One of the things I’ve spent the past couple of weeks working on has been a comprehensive roundup of some of the summer’s hottest new keyboards, including models from Logitech, Microsoft, Eclipse, and Matias. Logitech’s new Fantasy Collection is affordable, attractive, and aimed at people who want to personalize their workspaces without shelling out a ton of money. Microsoft’s new Arc Special Edition is a media center keyboard with sharp looks, a nice curved design (perfect for lap and couch use) and a tiny receiver, the Matias USB Keyboard + Smartphone Stand comes with a space to rest your phone and a powered USB hub, and the high tech Eclipse Litetouch Keyboard offers sharp looks and a high tech LCD keypad on the right side of the keyboard with customizable function buttons!

I tested each one of the keyboards over the course of several months, and when all was said and done, I had some pretty strong opinions about them all – some of the more than others. Head over to check out the review and leave me a comment either here or there: I’m curious to hear what you think!

[ Tom's Guide :: Keyboards of Summer - 4 New Keyboards, Tested ]

if you’re the type of person who’s looking to buy a PC instead of build one, or maybe you’ve already built a computer and you just want to go ahead and buy your next rig instead of spend the time and energy looking for components and putting them together, PC Mag has an excellent guide on how to pick the right pre-built desktop for you and your needs.

Obviously there are the things you should think about regardless of the type of user you are – getting enough drive space, making sure you get a processor that’s up to date, and then considering whether or not you can do with a nettop, or whether you need a high-end multimedia or gaming PC, and then of course, the courtesy warning about bloatware and all of the other junk that most manufacturers include in their retail systems.

Head over for some well heard pieces of advice, and some highly rated systems from the editors!

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy a New PC ]

While Android phones and the Android market certainly haven’t caught up to the iPhone and the iTunes App Store when it comes to games and mobile gaming, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great games available for Android devices. Being a proud Droid by Motorola owner, I can tell you that there are some really great free titles out there for Android phones (games like Replica Island, Jewels, and Robo Defense Free.)

If you’re an Android phone owner and you’re looking for some free games to help you pass the time, Mashable has this excellent rundown of 10 free games that will work on just about any Android phone, from text games to puzzle games to shooters, and they even include Replica Island, one of my favorites. Check out the full list and start downloading!

[ Mashable :: 10 Great Free Games for Android ]

Digitizing my photos and music collection, not to mention my aging VHS collection, is a project that’s been on my personal back burner for years. Sometimes I just don’t have the time, other times I just don’t have the equipment, and other times I just don’t have the money to invest in the equipment or in a service that can save me the time of doing it myself.

Still, over at Lifehacker this week, there’s a beautiful roundup of how to go forward and digitize all of those older technologies that are still littered around your life, whether they’re VHS tapes, cassette tapes, photos, or even documents and receipts.

We all too often assume that when someone wants to digitize their media, they mean things like movies and music, but there’s so much more you can do, and this step-by-step is worth bookmarking when it comes time for you to divorce your addiction to paper and start storing your receipts and notes digitally.

[ Lifehacker :: The Step-by-Step Guide to Digitizing Your Life ]

Over at Lifehacker I caught glimpse of one of the most interesting posts I’ve seen in a while, especially if you’re running Windows Vista or Windows 7 – some really interesting and useful tips and tricks that the editors there say “everyone should know.” Now, don’t get me wrong – I defintely think they’re useful to know, but I think I’d hesitate to say everyone should know them, especially if they’re not running Windows Vista or Windows 7, or if they’re not running Windows at all.

Even so, it’s all semantics, and the tricks themselves are more than useful and some of them span operating systems; like the ability to undo a move or delete right after you’ve done it so you don’t have to go fishing through the recycle bin or the destination folder looking for your file, or the ability to add items to your Send To menu to make it much more useful. There are also tips to open a command line from any window, or choose to tile or cascade windows on your display for easier viewing and organization.

They’re all useful, and take them as you need them – they’re all good to know how to do, especially for those times when you really wish it were easier to, for example, copy a file to one of your commonly used folders (you can add a “copy to folder” item to the send to menu) for example.

[ Lifehacker :: The Cleverest Geeky Windows Tricks Everyone Should Know ]

So we’ve all heard about how the iPad is “magical,” and how wonderful a device it is from those who own one. Oddly enough, one thing I notice we haven’t heard a lot of are hardware issues with the iPad – Apple is likely paying very close attention to issues, but I haven’t heard of anyone really having to return their iPad for a manufacturer’s issue, no overheating, no random crashes, none of that.

So if you’re like me, you want one. I’m trying to hold out until it’s updated, whenever that may be (some people have speculated that the fact that we haven’t even heard rumors about a next generation or 2nd generation iPad aside from the fact that some people are waiting to buy one means that there are no real plans for one just yet) but my resistance is waning, especially with so many uses and so many amazing apps out there for it.

I got to thinking that if I could make a solid case for one with apps that I’d want to run on it, I might consider buying one. Then this Gizmodo post came along; it’s a little old, but it’s still one of the definitive guides to iPad apps available right now – and there are some really great suggestions in there.

[ Gizmodo :: Gizmodo's Essential iPad Apps ]

Over at PC Mag there’s another excellent guide on how to buy something that befuddles most people: digital SLR cameras. Until you’ve had the opportunity to use a digital SLR, you may be just used to point-and-shoots, but once you have, you probably will want one for your very own. When you’re ready to buy though, you’ll be confronted with a dizzying array of models all aimed at semi-professional photographers that may wind up being confusing and difficult to interpret. Thankfully, PC Mag comes to the rescue with a couple of tips:

Shopping for a D-SLR isn’t that much different than shopping for, say, a computer: To zoom in on the right model, first figure out your budget, and then choose the features you need. Entry-level D-SLRs start at around $500 and can go as high as several thousands of dollars when you figure in an expensive lens. (Some D-SLRs come bundled with a lens; others require you to buy the camera body and then choose a lens that you purchase separately.) The good news is we’ve recently seen some incredibly capable, feature-filled D-SLRs that ring up for less than $1,000 with a lens. Sure, these prices are considerably greater than what you’d pay for a pocket shooter, but because models aren’t refreshed as often, D-SLRs don’t get eclipsed by newer, flashier models as quickly as point-and-shoot cameras do. And the picture quality really is worth the extra money you’ll have to spend.

If you’re not sold on D-SLRs at all, head on over to read the top of the article and you’ll understand why you might be interested in one. If you’re already sold, this guide will help you pin down some of the things you’re likely looking for in a new camera.

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy a D-SLR Camera ]

Facebook announced some pretty broad and sweeping privacy changes recently, and while they aren’t garnering the attention that past Facebook privacy changes have, these ones are pretty serious and open the door to a number of apps, pages, and external sites and services to know a great deal about you that you may automatically assume is data that’s confined to Facebook itself.

Writing for PC Mag, Dan Costa has some suggestions to help you crack down on how Facebook handles (or mishandles, depending on how you see it) your information and what the service can and can’t do with your data, and who – even among people who use Facebook and are your friends there – can and can’t see certain things about you.

In a fabulous 8-step tutorial rich with screenshots to guide, Dan shows you how to change your Facebook privacy settings to something that benefits you, as opposed to the defaults, which for all of the credit Facebook is due, are designed to benefit the service while offering you some privacy protection – just not as much as you likely assume you have.

I’ll be walking through these steps myself very shortly, I strongly suggest you do too.

[ PC Mag :: Facebook Privacy: 8 Ways to Protect Yourself ]

It’s been a year since PC Mag visited their guide, How to Buy the Right Headphones, and now they’re back with a revised version of the guide with new headphones and new reviews and new tips for people looking not only to replace the likely-cruddy earbuds that came with their digital music player but also looking for solid sound quality, noise cancellation, high-end performance, or durability and affordability.

From some serious Sonys to some very quiet Boses to some swanky Sennheisers, the guide walks you through the various types of headphones and earbuds you can buy depending on what you’re looking for. If you have to have the portability of earbuds, there are suggestions for you. If you’re huge on circumaural headphones, there are suggestions for you too. Take a look at the guide and see what works best for the device you have and the budget you’re willing to set!

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy the Right Headphones ]

Admittedly I’ve had my Motorola Droid for several months now (and yes, I’m still mulling over a hands-on review on why I think it’s one of the finest technology purchases I’ve made in years) but thanks to AppBrain I can show the world all of the apps that I have installed on my Droid.

Among some of my favorites that I use all of the time? TripIt has been invaluable for all of the traveling I’ve done across the country in the past several months, Yelp has been wonderful for even finding things to eat in my own neighborhood, Shazam has helped me tag songs I’ve heard on the radio so I could identify them, and NPR news has helped me find radio to listen to no matter what state I’m in.

That’s not even the extent of the awesomeness – Google Sky is an app that has to be seen to be believed, and Key Ring has slimmed my wallet significantly. If you’re curious about any of these apps though, just click on them in the widget above to learn more about them!

Do you have an android phone? What do you have installed? Let me know in the comments!