Just when you thought that the letter "i" can't be attached to anything else anymore, here comes yet another item that has been more than happy to jump in on the concept of the Age of the iPod.

Pottery Barn has recently started selling a line of furniture known as the "iChair" - and as promised, they do more than provide a  comfortable cushion for your behind.

The iChair comes with a pocket that you can place your precious iPod into, and then hook it up to the sound system that has been assembled into the chair itself. The semi-wrap-around headrest actually comes with a pair of high-quality speakers that are positioned on either side of your head, and a set of subwoofers right below your gluteus maximus makes for a VERY comfortable sound trip. A wood frame with a weighted base will keep you from tipping over to the side, and the cushions themselves are finished in faux suede for the luxurious feel.

Other features include a standard audio jack that makes it easy to connect to any game system or MP3 player, and a control panel at your right hand so that you can easily control the volume.

The iChair currently comes in Charcoal and Light Blue, and retails for $399. Now, if they just remembered to add a drink cooler, a remote control pocket and a massager somewhere in there, they may soon be running La-Z-Boy out of business.

Apple's new Mac Pro will have a new AirPort card. For those who aren't familiar with it, the AirPort is a wireless networking card. There's already been an AirPort and an AirPort Extreme. The new card is the "AirPort Express."

Dang it! I keep typing "Airport" instead of "AirPort" ... what the heck is up with naming GadGets and ProgRams with CaPital LetTers StuCk in the MidDle of words! Anyway, back to the AirPort Express.

What will this mean for Apple users?
Apple has chosen to go with Broadcom's 802.11a/g BCM4311 chip for the new AirPort Express. This might be a sign that Apple's gearing up to start supporting the 802.11a WiFi standard. You see, 802.11a operates at around 5GHz, and some people report that the WWDC had a 5.8GHz network up during the keynote. But not everybody likes the faster 802.11a because even though 802.11a is faster, it's not compatible with the already popular 802.11b and 802.11g.

Will Apple use the faster 802.11n?
Not yet. The IEEE (the global Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) has scheduled the 802.11n WiFi standard to come out sometime in the middle of 2007. While many believe that Apple will be among the first to try it out, you all just have to learn to wait.

If 802.11a is faster, why doesn't everyone want Apple to fully switch to it?
Both b and g work at 2.4GHz, and this is also the frequency of many cordless phones, so you interference messing up your WiFi. The 802.11a works at around 5GHz so there's no problem with interference, and it also sends and receives more data (usually five times faster than 802.11b).

So if 802.11a is faster, shouldn't it be common sense to adopt it? Not really. For those who are not familiar with the ways of WiFi communication, 802.11b was the standard before 802.11a and 802.11g (we know; it's weird that the version after "b" is called "a," but that's how they did it). The 802.11a is not backwards compatible with the already popular 802.11b, although a lot of new technology has come out that smoothes over the compatibility problems.

The new AirPort Express has Broadcom's 802.11a/g BCM4311 chip, and 802.11g is backwards compatible with the existing 802.11b/g setup that many people have.

In the age of thumb-sized storage drives, tiny mobile phones, and even tinier MP3 players, one would think that the grand, old boombox has met its end. However, thanks to iLive's IBCD3816DT you'll never again have to argue with your elders as to what was the better music player; this grand dame has managed to make everyone happy.

Armed with a 2.1 Channel Speaker System which allows everyone to join in the music, your playlists are then loaded from your iPod, which is docked into the IBCD3816DT. This modern boombox accommodates the iPod Video, iPod Photo, iPod, the iPod nano, as well as the iPod mini. A port is also provided for iPod Shuffles, though this isn't quite as snug as the main dock in the middle of the body.

Other features of the IBCD3816DT are:

- Built-in audio CD drive
- An AM and FM radio tuner which can be controlled via the LCD screen which defaults as a clock when not in use
- An infrared remote control
- An arm carrying strap for those days when you feel taking your beat to the streets.

All in all, old school meets new school, and the result is music for everyone - and most probably one great party as well.

Japanese company Logitec (different from Logitech) will release its LBD-A2FU2/WM - the first Blu-ray disc burner for Apple computers - this month. The 2x BD drive can write to the 25GB BD-R, the 50GB BD-RE, DVD-RAM, DVD±R/RW, dual-layer DVD±R and CD-R/RW discs. It also comes with Roxio's Mac OS X application Toast 7 Titanium. The Blu-ray drive connects to both USB 2.0 and Firewire and will retail for $1,148. Apple People elsewhere will have to wait as no shipping date outside Japan has been announced.

Here's a little device that will definitely get your attention.

Think of an LCD projector that you would normally use for your class or office presentations, or for your own home theater to watch movies on. Now, make that projector smaller. As small as a mobile phone.

We're not pulling your leg here. There really is a device now that's portable and very useful especially for those who have mobile devices like cellphones and iPods.

The Nano-Projector from Explay is a mini projector which you can plug into your mobile devices directly. It displays the image on a screen as big as 30 inches.

The Nano-Projector's engines are made with a proprietary ASIC that binds the components used including a unique laser-based diffractive optical technology and a proprietary technology for enhancing micro-display efficiency.

The mini-projector from Explay will be released early 2007 for an as-yet-undisclosed price.

It won't be surprising if the Apple Mighty Mouse becomes an iconic Apple accessory in the coming months or years. Eversince its release last August of 2005, it has been reaping praises from Apple consumers everywhere...well, until recently. The mighty mouse is fine, but there are some people who are wondering, where in the world is the wireless Apple mighty mouse?

People have been asking that question since they thought all along that the wireless version would come out a few weeks or months after the release of the mighty mouse. Well, maybe Apple is waiting for a one year anniversary of the mouse's release before they ship the wireless variant. We don't know, your guess is as good as mine.

One of the many reasons why they are itching to get their palms on this one is because the Apple Mighty Mouse Wireless would be the only right hand / left hand interchangeable wireless bluetooth mouse distributed on a large scale (when and if it comes out). Apparently, the consumers are clamoring for a mouse that won't make them worry about which side of their laptop is free to plug it in, or to have some knots protruding out of their USB slot. Whatever happens, we will keep you posted in the coming weeks.

Mac users are in for an HDTV treat with Miglia's TVMini HD. The stylish compact device enables users to watch, record and edit HDTV ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) content and unencrypted digital cable TV programs. Simply put, Mac users can watch Grey's Anatomy while out in the woods. Just make sure you're on the side of the woods that's within range of an ATSC broadcast tower.

The package includes a USB tuner, a small TV antenna, a remote, and a CD with Elgato's EyeTV 2.1 television scheduling and editing software. It comes with a carrying pouch to get you organized.

To properly view 1080i high-definition programming, you need to have a Mac powered by Intel Core Duo or dual processor PowerMac G5.

The main purpose of the device is to capture ATSC transmissions, which can be both standard-definition and high-definition. Like traditional analog, it's transmitted over-the-air. The big difference between these is that ATSC never has static. With sufficient signal, you'd always have crystal clear audio and video quality. The thorn in digital TV's side is that if the signal strength drops below 50%, you lose your picture completely.

The Apple iPod Hi-Fi is a compact stereo system that has built-in support and a dock for the iPod. This product features a 130mm dual-voice core woofer, stereo 80mm mid-range speakers, and digital audio inputs and an analog.

The Apple iPod Hi-Fi is selling for as low as $309 in Amazon.com and in some retail sites (this is already considered a bargain), most of which are shipping the product for free.

This is powered by either six D batteries or via an AC adapter, and includes a remote control in the package.

The Cordless Desktop S 530 Laser made exclusively for the Mac by Logitech has been launched just recently. This set consists of a high-performance laser mouse and an ultra-flat keyboard that come in either white or silver design.

Features of the Cordless Desktop S 530 Laser are the following:

• Ergonomic Low-Profile, Zero-Degree Tilt design of the keyboard which delivers comfort with its built-in palm rest and ultra-flat feature
• Dedicated One-Touch Controls on the desktop designed to give users instant access to iPhoto and iTunes, and to launch Safari, Spotlight, and Mail, among others
• Sculpted laser mouse that provides comfort as it follows the natural shape of the hand and has Logitech's High Performance Laser tracking that delivers pixel-precise navigation on any surface
• Extended battery life where batteries of these last up to six months with LED indicators for low battery
  

Also included in the Cordless Desktop S 530 Laser are the USB mini-receiver and the USB stand. System requires Mac OS X 10.2.8. and above, an available USB port and a CD-ROM drive. The Cordless Desktop S 530 Laser sells for $99.99.

Finally, the Mac is starting to get some respect from PC peripheral manufacturers. AverMedia, one of the first companies making Mac-compatible products, announced the upcomng release of drivers that will run its USB TV tuners on Macs. The USB TV tuner, supposedly the smallest model to date, supports analogue and DVB-T transmissions. Although it looks like any other USB based TV tuner, AverMedia said the Apple version will match the Mac's white colour scheme. 

Other AverMedia products displayed at Computex 2006 is the Express Card 34 DVB-T tuner which has the right size to work with the new Apple Mac Books.  A DVB-H model of the same dimension was also on show along with combined analogue and digital Express Card 54 tuners and mini PCI Express card designed for the latest generation of laptops.

The company did not say when the Mac drivers will be available.