Seeing the words "car" and "mouse" together typically remind me of this one "Pimp My Ride" episode that featured an old beater with a certain "surprise" inside. Needless to say, it wasn't Mickey Mouse.

Which brings us to the "car mouse" from Four Door Media.

I ran into Four Door's car mice while surfing the Web for potential gift guide material. As its name implies the device is a computer mouse in the shape of a car.

Admittedly, part of me wonders just how comfortable a device shaped like a car would be as a mouse. Then my guy genes override all rational thought and make me go, "But dude, it's a mouse shaped like a car!" The fact that the headlights light up when you press the right and left buttons makes me even more irrational.

The car mouse line offers a wide range of both wired and wireless models to choose from, including Camaros, Mustangs, Dodge Vipers and Ford GT's. Other models are also in the works, including cars from my two favorite brands, Nissan and Lamborghini.

Still, I'm not quite ready to recommend it without giving it a test ride first. Expect a full review once I get the device. In the meantime, you can check out the car mice at www.roadmice.com.

Photo © Four Door Media

It didn't seem that long ago when the only news you seemed to hear about digital photo frames involved a pretty nasty virus that did nasty things to your computer. Even major retailers Amazon and Best Buy didn't escape that whole ordeal unscathed.

But the whole virus hullabaloo apparently didn't faze everyone as a recent report from market research and consulting firm Parks Associates now predicts digital frame adoption to exceed 1 in 4 households this holiday season. Actually, make that 1 in 4 U.S. households with broadband. For the math-challenged, that's an adoption rate of more than 25 percent &mdash compared to only 7 percent in 2007.

Still, activity in the market has apparently lost some of its sizzle recently.

"The meteoric growth rate of digital photo frames has cooled off," said Harry Wang, Parks Associates director of of health and mobile product research, in a statement. "(But) consumer familiarity and its appeal as a premium gift choice will keep demand healthy for the next few years."

You know what might cause demand to skyrocket again? Lowering prices, that's what. It actually isn't unusual to see some of these things reach triple digits in price. I've even seen some priced at $299! I don't know about you but I think that's a tad too expensive.

If you're interested in browsing for digital photo frames, you can check out this price comparison.

Photo © Sony

The WikiReader kind of reminds me of the Nintendo Wii. Gadget lovers who want a device with the latest bells and whistles may not exactly go crazy over it. But it's great for kids, mom and dad, or just your casual non-tech person.

For the uninitiated, the WikiReader is a portable encyclopedia that contains more than 3 million entries from popular online site Wikipedia. It's got a simple, no-nonsense interface that's easy to use and provides a wealth of information for curious and inquiring minds. But like any device, it isn't for everyone.

To check if this pocket Wikipedia device might make a good gift for someone you know this Christmas, check out my full WikiReader review.

Photo by Jason Hidalgo

Throwing your grimy computer mouse in a tray of warm soapy water is usually akin to having the Pied Piper lead a rodent through the town of Hamlin. Either way, you have a mouse that's quite soaked and also quite dead.

Unotron's M11 mouse, however, is a special little creature. Dunk it in water or antibacterial solution and voila &mdash it comes back all squeaky clean and still usable. Now my work mouse looks so disgustingly dirty in comparison.

Anywho, the washable mouse is part of a line of washable products from Unotron, which also include a washable keyboard. The devices are rated for medical use as well, which means they have an extra antibacterial kick that you won't see from your typical washable devices.

For an idea about how this mighty mouse performs, check out my Unotron washable mouse review. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a dirty work mouse that I need to clean the old-fashioned way.