__ Fetish __
__ Dashtop __
If your dashboard is cluttered with gizmos, consider the elegance of the AutoPC. The size of a car stereo and powered by Windows CE 2.0, this onboard computer combines an address book, GPS navigation, email access, an automatic phone dialer, and a high-end stereo. You can upload contact data from your PDA through the infrared interface. And, so you don't drive off the road, the all-in-one deck takes voice commands and reads text aloud in an eerily monotone male or female voice. Clarion AutoPC: US$1,900. Clarion: (800) 462 5274, on the Web at www.clarionmultimedia.com/.
__ Headgames __
Racing sims can be a rush. But the repetitive action of some games can be a pain in the neck, too. Invented for the physically challenged as an alternative to the mouse, UR Gear obeys your head's movements, providing no-hands control over PC games. The retro-spaceboy headset was created by Pininfarina - the design house responsible for the Ferrari's look - and has stereo headphones for an immersive gaming experience. UR Gear: US$99. Union Reality: +1 (408) 908 7457.
__ Arachnoid __
The Bones bike rack by Saris is so spidery, it looks as if it could walk away on its own. But rest assured, it's actually built to cling to your car no matter what, absorbing the bike-jostling evils of any road. Bones totes up to three cycles, and the rubber footpads treat your trunk with care. The engineered-resin frame, designed by Fabio Pedrini and made to bear considerable weight, was stress tested to 700 pounds (most metal racks can withstand no more than a measly 350 pounds). God forbid you carry bikes that heavy. Bones: US$130. REI: +1 (253) 891 2500.
__ Threads __
It's amazing what you can do with a needle, thread, and a few megs of RAM. Hold a button up to the artista's LCD touchscreen and the machine will sew a correctly sized buttonhole. The model 180E performs hundreds of stitches, recognizes many fabrics, and has built-in embroidery patterns. artista also allows you to view each design and resize it before it's realized in cloth. A serial cable to your PC makes patterns a snap to download. artista 180E: US$4,299. Bernina: (800) 405 2739, on the Web at www.berninausa.com/.
__ Reboot __
Although the recordable MiniDisc tanked when it first hit the US market five years ago, it may be time to take a cue from Europe and Japan, where the technology has since been gaining ground. The 74-minute discs are simply the best format for making your own recordings from CDs. The MD-MS702, for example, automatically begins taping when the music starts, then listens for lulls between songs to index tracks on the disc. Separate tracks are as easy to access as CD cuts. Use this tiny critter as a component of your home stereo, or take it for an unshakable jog around the block. MD-MS702: US$399. Sharp Electronics: +1 (201) 529 8200.
__ Paneled Office __
If you want to live large, go plasma. Fujitsu has just improved its 42-inch Plasmavision display - the biggest flat-panel available - with a contrast of 400:1 and component video inputs for DVD. This thin slab shows data as well as video and features a wider viewing angle than its LCD brethren. Though the screen doesn't yet have the resolution for HDTV (when those broadcasts come along), DVD movies appear sharp and in wide-screen format. And because of its size, you can run presentations without turning off the lights or worrying about bulbs burning out in your projector. Plasmavision 42: US$10,999. Fujitsu General America: +1 (973) 575 0380, on the Web at www.plasmavision.com/.
__ Prime Time __
It's hard to get any work done when you think of all the quality tube you're missing. But hook ATI's Xclaim to a Mac and the device will open a crystal-clear TV window on your desktop. One in a growing market of computer television tuners, Xclaim has especially sophisticated features. It monitors the closed captioning stream for keywords, then either alerts you or captures a text transcript of the show when the words appear. Xclaim TV: US$99. ATI Technologies: +1 (905) 882 2600, on the Web at www.atitech.com/.
__ Esperanto __
Can't tell your pollo from your lengua on a taquerìa menu? Seiko's Quicktionary offers inconspicuous bilingual crib notes. This pen-sized unit is a combined scanner and translator with a vocabulary of more than 480,000 words. Just glide the tip over a mystery word and read the instant translation on the LCD. Units are available for Spanish, Hebrew, Korean, and many other languages. Quicktionary: US$250. Seiko Instruments USA: (800) 873 4508, on the Web at www.seiko-usa-cpd.com/cpd/.
__ Legacy __
With more than 75 percent of Hollywood films to its credit, Panavision's movie cameras have captured the burning desert sands (Lawrence of Arabia) and the ocean floor (Titanic). The Millennium, the latest and greatest of the rugged 35-mm Panaflex line, is even more refined and engineered than its predecessors. "We gave the film magazine a sleek aerospace shape," says Ravi Sawhney, president of RKS Design, collaborator with Panavision on the makeover. To appease change-wary cinematographers, however, Sawhney left redundant analog controls while installing digital ones. He also kept a classic detail - a bracket for the cinematographer's glasses. Millennium: from US$1,000 per day. Panavision: +1 (818) 316 1000.
