Keyspan Presentation Remote - This silvery number consists of a radio frequency remote and a corresponding receiver that plugs into a spare USB port. The remote has four buttons, one pad and a switch which allow it to function as a wireless two button mouse with PowerPoint slide control and a laser pointer without any software installation.

The documentation (consisting of two 5" x 6" pieces of photocopied paper) says that Macintosh users need not install any additional software to use the Keyspan Presentation Remote. It also states that the remote's media mode, which under Windows allows control of Windows Media Player, is not supported on the Mac. With very little digging on Keyspan's web site, I found a beta release of the software in development for this remote under Mac OS X. With this software installed, I was able to switch the remote to media mode where I could configure the buttons, pad and switch to do my bidding in the Finder, Keynote, iTunes, PowerPoint, Quicktime Player, or pretty much anything else.

The software is still in beta and getting the drivers to recognize the RF receiver without crashing my Mac was a bit of an ordeal, but once I got it working it was really a lot of fun.

Keyspan 4-Port Mini Hub - USB hubs are just a fact of life if you carry and use a lot of USB devices. The two USB ports on most portables get filled way too easily. But, as I mentioned in USB gadgets for your 'Book, I have yet to find a hub that I recommend without hesitation.

That situation has not changed. The Keyspan 4-Port Mini Hub has great portability and usability, but the case fell apart on its first excursion in my backpack. The plastic is very light, but somewhat less than durable. And its "snap together" construction too easily succumbs to "snap apart" destruction. I would still recommend this hub, but I would suggest that it be tucked away in a safe and snug pocket to prevent spontaneous disassembly.

The Keyspan 4-Port Mini Hub comes packaged with an AC adapter that allows you to attach USB devices that draw more power than the Universal Serial Bus can efficiently provide on its own. This is a valuable extra in a portable hub and puts the Keyspan above other portable hubs that lack this feature. On the downside, the AC adapter requires additional backpack real estate. But if you need this option, you'll just have to find the room.

Keyspan Zip-Linq Retractable USB Extension Cable - I've saved the best for last. This thing is awesome. "How good could a USB extension cord be?" Well, it's ability to extend my USB range isn't the the part that's amazing, it's the way that it does it. The Keyspan Zip-Linq Retractable USB Extension Cable is just one of a slew of retractable extendable portable wonders all based on the same principle.

The really great thing about the Zip-Linq's isn't so much what they can do when you extend them, but how little space they require when they are retracted. A while back, I purchased one of Macally's offerings to the retractable cable category. The Macally offers twice as much cable length as the Keyspan but look at the picture here--it also takes up more than twice as much room! If you need 5 feet of USB extension, buy two Keyspan Zip-Linq's and you'll have the needed cable length and more room in you backpack for other stuff.

And the Keyspan Zip-Linq's are much more durable. In the time it took me to lose my sales receipt for my Macally Retractable Firewire dealie, the housing around one of the plug ends split open and I had to reach for my SwissTool to sweet talk the broken plug out of my iBook's Firewire port. The Keyspan Zip-Linq has been much more forgiving of the tortures I put it through and is just made of tougher stuff in my opinion.