It is supposed to be spring! Enough with the rain and the chill and the gloom. The Style Insider is ready to be done with all things blah, and we’ve recently realized that we are as tired as can be of our sturdy little black canvas laptop case. So we’ve put together a social network of laptop totes chic enough to fly first-class and versatile enough to carry all your vital tech devices:

We like nearly everything Clark & Mayfield makes, and their Metro-Express laptop tote (above left)is on the top of our list. The black houndstooth print is eye-catching and classy; the lines are sleek, and the price is sane. At eBags ($90, 15.75″ by 13″ by 5″). If you’re a lady in red, you might be more partial to their Rosemont ($80, 13″ by 14.5″ by 5″, above right); both bags got 8s and 9s in eBags’ customer reviews.

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If you’re reading this today, it can only mean one thing: You’re in the doghouse. You screwed it up, and now you’re looking to make amends. You are sooooo lucky, because The Style Insider is here to dig you out. Get the plastic out - this will cost more than it would have the first time around, but it’ll be worth it. We promise.

What were you thinking? This is Christmas. She bought you cashmere and tracked down the perfect retro hubcaps on eBay for your precious, precious vehicle, and you bought her a CD? There’s an

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Is there anything more fun than trying to wake up a teenager at the beginning of the school year? A teenager who has spent the last three months sleeping until noon? The only thing that is likely more fun is watching what happens when Clocky the alarm clock goes off.

Clocky is cute and has big wheels (pictured), and after your teen hits the snooze button once, Clocky rolls off the bedside table and rolls around the room, continuing to buzz loudly: under the bed, against the door, in the bathroom, until said teen has to get out of bed to find him.

Beautiful!

He’s $50 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Another fun one is the flying alarm clock. It has a cute little propeller on its top, and when it goes off, the propeller spins and flies away, carrying the key that makes the alarm clock stop its incredibly loud screeching. Fabulous, and $11.48 at Amazon. It would probably be entertaining to watch

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There’s a lot of grumbling out there about the Apple 3G iPhone that came out in July. It seems that calls are dropping, like rocks. They’re blaming it on a German-made chip in the phone, and Apple is promising a software fix will be on iTunes soon.

On top of the irritation at lost connectivity, Apple has sold so many of them, they’re not so special any more. Everybody seems to have one.

So now how do you elevate yourself above the masses? Pop a fascinating case or cover over it, of course.

You can go the basic route with leather or silicone skins,  or get one in a snazzy color for $25 (above left). Since you were aiming for a high tech look, the Invisible Shield by Zagg ($25) is made of a thin polyurethane film created by the military for helicopter blades.

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