Thanks to editor Laarni Ragaza for this review!

I've used my share of laptop bags over the years, and the one peeve that I've had with nearly all of them is this: Even before I put in the laptop, they're already heavy. So when Carol asked me to check out the Skooba Skin laptop bag from RoadWired, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The Skooba Skin is the miminalist of laptop bags, resembling a padded envelope with handles. This bag is light, light, light, and stylin' to boot.

Like the Infinite Dress of TV infomercial fame, there is more than one way to use the Skooba Skin. Just slide your laptop into the bag and fold the patented mirror-image flaps, one over the other. One flap slides into the case, while the other fastens in place using a discreet Velcro tab right under the Skooba label. And voilá, you have a laptop sleeve you can tuck under your arm to carry, or slip into a suitcase or carry-on for trips. For those who prefer to tote their laptops, just pull the two flaps straight up to use as a handle. There is no shoulder strap bundled in, but that would have just detracted from the design. A couple of caveats: The handle could use a soupçon of padding where your hand meets the bottom of the handle, and some suspension padding at the bottom of the laptop bag (for those times you just plop your bag down with a thud) would have been a welcome touch.

The Skooba Skin retails from $29.95 to $39.95. It comes in three sizes (the 1012 model is for 10- to 12-inch laptops, the 1415 can take laptops with 14- to 15-inch screens, and the 1617 can take laptops with up to 17-inch screens) and several fabric/color combos, including red and black ripstop with gray lining and, my personal favorite, brown corduroy with teal lining.

I don't know about you, but I'm rather disturbed by the idea of mind-reading technology. Researchers at the University of Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing a computer that will have the ability—you guessed it—to read your mind.

So why am I so freaked out? Well, if you remember back in 2000, Mel Gibson played Nick Marshall in the film, What Women Want. His character suffered electrocution from a hairdryer, and then lo and behold, was given the power to hear what every woman was thinking. At the time, I just laughed, because I never thought that anyone or anything would ever be able to tell what I was thinking—good or bad. Sure, sometimes it's convenient to know what's on a person's mind—say on a job interview or on the day of your wedding. But honestly, I don't want to know what's on the mind of my boyfriend, brother, my friends...okay, so maybe I'd want to know what the heck my cat thinks about all day, but that's it.

This "mind-reading" technology can already be programmed on computers to recognize different facial expressions generated by test subjects who look bored, interested, or confused. But the researchers want to go a step further by figuring out how a computer can also recognize body movements, posture and gesture.

Here's why I'm skeptical: This emotionally-aware computer "could enable Web sites to tailor advertising or products to your mood... For example, a webcam linked with our software could process your image, encode the correct emotional state and transmit information to a Web site." Great, more targeted ads! Why would consumers be excited about that? And do we really want machines to know our innermost emotions that even those who are close to us aren't aware of?

But I don't want to complain too much, because there is a lot of good that can come out of it, such as online teaching to show whether someone understands the material, or improving road safety by determining if a driver is confused or sleepy. Plus, it could also help with autism.

Currently, Professor Peter Robinson of the University of Cambridge is working with a "big car company" to install a camera into the dashboard of a car with this kind of technology within five years. Don't panic yet: he explains if you don't want the camera to reveal what you are feeling, you can simply cover it up.

Phew!

[via Reuters]

I love NetFlix, but I put my subscription on hold last night. My bet is pretty soon a lot of other people are going to do the same. Even though the company now offers a one-disc-at-a-time plan for just $6 a month, I just can't justify the price. I have had Remember the Titans and Friday Night Lights sitting on my desk for the last six weeks. OK, so maybe the selections are my fault, but I think there are some key technology trends behind this as well. 

First, I have a lot of broadcast TV to watch. With RCN Digital cable there at least 200 channels, and at least 30 (40? 50?) that do nothing but play movies all day. Plus for HBO and Cinemax, I can watch programming on demand for free. I use the BitTorent client Azureus to get TV shows that I miss during the week, like the excellent Rescue Me and The Closer, and just watch them on my PC. And if that isn't enough, I am testing out the TiVo Series 2 DT, which lets you record two channels of TV at once.  With all these digital options, why would I need DVDs shipped via mail?

I couldn't quite cancel the subscription; I just put it on hold for three months. Maybe when the days get shorter this Fall I will have more time for DVDs, but I wouldn't put money on it.

Not even $6 a month.

Updated, 6/28: Dell sent me a photo of the branded ExpressCard, at left, and made clear that the card will ship with something called the Dell Mobile Broadband Utility and not Verizon's VZAccess Manager software. Also, the new version of the Mac OS, 10.4.7, supports Novatel's S620 and V620 cards -- but not explicitly the XV620. Will this card work on non-Dell laptops? I'm going to have to get one in here to find out.

Original post, 6/27: Dell just released the first ExpressCard for Verizon's high-speed EV-DO network: The Dell Wireless 5700 Mobile Broadband ExpressCard. This is a rebranded version of the Novatel Wireless XV620 that I tested back in April, and it will sell for $179 on Dell's Web site by the end of this week. When I tested Novatel's prototype, it was blazing fast and got excellent reception.

The new ExpressCard standard replaces old-school PC Cards on many new laptops, including models from Dell, Lenovo, HP and Apple. Up until now, though, there have been no cards for high-speed cellular networks that fit in the new machines, forcing people to hook up cell phones via USB cables to use as modems or use laptops with integrated cellular connectivity. ExpressCards are typically faster than phone-as-modem connections, and more flexible than an integrated cellular laptop.

The 5700 will come with 30 days of free Verizon service, after which you'll have to pay $59.99/month if you have a Verizon voice plan, or $79.99/month if you don't.

You won't need to buy a Dell laptop to buy this ExpressCard, but I assume it will only come with Windows drivers, so Mac users will still be left out in the cold. As soon as I get one I'll try it with a MacBook Pro, though. There's still no word from Verizon or Sprint on the release of their own versions of the card.

Are you an iChimp? Then you'll go bananas over this pretty iPod case.

Power Support is a manufacturer of Apple accessories (but who isn't these days?!), who designs Kimono Cases—inspired by the kimonos that Geishas wear—which wrap around your iPod. Today, the company is announcing the release of Kimono Cases for the iPod with video and iPod nano.

The Kimono Case will protect your iPod while also allowing you to have full wheel control and docking capabilities. It is constructed of fine leather and authentic cotton kimono fabric and each case is cut individually, which means no two cases are exactly alike.

Expect the Kimono Case to ship in July at many retailers including J&R, Melrose Mac, MacCafe, and The Apple Store, but you can order it now at powersupportusa.com for $39.95.

Already available is the Kimono Case for iPod Shuffle ($23), Kimono Case for iPod mini ($40), and Kimono Case for iPod ($40).

Users of PDA-phones like the i-Mate JAM are familiar with the frustration of trying to punch out numbers on a virtual keypad. Since there's no tactile feedback, it's hard to know which buttons you pressed, leading to a lot of misdialing and squinting at PDA-phone screens.

Immersion came by PC Labs earlier this week with a solution: a force-feedback PDA-phone screen. Like the kiosk demo we saw in May, this technology has the uncanny power to make you feel like you're pressing a real, physical key when you're just touching a screen.

Unlike Immersion's kiosk technology, the PDA-phone system doesn't actually vibrate the screen -- it uses a vibration motor in the body of the PDA/phone (the same one you'd use for vibrating alerts, or that Immersion uses in their VibeTonz phones.) So it isn't quite as convincing as the kiosk, but it's still uncanny. It doesn't feel like your phone is set to vibrate, it feels like you're pressing a button.

Immersion told me that this technology may appear in PDA-phones as soon as next year. While it doesn't require extra vibration motors, the motor in a phone needs to be in the right place, so they need to work with their partners (such as Samsung) to build phones that work well. I'm looking forward to it.