Each day, more and more gadgets are pumped into the market, so to help you navigate through the gallons of gizmos, we’ve selected a few items that will help you get through your day. This week’s column features stuff that will help you wake up, goof off at work and take incriminating photos of your co-workers.

• Foot Loose — As much as we hate to admit it, when you’re at work staring at a computer for most of the day, chances are you’re going to be checking out some non-work-related material. At the risk of severely affecting productivity around the city, I present a product that’ll help ensure you don’t get caught checking your beloved Facebook — the StealthSwitch ($40).

Marketed as a “privacy device,” this gadget allows users to instantly switch or hide windows opened on their computer. Connected via a USB or PS2 port, a small pedal-shaped device is hidden underneath your desk. When you spot your boss heading your way, simply step on the pedal to unveil a different program or window on the monitor.

Available for Mac and PC, the software that communicates with the pedal is simple to use and fully customizable. The tweaking options include hiding all windows and hiding all open windows except a certain one — say a spreadsheet or Word document. By far the best feature is the timed hiding option, which will automatically hide windows after a certain period of inactivity. So if you get called to an abrupt meeting and forget to hide an intense round of Tetris, StealthSwitch will take care of it for you.

Hidden applications will also hide the taskbar icon, leaving no traces of suspicious downtime. To order your own shady switcher, check out stealthswitch.com

• I Spy — When I was a kid, I had great aspirations for my future career, but I could never peg down a final job decision. It was either to be an architect, an elephant or James Bond. While I don’t think all of my choices were realistic, the latter seems more plausible now, thanks to the Minox DSC ($200), a digital spy cam.

The pint-sized camera has a minimalist and compact design and still houses a five-megapixel lens for fair-quality shots. It has an 86-by-30-millimetre frame, about the same size as a cellphone. The camera is perfect for quick, discrete snapshots. If you require a little more light during your undercover work, it also ships with an external flash that attaches to the side of the camera. Even though the built-in memory is only 128 megabytes — enough for about 51 shots — the external flash has a memory slot, boosting the capacity up to 16 gigabytes — enough for 6,500 sneaky photos.

One of the drawbacks of the tiny tool is its lack of manual camera settings, with most configurations stuck on automatic. And because of its limitations in size, the quality of the photos is not exactly on par with other five-megapixel cameras. If you still want to kick-start a career in espionage, visit license-to-shoot.com to order online.

• Passport Clock — If you want more international flavour in your radio listening, check out Aluratek’s Internet radio alarm clock ($150).

It still has the standard FM tuner, alarm and compact design that you’d expect from any alarm clock, but this gadget packs a digital punch. Connecting to the Internet via wireless or directly through an ethernet port, the unit brings in more than 11,000 Internet radio stations from 150 countries.

Skimming through so many choices can be daunting, but the remote control makes it easier. While there are still buttons on the clock — including the all-important snooze button — the remote is the brain of the unit, controlling the important stuff like setting up your favourite stations and selecting them as your alarm. The bright nine-centimetre LED display can sort out the stations and your favourites with different categories such as city, country, genre and popularity.

Other nifty features include the 3.5-millimetre jack that allows you to connect your music player to the unit, and the USB port on the front that lets you listen to tracks saved on an external drive.

While the sound quality of the little two-watt speaker isn’t exactly great, you can attach external speakers. Get your own intentional clock radio at aluratek.com