Japanese peripherals company Evergreen has been releasing a line of dimestore-quality fantasy graveyard-themed computer accessories lately, including this keyboard, mouse, and mousepad set. For the Horde!

I wouldn't call them "goth," though. Not enough bat wings and tiny chalices to be filled with tears next to little parchment Post-It notes onto which poems can be written in blood.

Goth is Back, Goth is Good, Goth is the Way! Mouse, Mousepad and Goth Keyboard. [Akihabara News]

Despite the furor around announcements from the Apple mothership, every Macworld is also a launch vehicle for hundreds of companies to introduce new products. Last week, Logan Kugler walked the show floor at Macworld 2008 for Boing Boing Gadgets and found ten products that may have overshadowed by the thin (but still opaque) Macbook Air.

• Lapdome Collapsible Laptop Hut [Product Page | $30 | Availability: Now]

Outside? Trying to work on your laptop and the sun giving you too much love? Until screen technology develops to the point where you can boost your screen's brightness to match the sun (or OLPC-type reflective screens become more common), check out the LapDome Collapsible, a lightweight tent for your laptop that folds down flat and stores in your laptop bag. Pro tip: Cook s'mores on your heat sink.

• Futiro Solo [Product Page | $79 | Availability: Now]

The Solo from Futiro is the best example of the quintessential portable VoIP USB handset I've seen to date. It's both intuitive and elegant and feels good in your hand. Don't know about sound quality, but from what I saw it integrates flawlessly with Skype and iChat.

Although I'm not nearly thin or tattooed enough to wear these holster bags from Skin Graft in their suggested manner—shirtless, sexy, and smoldering—they would make great little gadget bags for those who can pull off the whole not-quite-gothy/not-quite-geeky look that so many of you young internerds seem to be doing these days. (Let's call it "shellbent-for-leather.") They're small enough they might be able to be worn under a jacket without issue, although I don't see any practical way to wear them under a shirt. And you wouldn't want to anyway, unless all your gear is sweat resistant.

Prices are around $80 for canvas models, but go upwards of $200 for the ornate leather and brass versions.

Catalog Page [TheLadyBirdCabaret.com via Ectomo]

While I share NOTCOT's worry about the lack of wireless security—and will add my own quibble about someone's inability to reach down and flip a physical switch—the Belkin Conserve surge protector with its wireless switch is a cute concept. Six of the ports on the power strip are turned off when you flick the remote switch, while two stay on for things like alarm clocks or routers. And because the switch has a magnet in the back it can be hung up nearly anywhere, making it as convenient as possible.

There are six separate channels the Conserve can be flipped to to prevent interference, but that won't do much to stop accidental or malicious disconnects of your power by someone with another unit.

BELKIN CONSERVE SURGE PROTECTOR [Notcot]

Voltaic Systems, makers of the only solar bags worth buying, have announced the "Generator," an attache case with a panel that can produce up to 14.7 watts—enough to recharge a laptop over the course of a day. (That's the first thing anyone ever asks me when they see my Voltaic backpack. It's always a little bit of a disappointment to explain how large the panels would need to be.)

Like other Voltaic bags, the Generator has a built-in battery pack that is constantly topped off during the day from which laptops or other gadgets can be charged, even at night. And like the others, the Generator's fabrics are made from recycled PET soda bottles.

The Generator is a whopping $600, though. I can testify that Voltaic does a good job with their products and I'm sure this model is no different, but that's a heap of cash. I would actually consider it if it were a backpack, despite the fact that it would be huge. I'm planning on doing a lot of travelling next year and I'm going to try to carry a single, carry-on sized bag. I may have to see if I can buy a similar panel and battery pack and rig it up to something like this Victorinox bag.

Product Page [VoltaicSystems.com]

Belkin's Washable Mouse was tested by Gearlog, who did more than just get it a bit scuzzy. Instead, they submerged it in a day's worth of food—while still using it. The gauntlet: oatmeal, chili, pudding, and Cheetos. Because the scroll wheel is touch sensitive and the sensor on the bottom is optical, the entire unit is sealed.

These should be the product images on the box.

Hands-, Oatmeal-, Chili-, Pudding-, Red Bull-, and Cheetos-On with The Belkin Washable Mouse [Gearlog]

Coming to a store near you after the Consumer Electronic Show 2008*, the tongue-tying "Powramid" is a nice little conical power strip that leaves all six plugs accessible even if filled with oversized wall warts. It won't be as pretty when it's filled with plugs, but I like it. Especially the little LED on the top.

I've given up trying to hide all my wires, zip-tying my power strips down under my desk and all that. I am embracing wires instead, confident that we'll eventually figure out how to remove them from our lives in the next decade or three.

Product Page [KreativePower.com (Nothing says "creativity" like using a "K" instead of a "C!") via Coolest-Gadgets via Oh Gizmo]

* Don't say "fuckfest." Don't say "fuckfest."

• A spare battery is one not installed in a device. This is an important distinction to remember.

• You will have to transport spare batteries as carry-on baggage, not checked baggage. The TSA does not want loose lithium-based batteries in the check luggage.

• You may put an approved battery in checked baggage only if it is installed in a device. A checked video camera, cell phone, or laptop with a battery installed would be fine—ignoring the folly of doing so due to risk of physical damage—but any spare, loose batteries are now forbidden.

• Spare, loose batteries transported as carry-on need to be securely packed. That means you should use manufacturer's plastic battery caps for spare batteries or pack them in plastic bags. You can also place electrical tape over the terminals of the batteries.

For 99% of us that travel, even battery-heavy folk like bloggers, that should be enough information to help you forward. It's really not that bad. Take all your electronics on board as carry-on and pack loose batteries in plastic.

Where things have gotten slightly more confusing is in the TSA's "lithium content" regulations. Who knows how many grams of lithium are in their batteries or whether the TSA considers their battery a "lithium metal" or "lithium-ion" model?

Fortunately, most cell phone and laptop batteries are under the 8-gram lithium limit. I expect that the real world effect of this will be that extra cell phone and laptop batteries will be accepted without question by TSA screeners.

For camera operators or those who use large-capacity extended life battery packs (like the ones that fit under the whole width of a laptop), you're going to need to be prepared to have calculated exactly how many grams of lithium are in each of your batteries and have that information readily at hand in case you need to discuss it with a TSA screener. You are allowed "two spare batteries with an aggregate equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries that fall below the 8-gram threshold." In short, carrying lots of low-capacity batteries in carry-on baggage is allowed, while no more than two large-capacity batteries is approved.

This information was gleaned from the Safe Travel.dot.gov bulletin and TSA sites, prompted by my initial balking at my future inability to travel with all my gear which was quickly followed my the realization that for me travel would remain fundamentally unchanged. Which is to say: still a pain in the neck.

[via Bits.Blogs.NYTimes.com]