Most of the gadgets that we use right now will be tossed away within a few years and probably end up in a landfill somewhere. That’s why it’s nice to see that at least some companies are looking at biodegradable gadgets. Hoshino announced “the world’s first biodegradable USB disk.”

And since it’s made of the corn-based plastic called polylactide, they fashioned it into the shape of an ear of corn. The material can be easily broken down. There’s not a lot of information on the device, but they have apparently made the entire drive biodegradable, and not just the casing. Aside from the obviously corny design, that’s good news. No one wants a bunch of flash drives in landfills.

Kingston Technology is getting colorful and miniature with some new USB flash drives tied to its DataTraveler line. These are called the Kingston DataTraveler Mini Slims and you’ll find them pricing around $11 for 2GB or $19 for 4GB.

The Kingston DataTraveler Mini Slim come in three different colors, including black, blue and pink. Memory capacity goes up to 4GB of storage and the drive measures 1.529- x 0.645- x 0.253-inches, making it one small device. It is definitely something you’ll have to be careful not to lose.

From overseas comes a new HD wireless media center enclosure  – all you need do is add a hard drive. It is called the Chinavision CVSBN-6000 HD Wireless Media Center and there is no pricing information available as of yet.

The Chinavision CVSBN-6000 HD Wireless Media Center is designed to provide 1080p output to your television, making it similar to other products in the media center world. What it does do which is cool is allow for up to 500GB of hard drive storage while also supporting a wide variety of audio and video file formats. It is also 802.11 wireless, allowing for wireless access to media on your PC.

It used to be that a portable hard drive had to be plugged into the wall AC outlet to be able to operate. Over time, some smaller capacity hard drives could be powered by the USB port totally, making them much more portable. Today even some larger capacity portable drives are powered by the USB port.

Memorex announced its new line of portable hard drives today that are completely USB powered. The line is called the Memorex Essential TravelDrive. All of the drives are 2.5-inch and are compatible with both Mac and PC systems and backup software is included with the drives.

Dell this week unveiled two new Inspiron PCs – one is a desktop for family activities and the other is a laptop geared towards students. The Inspiron 518 desktop prices at around $350 for a basic model, while the Inspiron 13 laptop costs around $700 at Wal-Mart.

Dell had this to say of its two computers, both of which are available now. “The Inspiron 13 laptop is a great choice for back to school shoppers looking for a small, light, highly efficient mobile PC. With a starting weight of just under 5 pounds, the Inspiron 13 combines a simple and clean design encased in glossy Pacific blue with black trim. Smart features include a 13-inch high definition display, capacitive touch media buttons, 8-in-1 media card reader and slot-load DVD drive. Optional features include built-in wireless networking, built-in webcam and Bluetooth connectivity.

CMS Products has a new encrypted flash drive on its hands which is set to be used by others. It is called the CMS Vault OTG and prices range from around $45 for 1GB to $145 for 8GB.

These new Vault OTG drives make use of the company’s CE Secure encryption software for protecting and securing data stored upon them. Pass phrases provide controlled access to the data on the flash drive, which is protected utilizing 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption.

Plain boring hard drives. We’ve all got one. But what if you could jazz up that hard drive and actually make a creative statement about your work area? The artists of Brazil’s Meninos design studio hate boring hard drives and they did something about it.

It all started when they made these custom pop art hard drive cases for friends. Now they are releasing them into the wild so everyone can enjoy them. Each external USB hard drive case is made by hand at their studio, using a custom acrylic case covered with a vinyl wrapper that features one of their designs. They’ll also make custom designs for you if you want to upload Adobe Illustrator art using their custom template. I like the Stormtrooper.

Another Samsung flat panel line up riding the waves of the consumer electronics company’s big annoucements last week is the Series 7 Plasma HDTVs. They will be available in August in 50-inch, 58-inch and 63-inch screen sizes (model numbers: PN50A760, PN58A760 and PN63A760), pricing around $2,800, $4,500 and $5,500, respectively.

The main highlights of the Series 7 displays include the hint of red blended into the outer edges of the artsy panels, 1080p resolution and Internet-based content provided by USA Today. You can get the full details after the jump.

Everything seems to be going environmentally friendly today. You can get shirts made from recycled coke bottles at Wal-Mart if you want. Automakers are also spending billions to bring electric vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles to our roads. Even our computers are going green with hard drives that need less power.

Fabrik has announced what it claims to be the world’s most eco-friendly external hard drive today. The drive is called the SimpleTech [re]drive and it is said to be the world’s most energy-efficient, resource conscious external storage and backup drive. The drive uses Turbo USB 2.0 to connect to your PC, promising 25% more transfer speed than USB 2.0 alone.

The initial buzz of the new Intel Centrino 2 chip technology now seems to have died down as related laptops settle into regular purchasing habits. Two last laptops we thought we’d highlight from the flurry of announcements the other week are the Toshiba Tecra M10 and A10. The former has a starting price around $1,400, while the other model has yet to be priced.

These two updated flagship business laptops from Toshiba will include, besides the Centrino 2, other features such as hard drive protection, spill resistant keyboard, fingerprint reader and an eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port. You can even have Toshiba throw in a solid state drive if you have a little bit of extra cash to pony up for this option.

Buffalo just announced the world’s fastest Blu-ray recorder that is capable of burning through your data at an 8x speed. It’s available in Japan beginning next month. You can get an External version and an internal version. The BR-816U2 External features eSATA and USB port. The BR-816FBS can be connected by SATA.

CDs and DVDs are also supported of course. You’ll get a max 16x burn to DVD±R or 48x/24x for CD-R/RW. Each drive is being bundled with Cyberlink’s PowerDVD 7 suite. The external drive will cost you about $435, while the internal is about $380.

Never one to miss out on taking a geek’s money, Mimobot has introduced the new batch of Star Wars flash drives. Choose between the elongated forms of C-3PO, Wicket the Ewok, Imperial Guard and Emperor Palpatine.

They’ll keep your data safe and are even said to be durable enough to withstand the digestive juices of the creature in the Sarlacc pit. Is it just me or does C-3PO look a bit like a fish? These are all well and good, but what I really want is the ships. Boba Fett’s Slave I, the Falcon. Who’s with me?

NZXT puts out some pretty cool computer chassis products and related components. Its latest – the NZXT Guardian – continues that coolness factor for around $90.

The NZXT Guardian 921, geared towards gamers, comes with a nice feature set for being focused towards more budget oriented computer users. It is built from .88mm and 1mm steel and offers decent space on the inside, allowing for larger video cards as well as up to four internal hard drives. It also has a three temperature probe monitoring system so you don’t melt down your components during overclocking.

Samsung had a little mid-year coming out party yesterday as it unveiled a bunch of new flat panels and associated home theater gear. One of these upcoming releases is the new Series 8 850 and Series 8 860 LCD HDTVs, pricing between around $2,700 and $3,500.

Four models make up the Series 8 850 and 860, consisting of two each 45.9- and 52-inch televisions. All units will be available in September and unique features include a slim, narrow bezel with a touch of color around the edges and support for RSS feeds from USA Today. For full details, check out the press release after the jump.

If you have the need to smuggle sensitive data from one place to another and need to hide your usb drive, this is the watch for you. It features a hidden 4GB USB Flash Drive thanks to a secret compartment at the base.

Plus, it’s fairly plain so it won’t draw attention like say, a Tokyoflash watch. With this baby, before you know it, you’ll be stealing all kinds of company secrets. Unless of course your boss is reading the ‘Brick and notices how much your watch looks like this one.