At $69, Apple's Bluetooth Mighty Mouse is not exactly the cheapest electronic rodent on the block. But if you're willing to open it up to make it more battery-efficient, this reduced power hack may be for you.

Ram, the mouse hacker, was playing with his Mighty Mouse when he noticed its LED came on and off on the bottom of the mouse. When the mouse was not in sync with a Mac, this LED would blink. Once sync'ed, the LED would go out if the mouse is in use. When the mouse is stationary, the LED would go on an stay on. He measured the power usage of the mouse and was proven right: The mouse seems to use less power when in use and the LED is off than when it's resting and the LED is on. Thinking like a hacker, RAM proceeded to devise a way to double battery life "depending on your mouse usage behavior."

He dismantled his Mighty Mouse to remove the pesky power-draining LED. "In the end the hack still saves some power but no where as near as what I was expecting," he says. It's your mouse (make sure it's yours) and if you want to wreck it turn it into an energy miser, well, consider this your warning. Proceed at your own risk! Click here for the how-to.

Too much clutter in your desk? Got no more room for a bulky dock/speaker system? Well, you might wanna cast your eyes on this SwitchEasy creation, the KuroDock, which claims to be the smallest iPod nano dock ever to grace this planet. Well, we ain't sure about the smallest dock, but it measures 48 x 54 x 16mm and weighs 72 grams, so you be the judge if it is indeed the littlest of all them nano docks.

The KuroDock connects to your computer via USB 2.0, allowing you to transfer your photos and music at fast speeds. And from that you can see that this one has a standard mini USB connection instead of the Apple connector so you can use cables that run a lot cheaper than Apple's. Its lights are a pretty sight -- when active, the normally white LED indicator bar glows red, returning to white when it is safe to unplug your iPod.

It also features a stereo line out port so you can connect the KuroDock to your home stereo. In case you're wondering where the company got the product's name, "kuro" in Japanese means the color black, that is why it isn't surprising if this small and black contraption is as such. This one will go for roughly $30 and will only come in black for now, but apparently a white one is in the works.

We don't want to alarm you but according to research firm Gartner, the launching of the a flash-based iPods with 10GB to12GB later this year could cause a shortage of NAND flash memory. Gartner predicts a shortage of flash supply of 5.8% by the 4th quarter. Previously, the research firm predicted a shortage of approximately 3-4%. "We're expecting a more severe shortage," said Gartner.

The existence of the said iPod model has not been confirmed by Apple, but according to a top exec of an iPod manufacturer, the company is close to unveiling the next generation of itsiPod featuring a "none-touch" concept. It is also not known if the new iPod will feature more than 4GB of flash. Nevertheless Gartner thinks handheld music players led by Apple's iPod will drive growth of the NAND flash market in the second half of this year. 

But there's really no reason to panic. We think civilization as we know it will survive the Great Flash Memory Depression of 2006.

I don't know what it is about mixing old with the new when it comes to the iPod, but there have been numerous numbers of retro and vintage inspired docks and speakers that have been featured here on the site. Now, how about just skipping all that era and making a classy antique speaker for your iPod. Hopefully, the price value for this project will be like that of a certified antique.

1. Obeyken bought an Art Deco 1947 National Union G-619 for $25 at a flea market. A good buy considering that all the knobs, feet, glass and dial windows are original. The mahogany cabinet may be a little scuffed and the grille fabric a little frayed, but we are gunning for the antique look aren't we?

The rest of the steps await after the jump!