1. A computing device or peripheral in a computing system, comprising: a housing comprising at least one lighting component and an opening for user display means or user input means; and a transparent or translucent layer integrated with a substantial exterior portion of said housing and positioned to provide a secondary source of information viewable in the user's workspace, whereby light emanating from the at least one lighting component propagates through said layer, said light generated according to a lighting scheme associated with a condition in the computing system or an alert from the computing system, the lighting scheme configurable by a user and synchronized among a plurality of communicatively coupled devices in a computing ecosystem, wherein said condition is based upon whether a task being performed is associated with a primary zone, a secondary zone or a tertiary zone of the computing system , wherein said primary zone is the location for tasks requiring fine motor control, the secondary zone is the location for tasks requiring gross motor movement and the tertiary work zone is the location for infrequently performed tasks or actions.