Play safe at work

So here you are at the office playing Solitaire. But what if your boss finds out? Well! You can avoid this if you install a StealthSwitch II available at ThinkGeek.

So here you are at the office playing Solitaire. But what if your boss finds out? Well! You can avoid this if you install a StealthSwitch II available at ThinkGeek.

Billed by its creator as 'The World's First Desktop Cloaking Device', the StealthSwitch II, is a small switch that's activated by your foot. With a simple click of the switch, you can configure the StealthSwitch II to perform a multitude of functions. If opening Solitaire for example — stepping on the StealthSwitch II would instantly conceal the Solitaire game and display Microsoft Word or any other application of your choice complete with a working document.

It sounds like I'm encouraging you to goof off at work, but the StealthSwitch II actually has some redeeming qualities. It can hide an application and not simply minimise it. Applications are made completely invisible. It can mute the sound, hide the taskbar, even hide all associated desktop icons with the simple click of the foot switch. This means you can get confidential materials off the screen in a moment.

The included software gives you lots of configuration controls. For example, the control panel enables you to hide the current window or hide all open windows. A password protection scheme ensures that only you can restore access to cloaked applications. The StealthSwitch II comes with the one-button master USB footswitch and a 6-foot USB/PS2 compatible cable. The StealthSwitch II sells for $32.99 (₹1,502) and works with most versions of Windows and Mac OS X.

To buy it, head to www.thinkgeek.com/computing/usb-gadgets/c8a8.

— MCT