All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
__ Fetish __
__ Digital Takeover __
Digital video means better sound and image quality, and Panasonic's PV-DV910 is one of the most feature-packed and least expensive digicamcorders yet. This little number has the largest optical zoom available (18X magnification), a healthy 300X software zoom, and a firewire port to interface with your PC. Its 3-inch LCD is like having an onboard big-screen TV. PV-DV910: $1,399. Panasonic: (800) 211 7262, www.panasonic.com.
__ Easter Egg __
What if most of your life took place online - and school, sports, and dating were merely distractions that took you away from the CRT's glow? Yikes! Swatch's Beep Box, pitched toward Netcentric teens, serves as a lifeline to the Web - and, coincidentally, the company's extensive chat room. The podlike device has a trackball for navigation, backlight, and vibration mode. You can send pages through an 800 number, or your online buddies can page you until you're back in front of the keyboard. The Beep Box: $100 (includes 1,000 free pages). Swatch: +1 (201) 271 1400, www.swatch.com.
__ Virtual Desktop __
Some companies are proud to produce vaporware. In fact, AIS, the Italian manufacturer of 3Desk, has the perfect way to make you see objects that don't really exist. The desk - built for surgery planning, rapid prototyping, and educational demos - shows 3-D VR objects on a 67-inch projection screen. The illusion is aided by a pair of LCD shutter glasses, quadraphonic sound, and a wireless tracking device that changes the object's shading and placement to match a VR trooper's perspective. 3Desk: $70,000 for Windows NT, $75,000 for Unix. AIS: +39 (2) 280141, www.3desk.com.
__ Front Office __
The server room has become a crucial stop on corporate tours, symbolizing 21st-century staying power. Even Martha Stewart has a server in her basement, for crying out loud. This means your machines should not only work well, but also look good. Dell's got you covered:Each Net-slinging engine on this rack has as many as four 400-MHz Pentium II Xeon chips purring away, and the exterior says elegance and endurance. The sleek cabinet - part of the PowerEdge 6300 package - not only tames the tangle of wires, but wows corporate brass as well. PowerEdge 6300: from $9,682. Dell: (800) 289 3355, www.dell.com.
__ Color Correction __
Remember when black-and-white laser printers first became affordable for your home office? Finally, thanks to Tektronix, you can get color on the cheap too. The Phaser 740/N prints in color with near-photographic quality. The gray beast has an incredible output of 16 pages per minute in black and white and 5 in color. Not ready to plunk down two grand? Buy the cheaper 740L/N now, and get a color upgrade kit later for the same total price. Phaser 740/N: $1,995. Tektronix: (800) 835 6100, www.coloratwork.com.
__ Light Table __
A number of translucent teal accessories and peripherals have followed in the iMac's wake, but none are as luxurious as the height-adjustable computer table from TaskFlex Workspace Systems. Pull up a chair - or type standing up by adjusting the sandblasted plexiglass top as high as 49 inches. A handy foot pedal operates a pneumatic piston that hoists the surface effortlessly, and the see-through blue side panels let you view the inner workings while you wait. At 40 by 40 inches, the top is large enough for a computer, a couple of books, and that clear Zip drive. iTask table: $1,400. TaskFlex Workspace Systems: +1 (650) 286 9955, www.taskflex.com.
__ Little Roadie __
Bruce Zinky is a nonsmoker, but the former designer of Fender's custom guitar amplifiers makes handmade amps from recycled cigarette packs. One of the smallest amps around, the battery-powered Smokey plugs in to a standard electric-guitar jack and fills a room with sound. (In fact, its distinctive tone can be heard on recent CDs by the Black Crowes and Korn.) Zinky says he'll create an amp out of any box of smokes you send him. He also offers a clear case for that cancer-free look. Smokey: $25. Smokey Amplifiers: +1 (602) 497 5342, www.smokeyamps.com.
__ Airline __
The recent spate of computers dubbed PC companions provide light, cheap, no-fuss computing. The problem is that their Windows CE Pro operating system hasn't supported as many nifty gadgets as full-fledged Windows 95/98. That's changing with AirCard CE, a compact wireless WinCE modem that fits entirely into a PC card slot. AirCard uses a standard called CDPD to move digital data through analog cell networks. Coverage in the US is extensive and supports data speeds of 19.2 Kbps, a blazing bit rate in the wireless world. AirCard CE: $499. Sierra Wireless: +1 (604) 231 1100, www.sierrawireless.com.
__ Sleigh __
It may look like a death trap - it does carry daredevils up to 60 miles per hour down snowy hills - but SeatSki has a braking system that lets riders slow down and use the ski's edges to turn. Its steel suspension system protects your rump as well. While similar devices, often called "jack jumpers," have been home brewed for years, Speed Fever sells both a complete unit and a kit that allows you to build your own setup from those old skis gathering dust in the garage. SeatSki: $259.95; kit $99.95. Speed Fever Sports Company: +1 (616) 947 5541, www.speedfever.com.
*Thanks to Sally McGrane and Kurt Pena. *
