Fetish
VR Vehicle
The problem with desks is that most of them weren't designed to be used with computers. Enter Ilkka Terho and Teppo Asikainen, a couple of young Finnish designers who've created the Netsurfer, a piece of computer furniture made of plywood and steel pipe that looks like it's moving at the speed of light. Sit down, lower the arm rests, and hike your feet up on the adjustable pegs. Then boot up and go to work with the built-in keyboard, mouse, and joystick, while the ear-level speakers pump sound into your head. Crash helmet and seat belt not included. Netsurfer: US$4,869 without speakers. Design Finland: (800) 700 2072, +1 (310) 659 2075, fax +1 (310) 659 1290.
Daylight Darkroom
Free yourself from the darkroom. On location or at home, the Daylab II Slide Printer turns any 35-mm slide into a color Polaroid print. Because this 6.3-pound portable enlarging system is self-contained, it'll do the job in broad daylight. You can preview and manipulate slides before printing; the exposure-control and color-balance features ensure that even an 8-by-10 will come out looking good. Daylab II Slide Printer: US$325 to $1,088. Polaroid: (800) 225 1618, +1 (617) 386 5841.
Copernicus on a Chip
I sometimes aim my old telescope at a random spot in the evening sky and take a look. When I'm lucky, I see a planet. Most of the time, it's just another star, which never looks bigger than a speck. Gimme the preprogrammed, computer-equipped, motor-driven LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. With an onboard database, the LX200 can automatically point to any of 64,350 heavenly objects. LX200 telescope: US$14,950 16-inch, $3,995 12-inch, $2,895 10-inch, $2,495 8-inch. Meade Instruments Corporation: +1 (714) 756 2291.
Rad Router
Your phone company will tell you it's simple to set up ISDN at your home or office. Wrong!
It took me an entire month to get my ISDN service running once I signed up. Well, Farallon makes high-speed Net access a no-brainer for you and everyone on your Ethernet LAN with its high-performance Netopia ISDN router. If the simple Quick Start configuration stumps you, try Farallon's Up & Running Guaranteed! user-support program (US$499), which includes a modem allowing Farallon's genius nerds to remotely configure your system. Netopia routers: starting at US$1,000. Farallon Computing Inc.: +1 (510) 814 5000.
Mr. Slate
Clean up your desk with the Modula-Executive, a large, flat tablet featuring a built-in color touch screen, stereo speakers, microphone, touch pad, and smooth-surface keyboard. With a polished aluminum frame and treated polyester-polyurethane surface, the PC-compatible Modula is built to withstand heavy use - and looks a lot better than a bunch of input-output peripherals cluttering up your work area. Modula-Executive: US$3,500. Source Innovations Inc.: +1 (310) 988 6574, fax +1 (310) 988 6570.
Super Cellular
Though it looks pretty much like any other cellular phone, it's the stuff on the inside that makes the AirCommunicator stand out. There's room to store frequently used faxes such as directions to your place, and you can send them straight from this gadget without plugging into a PC or fax machine. You can also receive faxes on the AirCommunicator and view them on your laptop or send 'em to a nearby fax machine. The phone even has a built-in answering machine that holds up to 16 minutes of voicemail messages. Its 14.4-Kbps modem can be used for wireless online access. AirCommunicator: starting at US$695. Air Communications: (800) 247 3282, +1 (408) 567 8000.
Dope Dish
The Sony SAS-AD1 digital satellite system for TV has a 32-bit microprocessor that beats the stuffings out of its puny 8-bit competitors. The pumped-up processor gives you the ability to view hundreds of channels in seconds - essential for power surfers who care more about knowing what's on than watching it. The dish antenna has dual outputs so you can add a second satellite receiver - essential for family harmony. And it comes with a slick universal infrared, radio-frequency remote controller that works like a trackball. SAS-AD1 digital satellite system: US$949. Sony Electronics Inc.: (800) 838 7669, +1 (201) 930 1000.
Stare with Style
If you went to Lollapalooza, you probably saw VU Points's Matt Esecson showing off these neato binocs.
With an ergonomic right-hand-free design and a durable elastomeric rubber grip, the VU Points compact binoculars are perfect for outdoor festivals, where the audience is usually more fun to watch than the performers. The ruby-coated lenses and 8X magnification ensure a clear view of whatever captures your voyeuristic fancy. VU Points: US$129. VU Points: (800) 787 6388, +1 (508) 921 1101.
Off-Road Ice Chest
Want to go on a picnic, but can't make up your mind what to pack? No problem. Get the Anything Goes 4-Wheel Ice Chest and empty the entire contents of your refrigerator (60 quarts' worth) into it. This sport utility cooler rides on four all-terrain tires, with front- and rear-wheel independent steering. The front wheels can swivel 360 degrees, making it easy to navigate around obstacles. Pull out the 26-inch retractable handle for comfortable toting. Anything Goes 4-Wheel Ice Chest: US$59.95. Rubbermaid: +1 (216) 264 6464.
See Like Seurat
The PV-DV1000 from Panasonic is the first of many digital camcorders to hit the consumer market. It features image resolution that's 50 percent better than a standard TV broadcast. Image-stabilization technology assures smooth pans, and a 180,000-pixel electronic viewfinder gives you a crisp image of your subject. This digicam even records CD-quality audio, all on a compact digital videocassette about one-twelfth the size of a VHS tape. And because everything is recorded digitally, it's easier to transfer the data to your PC. PV-DV1000: approximately US$3,500. Panasonic: +1 (201) 348 9090.
Tunes without Tails
Swinging the old clubs on my backyard three-hole golf course the other day, I thought, It sure would be nice to listen to a little Rancid while I tee off. The good people at Recoton must have read my mind, because they've come up with a kick-ass portable, wireless speaker system. The W410 is a water-resistant, domed plastic speaker that can be placed anywhere within 150 feet of the compact transmitter unit. The 900-MHz signal sometimes interferes with the portable phone, however, so if you really need to get in touch with me, send e-mail. W410: US$249.99. Recoton: (800) 732 6866, +1 (407) 333 8900.
Lavish Laptop
Powered with a 120-MHz Pentium processor, the ThinkPad 760 features the largest laptop color display on the market (12.1 inches) and a keyboard that pops up for easy typing. The built-in CD-ROM drive, 16-bit audio capability, and mpeg2 chip make the ThinkPad 760 the perfect solution for multimedia on the move. Load it with two hard drives to give it 2.4 Gbytes of storage or put in a couple of long-life batteries and power it up for a cross-country flight. ThinkPad 760: US$6,000 to $8,000. IBM: (800) 426 2968, +1 (914) 766 1900.
