For the chic-geek - or those paranoid about identity theft....

It looks great.  Feels silky.  Resists stains and moisture.

But best of all - especially if you feel vulnerable to identity theft - it protects your RFID enabled cards from being hacked by nearby techno-criminals.

Many credit cards, ID cards, and some passports, contain a form of Radio Frequency Identification chip, which can be read at distances ranging up to around a metre according to manufacturers.  Hackers, however, claim they have pulled data from chips at distances of 5 metres or more.

Designed and marketed by New York brothers Paul and Theo Stewart-Stand, the wallet is made from finely spun and woven stainless steel threads.  This sheath of conductive metal essentially insulates whatever is contained within from electrical charges - in this case our precious credit and ID cards. 

An electric charge (or radio wave) encountering a 'box' around an object will only affect the surface of the box, the contents remain electrically unchanged.  This concept is called a 'Faraday Cage' and is named after Michael Faraday who first observed the effect in 1836.

To boldly smell like no one has smelled before....

Almost 100% guaranteed not to get you a date - but we still love the idea!

Timed to coincide with the upcoming Star Trek film in May 2009, three fragrances will be brought to a solar system near you by Genki Wear, a company renowned for it's sci-fi jewelry and other fashion gear.

One fragrance, called 'Tiberius' refers to Captain Kirk's middle name.  Very manly.

Another, 'Pon Farr' is a women's perfume named after <geek alert now> the sexual frenzy which occurs in the Vulcan male every seven years.  Yup.

However, the absolute winner of the trio surely must be 'Red Shirt'.  The name of this men's cologne refers to the red uniform shirt worn by cast members in the original 1960's TV series:  individuals who were almost always quickly vaporised upon beaming down to the surface of a planet.  So, in Trek lore, being a 'red shirt' is synonymous with being expendable and always near the brink of death. 

We haven't stopped laughing...

The 'Red Shirt', concept revolves around characterising the wearer of such a garment as a man of action who needs to live life to the full today - and the reason, as the strapline for the cologne states, is; 'Because tomorrow may never come'.

Click through for a closeup of the product packaging and other Trek links & media.

The book is dead! (Well, maybe not...)

About a year ago, the folks at Amazon, the mega-huge online retailer, launched the first version of Kindle, an e-book reader. Pundits and hacks sniffed curiously at the device but most didn't rush to declare the death of books printed on pulped trees.

Today, Amazon announced that they were taking pre-orders for the Kindle 2, due to ship on February 24th - and while journos who sling copy for gadget zines have responded by firing off a quick opinion, the prevailing opinion is that inky paper remains quite alive and well.