Let me just get this confession out of the way. When I shop for stuff that goes with my PC, I prefer it to look like the high tech gear that it is. What I don’t want is tech gear for my PC that looks like say a cookie or another food item.

As you can imagine this three port USB hub shaped like grapes isn’t something you are likely to find on my desk. I guess if you really like fruit or wine or just like weird stuff, the grape USB hub may be perfect for you.

One of the major drawbacks of a netbook is the lack of storage options. That’s why NU is offering their Universal Docking Station for netbooks. It’s pretty darn useful and comes with an integrated Super-Multi DVD writer next to a removable enclosure that can hold another 2.5″ hard drive.

But that’s not all. They also threw in a two-port USB hub and a built-in fan. No word yet on price or availability, but it should be headed stateside soon.

Digital Cowboy announced their Media Cowboy DC-MC35ULI set-top box that acts as media hub and a lot more. It may look like it was endorsed by DC comics, but nope. It’s not the set-top-box of choice for Batman and Superman. It works with many media sources and is capable of playing most audio and video formats in 720p.

It will work with a 3.5 SATA hard drive and can also work as an iPod dock. It’s an easy way to directly connect your media. The built-in Ethernet will make it easy to share all your files with others over a network.

Man, look at that kid. He’s crazy happy. I mean, he’s doing a cartwheel and everything. It’s the kind of gadget that just makes you smile. Unlike this similar product which is just plain creepy.

It’s like night and day. One makes you go OMG that’s messed up and demented. The other makes you sigh and smile and brightens your day. This happy guy comes with 4 USB 2.0 ports and when you take him off his stand he still doesn’t look creepy.

Brando is known for its whacky USB gadgets, so it isn’t much of a surprise to see them offering this combination SATA HDD dock / stereo speaker / USB hub. While it won’t tell you the temperature at your desk, it’s sure to come in handy.

Some features include compatibility with 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch SATA hard disks, two USB 2.0 ports, USB audio, three watt stereo speakers, and volume control. If you are a fan of Brando’s gadget combo creativity, it will only cost you $59.

Is there anything sadder than an animal impaled with a bunch of usb sticks? I think not. It looks like gadget roadkill on your desk. Like some mad scientist doing weird experiments. Put this turtle next to the mutant cow usb hub and things look even creepier.

All they need is a robot roadkill collector to wheel up and collect these corpses and the set is complete. This hub sports 4 USB 2.0 ports, and even has a place for you to store your paperclips and loose change. Only $13.99.

Still using a lot of tape? Well now you can have your tape and data too, all in one place, with this USB Tape Holder. This very useful device will hold a standard roll of tape and it also sports 4 USB ports.

It’s a great space saver for the home office desk. The USB ports are on the opposite side of the dispenser so it’s easy to plug in all of your gadgets. Sure, it isn’t all that flashy, but desk space is important, you messy slob. Time to clean up your act. It’s only $9.

The latest combination gadget from Brando is the Rota-Rota USB hub that combines three swiveling USB ports, readers for most flash memory formats and…two thermometers? It does have a nice vintage car style thing happening.

Sure, you may have some extra USb ports already. Maybe even a card reader, but I bet you don’t have a thermometer on your desk. C’mon, it must be important to know how hot or cold it is on your desk, to some of you right? For $15 you can have your answer.

What the #%$$@ was the manufacturer thinking? There is no scenario in which this USB hub is even remotely normal on your desk. I guess if you like to torture cows by sticking flash drives in them, you might take a shine to it, but mostly it’s just wrong.

I guess it could have been worse. The cow could be standing and have a bunch of flash drives as udders. Maybe you have to coax them in so it looks like you’re milking the beast. Damn. I think I just gave them another idea. Seriously old Bessie here looks like she’s begging for a bullet to put her out of her misery. Poor thing.

We’re big fans of Art Lebedev around here, so when we saw this USB hub jump off of the Dark Side of The Moon album cover, we knew A)the water cooler had been spiked or B) This was yet another awesome Art Lebedev original.

We aren’t sure what the deal is exactly, but it looks like it has some colored LEDS that make it look all prism-like. Hopefully it’s not just colored on the outside. Either way, it’s pretty awesome looking and makes us hear trippy tunes in our head.

Two creatures love bamboo a whole lot. Pandas and eco-loving hippies. I make fun, but both creatures are smart, because bamboo grows super fast so chopping it down to be used in electronic devices, or to eat, is a good idea. Micro Innovations is the latest company to feature accessories made with a bamboo shell.

Those accessories include speakers, a card reader, a webcam, USB hub, keyboard and a mouse. Hopefully the guts of these devices are a little greener as well, not just the casing. These should be available in an electronics store near you around April or May.

Back in October we told you about this cool looking retro speaker that sports Star Trek looks and gives you 3 gadgets in one. Speaker, 4 USB ports, and a clock. We had a chance to check one out in person recently. The good news is that it looks just as awesomely Trek in person. The design is really cool and you can easily see this on the set of the original Star Trek.

As soon as you power it up, the one thing that hits you is how bright the LED lights are. Blindingly bright. Almost annoyingly so. It will bother some people, while others won’t mind, since having a good looking hub on your desk is the trade-off. The lights do make it look more Sci-Fi if you have that kind of decor. The clock is pretty cool. No problems there. And as a hub it does it’s job.

Iomega is taking the tradeshow road this week to unveil a new network storage solution for media files being showcased in the living room. It is called the Home Media Network Hard Drive and pricing starts around $160.

The Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive, available in 500GB and 1TB storage sizes, is designed to act as both backup server and also media hub. It supports iTunes and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certified devices, allowing it to save, store and stream audio, video and photos to a wide array of home consumer electronics.

This 3-in-1 gadget gives you a USB 2.0 compliant 4-port hub, a decorative and completely fake aquarium and it will also hold your cell phone, in case you want it to sleep with the fishes. The device glows when connected and in case you failed to recognize the complete lack of quality, don’t be surprised that it will only cost you $9.99.

It holds fake fish, ocean scenery and a Nokia. With USB ports. What more do you want?

Peanuts fans have something new to buy. If you bought the Peanuts laptop, plan on buying the Snoopy video game and just can’t get enough of Snoopy and his little bird buddy, you may want to consider this mouse and usb hub.

Kokuyo has just unveiled the Snoopy USB hub and Mouse. The four port hub is available in two colors featuring Snoopy and his pal Woodstock having fun. The 800 dpi optical mouse comes in blue with Snoopy sleeping. The Japan only product will hit stores December 22 just in time for Christmas.