Fetish
Trike for Tykes
When a designer for mountain-bike maker Cannondale built a nifty little mountain trike for his kid, everyone who saw it wanted one too. So Cannondale produced the Heir 'dale, a low-maintenance aluminum tricycle with a front-wheel drive that eliminates the need for a chain. Cannondale claims the drool-resistant rubber grips also withstand aggressive teething. And if the aggro tot wants to hit heavy terrain, ask Cannondale to outfit a pink or electric baby-blue model with a heavy-duty front shock fork. Heir 'dale: US$199. Cannondale Corp.: (800) 245 3872, +1 (814) 623 2626.
The NoteJet II 486C
One of the most important elements of your communication system - the printer - usually gets left at home when you travel. Canon takes care of this problem with the NoteJet II, a 486 color laptop with a bubble-jet printer built into the computer. The NoteJet II weighs under 10 pounds, making it the fetish of choice for globe-trotters everywhere. Optional fax and communication packages are sold separately. NoteJet II 486C: US$2,999 with 130 Mbyte hard drive, $3, 199 with 260Mbyte hard drive, $3,599 with 340 Mbyte hard drive. Canon Computer Systems, Inc.: (800) 848 4123, +1 (714) 438 3000.
Better than Dilithium Crystals
When you need to be productive on long flights, you'd better pack a bunch of extra laptop batteries in your briefcase. Or you can bring along the new AER Energy Power 220. This bizarre-looking cube uses a rechargeable zinc air cell that sucks up oxygen as it delivers eletricity, giving the average consumer up to 10 times the use of other batteries. It'll even supply some extra juice to power your cellular phone simultaneously. AER Energy Power 220: US$649. AER Energy Resources, Inc.: (800) 769 3720, +1 (404) 433 2127.
Rumble Seat
The next time you play on your favorite simulator, take your mind and body along for the ride. The ThunderSeat, designed for the US military, has a built-in wave chamber and 100-watt subwoofer speaker that pumps the roar of a jet engine or the rumble of a Sherman tank (or anything else coming out of your PC sound card) into your bones. Mix business with pleasure via Rolling Thunder, a ThunderSeat mounted on an office chair base (US$295). ThunderSeat Ace: $159.95. ThunderSeat: (800) 884 8633, +1 (310) 410 0022, fax +1 (310) 410 1569.
Behind the VR Curtain
Building simulated worlds is more than just hacking great code. You need hardware your body can interact with. Denne Developments Ltd. makes the best direct-drive electromagnetic actuators, called PemRAM, for theme-park rides and flight simulators. The air-suspended actuators use no gears, motors, ball screws, or hydraulic fluids, so the response is almost instantaneous. The high bandwidth lets you add vibration, such as engine noise, to the experience. Put one in your living room and take friends for a ride they'll never forget. PemRAM 3-Axis Motion Base: US$25,000. Denne Developments Ltd.: +44 (1202) 861661, fax +44 (1202) 861233.
In Your Face
Who needs emoticons when you can send an image of your real face over the wires? The Logitech VideoMan is the first color digital-video camera for the personal computer. It sits next to your computer monitor on an extendible arm, so it can focus on anything you want to show your video-conferencing pal. With an adjustable focal distance of an inch to infinity, a built-in microphone, a 640 x 480 pixel image, and a 30-frame-per-second operation, the VideoMan is an elegant replacement for an analog-video camera and the signal conversion hardware typically needed for digital-video applications. VideoMan: sold to system integrators, VARs, and OEMs; US$279. Logitech: (800) 231 7717, +1 (510) 795 8500.
Six Shooter
If you're a CD-ROM jockey, the Pioneer DRM-604X will sextuple your information capacity. The 604X is a quad-speed CD-ROM drive that holds up to six discs in a fast-spinning magazine. You can have the Oxford English Dictionary, the national Yellow Pages, and four other titles at your fingertips. If you run out of space, try the DRM-1804X, which holds up to 18 discs. DRM-604X CD drive: US$ 1, 395; DRM-1804X: $2,495. Pioneer New Media Technologies, Inc.: (800) 444 6784, +1 (310) 952 2111.
Cyborg Alert: A Wearable Mouse
Tired of being grounded in two dimensions with your mouse or trackball? Point your way into cyberspace with the Ringmouse. The two-button device slips on your right or left index finger and uses infrared and ultrasonic tracking technology to control the cursor. RINGMOUSE is great for 3-D games. It saves valuable desktop real estate, too. Spectrum's 3-D Wireless Ringmouse: US$99.95. Kantek Inc.: (800) 536 3212, +1 (516) 593 3212.
Narrow View
Like a limited-production sports car, NEC's sleek LCD1280 monitor is made to order. Taking up a small footprint on your desk, the monitor has an active 13-inch display area and state-of-the-art thin film transistor LCD technology, providing a crisp 24-bit display resolution of 1280 x 1024 without the distortion at the edges of a standard monitor display. With a maximum power consumption of only 45 watts, you can be both leading-edge and green. LCD1280 monitor: US$11,755. NEC Technologies, Inc.: (800) 632 4636, +1 (708) 238 7800.
Wear Your Life on Your Wrist
Data watches have long been a joke. Either you have to enter all the information into your watch via a tiny keypad, or you have to dig out a cable to connect the watch to your PC. But now, with the Timex Data Link, you can transfer appointments, phone numbers, contacts, and memos to your watch simply by holding the watch face up to the computer monitor. I use the Data Link to zap reminders onto my wrist before every trip. Timex Data Link: Approx. US $130. Timex Corp.: (800) 367 8463, +1 (501) 372 1111.
Smart Sketch
Here's something I've been waiting for: a fast, easy-to-use drawing program that's as fun as using traditional artist's tools, but as convenient as working in the digital realm. SmartSketch has many of the same functions as a raster-based paint program - such as erasing any part of your drawing - but saves files in vector format, so your work prints out free of jaggies at any size. If you have a pressure-sensitive stylus, you can easily vary the width of lines so your drawings don't look like they were composed on a $10 Etch A Sketch. SmartSketch for Windows: US$99. FutureWave Software, Inc.: (800) 619 6193, +1 (619) 637 6190.
Robo Navigator
Nothing's worse than being late for a meeting and getting hopelessly lost. If you owned AudioNav from Amerigon Inc., you'd be there by now. AudioNav is a car navigation system that responds to your spoken commands with audio directions. About the size of a textbook, AudioNav connects to your car's CD player. Digital map data on a CD-ROM shows the best way between where you are now and where you were supposed to be 20 minutes ago. This is a must for anyone who's always late, always lost, and always explaining. AudioNav: Approx. $US550. Amerigon Inc.: +1 (818) 932 1200, fax +1 (818) 932 1220.
