Sometimes a killer description or photo can make a product seem infinitely cooler: “Surely you’ve wanted, at least once in your life, to collapse dramatically across a piece of furniture in a sudden fit of the vapors. The piece of furniture you want for this display is a chaise lounge.” If you’ve ever had a cat, you know how closely they identify with that statement. This elegant, modern cat bed from designer Elizabeth Paige Smith is perfect for all of kitty’s dramatic collapsings and casual loppings. It’s made from industrial strength corrugated cardboard which cats LOVE, and over time it will begin to mold itself to your pet’s body. There are 2 other styles, and they all include free shipping.

$280-$320

Looking for top quality noise cancelling headphones?
Act now and receive a free MP3 player with the purchase of a pair of Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones from the ever reliable Hammacher. You get to choose between 2 styles of headphones; around the ear headphone design (cups the ear), or on-ear design (rest on the ear).

Used by travelers to reduce aircraft engine noise, and by others preferring tranquility in their work, these Bose headphones are renowned for their full-spectrum noise reduction and comfortable fit. Both styles feature tiny microphones inside the ear cups that identify unwanted sound and a correction signal prevents the noise from reaching the speakers, ensuring external noise reduction.

This special offer includes a free MP3 player that has voice recording, voice playback capabilities, and comes preloaded with 38 songs. Hurry, as this offer ends June 30th 2007.

Do you have a bunch of CDs, cassette tapes, vinyl, VHS tapes, etc. that you want converted to digital format for future preservation? This iPod converter can convert any media directly to your iPod (video or otherwise). Although this is aimed directly at the iPod enthusiast it can be extremely useful to anyone who wants to convert their media to digital format (MP3 for audio and MPEG4 for video).

Simply plug your audio or video device in the iPod converter with the included RCA connections (add S-video for video conversion), and plug the other end into your iPod or USB hard drive and press the magic button. Voila! Now your media has been converted to digital for you to listen, edit, or watch on your computer or iPod.

I envision this being plugged into a 250GB external hard drive and converting an entire music collection (vinyl, tapes, CDs, etc) plus old family videos (VHS, DVD, etc) directly to the external hard drive. Then plug that external drive into your PC and enjoy. Imagine all the space you can save if you converted all your VHS tapes, cassette tapes, and vinyl to digital format (MP3 for music and MPEG4 for video).

$199.95

Get up to 50% off at Hammacher Schlemmer’s private online sale. Why is it called a private sale? Because they don’t have any links to it on their own site. You have to be lucky enough (that’s you!) to find the links elsewhere.

We’ve blogged about why bamboo fabrics are so desirable before and now their bamboo sheets are on sale at almost half the regular price. Be aware that these have limited quantities, and when they’re gone, the sale is over.

Another item worth mentioning in their private sale is the iPod t-shirt with built in iPod pocket and headphone tunnel. Great for those who want to listen to their music while they work out and not have the earphones or MP3 player get in their way.

Charge almost any portable device on the go with this solar powered battery charger kit. Whether they enjoy hiking with their GPS device, relaxing outside with their iPod, or are always on the go, they can charge their portable device as long as there is some sun out. Made by Coleman this iSun Solar Charger Kit has a built in battery pack plus radio and lantern/flashlight combo. The kit includes plugging accessories that will enable you to run over 90% of all small electronics and what they call a BattPak. When connected, the BattPak enables the iSun to charge AA and AAA rechargeable batteries with only solar energy. The kit also includes a CLA (female cigarette lighter adapter) for anything that has a standard 12 VDC CLA connector (think laptop).

$88

A similar and more compact option is the Solio Solar Charger. The Solio is available at UnbeatableSale and comes in many different colors, but our favorite is pink.

Looking for the best way to carry your iPod and keep it handy? Well here it is: the BeatBuckle. The BeatBuckle is just a belt buckle made of nearly indestructible crystal clear plastic while still leaving your iPod fully usable. You can still use the scroll wheel, the headphone jack, etc. while holding up your pants with your favorite belt. The BeatBuckle has a dual lock enclosure to keep your iPod secure and will fit any belt that allows for interchangeable belt buckles. They currently sell them in iPod Nano and iPod Video sizes.

If you are into retro video games like me check out the NESBuckle. It’s an old school NES controller as your belt buckle. Like the BeatBuckle this will fit on any belt that allows for an interchangeable buckle. If you’d rather make a project out of it, try making your own NES controller buckle. Get this nerdy NES cartridge shirt to complete the outfit.

Whether you use a backpack for school, work, or short trips having iPod controls built into the shoulder straps will save you some hassle. Some backpacks have MP3 player pockets with headphone exit points to manage your wires better, but what about when you want to skip a certain song, or turn the volume down temporarily. You’d have to either take the headphones out of your ear, or try and reach around and unzip the pocket, take out your iPod and turn down the volume, or skip to next song.

That is just one problem solved by these iPod controlling backpacks, which seem to be loosely referred to as iPacks. This particular iPod controlling backpack from Hammacher Schlemmer also has a padded laptop pocket and pockets for your PDA, cellphone, keys, pens, and other accessories to help you stay organized as well as entertained. Here are some details straight from the product description “Your iPod simply plugs into a jack located inside, and a universal jack located on the left back strap accommodates your headphones, allowing complete control of your music player through the five-button control panel on the left strap. The panel controls volume, pause, menu selection, and stop functions.” This backpack also features a very durable construction and self-mending zippers for an extra long life. Of course there are other places to buy an iPod enhanced backpack, but you’ll want to take note of Hammacher’s lifetime guarantee. The guarantee basically means if there is anything wrong with the product for it’s standard lifetime you can just return it to them and they will replace it or give you a refund.

If you don’t like the style or colors of the iPod backpack mentioned above, then check out Think Geek for their iPod Mono-Strap Backpack. This backpack features the trendy mono-strap style (see in action) the same controls as the backpack mentioned above and with just as many pockets. The main difference between the two is the strap style and it seems the backpack available at Hammacher utilizes a more durable nylon. So depending on your everyday use and sense of style make sure you get the backpack that best suites your needs.

You can find other colors, styles, and sizes by searching other sites like Target, or eBags, both of which are recommended stores to purchase from.

COUPON: Get $10 OFF $45 Backpack Orders at eBags.com Expires Dec. 1, 2006

With the decline of American roadside diners and boom of fast food restaurants the standard chrome and push-button tabletop jukebox has also faded into a thing of the past. But with today’s resurgence of retro and vintage items more and more people are decorating their homes with that nostalgic feel. Be it retro furniture that decorates your home, a complete vintage bathroom, or you just have a couple things around the house to remind you of the days long gone you’ll want to check out these reproductions of the classic chrome jukebox used on tabletops in 50’s diners.

Starting from the top of the line we’ve got the The Classic Diner CD Jukebox from Hammacher Schlemmer. This particular unit has a nice chrome finish, plays CDs and MP3-CDs with the option of selecting song tracks by letter and number, just like the original diner models. Also built in is a digital FM radio with 20 presets, various lighting modes and can be connected to an external stereo, amplifier, or headphones. It even comes with an MP3-CD with 100 classic songs from the 1950’s and 1960’s from the original artists such as Buddy Holly and Patsy Cline. With the ability to play MP3-CDs and hook up to an external stereo (think home theater system) this jukebox easily makes it the number one choice.

If you don’t need CD or MP3-CD capabilities there is a less high tech version that plays cassette tapes and has AM/FM radio built in. It boasts full range stereo speakers, lighted song chart, and selection buttons that fold down to reveal the dial scale for the radio and volume. The advantage is that this model looks more like the original counter top versions from the 1950’s. So if you are going for more of the authentic look then this classic diner jukebox is for you.

If you are interested in a little jukebox history there is a short explanation starting with Thomas Edison in 1877 to the present over at Starlite Diner.