This is what we imagine Harry Potter’s Chemistry book looks like. It’s a stunning--but somewhat confusing to use--iPad adaptation of Theodore Grey’s dead-tree book of the same name. The Elements presents you with a periodic table, complete with animated elements. Tapping on one brings up a page with 360-degree animations, as well as all the scientific details of the element in question.

“’80s coke dealer.” That’s how one Mac|Life staffer libeled the Rotaliana Diva when trying to describe its visual statement. True enough, this multitalented iPod dock--brazenly slick and swoopy, unapologetic in its design flamboyance--does look like the kind of thing that Tony “Scarface” Montana might place on an end table in his Miami mansion. Are the Diva’s lines too over the top? That’s for you to decide. What we can tell you is that a host of interesting features make this ostentatious obelisk a compelling bundle of functionality.

Cable management is an ongoing battle for many road warriors. Some of us just stuff our cables into various pockets in our bags. Others actually have small, individually labeled bags to keep their piles of cables separated and ready to unleash at a moments notice. Meanwhile, accessory companies continue to release more and more cable-management systems. They’re usually just a piece of plastic that you wrap the cable around once, then realize you’ve wasted your money and toss it aside. But the Quirky PowerCurl manages to actually be useful, and it strikes a good balance between easy and OCD. And wow… it’s orange!

Finding a laptop bag that does it all is not a simple task, and we often have to make compromises between style, utility, and comfort. Speck’s CorePack Fly nails two out of those three, faltering a bit in the comfort department. The CorePack’s black-and-white pinstripe design (also available in a blue-gray check pattern) makes it a fashionable laptop bag that pairs well with our favorite--and only--pair of designer shoes. This lightweight bag also offers good protection and storage for our stuff without adding much extra heft when we’re hauling around our MacBook.