UPDATED 6/1: Be on the lookout for a review of the Desktop Air Conditioner. The company is sending me a review unit!

There are 21 days until summer kicks off officially, which means it's time for Gearlog's First Annual Summer Lovin' Gadget Countdown.

Whether you're traveling to the beach or just hanging out in your own backyard, we're giving you a look at 21 oh-so-geeky products that have come a long way since the Summer of '69. So before June 21st hits, make sure you check Gearlog.com daily for our favorites. We'll be ranking each, too!

#21: Desktop Air Conditioner
You're stuck in the office with no windows or adequate air conditioning, dreaming of the sand beneath your feet with a margarita in hand. I feel your pain (it can get stuffy in my office building from time to time, and I often daydream). A good desk fan could eleviate the sweat pouring from your forehead, like the Haier 7” Oscillating Fan I own, but nothing beats a desktop air conditioner, right?

Design: Made by Can You Image (CYI), the Desktop Air Conditioner uses frozen water to give you a climate-controlled environment.

How It Works: Fill the supplied bottle with water, freeze it, place it back inside the chamber and turn the power switch on.

Features: Doesn't really have any, other than cooling. The least they could do was throw in 2 D-batteries or an AC adapter!

Price: Desktop Air Conditioner sells for $19.99 at Overstock.com

Lovin' Factor (1-10): 6

BusinessWeek posted an excellent primer on the DRM features built into new Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs by David Holtzman, former CTO of Network Solutions and the editor of GlobalPOV.com. The article makes it pretty clear that the days of relying on software encryption to protect Hollywood's big-budget films are soon to be gone. Perhaps the most ambitious plan is BD+, which takes a very active approach to copy-protection. According to the Holtzman:

There's an ominous feature buried in this so-called protection mechanism: If a particular brand of player is cryptographically "compromised," the studio can remotely disable all of the affected players. In other words, if some hacker halfway across the globe cracks Sony's software, Sony can shut down my DVD player across the Net.

Now that is reaching out and touching someone. I wonder if BD+ will work with the internal Blu-ray drives that ship with PCs? I tend to be the Blu-ray fan on staff, at least compared to some, but that is just creepy.

You're a Gearlog reader, so your iPod and cell phone are probably connected to your car in some way, via cables, Bluetooth, etc. Next, try plugging in your PSP. Nyko's Power Tuner for PSP is hitting store shelves this week, and it lets you listen to your music, movies, or games through any car stereo.

Plug the Power Tuner into your car's lighter or power port, and it will charge your PSP and transmit audio at the same time. It has three channel settings for tuning options and a four-foot cord to plug in.

At $19.99, this gadget is pretty cool if you store your best music on your PSP. But I'm not really sure why you would want to listen to your friend's Madden action while you're driving down the freeway, or to a movie without the pictures. Readers, any suggestions?

I wasn't sure what to make of the CombiMouse keyboard when I first noticed it on ShinyShiny.tv. But, I imagine that it will add another great option to the ergonomic keyboards on the market today.

The CombiMouse is just as the name suggests: a combination keyboard and mouse. On the left is the stationary QWERTY keyboard; On the right, is the mobile keyboard, which also feels/acts as a mouse. Then the keys I, O, J, K, L and < become mouse click buttons. To switch from keyboard to mouse, you simply press the Contact button located on the side.

A prototype of the CombiMouse was invented and patented by CEO Ari Zagnoev, and developed by Wichita State University. It is supposed to provide computer users with "instant and effortless transition between keyboard and mouse operation without the need for the user to move their hand away from the keyboard." (Of course, if you want that, you can always opt for the HoverMouse I mentioned last week.) It is also said to eliminate shoulder abduction.

The CombiMouse will work with both a desktop and notebook computer. But what about lefties? Well, currently the team is working on that.

In April 2006, the last prototype was completed, so expect the CombiMouse to launch (hopefully) soon. I know that I can't wait to review one!! I'll keep you posted when I find out its availability.