Commodore Gaming PC's a beauty

I grew up in a nerds' hamlet on Long Island. Sure, we played street hockey, and rode bikes and boards.

But the real action on my block was indoors, where every kid experimented with his own version of the home PC.

My friend Deane had the prize hog of the early 1980s, the IBM PC, which he kept under a dust jacket when it was not in use.

Another neighbor, John, had a Timex Sinclair.

And I had the chunky Commodore 64, with a cassette tape deck for external memory.

The new Commodore PC, of course, resembles the old in name only.

Amsterdam-based Commodore Gaming last week unveiled a fast-and-furious Gaming PC you can customize like a classic low-rider.

The Commodore Gaming PC (commodoregaming.com) runs the Windows Vista 64-bit OS with customizable components. And it has a Raptor keyboard and Logitech speakers.

The system has a built-in Commodore 64 emulator, so you can revisit your old favorites.

But the best part of the Gaming PC may be its looks. You can wrap your Gaming PC in any number of C-Kins (Commodore skins) available at the Commodore Web shop. With one of the street art C-Kins, for example, your machine takes on the look of a graffiti-covered New York City subway car.

You can also control two multicolored LEDs inside the Gaming PC's fans, like ground effects.

The new Commodore, in all of its configurations and colors, is currently available in Europe. The company expects US retail stores and websites to pick up the Gaming PC this summer.

Beta

Music discovery with the Mac OS

Yet another music discovery service, this one backed by Peter Gabriel, is available to users of Mac OS and some Nokia phones. It's got the sharpest-looking interface I've seen yet in a third-party recommendation service. The Filter (thefilter.com) scans your iTunes library, creates playlists, and recommends tracks for you to buy at the iTunes, eMusic, or Amazon stores. (Exabre Ltd., which makes The Filter, collects a share of those sales.)

Exabre suggests you have at least 200 (and preferably 500) songs to get the full benefit of its recommendation system.

The MAC OS version of The Filter scanned my iBook's measly 367 songs in a few seconds and produced playlists based on the one or two favorites I selected. The app works quite well with iTunes. After selecting a Metallica track in iTunes, I clicked on a shopping-bag icon in interface. The Filter immediately spit out a list of Scorpions and Anthrax songs that brought back some good old college memories.

Accessories

A designer laptop support that keeps your lap and your laptop cool

I just bought the best laptop support you've never heard of. Called the surfACE (edgeblur.com), it's a thick acrylic board with half-inch holes for ventilation, and two sideboards you attach to either end with the kit's solid aluminum hardware.

With additional hardware, you can tilt your laptop on the surfACE to a more comfortable angle for typing. You can attach the support to a tripod, creating a standing desk. And although the surfACE is a bit heavy, you can configure the thing to form a hard shell around your laptop. Designer Bo Eriksson is working on a carrying case for the laptop support that will go over the hard shell configuration.

The possible setups for the surfACE seem limitless. You can use the sideboards to rest the support on the armrests of your favorite Archie Bunker chair. That way, your lap will stay nice and cool for long periods during the summer months, and you have a place to put your coffee or papers. In my home office, one of the sideboards supports my podcasting setup (a heavy studio microphone, mic stand, and pop filter) above my desk. The mainboard holds my iBook about a quarter-inch above the same surface, which improves air flow to keep the machine cooler.

Eriksson makes each surfACE in his basement, by the way, so you should expect to wait about six weeks to get yours. There are several versions, in clear acrylic and solid white; prices start at $75.

Innovative last week

Pillows that double as remote controls

Now when you punch your pillow, you can turn off your stereo. Designers Didier Hilhorst and Nicholas Zambetti (didierandnicholas.com) have crafted a set of pillows that double as wireless remote controls -- one for power, and one each for volume control and track selection. Restless sleepers might have trouble keeping their stereos off in the nighttime. You'll also have to go to Milan to see these prototype pillows, as the designers have not announced any plans to show or sell them in the United States.