Sony has a fancy new seal that they want to start slapping on new products. Specifically onto approved third-party peripherals for their game consoles. It could mean that we can expect better accessories or it may be a bunch of BS that does nothing but add a seal to products.

Before we can even guess what to expect, we have to wait and see who opts into the plan, and what nature of product they can get away with making. Hopefully it means better quality all around.

Back when I first started writing full time, I spent a long, cold winter working in an uninsulated garage. There was no way to keep the garage warm, no matter what I tried and I found that my fingers would cramp up and get stiff making typing harder. Working with gloves was far from ideal and I would have loved to have a mouse that heated up at the time.

I think that early spring may be the wrong time to introduce new heat therapy peripherals, but that is happening anyway. ValueRays has a selection of infrared heat therapy computer workstation peripherals for people with arthritis who need pain relief.

When it comes to notebook accessories and computer peripherals Logitech is one of the biggest names in the market. The company has all sorts of products from mice and keyboards to laptop bags and gaming controllers in its catalog.

Logitech has announced a couple new laptop accessories that are intended to make working on a laptop more comfortable. Many laptops put out a lot of heat, which can make working with the laptop in your lap uncomfortable. Logitech has announced a new product called the Cooling Pad N100 that has a slotted design and a USB powered fan designed to keep your computer cool. The device has rear intake vents rather than bottom vents that can be blocked and it will be available in March for $29.99.

We love the Wii. Especially when it uses the Wiimote and other attachments properly, so it’s not all gimmicky. But Wii Breakfast may be taking it to extremes.

See for yourself in the Idiots Of Ants’ leaked gameplay footage below. The developer really went to town on the peripherals, which help you make toast, pour milk and read a newspaper. Oh yeah. Also Wii Sausages.

This very unhip looking bulletproof vest is actually a BUILT Laptop Backpack. Made of the lightweight neoprene and breathable air mesh, the backpack features water and stain resistance. People have been carrying their babies in this way for years, so why not your precious laptop. Sure, it’s not the most stylish thing, but you’ll kinda look like a cop with a bullet proof vest.

With this backpack you’ll be able to carry your 12″-17″ laptop, plus textbooks. You’ll also have some smaller compartments for storing peripherals and accessories. It’s available now in two sizes to fit most people. Medium and large for $80 each.

Now you have no excuse, except for maybe the price, not to pick up one of those Optimus Maximus keyboards for yourself. ThinkGeek is now shipping the Art Lebedev creation for the incredible price of $1589.99.

Now here is something you don’t see every day. This Siftables prototype designed by David Merrill and Jeevan Kalanithi at MIT was created to give some physical interaction between you and your information and media. These guys jumped right past moving things around on the screen “Minority Report” style, and provided these little independent devices each with their own display that interact with each other and you computer.

Each device also contains a 3-axis accelerometer to sense movement and it’s current position, Bluetooth, Flash memory, its own processor, infrared, a touch sensitivity and a little battery battery. According to the designers, the Siftables take advantage of the humans ability to sift and sort through a number of small items with their hands, while at the same time keeping their mind on the larger goal.

If you pre-ordered one of those Optimus Maximus keyboards last year then you might be seeing it on your doorstep soon as the Art Lebedev studio has finally started shipping them, at least the ones without the passive keys. In case you don’t remember, this keyboard is the one that has an individual OLED display for each key, letting you customize each display and function the the Configurator software which is also available for download now.

The Art Lebedev site is showing four different configurations of the keyboard ranging in price from about $1560 USD for a keyboard with all 113 active keys, down to just $462 USD for a keyboard with just the spacebar active. The company says you get sucked in with just the one key to start with and buy more active keys to replace the passive ones as you can afford them. The passive keyboard models will be available in another month.

According to IceRage a mouse is hardly just a user input device for you computer, but is also a fashion statement. Because of this the company is debuting two of its new mouse models at CES - the Pocket Mouse and the Ultimate Pocket Mouse - both of which are available this month.

The pocket mouse appears to almost ignore ergonomics in favor of a fashion model-like slender design that comes in colors of blue, pink, green, silver, white and of course the oh-so-slimming black. The Pocket Mouse works well for use with a notebook on the go and comes as either a USB wired (with a retractable cord) for $60 or can be wireless via Bluetooth for another $10. It features 800 dpi tracking, a complete lack of affinity for either hand over the other and is compatible with a PC or Mac.

Notice anything missing from this keyboard? All the keys are there, but no letters are on them. This is Das Keyboard II which is a 100% blank keyboard, with no letters or numbers at all on the keys. There are some special marks on the “home” keys (man does that bring back some repressed junior high memories), which help you find your place by touch, but other than that you are on your own.

Think you are good enough on the keyboard to master typing, programming or gaming without looking. Even if you do have the habit of looking, this blank keyboard isn’t going to help you out. Good luck.

Das Keyboard II [Xoxide]