Straight Up Chess is an interesting new version of the standard chess board. The chess set comes framed in your choice of several different wood options and you hang it on your wall. The pieces are supported by shelves that move with the pieces. So, instead of sitting across from each other for hours on end, you can just “move a piece whenever you walk by”. It even includes a marker to remind you who made the last move. Pretty cool idea.

Kenwood’s new all-in-one audio system, the CR-iP500 is a CD player and an iPod dock that features a strange otherworldly look. It must be aimed at those who still use CDs on a daily basis along with their iPod. It’s a CD player, FM tuner, iPod dock, and sports USB 2.0 connectivity with 2 x 5W 80mm speakers. Not much to see here.

When you think of actor Vin Diesel several different films probably come to mind, including some of his first work in the Fast and the Furious franchise. With video games quickly rivaling blockbuster films in sales, it’s no surprise to see familiar movie stars popping up in video games.

Yesterday I mentioned Need for Speed Undercover, which will feature massive hottie Maggie Q as a main character. Actor Vin Diesel is not only the main character in the Midway game set to hit store shelves on February 20, 2009 called Wheelman, he is producing the game as well.

Usually our focus is on shiny new gadgetry, but let’s not forget gadgets of old. In this case a Vampire killing kit that has likely put to rest one hell of a lot of undead mo-fos in it’s time. This 200-year-old vampire killing kit was recently sold at an auction in Missisippi, where the bid ended at a staggering $14,850! That’s a pretty expensive way to kill a Vampire.

In the kit you get such useful tools as: A cross, Bible, Hand gun and silver bullets(In case you get confused and set out after a Werewolf), Holy oils, Holy water, Mirrors, Candles, Garlic, Wood and metal stakes. I’m not sure who the buyer was, but I’m guessing some vampire in Mississippi is in for some serious pain.

If you’re looking for an environmentally-friendly laptop that will match your wood floors, the ASUS U6V-B1-Bamboo laptop is for you. It’s actually fairly nice looking and this 12.1-inch ultraportable laptop is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. It features a Moso bamboo cover and a palm rest that is “artisan grade,” ooo la la.

Even the touch pad has bamboo fiber patterns on it, making it feel as though you’re scrolling and pointing on a real bamboo surface. Specs include a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 processor, a 320GB hard drive, a NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS 256MB graphics card and more. The display is LED backlit and features a 1280 x 800 resolution. An optical drive is included as well as Windows Vista Business. Go ahead and pre-order it on Amazon now for $1,999.

Datamancer has done it again and this one looks like it would be pretty comfortable to use. It’s got the usual brass, wood and classic typewriter keys, along with some other really super details. Like some violet LEDs, an acanthus-leaf pattern etched into the brass, and a soft burgundy wrist pad that is removable for cleaning. It began life as a very rare but plain IBM Model M-15 split ergonomic keyboard, but as you can see, it looks much better now.

There’s always room for dessert and nothing beats a fresh and cleverly made geek cake. In recent years “Geek cakes” have become an art form, hopefully not your pet name used by your significant other. One thing is certain, if geeks love a thing, chances are it will become a cake. So, we wanted to take a look at some of our favorite geek desserts and celebrate the clever bakers and icing artists that make geek birthdays and weddings just a bit more fun. Click through for cake and prepare to get hungry.

Kenwood is introducing its new and very compact audio system with an amplifier, called the Prodino. It’s compatible with SD or SDHC, miniSD, microSD or microSDHC card, up to 32GB and supports MP3 / WMA / AAC audio files with a maximum output power of 10Wx2. The Kenwood Promino should be available this November and will cost around 45,000 Yen or 360€. There’s also an external iPod docking station that’s compatible with the Promino, which is sold separately at 12,600 Yen or 100€. Pretty nice looking and compact setup.

I’ve never played a round of real golf, but I play mini golf with my kids quite frequently. The embarrassing part about mini golf with my kids is that my son usually beats me. It’s tough on the ego to be trounced by a 7-year-old, even if he is like a mini golf Tiger Woods with three hole in one shots per game.

I can still beat my son in video games though and if I can find PowerPutt in a local arcade the tournament is on. PowerPutt comes from the company that developed Golden Tee and offers good graphics with the same sort of controls used by Golden Tee.

Guitar Hero and Rock Band are huge games that have been credited with reviving more than one bands career. The games are so popular that they have spawned a host of aftermarket controllers and gear to help gamers get into the music play.

Logitech announced back in July that it would be unveiling a premium line of Guitar Hero controllers. Logitech has made the first controller in the line official and it’s called the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller. The device is only compatible with Guitar Hero on the PS2/PS3, Rock Band fans are SOL.

Super Talent is back with a new range of USB flash drives that feature 64GB of storage space, the highest capacity in the industry. So far. The Luxio USB flash drive will be available in black, silver or wood grain finish. The UV-coated plastic cases feature chrome-plated zinc trim. All Luxio USB flash drives feature dual-channel flash memory architecture, password protection, AES-256 hardware encryption, and maximum transfer speeds of approximately 30MB/s with an LED indicator. The 64GB Luxio will retail for about $150.

Sure, when the oil shortage becomes oil-no-more, it would be nice to drive around in search of fuel like Mad Max, but what would be even better is to have your own movable home to wander the wasteland in. Something on legs that can roam anywhere. Something like this. But faster.

It’s made to be a “modular dwelling system that enables persons to live a peaceful nomadic life, moving slowly through the landscape or cityscape”. It’s even environmentally friendly according to its designers, thanks to its use of solar energy, small windmills and a wood stove. So it looks like nomads of the future, or gypsies if you will, will be wandering the landscape in this contraption. I look forward to this new breed of hippy and I’d like to be the first to tell them to get this beast the hell off of my property. Damn long-hairs. But I guess I’ll just have to wait.

It’s been a long wait. A long and winding road if you will. At last, the Beatles iPod is out, with only 2,500 units available. You know you want it. And in these tough economic times, Paul, Ringo, and Yoko need your help. So why not fork out $795. The Limited Edition Ultimate Collector’s Beatles iPod Set comes complete with a wooden box designed by Psycho Bunny, where you can store your 120GB Beatles iPod, 13 original Beatles albums on CD, two masters, the Love CD, and an engraved guitar pick that is surely the pick of destiny.

Uh, hang on a minute here. Anyone wanting a Beatles iPod surely owns all of these CDs anyway, so what gives? I don’t need all of that extra junk for 800 clams. Just give me a decent Beatles iPod. Preferably something with a classic album cover on it.

If you have an unnatural love of wooden gadgets, you might want to caress the grainy surfaces of the Wood Grain Optical Mouse. This optical 800 dpi USB mouse sports USB 2.0 connectivity, true 800DPI, and 3-buttons Optical Mouse. Best of all it’s only $12. It will go with the rest of your wood gadgets, like those wooden animal drives on your desk for instance.

Why do you love wooden gadgets so much anyway? Are you working on a theme or something? Trying to be some kind of wood-dude? Like a James Bond villain whose thing is to have wood everything? I just noticed that it’s all wood with you. I mean, it’s overkill. It’s an addiction is what it is. You know you don’t need this mouse, but you’ll get it, Woody. Woodrow.

Blu-ray finally killed off the HD DVD format early this year meaning that many were expecting to see Blu-ray players drop in price quickly. That didn’t really materialize with Blu-ray players staying at levels about the same as before HD DVD died. At least one Blu-ray player has finally come down into the reach of most consumers.

Sherwood has announced a new Blu-ray player called the BDP-5003 that retails for $299.95 and offers upscaling, 1080p resolution and video playback at both 60Hz and 24Hz. The player is fully compatible with HDMI 1.3 and supports Dolby TruHD and DTS-Master Audio HD.