remote controller. The wireless device will work within a radius of 10m using the RF 2.4GHz band. Supported operating systems include Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X 10.3.9. The only downer is that this device isn’t available outside of Japan at the moment.

If you’re in the mood for a retro-looking USB hub, then check out this rotary dial phone usb hub. Going for just $15, it’ll probably be an easy way for you to inject a retro theme to your desk.

If you want to keep some annoying kid away from your computer, you could always try and build a DIY USB monster hub, like the creator of the USB hub in the picture. This “monster” is basically a USB hub with some tape and cloth jumbled with some (rather cool looking) red LED lights as eyes. If you’re into monsters, you're welcome to try building one of your own.