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__ Best __
__ Scanners __
First Class:
__ChromaGraph S 3900 __
For precise color with the most options and versatility, Heidelberg Prepress's drum scanner offers great transparency reproduction through top-notch optics and superior analog-to-digital conversion. Scan a feather and enlarge it to poster size and you'll see each vane and barb.
Business Class:
__LinoColor Saphir __
From the company that invented the digital scanner, Linotype's Saphir offers near-professional quality without the price. Its stats are impressive - 600 by 1,200 dpi, a density of 3.0 for catching details, and a media adapter that handles transparencies, negatives, and slides. But it's really the LinoColor VisuaLab software with automatic color adjustments (including special settings for skin tone) that sets this machine apart from the pack.
Coach:
__PaperPort 3100 __
You give up a few bells and whistles in Visioneer's flatbed scanner, but you get tremendous ease of use, character recognition, and 30-bit color - for an amazing price. You wouldn't output these images to a commercial four-color brochure, but even a novice can set up and scan in minutes - perfect for snazzy PTA newsletters.
__ Ranges __
First Class:
__Le Château 147 __
You'll wait three months for this classic hand-assembled French range. When it arrives, the installers speak French and smoke Gitanes in your kitchen. The Le Château range has separate gas and electric ovens, both curved for natural convection, and a flat stove-top surface called coup de feu, which varies in heat concentration - move your pot to the center to boil or to the corner to simmer.
Business Class:
__36" Range __
With its oversize red knobs, the Wolf is as obligatory in some households as the sport utility vehicle is in others - but the oven gets better gas mileage. It's a professional stove modified for home use - check out the 30,000-BTU burner in the oven and the 500- to 16,000-BTU ones on top. Make sure the color of your Sub-Zero fridge matches.
Coach:
__SF360BEE __
Self-cleaning is a feature this relatively inexpensive model offers that the big boys don't. Whirlpool has given its gas range a sleek, industrial look, including steel grates and sealed burners. Its 4.65-cubic-foot capacity will accommodate the biggest turkey you can find.
__ In-Line Skates __
First Class:
__TR Custom Fit __
A good fit is essential to fast in-line skating: the wheels need to be a direct extension of the skater's body - like borg implants in a William Gibson novel. Salomon's newest skate, custom heat-molded to hold onto your feet, has been engineered for maximum rigidity and power transfer from legs to wheels.
Business Class:
__Melbourne __
This colorful skate definitely delivers your money's worth. Roces, the original manufacturer for Rollerblade, has 46 years of experience designing ski boots and ice skates. The Melbourne's light alloy frame allows ease of movement with less work and less muscle fatigue - which makes skating more fun.
Coach:
__Viablade Highway 7 __
Rollerblade practically owns the eponymous sport - and with good reason. Equipped with the simplest braking system in the field, the lightweight ventilated Viablade is engineered for efficiency, so the novice won't tire too quickly - and its budget price won't fatigue your wallet either.
