Sometimes it's the simple things in life that really count -- at least, that's one of the lessons that you might learn at CES. Surprised? So am I.

There is, of course, a lot of exciting news coming out of Panasonic, Sony, Lenovo, Samsung, and all the other very well-known tech companies -- all of whom had press conferences on Sunday which were packed with eager journalists. For example, Samsung [1] (which was so popular that I managed to squeeze in at the last minute after standing on an absurdly long line) is introducing its SyncMaster 2263DX monitor, a 22-inch LCD which includes an additional 7-inch display attached on the side (if you need a separate space, for, say, your IM messages). However, one thing I've discovered about these shows is that sometimes you can find stuff from the lesser-known companies that make you slap your forehead and say, "Why hasn't anyone else come up with that?"

For example, a company called Data Drive Through [2] is going to be introducing a hardware solution for households (and businesses) that have both PCs and Macs: a small device called the iTornado. This is how it works: You pull out its two USB cables, connect one to your PC, one to your Mac, and you can then move files between the two foreign operating systems -- a very neat idea.

Another company called dreamGear is marketing a gadget called the i.Sound RoadTalk [3], which uses Bluetooth and an FM transmitter to provide hands-off phone conversations in your car. (You do have to find an unused FM frequency and match it on the RoadTalk, so there is some setup.) And the zBoost zPersonal from Wi-Ex [4] amplifies cell phone signals within a house or hotel room so that you can make yourself heard (unless you use Nextel, in which case, you're out of luck).

But as far as I'm concerned, the winner in the "simple but spiffy" lineup so far is a little non-computerized gadget called Open It! [5] from Zibra. What does it do? It opens those nasty and unavoidable blister packs almost any new tech gadget is packed in these days. Having sliced my fingers more than once trying to get those things open, this looks to be at the top of my list of must-have items.

For more CES coverage, check out Computerworld's News from CES 2008 [6].