Sure, most laptops let you swap out a battery while the machine's asleep, but sometimes you need things to stay running while you switch out powerpacks -- which is where inventor Ric Richardson's hotswap batteries come into play. In addition to their traditional contacts, the cells have a small extension that plugs into your machine's power jack, allowing you to take out the dead battery and plug in the new one without having to shut down. It's a deceptively simple idea, but Richardson's got a patent on it, and he says he's talking to various companies like HP and Lenovo about using it in consumer laptops. We're definitely intrigued -- but here's hoping there's a good way to stow that cable afterwards.

Do you ever find yourself staring down at your drive bays, watching as the lazy, single purpose hard drive does its work and think, "Man, I wish I could swap that thing out for a USB hub when it's done spinning."? Well, the clever folks at Lindy have answered your prayers by creating the USB 2.0 Data Dock. The premise is simple: the Dock installs into your standard, 3.5-inch bay and provides two open "slots" which you can use for either a 2.5-inch swappable drive enclosure, a four port USB hub, or a multi-format card reader -- all of which are provided. Additionally, once the modules are swapped out, they can be plugged directly into another system (or the same system) via a typical USB connection. Available now for £49.99 (about $101).

[Via SlashGear]