Hasta La Gadget!

If you haven’t picked up a free skin or bumper from Apple for your iPhone 4 yet, iSkin has some attractive new designs in the form of their new iSkin Solo and iSkin Revo cases for the iPhone 4. The iSkin Solo is one of iSkin’s most popular lines, and has been updated to fit the iPhone 4. It’s available in five different colors including flat black, clear, light blue, purple, and pink, and all feature a translucent back so you can still see the back of the case. There are openings for the dock connector, headphone jack, speaker, and camera, while the power and volume buttons are protected but can still be used.

The iSkin Revo is a silicone shell case that protects all sides of your iPhone in four two-tone color designs: black/brown, yellow/black, pink/black, and brown/white. The Revo case also has a firm plastic case that snaps over the screen of your iPhone to keep it protected. The Solo retails for $14.99 and the Revo is $39.99, and both cases are available now. 

GelaSkins aren’t your only option if you want artist-designed protection for your iPhone 4. SmirkAbout‘s cases are truly eye-catching, and they’re now available for the iPhone 4. You can even get them with matching high resolution wallpaper, just the thing for the iPhone 4’s high resolution display.

SmirkAbout cases are thin and tough. Besides supporting the iPhone 4, SmirkAbout’s designs can fit over 500 different devices. All cases are easy to put on and remove, provide UV protection, and come with a lifetime guarantee.

While SmirkAbout is based in Australia (where women glow and men plunder), it has online stores for 10 geographic regions so you’ll still get local shipping rates.

Whether you’re a bright-eyed freshman or a super senior, summer vacation will be over before you know it–so you’d better start your shopping soon. Check out Gearlog’s Back-to-School Essentials list pronto for the gadgets you’ll want on hand during the best years of your life.

Samsung DualView TL225: Cultivate your college digital identity with the Samsung DualView TL225. It has impeccable image quality, a sleek and slender design, and a 3.5-inch touch screen. This camera also has a LCD on the front, so if, say, Jason Mraz gives a campus concert, you can secure a picture of the both of you, not one of you and his left ear. $349.99 list.

Skullcandy 50/50: Drown out the sound of people “studying” in the library, or pump yourself up while jogging with these headphones from Skullcandy. Priced at just under $50, you get a lot of bang for your buck: They’re excellent for bass-lovers and work wonderfully with your iPhone to take or end phone calls. Your ears will thank you. $49.95 list.

 Sixteen more essential gadgets, after the jump! 

Every year, the Library of Congress examines the DMCA and issues exceptions as necessary for groups of people who circumvent copy protection for various reasons, including fair use and parody. This year, the Library of Congress has issued six new exemptions, including two notable ones that allow for users of smartphones to jailbreak or root their device without worry that their actions violate the DMCA, and one that allows documentary filmmakers and students to rip and use short portions of copyrighted movies on DVD for educational purposes, documentary films, and non-commercial videos.

Granted, the exemption doesn’t mean that handset manufacturers have to support jailbroken devices or even stop playing the cat-and-mouse game of issuing patches that disable apps that help users jailbreak or root their devices. Similarly, this doesn’t mandate that movie studios provide unencrypted content for documentary filmmakers or students. What the exemptions do however is allow those groups to work without fear of being sued or issued a cease-and-desist under the DMCA.

The ruling also has exemptions for software that is protected by physical dongle where the dongle is no longer manufactured and no replacements are available, eBook readers that read-aloud or allow users to customize the text and circumventing copy protection on video games for the purposes of security testing. For more information on the ruling, check out our full coverage at PCMag.com.