February 1 - 10:55am EST   STM has unveiled a new backpack dubbed the small rogue designed to protect and carry most laptops with screens up to 13-inches, including Apple's MacBook and new MacBook Air. STM's small rogue backpack conceals the laptop compartment from view, hiding the device with an internal wall of the bag. The pack features high density padding as well as a foam suspension cradle to protect the notebook within, and includes numerous compartments to stow various accessories or other items. The STM small rogue is slated for shipment this month (pricing was unavailable). [full story]

January 8 - 9:45am EST   FileMaker on Tuesday announced the immediate availability of Bento, its easy-to-use personal database application. Designed exclusively for Mac OS X Leopard, Bento leverages a single-window interface and FileMaker database technology to help users organize contacts, calendars, projects, events, and more. Users can easily create databases to manage information with dynamic 'smart' collections as well as expand around Apple's own Address Book and iCal storage engines. Bento is priced at $50, or $100 for a family pack of five licenses. The personal database requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later. [full story]

December 18 - 6:30pm EST   The iPowerRush brings 10 to 15 hours of additional playtime to iPods and iPhones by using six AAA batteries, and provides an extra 120 hours of standby time for iPhone users. The unit features a slip design, measured at 2-inches by 3 5/8-inches by 0.5-inch, making it very compact, with a push-button that shows remaining battery power, and also features a built-in voltage limiter that prevents it from over-charging the iPod's battery. The iPowerRush is currently available for $30 from iPowerRush.com. [full story]