Ever since adhesive companies like 3M came up with high-quality sticker materials, companies have slowly but surely been licensing brands, logos and artwork to help us personalize our laptops, car windows and personal electronics. The first generation were a pain to work with because the stickers were often too sticky: put them on slightly wrong and you were quite literally "stuck" and lifting corners to erase stray bubbles or seams could end up ruining the skin and leave it unstuck on one side.

The latest generation are a huge improvement with their increased thickness and extraordinary vivid color retention. They can be cut into extremely accurate forms and custom fit whatever device you have. With iPhones, they wrap around the back of the phone and include cut-outs for the camera lens and an irregular edge that neatly extends the sticker without covering up any of the controls.

But are they worth it? Should you rush out and drop $15-20 to emblazon your favorite band, artist or comic book hero on the back of your iPhone?

To find out, I was given sample skins from the two main players in this market: GelaSkins and MusicSkins. Both use the exact same 3M film, and both seem to use the same die to cut their stickers to fit the iPhone, so the difference is primarily in the graphic itself. But there's more to it than that, as you'll see...

[This conference review is written by contributing editor Gary Moskoff]

Macworld Expo, to some a pilgrimage, came upon us yet again this February. For me, Macworld was at the right time for a variety of meetings I already had lined up, and San Francisco is always the right place, one of my favorite cities!

As I prepared for the technology wonderland of Macworld Expo, I found that it wasn’t just about the product on the Expo floor, it’s also about the educational experience, and the opportunity to immerse oneself in the root of the Mac subculture. And although I didn'’t attend half of the seminars I wanted to, the ones I did attend were interesting and definitely informative.

The keynote, given by David Pogue, was especially noteworthy. Mr. Pogue is the personal technology columnist for the New York Times, and tech correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, and apparently a comedian as well, because his 9am, "“Late Night with David Pogue"” session kept me chuckling all day!