It has an intimidating name — the Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive, Cloud Edition. But it could be the perfect network storage solution for the average Joe.

At its most basic level, this drive is a 1 terabyte (or 2TB, depending on the version you choose) hard disk that plugs into your home network wireless router. Install the software CD required to access the drive, and the application opens showing you a simplified set of six icons — Backups, Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Time Machine.

Clicking each one will take you to the appropriate folder on the drive, and you can drag files and folders to copy them to the drive. I can see first time users warm up to this approach rather quickly. You can even use the drive as a torrent downloader, so if peer-to-peer downloads is something you do, you can setup downloads to happen directly onto the drive, letting you switch off your PC at night.

But where’s the “cloud”, you ask? This drive lets you set up a personal cloud but don’t confuse this with storing your data on company servers on the Internet. What it does do is send out an email to anyone you wish to securely share your drive’s data with (including yourself, if you’re out and about) with an access code. You can share selectively with separate user accounts but do keep in mind you will need a fast Internet connection on both ends to make the magic happen. Net net, this drive is sure to appeal to folks who want to do more with their storage without need for technical expertise.

• Rating: 8/10
• Price: Rs 7,999 (1TB); Rs 9,999 (2TB)
• URL: http://bit.ly/nrZuJI

Action replay

Cole is back. If you’ve followed his travails in the quarantined metropolis of Empire City in the original inFamous, there’s good news (and some better news). The good news is that even though the story has progressed from the first version — Cole is now to be found deep in the American south in the town of New Marais with his best buddy Zeke and a new enemy that goes by a strangely staid name (Bertrand) — the game plays almost identical to the original. And that, in this case, is a good thing. You control the electric superhero (or super villain based on the moral choices you make during the game), completing missions and wreaking overall havoc all just to gain experience points. These points inch Cole closer to the wherewithal required to take on the almost-impossible-to-defeat super-bad-guy, The Beast.

Game play is fluid and unlike the predecessor, Cole doesn’t need to learn all his skills from scratch, so fans of the game can get right around to the floating and the melees than Cole learnt the hard way last time around. New Marais is a much more alive and bustling city, and there’s much more to do in the game on the whole. What seals the deal in its favour is that, much like the original, at many places you have the freedom to make a choice between right and wrong, giving the game a ton of replay value and two very different endings.

• Rating: 8/10
• Price: Rs 2,499
• URL: http://bit.ly/otIM2N'

Fishy tale

Unless you’re doing it in a fish tank, fishing is a futile exercise for most. Take the guesswork out of the fishing with the FishEyes Rod and Reel, a fishing rod with an integrated wide-angle video camera at the end of the line, sitting just above your bait. The live video feed is sent to a colour LCD display built into the handle, so you can see the fish as they swim by. One wonders whether the built-in LED lights might just frighten the fish away but with this, at least you’ll know they’re gone!

• Price: $79.99
• URL: http://bit.ly/oIf9t8