Belkin Loft Notebook Stand

On my desk at work sits a 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display. To the right of it, on a notebook stand sits my 15-inch MacBook Pro. Sadly, my notebook stand is pretty pathetic. It's some cheap thing our office manager bought me — I should have told her I wanted the Belkin Loft. Made from aluminum, the Loft is quite simple. With…

Nasturtium Player for OS X

Since the advent of the Mac App Store, there's been a movement toward simple Mac apps that do one or two things, and do them well. Without a doubt, this is a side effect of iOS, where simple apps tend to do better than more complicated ones. Nasturtium Player for OS X is a great example of this. The app can be…

Below The Boat: Laser-cut Undersea Maps

Below The Boat is a collection of laser-cut, wood undersea maps. Starting with data from bathymetric charts, these artists use birch pieces to build a layered look at what's under the surface. Once complete, the maps are placed in solid-wood frames and protected with a sheet of ultra-transparent Plexiglas. The one pictured above is of the San Francisco bay. At 25x31 inches,…

PCIe/Thunderbolt Expansion Kits

One of the promises of Thunderbolt was the ability to use PCIe cards externally, meaning users of any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac could use such cards. In the past, of course, this type of flexibility and and expandability was reserved for users of the the Mac Pro (and the PowerMacs before). The Sonnet Technologies Echo Express SE Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis is the fulfillment of…

‘Do Work’ Poster

While the Gentleman Rules poster was good, if 20 tips are too many, maybe this $20 poster by Sean McCabe will do the trick. Here's what it says: Do Work It's Not Going To Do Itself If that won't get you going this new year, I'm not sure that will, honestly.

iA Writer for Mac and iOS

If writing is on your list of New Year's Resolutions, and you use Apple products, you should check out iA Writer. The app is minimal and easy to use. Powered by iCloud (or Dropbox, if that's your thing), it syncs text quickly and easily between devices. It has full Markdown support, but here's the kicker: it has no preferences. Instead, iA Writer…

A Few of Our Favorite Things

The staff here at Tools & Toys took a moment to reflect back on some of our favorite tools and toys of 2012. Some were new to the world, others just new to us. Shawn's Favorite New Gadget: Olympus E-PL5 A few months ago, I bought a Micro Four-Thirds camera. It's primary purpose was as a serious upgrade to my iPhone because…

Gentleman Rules Print

What does it mean to be a man? What sort of rules should we follow? DapperPaper over on Etsy has some suggestions. This 11x17 poster is full of good advice, and I really cannot decide which bit of advice is my favorite. The poster itself is made of 220 GSM fine art matte paper, with black and red ink. It's as handsome…

Appledesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group

Published in October 1997, Appledesign: The Work of the Apple Industrial Design Group is a 288-page book that looks at the design languages Apple used up until that time. With 400 color photos, this coffe-table book documents the industrial design that even then was ahead of its time — and remember, this is before things like the iMac and iPhone came along.…

Rickshaw Cordura iPad mini Sleeve

We've linked to a lot of iPad bags over the years, but sometimes what you need is just a small and simple sleeve. The $29 Rickshaw Cordura iPad mini Sleeve fits that bill nicely. Available in a wide range of custom colors, this sleeve is simple. Hand-built in San Francisco, these sleeves are designed to keep your tablet nice and snug, but…

PCalc for iOS

PCalc for iOS is a perfect companion or students, programmers, engineers or nerds looking to have a full-featured calculator on their iOS device. Complete with extensive unit conversions, a paper tape, an RPN mode, engineering and scientific notation, as well as support for hexadecimal, octal and binary calculations, PCalc is in a different league than anything else. PCalc for iOS is currently…

Rise Alarm Clock for iOS

While Apple's built-in apps for the iPhone and iPad get the job done for most people, some of my favorite apps for the platform are those that take existing functionality and improve upon it greatly. Rise is one such app. It's a simple, clean, beautiful alarm clock. Setting an alarm is as simple as sliding up and down the screen to the…

Featured Sponsor: Shiny Things and TLAF Xmas Sale

Shiny Things and Little App Factory are holding a sale on our iOS education and Mac media apps with deals of up to 50%. Titles include the fun new Jungle Picnic, Quick Math, the award winning RipIt and Tagalicious. Available for a limited time only, don't miss out! * My thanks to Shiny Things and Little App Factory for sponsoring…

Neu Year 2013 Calendar Giveaway

The Neu Year 2013 Calendar started as a Kickstarter project, and after being funded, is now for sale for $30. The calendar is two-in-one: it can fit on almost any desk horizontally, but can be used vertically to hang on a door. With no space between months, it focuses on the week, with plenty of room to write in events and deadlines.…

A-2 Flight Leather Bomber Jacket

Made from 100% leather, with a snap storm cover over the heavy-duty zipper and deep pockets, the A-2 Flight Leather Bomber Jacket is the real deal. With an American flag sewn in the inside, you're just a mustache and pair of aviators away from saving the world. The jacket is on Amazon, starting at $149.

Personalized Brass Guitar Picks

If you're looking for a special gift for the guitar player in your life, the Three Little Pixies Boutique on Etsy has you covered. For $21, they will ship you a brass guitar pick with a custom message engraved in the brass. Sterling silver is available for an additional charge.

The Vool Wooden Laptop Stand

The Vool Wooden Laptop Stand is a far cry from the angular, aluminum laptop stands we've linked to in the past. While those products certainly have their place, this thing is far more ... warm. The Vool stand is handcrafted from hand-picked pieces of pine from the Finnish-Russian border. Its height makes it far more ergonomic than using a notebook sitting on…

Satechi 4 Port Aluminum USB Hub

If your desk looks like mine, you have cables going everywhere. If you need to add some USB ports to your setup, but want things to look nice and clean, check out the Satechi 4 Port Aluminum USB Hub. Built with white plastic inlays set in to aluminum, this hub will match your Apple gear perfectly, and with a 9.5-inch cable, it…

The Olympic City

Ever wonder what happens to cities that build giant complexes to host the Olympics after the games are done? What comes of those massive stadiums and complexes? The Olympic City is a new book on Kickstarter that documents this very phenomenon. $10 will get you a digital copy, with a 200-page hard copy book heading your way for $85. The Kickstarter project…

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