The “green-thumb” flash USB drive comes at the advent of a lot of other cardboard technology, like the cardboard computer. Developed by Colin Garceau-Tremblay for his design class, the idea behind using cardboard was due to the frequency at which these drives were lost. It’s no surprise either, these drives are quite small and often fall out of the user’s backpack or pockets never to be found again.

Besides being lost, many people often put aside their old USB flash drives when a newer and larger version appears. The problem with simply tossing the old USB drive in the trash is that most casings are generally made of either plastic or metal to withstand both heat and water damage. Unfortunately, what makes these materials appealing to customers and creators of these USB drives also makes them detrimental to the environment.

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Last year the Silver Bullet mini RC helicopter was a big hit around the Gadizmo family house so, it only made sense to step it up another notch this Holiday Season with the bigger and better Nano USB rechargeable remote control helicopter from the guys over at Brando.

This first thing I noticed out of the box was the power of the Nano compared to the simpler Silver Bullet. The metal frame construction makes this mini RC quite a bit heavier but, the beefed up motor has no problem launching it right off the ground and over the second story of my 30 foot high roof.

After a few minutes of flying straight up and down I realized that something else was different with the Nano. Unlike the first generation helicopters that only flew forward, the new Nano had a tail rotor which allowed you to fly in any direction forward or backwards.

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Looking for a lighter flash drive? If you’re thinking about weight, you may want to look elsewhere but, if you want a cigarette lighter with a flash drive built-in, the good folks over at ThinkGeek have just what you need.

This Zippo-style cigarette lighter is refillable and features an adjustable flame all while doubling as an 8GB USB flash drive. Don’t worry, you won’t melt your PC as the connector slides out of the lighter’s bottom, putting the flame at the opposite end.

I have to admit, I have a thing for USB devices and flash drives are certainly no exception. Something ultra portable and discreet that can store a huge chunk of my photos or music collection? Count me in.

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I recently admitted my favoritism toward Corsair’s ultra-rugged and admittedly unattractive Survivor flash drive. And while the Survivor is secure in many obvious ways (such as against water and shock), its electronic security is software-based, and therefore susceptible to the prying keystrokes of the technologically-savvy. Corsair’s latest release adds a bit of top-level security to keep those less-savory folks from ever even getting a shot at cracking your internal code.

The Padlock 2 flash drive incorporates an external keypad that allows you to enter your own 4-to-10-digit PIN for hardware-level 256-bit security encryption. Without entering the PIN on the external device, your data is secure and unobtainable. If someone does get ahold of your drive, the device will lock for two minutes after repeated failed entries. And if you forget your PIN? The data on the device can be permanently cleared and the PIN reset.

An 8 GB storage capacity is nothing extraordinary these days, but leaves plenty of room for music, videos, or bits of naughtiness (if you’re so inclined). But make sure to keep a back-up elsewhere, because if someone does get ahold of it, they won’t be able to access your data, but should they clear it with a reset, your dirty secrets will be lost forever.

And that would just be a shame.

Super Talent has taken the USB flash drive to new dimensions – literally. The company’s Pico_C flash drive is tiny, measuring just 1.5″ x 0.5″ and weighing in at under six grams. What makes this flash drive truly amazing is its capacity in relation to its size: it is available in capacities of 2GB up to 32GB, which may not seem that high considering flash drives now reach out to over 100GB, but 32GB stuffed into a device smaller than your thumb is pretty remarkable.

Resembling the USB receiver module for a portable mouse, the drive itself is capless, but Super Talent claims that it’s “rugged” as well as water-resistant. And in addition to the standard plastic version, the device is also available with nickel plating and–get this–24k gold plating.

Of course, ruggedness and beauty don’t necessarily do any good if you lose the drive, which seems like a certainty. Still, if choosing from the 32GB models, going for gold isn’t going to break the bank and is likely the best choice, seeing as the price range for plastic, nickel, and gold versions comes in at between $80 and $90, regardless of casing choice.

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I don’t know whether to embrace or run away from this stylish USB & FireWire combination hub by LaCie. What looks like robo-tentacles are actually 4 USB ports, 2 FireWire ports, a USB fan, a USB light and both a USB and FireWire extension cable affixed to flexible cable “arms.”

I think my favorite part is the fan. Are people really getting *that* hot while working at their computers? Couldn’t they just layer or turn down the heat? Maybe a cool glass of water could do the trick? Clearly, I don’t get the appeal of the USB personal fan, but it seems to be a pretty standard USB gadget.

Seriously though, this is an extremely sleek and very multi-functional hub that’s sure to impress Apple lovers (for whom everything must be white) and design aficionados. It kind of reminds me of the camera-ball device from 12 Monkeys, or something built by the Kaminoans (the really tall aliens responsible for building the clone army in Star Wars). It retails for$89.99 on the LaCie site.

The orb-hub was designed exclusively for LaCie by Paris-based Ora-Ïto, the same designer behind the company’s golden hard drives and lego-brick drives.

The new Phantom Keystroker from ThinkGeek is the latest and greatest advancement in office prank warfare which is guaranteed to drive your unsuspecting coworkers crazy. All you have to do is simply plug in the tiny little circuit board and sit back while it sporadically makes random mouse movements and types out odd garbage text and phrases.

The beauty of the Phantom Keystroker is that it needs no additional software or drivers and it runs on any operating system which means you can be in and out of your target cube in seconds. The stealth like gadget is also equipped with a simple jumper setting that allows you to choose between either keyboard garbage typing, annoying mouse movements or both. You can also turn up the torture level by setting a longer event duration which will have your unsuspecting mark thinking they are losing their minds.

It might be a little late for the perfect April fools prank but, those are way too predictable anyway. For just under 25 bucks you can pick one up today for a boring rainy Spring day.

Thanks to a giant leap in technology, old-school point and click USB missile firing systems will never be the same. The new USB Webcam Rocket Launcher will now give pranksters the newly added feature of being able to control remote missile launching systems via webcam anywhere with internet access.

With the use of MSN messenger you will be able to remotely assess the landscape of your firing station and unleash havoc from the cozy comfort of your workstation. Want to up the ante? Grab one of these USB gadgets for you and a friend so that you can video chat, share files, and fire missiles at each others heads!

The USB Rocket Launching System also doubles as a regular old webcam so, if your already in the market why no take it to the next level for just $59.99?

Liberate your power strip! If you’re anything like us, you’ve got an overloaded power strip somewhere in your house with a pile of wires connected for charging up all of your portable goodies — cell phone, camera, mp3 player, an extra cell charger for when your friends come over with a nearly dead cell phone, etc. It’s an unsightly mess and, if you’re really unsorted, likely a fire hazard. So here’s to simplifying life and consolidating that socket frenzy into a single plugged multicharger.

The Five Device Recharging Station stores and powers up to five devices with four integrated AC ports and two USB ports with surge surpressors (the integrated surge protector is rated at 1,080 joules, the strongest available in a charging station). The grey front panel features nonskid surfaces to cradle your devices as they charge keeping your iPod, PDA and cell phone on display and within reach while juicing up simultaneously. This is extra handy for the traveling types as the unit easily folds flat for charging on the go (never mess with swapping cords in the hotel room again!). For $49.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer, put this on your must-have list for 2008 de-cluttering.

While most pet owners are on top of their petcare game, there are certainly more than a handful that have a pooch running around with an outdated phone number on its ID tag — it’s one of those little things that you don’t tend to think about til a roving squirrel shakes its tail and your mutt turns into Flash Gordon, snapping the leash out of your grasp. You make all of the calls to the local shelters, start circling the blocks calling out your pet’s name, but what’s going to really make it easy for the troublemaker to get home is having accurate contact info right there on their collar.

So if you need an update, here’s a thought: forego the 3-line 25-letter format at your local pet store’s automatic ID engraving machine and upgrade to the Top Tag Pet ID Tag. The tag is actually a 64MB USB mini drive in a waterproof case, and it doesn’t need batteries or any software plugins, so whoever snatches your stray beast can easily plug the USB connector into their computer to find out all about your fuzzball. As the data fires up, your pet’s hero is met with a ton of helpful information about your pet, easily catalogued in pages that include contact info (this is the first screen that loads), food and diet, behavior and personality, words and commands, medical information and even a photo album. Which leads to a ton of other great applications, like making sure that your pet sitter has all of the necessary instructions for taking care of your pet while you’re out of town (because “oh, I didn’t see that note” just isn’t a valid excuse when your dog doesn’t get its meds for five days). For only $39.95 each, the Top Tag Pet ID Tag is a great holiday gift for your best loved pet — or pet lover.