Owners of yesteryear Apple products (and consumer advocates) had a pretty solid week. Friday it came to light that more than two million 2001-era PowerBook owners could be eligible for refunds between $25 and $75 in a class-action settlement (which is set for final approval on September 8th) over faulty, sometimes even sparking power adapters. But that's not all: Apple is also offering up $45 credits to any Canadian iPod owner that bought before June 24th, 2004 as part of a class-action suit claiming Apple misrepresented the advertised battery life of the players.

Read - Power adapters
Read - Canadian iPods [sub req'd]

Just in case IOGEAR's USB 2.0 External VGA Video Card (pictured) wasn't swank enough for your DVI-equipped display, the firm is introducing a variant just for you. Designed to give users the ability to spread those 80 column spreadsheets over two monitors without cracking open the case, the USB 2.0 External DVI Video Card enables the use of a multi-monitor setup for folks with leased / locked machines and those absolutely terrified of seeing PCB in the flesh. Of course, the $149.99 unit is only designed to operate with Windows XP / Vista, but chances are your corporate box isn't running anything else, anyway.

Now that you're already penning a purchase requisition for one of those fancy new P2 HD camcorders, you might as well toss a couple of Panny's new 64GB P2 cards (model AJ-P2C064) and its AJ-PCD35 ExpressCard adapter on there, too. Yep, Panasonic has chosen NAB Show 2008 to double up on its current 32GB P2 card and to introduce a five-slot P2 memory drive with an ExpressCard interface. Put simply, the latter can hold all five cards from a fully-loaded VariCam 2700 / 3700 camcorder (or any other P2 rig) and give users the ability to upload content on the go with their ExpressCard-equipped laptop. Regrettably, the company didn't bother doling out dollar figures just yet, but we'd go ahead and file 'em both under "expensive."

[Via I4U News]

Certainly not the first to conjure up such wares, Gefen is hopping in the USB display adapter game with its own USB-to-DVI adapter. The unit supports screen resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200 and plays nice with all 32-bit versions of Windows as well as OS X. As you're probably well aware, up to a half dozen of these critters can be connected to a single PC at a time, and any attempt to use seven or more will likely cause a catastrophic meltdown. Unfortunately, these things are still a tad pricey, and even Gefen's will set you back a stiff $129. Full release posted after the jump (which affirms OS X support).

Sure, setting out for a trek around the globe sounds like fun and games at first, but when you plop down in that Welsh hotel and realize your US power adapter is worthless, terror can quickly ensue. Fret not, fellow argonauts, as the Universal Travel Adapter with USB Port has arrived to clear your mind of worry and ensure that your wares can be juiced up from almost anywhere. For $17, you'll get plugs for the US, UK, Europe and Australia, but it seems you're on your own if heading to another galaxy.

Given the fact that most (all?) 3G USB modems won't even fit in the MacBook Air's ultra-cramped USB port, it's practically a foregone conclusion that some of that sex appeal is going to be forfeited when busting out a dongle to keep using your current wares. Enter the AirQueue, which is hailed as the first USB extender designed specifically to work with the MBA -- whatever that means. Truth be told, we can't figure out exactly what makes this any different than other extenders made for helping folks out in a squeeze, but at least it's only $6, right? Oh, and if you're aiming to make things extra unsightly, be sure and pick up the pictured $38 ExpressCard adapter -- your coffee shop style quotient will be tanked in no time.

[Via MacsimumNews, thanks RD]

We've all ideas the designers at Cupertino had good intentions when designing the MagSafe adapter, but just in case you can't seem to find the value in said feature, the $11.99 MagStay Pro is out to remedy your curious quandary. As with the JerkStopper, this concoction actually plugs into your MBP's nearby USB port in order to get a better grip on the machine. Apparently, this thing is designed to help you avoid any "unintentional disconnections" in power, but aside from totally blocking your USB port (no passthrough?), you're also begging for some extraneous repair bills. To each his / her own, we guess.

[Via TUAW]

Just like fine wine, the HDD Stage Rack keeps getting better with age. On its third iteration now, the latest version of the external HDD cradle not only includes the obligatory USB and eSATA ports, but it also boasts a 6-pin FireWire 400 connector and two FireWire 800 sockets. 'Course, this thing isn't slated to be available for US hands until the end of this month, but that'll give you a few weeks to swallow the lofty $165.33 price tag, at least.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Oh sure, there's a million and one ways to rightfully cram an SD card into an ExpressCard slot, but does your current multicard reader provide continuous backups out-of-the-box? SanDisk is certainly hoping not, as it's waving its nifty FlashBack Adapter around at CeBIT and boasting of its ability to "automatically and continuously back up and encrypt critical data onto an SD flash memory card." Put simply, this device enables you to access the recent copies of your most important files should your system crash or become doused with any number of liquids while working. On a positive note, this thing will indeed play nice with SDHC cards; unfortunately, it's made to work seamlessly with Windows only. Still, you suits out there can snap one up in Q2 for $29.99 and simultaneously vaporize any hope of using computer failure as an excuse for not doing work.

USB-to-DVI adapters have certainly progressed a good ways over the years, and I-O Data's ain't too shabby, either. The external graphics dongle supports resolutions up to 1,680 x 1,050, measures in at 57- × 85- × 22-millimeters and even plays nice with Vista's Aero Glass interface. Unfortunately, it's not so compatible with Open GL or HDCP. That's a little too hamstrung for our ¥14,600 ($135), but to each their own.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Believe it or not, it's been over a year since Team Xtender's XFPS for Xbox 360 was released and lambasted for its sketchy handling of mice inputs. Thankfully, it seems the crew got the message, and has attempted to remedy the issue on its latest contraption, the XFPS RateUp for PS3. According to IGN, this device includes the same keyboard / mouse-to-console capabilities, but throws in a pair of much needed adjustment wheels that "add an additional 16-levels of X and Y axis sensitivity for dialing in mouse movement." Still, it remains to be seen if PlayStation 3 owners will be willing to fork over a C-note to pick one of these up -- especially considering the unit's native KB / mouse support in some titles -- but on the real, we'd hold off for a review even if you're currently tempted.

[Via IGN]

Sure, we've seen similar adapters in the past, but NewerTech's latest is quite a few rungs higher on the attractive scale than its most formidable rivals. The inelegantly named USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter allows users to easily connect any 2.5-, 3.5- or 5.25-inch HDD / optical drive to a computer via USB, enabling folks to transfer critical data or backup an internal drive altogether without having to hunt down some snazzy external chassis. Notably, the adapter plays nice with IDE, ATA and SATA (among others), has no qualms dealing with OS X / Linux and will set you back just $29.95.

We've seen Gefen get all riled up and unleash a barrage of new kit all at once, and sure enough, the outfit is doing just that once more. For starters, we've got the TV Switcher, which enables consumers to connect and access four HDMI sources from a single HDTV. Next up is the TV Splitter, which allows users to channel a single HDMI source to four displays -- and yeah, both of the aforementioned units play nice with HDMI v1.3a. Moving right along, we've got a pair of updates to the PVR lineup; the HD PVR records in MPEG4 and can store material on the 80GB HDD or an SD card, while the SD PVR records content onto USB storage devices. Over on the sound side, the Gefen TV Audio Processor takes a single HDMI source and delivers it to a display and an external audio receiver; furthermore, it reportedly "decodes the HDMI signal to provide an audio signal along with six discrete RCA connectors." Lastly, the firm is doling out v1.3 / Simplay HD-certified HDMI cables in 6-, 10- and 15-foot lengths, but unfortunately, it didn't bother handing out price tags for any of the goods here.

Sure, we've seen star-shaped hubs before, and headphone splitters are a dime a dozen, but Belkin is out to make sure your entire posse can get a listen to your favorite tune whenever they please. The six-port RockStar audio hub touts a single input-only socket alongside five other ports that can be toggled between input and output, essentially allowing certain DAPs to funnel different songs to different individuals. Of course, we can't really understand why you'd need to be all up in each others' grilles while taking a listen, but we suppose the kids these days have their reasons. Expect it to land this March for around $20.

Well, what have we here? No, seriously, what is this thing? Considering the absolute dearth of information given on GameStop's pre-order page, we're left to surmise that the Xbox 360 HDMI Conversion Kit exists (er, will exist) simply to allow those who purchased their Xbox 360 before the days of built-in HDMI to utilize one of the dusty HDMI sockets on their TV / receiver. Granted, we're sure hoping there's more to this thing than that, or else we're left wondering who's desperate enough to drop $89.99 to free up a single component input.

Update: Turns out this thing does indeed support 1080p, and it'll come with "free" HDMI and optical audio cables, too. Check out the PDF here. Thanks, PerfectVirus!

[Thanks, David]